Focus and Scope

Focus

Atthar: Journal of Innovative Islamic Education is a peer-reviewed open-access journal dedicated to advancing scholarly discourse on innovation in Islamic education — the ideas, approaches, and practices that renew how Islamic education is designed, taught, managed, and evaluated, while remaining rooted in the Islamic scholarly tradition. The journal publishes original research that develops, tests, and critically examines such innovations across educational settings, from madrasah and pesantren to schools and higher education institutions.

Atthar welcomes empirical, developmental, conceptual, and comparative studies that examine the interaction between classical Islamic educational thought (tarbiyah, ta'lim, ta'dib) and contemporary pedagogical theory, digital transformation, and changing social conditions. The journal accommodates research offering original insights into current issues and challenges in Islamic education at both national and international levels, and particularly values work grounded in actual classrooms, institutions, and communities rather than normative argument alone.

Scope

The scope of Atthar: Journal of Innovative Islamic Education includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:

  1. Curriculum and Instructional Design in Islamic Education; Research on curriculum development and evaluation, integration of religious and general sciences, implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum in madrasah, formulation of learning outcomes and graduate profiles, syllabus and lesson design, development of textbooks and teaching materials, and contextualisation of curriculum to local needs.
  2. Learning Models, Strategies, and Assessment; Studies on active and student-centred learning, problem-based and project-based learning, differentiated instruction, literacy and numeracy development, classroom action research, authentic and formative assessment, diagnostic testing, and evaluation of learning effectiveness in Islamic subjects.
  3. Digital Technology and Media for Islamic Learning; Research on learning management systems, mobile and web-based learning media, artificial intelligence and adaptive learning, digital literacy among teachers and students, blended and distance learning in religious education, gamification, and the ethical use of technology in Islamic educational settings.
  4. Educational Management, Leadership, and Policy; Studies on institutional leadership and governance, quality assurance and accreditation, strategic planning, teacher and staff management, educational financing, stakeholder participation, and the implementation and impact of national education policy on madrasah and pesantren.
  5. Character Education, Spiritual Formation, and Teacher Professionalism; Research on moral and character development (akhlaq), habituation programmes, religious moderation, inclusive education, guidance and counselling, teacher professional development, pedagogical and professional competence, and teacher education programmes.
  6. Pesantren, Madrasah, and Institutional Renewal; Studies on the transformation of pesantren and madrasah amid digital and global change, preservation and renewal of kitab kuning learning traditions, community engagement, local wisdom and ethnopedagogy, comparative studies of Islamic educational institutions, and the history of Islamic educational reform.

Methodological Approaches

Atthar publishes original research employing various methodological approaches, including: qualitative research (case study, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory); quantitative research (survey, correlational, experimental, and quasi-experimental designs); mixed methods research; research and development (R&D); classroom action research; systematic literature review and meta-analysis; and conceptual or library-based analysis.

Out of Scope

Manuscripts that do not address Islamic education, purely normative or devotional writing without research data or systematic analysis, and institutional reports that offer no theoretical or practical contribution beyond the institution concerned, will be returned to the author without review.