YOGYAKARTA — The Doctoral Study Program for Islamic Elementary School Teacher Education (PGMI) at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta successfully held the main session of the International Conference 2026 virtually on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Aimed at reshaping an adaptive future for elementary education, this global academic forum addressed cutting-edge instructional strategies to overcome student burnout and passive teaching methods often faced by madrasah and primary school teachers across Southeast Asia.
The keynote session was moderated by Prof. Dr. Naimah, M.Hum., and featured a distinguished education expert from the Philippine Women's University (PWU), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sherli Aldana Padua. In her insightful paper titled “Curriculum and Pedagogy: Shaping Meaningful Learning,” Dr. Padua urged educators to challenge the rigid traditional curriculum and transition toward a holistic, modern framework that integrates critical thinking, creativity, and inquiry-based collaboration.
"This event is a concrete manifestation of our continuous commitment to reinforcing the program's excellence toward global recognition. Insights shared by our international partners significantly enrich our global perspective in elementary education, particularly on how to nurture a resilient and ethically grounded future generation,"
— Prof. Dr. Sigit Purnama, M.Pd. (Dean of FITK UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta)The core substance of the panel highlighted the significance of Positive Psychology or the "science of happiness". Dr. Padua argued that cultivating intrinsic motivation and emotional comfort in young learners is essential before introducing complex and challenging subjects.
Participants highly appreciated the practical best practices shared by Dr. Padua regarding the Jose Abad Santos Memorial School—an experimental school at PWU that successfully thrives on project-based learning without relying on conventional textbooks. The audience also positively engaged in discussions about strategic approaches to tackle the digital distractions of Alpha Generation students through differentiated instruction within a single classroom.
The international conference concluded with a mutual academic agreement to adopt inter-university pedagogical innovations to enrich the quality of higher education. The tangible output of this forum will be implemented directly by the PGMI Doctoral Program at UIN Sunan Kalijaga to foster independent research capacities among doctoral students and elevate the international scholarly communication skills of the faculty members.