Mentorship as a relational mechanism for women's advancement into school leadership: Negotiating access, identity and social capital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

School organizational culture in Islamic education requires ethical foundations that can support teachers' professional responsibility without neglecting their well-being. This article develops an analytical framework for examining the internalization of amanah (trustworthiness and accountability) and ihsan (excellence and care) in relation to teachers' organizational commitment at SDIT Ar-Raihan, Pagar Alam, Indonesia. A qualitative single-case study is proposed, involving purposively selected school leaders, teachers, and educational staff, with semi-structured interviews, nonparticipant observations, document analysis, and reflexive thematic analysis. A synthesis of recent scholarship indicates that value-based culture may influence affective and normative commitment through trustworthy leadership, professional meaning, organizational justice, and collegial support; continuance commitment also depends on employment conditions. These relationships are presented as propositions requiring field verification, not as empirical findings from the school. The framework offers an ethically grounded direction for examining teacher commitment and improving Islamic school management.

This study aims to analyze the role of school principal leadership in shaping students’ character of discipline, responsibility, and independence at SMP Negeri 4 Pekanbaru. This research employed a qualitative phenomenological approach involving 16 participants consisting of one school principal, five teachers, and ten students, selected through purposive sampling based on their involvement and understanding of the research phenomenon. Data were collected through observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation, and analyzed using data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings indicate that school principals play a crucial role in character formation through exemplary leadership, integration of character values into the school vision and mission, habituation programs, routine activities, supervision, and continuous evaluation. The strategies implemented include effective communication, motivation and appreciation, enforcement of school regulations accompanied by guidance, and collaboration with teachers, parents, and the community. Character development is supported by the principal’s commitment, involvement of school members, extracurricular activities, and family and community support. However, several challenges remain, including limited student awareness, insufficient parental supervision, peer influence, and uncontrolled use of technology and social media. This study highlights the importance of transformational and collaborative leadership in creating a school environment that supports sustainable student character development.

Over the last decade, there has been a visible surge of students participating in and leading different forms of activism. Following the cultural reckoning of 2020, the United States saw a rise in awareness and engagement in activism among young individuals. Continuing this trend, higher education institutions have seen an increase in on-campus demonstrations in recent years. Given the recent increase in activism, political engagement, and the globalization of social issues, this study examined how attitudes, beliefs, individual factors, and prior behaviors relate to undergraduate students’ willingness to engage in different forms of activism (i.e., conventional and high-risk). Across both forms of activism, institutional advocacy (i.e., the behavioral targeting of institutional racism) was the most consistent unique predictor of a student's willingness to engage in activism. Need for cognition and individual advocacy were significantly and positively related to conventional activism, whereas political orientation was negatively related to it. Social justice orientation was significantly and negatively related to high-risk activism.

Graduate employability Outcomes (GEO) is a crucial issue in emerging countries, where skill gaps and unemployment among university graduates are consistently rising. In this context, higher education institutions (HEIs) play a pivotal role in developing a strategic approach to fill the gap through collaboration between academia and industry. Nowadays, every higher education institution in emerging countries has an internal quality assurance cell (IQAC), and they play a critical role in ensuring continuous improvement, stakeholder engagement, and curriculum development. However, despite the growing relevance of this issue, limited empirical studies have been conducted on the mediating role of IQAC in the relationship between industry and academia for confirming graduate employability in an emerging economy, like Bangladesh. The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of IQAC, including university curriculum (UC), job scholars’ opportunities (JSO), on the association between university-industry collaboration (UIC), and university GEO in Bangladesh, using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) under the quantitative research approach. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from university graduates, faculty members, and administrative staff. The empirical evidence reveals that UIC significantly contributes to GEO; moreover, IQAC plays a substantial mediating role, including UC and JSO. The findings of the study offer practical contributions for higher educational institutions (HEIs), policymakers, and industry experts to continuously improve graduate employability outcomes, such as practical competencies, skills development, and job readiness.

Social capital represents a relational resource developed through trust, professional networks, collaboration, peer support, and knowledge exchange. In the context of Social Studies Education, social capital can support teachers in accessing information, experiences, and professional resources relevant to professional development and instructional planning. This study aims to analyze the conceptualization of teachers’ social capital, identify its dimensions in relation to teacher professionalism, and examine its relevance to Social Studies teaching practices and instructional planning. The study employs a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach guided by the PRISMA 2020 framework. The literature analyzed consists of scholarly publications published between 2023 and 2026 in Indonesian and English that met the established inclusion criteria. The data were analyzed through thematic synthesis based on conceptual dimensions, forms of professional relationships, and their contributions to teaching practices. The synthesis indicates that social capital facilitates teachers’ access to information, experiences, feedback, and professional support through networks and collaborative relationships. These resources can strengthen professional learning and pedagogical decision-making relevant to Social Studies instructional planning. However, empirical evidence directly linking teachers’ social capital to the quality of Social Studies instructional planning remains limited. These findings highlight the need for further research on how social capital can be translated into improvements in the quality of Social Studies instructional planning components.