Digital Pedagogical Intelligence in Islamic Moral Education: A Multiple-Case Study of Elementary Schools in an Indonesian Industrial Community

Abstract

Elementary school students increasingly face moral challenges related to smartphones, social media, and online content, particularly when digital engagement is not accompanied by adequate adult supervision. This study examined how Islamic Religious Education teachers in two public elementary schools within an industrial community in Karawang, Indonesia, guided students in responding to these challenges. Using a qualitative multiple-case design, data were collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis and examined through within-case and cross-case analysis. The findings show that moral guidance operated through an interconnected cycle of planning, shared responsibility, religious habituation, teacher role modelling, educational communication, responsible-technology guidance, and continuous monitoring. These practices were shaped by students’ digital experiences, parents’ rotating work schedules, and the need for stronger school–family coordination. The principal contribution of the study is the concept of Digital Pedagogical Intelligence, defined as teachers’ capacity to integrate religious-moral competence, pedagogical judgment, digital awareness, contextual sensitivity, collaborative action, and reflective monitoring in responding to students’ digital moral challenges. This concept extends Islamic Religious Education beyond conventional moral instruction by explaining how teachers translate religious values into context-sensitive educational responses within digitally mediated and industrial-community environments