Administrative and Managerial Practices in Government and Private Tahfiz Schools in Selangor: a Comparative Analysis

Purpose: This study examines how religious education in public schools operates not merely as a pedagogical practice but as a form of cultural governance that shapes students’ spiritual and emotional intelligence. Rather than treating religious instruction as a curricular subject alone, the research investigates how institutional routines, school culture, and informal religious practices collectively function as governance mechanisms that influence students’ character formation. The study aims to reposition religious education within broader debates on institutional governance, culture, and administrative practice in public education systems. Method: Using a qualitative case study approach, the research draws on in-depth interviews with teachers and school administrators, classroom and extracurricular observations, and document analysis of school programs and policies. Data were analyzed through thematic coding to identify patterns linking pedagogical innovation, institutional culture, and governance practices. This approach allows for an interpretive understanding of how formal rules and informal norms interact in shaping students’ spiritual and emotional development. Findings: The findings reveal that religious education in public schools functions as a hybrid governance system, combining formal administrative arrangements with culturally embedded practices. Pedagogical innovations, such as contextual religious activities and value-based routines, are shown to foster students’ emotional regulation, empathy, and spiritual awareness. These outcomes are not produced by curriculum content alone but by the consistent alignment between institutional culture, teacher agency, and informal governance mechanisms within the school environment. Significance: This study contributes to the literature by introducing cultural governance as an analytical lens for understanding religious education in public institutions. It extends governance scholarship beyond legal and administrative compliance toward everyday cultural practices that shape educational outcomes. The findings offer theoretical and practical insights for policymakers and educators seeking to integrate character education within public schooling while respecting institutional diversity and cultural context.

Malaysia got her independence from Britain in 1957 and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has existed since 1967. The ASEAN Vision 2020 affirmed an outward-looking ASEAN to play an important role in the international community. One of ASEAN’s sections is the ASEAN socio-cultural community. This article compares moral and civic education in Malaysia and several countries in ASEAN. A multiple document analysis approach has been used in this research. Its focus is on how civic and moral education has existed and has transformed due to multiple multicultural and globalisation factors. Three research questions have been explored from the Malaysian and ASEAN perspective: how is civic education taking shape; how is moral education taking shape; and what are the opportunities and challenges of these two subjects? Reports, curriculum documents, experiential learning practice and journal articles in civic education and moral education in Malaysia and ASEAN countries were analysed. The inclusion of service-learning as an experiential pedagogy is suggested for the way forward of these two subjects. The article is original in nature and has much textual-social impact.

Erken çocukluk döneminde din ve ahlak eğitimi ile ilgili uygulamalar ülkemizde ve dünyada çeşitli açılardan tartışılmaktadır. Söz konusu tartışmaların odağında hem bu tür bir eğitimin imkânı hem de içeriği yer almaktadır. Farklı ülkelerde uzun yıllardır uygulanmakta olan erken çocukluk dönemi din eğitimi yaklaşımlarının etki alanlarını ve uygulama sonuçlarını ortaya koymanın bu tartışmalara farklı bir bakış açısı kazandırması kaçınılmazdır. Bu bağlamda makalenin amacı dünyada uygulanmakta olan The Good Shepherd, The Godly Play, The Gift to the Child ve Waldorf yaklaşımının ahlak eğitimi ile ilgili boyutunu, gelişim özellikleri, din eğitimi yaklaşımları, öğrenme ortamları, yöntem, materyal, yaş, içerik ve değerlendirme açılarından karşılaştırmaktır. Erken çocuklukta din eğitimi teorilerini kıyaslamayı amaçlayan bu makale doküman incelemesi yöntemiyle hazırlanmıştır. Yaklaşımlar incelendiğinde; tamamının oyun ve eğitsel oyuncakları öğretimin merkezine alarak kişilerarası iletişim, doğa ve toplum bilinci gibi konulara odaklandıkları görülmektedir. Godly Play ve The Good Shepherd yöntemleri belli bir dine ait temel hikaye ve özellikleri aktarmaları bakımından dini öğrenme yaklaşımına uygunken; The Gift to the Child ve Waldorf yaklaşımları ise herhangi bir dini öğretiyi benimsememeleri yönüyle dinden öğrenme yaklaşımına uygun gibi görünmektedir. Godly Play ve The Good Shepherd yöntemlerinde materyal ve yöntemlerin Montessori yaklaşımına uygun olarak belirlendiği görülürken, The Gift to the Child ve Waldorf herhangi bir yaklaşıma bağlılık göstermez.

By analyzing how public administrations in a rule-of-law oriented, continental European federal government system adopted managerial practices on a voluntary basis, this article contributes to the knowledge about actual managerial practices in public administration. Its main research question is about what local governments in Germany do when they claim to have implemented managerial practices. For ten municipalities which have been identified as good practices, actual managerial practices are characterized and analyzed based on a model using established theoretical concepts of performance management and strategic management. Data stem from systematic reviews of strategy documents and budget plans as well as additional interviews. It can be shown that these municipalities have implemented managerial practices which generally follow the ideas of popular German reform blueprints and comply with general ideas of public administration research. Results suggest an inherent connection between performance management and strategic management whereas actual practices, even between the ten cases under review, differ significantly. The conclusion argues that more qualitative research about managerial practices could substantially enrich public scholars’ perspective on theoretical concepts such as performance management and strategic management and on the preconditions under which these concepts could create benefits for the public.

International Handbook of the Religious, Moral and Spiritual Dimensions in Education

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-racial country, with a multi-religious and multi-cultural people as a result. Despite its diversified nature, Malaysia is a country that constitutionally acknowledges Islam as the official religion, and all affairs pertaining to Islam are at the highest priority. The key concerns that may be raised are: What about the implementation of education, particularly religious education? What curriculum has been designed? How are the teachers trained? This article presents the policy developments of religious education in the country, with an emphasis on Islamic religious education. An overview of existing research literature is also provided, as are some crucial questions that may lead to the future research agenda for religious education in Malaysia.

This qualitative literature review investigates the multifaceted landscape of sustainable finance, aiming to provide insights into its key dimensions and implications for sustainable development. The research methodology involves a comprehensive examination of existing literature utilizing qualitative analysis techniques such as thematic analysis, content analysis, and narrative synthesis. The study explores environmental considerations, social dimensions, and governance practices within sustainable finance, drawing on diverse perspectives from academic literature, industry reports, and policy documents. Key findings reveal the pivotal role of sustainable finance in advancing environmental objectives by mobilizing capital towards environmentally sustainable projects, promoting conservation, and facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy. Moreover, the study highlights the significance of addressing social issues such as labor rights, gender equality, and community development through sustainable finance initiatives. Additionally, effective governance practices are identified as essential for ensuring transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct within the financial sector. The implications of sustainable finance extend beyond financial markets, encompassing environmental outcomes, social equity, and governance frameworks crucial for achieving sustainable development goals. Despite challenges such as data availability, standardization, and regulatory coherence, sustainable finance presents opportunities for innovation and collaboration to address pressing global challenges. Overall, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of sustainable finance and underscores its potential to drive positive change towards a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable global economy.

We investigate the governance structure and practices of Australian corporate superannuation funds and explore the link between a fund’s governance, fees and performance. Overall, it appears that the funds have governance structures that are prone to agency conflicts, lack of transparency and that trail behind overall corporate governance standards. We find that a fund’s governance practices do not affect performance, but they do affect fees. In addition, the international subsidiary and listing status of the sponsoring firms are found to affect fund fees. As a fund’s board size increases, so do the number of asset consultants being hired, and fund fees grow. The relationships between fund governance, management and fees are significantly influenced by fund size and are non-linear. We also found a potential link in the governance practices between the sponsoring firms and their funds. Our study provides important insight into how, although trustee structure does not have a direct impact, their strategic decisions affect how funds operate and agency problems could be controlled. Furthermore, adequate trustee competency that addresses the specific needs and nature of each fund must accompany fund governance structures; a prescriptive governance framework does not fit all.

This paper discusses how the Narrative Approach has the potential to be one of the alternative teaching approaches in the teaching and learning process of Moral Education. This paper begins with an introduction to Moral Education in Malaysia. Also described in this paper is the history of how Moral Education in Malaysia began. Next, this paper discusses the Standard Curriculum and Assessment Document (DSKP) policy that drives the direction of the Education system in Malaysia in terms of, what is to be achieved and how it should be implemented in achieving the goals outlined. Then, the discussion continued by detailing the teacher training program for Moral Education teachers in Malaysia. Finally, this paper elaborates the description of the Narrative Approach and how its implementation in a teaching and learning process can provide the best added value to teachers and students; especially in producing ‘student-centered’ learning.

This article seeks to examine the effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on religious education (RE) in the three Muslim-majority countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Türkiye. It specifically explores the effects of the Pandemic on students’ interests by asking questions in RE classes and the way in which RE teachers respond to them. Malaysia, Indonesia, and Türkiye were chosen, as they all have a Muslim-majority population, and their respective curriculum encourage the constructivist learning theory, which suggests that learning should be a student-active process. This is qualitative research that employs a case study design. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with RE teachers in the three countries to learn about the changing interests and questions of the students and how teachers respond to them. RE teachers from upper secondary schools without a religious character (i.e. common/public schools) were chosen for the interviews, as older students are more likely to ask challenging theological questions in the face of the Pandemic. The study documents the Pandemic’s effects on RE, specifically students’ interests and questions and the way in which RE teachers respond to them. Additionally, it provides insights into how RE could help students to better understand the new experience, such as the Pandemic.

Knowledge about governance and administration is cumulative with strong roots in ancient civilizations. Many of these roots have firm grounding in the ancient Persian Empire whose theory and practice of governance and administration have made immense contributions to world civilizations, their governments, and public administration. By conquering virtually the entire known world of antiquity in a single generation, the Persians changed the world's political and administrative history forever. Their legacies are both widespread and profound. This article discusses some of these legacies whose impacts and implications transcended faraway cultures and administrative systems and are preserved in various forms in the modern systems of public administration and governance around the world. Although the pre-Persian, six thousand years of administrative history of Iran is briefly touched as a background, the main focus of this article is on the Achae-menid World-State Empire (559-330 B.C.). By addressing the theory and practice of public administration and governance of the Persian Empire, the article outlines a number of implications for modern public administration. The article does not address the mighty Persian and Sasanian empires of Persia which, along with Rome, divided and ruled the ancient world for the next millennium.

Asian countries’ growing importance in global affairs contrasts with the scant scholarly focus on their political, administrative, and governance practices. Our review of Local Government Studies from 1975 to 2024 shows limited articles on Asian governance. In addition, these studies chiefly concern developed regions in Asia, such as China, Japan, and South Korea, and focus on the public sector at the local government layer. Most of these studies are explanatory, adopting the frameworks derived from Western democracies to analyze political and administrative practices in Asian contexts. We suggest authors should pay more attention to Asian countries with limited scholarly attention, establish frameworks and theories specifically to analyze political and administrative practices in Asian contexts, conduct studies to investigate issues with high complexities and uncertainties, and apply diverse new and innovative research methods in conducting empirical studies.

Moral Education (ME) in Malaysian context is closely related to “akhlak” and moral concept. The use of the terms “akhlak” and moral in achieving the goal of forming people with noble character through the subject of ME has been influenced by Islam as the official religion of Malaysia and the diversity of religious beliefs in the Malaysian community. Moral Education is a complex subject in Malaysia, not only because it is studied by non-Muslim students of various religious beliefs, but also because it may probably be taught by Muslim teachers. Based on a review of theories and previous researches, this paper will discuss the basic principles of "akhlak" and moral and their relationship with the formation of people with noble characters through the ME subject in Malaysia. This paper contributes to the possibility of aligning “akhlak” and moral concepts in order to achieve the goal of forming people with noble characters through the ME subject. Hence, this paper expands on existing literature to better understand the complexities underlying ME subject due to the diversity of religious beliefs among ME teachers and students.

Every country has a unique educational system to offer its citizens. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education are responsible for overseeing education in Malaysia. Since Malaysia is an Islamic country, the majority of religious education in the country is centered on Islam. In Malaysia, on the other hand, Tahfiz education is the most widely practiced. In contrast to Thailand, Thai Buddhist temples have surpassed all other institutions of learning as the primary source of religious instruction for the vast majority of the populace. Both religious education in these countries has developed in recent years, becoming more systematic and gaining in popularity. Hence, this article will review the religious education practices in Malaysia as well as Thailand.

PurposeThis paper contributes to the existing literature by extending the empirical work on the relationship between corporate governance and capital structure by analyzing the mediating role of cost of capital in the non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).Design/methodology/approachThe sample for this study includes non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (formerly Karachi Stock Exchange) for the period of 2004–2016. Based on 1800 firm-year observations, three approaches of panel data analysis are applied for the step-wise analysis of the underlying study. Firstly, Pooled OLS is applied. Secondly, fixed and random effect panel regression followed by the Hausman test to check the unobservable individual heterogeneity of the data. Hausman test indicates that the fixed-effects model is the most appropriate model for the sample panel data.FindingsThe study's findings are that board size, board composition, CEO/Chair duality, institutional ownership and managerial ownership have statistically significant direct effect on the firm's financing decisions. However, CEO/Chair duality, institutional ownership and managerial ownership have significant indirect effect on firm's capital structure decisions. The interesting finding of the paper is on the evidence of mediating role of cost of capital in the nexus of corporate governance and capital structure. Moreover, some conventional determinants of capital structure, including the firm's size, asset structure of the firm, profitability, business risk and growth, are found as determinants of capital structure decisions of the firms.Research limitations/implicationsThere are a few limitations to our study which could be addressed by upcoming research. We did not include all the four mechanisms of corporate governance including board structure, audit structure, compensation structure and ownership structure. However, we used only five important attributes including board size, board composition and CEO/Chair duality form board structure, managerial ownership and institutional ownership form ownership structure of corporate governance as our explanatory variables to examine their impact on the capital structure choices of the firms. Future studies may fill this research gap by involving some other attributes of corporate governance and analyzing their effectiveness and impact on value relevant capital structure decisions. Further, due to limited time and resources, we only tested the mediating role of cost of capital, hence, future researchers can analyze the mediating and moderating roles of different variables which may influence the relationship between corporate governance and capital structure choices of the firms.Practical implicationsThe study has many valuable guidelines and practical implications for the financial managers of the corporations. Our results will facilitate the policymakers in setting their corporate governance policies and practices and making the value relevant capital structure decisions in compliance with the implications of corporate governance mechanism. In addition, our study provides the empirical evidence in accordance with the argument that good governance practices, particularly the voluntary disclosures by the firm may reduce the information asymmetry which, ultimately, reduces the agency cost and the cost of capital for the firm. However, while deciding the financial policy of the corporations, managers can use our findings in order to assess the effectiveness of corporate governance practices employed by the firm in achieving the optimal capital structure at which the weighted average cost of capital is at its minimum level.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature by investigating the mediating role of the cost of capital in the relationship between corporate governance and capital structure decisions of the firms. This paper provides empirical evidence that corporate governance indirectly affects capital structure decisions through the mediating role of cost of capital.