Communication as the Lifeblood of Islamic Educational Organizations: A Systems and Sensemaking Perspective
Downloads
Background. Educational organizations increasingly operate within complex and dynamic environments that demand not only effectiveness but also long-term organizational sustainability. Despite this condition, communication in educational institutions is often treated instrumentally as a managerial tool, rather than as a constitutive process that sustains organizational coherence, learning, and ethical legitimacy. This limitation is particularly evident in Islamic educational organizations, where bureaucratic structures, cultural hierarchies, and normative values intersect.
Purpose. This article aims to reconceptualize communication as the lifeblood of Islamic educational organizations by integrating systems theory and sensemaking theory. It seeks to provide a theoretical framework that positions communication as a central sustainability mechanism enabling organizational integration, adaptive capacity, and meaning construction.
Method. This study employs a conceptual and theoretical analysis through critical synthesis of systems theory, organizational sensemaking theory, and Islamic communication ethics. Relevant literature from organizational communication, educational leadership, and Islamic education studies is systematically examined to develop an integrative conceptual framework.
Results. The analysis demonstrates that communication functions as the primary integrative flow connecting organizational subsystems, facilitating feedback loops, and enabling collective sensemaking. Within Islamic educational organizations, communicative principles such as shura (consultative deliberation), amanah (trust and responsibility), and an-na???ah (ethical counsel) operate as ethical sensemaking practices that strengthen organizational coherence and sustainability.
Conclusion. The analysis shows that communication functions as a key integrative flow connecting organizational subsystems, facilitating feedback, and enabling collective sensemaking. In Islamic educational organizations, communicative principles such as shura (deliberation), amanah (trust and responsibility), and an-na???ah (ethical advice) operate as ethical sensemaking practices that strengthen organizational coherence and sustainability.
Adeyeye, A. O. (2024). Public attitudes towards surveillance and privacy of personal communications in 34 African countries. Telematics and Informatics, 91, 102147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2024.102147
Aleem, M., Sufyan, M., Ameer, I., & Mustak, M. (2023). Remote work and the COVID-19 pandemic: An artificial intelligence-based topic modeling and a future agenda. Journal of Business Research, 154, 113303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113303
Alzeiby, E. A., Khandelwal, V., Cheng, J., Dash, S., Temperini, V., & Palladino, R. (2026). Harnessing AI-metaverse synergies for smart sustainability: A knowledge management perspective on immersion, ethics, and decentralization. Technology in Society, 85, 103234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2026.103234
Arar, K., & Haj-Yehia, A. (2023). Leadership and school effectiveness in Islamic schools: A cultural perspective. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 51(5), 812–828.
Ashby-King, D. T., Iannacone, J. I., Balozwi, B., Nzau, T., Rahyadi, I., Ali, H. M., & Capizzo, L. (2025). Communicating for good in a globalized world: How MNO practitioners in Bangladesh, Botswana, Indonesia, and Kenya conceptualize and practice prosocial public relations. Public Relations Review, 51(5), 102639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2025.102639
Bertella, G. (2023). Small tourism providers’ stories about sustainability. Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, 4(1), 100085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annale.2022.100085
Blackman, T. (2025). Performing the future of work: Examining discourses of the future of work and the ideal worker through event ethnographies. Geoforum, 167, 104461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2025.104461
Clegg, S. (2024). Russia, Ukraine and the climate crisis: Transforming circuits of power. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 40(3), 101354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2024.101354
Dadem, N. (2025). “The message is the manner”: Patterns of influence in communicating pap screening in North-Central Nigeria. Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare, 9(1), 100004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qrmh.2025.100004
Engström, A., Pittino, D., Mohlin, A., Edh, N., & Johansson, A. (2025). A paradox perspective on early AI adoption: Understanding temporal and relational tensions. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 38(7), 1145–1171. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-02-2025-0086
Halstead, J. M. (2020). Islamic schools and the social contract (terbitan terbaru). Journal of Islamic Education Studies.
Homer, S. T., Lim, W. M., & Poon, W. C. (2025). A concentric locus of control and triple bottom line model for responsible management: Theory development inspired by students from the Global South. The International Journal of Management Education, 23(1), 101083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2024.101083
Kennedy, B. L., Çolak, F. Z., Kremer, S., & Doornhof, J. (2024). How past experiences of being a student from a racially nondominant background shape the practices of current teachers in Dutch schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 148, 104684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2024.104684
Komariah, K. (2024). Islamic Religious Education Learning Media In The Empowered Kurikulum To Form Akhlakul Karimah At Smpn 3 Sumberjaya. Multidisciplinary Sustainability Asean, 1(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.70177/ijmsa.v1i1.978
Lee, C. D. (2023). Cross cultural lenses on learning. Dalam R. J. Tierney, F. Rizvi, & K. Ercikan (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Education (Fourth Edition) (hlm. 267–275). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818630-5.14035-7
Mahadevan, J. (2024). How language power, white subalternity and compressed modernity frame highly-skilled non-Western migrants in an East-German company: Insights from multi-sited ethnography. Journal of Global Mobility, 12(3), 394–416. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-11-2023-0081
Maitlis, S., & Christianson, M. (2019). Sensemaking in organizations: Taking stock and moving forward. Academy of Management Annals, 13(1), 57–85. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2017.0090
Men, L. R., & Bowen, S. A. (2019). Creating a positive emotional culture: Effects of strategic internal communication and impact on employee supportive behaviors. Public Relations Review, 45(3), 101764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.03.001
Men, L. R., & Bowen, S. A. (2021). Excellence in internal communication management. International Journal of Business Communication, 58(2), 169–195. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294884211003834
Morrison, E. (2022). Silence and voice in organizations: A review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 48(6), 1502–1535.
Mousa, M., Althalathini, D., & Abdelgaffar, H. (2023). The gendered use of cronyism in academic contexts: Does social exchange really matter? International Journal of Educational Management, 37(5), 968–985. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-04-2022-0165
Mousa, M., Althalathini, D., & Puhakka, V. (2025). Street-level bureaucracy and extreme work: Understanding career shock perceptions among nurses in public hospitals. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 39(8), 1806–1821. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-10-2024-0433
Nabila, A. Z., Farid, A., Magfiroh, S. Z., Hafizhah, N. Z., & Khomsah, M. N. (2024). 21st Century Skills Development in Modern Pesantren. Multidisciplinary Sustainability Asean, 1(3), 112–118. https://doi.org/10.70177/ijmsa.v1i3.1124
OECD. (2021). Education Policy Outlook 2021: Shaping responsive and resilient education in a changing world. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/75e40a16-en
Price, M., Wong, N., Harvey, C., & Maclean, M. (2023). Strategic sensemaking by social entrepreneurs: Creating strategies for social innovation. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 29(11), 292–311. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-09-2022-0849
Putra, B. J., & Gatari, A. P. (2024). Characteristics and Design of Islamic Economy. Multidisciplinary Sustainability Asean, 1(2), 91–101. https://doi.org/10.70177/ijmsa.v1i2.1099
Sahin, A. (2021). Islamic values and educational leadership: A communicative perspective. International Journal of Educational Management, 35(4), 839–857.
Savolainen, I., Ylinen, L., Grönroos, R., & Oksanen, A. (2026). AI transformation in working life: A systematic review of usage and attitudes towards AI among workers. Digital Business, 6(1), 100162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.digbus.2025.100162
Schippers, M. C., de Jong, E. M., Rus, D. C., Rommers, H., & Banerjee, S. (2025). Letters to the future challenge: A scalable online tool to engage management students with the SDGs. The International Journal of Management Education, 23(3), 101233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2025.101233
Sharma, I., Lim, W. M., & Aggarwal, A. (2024). Creative tourism: Reviewing the past and charting the future. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 32(11), 109–149. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-11-2023-0787
Stoian, M.-C., Tardios, J. A., & Samdanis, M. (2024). The knowledge-based view in international business: A systematic review of the literature and future research directions. International Business Review, 33(2), 102239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2023.102239
Wardekker, A., Nath, S., & Handayaningsih, T. U. (2023). The interaction between cultural heritage and community resilience in disaster-affected volcanic regions. Environmental Science & Policy, 145, 116–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2023.04.008
Winch, G. M., & Hajikazemi, S. (2025). Practical wisdom for leading projects: The case of early warning signs. Project Leadership and Society, 6, 100173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plas.2024.100173
Winkler-Titus, N., & Crafford, A. (2025). Accounting for radical change: Framing in a social movement leading to a radical change decision. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 21(7), 363–385. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-11-2023-0207
Yu, H., Zhao, N., & Wang, Z. (2026). From reflection to action: A student-led framework for responsible management education through community-engaged business projects in Southeast Asia. The International Journal of Management Education, 24(2), 101371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2026.101371
Zhao, S., Guan, Y., Zhou, H., & Hu, F. (2024). Making digital technology innovation happen: The role of the CEO’s information technology backgrounds. Economic Modelling, 140, 106866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2024.106866
Copyright (c) 2026 Yudo Handoko, Martinis Yamin, Minnah El Widdah, Nurul Huda Huda
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
a