Pedagogical mechanisms of adolescent religious identity formation: a curriculum intervention study

  • Fransina Abineno 
    Sekolah Tinggi Agama Kristen Protestan Negeri Sentani
    Indonesia
  • Bernard Labobar
    Sekolah Tinggi Agama Kristen Protestan Negeri Sentani
    Indonesia

Abstract

This study examined how the Christian Religious Education (CRE) curriculum was implemented by Sunday School teachers and how adolescents, teachers, and church leadership perceived faith development at the GKII Jerusalem Hawai Sentani Congregation. A qualitative descriptive design involved eight informants: 1 pastor, 3 Sunday School teachers, and 4 adolescents aged 14–17 years. Data were collected through observations of teaching practices and adolescent participation, in-depth interviews addressing curriculum implementation, teaching methods, implementation challenges, perceived faith changes, and curriculum-development needs, and analysis of curriculum documents, lesson plans, activity schedules, and relevant church records. Data were analyzed inductively through coding, categorization, theme development, and interpretation. Credibility was strengthened by comparing accounts across the pastor, teachers, and adolescents and examining their convergence with observational and documentary evidence. Faith development was operationalized through cognitive, affective, and behavioral indicators, including understanding of God’s Word, prayer and Bible-reading practices, moral awareness, confidence in religious expression, and participation in church ministry. Participants reported changes in these indicators, while observations and documents contextualized how the curriculum was implemented; these qualitative patterns should not be interpreted as evidence of causal effects. Implementation remained constrained by lecture-dominated teaching, repetitive materials, limited learning media, uneven curriculum distribution, insufficient teacher preparation, and inadequate facilities. The findings indicate that adolescent faith formation within this congregation is perceived through interconnected spiritual understanding, practices, moral application, and participation, while effective curriculum implementation requires contextual pedagogy, teacher development, appropriate resources, parental involvement, and systematic institutional evaluation.

Keywords
  • Christian religious education
  • Sunday school curriculum
  • Adolescent faith development
  • GKII jerusalem hawai sentani
Lisensing Information
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite
Abineno, F., & Labobar, B. (2026). Pedagogical mechanisms of adolescent religious identity formation: a curriculum intervention study. Lentera Negeri, 7(1), 2305–2321. https://doi.org/10.29210/993410
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