Structural Model of Instructional Media Course Effectiveness and Emotional Intelligence on the Teaching Readiness of Islamic Religious Education Students: The Mediating Role of Instructional Media Design Competence

Abstract

In the digital era, prospective Islamic Religious Education (PAI) teachers are expected to integrate religious knowledge with the ability to design appropriate technology-supported instruction. Preliminary observations at Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang indicated a gap between students’ coursework experiences and their perceived readiness to develop interactive instructional media. This study examined the structural relationships among Learning Media Course Effectiveness, Emotional Intelligence, Media Design Competence, and Teaching Readiness, positioning Media Design Competence as a proposed mediating variable. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was employed, with structured questionnaire data collected from 58 third-semester PAI students and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Course Effectiveness (β = 0.295) and Emotional Intelligence (β = 0.411) were positively and significantly associated with Media Design Competence, jointly explaining 35.0% of its variance. Emotional Intelligence exhibited a numerically larger path coefficient, although the statistical significance of the difference between the coefficients was not established. Media Design Competence was strongly associated with Teaching Readiness (β = 0.728; f² = 1.126), with the model explaining 53.0% of the variance in readiness. These findings highlight the relevance of academic experiences and emotional abilities to media design competence and its association with teaching readiness. However, these findings do not establish full mediation because the corresponding direct paths are not reported, and the cross-sectional design precludes definitive causal conclusions.The study suggests integrating practical media design activities with support for managing learning challenges in PAI teacher education, while further research should test the proposed indirect effects and evaluate the effectiveness of such instructional approaches.