https://ejournal.stitpn.ac.id/index.php/pensa <p style="text-align: justify;"><img style="float: left; width: 100px; height: 90px; margin-right: 10px;" src="http://ejournal.stitpn.ac.id/files/bar_pensa.png" alt="Smiley face"><strong>Pensa:&nbsp; Jurnal Pendidikan dan Ilmu Sosial&nbsp;</strong>(<em><strong>ISSN</strong></em> : <strong><em><a title="ISSN ONLINE" href="http://u.lipi.go.id/1566907934" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2686-2824</a></em></strong>)&nbsp;has been published in&nbsp;<strong>Vol. 8 No. 1, April 2026</strong>. Our hope with the publication of this journal can help readers to provide insight, ideas, references, in the development educational innovations.&nbsp;Pensa journal has been indexed by&nbsp;<a href="https://search.crossref.org/?q=2540-9697&amp;from_ui=yes">Crossref</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://moraref.kemenag.go.id/archives/journal/98077985952902515">Moraref</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=id&amp;user=4UaFhIsAAAAJ">Google Scholar</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.base-search.net/Search/Results?type=all&amp;lookfor=2686-2824&amp;ling=1&amp;oaboost=1&amp;name=&amp;thes=&amp;refid=dcresen&amp;newsearch=1">Base.</a></p> LP2M STIT Palapa Nusantara en-US PENSA 2686-2824 <p style="text-align: justify;">Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution License</a> that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.</p> https://ejournal.stitpn.ac.id/index.php/pensa/article/view/6569 <p>Islamic Religious Education (PAI) plays an important role in developing students’ religious understanding, but the implementation of learning strategies that connect religious content with students’ experiences and everyday lives still requires strengthening. This study aimed to analyze PAI learning strategies for improving students’ religious understanding at MA NW Penendem and to identify the factors supporting and hindering their implementation. This study employed a qualitative approach with a descriptive design. The research participants consisted of PAI teachers and students at MA NW Penendem who were selected purposively. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation and then analyzed through data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. Data validity was examined using source and technique triangulation. The findings showed that PAI learning was implemented through interactive lectures, discussions, question-and-answer sessions, contextual examples, and the habituation of religious values. The implementation of these diverse strategies created a more active learning process and provided students with opportunities to understand religious content contextually. Thus, varied, interactive, and contextual PAI learning strategies contribute to improving students’ religious understanding at MA NW Penendem and can serve as a practical approach to developing religious education that is relevant to everyday life.</p> Saprudin Efendi ##submission.copyrightStatement## 2026-08-23 2026-08-23 8 2 35 57 10.36088/pensa.v8i2.6569