<![CDATA[This study is motivated by the launching of the Love-Based Curriculum (Kurikulum Berbasis Cinta/KBC) by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia through Decree of the Directorate General of Islamic Education Number 6077 of 2025, which places affection and empathy as the foundation of learning in madrasah. The success of this curriculum is believed to depend heavily on teachers’ capacity to build empathetic communication with students. This study aims to (1) describe the forms of teachers’ empathetic communication in the learning process at MI Islamiyah Sumurgenuk, and (2) analyze the role of teachers’ empathetic communication in the implementation of the Love-Based Curriculum at MI Islamiyah Sumurgenuk. This study used a qualitative case-study approach. Data were collected through non-participatory observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation involving the headmaster, three homeroom teachers, and six students. Data trustworthiness was examined using Lincoln and Guba’s criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability, with technique, source, and time triangulation as the main procedures. The results show that (1) teachers’ empathetic communication at MI Islamiyah Sumurgenuk is realized both inside and outside the classroom, including friendly greetings and smiles at the beginning of lessons, active listening without interrupting, guiding mistaken students without judgment, warm and affirmative verbal language, empathetic nonverbal communication such as eye contact and open gestures, and teachers’ self-emotion management; and (2) teachers’ empathetic communication plays a central role in the implementation of the Love-Based Curriculum, realized through teachers’ exemplary embodiment of the Panca Cinta (Five Loves) values, their ability to bridge curriculum values with students’ real experiences, and the reinforcement of KBC value internalization through consistent and affectionate interaction.]]>
