Civic Education (PPKn) continues to face challenges, including low student participation, teacher-centered instruction, and limited connections between learning materials and students’ real-life experiences. These conditions were also identified among seventh-grade students of SMP Islam Al-Fattahiyyah, who are also Islamic boarding school students (santri). This study aimed to analyze the optimization of teachers’ roles in interactive PPKn learning through the Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) approach. A descriptive qualitative method was employed using observation, interviews, and documentation for data collection. Data were analyzed through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings revealed that teachers optimized their roles as facilitators, motivators, mentors, and mediators by connecting PPKn materials with students’ real-life experiences in both school and boarding school settings. The implementation of CTL enhanced student participation in discussions, question-and-answer sessions, and group activities, although challenges remained in the form of low reading interest and limited learning motivation among some students. The study concludes that the CTL approach effectively promotes more interactive, contextual, and meaningful PPKn learning. These findings imply the importance of developing innovative and student-centered instructional strategies to improve learning quality.
Copyrights © 2026