In May 2026, the 10th International Conference on Education, Islamic Studies, and Social Sciences Research (ICEISR 2026) was grandly held in Hat Yai, Thailand. Arumugam Raman, a professor at the School of Education at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and the Editor-in-Chief of the international academic journal Innovations in Pedagogy and Technology, was invited to deliver a keynote address titled “Redefining Research Methodology and Pedagogy in the Era of AI.” This presentation was not only a highlight in Professor Raman’s personal academic career but also a concentrated reflection of his profound insights into educational technology, teaching innovation, and research methodologies.

Key Academic Perspectives: From Technology Adoption to AI Empowerment

Centered on the core theme of “Empowering Global Education in the AI Era,” ICEISR 2026 was organized by the Association of Malaysian Researchers and Social Services (AMRASS) and co-organized by the School of Education at Universiti Utara Malaysia and the Faculty of Education at Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, Thailand. The conference brought together educational scholars from multiple countries, featuring keynote speeches, parallel sessions, action research sharing, and curriculum teaching innovation competitions. It covered diverse fields including educational leadership, educational technology, Islamic education, and social sciences. In his keynote, Professor Raman pointed out that AI is fundamentally reshaping educational research paradigms and classroom teaching logic. On one hand, AI tools provide new pathways for research design, data collection, and analysis; on the other hand, human-machine collaborative teaching requires educators to re-examine curriculum design, evaluation systems, and ethical boundaries. Drawing on his profound expertise in educational technology leadership and quantitative research methods, he systematically explored the practical implementation of AI in empirical educational research, providing attendees with a framework that combines theoretical depth with practical guidance.

Professor Raman has long been dedicated to the fields of educational technology, pedagogy, educational research methods, and digital teaching leadership. He is a renowned scholar in Southeast Asia regarding technology acceptance models and the integration of informatization teaching. In recent years, his research focus has gradually shifted from “teachers’ technology adoption behavior” to “the reconstruction of teaching paradigms in the AI era.” He excels at using technology acceptance theories such as UTAUT and TAM, as well as Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), to analyze the intrinsic motivations, barriers, and continuous usage intentions of teachers, pre-service teachers, and graduate students when using Learning Management Systems (e.g., Moodle) and smart teaching devices. These empirical findings have provided a solid basis for digital teacher training and the formulation of informatization policies in educational institutions in Malaysia and various ASEAN countries.

Facing the wave of artificial intelligence, Professor Raman emphasized that “AI literacy” should become a core competency for future teachers and called for attention to the ethical norms and practical pathways of human-machine collaborative teaching. He believes that AI should not be a simple replacement for traditional classrooms but rather a catalyst for enhancing cognition, personalized learning, and educational equity. This philosophy runs through his curriculum teaching and research supervision. He has long offered courses such as Educational Research Methods and Educational Statistics, promoting the standardized application of advanced statistical methods like SEM in education and social sciences, thereby cultivating a large number of master’s and doctoral talents with quantitative research capabilities.

Representative Academic Achievements and Research Contributions

In recent years, Professor Raman has produced a series of high-impact outcomes focusing on the deep integration of digital technology, AI, and education and teaching. Numerous papers have been published in SSCI and international core journals such as the International Journal of Instruction and SAGE Open. He has successively led or participated in multiple national and university-level research fund projects in Malaysia (such as FRGS and RAGS), focusing on topics like teacher technology leadership, the usage mechanisms of online learning platforms, and the driving factors of classroom digital transformation. He continuously delivers practical solutions tailored to local educational scenarios, aiding the sustainable development of digital education in the ASEAN region. Additionally, he serves on the editorial boards of multiple international educational journals, actively building transnational academic networks and promoting collaborative comparative research among educational researchers in ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Editorial Philosophy and Mission of the Founded Journal

As the Editor-in-Chief of Innovations in Pedagogy and Technology, Professor Raman has built the journal into a bridge connecting theory and practice. He pointed out that in the current international open-access publishing environment, many journals favor theoretical research from universities and large-scale empirical studies, making it difficult for practical achievements from the front lines of teaching to be showcased. Topics often concentrate on higher education, with limited attention to diverse educational scenarios, and research perspectives are mostly rooted in Western contexts. To this end, this journal strives to form a complementary and symbiotic academic ecosystem with existing excellent publications: it values both in-depth theoretical exploration and the teaching reform experiences accumulated at the classroom front lines, promoting academic exchange between university researchers and practical educators. Its research scope covers educational scenarios across all stages, paying equal attention to the digital practices in basic education, vocational education, special education, and lifelong learning. It embraces localized educational explorations worldwide, with a particular emphasis on pedagogical reform practices and cross-cultural educational issues in the Asia-Pacific region.

Regarding the scope of submissions, the journal targets the intersection of education and educational technology, accepting original research papers, reviews, teaching case studies, and viewpoint commentaries. Topics cover innovative teaching models, the application of AI and digital tools, educational evaluation and teacher development, diverse educational innovation practices, educational policy, and cross-cultural comparisons. This editorial philosophy not only echoes the direction of the Malaysian MADANI education vision, which values both innovation and humanistic values, but also provides a valuable window for showcasing educational innovation research in diverse global contexts.

From his keynote speech at ICEISR 2026 to the editorial practice of Innovations in Pedagogy and Technology, Professor Arumugam Raman has always stood at the forefront of educational technology transformation. He decodes the mechanisms of technology adoption with rigorous quantitative methods, promotes regional educational cooperation with a broad international perspective, and empowers the practical wisdom of frontline educators through the platform of his journal. In an era where AI is reshaping education, Professor Raman’s academic exploration and advocacy of ideas will undoubtedly inject lasting momentum into building an inclusive and sustainable digital education ecosystem.