Orientation: Rewards are integral to keeping employees happy, efficient and engaged in their work. Thus, the engagement of academic staff within higher education institutions has become a top priority for organisational productivity and competitiveness. Research purpose: This study investigated the impact of total rewards on work engagement among the academic staff at a South African higher education institution. Motivation for the study: Engagement of academic staff is vital as higher education institutions are influential in the country’s development. Literature, however, has shown that most studies on total rewards and work engagement focus on sectors such as financial institutions, the mining industry and others. However, few reports have been on total rewards and work engagement in higher education. Research design, approach and method: This study employed a cross-sectional survey design, following a quantitative approach. From a population of 100 academic staff, 74 respondents responded to a self-administered questionnaire. Main findings: The results show a positive relationship between two dimensions of total rewards (work-home integration and quality work environment) and work engagement. However, no relationship was found between base pay, benefits, performance and career management, and work engagement. From the five dimensions of total rewards, a quality work environment was the only significant predictor of work engagement. Contribution: The study provides theoretical contributions through new literature and possible recommendations. The study may guide management in developing a rewards strategy that can promote staff work engagement.

Islamic based low-cost private school facing a suffer from a lack of new students due to the incapability to adapt to current condition. They are already “lost in the competition” with other school. This quality also includes the inability of the low-cost private schools to adapt with technology and change. Another finding is that low-cost private schools struggling in managing the funding and management. Low-cost private high school has become a key support in ensuring the fulfilment 12-year compulsory education stated by Indonesian Education Law. With only 40 percent of the total population able to attend public schools, the government as well as the private sector needs to accommodate affordable private schools to meet the need of high schools in Jakarta. Low-cost private schools become essential in providing the gap between the need of schools from the total population of students and the availability of the public school. The previous study highlighted organizational agility with the mediation of Islamic Work Ethic can be achieved through leadership capability and organizational culture, whilst several studies also suggest that Islamic Work Ethics or Istiqamah have no impact in promoting organizational agility. This research conducted in 2022–2023 encompassed 133 low-cost private high school in Jakarta in which all of them are Islamic low-cost private high school. The finding of this study is that school principal leadership capabilities and school culture are positively affect school agility with Istiqamah as mediated variable.

"Physics Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education (2011 Edition)" requires that physics teaching in junior high schools should focus on the development of students' scientific abilities, including the development of scientific knowledge and skills, scientific methods and attitudes. In view of the problems existing in middle school physics teaching such as being out of touch with real life, lack of interest, and traditional indoctrination teaching, integrating STEAM education concepts into physics experiment courses can greatly improve the interest of physics teaching and put students first. , teachers as instructors and assistants to improve the existing problems in the current physics teaching. Therefore, how to reasonably apply the STEAM education concept to the physical experiment course is a question worth exploring. I take "the design and production of floating sinks" as an example. The general idea is to build the main line of classroom teaching: the smoothness of knowledge logic, the progress of students' cognitive laws, the smooth design of teaching activities, and how to learn buoyancy and explore objects. To better understand the floating and sinking of objects when floating and sinking, interspersed with the educational concept of STEAM.