Integrating National Vocational Curriculum and Pesantren-Based Character Education: An Integrated Curriculum Model in Islamic Vocational Secondary Schools

Abstract

This study aims to examine how a pesantren-based vocational secondary school integrates the national vocational curriculum with Islamic character education and to formulate a conceptual model of hybrid curriculum development. Employing a qualitative case study approach, the research was conducted at SMK Asy-Syafi’iyyah Kebonagung, Pakisaji, Malang. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, and analyzed thematically to identify patterns of curricular integration and institutional practice. The findings reveal that the school develops a hybrid curriculum model that integrates the National Vocational Curriculum, oriented toward technical competence, with pesantren-based character education encompassing adab, discipline, spirituality, tahfidz, and habituated worship. Rather than operating in parallel, both curricula mutually reinforce one another through school culture, productive learning practices, disciplinary management, and student work ethos. This model is conceptualized as a Pesantren-Infused Vocational Curriculum Model embedded within an Institutionalized Moral Vocational Ecosystem. The ecosystem facilitates moral internalization through daily discipline, religious supervision, and role modeling. The integration manifests structurally, pedagogically, and culturally, resulting in nationally standardized technical competence alongside moral resilience and character-based professional soft skills.