Navigating Tradition and Standardization: A Case Study of Majlis Masyayikh’s Quality Assurance Framework in Traditional Pesantren

Abstract

This study is motivated by the increasing demands for educational quality standardization, which have significant implications for traditional Islamic boarding schools (pesantren), particularly in the implementation of the quality assurance framework established by the Majlis Masyayikh. The study aims to analyze institutional preparedness, forms of cultural and structural responses, and the initial impact of implementing the quality framework on governance and instructional practices in traditional pesantren. This research employs a qualitative approach with a case study design, utilizing in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. Data were analyzed using an interactive model consisting of data condensation, data display, and verification. The findings indicate that pesantren undertake gradual adaptation through the legitimization of kiai leadership, the establishment of quality assurance teams, administrative restructuring, and the integration of formal evaluation instruments without altering the substantive curriculum based on classical Islamic texts. The responses are adaptive-integrative, combining bureaucratic rationality with the collective ethics of pesantren. This study contributes to strengthening a conceptual model of institutional hybridity in Islamic education and offers practical implications for dialogical and contextual quality policy formulation.