Integrating Curriculum Design, Implementation, and Evaluation to Strengthen Santri Literacy in Pesantren Education

Abstract

Although Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) are widely recognized as guardians of classical Islamic scholarship, literacy is often treated as an incidental by-product of kitab kuning recitation rather than a deliberately managed curricular outcome. This study analyzes how curriculum design, implementation, and evaluation operate as an integrated management cycle for strengthening santri literacy at Pondok Pesantren Queen Al-Falah, Ploso, Kediri, East Java. Using a qualitative case study design, the study involved pesantren leaders, senior teachers, curriculum coordinators, and santri selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentation, then analyzed inductively using Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña’s data condensation, display, and conclusion procedures. Credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability were strengthened through triangulation, member checking, and prolonged engagement. The findings indicate that curriculum design integrates religious, formal, and Qur’anic education through three educational pathways, positions literacy as an explicit cultural value, and accommodates diverse santri competence levels. Implementation translates this design into literacy-based pedagogy, co-curricular and extracurricular activities, daily habituation, intensive teacher and senior-student mentoring, and a supportive literacy environment. Evaluation combines teacher assessment, specialized review teams, integrated academic testing, leadership-level curriculum committees, and participatory feedback. The study contributes a context-sensitive model of integrative curriculum management that strengthens literacy while preserving pesantren’s distinctive religious identity