Boarding School Education in Indonesia: A Conceptual Analysis of the Differences between Boarding Schools and Islamic Boarding Schools in the Perspective of Contemporary Islamic Education

Saca Suhendi, Sarbini Sarbini, Rita Nurjanah, A.H. Eviyani Munawaroh, Ihsan Abdurrahman

Abstract


This study investigates the conceptual distinctions between boarding schools and Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) within the framework of contemporary Islamic Religious Education (IRE). The research aims to understand how both systems integrate religious values, academic achievement, and character formation in a residential educational environment. Using a qualitative descriptive method, the study analyzes philosophical foundations, curriculum orientation, and the roles of educators in shaping students’ moral and intellectual growth. The findings reveal that boarding schools emphasize structured management and curriculum integration between general and Islamic education, whereas pesantren focus on the transmission of classical Islamic sciences and character development through traditional mentorship and communal life. Both models share the same mission of producing spiritually grounded, disciplined, and socially responsible individuals. The study concludes that an integrative approach combining the strengths of both systems is essential for developing holistic Islamic education that remains relevant amid globalization, technological change, and social diversity.


Keywords


Islamic Education; Boarding School; Pesantren; Contemporary Islamic Education.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Achruh, & Sukirman. (2024). An Analysis of Indonesian Islamic Higher Education Institutions in the Era of Globalization. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 23(9), 78–102. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.23.9.5

Ali, M. S., & Kawakip, A. N. (2025). Analisis Kebijakan Pendidikan Agama Islam di Pesantren Modern. JIIP-Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Pendidikan, 8, 2329–2335.

Amrizal. (2011). Sekolah versus pesantren sebuah perbandingan menuju format baru mainstream lembaga pendidikan nasional peniada dikotomik. Jurnal Sosial Budaya, 8(01), 114–131.

Ari, M., Dorloh, S., & Abdullah, S. (2024). A Systematic Literature Review of Islamic Boarding School ( Pesantren ) Education in Indonesia ( 2014-2024 ) Islamic boarding schools are Indonesian-based traditional Islamic educational institutions . 1 Islamic boarding schools are among the most ancient. Tribakti, 35, 161–180. Retrieved from https://ejournal.uit-lirboyo.ac.id/index.php/tribakti/article/view/5330/1755

As-Tsauri, M. S., & Erihadiana, M. (2022). Kurikulum Pendidikan Agama Islam di Sekolah Berasrama. Jurnal Penelitian Dan Pengembangan Pendidikan, 6(1), 43–49.

Astuti, R. D. P. (2017). Perubahan Pondok Pesantren Modern di Perkotaan: Studi Kasus Pondok Pesantren Al-AdzkarTangerang Selatan, Banten. MASYARAKAT: Jurnal Sosiologi, 22(2), 5.

Badri, H. A., Hasanah, A., Erihadiana, M., Suhartini, A., & Nurfauji, B. B. (2025). Pembelajaran PAI di Boarding School Dalam Membentuk Karakter Religius. Journal of Comprehensive Science (JCS), 4(8).

Barica, Y., & Chellam, C. (2025). Contextual Pesantren Leadership Dynamics : A Comparative Study on the Adaptation of Innovative Psychological Profiles. 4(1), 1–20.

Darwanto, A., Prahmana, R. C. I., Susanti, A., & Khalil, I. A. (2024). Transformation of boarding school management models in enhancing student accessibility and educational quality. Jurnal Pendidikan Agama Islam, 21(1), 145–164.

Fitriana, S., & Sumardiyani, L. (2024). Penerapan kurikulum pendidikan berasrama untukmeningkatkan karakter mahasiswa pendidikan profesi guru. JPPI (Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Indonesia), 10(4), 1002–1009.

Hanif, M., Mukhroji, Suwito, H., Mubaroq, A. C., & Dharin, A. (2024). Pesantren Resistance to Indonesia’s National Curriculum to Defend Its Curriculum Model. Revista de Gestão - RGSA, 18(7 SE-), e05473. https://doi.org/10.24857/rgsa.v18n7-049

Hasanah, A. (2022). Sejarah pendidikan pesantren: Studi pesantren sebagai pembentuk tradisi Islam Indonesia. Al-Idaroh: Jurnal Studi Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 6(1), 48–64.

Jaenullah, J., Utama, F., & Setiawan, D. (2022). Resilience model of the traditional islamic boarding school education system in shaping the morals of student in the midst of modernizing education. Jurnal Kependidikan, 8(4), 931–942.

Khoiruzzadi, M., & Hakim, M. L. (2020). Sistem Boarding School Dalam Membentuk Kemandirian Siswa Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 1 Kota Pekalongan. Jurnal Pendidikan Agama Islam Al-Thariqah, 5(2), 1–12.

Manaf, A. (2022). Rekonstruksi pendidikan boarding school di Indonesia. Ad-Da’wah, 20(1), 50–60.

Muaddyl Akhyar, Nurfarida Deliani, & Khadijah Khadijah. (2025). The Importance of Religious Education in the Digital Era. International Journal of Islamic Educational Research, 2(1), 15–30. https://doi.org/10.61132/ijier.v2i1.146

Muazza, M., Mukminin, A., Habibi, A., Hidayat, M., & Abidin, A. (2018). Education in Indonesian islamic boarding schools: Voices on curriculum and radicalism, teacher, and facilities. Islamic Quarterly, 62(4), 507–536.

Mukhsin, M., Muslihudin, M., Mutaqin, A. Z., & Nasir, M. (2024). The Implementation of Multicultural Islamic Religious Education in the Families of Primary School-age Children in Putrajawa, Selaawi Garut. Dinamika Ilmu, 24(2), 197–219. https://doi.org/10.21093/di.v24i2.9008

Musaddad, A. (2023). Transformation of Islamic Boarding Schools as Islamic Education Institutions in Indonesia. Journal of Islamic Education Research, 4(1), 73–82. https://doi.org/10.35719/jier.v4i1.319

Najah, Z. (2022). Peran Pemerintah Dalam Pengembangan Kebijakan Pendidikan Pondok Pesantren Di Jawa Timur. Ar-Rosikhun: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 1(2).

Noor, H. (2024). The Dinamics of Islamic Religious Education Curriculum and Religious Science Integration in Islamic Boarding School. Tarbiyah : Jurnal Ilmiah Kependidikan, 13(2), 313–322. https://doi.org/10.18592/tarbiyah.v13i2.14010

Perdana, N. S. (2019). Ketercapaian Sekolah Berasrama dalam Upaya Peningkatan Mutu dan Akses Pendidikan. EDUTECH, 18(2), 228–246.

Perdana, N. S., Suwandi, Zamjani, I., Hendrik, H., & Biantoro, S. (2017). Kajian Pengelolaan Sekolah Berasrama. Jakarta: Pusat Penelitian Kebijakan Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.

Permadi, M. A. M., Sya’ban, W. K., & Hilalludin. (2025). Analisis Pebandingan Sistem Pengajaran Pesantren Tradisional dan Modern di Indonesia. Journal of Islamic Taransformation and Education Management, 2 No.(1), 25–31. Retrieved from https://journal.staimun.ac.id/index.php/time/article/view/118/98

Purwoko, D. (2022). Islamic Boarding School (Pondok Pesantren) , Independent And Community Empowerment. Populis : Jurnal Sosial Dan Humaniora, 7(2), 170–181. https://doi.org/10.47313/pjsh.v7i2.1790

Putri, K. A., Maidarfrida, M., & Trimansyah, T. (2024). Sistem Iplementasi Pembelajaran Berbasis Boarding School Terhadap Peningkatan Kompetensi Siswa di MTs N 1 Kota Bima. JEMARI : Jurnal Edukasi Mahasiswa Sunan Giri, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.47625/jemari.v2i1.638

Saini, M. (2024). Pesantren dalam Era Digital: Antara Tradisi dan Transformasi. Tasamuh: Jurnal Studi Islam, 16(2), 342–356.

Sari, I. P., & Amini, N. R. (2025). Integration of Information Technology in Religious Education in Schools. International Journal of Social Science and Human Research, 08(05), 3229–3236. https://doi.org/10.47191/ijsshr/v8-i5-68

Setiawan, I. (2021). Boarding School Sebagai Solusi Penguatan Karakter Religius Siswa. Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 5(2), 66–85.

Syafe’i, I. (2017). Lembaga Pendidikan Pembentukan Karakter. Al-Tadzkiyyah: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 8(I), 61–82.

Syah, Z., & Iswantir, I. (2023). Asal Usul Dan Perkembangan Pesantren Di Indonesia. Jurnal Penelitian Ilmu Pendidikan Indonesia, 2(1), 61–72. https://doi.org/10.31004/jpion.v2i1.102

Tang, A., Aji, A. P., & Bachtiar, A. (2024). Membentuk Karakter Unggul dengan Sistem Boarding School di Muhammadiyah Boarding School (MBS) Sorong. Journal of Education Research, 5(4), 5711–5721. https://doi.org/10.37985/jer.v5i4.1808

Tolchah, M., & Mu’ammar, M. (2019). Islamic Education In The Globalization Era; Challenges, Opportunities, And Contribution Of Islamic Education In Indonesia. Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 7, 1031–1037. https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2019.74141

Wardi, M., Ismail, I., Supandi, S., & Hodairiyah, H. (2025). Evaluation of the Islamic Education Curriculum in Islamic Boarding Schools: Assessing the Impact on the Quality of Learning and Curriculum Management. Journal Evaluation in Education (JEE), 6(2), 545–555. https://doi.org/10.37251/jee.v6i2.1455

Yumni Febriani Tanjung, Yusnaili Budianti, & Junaidi Arsyad. (2025). Adaptation of Islamic Boarding Schools to the Changing Times: A Comparative Study of Curriculum Modernization. Ta’dib: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 30(1), 155–171. https://doi.org/10.19109/td.v30i1.28772

Zuhdiana, A. A., & Mawartningsih, L. (2017). Penerapan model pembelajaran mind mapping dengan media kartu untuk meningkatkan hasil belajar siswa. Proceeding Biology Education Conference: Biology, Science, Enviromental, and Learning, 14(1), 604–610.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.30596/intiqad.v17i2.27564

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Intiqad Jurnal Agama dan Pendidikan Islam is abstracting & indexing in the following databases:

             

View My Stats

Flag Counter

Editorial Address:

Faculty of Islamic Religion, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara. Jl. Mukhtar Basri No. 3 Medan 20238 Telp. (061) 6622400 ext. 27 dan 28 Fax. (061) 6625474. e-mail: intiqad@umsu.ac.id