Principal Leadership and Integrated Quality Management in an Indonesian Pesantren-Based Madrasah

Abstract

This qualitative case study examines how the principal and staff of Darul Hikmah, an Islamic school (madrasah) affiliated with an Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in Mojokerto, Indonesia, implement integrated quality management. Data were drawn from interviews, observations, and document review and interpreted through a plan-do-check-act framework and ten quality-management elements. The findings identify an annual planning cycle, weekly Thursday evening reporting meetings, and corrective follow-up. Reported practices include learner-oriented services, deliberative decision-making, teamwork, long-term commitment, continuous improvement, staff development, bounded professional autonomy, shared purpose, and staff participation. Class mentors, responsive administration, facility renewal, teacher-developed learning materials, and robotics and informatics activities illustrate how these elements operated in practice. The evidence documents institutional processes but does not establish gains in achievement, well-being, or equitable access. Participant demographics and outcomes for female students were not reported. The study offers a context-specific account of integrated quality management in residential Islamic education and identifies evidence required for future evaluation of service equity and learner well-being.