The new identity of Indonesian Islamic boarding schools in the "new normal": the education leadership response to COVID-19

Yusuf Hanafi; Ahmad Taufiq; Muhammad Saefi; M Alifudin Ikhsan; Tsania Nur Diyana; Titis Thoriquttyas; Faris Khoirul Anam

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06549

The new identity of Indonesian Islamic boarding schools in the "new normal": the education leadership response to COVID-19

Heliyon. 2021 Mar 24;7(3):e06549. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06549. eCollection 2021 Mar.

Authors

Yusuf Hanafi¹, Ahmad Taufiq², Muhammad Saefi³, M Alifudin Ikhsan⁴, Tsania Nur Diyana², Titis Thoriquttyas¹, Faris Khoirul Anam¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Arabic, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jl. Semarang 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia.
² Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jl. Semarang 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia.
³ Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jl. Semarang 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia.
⁴ Department of Law and Civics, Faculty of Social Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jl. Semarang 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the leadership practices of Indonesian Islamic boarding school (pesantren) leaders, school principals, and teachers in responding to the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure the continuation of boarding school education in the "new normal" period. Generated using a moderated focus group discussion with principals and teachers, the findings suggest that principals' and teachers' leadership practices are acceptable in the policy, social support, and financial dimensions but still lack structural and teaching aspects about conducting blended learning. Based on this study's findings, pesantren leaders (kyai) and school principals should pay attention to training programs for implementing blended learning for teachers. The government is encouraged to assist in providing technical facilities pesantren can implement blended learning more effectively.

Keywords: COVID-19; Education leadership; New identity; New normal; Pesantren.