Digital Transformation of Pesantren Curriculum Management: Negotiation of Modern Academic Culture and Pesantren Subculture Values

Abstract

Background: Digital transformation in pesantren curriculum management requires negotiation between modern academic accountability and the values of traditional Islamic scholarship. Objective: This study investigates digital curriculum governance, cultural-pedagogical tensions, and hybrid managerial strategies in salafiyah pesantren.
Method: A qualitative exploratory case study examined three pesantren integrating formal schooling in Kuningan Regency, West Java. Data were collected through interviews with 18 informants, observation, and institutional document analysis, and interpreted through thematic analysis, communicative action theory, and the sociology of knowledge.
Results: Digital platforms supported formal curriculum administration, attendance, learning management, and assessment, whereas turats instruction retained oral, face-to-face practices. Tensions concerned the sacredness of talaqqi, the transmission of sanad, expectations of barakah, and the limitations of standardized outcome metrics. Pesantren leaders negotiated these tensions by restricting devices during traditional instruction while permitting controlled digital access in formal educational settings. The resulting hybrid governance differentiated administrative efficiency from religious-pedagogical authority.
Conclusion: Digital transformation need not displace pesantren traditions when technological adoption is governed through culturally responsive boundaries, institutional deliberation, and the continuing authority of kyai and asatidz. These findings inform context-sensitive curriculum governance but remain limited to three cases within one Indonesian district, warranting interpretation and further comparative investigation across other settings.