MODEL APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY (AI) BERBASIS KEARIFAN LOKAL DALAM PENINGKATAN MUTU BERKELANJUTAN : STUDI ETNOGRAFI DI PESANTREN SALAF
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Abstract
This study aims to analyze the application of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) based on the local wisdom of traditional Islamic boarding schools (pesantren salaf) as a strategy to improve the quality of sustainable education. The study uses a qualitative approach with an ethnographic design conducted at Pondok Pesantren Salafiyah Asy-Syafi’iyyah Darul Qur’an. The ethnographic approach is used to capture in depth the daily practices, cultural values, and the underlying meaning in the formation and maintenance of educational quality in the life of the pesantren. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document studies involving key informants, including the guiding clerics (kiai), pesantren administrators, senior religious teachers (guru ngaji), and senior students (santri). Data analysis was carried out interactively through the processes of data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions, while data validity was ensured through source and technique triangulation, extended researcher participation in the field, as well as member checking. The study results show that the quality of education in traditional Islamic boarding schools (pesantren salaf) is not understood as adherence to formal standards, but rather as a form of collective reflective awareness rooted in the tradition of kitab discussions, halaqah, the exemplary leadership of kiais, the value of sincerity, and khidmah. Appreciative Inquiry does not appear as a formal managerial model, but transforms into a covert cultural practice that integrates into the social structure of the pesantren, thus allowing quality improvement to occur contextually, evolutionarily, and sustainably without provoking cultural resistance. This study contributes to the development of Islamic education quality management discourse by offering a quality improvement model that is sensitive to local culture and aligns with the identity of traditional pesantren.
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References
Aguas, P. P. (2022). Fusing approaches in educational research: Data collection and data analysis in phenomenological research. The Qualitative Report, 27(1), 1–20.
Bianchini, S., Müller, M., & Pelletier, P. (2022). Artificial intelligence in science: An emerging general method of invention. Research Policy, 51(10), 104604.
Brem, A., Giones, F., & Werle, M. (2021). The AI digital revolution in innovation: A conceptual framework of artificial intelligence technologies for the management of innovation. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 70(2), 770–776.
Chand, S. P. (2025). Methods of data collection in qualitative research: Interviews, focus groups, observations, and document analysis. Advances in Educational Research and Evaluation, 6(1), 303–317.
Dal Corso, L., De Carlo, A., Carluccio, F., Piccirelli, A., Scarcella, M., Ghersetti, E., & Falco, A. (2021). “ Make your organization more positive!”: The power of Appreciative Inquiry. TPM: Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 28(1).
Deterding, N. M., & Waters, M. C. (2021). Flexible coding of in-depth interviews: A twenty-first-century approach. Sociological Methods & Research, 50(2), 708–739.
Fang, Y. (2022). Curriculum deliberation and expansive learning through lesson study–teaching inference skills through an Aesop’s fable. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 42(1), 42–57.
Fileborn, B., Wood, M., & Loughnan, C. (2022). Peer reviews of teaching as appreciative inquiry: learning from “the best” of our colleagues. Higher Education, 83(1), 103–117.
Fundin, A., Lilja, J., Lagrosen, Y., & Bergquist, B. (2025). Quality 2030: quality management for the future. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 36(3–4), 264–280.
Grifenhagen, J. F., & Barnes, E. M. (2022). Reimagining discourse in the classroom. The Reading Teacher, 75(6), 739–748.
Griggs, D. M., & Crain-Dorough, M. (2021). Appreciative inquiry’s potential in program evaluation and research. Qualitative Research Journal, 21(4), 375–393.
Hadley, E. B., Barnes, E. M., & Hwang, H. (2023). Purposes, places, and participants: A systematic review of teacher language practices and child oral language outcomes in early childhood classrooms. Early Education and Development, 34(4), 862–884.
Heinisuo, E., Kuoppakangas, P., & Stenvall, J. (2025). Navigating AI Implementation in Local Government: Addressing Dilemmas by Fostering Mutuality and Meaningfulness. Information Systems Frontiers, 1–22.
Jones-Hooker, C., & Tyndall, D. E. (2023). Application of case study research and ethnography methods: Lessons learned. Applied Nursing Research, 73, 151713.
Jones, J., & Masika, R. (2021). Appreciative inquiry as a developmental research approach for higher education pedagogy: Space for the shadow. Higher Education Research & Development, 40(2), 279–292.
Kawakip, A. N., & Sulanam, S. (2023). The Practice of shared values and Islamicc educational identity: Evidence from a Pesantren in East Java, Indonesia. Journal of Indonesian Islam, 17(1), 27–53.
Kwon, C., & Kwon, K. (2024). A conceptual framework for practicing inclusive dialogic organization development in times of uncertainty and complexity. European Journal of Training and Development, 48(5/6), 592–608.
Mainwaring, L., & Aujla, I. (2023). Qualitative Methodologies. Research Methods in the Dance Sciences, 180–196.
Mau, F. A. (2024). Integrating character education in Al-Syifa Islamic boarding schools: A case study approach. Edu Spectrum: Journal of Multidimensional Education, 1(1), 1–14.
Nurtawab, E. (2025). Indonesia’s Pesantren Law of 2019: new developments in the bureaucratisation of Islamic education. Religion, State & Society, 53(3), 236–252.
Occhipinti, C., Carnevale, A., Briguglio, L., Iannone, A., & Bisconti, P. (2023). SAT: a methodology to assess the social acceptance of innovative AI-based technologies. Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, 21(1), 94–111.
Risku, H., Hirvonen, M., Rogl, R., & Milošević, J. (2022). Ethnographic research. In The Routledge handbook of translation and methodology (pp. 324–339). Routledge.
Shofwani, W., Arifudin, I., Gloria, R. Y., & Wiradinata, D. R. (2025). Transforming educational management in Islamic boarding schools: A historical and digital perspective. JP (Jurnal Pendidikan): Teori Dan Praktik, 10(2), 174–187.
Situmorang, B. (2022). Development of Traditional Management Model of Traditional Islamic Boarding School Education Based on Total Quality Management in Islamic Education (Tqm-Ie) in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(5), 7355–7377.
Sjølie, E., Espenes, T. C., & Buø, R. (2022). Social interaction and agency in self-organizing student teams during their transition from face-to-face to online learning. Computers & Education, 189, 104580.
Taherdoost, H. (2021). Data collection methods and tools for research; a step-by-step guide to choose data collection technique for academic and business research projects. International Journal of Academic Research in Management (IJARM), 10(1), 10–38.
Trinh, M. P., van Esch, C., Martinez, H. A., & Messer, T. (2021). Appreciating large classes: Using appreciative inquiry to foster a hospitable learning space for experiential learning. Journal of Management Education, 45(5), 786–819.
Verkuyten, M., Adelman, L., & Yogeeswaran, K. (2022). Tolerance as forbearance: Overcoming intuitive versus deliberative objections to cultural, religious, and ideological differences. Psychological Review, 129(2), 368.
Webler, T., & Tuler, S. (2021). Four decades of public participation in risk decision making. Risk Analysis, 41(3), 503–518.
Whang, S. E., Roh, Y., Song, H., & Lee, J.-G. (2023). Data collection and quality challenges in deep learning: A data-centric ai perspective. The VLDB Journal, 32(4), 791–813.
Zhu, J., & Wang, S. (2022). Internationalization, cultural appreciation and institutional governmentality for quality control in transnational higher education cooperation: An empirical assessment. Plos One, 17(9), e0274989.
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study aims to analyze the application of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) based on the local wisdom of traditional Islamic boarding schools (pesantren salaf) as a strategy to improve the quality of sustainable education. The study uses a qualitative approach with an ethnographic design conducted at Pondok Pesantren Salafiyah Asy-Syafi’iyyah Darul Qur’an. The ethnographic approach is used to capture in depth the daily practices, cultural values, and the underlying meaning in the formation and maintenance of educational quality in the life of the pesantren. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document studies involving key informants, including the guiding clerics (kiai), pesantren administrators, senior religious teachers (guru ngaji), and senior students (santri). Data analysis was carried out interactively through the processes of data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions, while data validity was ensured through source and technique triangulation, extended researcher participation in the field, as well as member checking. The study results show that the quality of education in traditional Islamic boarding schools (pesantren salaf) is not understood as adherence to formal standards, but rather as a form of collective reflective awareness rooted in the tradition of kitab discussions, halaqah, the exemplary leadership of kiais, the value of sincerity, and khidmah. Appreciative Inquiry does not appear as a formal managerial model, but transforms into a covert cultural practice that integrates into the social structure of the pesantren, thus allowing quality improvement to occur contextually, evolutionarily, and sustainably without provoking cultural resistance. This study contributes to the development of Islamic education quality management discourse by offering a quality improvement model that is sensitive to local culture and aligns with the identity of traditional pesantren.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Aguas, P. P. (2022). Fusing approaches in educational research: Data collection and data analysis in phenomenological research. The Qualitative Report, 27(1), 1–20.
Bianchini, S., Müller, M., & Pelletier, P. (2022). Artificial intelligence in science: An emerging general method of invention. Research Policy, 51(10), 104604.
Brem, A., Giones, F., & Werle, M. (2021). The AI digital revolution in innovation: A conceptual framework of artificial intelligence technologies for the management of innovation. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 70(2), 770–776.
Chand, S. P. (2025). Methods of data collection in qualitative research: Interviews, focus groups, observations, and document analysis. Advances in Educational Research and Evaluation, 6(1), 303–317.
Dal Corso, L., De Carlo, A., Carluccio, F., Piccirelli, A., Scarcella, M., Ghersetti, E., & Falco, A. (2021). “ Make your organization more positive!”: The power of Appreciative Inquiry. TPM: Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 28(1).
Deterding, N. M., & Waters, M. C. (2021). Flexible coding of in-depth interviews: A twenty-first-century approach. Sociological Methods & Research, 50(2), 708–739.
Fang, Y. (2022). Curriculum deliberation and expansive learning through lesson study–teaching inference skills through an Aesop’s fable. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 42(1), 42–57.
Fileborn, B., Wood, M., & Loughnan, C. (2022). Peer reviews of teaching as appreciative inquiry: learning from “the best” of our colleagues. Higher Education, 83(1), 103–117.
Fundin, A., Lilja, J., Lagrosen, Y., & Bergquist, B. (2025). Quality 2030: quality management for the future. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 36(3–4), 264–280.
Grifenhagen, J. F., & Barnes, E. M. (2022). Reimagining discourse in the classroom. The Reading Teacher, 75(6), 739–748.
Griggs, D. M., & Crain-Dorough, M. (2021). Appreciative inquiry’s potential in program evaluation and research. Qualitative Research Journal, 21(4), 375–393.
Hadley, E. B., Barnes, E. M., & Hwang, H. (2023). Purposes, places, and participants: A systematic review of teacher language practices and child oral language outcomes in early childhood classrooms. Early Education and Development, 34(4), 862–884.
Heinisuo, E., Kuoppakangas, P., & Stenvall, J. (2025). Navigating AI Implementation in Local Government: Addressing Dilemmas by Fostering Mutuality and Meaningfulness. Information Systems Frontiers, 1–22.
Jones-Hooker, C., & Tyndall, D. E. (2023). Application of case study research and ethnography methods: Lessons learned. Applied Nursing Research, 73, 151713.
Jones, J., & Masika, R. (2021). Appreciative inquiry as a developmental research approach for higher education pedagogy: Space for the shadow. Higher Education Research & Development, 40(2), 279–292.
Kawakip, A. N., & Sulanam, S. (2023). The Practice of shared values and Islamicc educational identity: Evidence from a Pesantren in East Java, Indonesia. Journal of Indonesian Islam, 17(1), 27–53.
Kwon, C., & Kwon, K. (2024). A conceptual framework for practicing inclusive dialogic organization development in times of uncertainty and complexity. European Journal of Training and Development, 48(5/6), 592–608.
Mainwaring, L., & Aujla, I. (2023). Qualitative Methodologies. Research Methods in the Dance Sciences, 180–196.
Mau, F. A. (2024). Integrating character education in Al-Syifa Islamic boarding schools: A case study approach. Edu Spectrum: Journal of Multidimensional Education, 1(1), 1–14.
Nurtawab, E. (2025). Indonesia’s Pesantren Law of 2019: new developments in the bureaucratisation of Islamic education. Religion, State & Society, 53(3), 236–252.
Occhipinti, C., Carnevale, A., Briguglio, L., Iannone, A., & Bisconti, P. (2023). SAT: a methodology to assess the social acceptance of innovative AI-based technologies. Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, 21(1), 94–111.
Risku, H., Hirvonen, M., Rogl, R., & Milošević, J. (2022). Ethnographic research. In The Routledge handbook of translation and methodology (pp. 324–339). Routledge.
Shofwani, W., Arifudin, I., Gloria, R. Y., & Wiradinata, D. R. (2025). Transforming educational management in Islamic boarding schools: A historical and digital perspective. JP (Jurnal Pendidikan): Teori Dan Praktik, 10(2), 174–187.
Situmorang, B. (2022). Development of Traditional Management Model of Traditional Islamic Boarding School Education Based on Total Quality Management in Islamic Education (Tqm-Ie) in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(5), 7355–7377.
Sjølie, E., Espenes, T. C., & Buø, R. (2022). Social interaction and agency in self-organizing student teams during their transition from face-to-face to online learning. Computers & Education, 189, 104580.
Taherdoost, H. (2021). Data collection methods and tools for research; a step-by-step guide to choose data collection technique for academic and business research projects. International Journal of Academic Research in Management (IJARM), 10(1), 10–38.
Trinh, M. P., van Esch, C., Martinez, H. A., & Messer, T. (2021). Appreciating large classes: Using appreciative inquiry to foster a hospitable learning space for experiential learning. Journal of Management Education, 45(5), 786–819.
Verkuyten, M., Adelman, L., & Yogeeswaran, K. (2022). Tolerance as forbearance: Overcoming intuitive versus deliberative objections to cultural, religious, and ideological differences. Psychological Review, 129(2), 368.
Webler, T., & Tuler, S. (2021). Four decades of public participation in risk decision making. Risk Analysis, 41(3), 503–518.
Whang, S. E., Roh, Y., Song, H., & Lee, J.-G. (2023). Data collection and quality challenges in deep learning: A data-centric ai perspective. The VLDB Journal, 32(4), 791–813.
Zhu, J., & Wang, S. (2022). Internationalization, cultural appreciation and institutional governmentality for quality control in transnational higher education cooperation: An empirical assessment. Plos One, 17(9), e0274989.