Managing Quality for Muslim Middle-Class Expectations: A Tqm-Informed Study of a Leading Islamic School in Indonesia

Mukhtar Hadi, Tubagus Ali Rachman Puja Kesuma

Abstract


The development of leading Islamic schools in Indonesia cannot be separated from the growth of the large Muslim middle class, particularly in urban areas. The increasing economic capacity of the Muslim middle class, coupled with strong religious awareness, has led to numerous demands and expectations in the field of education. Therefore, in relation to the current trend, this study aims to determine the expectations of the Muslim middle class regarding the quality management of leading Islamic schools, as well as how their curricula and services are administered. The expectation of school quality is realized through Total Quality Management (TQM), a management system that involves all human resources within the school environment to enhance both the quality of education and the outcome of graduates. The research was conducted in the Islamic Junior High School (SMP) of Muhammadiyah Ahmad Dahlan, a leading Islamic school in Metro City that implements four effective, internationally standardized curricula. This research employed a qualitative approach with a narrative inquiry method. Data were collected using interviews, observation, and documentation. The primary data sources included the principal, vice-principal, teachers, and students. Secondary data sources included guardians or parents of students, as well as educational stakeholders. The collected data were then analyzed using an inductive approach. Based on the research process and data analysis, the findings of this study indicate that: (1) The Muslim middle class has high expectations for Islamic educational institutions in integrated quality management, particularly in improving religious learning, providing high and competitive academic quality, and developing students’ Islamic character and morals. (2) Quality educational institutions also require up-to-date facilities and infrastructure, competent and professional teachers, a comfortable school environment, and stakeholder involvement. (3) In pursuit of its objectives, the school implements integrated quality management through the application of an internationally standardized curriculum based on Islamic values, sustainable human resource management, a transparent and accountable financial system, and the provision of representative learning facilities and infrastructure.

Keywords


Muslim Middle Class, Total Quality Management, Parental Choice, Leading Islamic School.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abălașei, B., Iacob, R., & Puni, R. (2017). The impact of sport education on fundamental values. Timisoara Physical Education and Rehabilitation Journal, 10(19), 52–57. https://doi.org/10.1515/tperj-2017-0016

Abunab, H. Y., Dator, W. L. T., Salvador, J. T., & Lacanaria, M. G. C. (2017). Solitude, religious and cultural uniqueness in a foreign environment: Adjustments as an Arab student. Journal of Religion and Health, 56(5), 1701–1718. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0425-x

Aliwan, A. M., Hakim, A., Ratnawati, S., Latifah, K., & Hidayatulloh, A. (2025). The role of urban landscape in the dynamics of Islamic education in the archipelago: A theoretical and historical study. At Turots: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 7(1), 124–135. https://doi.org/10.51468/jpi.v7i1.840

Amzat, I. H. (Ed.). (2022). Supporting modern teaching in Islamic schools: Pedagogical best practice for teachers. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003193432

Anshori, I., & Sahara, E. E. (2020). Internationalization of Islamic education institutional characters through the English acculturation strategy. Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 8(5), 140–157. https://mgesjournals.com/hssr/article/view/hssr.2020.8514

Asadullah, M. N. (2016). The effect of Islamic secondary school attendance on academic achievement. The Singapore Economic Review, 61(04), 1550052. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0217590815500526

Asman, A., Muliani, M., & Amin, A. (2025). Integration of Islamic values and science in integrated Islamic boarding school-based Islamic schools. Edusoshum: Journal of Islamic Education and Social Humanities, 5(3), 313–324. https://doi.org/10.52366/edusoshum.v5i3.149

Assegaf, A. R., Zainiyah, H. S., & Fahmi, M. (2022). Curriculum innovation for the internationalization of Islamic education study programs at higher education institutions in Surabaya, Indonesia. Millah: Journal of Religious Studies, 21(3), 671–706. https://doi.org/10.20885/millah.vol21.iss3.art3

Ayuningsih, W., Syafaruddin, S., & Amiruddin, M. (2020). Implementation of Islamic education curriculum development in Al-Ulum Islamic School Medan. Budapest International Research and Critics in Linguistics and Education (BirLE) Journal, 3(2), 1033–1044. https://doi.org/10.33258/birle.v3i2.1031

Azra, A. (2015). Genealogy of Indonesian Islamic education: Roles in the modernization of Muslim society. Heritage of Nusantara: International Journal of Religious Literature and Heritage, 4(1), 85–114. https://doi.org/10.31291/hn.v4i1.63

Berglund, J. (2015). Publicly funded Islamic education in Europe and the United States. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-26799

Bornstein, M. H. (2015). Children’s parents. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science (1st ed., pp. 1–78). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118963418.childpsy403

Candela, A. (2019). Exploring the function of member checking. The Qualitative Report, 24(3), 619–628. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3726

Carey, P. B. R., & Tirtosudarmo, R. (2024). Indonesia 2023–2024: Jokowi’s endgame and the politics of dynasty. Asia Maior, XXXV, 143–190. https://www.asiamaior.org/the-journal/19-asia-maior-vol-xxxv-2024/indonesia-2023-24-jokowis-endgame-and-the-politics-of-dynasty.html

Chiang, T.-H., Thurston, A., & Lin, H.-C. (2020). How the excellent working-class student becomes a cultural capital constructor: Reflections on the theories of cultural reproduction. International Journal of Educational Research, 103, 101625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101625

Culajara, C. J., Culajara, J. P. M., Portos, O., & Villapando, M. K. (2022). Digitalization of modules and learning tasks for flexible, convenient, and safe learning experience of students. International Journal of Social Learning (IJSL), 2(3), 350–365. https://doi.org/10.47134/ijsl.v2i3.172

Dimaculangan, K. A., Abas, H. H., & Quinto, C. S. (2022). Narrative study of teaching strategies and challenges encountered by teachers in synchronous online classes. International Journal of Social Learning (IJSL), 2(2), 201–216. https://doi.org/10.47134/ijsl.v2i2.113

Duffett, R., & Cromhout, D. (2022). The influence of a student-led advertising agency service-learning project on SMME client satisfaction: An expectancy–disconfirmation paradigm. Education Sciences, 12(12), 847. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12120847

Ensslin, L., Gonçalves, A., Ensslin, S. R., Dutra, A., & Longaray, A. A. (2022). Constructivist multi-criteria model to support the management of occupational accident risks in the civil construction industry. Plos One, 17(6), e0270529. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270529

Entrialgo, M., Fernández, E., & Vázquez, C. J. (2000). Characteristics of managers as determinants of entrepreneurial orientation: Some Spanish evidence. Enterprise and Innovation Management Studies, 1(2), 187–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/14632440050119596

Fazal, T. (2023). The old and the new Muslim middle class: Classificatory practices and social mobility. In Marginalities and Mobilities among India’s Muslims. Routledge India. https://ijsl.pubmedia.id/index.php/ijsl/article/view/113

Hefner, R. W. (2010). Introduction: The culture, politics, and future of Muslim education. In R. W. Hefner & M. Q. Zaman (Eds.), Schooling Islam (pp. 1–39). Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400837458.1

Hendawi, M., Murshidi, G. A., Asrori, A., Hadi, M. F., Huda, M., & Lovat, T. (2024). The development of Islamic education curriculum from the Quranic perspective. Ar-Fachruddin: Journal of Islamic Education, 1(2), 93–123. https://doi.org/10.7401/hms52091

Higgins, P. J., & Misawa, M. (2021). Was it a dream or nightmare? A narrative exploration of adult refugee learners’ experiences in a community college. In Adult Education Research Conference. Canada. https://newprairiepress.org/aerc/2021/papers/4/

Hoque, A. K. M. F., Hossain, M. S., & Zaman, M. A. (2017). Total quality management in educational institutions. In C. M. Tan & T. N. Goh (Eds.), Theory and practice of quality and reliability engineering in Asia industry (pp. 115–123). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3290-5_11

Jones, M. (2020). Children as treasures: Childhood and the middle class in early twentieth-century Japan. BRILL.

Jones-Morales, J., & Konrad, A. M. (2018). Attaining elite leadership: Career development and childhood socioeconomic status. Career Development International, 23(3), 246–260. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-03-2017-0047

Karatsareas, P. (2022). Semi-structured interviews. In R. Kircher & L. Zipp (Eds.), Research methods in language attitudes (pp. 99–113). Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/languages-linguistics/research-methods-linguistics/research-methods-language-attitudes?format=PB

Kultsum, U., Parinduri, M. A., & Karim, A. (2022). Comparative studies between public and private Islamic schools in the era of globalization. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 11(1), 421. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v11i1.22182

Lambey, L., Jeini Usoh, E., Lambey, R., & Burgess, J. (2024). Challenges and opportunities to internationalize the Indonesian higher education sector. In M. Mohiuddin et al. (Eds.), Business, management and economics (Vol. 15). IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110658

Liu, X. (2018). Interviewing elites: Methodological issues confronting a novice. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17(1), 1609406918770323. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406918770323

Lu, Y., Scandurra, R., & Bonal, X. (2022). An integral model of cultural reproduction: The case of China. Current Sociology, 70(6), 897–920. https://doi.org/10.1177/00113921211028626

Malik, A. (2024). New variants of ultra-conservative Islamic schools in Indonesia: A study on Islamic school endeavor with Islamic group movement. Power and Education, 16(1), 14–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/17577438231163042

Muheramtohadi, S., & Fataron, Z. A. (2022). The Islamic lifestyle of the Muslim middle economy class and the opportunities for the halal tourism industry in Indonesia. Journal of Digital Marketing and Halal Industry, 4(1), 91–104. https://doi.org/10.21580/jdmhi.2022.4.1.10828

Mulhakim, A., & Sembodo, S. P. (2022). Exploring marketing strategy for Islamic boarding schools in the minority-Muslim area of Jembrana, Bali. JIEMAN: Journal of Islamic Educational Management, 4(2), 145–170. https://jieman.uinkhas.ac.id/index.php/jieman/article/view/148

Nur, A. (2021). The culture reproduction in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. (Pierre-Felix Bourdieu Theory). International Journal of Cultural and Art Studies, 5(1), 10–20. https://doi.org/10.32734/ijcas.v5i1.4866

Nurhuda, A., Fajri, M. A., & Rahman, T. E. S. bin E. A. (2023). The concept of facilities and infrastructure management in schools: A literature review. IJECA (International Journal of Education and Curriculum Application), 6(3), 248–260. https://doi.org/10.31764/ijeca.v6i3.19655

Pribadi, J., Ansori, M. A., Andari, A. A., Sugianto, S., & Rosmawati, R. (2024). Integrated Islamic school education model (1980-1998). Yupa: Historical Studies Journal, 8(1), 180–191. https://doi.org/10.30872/yupa.v8i1.3146

Rumatiga, M. H., Usman, S., Pasolong, H., Kamaluddin, M., & Yusuf, M. (2023). Private madrasah development strategy at Madrasah Aliyah. Tafkir: Interdisciplinary Journal of Islamic Education, 4(2), 289–304. https://doi.org/10.31538/tijie.v4i2.427

Shaban, A., & Sattar, S. (2021). Muslim middle class in India: Size, diversity, and correlates. In Beyond Consumption. Routledge India.

Taj, A. B., Abidin, A. A., Syahroni, A., Srinio, F., & Suyitno. (2024). Toward academic excellence: Integrating quality management strategies in leading madrasas’ development. Munaddhomah: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 5(3), 246–259. https://doi.org/10.31538/munaddhomah.v5i3.1127

Wijaya, M. H., Khoir, A., & Zaini, A. W. (2023). Fostering public trust: The transformative leadership of school principals. Indonesian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 1(1), 51–62. https://doi.org/10.33650/ijess.v1i1.3475

Wilkins, S., Balakrishnan, M. S., & Huisman, J. (2012). Student choice in higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 16(5), 413–433. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315311429002

Xiao, S. (2023). Development of emotional autonomy of adolescents in the context of family relations and academic performance in middle school. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 58–64. https://doi.org/10.24425/ppb.2023.144884

Zevin, J. (2023). Social studies for the twenty-first century: Methods and materials for teaching in middle and secondary schools (5th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003026235




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21043/qijis.v13i1.33383

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.