Teacher Learning Management at MA Matholi'ul Huda Bugel in Improving the Quality of Graduates in Jepara Regency

Abstract

Indonesia's education sector faces a growing gap between graduate competencies and labor market demands, a challenge particularly pronounced in Islamic senior secondary schools (Madrasah Aliyah) that must simultaneously manage general and religious curricula. MA Matholi'ul Huda Bugel Jepara, as a pesantren-based institution with deep historical roots in Jepara Regency, represents a compelling case for examining how this challenge manifests in daily learning management practice. This study aimed to describe and analyze teacher learning management at MA Matholi'ul Huda Bugel, encompassing planning, instructional implementation, and evaluation, as well as their relationship to graduate quality. A qualitative case study approach was employed, with ten teachers selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation, and documentation studies, then analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña, with credibility ensured through triangulation and member checking. Findings revealed that learning management has been implemented relatively systematically, though with varying quality across subjects; traditional pesantren methods such as sorogan and musyawaroh proved effective in strengthening religious competencies and character formation, academic graduation rates were high, yet only approximately 40% of graduates continued to higher education, and integration of digital technology alongside consistent Merdeka Belajar curriculum implementation remained limited. This study concludes that pesantren culture functions as a powerful mediating factor shaping graduate quality, and proposes a hybrid learning management model integrating pesantren pedagogical strengths with contemporary educational innovations to produce graduates who are religiously competent, morally grounded, academically competitive, and equipped with twenty-first-century skills.