Kiai's Leadership in Developing Sustainable Financing for Digital Islamic Boarding Schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38073/aljadwa.5058Keywords:
Kiai Leadership, Sustainable Financing, Digital Islamic Boarding School, Digital Transformation, Islamic Education ManagementAbstract
Digital transformation in Islamic boarding schools requires financing that can be sustained while supporting changes in institutional processes, human resource capacity, and technological infrastructure. This study examines how kiai leadership develops sustainable financing to support digital transformation at Padepokan Kiai Mudrikah Kembang Kuning, Pamekasan. The study employed a qualitative approach with an intrinsic case study design. Data were collected through non-participant observation, 11 substantive in-depth interview sessions with seven purposively selected informants, and documentation conducted during June-November 2025. Data were analyzed through condensation, display, and conclusion drawing and verification using the interactive approach of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The findings show five interconnected financing strategies, namely diversification of financing sources, strengthening partnership networks, development of a digital financing system, empowerment of internal resources, and development of digital infrastructure. These strategies operated through strategic direction, resource mobilization, delegation, coordination, financial control, and institutional capacity development. The study contributes a case-derived analytical framework of transformational kiai leadership that explains how kiai leadership connects resource mobilization, financial governance, and digital capability to support sustainable institutional transformation. The framework is context-specific and offers analytical transferability for Islamic boarding schools with similar leadership and resource conditions.
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