DINAMIKA ILMU - Vol. 17 No. 2, 2017 - Existentialism in the Development of Islamic Education Institutions: A Portrait of Excellent School Development of Yapita Primary School Surabaya

Oct 15, 2026

Paper examines how an Islamic educational institution develops to remain relevant amid intense competition from institutions shaped by diverse social-religious communities. It presents Yapita Primary School as an evolving model toward becoming an excellent school in Surabaya. Development progresses through four gradual curriculum and program transformations: traditional-isolative, synthesis with limited general education, balanced integration, and a final curriculum combining traditional-isolative and Western-modern elements plus student talent-interest development. Changes are framed as necessary for sustained community demand.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Existentialism and education

Purpose of Islamic education and learner value

Excellent schools in Islamic education programs

Yapita primary school history and transformation

DINAMIKA ILMU Vol. 17 No. 2, 2017 P-ISSN: 1411-3031; E-ISSN: 2442-9651 doi: [http://dx.doi.org/10.21093/di.v17i2.930](http://dx.doi.org/10.21093/di.v17i2.930) Existentialism in the Development of Islamic Education Institutions: A Portrait of Excellent School Development of Yapita Primary School Surabaya Zumrotul Mukaffa UINSunan Ampel Surabaya, Indonesia e-mail: [zumrotul_mukafah@yahoo.com](zumrotul_mukafah@yahoo.com) Abstract This paper describes the development efforts of Islamic educational institution in order to maintain its existence in the midst of competition between educational institutions with various backgrounds of social religious organization communities that surround and underlie them. Yapita Primary School is a portrait of Islamic educational institution that is undergoing the process of development in the hope of becoming one of the best and excellent schools in Surabaya. It has undergone four (4) changes in its development process gradually, they are: First, the Traditional – isolative model that only held Islamic education. The second is the Synthesis model which is the implementation of Traditional-Isolative model with a little general education additions. Third, it brought a balanced education between Traditional – Isolative and general education model. Fourth, it integrates two Traditional-isolative models and Western-Modern model into a curriculum structure and enriched it with Student Talent-Interest Development and the excellent characteristics. Changes become necessity to be done so that its existence is still needed and sought by the community in the midst of the similar educational institutions emergence in the vicinity, among others; SD Luqman al-Hakim Hidayatullah Primary School, Muhammadiyah 26 Primary School, and al-Uswah Islamic Primary School. Keywords: Development of Islamic Education, Excellent School, Existentialism A. Introduction Existentialism is one of the schools of philosophy that emphasizes the existence of human. In the field of education, in particular, the philosophy of existentialism assumes that learners are not the same as other objects, such as robots that are easily driven by machines and not also an educational object that is easily driven by the education system, Learners should not be able to do the learning process activities if it is instructed by the teacher. For existentialism, learners must be themselves; they have to be able to find the value in them through the freedom of following the learning process which is in accordance with their characteristics, talents and interests (Ekawati, 2015) . The author has not found researches that describes about the practical implementation of existentialism in Islamic education development; however, theoretically it is explained that the purpose of Islamic education, that is to make learners as perfect beings who are able to become khalifah (successor) on earth and as a servant of Allah who always run His message, seems to be expected to encourage learners to exist and find their value (Ekawati, 2015) . Producing a generation that exists by having excellent competence in spiritual, social, academic and skill aspect, as expected in Islamic education goals, requires serious efforts undertaken by educational institutions. Educational institutions that make these efforts are commonly called “sekolah unggul”(excellent schools) . Excellent schools, in the development of Islamic education, can be realized in various Islamic education programs and practices; which according to Muhaimin (2003) that Islamic education when viewed from educational programs and practices are grouped into four, namely: First, pondok pesantren (Islamic boarding school) education; second, madrasah education; third, regular education with Islamic nuance; fourth, religion lessons held in public schools. Furthermore, Muhaimin added the fifth which is the Islamic education in the family or in worship place, majlis ta'lim, or non-formal

FAQs

What philosophical idea guides the paper’s view of education?

The paper highlights existentialism, emphasizing that learners should develop their own existence and find value through freedom aligned with their characteristics, talents, and interests.

How does the paper describe Yapita Primary School’s development process?

It describes four gradual development changes: traditional-isolative education only, a synthesis model adding limited general education, a balanced model between traditional-isolative and general education, and integration of traditional-isolative with Western-modern approaches plus student talent-interest development.

Why are curriculum changes considered necessary in the paper?

The paper argues changes are required so Yapita Primary School remains needed and sought by the community, especially as similar educational institutions emerge nearby.

Oct 15, 2026

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