The Internalization of Inclusive and Adaptive Values in Bullying Prevention Among Students at Girls’ Islamic Boarding School

Abstract

Bullying remains a concern in Islamic boarding schools (pesantren), where intensive residential interactions may create complex social dynamics among students. This study aims to identify the inclusive and adaptive values developed at Al-Ishlahiyyah Girls’ Islamic Boarding School, Wonorejo, East Java, Indonesia, examine how these values are internalized through everyday educational and social practices, and analyze their contribution to bullying prevention. A qualitative approach with an intrinsic case study design was employed. Data were collected through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis involving the boarding school caregiver, ustadzah, dormitory supervisors, senior students, and junior students. Data were analyzed through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification, supported by source triangulation, method triangulation, and an audit trail. The findings identified four interrelated values: tolerance, empathy, equality, and social justice. These values were internalized through four interconnected mechanisms: modeling, habituation, mentoring, and institutional policy structures. The findings further indicate that these mechanisms were associated with more inclusive verbal interactions, reduced relational exclusion, greater psychological and emotional security, and a reorientation of senior–junior relations from domination toward guidance and support. Drawing on social learning theory, the study demonstrates that bullying prevention may be understood as a socio-cultural process in which values are learned, reinforced, and enacted through everyday interactions and institutional practices. The study contributes a context-sensitive perspective on value internalization as a preventive dimension of bullying in girls’ Islamic boarding schools