The Construction of Santri Reality Regarding Learning at Alkhairat Ambon Pesantren: A Study of Cultural Communication in the Formation of Santri Meaning, Values, and Identity

Pahrul Idham  Kaliky

doi:10.54783/influencejournal.v8i2.399

Authors

Pahrul Idham Kaliky Universitas Pattimura, Ambon, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54783/influencejournal.v8i2.399

Keywords:

Social Construction of Reality, Santri, Cultural Communication, Pesantren Learning, Peer Tutoring, Santri Identity.

Abstract

This study aims to analyze how santri construct social reality regarding the implementation of activities in pesantren through a cultural communication perspective, particularly in the formation of meaning, values, and identity. The study employs a constructivist paradigm with a qualitative exploratory case study approach. The primary subjects are santri, with supporting informants including ustaz/ustazah, pesantren leaders and administrators, family members/parents, school committee members, and other stakeholders involved in educational activities. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation, and were analyzed using Berger and Luckmann’s theory of the social construction of reality, particularly the concepts of externalization, objectivation, and internalization. The findings indicate that the learning reality of santri is constructed through multilayered communication processes, including teacher-santri communication, peer communication, santri-parent communication, and institutional communication. These practices not only strengthen students’ mastery of learning materials but also construct values of independence, responsibility, discipline, togetherness, and respect for educational authority. The study further reveals that the construction of santri learning reality operates dialectically: the pesantren shapes santri through values, rules, norms, and communication practices, while santri simultaneously reproduce and reconstruct the learning culture through their everyday actions. The study positions teachers, santri, and parents as three key actors within a communication ecosystem supported by the pesantren institution, media, school committees, government, learning activities, and peer tutors. This process demonstrates that cultural communication in pesantren functions not merely as a medium of knowledge transmission but also as a mechanism for value internalization and the formation of santri identity.

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