The Influence of Islamic Boarding School (Pondok Pesantren) Culture
on Hopelessness Behaviors to Students
Ari Khusumadewi and Riza Melinda
Guidance and Counseling Department, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia
Keywords: Behavior, student hopelessness behavior, Islamic boarding school culture.
Abstract: Hopelessness is the state of cognitively tired condition and also hopeless feeling caused by several factors and
shows it in behaviors. The influence and the affect of it will be shows around them. This study examines the
students’ hopelessness behavior in one of Islamic boarding school in Gresik region. Those behaviors are
influenced by various factors, including the educational background from the construction of the school as it
is an Islamic boarding school and the culture of the institution also one factor of hopelessness for the students.
The purpose of this study is discovering the student hopelessness’s causes, especially the influence of Islamic
Boarding School culture. This research used interviews, observations, and documentations also research’s
method is qualitative descriptive research. The result was shown by losing focus, indolence, sleeping in the
classroom, daydreaming, anxiety, feeling fatigues, etc. Hopelessness behavior factors are the reasons of
students who live in boarding school for having burdens in their study (both at school and in the boarding
house), inability to socialize with others and express their feelings, and asocial behaviors. Solutions or actions
given to students are giving nurturance, showing understanding, maintaining good communication with
students and school boards.
1 INTRODUCTION
Hopelessness condition is translated as self-despair
that causes loss of hopes and aspiration. Hopelessness
occurs due to the lack of some supportive areas in life
that cause individuals to feel effete and easily give up
when dealing with problems or because of something
that is not desired, then there is tension, then arises
resentment and despair from within. Desperate people
seem to behave slowly, rigidly, stupidly and are
reluctant to engage in activities (Baran, 2015). That
behavior can occur to everyone with different causes
and impacts on each person. There are many factors
influence it and it is very interesting to explore
further.
Hopelessness causes anxiety, inability to picture
one self’s future, do something meaningful in life and
empower itself (Davison, et al, 2013). It can create a
feeling of emptiness in him, and eliminate the passion
for the activity, arises feelings of sadness, guilt, slow
thinking, decreases body endurance, even easily fall
ill because there is only a blank view as being
squeezed by a very heavy burden (Davison, et al,
2013).
Hopelessness conditions can be experienced by
anyone from different ages as well as various
backgrounds including the students. Each student has
unique and interesting behaviors that have been fully
formed from their environment since childhood. In
addition, cultures and environments can influence
how he/she faces problems. Culture, parenting style,
environment, and association influence the way
students think, behave, and act.
This research was conducted at Daruttaqwa
Vocational High School in Gresik, where there are
students who exhibit hopelessness behavior. Which
the aim of this study is to examine the form of
student’s hopelessness behavior and the factors affect
the behavior.
As information, activities in the school are done
continuously every day. The case of hopelessness in
this study was found in two students of grade XI
Clothes Making Department. School works and the
burdens as an Islamic boarding school student that
start at 3.00 am and end at 11.00 pm bring
hopelessness behavior.
Khusumadewi, A. and Melinda, R.
The Influence of Islamic Boarding School (Pondok Pesantren) Culture on Hopelessness Behaviors to Students.
In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences (ICES 2017) - Volume 1, pages 133-137
ISBN: 978-989-758-314-8
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
133

It is also mentioned that students are isolated from
the outside world. They are not allowed to have any
communication tools and electronic gadgets in any
form. It seems that the daily activities undertaken are
portraits of refraction. The influences from outside of
students are suspected to be the cause hopelessness
behavior emerges.
Hopelessness can be caused by various things, not
just because of the insecurity of the individual. The
case brought up by the researchers recalled that
hopelessness in individuals can be influenced by
various factors such as therefore the behaviors shown
are varying. What is interesting in this case is that
students who experience hopelessness have orderly
religious life in the boarding school, where Islamic
“Shari'ah” is very thick, accompanying steps of life.
Therefore, the social backgrounds, the religious
environment around the students are able to influence
their behaviors. This can be easily seen in their
attitudes.
2 RESEARCH METHODS
This research uses descriptive qualitative research
method. The aim is to make a systematic, factual and
accurate description or picture about the facts,
characteristics, and relationships between phenomena
(Nazir in Sari, 2016). Qualitative research is
conducted naturally as the objective conditions in the
field and the condition of the type of data collected
without any manipulation, especially qualitative data.
The method produces data in the form of description
taken from observations, interviews, and
documentations. Furthermore, qualitative data were
obtained through data collection techniques in the
form of triangulation of the above three research
instruments. The main subjects of this study are two
students of Daruttaqwa Vocational High School
Gresik who are also members of the dormitory
provided. In order to dig deeper information, sources
of data also extracted from supporting informants
such as school counselor, homeroom teacher, and
principal.
Data collection techniques used in this study is
interviews, observation, and documentation. The
credibility test of the data utilizes the triangulation
techniques and triangulation of sources. Data analysis
technique used in this research is Miles and
Huberman's model which includes data reduction,
data display, and drawing conclusions.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the research on the influence of
boarding school culture on student hopelessness
behavior show that there is influence between the two
where the influence is evidenced by the
demonstration of forms of hopelessness behavior.
Some other factors also affect student hopelessness
behavior.
3.1 Forms of Students Hopelessness
Behavior
3.1.1 Difficult to Concentrate
Poor concentration was shown by both students when
they were in class. Students seemed to have
difficulties in focusing and concentrating on one task.
Observations result that students are only able to
concentrate in a very short time or less than five
minutes. After that, students will do other things that
are not related to classroom activities, such as playing
their cell phones, chatting with friends, even joking
until laughing loudly while the teacher was giving
lessons in the classroom.
3.1.2 Being Lazy
Students were more enthusiastic to learn in the
classroom when the lesson was the Clothes Making
practice. This lesson requires students to directly
practice their skills in the laboratory. Other than this
lesson, they appeared lazy and unenthusiastic.
Researchers did not observe any actions taken by
teachers to deal with these behaviors. However, in the
Clothes Making lesson, the teacher scolded students
who seemed to work slower and left behind from their
classmates.
3.1.3 Falling Asleep in Class
Falling asleep in the classroom is the behavior of
students which often appeared. Students rested their
heads on the tables and closed their eyes for a while
and possibly until the end of the lesson. Students
showed this behavior even in the morning classes. It
would be worse as the time approaching the
afternoon. Students tended to lean forward on the
table soon after the teacher opened the lesson.
Teachers looked unmotivated to scold students who
did. The teachers preferred to continue lecturing.
ICES 2017 - 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences
134

3.1.4 Day Dreaming
During the observations, students were often seen
daydreaming. It is different from having lack of
concentration. In this behavior, the students had
blanks stares and did nothing. While students were
daydreaming, neither the teacher nor the classmates
were aware of it. That was why the teacher did not
scold them. Because of this, they were unable to grasp
the lesson well.
3.1.5 Anxiety
The behavior of these students appeared after the first
break or during the 5-6th lesson. As the day went
closer to afternoon, students got more tired and
sleepy. Other factors supported this behavior.
Through the interview, we found out that they think
through how tired the life as members of the boarding
school and want to go home to their parents.
3.1.6 Feeling Fatigue
Students appeared lethargic and gloomy as they
entered the school gate in the morning. It didn’t
happen every day, it happened quite often. This
behavior was shown by a grim face and leans on the
table in longer period of time during the lesson.
3.1.7 Escaping from the Class
Several times, students escaped from the class. They
brought their bags with them and did not come back
until the lessons ended in the afternoon. The teacher’s
responses, in this case, were asking their friends
where they were. There were no serious actions taken
other than that.
3.1.8 Self-Injuring
Self-injuring is a serious action from hopelessness
behavior done by students. However, no one
recognized it besides the students themselves. One of
the students in this study had injured himself in terms
of his hopelessness.
Observations made were direct observations
where researchers attended the teaching and learning
activities conducted every day.
It can be inferred that the results of the studies
mentioned and described above are in line with the
hopelessness behaviors proposed by Abramson
(1989), namely; (1) unmotivated (2) long drawn
depression (3) being apathy (4) Difficult mood, (5)
Sleep disorders, (6) Difficult concentration, (7) Not
energized, (8) Suicidal tendency (shown in this case
by self-injuring).
3.2 Factors Causing Hopelessness
Behavior in Students
In this sub-chapter, it is discovered that the culture of
the Islamic boarding school and hopelessness
behavior in students are related. In addition to this
research, other factors are also found. We examined
that they are parts of the boarding school culture as
well.
3.2.1 Reasons for Students Staying in
Dormitory
Both subjects have different reasons when deciding to
stay and study at boarding school. One of the students
has been living in a dormitory since he was in MTs
(Islamic-based junior high school). Living in a
dormitory was not his decision but his parents. It
made him feel being forced to live in a dormitory.
Moreover, he failed to make himself feels
comfortable because of the routines and other
“santri’s” living together with him in the dormitory.
The other student started living in dormitory as he
entered vocational high school. The reason he lives
and studies were his parent’s instruction. The student
stated that he felt compelled and half-hearted to do so.
In addition, the routines and limitation to access the
outside world make him uncomfortable. Moreover,
he found that it is difficult for him to adapt to the
continuous activities and routines of the boarding
school. It leads him to feel depressed and show
hopelessness behavior.
3.2.2 Responsibilities of Learning both in
the Vocational School and in the
Boarding School
“Santri’s” activities do not stop after school hours.
They have a series of start at 03:00 am until 11.00 pm
every day. As what they said it is exhausting both
physically and mentally. They have very restricted
time to rest. The boarding school curriculum includes
“madrasah diniyah”. It is a compulsory learning
activity for all “santri’s” containing certain materials
such as Arabic, “fiqh”, “Kitab Kuning” (traditional
old books containing Islam studies and social studies
commonly used in Islamic boarding schools),
memorizing books and others. “Madrasah diniyah” is
conducted after 06.00 p.m. until late at night. They
also have some homework from school. These efforts
for students’ improvements by the boarding school
had made “santri’s” bored and depressed. These
The Influence of Islamic Boarding School (Pondok Pesantren) Culture on Hopelessness Behaviors to Students
135

depressing situations are supported by the limited
tools provided by the vocational high school. They do
not have the freedom to find materials for their
vocational lesson outside the dormitory. This is very
much stressful. Things which considered unnecessary
and less important do impact on students’
hopelessness. This is how students show up
hopelessness behaviors at school and at the
dormitory.
3.2.3 Inability to Socialize
The result of observation and interview showed that
both students with hopelessness behavior have low
ability to socialize. This is shown by the tendency of
students close to only one or two friends in the class
and less open to others. Students with hopelessness
behaviors appear to isolate themselves from
classmates and members of the dorm and less diffuse
with the society. Both students appear being alone
more frequent than other students or with one or two
friends only.
From the results of observation and interviews it
is found out that their low ability to socialize has
added more factors for them to experience
hopelessness. It matches Abramson’s hopelessness
theory that the absence of others who support or
become their reinforcement can make their
hopelessness worse.
3.2.4 Students Being Introvert
From the observation activity, we found that the
students shut themselves out of the society. This is
evidenced by the less interaction they have with
others. The interaction shown by the students is only
a formal interaction in the classroom. This matches to
the phenomenon of hopelessness and characteristic of
hopelessness behavior in Abramson's theory. It is
approved that being introverted also become a factor
of reinforcing the emergence of hopelessness
behavior in students.
3.2.5 Inability to Express Feelings
As factors of hopelessness have been mentioned in
previous points, we can see that the students are also
unable to express their feelings for what they have
been through. This brings difficulties for people
around them to recognize their hopelessness and
make it impossible to find help. From the observation,
it is found that the student seemed to cover and
express less clearly what they felt. This became one
indication that students have a stressor that makes it
more falling on the condition of hopelessness. This is
a factor that greatly influences the emergence of
hopelessness behavior in students.
Through the results of observations and
interviews that have been described we concluded
several factors that cause students to experience and
show hopelessness behavior. We also inferred that
factors that influence it arise from within and outside
the students themselves. These factors affect each
other and strengthen the emergence of hopelessness
student behavior.
With the factors causing hopelessness and the
emergence of hopelessness behavior is in line with
the theory of behavior by Kurt Lewin. Mentioned in
behavioral theory that behavior is the functional
characteristics of an individual with the society.
Individual characteristics here consists of various
variables, such as motives, values, traits/personality,
and interaction with each other’s, and then
interactions with environments factors in determining
behavior.
Environmental factors have a great influence on
behavior, sometimes even in spite of the individual
characteristics themselves, which makes predictions
of individual behavior more complex. From the
theory of hopelessness by Abramson, we can
understand that there are factors that influence the
emergence of hopelessness. The first factor is the
stability of mind where in this case students showed
by constantly thinking about the difficulties they have
been facing. It is indicated by the individual, or
students in this case, indicate that the stability of
thinking is shown in the form of behavior. This is
related to the factor or behavioral background
mentioned in Kurt Lewin's behavior theory.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The form of hopelessness behaviors that students
exhibit, can influence the learning activities of the
students and others around them. It is related to the
field of guidance and counseling that is personal,
social, and learning guidance which related to each
other. Considering that students are in the age group
of adolescents who are vulnerable to outside
influences and the self-identity fluctuations, students
are deemed to be in great need of assistance in the
area of counseling and guidance. It is important to see
hopelessness and the behaviors are a serious case and
help is needed to take care it properly and correctly.
Related to this matter, it is known that the forms of
behavior shown by the students are as follow study
difficulties, psychosomatics, and some of different
behavior with their social commons. The emergence
of hopelessness behavior is mainly caused by the
ICES 2017 - 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences
136

condition and feeling of hopelessness. Hopelessness
itself arises caused by several factors including design
of Islamic boarding school, the teacher treatments,
internal factor of student (personality, social
interaction, and their reason for study).
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