Article Title (Size 12; Bold; Times New Roman) www.jsser.org Journal of Social Studies Education Research SosyalBilgilerEğitimiAraştırmalarıDergisi 2019:10 (4),246-265 246 Exploring Excellency-Based Curriculum for Indonesian Primary Schools in Relation to the Social Community Environment Mukhamad Ilyasin1 Abstract The purposes of this study are to see the vision and community needs of the excellency-curriculum of the primary Islamic schools, the curriculum integration between sciences and religious values for the primary Islamic schools, and to see continuous development maintained in the primary Islamic curriculum in East Kalimantan. This research uses a qualitative case study with a multi-site approach. The study assigned three Islamic primary schools SDIT (Integrated Islamic Primary School) Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 in Samarinda, East Kalimantan Indonesia as the sites. This study involved 40 respondents, each school of which was selected 10 respondents, comprising one principal, two vice principals, and seven teachers. Respondents were selected using purposive sampling techniques. The results showed that excellency-based curriculum management increases the competitiveness within SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3. This works in several ways: an environmental analysis to determine the vision of the institution, a curriculum design that meets the needs of the community, the integration of science and religion, the strengthening of religious values, the development of life skills and students’ personal development, and continuous improvement as an instrument in evaluation. Keywords: Curriculum Management, Excellency, Competitive Advantages Introduction This study explores the practices of primary school curriculum in Indonesia whose values and competences constitute Islamic values. Islamic values in the curriculum are incorporated in the competence in the lessons the students should master. As the values are rooted in the school operations, the values are adjusted with the school community whereby management of the operation of the excellency-based curriculum is the core focus of this study. In Indonesian context, every educational institution—whether it is education within the family, in a school environment (formal education) or non-formal education (outside school), from a basic education to the tertiary level—has a duty to achieve its educational institutional goals, but it also needs to accept that one of the most important goals of national education is to develop a curriculum that will realize institutional and national goals (Abdurrahman, 2017). The curriculum 1Dr. State Islamic Institute (IAIN) of Samarinda, Indonesia, sinka2010@gmail.com Ilyasin therefore becomes a guiding tool for the management of education through the teaching and learning process both inside and outside school. In other words, “the curriculum is the core of the educational and teaching process” (Roziqin, 2019). Generally speaking, the learning process is vital to teaching and learning activities in schools. The success of the learning process depends upon various factors, including the readiness of schools to develop a suitable curriculum, the provision of various facilities at school (e.g., computer equipment, learning media, etc.), and the commitment of school principals, teachers, and other employees to the learning process (Baharun, 2015). The school is a formal educational institution but also a collaborative organization in which a group of people (educators, auxiliary staff, principals, stakeholders, and students) achieve set goals. Achieving the school’s goals, both in terms of quantity and quality, greatly depends upon these people’s personal involvement in the school (Syadzili, 2019). The success of schools is more or less determined by the teachers and principals, although teaching success can be influenced by several factors (Awwaliyah, 2019; Dinh, 2019; Kagema, 2018). One of the many factors that generally plays an important role is the school principal, who can take one of a number of leadership styles to motivate teachers (Hefniy, 2016). A high level of morale helps to realize the goals of an organization, and this is why leadership activities are important (Bustamante & Combs, 2011). Therefore, in addition to the learning process led by teachers in the classroom, the quality of an education also depends on management aspects. In other words, education must be seen systemically, and success or failure is not determined by just one factor. It logically follows that education cannot be said to purely depend on the teacher, because the management of education, including curriculum management, also generally determines the success or failure (Awwaliyah, 2019). The rise of Integrated Islamic Schools (SDIT) in several provinces in Indonesia—such as SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 in East Kalimantan Province—provides the motivation for this research. The development of SDITs can be interpreted as a new era of awareness and enthusiasm for Indonesian people, especially for muslims who aspire to the notion of integrated Islamic elementary schools that focus more on “integrating” the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. SDITs are also intended to optimize the students’ education process, act as a means for the socialization process, and be a tool for students’ transformation process. In Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2019: 10(4),246-265 accordance with this, the three SDITs above succeed both academically and non-academically, under creative managers, in reinvigorating and developing the curriculum and learning. The curriculum at the aforementioned schools was developed using an integrated curriculum model by combining the core primary school curriculum of the Ministry of National Education with the Islamic Religion Curriculum (Al-Islam) as the motivation for the development of Islamic primary schooling. In the same way, local curriculum content is also aimed positively toward the development and progress of science and technology in future by applying a full-day school system. In the same way, the 2013 curriculum is relevant to the spirit of school autonomy. In addition, the substance of school-based management (SBM) focuses on a management model that optimizes the participation of all related stakeholders (e.g., parents, the general public, community leaders, traditional leaders, NGOs, companies, and other social institutions) to improve the quality of schools. SBM not just changes the school management approach from a centralized to decentralized one—a more independent school should also emerge. This principle of cohesiveness implies the importance of communication between all elements and managerial components in order to produce an ideal educational outcome. As the spirit behind educational activity, the curriculum therefore needs to be managed in order to be able to provide educational excellence and a distinct character for the school, so it can be well respected by the community (Rusman, 2009). There have been numerous studies into curriculum development. Adipratama (2018) found that the curriculum planning of the Surya Buana Malang High School was conducted through workshops for preparing learning tools for teachers, compiling an educational calendar, developing work programs, and performing an ongoing evaluation. Likewise, research by Widayanti (2019) revealed that MI Unggulan Muhammadiyah Lemahdadi formulated its general subjects according to the Directorate General of Primary and Secondary Education of Muhammadiyah, which at the time integrated with the existing curriculum at the Madrasah Ibtidaiyah and the Ministry of Religion. Aside from these studies, this area is new and it would be interesting to explore the peculiarities of implementing curriculum development and integrated learning in accordance with Islamic values, as well as investigating why this is relevant to the culture and the needs of the community. As such, this research closely focuses on the development and implementation of an excellency-based curriculum in some integrated Islamic schools and how it may act as a medium to increase the competitive advantage of schools. Ilyasin Research Questions The questions we sought to answer of this study are as follows: 1) What is the vision and community needs of the excellency-curriculum of the primary Islamic schools in East Kalimantan? 2) How does the curriculum operate the integration between sciences and religious values for the primary Islamic schools in East Kalimantan? 3) How is continuous development maintained in the primary Islamic curriculum in East Kalimantan? Literature Review Excellency-Based Curriculum Management and the Fulfillment of Stakeholders’ Needs Curriculum management is understood as a cooperative, comprehensive, systemic, and systematic curriculum management system in order to realize achievement. Curriculum management in schools comprises planning, performing, controlling, and evaluating. These are used to set all learning activities that can be carried out successfully and efficiently in the world of education (Hidayati & Concerned, 2016). Similarly, curriculum management is a system for managing the cooperative, comprehensive, systemic, and systematic aspects of the curriculum to actualize the goals of the curriculum as part of achieving educational autonomy. This autonomy, which is given to every educational institution, should involve schools managing their own curriculums independently by prioritizing the needs, as well as the targets, that are embedded in their vision and mission, even if they cannot ignore policies set at the national level. Curriculum management is an integral part of both the 2013 curriculum and school-based management. Curriculum management includes within its scope planning, organizing, implementing, and evaluating the curriculum. At the education unit level, curriculum activities are prioritized to realize the national curriculum (i.e., standard/basic competencies) and build upon it to meet the needs of the region, the particular school, the students, and the community in which the school is located. In the process of school education, curriculum management needs to be implemented to deliver various learning resources, learning experiences, and curriculum components. NASBI (2017) proposes several functions of curriculum management: First, it increases the efficiency of Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2019: 10(4),246-265 curriculum resource utilization. Second, it encourages equality and provides more opportunities for students to achieve optimal results. Third, it enhances the relevance and effectiveness of learning. Fourth, it increases the effectiveness of teacher performance and student activities in achieving learning objectives. Fifth, it increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the overall teaching and learning process. Curriculum management is something that really needs to be undertaken because a good curriculum is a reflection of a good educational process (Ulla, 2017). Excellency-based curriculum management, however, involves a curriculum that is designed differently from other curriculums, so it can meet both the existing requirements and the needs of local educational institutions. In the area of practice, an excellency-based curriculum certainly meets the criteria, which are that curriculum content must be appropriate and meaningful for student development, it must reflect social reality, it must comprise scientific knowledge that is resistant to testing, and it must contain clear subject matter that can support the achievement of educational goals (Baharun, 2017). In addition, an excellency-based curriculum also emphasizes the concept of designing a curriculum that reflects an ideal education and learning process. The purpose of this excellency-based curriculum management is to produce knowledgeable citizens as a consequence of its positive impact on education. As Sutjipto (2018) posits, an outstanding individual grows from the existence of a meaningful curriculum design. The concept of excellency-based curriculum management is explained further below. Curriculum planning Planning is a management function that provides a very decisive start in the selection of curriculum determination patterns. Correspondingly, Sagala (2014) explains that planning as a management function is crucial for selecting guiding patterns in the curriculum. Planning is the process of determining and utilizing resources in an integrated manner in accordance with exact calculations and determinations. James, as cited in Lazawardi (2017), points out that curriculum planning is a process that involves various participatory elements at many levels to make decisions about learning goals, how to achieve those goals, teaching and learning situations, and how to evaluate the effectiveness and meaningfulness of the method. Without curriculum planning, systematic learning experiences would therefore not be interconnected and incapable of achieving the expected goals. Curriculum planning involves all stakeholders, including teachers, supervisors, Ilyasin administrators, and so on. What is more, all teachers should be involved in class-level curriculum planning. To achieve the concept of an excellency-based curriculum, at least a few things are needed that affect planning and decision-making, namely philosophy, content/material, learning management, teacher training and learning systems, government policies, and local culture. Furthermore, excellency-based curriculum planning still has to refer to the eight National Education Standards: content standards, graduate competency standards, process standards analysis, standards of assessment, standards of educators and education personnel, management standards, facilities and infrastructure standards, and financial standards (Krynski, 2019; Sudarsono, 2016). Curriculum organization Arifin (2017) states that organization is a tool to help facilitate the achievement of goals by considering legitimacy, which responds to external demands by demonstrating the performance of institutions and convincing relevant parties concerned about their ability to achieve their goals; efficiency, which relates to a recognition of an institution’s good use of time, money, and limited resources; effectiveness, which is the good distribution of tasks, rights, responsibilities, work relationships, and determined personnel to successfully carry out tasks; and excellence, which depicts the ability of institutions and their leaders to carry out their functions and duties in a way that optimizes the image and good name of the institution. In the same way, he also emphasizes that good organization should have a task-oriented principle that cultivates an attitude where the purpose is more important than anything else. The principles that need to be considered in the organization of an excellency-based curriculum are scope, the sequence of teaching materials, continuity, balance, and integration. The scope and sequence of teaching material is the most important consideration, because each curriculum pattern covers different materials. Continuity relates to the contents of the teaching materials that will be presented to students. The presentation of the teaching materials, meanwhile, should meet the goals of learning itself and not be repetitive. On the other hand, Widayanti (2019) describes two aspects in achieving balance in the curriculum organization: 1) the content must be seen as being broadly beneficial for students as individuals and the demands of society, and 2) there must be a balanced learning process. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2019: 10(4),246-265 An effective school is a one that organizes and utilizes all of its resources to ensure that all students—regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status—can learn essential curriculum material in schools. Excellent schools have the following characteristics: they are not bound to a single curriculum, they focus on the best single way of teaching, and the search for effectiveness is not based on test scores alone (Poster, 2000). Curriculum implementation Curriculum implementation is the application of curriculum programs that were developed in the previous stages. They are now implemented and managed, all while always adapting to the situation and characteristics of students, including their intellectual, emotional, and physical development. This implementation is a form of field research for the validation of the curriculum system itself, so in this case, classroom learning is an accurate setting to carry out and test curriculum validation. In learning activities, all the concepts, principles, values, knowledge, methods, tools, and abilities of teachers are tested through their deeds, which will manifest in the real curriculum (Fadillah, Mardianto & Nasution, 2018; Tarman, 2018). The developed learning plan is then implemented in the classroom by the teachers. Curriculum planning tends to relate to abstract aspects, while the curriculum implementation process emphasizes activities that are directly related to the curriculum (Paminto, Rosiana, Budiyono & Budisantoso, 2018; Silalahi & Yuwono, 2018). An outstanding curriculum must have a high level of flexibility and be sufficiently representative, essential, multivalent, and interesting. This is reflected through the following criteria: 1) A curriculum topic must be needed by students to obtain the knowledge and skills they need to be useful to society or for higher education. 2) It acts as a prerequisite and/or foundation for other topics. 3) It has a wider level of applicability, so it can adapt to a situation that is constantly changing and developing. 4) It inspires great interest and fascination for students to learn it, both for their development of basic knowledge and its practical application in their daily lives. Supervision Curriculum supervision aims to consider and determine whether the curriculum requires any improvement in its implementation or quality enhancement. According to Mustari (2014), supervision is a curriculum management function that assesses whether something is reliable and Ilyasin corrects if necessary. Several stages can be involved when monitoring the implementation of a curriculum: (a) determining curriculum standard achievements; (b) determining curriculum implementation measurement, where standard-setting must concur with actual processes, which can be revealed in the form of questions (e.g., How many times should implementation be measured? In what form should curriculum measurements be made, written or verbally? Who will be involved, staff or managers?); (c) measuring curriculum implementation continuously, where these measurements can be done through observation, report writing, inspection, testing, and sampling; (d) comparing the implementation with standards and analyzing irregularities, so it can be ascertained why the assigned standards are not being achieved; (e) taking corrective action if needed, either in the form of standard changes or improvement in the curricular management implementation or both (Arifin & Muhammad, 2016). Curriculum evaluation Curriculum evaluation is a systematic process for gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information/data to determine the extent to which students have achieved the learning objectives. Additionally, curriculum evaluation also intends to examine the overall curriculum performance in terms of various criteria. The evaluated performance indicators comprise the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, and feasibility of the program. In the context of curriculum implementation and development, evaluation is an inseparable element because it determines the value and meaning of a curriculum. Consequently, a decision can be taken as to whether a curriculum needs to be maintained or not. Fadilah et al. (2018) state that the most important curriculum components to be evaluated in schools are the process and the student learning outcomes. To carryout curriculum evaluation, a school determines four main aspects to evaluate, namely educational goals, curriculum materials, learning strategies, and assessment programs. On the other hand, Mustari (2014) states that evaluation can be a means to improve a program and a form of accountability. Competitive advantage: The inevitability of educational competition In order to meet global demands, the educational institutions scattered throughout Indonesia, especially the Islamic educational institutions in regional centers, continue to make various efforts to achieve a competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is obtained when the organization Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2019: 10(4),246-265 can offer customers a benefit that its competitors cannot (Radi, Kurniawati & Kurniawan, 2016). The competitive environment requires not just profitable businesses to increase their level of excellence—non-profit organizations must also understand what consumers desire and how they can manage their resources to respond to this (Yasa, 2017). A competitive advantage involves a search for a favorable competitive position for an organization in a competitive arena with the aim of establishing a profitable and sustainable status. A competitive advantage is also not just about creating satisfaction for stakeholders but also cultivating long-term loyalty (Muhardi, 2004). Indeed, a competitive advantage in the global market is not just about price or quality but also competing on the basis of superior technology, innovation, creativity, and imagination (Mulyana & Sutapa, 2014; Tadeu et al, 2019). The main key to maintaining a competitive advantage is resources and the ability to sustain long-term business performance. There are three important indicators of superior competitiveness for a business: 1) superior skills, including managerial and operational abilities in running a business;2) superior resources—including distribution networks, brand image, production capacity, sales force, technology, and natural resources—that can ultimately help provide superior value to consumers; and 3) superior performance in every activity, such as in designing, producing, marketing, delivering, and supporting products (Ayuningrum & Pangestuti, 2018). Michael Porter (2007) introduced his Five Forces that must be considered by the leadership of institutions, including educational ones, to gain a competitive advantage. These five forces can be explained as follows: First, rivalry exists among institutions. Second, there is the threat of a new entrant. Third, there is a threat of a substitute service. Fourth, suppliers have bargaining power. Fifth, buyers have bargaining power (Hasan Baharun, 2016). Based on the above, Islamic educational institutions can achieve a competitive advantage if the management, in addition to other aspects, is performed properly in accordance with the surrounding situations and settings. Ilyasin Methods Design This research used a qualitative approach and took the form of a case study with multiple sites. As a qualitative study, this research focused on identifying data in the form of words where narrative texts were analyzed. Four schools were involved in this study: SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, SDIT Borneo 3 and SDIT Borneo 4. The schools have implemented integrated curriculum that incurred Islamic values and sciences at a whole package is their own excellence values, so that comparative advantages of each school were identified. This study took place in Samarinda, the capital of East Kalimantan Indonesia. Research Procedures This study involved 40 respondents, with 10 respondents being selected from each school, which in turn comprised one principal, two vice principals, and seven teachers. Respondents were selected using purposive sampling techniques. The primary data for this study were the results of observations and interviews that were recorded. Secondary data took the form of documents that indicated how curriculum management was implemented. As a result, data were collected through in-depth interviews, observation and documentation analysis. The in-depth interview was conducted to each respondent allowing 30 minutes question and answer. The interview took place in each school. The observations were done three times for each school allowing initial observation of the whole learning process, discussing with principals and the vice principals, and discussion about the curriculum with the teaches. Finally, documents analysis identified the results of implementation of the curriculum, materials, policy and the practices. The results of document analyses were used to identify problems to be addressed and guide to release questions of the interview. Data Analysis To analyze the data, this research used interactive model analysis from Miles & Huberman (1994). Prior to the analysis, results of interview were recorded verbatim and thematic analyses were done. To analyze the data, the researcher used the model of Miles and Huberman (1994), which analyzes Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2019: 10(4),246-265 through four steps: data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. As an inherently process, three stage analysis: reduction, display and verification were made available incessantly. Further, the author identified the themes and categories in line with three research questions of this study that addressed to answer: the general form of the curriculum, how the curriculum integrated sciences lessons and religious lessons, and how the curriculum described the development of continuous development program for each lesson. In the reduction stage, data from transcripts and content of the document were identified to make the codes of the data and find the most relevant evidences that reflected the answer of each research question. In the data display, the author made presentation in terms of statement and quotation. Finally, each data that had been displayed was verified its accuracy by using triangulation, so that data that answered each research question were defined correctly. Evidences that supported answers of each research question were specified including general form of the curriculum that incorporated the vision and community needs, the way integration between sciences and religious lessons were developed, and continuous development programs was programmed. To check the trustworthiness of the data, the author applied site triangulation and method triangulation. Results and Discussion This study aims to see three concerns: the vision and community needs of the excellency- curriculum of the primary Islamic schools, the integration between sciences and religious values for the primary Islamic schools, and continuous development maintained in the primary Islamic curriculum. To elaborate the concerns, this section presents the results of analysis that answer these three research questions. The Vision and Community Needs The general form of excellence-based curriculum in this study basically consists of the formulation of the vision of the school and the curriculum is designed to meet the needs of the community. The definite statement on the vision indicates the actual goals thereby the institutions intend to promote their excellence. In addition, as the schools serve the community as a whole, the curriculum design is to meet the needs of the community. Ilyasin Vision oriented Before determining the vision and mission of SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3, the researcher conducted an internal and external environment analysis to establish and map the potential strengths and weaknesses of the school through SWOT analysis. For example, the strengths, in this case, are the positive image of the institution, clear financial resources, user loyalty, and the trust of various important parties, as well as enjoying adequate support from educational facilities. The weaknesses, meanwhile, are when the output of an educational institution is inferior to that of the others, while the opportunities are when a pattern of life in modern society inclines toward the hedonistic, so religious educational institutions are required. Moreover, when there is a crisis in values like morality, ethics, and so forth in society, there is the opportunity for a more dominant role for religious education. The threat is that the interest of new learners may decrease or that public in religious educational institutions may diminish. The curriculum is designed to meet the needs of the community The emergence of SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 was not a coincidence but rather a project that was planned, and it is inseparable from the circumstances and conditions that underlay it. For instance, the inevitability of increasingly open global markets has encouraged the creative community, academics, practitioners, and education stakeholders to design and establish elementary schools that can integrate several important aspects that are appropriate and necessary for the circumstances of current times. This aims to give students the superiority, readiness, and competitiveness to thrive in the midst of global currents. The advantages of SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 include integrating aspects of morality and intellect, with these being instilled in students with the support of the entire academic community in the school environment as part of its educational autonomy. This can be interpreted as meaning that almost all activities in SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 enable the students to recognize the various problems that exist in communities, which may also be rapidly changing. Consequently, through their skills, students are expected to be able to contribute toward developing society and act as good role models in community life based on aspects they develop as part of a curriculum’s design. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2019: 10(4),246-265 The integration of science and religion The integrated concept used in SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 is interpreted and elaborated according to several areas: (1) integrating the meaning of the curriculum, namely by combining the curriculums from the Department of National Education, the Department of Religion, and the locally developed curriculum; (2) establishing a cohesive balance between the spiritual quotient (SQ), the emotional quotient (EQ), and the intelligence quotient (IQ); (3) achieving cohesiveness in the sense of human formation, including the physical, spiritual, and sensory; (4) producing cohesive learning resources that balance between visual aids (AP), media, and materials; (5) instilling a sense of principles when educating children, split between the school, parents, and environment; (6) achieving cohesiveness in the sense of maaddah (material), which encompasses the qauliyah (verbalistic) and kauniyah (empirical); and (7) optimizing cohesive targets, which may include affective, cognitive, and psychomotor functions. The concept of cohesiveness, in general, embodies synergy between general scientific teaching and local religious values. Model schools like this are oriented toward the development of multiple forms of intelligence, which combines cognitive, affective, and psychomotor aspects in a spiritual nuance (Al-Qur'an) in every teaching and learning activity or process. The key to success is promoting the integration of the school, the parents at home, and the social environment as part of the school’s mission. This aim can be realized by reconstructing syllabus and learning materials, but this does not reduce the quality of scientific learning that students experience. In contrast, it can actually bring excellent results, because students become increasingly convinced of Islam as a comprehensive religion. This provides religious guideline that can be useful in broader life, not just in aspects of spirituality but also in everyday life. They can become more convinced of the benefits, and this can be indicated by improved achievement. Thus, in future, the integrated concepts applied in SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 should prioritize learning materials that help to produce scientists, technologists, engineers, and other professional groups whose role and contribution is very important for economic progress. At the same time, Islamic educational institutions must educate these future professionals to internalize within themselves the policies, knowledge, spiritual and rational thought, creativity, moral insight, innovative strength, ethical goodness, and the ecological sensitivity that will allow them to fully develop harmoniously, all while ensuring they achieve excellence and supremacy in their respective fields and specialties. Ilyasin Strengthening religious values The school curriculum is characterized by being oriented toward strengthening religious values. The distinctive feature of SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 lies in their integration of moral and intellectual aspects, which is them imparted to students with the support of all the academic community within the school environment. Moreover, it concerns the aspect of morality, specifically in terms of the spiritual field of mental morality, which is needed because of the declining morals and soft skills of many Indonesian people. In fact, people who are concerned about their children’s safety believe that sending their children to an Islamic school is a preventive effort to protect the nation’s next generation from the threat of social decline. It therefore demands that all parties think carefully and seriously about how to bolster the nation’s morality and restore the good self-image of the Indonesian nation, especially for the younger generation and children, because this is a very fundamental asset in every human empowerment activity and the very purpose of education itself. The community’s choice for religion-based schools strengthens the notion that religion can act as a tool to improve the situation, protect against aberrations of social norms, and provide a better life. The Integrated Islamic School Network (Jaringan Sekolah Islam Terpadu in Indonesian, abbreviated to JSIT) is an institution with the mission of empowering Islamic schools. Life skills and students’ personal development A life-skills-oriented education involves providing the means to confront and solve the problems of life, whether in an individual’s personal life or as a citizen in society. The development of life skills in SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 is based on the results of the learning process, such as students’ mastery of competencies, basic skills, learning materials, and other skills that are implicitly gained through the learning experience. Therefore, when developing learning in SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3, managers need to select alternative learning practices to help students learn relevant life skills based on their own needs. Several processes are required to get the aforementioned points to work out correctly. First, mature planning is needed. In the curriculum-drafting process at SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3, there is a curriculum development team comprising principals, the representatives of principals, teachers, madrasah committees, and members of the school’s expert council. This step involves analyzing the context and needs and identifying national standards of education. The Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2019: 10(4),246-265 headmaster, with the help of the curriculum-development team, then compiles a document defining the vision, mission, and objectives of the school, as well as the structure and content of the curriculum and the education calendar. The defined local content can then seek to develop competencies appropriate for the characteristics and potential of the area and the achievement of the region. Such material is sometimes not suitable for inclusion in other subjects, so it may be taught as a separate subject. In management planning, an excellency-based curriculum constantly provides opportunities for the advancement of students’ self-development activities in SDIT with the support of counseling services and extracurricular activities. Secondly, organizing an excellency-based curriculum in SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 is accomplished by the school principal through empowering the deputy principal for the school curriculum and the vice principal of The Subject Teacher Forum (MGMP). The intention is to have a formal MGMP meeting on a monthly basis and schedule some teacher activities to further the education and training of teachers, both within and beyond the province. This also relates to the preparation of curriculum structure, and the depth and breadth of curriculum content for each subject in each unit of education is steeped in competencies that must be mastered by students according to the learning experiences listed in the curriculum structure. These competencies include standard competencies and basic competencies, which are developed based on graduate competency standards. Local content and self-development activities are also an integral part of the curriculum structure at primary and secondary levels. Learning experiences are formulated in the form of required time units when students join learning programs through face- to-face systems, structured assignments, and unstructured self-activity. All of these are intended to achieve graduate competency standards by looking carefully at the level of student development. Regarding the syllabus preparation in SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3, this is conducted by the teachers (independently or in groups within a school or groups of schools), a group within The Subject Teacher Forum at the Center for Teacher Activity, and the Department of Education. Thirdly, the implementation of the curriculum at SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 is carried out by the principal through surveillance activities for curriculum enactment. In addition, the principal delegates authority to the deputy principal and teachers to have a short meeting (briefings) each morning to discuss any progress or deficiencies. In the implementation of a curriculum in the classroom, it is highly recommended to include life skills for the learners. Ilyasin The indicators that must be achieved are based on self-awareness, but they are also referred to as personal skills, thinking and academic skills, social skills, and vocational skills. Personal skills are acquired by students through contextual learning methods, while thinking skills can be taught by a teacher through a student-centered approach. Academic skills are obtained through problem- based learning, while social skills can be acquired through cooperative learning. Conversely, vocational skills are achieved through extracurricular activities that lead to taking an interest in skills like knitting, cooking, taking field visits, and so on. Continuous improvement Evaluation takes place through the minimum criteria for mastery learning (KKM) achievement but also according to the implementation of the curriculum by the teacher. The evaluation is performed by examining curriculum documents, interviews, and class supervisions by the principals of SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 with the assistance of the vice principal for the school curriculum. The assessments include: (1) teachers perform class assessments to establish the progress and outcomes of learners, diagnose learning difficulties, provide feedback/improvements for the learning process and determine progress in students’ grades. (2) Basic ability tests determine the ability to read, write, and count, which is necessary to improve the remedial program. (3) A final assessment of education and certification unit is organized to see the bigger picture of student learning achievement over a specific period. For certification purposes, the performance and learning outcomes listed in the elementary school certificate of completion are not solely based on the assessment results at the end of the school period. (4) Benchmarking determines the excellency measurement for the school at the region or national level. This assessment is carried out continuously until students can achieve an excellent level of learning that is appropriate for the extent of its efforts and its efficacy. Data and information is obtained about benchmarking achievement in school by undertaking a national assessment at the end of the education. The results of these assessments is used to rank schools and rather than determine a student’s final score. It is intended to act as a foundation for teacher coaching and school performance. (5) Program assessments are conducted periodically and continuously by the Department of National Education and the Education Office. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2019: 10(4),246-265 Conclusion This study analyzes whether excellency-based curriculum management has vision that meets the needs of the school community, integration of science and Islamic values, and description of continuous development for the primary school curriculum. In summary, the results evidently show that the concept of excellency-based curriculum management—as conducted in the SDIT Borneo 1, SDIT Borneo 2, and SDIT Borneo 3 basic-level educational institutions—gives a competitive advantage in several ways. First, the institution plans its vision properly with the primary Islamic school curriculum and the curriculum design acts as a guideline for meeting the needs of the community. Second, there is an integration between science and religion, strengthening religious values in learners through Islam-oriented activities. The curriculum develops the life skills of students and contributes to their personal development. 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