<![CDATA[This study examines how Islamic education is integrated into a full-day school program and how this integration is experienced as contributing to character formation among students at SMA IT As-Sunnah Makassar, Indonesia. Although extended school time creates additional opportunities for educational intervention, the duration of schooling alone does not guarantee character development; the pedagogical quality, consistency of modelling, habituation, school culture, and family support remain consequential. A qualitative field study was conducted at one integrated Islamic senior high school. Data were generated through observation, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis involving the principal, curriculum leadership, teachers, homeroom teachers, and students. Data were analyzed through the interactive processes of data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification, with source and method triangulation used to strengthen credibility. The findings indicate four interrelated implementation mechanisms: (1) integration of national and Islamic curricula, (2) routine religious habituation, (3) an Islamic school culture reinforced through teacher modelling and institutional rules, and (4) religious and character-oriented extracurricular activities. Participants and observations associated these practices with the development of religiosity, discipline, responsibility, honesty, social concern, and independence. However, the findings also show that character formation is not attributable to full-day schooling alone; peer environments, family practices, prior experiences, individual differences, and students’ digital environments may facilitate or constrain internalization. The study contributes a context-sensitive account of how extended school time can function as a character-education ecology when learning, habituation, modelling, and school–family collaboration are aligned.]]>
