<![CDATA[Pesantren dormitories are residential educational environments in which learning, caregiving, discipline, peer interaction, and protection are managed within the same institutional setting. This study examines how institutional culture shapes dormitory governance, how relational care enables recognition and response to santri welfare needs, and how communal supervision operates as an everyday protection mechanism. The article reports a qualitative multisite analysis of the fieldwork component of the broader WISE-Pesantren research program across four Indonesian pesantren: Pondok Modern Darul Ma'rifat Gontor Campus 3, MTI Canduang, Diniyyah Puteri Padang Panjang, and Qamarul Huda. Qualitative evidence was generated through field observation, document review, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions with actors directly involved in dormitory life. Within-site and cross-site thematic analysis identified three recurring mechanisms. Institutional culture produced different pathways of governance; relational care functioned as the primary human infrastructure through which welfare concerns became visible; and communal supervision created multiple points of detection and response but required clearer safeguarding pathways. The synthesis generated four managerial implications: context-sensitive governance, relationship-preserving welfare visibility, safe escalation pathways, and an information-to-learning loop. Strengthening pesantren dormitory management therefore requires standardizing essential functions without imposing a uniform organizational form. This study contributes to Islamic educational management scholarship by offering an empirically grounded, context-sensitive framework that integrates institutional culture, relational care, and communal supervision as interconnected mechanisms for strengthening santri welfare and protection across diverse pesantren settings.]]>
