<![CDATA[Research on the hidden curriculum in pesantren-based institutions has largely focused on its function as a transmission mechanism, while the decision-making process behind its selection remains underexplored. This qualitative single-case study examines the policy deliberation underlying the choice of the hidden curriculum at MA Fattah Hasyim Tambakberas Bahrul Ulum and its relevance to students’ religious character formation. Data were collected from six key informants through in-depth interviews, full-immersion observation, and documentation, and analyzed using the Miles and Huberman interactive model. The findings reveal five interrelated themes: (1) formal curriculum crises and inherited doxa as catalysts; (2) philosophical rejection of point-based measurement to avoid artificial compliance; (3) micro-mechanisms of exemplary conduct, visible self-correction, and peer control; (4) cross-arena actor networks conducting informal evaluations; and (5) longitudinal religious habitus amid accreditation tensions. Framed through Bourdieu’s concepts of doxa, habitus, and field, the study shows that pesantren doxa can be consciously reactivated by institutional leaders in response to contemporary educational challenges. This process operates across formal and informal spaces and offers a contextual character education model for similar Islamic institutions. The study also acknowledges the limits of the hidden curriculum, which does not uniformly shape all students.]]>
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