Content Differentiation in Local-Wisdom-Based Islamic Religious Education Modules: A Curriculum Management Case Study in an Indonesian Vocational School

Abstract

Indonesia’s curriculum reform gives schools the flexibility to contextualize learning, yet the rich local culture of provinces such as Bengkulu is seldom drawn on in teaching. Islamic Religious Education often presents doctrinal content with little contextual relevance for diverse learners. This study examines how content differentiation is implemented in local-wisdom-based IRE modules and which school-level factors facilitate or hinder the process. A qualitative single-case study was conducted over one academic semester at a state vocational secondary school in Bengkulu, involving IRE teachers, students, the principal, and the curriculum team. Data were collected through interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis; they were analyzed through coding, and triangulation was used to enhance trustworthiness. Teachers differentiated content through three mechanisms: integrating local values into instructional content, using local visual and narrative media, and adjusting textual complexity to learner readiness. Before inclusion, cultural content was screened for doctrinal consistency, curricular alignment, and feasibility. Students reported greater engagement, easier comprehension, and a sense of cultural identity, although no learning outcomes were measured. Implementation was constrained by uneven teacher skills, limited cultural documentation, and weaker cultural ties among non-local students. On this basis, the study proposes a provisional five-layer culturally differentiated curriculum management framework that links cultural assets, governance, translation, enactment, and meaningful learning through management and feedback loops. Content differentiation based on local wisdom thus appears to operate as a systemic curriculum management process that depends on institutional capacity, not on teacher initiative alone.