Humanising Classical Management in Primary School Learning: A Contextual Model from Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract

Classical management remains influential in school administration, yet its assumptions of hierarchy, standardisation, and formal control are often considered insufficient for explaining educational practice in culturally embedded settings. This study examines how classical management principles are adapted and humanised in the management of primary school learning in Aceh, Indonesia. A qualitative case study was conducted at Keude Blang Public Primary School in East Aceh. Data were generated through in-depth interviews with the principal and teachers, direct observation of school and classroom practices, and analysis of lesson plans, annual programmes, organisational documents, meeting notes, and evaluation records. Data were analysed through interactive reduction, display, and verification, followed by thematic reinterpretation around structure, leadership, moral commitment, collegiality, and community participation. The findings show that planning, organising, leading, and controlling continue to provide the formal architecture of learning management. However, these functions are not enacted mechanically. They are softened and reworked through participatory leadership, developmental supervision, religiously grounded motivation, intergenerational teacher collaboration, a familial organisational culture, and community support. The study identifies a persistent tension between administrative compliance and pedagogical improvement, particularly where evaluation focuses more strongly on learning outcomes than on instructional processes and where limited facilities constrain innovation. The article proposes a contextual humanistic classical management model in which structural discipline is made educationally productive through moral legitimacy, collegial relations, and local social capital. The model extends classical management beyond its industrial origins and offers a context-sensitive explanation of school management in a non-Western setting.