Challenges and Opportunities in Implementing the Merdeka Curriculum in Arabic Learning in the Digital Era: A Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38073/lahjatuna.v6i1.4988Keywords:
The Merdeka Curriculum, Arabic Language Learning, the Digital AgeAbstract
Arabic learning in the digital era is increasingly required to move beyond the transmission of linguistic rules toward learning experiences that are flexible, contextual, communicative, and supported by technology. In Indonesia, the Merdeka Curriculum offers wider space for teachers to design learning according to students’ needs, yet its application in Arabic subjects, especially in madrasahs, still faces pedagogical, institutional, and technological constraints. Previous studies have tended to address curriculum implementation and technology integration separately. This study aims to synthesize the challenges and opportunities of implementing the Merdeka Curriculum in Arabic learning in the digital era. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted following PRISMA 2020. Records published between 2021 and 2026 were retrieved from Google Scholar through Publish or Perish; of 500 records identified, 53 journal articles met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed using thematic analysis. The synthesis shows that the main challenges are a shift in pedagogical orientation, uneven teacher readiness, limited digital and TPACK competence, inadequate infrastructure and digital resources, and difficulties in designing authentic assessments for productive Arabic skills. Conversely, the curriculum creates opportunities through flexible and communicative learning design, multimodal digital media, AI-supported pedagogy, teacher professional communities, and portfolio-based assessment. The study concludes that implementation is a pedagogical transformation that depends on teacher readiness, institutional support, and the nature of Arabic language skills, not on technology alone. The study implies that Arabic teachers need continuous digital-pedagogical development, while madrasahs and policymakers should provide a supportive technology ecosystem and assessment guidelines suitable for the nature of Arabic language skills.
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