Southeast Asian Journal of Islamic Education

Grounding Islamic Education Transformation in Religious Moderation: Bridging the Policy-Practice Gap in Indonesia's Merdeka Curriculum

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The policy-practice gap constitutes a persistent challenge in Indonesia's Islamic education transformation as two landmark policy reforms converge: the Merdeka Curriculum (2022) and Presidential Regulation on Religious Moderation (2023). Despite evident institutional commitments, implementation frequently remains superficial, constraining the effectiveness of digital technology integration. Religious moderation values internalization, pedagogical innovation, and curriculum reform across diverse Islamic educational institutions. This systematic review synthesizes empirical evidence from 55 peer-reviewed, Scopus-indexed studies (2020-2025) and uses the PRISMA 2020 protocol to identify strategic pathways to bridge this gap. Findings reveal that sustainable transformation requires cross-dimensional integration of digital technology, religious moderation, pedagogical innovation, and curriculum reform, with religious moderation operationalized through wasatiyyah values and dialogical methods, which emerge as a foundational anchor of the entire transformation framework. Teacher digital competency gaps and structural policy-practice misalignment constitute the most critical implementation barriers. The integrative conceptual model constructed demonstrates that transformative success depends on three strategic pillars: strong institutional leadership, sustained teacher capacity development, and coherent alignment between policy design and field implementation capacity. These findings offer evidence-based pathways for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers committed to designing sustainable, equitable, and empirically grounded Islamic education transformation within Indonesia's Merdeka Curriculum era.

Tabayyun Resilience: Wikipedia Intervention in Reducing Digital Blind Trust Among Students of SMK UNITOMO Surabaya

Faqih Abdul Aziz, Evi Fatimatur Rusydiyah, Ghazali Mohamed Fadzil — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The pervasive penetration of digital technology in the digital era has led to digital blind trust among students of Vocational High Schools (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan/SMK), whereby open encyclopedia platforms are often treated as absolute truth without verification. This quasi-experimental study aims to examine the effectiveness of a forensic investigation intervention targeting Wikipedia's open-editing architecture in reducing digital blind trust and enhancing students' Tabayyun resilience. Employing a nonequivalent control group design, the study involved 44 Grade X students at SMK UNITOMO Surabaya, divided into experimental and control classes. Data were collected through Likert-scale questionnaires administered at the pre-test and post-test phases. Subsequently, they analyzed using N-Gain, Shapiro-Wilk, Levene's Test, Welch's Independent Sample t-test, and Cohen's d. Statistical computations confirmed the statistically significant rejection of the null hypothesis (p < 0.001). The experimental class showed substantial cognitive improvement, with a mean N-Gain of 0.6166, in stark contrast to the control class, which exhibited a regression in competency (N-Gain = −0.0617). Effect size analysis yielded a Cohen's d value of 4.925, confirming a large intervention effect. In conclusion, direct deconstruction of vulnerabilities in digital information architecture demonstrates strong empirical potential to facilitate the transformation of Tabayyun from a moral recommendation into a measurable self-regulating behavior. These findings underscore the urgency of integrating critical digital literacy into the Islamic Religious Education curriculum as a vocational epistemological safeguard in the twenty-first century.

Developing the Wonderful Digital Machine (WDM) Android Application for Local Wisdom-Based Islamic Learning in Banten

Mohamad Maulidin Alif Utama, Dahari Dahari, Wafa'un Lathifah — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 21:54:16 +0800

This study aimed to develop the Wonderful Digital Machine (WDM) Android application as a local-wisdom-based Islamic learning medium for students at Islamic Higher Education Institutions (PTKI) in Banten Province. It was motivated by the limited relevance of conventional learning media to the characteristics of digital-native learners. The study employed a Research and Development (R&D) approach based on the Hannafin and Peck model, which comprises needs analysis, design, development, and implementation stages. Data were collected through observations, interviews, questionnaires, and tests, and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, with validity, reliability, practicality, and effectiveness assessed. The findings indicate that the WDM application is highly feasible, as shown by strong validation scores from subject-matter, language, and media experts. The effectiveness test involving 86 students showed a significant improvement in learning outcomes, with the mean pretest score increasing from 63.02 to 91.86 on the posttest. Wilcoxon analysis yielded Z = −8.113, p < .001, confirming a statistically significant difference after implementation. This study also proposes the Local Wisdom-Based Digital Learning Media Model (MPDKL), which emphasizes the integration of local wisdom, online and offline flexibility, interactive features aligned with digital-native characteristics, and contextual transformation of religious behavior. Thus, the WDM application is effective in improving students’ learning outcomes while strengthening local wisdom values in Islamic higher education within a culturally relevant and technologically responsive learning environment for PTKI students.

Implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum in the Teaching of the Qur’an and Hadith

Aisyah Zahratunnisa, A. Markama, Andi Anirah, Putri Salsabila, Melviana Melviana — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 19:31:40 +0800

This study examines the implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum in Al-Qur’an Hadith instruction at MTsN 1 Palu City. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach, data were collected through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with one Al-Qur'an Hadith teacher and three Grade VII students, and documentation review. The data were analyzed using the interactive model of Miles and Huberman, consisting of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. Findings reveal that while teachers have adopted the required instructional frameworks, the practical application of differentiated instruction is significantly hindered by large class sizes (40 students per class) and disparities in students' Qur'anic literacy. Teachers address these challenges by conducting remedial sessions outside of school hours, maintaining strict instructional control over digital devices, and fostering mentor-like personal relationships with students. The study concludes that the effectiveness of the Merdeka Curriculum in a madrasa setting depends not only on administrative adherence but also on the teacher’s ability to balance firm classroom management with a humanistic, responsive approach to student needs. These findings offer practical implications for teacher professional development in managing diverse classroom environments.