Abstract:
This study examines the development of an Outcome-Based Curriculum
(OBC) in the Arabic Language Education Study Program (PBA) at IAIN
Pontianak through an epistemological analysis grounded in Rusdi Ahmad
Thuaimah’s thought. The research was motivated by the need to reconcile
competency-based higher education reforms with the philosophical and
pedagogical foundations of Arabic language education. Using a qualitative
descriptive case-study design, data were collected from curriculum documents,
interviews, observations, and institutional records, and analyzed through
interactive qualitative analysis to identify structural, epistemological, and
pedagogical patterns. The findings indicate that the PBA curriculum has
evolved into an integrated OBC framework encompassing curriculum
foundations, graduate profiles, CPL, and a tiered course structure aligned with
national standards and Islamic sociocultural values. Epistemologically, it
reflects Thuaimah’s view of Arabic as communicative, cultural, and cognitive
practice, operationalized into measurable competencies, multidimensional
graduate roles, and constructive alignment between learning design and
authentic assessment—demonstrating compatibility between OBE principles
and Arabic curriculum epistemology. The study concludes that meaningful
curriculum reform in Arabic language education depends on the systemic
integration of epistemology, curriculum design, and assessment practice rather
than structural redesign alone. Practically, the integrative model requires
strengthening communicative-experiential learning, performance-based
assessment, lecturer pedagogical capacity, and institutional quality assurance.
Future research should empirically test the model across institutions, track
graduate outcomes longitudinally, and explore digital integration within OBE
oriented Arabic curricula to support adaptive curriculum development in
Islamic higher education.
