Volume III: Education and Ecological Literacy

Self-Determined Textual Learning in Arabic Education for Adult Non Arab Learners: A Systematic Literature Mapping

  • Yusuf Aziz Mustofa UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • Hisyam Zaini UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • Zamzam Afandi UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Keywords

Heutagogy; Arabic language education; Adult non-Arab learners; Textual literacy; Islamic textual tradition.

Abstract

This study aims to map and synthesize the relationship between heutagogy, learner autonomy, Arabic language education, and Arabic-Islamic textual literacy for adult non-Arab learners. It seeks to explain how Arabic learning can move beyond technical-communicative competence toward a more integrated orientation that includes learner agency, textual depth, ethical reading, and responsibility toward meaning. This study employed a qualitative research design using systematic literature mapping. The review was conducted through scholarly sources indexed in Scopus, Google Scholar, Crossref, DOAJ, ERIC, SINTA, and selected publisher databases. The analysis followed thematic synthesis by grouping studies into heutagogy, learner autonomy, Arabic learning, and Arabic-Islamic textual tradition. The findings show that existing studies remain fragmented. Heutagogy and learner autonomy are often discussed apart from Arabic-Islamic textuality, while Arabic language education frequently emphasizes skills, communication, curriculum, and learner difficulties. Islamic textual tradition studies highlight authority, transmission, and adab, but rarely translate these insights into contemporary Arabic learning frameworks. This study is useful for Arabic language education, Islamic education, adult learning, curriculum studies, pesantren-based higher education, and digital Arabic learning. It can inform curriculum design, independent reading projects, portfolio-based assessment, textual learning models, and future empirical research on adult Arabic learners in Islamic and non-Arab educational contexts. The originality of this study lies in proposing self-determined textual learning as an initial conceptual framework. This framework integrates linguistic grounding, guided autonomy, textual immersion, genealogical awareness, ethical-reflective responsibility, and digital discernment, thereby advancing Arabic education from skill-based learning toward responsible engagement with Arabic-Islamic textual traditions

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