This study examines the implementation of Research-Based Learning (RBL) in history education at MAN 1 Surakarta, a prominent state Islamic senior secondary school in Central Java, Indonesia. Employing a qualitative embedded single-case study design, data were generated through semi-structured in-depth interviews, participatory classroom observation, and systematic document analysis. Three principal findings emerged: (1), RBL planning was driven by the teacher's long-standing professional commitment and facilitated by the pedagogical flexibility inherent in the Merdeka Curriculum, with RBL embedded within a Project Based Learning (PjBL) operational framework; (2), implementation proceeded through six adapted PjBL stages integrating the complete historiographical methodology such as heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography, Revealing substantive differentiation between science and social studies streams in terms of interdisciplinary orientation, source accessibility, learning dispositions, and research output quality; (3), three categories of obstacles (administrative, methodological, and temporal) were systematically addressed through pragmatic institutional adaptations. The study concludes that RBL constitutes a robust epistemological transformation of history education, repositioning students as active knowledge producers and cultivating critical thinking, historical literacy, and scientific character.
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