<![CDATA[Critical thinking is a core competency emphasized in Indonesia's Merdeka Curriculum, yet junior high school students' performance in social studies remains low. Gap: Digital social studies materials explicitly designed around the principles of deep learning, namely mindful, meaningful and joyful learning, are rarely developed and empirically tested. Purpose: This study developed a deep learning-based social studies e-module on international trade and examined its feasibility and effectiveness in improving eighth-grade students' critical thinking. Method: A research and development design following the ADDIE model was combined with a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design at SMPN 1 Ciawigebang, SMPN 5 Ciawigebang and MTs PUI Ciawigebang. Data were collected through expert validation sheets, questionnaires, interviews and a critical thinking test, and analyzed using normalized gain (N-Gain), t-tests and one-way ANOVA. Main findings: Content and media experts rated the e-module as highly feasible (94.17% and 95.33%), and students responded positively. Experimental classes obtained higher N-Gain scores (0.62–0.71) than control classes (0.06–0.08) in all three schools, and the difference between groups was statistically significant (p < .001). Conclusion: The deep learning-based social studies e-module is feasible and effective as an alternative teaching material for strengthening junior high school students' critical thinking within the Merdeka Curriculum.]]>
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