Introduction
Contemporary schools are compelled to reassess their curricula to align with the distinct needs and characteristics of the emerging student population. Today’s learners belong to Generation Alpha, defined as those born between 2010 and 2025—a cohort that has been immersed in digital technologies from birth. For this generation, technology represents a primary conduit for resolving communication challenges, accessing information, shaping career trajectories, navigating daily life, and addressing practical concerns. Consequently, they integrate digital tools across diverse domains, including education, recreation, sports, and social interaction (McCrindle, 2014). The primary education system, therefore, requires fundamental restructuring to adequately support the developmental and educational needs of Alpha generation children. Such reforms must be systematically embedded across multiple dimensions: institutional policies, program design, structural frameworks, curriculum development, pedagogical strategies, and assessment methodologies. In designing curricula for this generation, technology must be integrated in a tangible and prominent manner, ensuring that individual differences and learner characteristics are respected while enabling personalized learning pathways for all students. The main goal of this study is to identify the defining characteristics of the elementary school curriculum for Alpha Generations. In light of rapid technological advancements and children’s ubiquitous access to digital tools, the curricula for this developmental stage must be shaped by profound technological and pedagogical transformations, necessitating corresponding changes in educational structures and programs. Considering that Iranian children currently have access to numerous social networks, digital games, video and text databases, augmented and virtual reality environments, and artificial intelligence chatbots, this study aims to identify and articulate the key features of six core curriculum components: educational objectives, learning content, learning activities, interaction and feedback methods, instructional strategies, and assessment approaches. To achieve this aim, a qualitative mixed systematic review method was employed.
Methodology
This research was conducted in two sequential stages. In the first stage, a systematic review was performed to identify and analyze articles pertaining to "Generation Alpha students." In the second stage, a qualitative approach was adopted, employing semi-structured interviews with 20 experts. Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, a systematic search was carried out across the following databases: Elsevier, ScienceDirect, IEEE, Google Scholar, and domestic Iranian scientific repositories. The search employed the following keywords and their Persian equivalents: "Alpha generation," "Alpha generation learning," "Alpha generation teaching methods," "Alpha generation assessment methods," "Alpha generation learning content," and "Alpha generation learning activities." Explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied during the article selection process.
Participants in the second stage consisted of 20 experts specializing in e-learning, educational technology, curriculum studies, educational management, and philosophy of education. Participants were selected based on the logic of purposive sampling, specifically using a criterion-based sampling method. The inclusion criterion for interviewees was the authorship of at least two peer-reviewed scientific articles in the field of ICT-based learning at the elementary school level. The interview protocol addressed two main areas: (a) the characteristics of Generation Alpha students, and (b) curriculum elements, including educational objectives, learning content, activities, interaction and feedback mechanisms, and evaluation methods. The collected qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis, following the seven-step procedure.
Results
The findings of this study reveal a distinct profile of Alpha generation learners and corresponding implications for curriculum design across six key elements. Alpha students were found to exhibit the following characteristics: independence, collaborativeness, active engagement in learning, self-evaluative capacity, curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, and a sense of responsibility. The curriculum goals for this generation should prioritize the development of critical thinking, problem-solving skills, participation and interaction, digital literacy, and self-development. The learning content appropriate for Generation Alpha includes video and visual materials, cut-scenes, clear and vivid animations, infographics, interactive videos, games, narrative content, and augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) experiences. Recommended curriculum learning activities comprise game creation, project-based work, AR/VR experience reporting, community projects, multimedia storytelling, podcast production, animation, stop-motion video, story creation, design activities, as well as choice-based and peer-based teaching approaches. Alpha Generation learners require interactions that are technology-mediated, social, experiential, and personalized. Feedback should be delivered through individual, teacher-centered, systemic, and peer-based mechanisms. This generation favors instructional methods that are problem-centered, project-centered, conceptualization-oriented, self-cultivation-based, socially exploratory, innovative, and concept-mapping-based, over traditional teacher-centered methods. To evaluate Generation Alpha learners effectively, the following methods are recommended: portfolios, expository tests, self-assessment, participatory assessment, collaborative assessment, and adaptive assessment. Additionally, assessment should emphasize continuous, multiple, and triangles archiving approaches.

Conclusion
Alpha children are born into a technological ecosystem and are inherently engaged in interacting, communicating, and living within it. Consequently, the elementary school curriculum must be revised to align with both the prevailing technological-social conditions and the distinctive characteristics of this generation. The findings of this study can be articulated around two central axes. The first axis concerns the technology-centric nature of the elementary school curriculum for Alpha generation. The results indicate that Alpha students represent the most natively technologically fluent generation to date, as they receive and exchange a substantial portion of their daily lives, play, communication, and content through technological means. The second axis emphasizes student-centeredness, realized through the provision of personalization, activity, interaction, choice, and the cultivation of curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity. Within the Generation Alpha curriculum, student agency is manifested by prioritizing the development of critical thinking and the role of participation. Thus, it can be concluded that technological advancements have reshaped the individual characteristics, social attributes, and learning styles of Generation Alpha children. A curriculum appropriate to the characteristics of this generation should focus on two fundamental pillars: understanding the capabilities of learning technologies and fostering learner agency.