A critical analysis of Indonesia's 2013 national curriculum: Tensions between global and local concerns

Abstract

This paper critically examines Indonesia's 2013 national curriculum, implemented in 2019. The most significant change is the mandated use of formative assessment, which we argue is an example of policy borrowing, a trend also seen in many other countries globally. We argue that this policy has been adopted due to global and regional pressure on Indonesia to improve its education system. Alongside this, the 2013 curriculum has a strong emphasis on student attitudes, thereby promoting Indonesian national interests. Taking a holistic approach to our analysis, we follow Priestley et al.'s (2012) conceptual framing of sites of curriculum and draw on a wide range of data including policy texts, existing studies, media texts and teacher voice, to illustrate inconsistencies in the way formative assessment has been interpreted through the policy-making process. Our analysis also highlights tensions between formative assessment and the Indonesian education system and cultural context. As we exemplify, curriculum making is a complex process involving many stakeholders; teachers are not mere enactors of policy and should not be viewed as the source of the 'problem' when issues occur. Our study will be of interest to others in examining the trend of diffused policy borrowing in non-western settings.

Indonesian EFL teachers’ attitudes toward the differentiated curriculum in junior high schools and factors contributing to their attitudes

“…The differentiated curriculum (DC) is initiated with the core intention to accommodate the needs of students in learning activities (Han, 2021;Kandiko Journal on English as a Foreign Language, 14(1), 97-123 p-ISSN 208897-123 p-ISSN -1657e-ISSN 2502-6615 Howson & Kingsbury, 2021;Smale-Jacobse et al, 2019;Tomlinson, 2017). The teacher pays attention to the unique characteristics of students who are different so that they cannot be given the same treatment between one student and another student who has different characteristics (Puad & Ashton, 2022). In implementing differentiated learning, teachers need to provide reasonable actions in responding to differences in student characteristics.…”

“…The Kurikulum Merdeka, or Emancipated Curriculum (EC) in Indonesia, is an educational initiative introduced to reform Indonesia's education system (Puad & Ashton, 2022). It aims to produce more independent, creative, and adaptable graduates who can better cope with the changing demands of the modern world (Wahyuningsari et al, 2022).…”

“…It aims to produce more independent, creative, and adaptable graduates who can better cope with the changing demands of the modern world (Wahyuningsari et al, 2022). In other words, the goal of EC is to make education more relevant to the needs of students, society, and the workforce (Kristiani et al, 2021;Puad & Ashton, 2022). It encourages a shift away from rote memorization and standardized testing toward a more holistic and contextual approach to learning (Westbroek et al, 2020).…”

Curriculum That is Not Yet Independent

“…This policy on assessment has been criticized, because it borrows from policies already made by other countries. This is done because of global and regional pressure for Indonesia to improve its education system (Puad & Ahston, 2022) One of the districts that implements this independent learning policy is the Mentawai Islands Regency. facilities and infrastructure, regional income capabilities, accessibility, and regional conditions.…”

Learning Revolution with Student Worksheets Based on Bondowoso Local Wisdom for Fourth Grade of Elementary School

“…(Abdullah et al, 2022;Ramli, 2019;Siahaan & Ani, 2019). The curriculum is a content that contains rules and activities used to achieve educational goals as a reference in the learning process (Arianty et al, 2021;Puad & Ashton, 2022). The enhanced curriculum has undergone changes towards a more positive direction.…”