The History of the Curriculum in Indonesia over the Last 18 Years

The History of Curricula in Indonesia over the Last 18 Years

By: Eka Ramadhani

Chemistry Education Student

Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training

UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta

The curriculum is one of the components and guidelines that make it easier for education to achieve its goals. In this respect, the curriculum is an important component of education, because it regulates all educational processes from planning to evaluation. The curriculum development process consists of the steps taken to develop a curriculum; it can also be understood as the steps for producing a curriculum or improving an existing one. In curriculum development there are supporting and inhibiting factors that influence it, so curriculum changes still continue to this day in 2023.

In the last 18 years, 2004 saw the birth of the Competency-Based Curriculum (KBK) to replace the 1994 curriculum. This curriculum gave schools the authority to draw up a syllabus suited to their needs. Competency-based education focuses on developing the ability to carry out tasks according to established performance standards, so that the results can be felt by learners in the form of mastery of a particular set of competencies. In this respect, the KBK is able to develop learners' knowledge, understanding, abilities, values, attitudes, and interests so that they can do something with full responsibility. The KBK is characterised by an emphasis on the achievement of student competencies, whether individually or in a classical (whole-class) setting, using varied approaches and methods, with learning resources that are not only the teacher, but also other learning resources that meet educational criteria.

Next came the 2006 curriculum, known as the School-Level Curriculum (KTSP). This curriculum is almost similar to the 2004 Curriculum. The prominent difference lies in the authority for drawing it up, which reflects the spirit of decentralisation of the Indonesian education system. Under the 2006 Curriculum, the central government sets the competency standards and basic competencies, and teachers are required to be able to develop their own syllabi and assessments according to the conditions of their school and region. The 2006 Curriculum contains a number of subjects and bodies of knowledge that students must complete to reach a certain level (move up a grade) or to obtain a diploma. The Content Standard (SI) is the guideline for developing the School-Level Curriculum, and contains: 1. The basic framework and structure of the curriculum. 2. Learning load. 3. The KTSP developed at the education unit level. 4. The academic calendar. The Graduate Competency Standard (SKL) is used to determine learners' graduation. The SKL covers competencies for all subjects. The aims of the SKL are adjusted to the level of education.

After the 2006 curriculum came the 2013 curriculum. This curriculum is a character-based curriculum that aims to improve the quality of educational processes and outcomes, leading to good character and noble morals for its learners in accordance with the Graduate Competency Standard (SKL) at the education unit.  It contains four policy changes in this curriculum, namely the Graduate Competency Standard (SKL), the Content Standard (SI), the Process Standard and the Assessment Standard, which at the same time also affect four learning models: thematic-integrative learning, the scientific approach, active strategies, and authentic assessment, which aim to prepare a creative, innovative, productive and affective future generation of Indonesia so that it can lead the Indonesian nation forward. The 2013 Curriculum is a form of progress with the times, in which the curriculum is in line with existing developments. Today technology has developed rapidly and the curriculum has entered a new realm, namely combining the concepts of education with advances in science and technology. Although many obstacles are still faced in its implementation, it can be believed that they will be overcome if the development of the 2013 curriculum is carried out well and correctly.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) announced a plan for a new curriculum to take effect from 2022, which is considered more flexible. This 2022 Curriculum focuses on essential material and is not overloaded with content; that curriculum is the Merdeka Curriculum (Independent Curriculum). The Merdeka Curriculum is a curriculum with diverse intracurricular learning in which content is optimised so that learners have enough time to deepen concepts and strengthen competencies. In this context, teachers naturally have the freedom to choose among various teaching tools so that learning can be adapted to the learning needs and interests of learners. The Merdeka Curriculum will focus on essential material and on character development in the Pancasila Student Profile, and efforts to strengthen the achievement of the Pancasila Student Profile are developed around certain themes set by Kemendikbudristek, so that they are not bound to subject content. Schools implementing the Merdeka Curriculum will go through several implementation stages, namely the Independent Learning stage, then Independent Change, and finally Independent Sharing. A nationwide curriculum change will only occur in 2024. By then, the Merdeka Curriculum will have gone through 3 years of improvement literacy in a variety of schools/madrasahs and regions.