Curriculum Development in Indonesia

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: At the end of the course, students would be able to argue on the
change of the curriculum in Indonesia.

A. INTRODUCTION
Indonesia has its curriculum development journey to drawback after its independence. Each
curriculum has its focus and emphasis. This unit presents Bire’s (2010) highlights on the
models of curriculum and their emphases on the Objective, Contents, Methods and
Evaluation. For more comprehensible understanding on types and the emphasis, it is
recommended to find Bire’s article entitled “Mismatch of English Education in Indonesia”.

B. TYPES OF CURRICULUM APPLIED IN SCHOOLS

Glatthorn (2000) outlines seven types of curriculum applied at schools, namely:

1. Recommended curriculum-proposed by scholars andprofessional organizations.

2. Written curriculum- appears inschool, district, division or countrydocuments.

3. Taught curriculum- what teachers implement or deliver in the classrooms and schools
4. Supported curriculum- resources textbook computers, audio visual materials which
support and help in the implementation of the curriculum.
5. Assessed curriculum, that which is tested and evaluated.
6. Learned curriculum-what the students actually learn and what is measured and
7. Hidden curriculum- the unintended curriculum.
C. PATHWAY OF CURRICULUM IN INDONESIA

The following figure displays the journey of curriculum applied in Indonesia.

1947 1975 2004

Rencana Pelajaran → Kurikulum Rintisan
Dirinci dalam Rencana Sekolah Dasar Kurikulum
Pelajaran Terurai Berbasis
Kompetensi
1968 1994 (KBK)
Kurikulum Kurikulum 1994 2013
Sekolah Dasar ‘Kurikulum 2013’

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2015

1984
Kurikulum 1984 2006
1973 Kurikulum
Kurikulum Proyek Tingkat Satuan
Perintis Sekolah Pendidikan
Pembangunan (KTSP)
1964 (PPSP) 1997
Rencana Revisi Kurikulum 1994
Pendidikan
Sekolah Dasar
Materi pengetahuan Produk
11

Figure 2.1. Pathways of Curriculum in Indonesia

In 2016, Bire highlighted the curricular applied for senior high schools right after the
independence in 1945 up to present. In the highlight, he gave the emphasis on TELF load
across the curricula as seen in table below.
Table 3
TEFL load across the curricula

N TEFL Cur.1950-58 Cur 1962-68 Cur 1975 Cur 1984-94 Cur 2004
o components
1 Objective Reading Reading Reading Reading Oral & written
oriented oriented ability ability product
2 Contents Grammar Grammar Reading Reading Reading
oriented oriented and and
structure grammar
3 Methods Grammar- Grammar- Eclectic Com. Com-based approach
translation translation method approach
4 Evaluation Grammar- Grammar- Structure Reading Reading, Listening
translation translation oriented and & Writing
grammar
EXERCISE
Having gained the knowledge on this unit, please answer the following questions and do the
instructions below:
1. Which types of curriculum do you think best describe KBK, KTSP and K13?
2. Please, sequence and explain each curriculum applied in Indonesia.
3. Read on Bire (2016), then, highlighted the following sections:
a. What difference does each curriculum make?
b. What are the underlying reasons on the selection of method in each curriculum?
4. Please, give an outline on the objective, content, methods, and evaluation of K13.
5. Write on a report with 250 words on the curriculum in Indonesia.
Here is the outline of the report:
Curriculum changes bring positive impact to the quality of education.
Good education runs on good curriculum application.

The government should give higher amount of school operational grant to those of
school with good curriculum application.

Give your reasons.