Curricular changes in different contexts: Current trend

The previous section explained how Indonesia has experienced ongoing changes in its school curriculum. In this section, a perspective on the overarching philosophical problem of curricular change is developed. Then the discussion is narrowed to the particular context of Indonesia.

Curriculum in different countries is being reformed for the dual purposes of preparing youth to face global competition and cultivating and strengthening national identities. Yates and Grumet’s (2011) edited collection illustrates how the global flows of information have made many countries internationalise their curriculum as well as have raised nations’ awareness of fragile national identities. Reviewing various empirical studies taken from different parts of the world, Yates and Grumet said that “there are both deliberate and also unconscious and tacit themes being drawn on as nations confront the contemporary world” (2011, p.244). Yates and Grumet draw out three common aspects colouring curriculum formulation in today’s world. First, national and global forces have driven curriculum policy makers to not only desire learners to develop skills that will permit them to participate in an economic culture that spans the globe, but also to develop learners’ sense of loyalty and membership in the national community (see Pinar, 2011; Rapoport, 2011; Tan, 2011). Curriculum is thus considered an important conduit of both national and international imaginaries.

Secondly, most countries now orient their schooling to trends following the more global economically competitive nations (Bathmaker, 2011; Karseth & Sivesind, 2010). The rising prominence of comparison, benchmarking and policy borrowing between countries, and the effect of agendas and publications from supranational agencies like the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and The World Bank have been another impetus behind today’s curriculum reforms. Such publication of world rankings in educational outcomes has led education authorities in most countries to re-evaluate and reform teaching, learning, and assessment practice. These forces are impinging in Indonesia as well. The OECD’s PISA results on Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) that leads to rankings among countries has been used as a consideration by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture (MOEC) to guide the improvement of teaching and learning process, including teachers’ professionalism (Bawesden, 2014). Additionally, Indonesian curricular reforms have followed the globalisation trend in terms of how they seek to equip the next generation to encounter global challenges. For example, the intensification of English as a compulsory subject in

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Chapter 1: Context of the study

Indonesian schools indicates that the nation is investing in the global language as an important skill to address future challenges.

Thirdly, the diasporic communities and multiculturalism associated with processes of globalisation are becoming more obvious, and these demand representation and consideration in school curricula (Tsolidis, 2011). The shift from monochrome societies to more diversified societies has prompted a move to curriculum that promotes “the equality of all” (Yates & Grumet, 2011, p.242).

Various nations’ efforts to realign their curriculum suggest that there has been a significant wave of curriculum reform, stimulated by the contextual changes in international politics, immigration flows, and concern over national identity (Yates & Grumet, 2011). These policies on curriculum are driven by a new global economically competitive world, anxieties about citizenship, and the loss of cultural identity among youth. Governments around the globe have tried to make use of globalisation discourse to justify local policy (Mok & Lee, 2003). At the same time, the demand for a cohesive moral education to underpin a sense of shared cultural identity is emerging. Moral education is believed to play a role in promoting greater appreciation of cultural diversity and building a sense of common cultural identity (Lee, 2004)

The reforms in Indonesian curriculum reflect the government’s policy agendas, including what ideology to foster and what educational outcomes the government expects. As outlined in Section 1.4.1, in the first decade of Indonesian independence, the curriculum mainly functioned to introduce a national ideology to evoke nationalism and patriotism. However, more recently, curriculum in Indonesian secondary schools has become more complex, as it accrues subjects that aim to reenergise local or national identities (like Civics, Religious Education, Indonesian language subjects and local content) as well as subjects to strengthen the nation’s economic competitiveness (English Language subjects and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) subjects) (UNESCO, 2011).

Although Indonesia has become more decentralized after the fall of the military regime in the late 1990s, it has set curriculum frameworks in terms of a national curriculum rather than local curricula. The frameworks include the selection of the CE values transmitted (Kemendiknas, 2011) and the implementation of national

examinations. However, with the implementation of SBC, Indonesia gives teachers some flexibility for interpretation to approach its curriculum standards.

To understand curriculum and globalisation, a focus only on the official curriculum constructed by policy makers and educational authorities in their official documents is not enough. A reform process in Indonesia will eventually involve thousands of schools and millions of teachers. Hence, a study on how today’s curriculum is driven by complex and contradictory local and global forces requires attention to how it is actually enacted in the classroom. Empirical studies of curriculum reform are needed to consider processes of implementation. Since teachers in different contexts might have different perspectives on the official curriculum, questions about how such curriculum will be enacted, by whom, and why teachers choose different ways to engage with the curriculum, would provide a fuller description of the complexity of the curriculum reform. To understand teachers’ experience in negotiating overlapping curricular reforms, the following section will consider Indonesia’s CE curriculum policy in the context of its school- based curriculum framework.