Implementation of the Independent Curriculum in Elementary

Schools

Maifit Hendriani

, Yessi Rifmasari

, Nurhizrah Gistituati

and Alwen Bentri

Doctoral Program in Education Sciences, Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia

Lecture Education Administration, FIP, Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia

Lecture Education Technologi Curriculum, FIP, Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia

Keywords: Implementation, Independent Curriculum, Elementary School.

Abstract: The independent curriculum is a curriculum that provides sufficient time for students to explore concepts and

strengthen competence. The government provides opportunities for educators and educational units according

to their respective readiness. This study aims to describe the implementation of the independent elementary

school curriculum in Padang City. The research method used is descriptive qualitative with a case study design.

The research technique used is observation and interviews. The research was conducted in one of the

elementary schools in the city of Padang with the target being teachers and principals. The results of the study

illustrate that the implementation of the independent curriculum in research primary schools is still in the

early stages of the 4 stages that have been categorized by the government, namely the initial stage, the

developing stage, the ready stage and the proficient stage.still needed from various parties, especially

educators, so that they want to learn more optimally to want to design teaching devices in accordance with

the conditions specified in the development guidelines from the government for the sake of the realization of

the profile of Pancasila students.

1 INTRODUCTION

Education is the right of every nation which is the

main key in preparing competitive resources in every

era (Winata et al. 2021) In Law no. 20 of 2003 it is

clear that the purpose of education is to develop the

potential that exists in students, so as to form a

dignified nation. The curriculum is one of the

instruments to realize these educational goals.

According to Rahayu et al, curriculum is the heart of

education, which is a set of lesson plans that are used

as guidelines in implementing learning activities

(Rahayu et al. 2022). In line with the opinion above,

Martin et al also stated that the curriculum is a guide

or guideline that contains objectives, content,

materials and methods used for learning activities

which become a benchmark for achieving educational

goals (Martin and Simanjorang 2022).

The curriculum in Indonesia has undergone

several changes and improvements, starting from the

1994 curriculum, the competency-based curriculum

(2004), the education unit level curriculum (2006),

the 2013 curriculum (2013) and now there is a

learning recovery policy curriculum in order to

pursue learning loss (learning lag), namely the

independent curriculum. The independent curriculum

is a curriculum that provides enough time for students

to explore concepts and strengthen competence.

Learning in this curriculum is adjusted to the needs

and interests of students which is the basis for

educators in determining teaching tools

(Kemendikbudristek 2022b). The three

characteristics of the independent curriculum are

project to strengthen the profile of Pancasila students,

learning on essential materials and flexibility of

curriculum structure (Jojor and Sihotang 2022).

Implementation of the independent curriculum,

the government provides opportunities for educators

and educational units according to their respective

readiness. Because it takes time to study the

independent curriculum in the hope that you will

gradually become more proficient in using it. There

are four stages in implementing the independent

curriculum in education units, namely the initial

stage, the developing stage, the ready stage and the

proficient stage (Satria et al. 2022). In connection

with the description above, the researcher is

Hendriani, M., Rifmasari, Y., Gistituati, N. and Bentri, A.

Implementation of the Independent Curriculum in Elementary Schools.

DOI: 10.5220/0012200500003738

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Innovation in Education (ICoIE 4 2022) - Digital Era Education After the Pandemic, pages 321-325

ISBN: 978-989-758-669-9; ISSN: 2975-9676

321

motivated to identify and describe information related

to the implementation of the independent curriculum

in one of the elementary schools in the city of Padang.

2 METHODS

Qualitative descriptive was chosen as the method in

conducting this research. According to Sugiyono the

qualitative method is a research method related to

data collected in the field and then interpreted by the

researcher. Data collection in this method is carried

out naturally with the aim of interpreting and

analyzing phenomena without using other statistical

or quantitative methods. Furthermore, the descriptive

method according to Sugiyono is a method that is not

used to draw broad conclusions, but analysis is

carried out to explain findings in the field(Sugiyono

2012). So, qualitative descriptive method is a method

that describes, describes, and analyzes objects from a

particular situation. The research technique used is

observation and interviews. The research was

conducted in an elementary school in the city of

Padang with the aim of being the principal

andeducators as the main source of information.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The implementation of the independent curriculum in

educational units has several stages according to the

readiness of each educational unit. In the process of

planning the first aspect is designing the Education

Unit Operational Curriculum (KOSP). The

operational curriculum is developed by educational

units based on the characteristics and needs of

students, educational units and regions. In addition, in

its development, it is better to involve the school

committee and the community. The principles for

developing an operational curriculum for educational

units are: (1) student-centered, meaning that it is able

to fulfill a variety of potentials, developments,

learning stages, and the interests of students (2)

contextual, that is, unique and in accordance with the

social culture and environment of the educational unit

( 3) essential, meaning that there are important

elements, using language that is straightforward,

concise and easy to understand (4) accountable,

meaning that it can be accounted for, because the

design process is based on actual data and (5)

involves various stakeholders such as parents,

organizations, education unit committees and other

stakeholders (Kemendikbudristek 2022a).

The process of preparing an operational

curriculum that is fixed and flexible must go through

the preparation steps as shown in the following chart:

Figure 1: Steps for Preparing KOSP.

The results of research at one of the elementary

schools in the city of Padang by conducting

interviews and observations related to KOSP. This

school has made small adjustments to KOSP provided

by the government. The design is carried out by the

Principal himself without involving educators,

students, parents and others. The process of

developing a KOSP like this based on its stages is at

an early stage.

The second aspect is the design of the flow of

learning objectives. The government has set Learning

Outcomes (CP) as competency targets that will be

mastered by students and used as the main reference

in developing learning designs, especially for intra-

curricular activities. However, in order for CP to be

more concrete and operational, it needs to be

translated into learning objectives. In compiling

learning objectives, it must consider the uniqueness

and characteristics of the Education Unit and

according to the stages and needs of students. The

stage of formulating learning objectives begins with

understanding CP so that educators get ideas about

what students need to learn in one phase. CP in one

phase needs to be developed into several learning

objectives by including competency components and

scope of material in one learning objective. In

research primary schools, there are 2 ways for

educators to develop learning objectives, first to

develop them on their own and second to develop

them together in the Teacher Working Group (KKG)

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forum. In preparing teacher lesson objectives, they

adapt to the textbooks used by educators and students

at school.

Furthermore, from the learning objectives that

have been developed, the flow of learning objectives

is designed. The flow of learning objectives is a new

name for the syllabus in the previous curriculum,

which was used for a period of one year which

outlines the planning and arrangement of learning and

assessment. The government also gives educators the

choice of (1) designing their own, (2) developing and

modifying based on examples provided and (3) using

examples from the government. The flow of learning

objectives that focus on CP must be logically

structured, starting from the simple to the more

complex, and influenced by the characteristics of the

subjects and learning approaches. In the research

school, educators wait for the flow of learning

objectives from other schools and then change the

name of the education unit according to the educator's

educational unit. The following is the flow of learning

objectives used by schools:

Figure 2: The Flow of Civics Learning Objectives (Source:

Educators of Class IV SD Research).

The third aspect is planning lessons and

assessments. Lesson plans are designed to guide

teachers in carrying out daily learning to achieve a

learning goal. Thus, the lesson plan is prepared based

on the flow of learning objectives used by educators

so that the form is more detailed than the flow of

learning objectives. Planning learning is influenced

by student factors, the environment, facilities and

infrastructure and others. Lesson plans are needed by

educators to provide direction in the learning process

so as to achieve CP. There are two learning plans,

namely lesson plans and teaching modules. The

government also provides examples of lesson plans

and teaching modules, educators can use or adapt

them to their respective students. If educators want to

design their own learning modules, they must at least

contain learning objectives, steps, media,

assessments, information and references. Teaching

modules that help educators to be more flexible and

contextual are designed with one learning objective

for one module according to the flow of learning

objectives that have been prepared. The teaching

modules for educators in research schools also use

modules from other schools and adapt them to the

material in the textbooks used by educators and

students. However, the modules used by educators do

not meet the minimum components that must be in

one module, namely the assessment component. The

following modules are used by research schools.

Figure 3: Fine Arts Teaching Module (Source: Class IV

Educator of Research Elementary School).

In addition to planning lessons, assessments also

need to be planned. Assessment is an integral part of

the learning process, used to find evidence or become

a consideration regarding the achievement of learning

objectives. The recommended assessments in the

independent curriculum are formative assessments

and summative assessments. The designed

assessment is equipped with assessment instruments

and techniques. Examples of assessment instruments

are rubrics, checklists, anecdotal notes and progress

charts. Examples of assessment techniques that can

be used include observation, performance, projects,

written tests, oral tests, assignments and portfolios.

Educators in research schools used self-made

formative assessments in the form of quizzes for

students and summative assessments in the middle

and at the end of the semester using written test

techniques. Educators have not used other assessment

instruments and techniques in conducting

assessments. In compiling a summative assessment

Implementation of the Independent Curriculum in Elementary Schools

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the author begins with a grid, learning limits and

adjusting to learning objectives.

The fourth aspect is the use and development of

teaching tools. In an effort to achieve CP and the

profile of Pancasila students, teaching resources and

materials are needed. Among the teaching tools are

textbooks, teaching modules, learning videos, and

other forms. Apart from print media, teaching devices

can also be accessed online through the independent

teaching platform. The Merdeka Mengajar platform

has three main features, namely learning, teaching

and educator careers. In the Teaching feature there are

teaching device products and student assessments.

Various teaching tools in this feature can be used by

teachers as references to develop teaching practices in

accordance with the Independent Curriculum. In

research primary schools, educators and educational

units do not use textbooks provided on the

independent platform but prefer books from other

publishers, with the reason that they are the same as

student handbooks.

The last aspect studied in this research is project to

strengthen the profile of Pancasila students. This co-

curricular activity is designed to achieve a Pancasila

student profile, namely, 1. Faith, piety to God

Almighty, and noble character. 2. Global diversity. 3.

Collaborate. 4. Independent. 5. Critical reasoning. 6.

Creative (Satria et al. 2022). These six dimensions are

the answers to the question "What kind of students are

targeted for education in Indonesia?". Through this

dimension it is also hoped that Indonesian students

will be able to compete in the 21st century, become

superior, productive and resilient human beings.

Project Interdisciplinary is a project to strengthen the

profile of Pancasila students. The stages in designing

project are (1) Forming a team of project facilitators,

(2) Identifying the stages of education unit readiness,

(3) Determining the dimensions and themes of the

project, (4) Designing the time allocation for the

profile project, (5) Arranging the profile project

module, (6) ) Determine learning objectives, (7)

Develop topics, activity flows, and profile project

assessments. The 4 principles of project design must

also be used as a basis for designers, including

holistic, contextual, student-centered and

exploratory.

In education units, especially in class IV, the

project is carried out 1 day in 1 week, namely

Thursday, the design of this project is discussed with

a team consisting of PAI educators, PJOK educators

and homeroom teachers for class IV. Within 1 year

there are 4 projects that will be carried out by students

with the dimensions of the Pancasila profile, namely

Faith, piety to God Almighty, and have noble

character, work together and be creative. For semester

1, the theme chosen is local wisdom and a sustainable

lifestyle. This school also does not use project in

carrying out its projects, projects are carried out based

on the teacher's handbook. An example project that

has been implemented in class IV is an ecobrick

project, processing used plastic bottles. Educators

chose project because it fits the theme of a sustainable

lifestyle and feels interesting for students. The

following is a picture of the project that has been

done.

Figure 4: Ecobric Project (Source: Class IV Research

Elementary Educator).

Based on the 5 aspects of planning to implement

the independent curriculum that have been

implemented in this research elementary school, in

general this school is still in the early stages of the 4

stages categorized by the government, where schools

have not adapted teaching tools starting from TP,

ATP, Modules, etc. to the conditions educational

units and also the characteristics of students.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The independent curriculum helps realize the ideals

of Indonesian education which wants to give birth to

Pancasila students by accommodating students to

develop according to their potential. However,

implementing this curriculum requires even stronger

effort. Based on the results of the research described

above, educators have tried to implement an

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independent curriculum in their educational units, but

awareness, encouragement and motivation are still

needed so that educators want to learn more optimally

to want to design teaching devices in accordance with

the conditions specified in the development guide

from the government. In order for a Pancasila student

profile to be formed, educators are needed who want

to learn, want to change their mindset and want to

fight together. This is in line with the thinking (Sari,

Amini, and Mudjiran 2020) which states that

cooperation, strong commitment, sincerity, and real

implementation are needed from various parties to

realize the profile of Pancasila students.

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