Gracia Eveline Candra, Niam Wahzudik

Teachers' interpretation of the Merdeka curriculum as a policy innovation: A phenomenological exploration

Introduction

Teachers' interpretation of the merdeka curriculum as a policy innovation: a phenomenological exploration. Explore Indonesian teachers' interpretations of the Merdeka curriculum as a policy innovation. This study reveals adoption challenges, strategies, and its impact on learning flexibility and student motivation.

Abstract

The Merdeka Curriculum significantly changes Indonesia’s education system by granting schools flexibility in designing, implementing, and evaluating learning. This study examines teachers' acceptance of the curriculum, challenges encountered, and strategies for adaptation using a phenomenological qualitative approach. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis to explore teachers’ interpretations of the curriculum’s innovation attributes: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. Findings indicate that the curriculum enhances learning flexibility and student motivation. Its compatibility with previous practices supports adaptation, though complexity arises from changes in work culture and administrative demands. Trialability is facilitated by mentoring and collaboration, while observability suggests improved student engagement, requiring further evaluation. This study recommends continuous training, resource support, and systematic monitoring to strengthen adoption, with active teacher participation for ongoing feedback.

Review

This study offers a timely and relevant exploration into teachers' interpretations of the Merdeka Curriculum in Indonesia, a significant policy innovation aimed at fostering greater flexibility within the education system. The paper's focus on teachers' acceptance, challenges, and adaptation strategies provides crucial insights into the human element of large-scale educational reform. By employing a phenomenological qualitative approach, the research aims to uncover the lived experiences and perceptions of educators as they navigate these changes, making a valuable contribution to understanding the practical implications of curriculum policy at the ground level. The methodological design, which combines interviews, observations, and document analysis, is well-suited to the exploratory nature of the study. The strength of this research lies in its structured examination of teachers' interpretations through the lens of Rogers' innovation attributes: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. This framework effectively guides the analysis, revealing that the curriculum's perceived flexibility and motivational benefits (relative advantage), along with its compatibility with existing practices, aid adaptation. However, the findings also highlight critical areas of complexity related to administrative demands and shifts in work culture, while underscoring the importance of mentoring and collaboration for trialability. The initial observations of improved student engagement, though requiring further evaluation, suggest promising outcomes. While the abstract clearly articulates the study's aims and methodology, a deeper understanding of the "phenomenological exploration" would be beneficial in the full paper, particularly how the lived experience transcends or informs the interpretation of the innovation attributes. The recommendations for continuous training, resource support, systematic monitoring, and active teacher participation are highly practical and directly address the identified challenges, providing a clear roadmap for strengthening curriculum adoption. Overall, this research provides a robust foundation for policymakers and school administrators to better support teachers during curriculum transitions and ensures that teacher feedback is integrated into ongoing policy refinement.

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