An evaluation of competency-based curricula implemented in the English language education programs in five universities in Indonesia
Creators: name: Hatmanto, Endro Dwi
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 390102
subject: Curriculum and pedagogy theory and development

description: The pedagogical approach of Competency-based Curriculum has only been implemented since 2000 in Indonesian Universities. Prior to that, Indonesian universities implemented the so called ‘National Curriculum’ which was more Content-Based espoused by the decree of the Minister of Education, No. 056/U/1994. In its design, this curriculum structure was heavily loaded with a great number of subjects dictated by the study programs. This had given rise to the notion that knowledge acquisition became vital. In 2000, the Ministry of Education changed the National Curriculum into the Competency-based Curriculum (CBC). While the National Curriculum was driven by an ‘inward looking’ impetus, namely the intention to develop the study programs, the idea of CBC was triggered by the external factor challenging universities to produce globally competitive graduates. In fact, according to Choudaha (2008), in a global village where the competitive landscape is leveled by globalization and technology, there has occurred a changing of the knowledge roles and the increasing complexity of work at the boundary of advanced technology, thus creating the need for knowledge workers. Given the societal and global context for the increasing needs of producing competitive graduates, the Directorate General of Higher Education (DGHE) of Indonesia recommended universities to implement the CBC. The DGHE also provided a guideline for designing the CBC including the format and steps in designing the curriculum structure, the teaching and learning techniques and the assessment process.<br><br>This research was interested in evaluating the implementation of the CBC in the five English education departments in the Yawalla province of Indonesia. The research question was “how well has the Competency-Based Curriculum policy of the Directorate of the Higher Education been implemented in the English Teacher Education Institutions in Indonesia since its introduction?” The research question was articulated in four objectives: 1) to describe the English language curriculum recently introduced into Indonesian higher education institutions; 2) to ascertain the perceptions of the implementation of the Competency-based Curriculum from the perspectives of the heads of departments, lecturers and students; 3) to ascertain the classroom practices of the lecturers and students in the teaching and learning process, including the use of teaching learning methods, the incorporation of soft skills and the assessment processes; and 4) to ascertain the challenges surrounding the implementation of the Competency-based curriculum. The research study was a program evaluation and employed an amalgamation of qualitative and quantitative methods, even though the core methodology was the use of the case study. According to Sherman and Webb (1988), the qualitative case study is a direct concern with lived, felt and undergone experience so that it fits within the general framework of qualitative research. Several data collection methods were used including interviews, focus group discussion, classroom observation, survey, and document analysis. The participants of this study were five heads of departments, ten lecturers, and 165 students selected through purposive sampling and 55 lecturers selected through convenience sampling. The data obtained through the research strategy were analyzed through SPSS statistical analysis, content analysis and data triangulation.<br><br>The results show that that the degree to which the principles of CBC proposed by DGHE were implemented was different among the five English Education Departments (EEDs). Employing the fidelity approach of curriculum implementation, EED I fully implemented the principles of CBC in the areas of the curriculum structure, teaching and learning methods and the student assessment process. The other four EEDs had partly implemented the CBC principles. EED II had successfully enacted the CBC by adopting its organizational values. The formulation of the graduate competencies in all five EEDs had referred to the four teachers’ competencies including professional, pedagogical, personal and social competencies. All five EEDs also attempted to equip their graduates with ‘other’ and ‘supporting’ competencies to pursue careers outside the teaching profession although there was confusion in formulating these additional competencies. As the data in the survey indicated, most lecturers believed that they had applied the student-centred learning modes in teaching. However, the data from the observation and interviews with students indicated that most of them had only implemented it partly. With regard to soft skills development, EED I and EED II had successfully designed a systematic training program for developing their students’ soft skills. Only EED I had integrated the soft skills as the learning outcomes and a part of student assessment in all subjects. Other EEDs still developed soft skills through teaching several ‘stand-alone’ subjects. In terms of student assessment, instead of “assessment for learning”, “assessment of learning” (summative assessment) still heavily characterized the assessment process in EED III, IV and V. Hence, the assessment process in these departments was inconsistent with the principles of the competency-based assessment. As recommendations, sharing ideas among lecturers was important for raising the understanding of the CBC. The student-centred learning approaches needed to be adopted by lecturers. In terms of curriculum implementation, professional development opportunities should ensure that scholarship of teaching and learning were enhanced, valued, recognized and rewarded. The Indonesian government through the DGHE needed to encourage EEDs to use the ‘adaption’ or ‘enactment’ approach for the curriculum implementation, thus providing room for innovation and alignment of positive organizational aspects of the institutions into the curriculum.