The Obstacle of the Current Curriculum Operation for Elementary School

by: Indria Hapsari

Education is a vital point in country development. If the education quality increases, country development will increase as well. The government uses curriculum to support education operation. Curriculum is used as a guide for teachers in operating the education. The Indonesian government still raises the education quality by making the curriculum which is suitable for students and teachers. At this moment, the Indonesian government uses Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP) as their guide in education operation. The government uses this curriculum expecting the education quality, which is left far behind comparing to other countries, will increase, but to operate the education using this curriculum is difficult, especially for the curriculum operator in elementary school level. The former curriculum, the inconsistency of the government in making curriculum, and lack of socialization to teachers makes the curriculum operators hard to reach the goal of the current curriculum.

The former curriculum makes the curriculum operators difficult to reach the goal of the current curriculum. In the previous curriculum, the 1994 Curriculum, students considered teachers and textbooks as their learning sources. Students just attended school and accepted lessons which were given by their teachers and textbooks. This kind of learning method made elementary school students, which is supposed to be active and creative, being passive. When government changed the 1994 Curriculum to Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi (KBK), students had to change their learning habits. The goal of KBK is to make students being more active, creative, and independent in learning, but students had the difficulties in adapting the new curriculum because of using the 1994 Curriculum for a long time.

The next obstacle is the government changes the curriculum continuously. The government changes the KBK into KTSP in a short time. KBK was arranged in 2004 and still in progress of development when suddenly the government changed it to KTSP in 2007, although KBK had not reached its goal yet. The sudden change made students and teachers, who were still not getting used to KBK, had to adapt the new curriculum once again from the beginning.

The current curriculum may be effective if there is enough socialization to teachers and other curriculum operators. There are teachers who still don't know the curriculum well. In KTSP, the government just provides the guide which contains competency standards and contents of the curriculum. Teachers have freedom in developing and deciding their own targets and standards in teaching. The government uses KTSP expecting teachers to develop and make the curriculum is more suitable with their condition and environment, but this curriculum only makes some teachers confused. Some of them still use the old curriculum, the 1994 Curriculum, which is easier to understand.

The current curriculum, KTSP, actually is really good and promising. It supports elementary school students to be more active, creative, and more independent in learning. Although the operation is still not effective because of the former curriculum, the inconsistency of the government in making curriculum, and lack of socialization to teachers, I think the problems still can be fixed. The government should observe the current curriculum operation, which is very suitable to students at this time; in order to make the curriculum gets the maximum results.