The Problems of Curriculum

2013
in Teaching English

Harmoko Dhany
Kristanto
0203514062
1

The problems of Curriculum 2013

in Teaching English

This paper is submitted for Individual Task

Management Education
Guided by:
Dr. Rudi Hartono.M.Pd

By:
Harmoko Dhany K
0203514062
ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
STATE UNIVERSITY OF SEMARANG
SEMARANG
2015
2

INTRODUCTION
1. Background of Curriculum 2013
Based on Constitution Republic of Indonesia of 1945, there is a
commission to educate Indonesian people. As one of the government effort
to make it come true, the Indonesian government in Constitution Republic
of Indonesia of 1945 article 31, verse 3 stated that the government will
design one national education system. Conceptually, education system or
curriculum is a respond of the society need in a country to develop their
young generation. While according to Constitution Republic of Indonesia
of 2003 stated that curriculum is a program and regulation about the aims,
content, material, and methods that is used as the basic of teaching and
learning process to achieve the objectives of the study in each level of
education (Permen No 69 tahun 2013).
Based on the meaning of curriculum, there are two dimensions of
curriculum stated. The first is a program and regulation about the aims,
content, and the materials of education. While the second is the methods
used for teaching and learning process. There are some systems or
curriculums were implemented in Indonesia after the independence of
Indonesia, such as:
-

Curriculum 1947

- Curriculum

1994

Curriculum 1964

Curriculum 1968

- Curriculum 2004 (KBK)

Curriculum 1975

- Curriculum 2006 (KTSP)

Curriculum 1984

- Curriculum 2013

and

supplement Curriculum 1999

In the beginning of 2013/2014 school year, the government applied

the newest curriculum that is Curriculum 2013 to some schools. It is
applied to the chosen school start from the lower level, elementary school,
to the higher level, senior high school. Actually, there are some reasons
why the government changes the Curriculum 2006 to Curriculum 2013.
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The reasons of the development of Curriculum 2013 are stated

below:
a. Internal challenge it is related to educational condition based on
eight standards such as; content standard, process standard, alumnus
competence standard, teachers standard, instrument and media
standard, management standard, funding standard, and assessment
standard. The other internal standard is the growing of population in
Indonesia which always increases every year.
b. External challenge one of the external challenge is globalization
(WTO, ASEAN, APEC, and CAFTA). It is related to the advance of
the information technology, the growing of creative industry, and the
development of education internationally. The other external
challenges are related to the growing of economic condition in a
country, the result of TIMSS and PISA, investment and transformation
in education sector, and the effect and the influence of techno-science.
c. The improvement of mindset there are some aspect that need to be
changed as follow:
- Teacher centered model becomes student centered.
-

Teaching model (teacher and students) becomes interactive

teaching.

- Passive teaching and learning becomes active and innovative.

- Individual work becomes group work.
- Using a single media becomes using multi media.
- Mono-discipline teaching and learning becomes Multi-disciplines.
d. The negative phenomena emerge narcotics, corruption, plagiarism,
social unrest, cheating during the test, and the students fighting.
e. The improvement of management curriculum the teaching and
learning process refers to the government curriculum, thats why the
curriculum management needs to be improved. It is include the
teachers individual work changes into teachers collaborative work,
the improvement of school management through the educational
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leader, and the completing of teaching and learning media and

instruments for teaching and learning process.
f. The improvement of the material it is done through deepening and
broadening the relevant material for the students in teaching and
learning process.
g. The societies perception learns more in cognitive aspect, the
students have big burden, and less of character education.
Therefore, the government changes the previous curriculum into a new
one. Through the development of Curriculum 2013, the government hopes
that it can complete the objectives of the previous curriculum which has
not complete yet and improve the education quality in Indonesia. So, the
Indonesian citizen will have a better skill and better knowledge to face the
globalization era.
2. Principles for Curriculum Development
The development of the curriculum based on several principles as
follow:
a. KTSP is not a list of lesson. Based on that principle we can define two
meanings. The first, curriculum as a plan means a plan for the content
must be finished in each unit or level of education. The second,
curriculum as a process means the totality of the students experience
in a unit or level of education for comprehending the education
content that is planned.
b. Alumnus competence standard is stated for a unit of education, level
of education, and education program.
c. The model of curriculum based on competence characterized through
the development of the competence, including; behavior, knowledge,
thinking ability, psychomotor in all of the lesson.
d. Curriculum is based on the principle that skill, knowledge in the
curriculum in form of basic competence which can be learned and
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comprehended by all the students according to the rule of curriculum

based on competence.
e. Curriculum is developed by giving an opportunity to the students to
differentiate between the ability and interest.
f. The curriculum is centered on the potential, development, and need of
the students and their environment.
g. The curriculum must be relevant to the life necessity.
h. The curriculum is developed consider to national and region need to
improve the citizens life.
i. The grade is used for knowing and repairing the competence
achievement.
3. The Objectives of Curriculum 2013
The objective of curriculum 2013 is to prepare Indonesian citizen
to have skill in their life individually and to be a citizen who is faithful,
productive, creative, innovative, affective, and have contribution in the
society.
4. The Characteristics of Curriculum 2013
In the

development of Curriculum 2013, there are some

characteristics were programmed as follow:

a.

To develop the balance of spiritual and social development,

curiosity, creativity, and

the

relation

of

intellectual

and

psychomotor ability.
b.

School is a part of society that gives a students learning experience

where the students can apply what they have learned to the society.

c.

To develop the students behavior, knowledge, and ability while

apply it in several situation at school and society.

d.

The competence is stated in form of standard competence and basic

competence.

e.

Basic competence is developed based on accumulative, reinforced,

and enriched among the lesson.

5. Foundation for the Development of Curriculum 2013

a. Philosophical Foundation
Philosophical foundation can determine the quality of the students
which will be achieved in the curriculum, source and content of the
curriculum, teaching and learning process, students condition,
assessment result, the relation of the students with the society and the
environment. These are the philosophy used as the foundation of
curriculum development:
- Education is rooted on the culture of a nation to maintain the
better future.
- The students are the creative inherited culture.
- Education is aimed to develop the intellectuality of the students
in academic through the lesson.
- Education is used to maintain the citizens life so that they will
have the better life by having a good intellectuality,
communication

skill,

experimentalism,

and

social

reconstructivism.
b. Theoretical Foundation
Curriculum 2013 is developed based on the theory of education
based on standard-based education and the theory of competencybased curriculum). Education based on standard-based curriculum is
education that stated the quality minimal result in each curriculum.
The national standard that is stated as the alumnus competence
standard is described such as the content standard, process standard,
alumnus competence standard, educators standard, instruments
standard, finance standard, and assessment standard (PP No 19 Tahun
2005). Therefore, the competency based curriculum is designed to
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give the wider experience for the students to develop their ability to
behave, enrich their knowledge, be competent, and to act.
Curriculum 2013 used some theories, such as the teaching by the
teacher (taught curriculum) focus on the process and is developed in
teaching and learning process at school. While the direct experience of
the students (learned curriculum) is appropriate with the background,
characteristics, and the students ability. The individual direct
experience becomes the result of their study for themselves, while the
result of their study becomes the result of curriculum.
c. Juridical Foundation
Juridically, curriculum is a public policy based on philosophical
foundation and juridical foundation in education of a nation. The
juridical foundation of Curriculum 2013 is stated below:
- Pancasila.
- Constitution Republic of Indonesia of 1945.
- Constitution No. 20 of 2003 about national education system.
- Constitution No. 17 of 2005 about national long term
development.
- Government regulation No. 19 of 2005 about national education
standard.
d. Empirical Foundation
Nowadays, economic condition in Indonesia shows the growing.
The economic growth in Indonesia start from 2005 up to 2008 is
5,7%, 5,5%, 6,3%, 2008: 6,4%. The economic growing have to be
improved so that is can produce the creative young generation. It can
be happened because of the implementation of curriculum in each
level of education.
As a big country which has thousands island, ethnics, and
economic potential, there will be a disintegration. Therefore, the
8

curriculum has to be able to shape Indonesian citizen for balancing the

individual need and public need to improve their ability.
Whether Indonesia shows an advance, the education quality must
be improved. The result of PISA (Program for International Student
Assessment), shows that Indonesia has the low achievement because it
is included the tenth lower country of 65 countries. The result of TMS
(Trends International Mathematics and Science Study) shows the
Indonesian students in the low level or got low rank in the ability of:
- Understanding the complex information
- Theories, analysis, and problem solving
- Using instrument and procedure
- Doing investigation.
Teaching English at Secondary School
In the implementation of Curriculum 2013, the teacher uses scientific
approach to teach the students. Actually, it is not something new for the teacher
because they have done it when the teacher implemented competent based
curriculum. It is only have the different term so that it seems like something new
for the people.
1.

Steps in teaching and learning process

There are some steps that teacher used in teaching learning process
based on curriculum 2013 as follow:
- Behavior domain for transforming the substance or material so that students
know why.
- Skill domain for transforming the substance or material so that students
know how.
- Knowledge domain for transforming the substance or material so that
students know what.

- The result is the students can improve their ability to be a better person (soft
skill) and have competency and knowledge for their life (hard skill) in
balance.
- Curriculum 2013 focus on the modern pedagogic dimension in teaching and
learning process by using scientific approach. In science approach, there are
four aspects such as, asking, exploration, association, and communication.
Teaching and learning process in English lesson is different from other
lesson. The different is in the function of it, language for communication. It
indicates that learning English is not only learning the vocabulary and the
structure, but the students have to know how to apply it for communication in
their daily life. Here the example of teaching English activity by using curriculum
2013.
There are for steps that the students in senior high school have to do such as:
a. Observation.
This activity is aimed to relate the teaching and learning process with the real
life that we experience every day. It can be observing the facts of
phenomenon around us, including listening to the explanation, reading text,
pay attention to the social function, text structure, language aspect, and the
form of delivering and writing.
b. Asking
This activity is aimed to improve the students ability to enrich their
knowledge in form of concept, principle, procedure, rules, theory, and how to
think meta-cognitive. So, the students can think critically, logic, and
systematic. Asking is done by doing group discussion or class discussion. For
example, the teacher asks the students to have a discussion about the structure
of a text, the main idea of text, and some other information that can be found
in the text.
c. Exploration

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Exploration is aimed to train the students ability in using the language

through simulation, role play, and other systematic activities.
d. Association
Association is aimed to improve their ability to think and behave
scientifically. The teacher plans the activity and asks the students to work in a
group. For example, the students do some activities like analyze a text,
categorize a text, comparing some terms, analyze the structure and the
content. And then, the teacher gives the feedback to the students.
e. Communication
Communication is aimed to deliver the result of the activities in form of
spoken or written such as, demonstrating the result, writing, explaining, or
put it in the school magazine.
Model in teaching and learning process
a. Discovery Learning
There are some steps in discovery learning: create the stimulus,
make the problem formulation, collecting the data, analyze the data,
verification of the data, and draw the conclusion.
b. Project Based Learning
Steps in project based learning:
-. Prepare the questions/ project
- Designing the planning of the project
- Make the schedule
- Monitor the activity and project development.
- Evaluating the result
- Evaluating the activity/ experience
c. Problem Based Learning
- Orientation to the students about the problem
- Organizing teaching and learning activity
- Guide the individual or group observation
- Developing and showing the work
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- Analyze and evaluate the process of solving the problems.

Problems Encountered and Solutions
1. Problems
There are some problems encountered. The problems as follow:
a. Teachers Problems
-

The absence of discourse competence and its hierarchical

connections with the other competencies have been clearly
manifested in the formulation of the KDs.

Some KDs fail to distinguish an expression (indicating speech act)

from a whole text. A teacher asked some valid questions
What does text structure in the expression of praising mean?
Does an expression have a structure?
If it does, what is the structure?

- The facilitator from the government could not explain the problem
in the KDs in teachers training.
-

The KDs are geared around speech functions from secondary to

high school (6 years)

Not all of the text types included in the 2006 curriculum are
addressed.

The text types that encourage critical thinking (discussion,

exposition, review) are deleted.

No explicit knowledge introduced.

The interpretation of approach

-

The ministry has imposed the so called Scientific Approach (SA) to

be used to teach all subjects in Cur. 2013.

The Scientific Method is a process for asking and answering

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questions using a specific set of procedures. This process can be used as

a guide to create comprehensive and meaningful science experiences
for young children. Engaging children in scientific inquiry using all
steps of the scientific method supports children to construct
conceptually-related knowledge because at each step children use a
variety of skills to discover new information about the concept of study
(Gelman and Brenneman 2004).
Learning Steps in Curriculum 2013

Scientific approach is meant for developing new knowledge to

solve problems.

Genre-based approach is meant for developing language skills.

How can the two be integrated?

There is no common interpretation regarding the definitions or

descriptions of the Sciencetific Approach steps/elements.

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There has not been any analysis about the compatibility of

Sciencetific Approach and Genre-Based Approach.

The illustration given in the training materials raises a lot of

questions.

The urgent question is: are we going to use Genre-Based Approach

and accommodate Sciencetific Approach (principles) or are we
going to use Sciencetific Approach and accommodate Genre-Based
Approach?

Why? Because we teach language and not science.

In The Teacher training

-

The national trainers are not well-informed.

Trainers come to training sessions distributing CDs containing

information about Curriculum 2013.

Teachers are asked to discuss the contents of the CDs.

Trainers are not practitioners (bureaucrats ?)

Teachers who are quite informed about Genre-Based Approach,

come back from trainings totally confused because Scientific
Approach must be used across the curriculum.

The Scientific Approach method must be followed in developing

the books (materials).

The book does not give room to the teaching of grammar or other
knowledge. When should we address grammar?

The pages are filled with bubbles and expressions. When do we

address listening, speaking, reading and writing?

b. Students problems
- The students are not ready with the changing of the curriculum
(KTSP to Curriculum 2013) and they find difficulties to adapt to the
newest curriculum.

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- The students do not have good English or they have not fluent
enough to speak in English, so it is hard for the people to be active
during the lesson.
- The students need more time to study English because the time is not
enough for them to practice their English.
2. Solutions
- Teachers should be careful in every English material so that they will
not give the wrong one.
- Teachers adopted with the previous curriculum.
Conclusion and Suggestion
A. Conclusion
From the observation, it can be conclude that implementation of
Curriculum 2013 in learning process is not run well. The government, are
not ready to implement the new curriculum in the teaching and learning
process. The government to push using sciencetific approach in Learning
Language that it is not appropriate with Genre-Based Approach
B. Suggestion
From the problems encountered in learning process, there are some
suggestions for the Indonesian government, teacher, and students as
follow:
1.

Suggestion for the government

-

Sciencetific Approach can not been use in teaching English

Prepare the curriculum 2013 as well as the pedagogical English

Teaching.

2.

Suggestion for the teacher

- The teacher has to be active to find the mistake of the material in
Curriculum 2013 so that they will not give the wrong material.
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- The teachers have to give more motivation to the students so that

they can be active and feel comfortable at school.eventhough there
are some mistakes in the material.
3.

Suggestion for the students

- The students have to improve their English so that they can be
more active in the classroom. They can start by enriching their
vocabulary.
- The students have to improve their motivation in teaching and
learning process. Do not only think that English is hard, but they
have to have an effort to learn English.
- The students have to be brave in practicing their English and do not
be afraid if they make a mistake.

Reference
Helena I.R. Agustien English Curriculum 2013:Paradgim, Interpretation and
Implementation. TEFLIN October 2014
Kesuma, Barlin. 2011. English Teaching Methods.
http://englishteachingmethod.blogspot.com/2011/03/approaches-methodsprocedures-and.html.
Murcia, Marriane C.2001. Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language.
Boston: Thomson Learning. Inc.
Richards, Jack C. and Theodore S. Rodger. Approaches and Methods in Language
Teaching. London: Cambridge University Press.
___________. Permen No 69 tahun 2013.
Http: kangmartho.com

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