K-13 in turbulent weeks: a study of curriculum contestation in INDONESIA, NOVEMBER and DECEMBER 2014.

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ABSTRACT
Lestari, Ayu Endah. (2015). K-13 in Turbulent Weeks: A Study of Curriculum Contestation in
Indonesia, November and December 2014. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University
Out of nine previous curricula implemented nationwide, the most recent curriculum
(dubbed as K-13) has been recorded as the shortest curriculum in its nationwide implementation.
It was launched in July 2014, under Yudhoyono's second term administration and was suspended
by Joko Widodo's administration on the first week of December 2014. The K-13 implementation
was suspended to be nationwide and only implemented in limited school i.e. 6,221 schools in
Indonesia. The curriculum itself was signed as a national mandate by the former Minister of
Education, Muhammad Nuh. The curriculum was then examined by a new team formed by the
current Minister of Education, Anies Rasyid Baswedan, to assess its applicability and
acceptability. Upon a comprehensive review, the team recommended the curriculum be
suspended.
The suspension of K-13 implementation that leads to some controversies becomes a
central issue in the study of curriculum. Drawn from Bourdieu's conception of fields and

Bauman's contemporary popular knowledge, this paper sets to present a discourse analysis on the
K-13 during its turbulent weeks around its suspension. Two major research questions proposed
are: (a) Who are the proponents and opponents of the K-13 suspension presented in online news
reports? (b) What issues did they raise in relation to the suspension of the curriculum?
The study was drawn from 85 online news reports, in the turbulent weeks, started from
11/12 up to 12/31. The news reports were taken from major online news agencies, such as
Kompas, Tempo, Liputan6, Detik, Okezone, Republika, Merdeka, and Antara. The data analysis
was conducted by multiple readings. Both proponents and opponents and also their perspectives
were recorded in a graphic representation with two opposing positions and a compare and
contrast table. To maintain the validity of the analysis, the researcher presented both the graphic
representation and compare and contrast table to the research adviser. The analysis was largely
drawn from a series of discussions during the consultative meetings.
It was found that controversies had been around since the inception of the curriculum.
The K-13 suspension to be nationwide was followed by pros and cons. The big issues around the
K-13 suspension were Foundation Considerations, Teaching-Learning Process, Assessment,
Professional Teacher Development, and Provision of Resources.
Keywords: Curriculum 2013, policy making, media, discourse analysis, Indonesia

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ABSTRAK
Lestari, Ayu Endah. (2015). K-13 in Turbulent Weeks: A Study of Curriculum Contestation in
Indonesia, November and December 2014. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Dari sembilan curriculum sebelumnya yang pernah berlaku di Indonesia, kurikulum yang
baru (K-13) terekam sebagai kurikulum yang paling singkat pelaksanaannya. Kurikulum
tersebut diluncurkan pada Juli 2014, di bawah pemerintahan Yudhoyono yang kedua dan
ditunda dan dihentikan sementara oleh pemerintahan Joko Widodo di minggu pertama
Desember 2014. Kurikulum itu sendiri diperintahkan untuk diterapkan serentak oleh Menteri
Pendidikan, Muhammad Nuh. Kurikulum tersebut kemudian diselidiki oleh tim baru yang
dibentuk Menteri Pendidikan sekarang ini, Anies Rasyid Baswedan, untuk menilai relevansi dan
akseptabilitasnya. Atas dasar peninjauan kembali secara menyeluruh, tim tersebut
merekomendasikan K-13 untuk dihentikan sementara.
Sebuah akhir dari penghentian K-13 ini memancing kontroversi yang menjadi isu utama
dalam studi tentang kurikulum. Digambarkan melalui konsep field Bourdieu dan pengetahuan
kontemporer Bauman, paper ini disusun untuk menampilkan analisis wacana pada K-13 dalam
masa minggu-minggunya yang bergolak dalam penghentiannya yang sementara. Dua rumusan

masalah yang diajukan adalah: (a) Siapa saja aktor-aktor yang ditampilkan di berita online? (b)
Isu apa yang mereka angkat dalam hubungannya dengan penghentian sementara K-13?
Data yang dipakai adalah 85 berita online dalam minggu-minggu yang kacau-balau,
mulai dari 12 November sampai 31 Desember. Berita online tersebut diambil dari agensi online
news, seperti Kompas, Tempo, Liputan6, Detik, Okezone, Republika, Merdeka, dan Antara.
Analisis data dilakukan dengan membaca berulang. Pendukung dan penentang penundaan K-13
dan opininya digambarkan dalam sebuah representasi grafik dengan dua posisi yang
berlawanan untuk dilanjutkan dan sebuah tabel perbandingan compare dan contrast. Untuk
menjaga keabsahan analisis tersebut, peneliti mempresentasikan representasi grafik dan tabel
compare and contrast pada dosen pembimbing. Analisis tersebutsebagian besar digambarkan
melalui serangkaian diskusi selama minggu-minggu konsultatif.
Ditemukan bahwa adanya kontroversi sudah sejak awal mula kurikulum
diterapkan.Penundaan K-13 secara nasional diikuti oleh pro dan kontra. Isu utama dalam
penundaan K-13 itu adalah mengenai Pertimbangan Dasar Hukum, Proses Belajar-Mengajar,
Penilaian, Pengembangan Guru, dan Ketersediaan Sumber Daya.
Kata kunci: Curriculum 2013, policy making, media, discourse analysis, Indonesia

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K-13 IN TURBULENT WEEKS: A STUDY OF CURRICULUM
CONTESTATION IN INDONESIA,
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2014
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN FINAL PAPER
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education

By
Ayu Endah Lestari
Student Number: 101214060

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ART EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA
2015

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K-13 IN TURBULENT WEEKS: A STUDY OF CURRICULUM
CONTESTATION IN INDONESIA,
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2014
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN FINAL PAPER
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education

By
Ayu Endah Lestari

Student Number: 101214060
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ART EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2015
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A Sarjana Pendidikan Final Paper on

K-13 IN TURBULENT WEEKS: A STUDY OF CURRICULUM
CONTESTATION IN INDONESIA,

NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2014

By
Ayu Endah Lestari
Student Number: 101214060

Approved by
Advisor

Markus Budiraharjo, M.Ed., Ed.D.

23 January, 2015

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TERPUJI

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DEDICATION PAGE

“Education is not the learning of
facts, but the training of the mind
to think.”
-Albert Einstein-

I dedicated my final paper to:
my beloved parents, Bapak Gunarjo and Ibu Parmi

my sisters, Chandra and Retno
all of my teachers and friends

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STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work or
parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the
references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, 5 February, 2015
The Writer

Ayu Endah Lestari
101214060

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH
UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama

: Ayu Endah Lestari

Nomor Mahasiswa

: 101214060

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

K-13 IN TURBULENT WEEKS: A STUDY OF CURRICULUM
CONTESTATION IN INDONESIA,
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2014
Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,
mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data,
mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media
lain untuk kepantingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun
memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai
penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal 23 Januari 2015
Yang menyatakan

(Ayu Endah Lestari)

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ABSTRACT
Lestari, Ayu Endah. (2015). K-13 in Turbulent Weeks: A Study of Curriculum
Contestation in Indonesia, November and December 2014. Yogyakarta:
Sanata Dharma University
Out of nine previous curricula implemented nationwide, the most recent
curriculum (dubbed as K-13) has been recorded as the shortest curriculum in its
nationwide implementation. It was launched in July 2014, under Yudhoyono's second
term administration and was suspended by Joko Widodo's administration on the first
week of December 2014. The K-13 implementation was suspended to be nationwide
and only implemented in limited school i.e. 6,221 schools in Indonesia. The
curriculum itself was signed as a national mandate by the former Minister of
Education, Muhammad Nuh. The curriculum was then examined by a new team
formed by the current Minister of Education, Anies Rasyid Baswedan, to assess its
applicability and acceptability. Upon a comprehensive review, the team
recommended the curriculum to be suspended.
The suspension of K-13 implementation that leads to some controversies
becomes a central issue in the study of curriculum. Drawn from Bourdieu's
conception of fields and Bauman's contemporary popular knowledge, this paper sets
to present a discourse analysis on the K-13 during its turbulent weeks around its
suspension. Two major research questions proposed are: (a) Who are the proponents
and opponents of the K-13 suspension presented in online news reports? (b) What
issues did they raise in relation to the suspension of the curriculum?
The study was drawn from 85 online news reports, in the turbulent weeks,
started from 11/12 up to 12/31. The news reports were taken from major online news
agencies, such as Kompas, Tempo, Liputan6, Detik, Okezone, Republika, Merdeka,
and Antara. The data analysis was conducted by multiple readings. Both proponents
and opponents and also their perspectives were recorded in a graphic representation
with two opposing positions and a compare and contrast table. To maintain the
validity of the analysis, the researcher presented both the graphic representation and
compare and contrast table to the research adviser. The analysis was largely drawn
from a series of discussions during the consultative meetings.
It was found that controversies had been around since the inception of the
curriculum. The K-13 suspension to be nationwide was followed by pros and cons.
The big issues around the K-13 suspension were Foundation Considerations,
Teaching-Learning Process, Assessment, Professional Teacher Development, and
Provision of Resources.
Keywords: Curriculum 2013, policy making, media, discourse analysis, Indonesia

vii

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ABSTRAK
Lestari, Ayu Endah. (2015). K-13 in Turbulent Weeks: A Study of Curriculum
Contestation in Indonesia, November and December 2014. Yogyakarta:
Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Dari sembilan curriculum sebelumnya yang pernah berlaku di Indonesia,
kurikulum yang baru (K-13) terekam sebagai kurikulum yang paling singkat
pelaksanaannya secara nasional. Kurikulum tersebut diluncurkan pada Juli 2014, di
bawah pemerintahan Yudhoyono yang kedua dan ditunda dan dihentikan sementara
oleh pemerintahan Joko Widodo di minggu pertama Desember 2014. Kurikulum itu
sendiri diperintahkan untuk diterapkan serentak oleh Menteri Pendidikan,
Muhammad Nuh. Kurikulum tersebut kemudian diselidiki oleh tim baru yang
dibentuk Menteri Pendidikan sekarang ini, Anies Rasyid Baswedan, untuk menilai
relevansi dan akseptabilitasnya. Atas dasar peninjauan kembali secara menyeluruh,
tim tersebut merekomendasikan K-13 untuk dihentikan sementara.
Sebuah akhir dari penghentian K-13 ini memancing kontroversi yang menjadi
isu utama dalam studi tentang kurikulum. Digambarkan melalui konsep field
Bourdieu dan pengetahuan kontemporer Bauman, paper ini disusun untuk
menampilkan analisis wacana pada K-13 dalam masa minggu-minggunya yang
bergolak dalam penghentiannya yang sementara. Dua rumusan masalah yang
diajukan adalah: (a) Siapa saja pendukung dan penentang penundaan K-13 yang
ditampilkan di berita online? (b) Isu apa yang mereka angkat dalam hubungannya
dengan penghentian sementara K-13?
Data yang dipakai adalah 85 berita online dalam minggu-minggu yang
bergejolak, mulai dari 12 November sampai 31 Desember. Berita online tersebut
diambil dari agensi berita online, seperti Kompas, Tempo, Liputan6, Detik, Okezone,
Republika, Merdeka, dan Antara. Analisis data dilakukan dengan membaca
berulang. Pendukung dan penentang penundaan K-13 dan opininya digambarkan
dalam sebuah representasi grafik dengan dua posisi yang berlawanan untuk
dilanjutkan dan sebuah tabel perbandingan compare dan contrast. Untuk menjaga
keabsahan analisis tersebut, peneliti mempresentasikan representasi grafik dan tabel
compare and contrast pada dosen pembimbing. Analisis tersebutsebagian besar
digambarkan melalui serangkaian diskusi selama minggu-minggu konsultatif.
Ditemukan bahwa adanya kontroversi sudah sejak awal mula kurikulum
diterapkan.Penundaan K-13 secara nasional diikuti oleh pro dan kontra. Isu utama
dalam penundaan K-13 itu adalah mengenai Pertimbangan Dasar Hukum, Proses
Belajar-Mengajar, Penilaian, Pengembangan Guru, dan Ketersediaan Sumber Daya.
Kata kunci: Curriculum 2013, policy making, media, discourse analysis, Indonesia

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to thank my Jesus Christ the Lord for His wonderful
blessing. I thank Him also for giving me lovely people who always support my life,
especially in finishing my study.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude for my advisor, Markus
Budiraharjo, M.Ed., Ed.D., for his guidance, support, motivation, and attention. I
thank him for the sharing we had during many consultations. I felt how grateful I had
been to have him as my advisor. I have received so many meaningful lessons that
motivate me to be better and better.
My special gratitude goes to my beloved parents, Gunarjo and Maria
Suparmi, for their love, prayers, care and support given to me. They are my best
people in my life who always strengthen me. I also address my gratitude to my
sisters, Chandra and Retno who always become the best sisters for me. I thank for
the prayers and hope given to me.
I also thank my relatives who always support me: my cousins (Mbak Fani,
Mbak Rina, Mbak Febi and Riska) who always remind and support each other to
finish our study; my beloved grandfather, Mbah kakung Dirjo Sumarto, who makes
me a responsible granddaughter. I thank PBI students 2010 who always fight
together, Emak-emak Kece (Fani, Gita, Guida, and Sisca) who always become the
best friends and sisters to me, Keluarga Skripsweet (Afri, Yos, Dee, Edo, Fani,
Gita, Indi, Nono, Ria, Tita) who always support each other, my kind friends (Edo
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and Anggun) who help me in finishing the technical matters of this final paper, my
other kind and closest friends (Ades and Sophia) who accompany me during the
process of finishing this final paper as well as all of my closest friends who cannot
be mentioned one by one here.

Ayu Endah Lestari

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE .....................................................................................................

i

APPROVAL PAGES .........................................................................................

ii

DEDICATION PAGE ........................................................................................ iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ..................................................

v

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ................................................... vi
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................... vii
ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................... ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................... xi
LIST OF GRAPHIC ........................................................................................... xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................... xiv

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................

1

A. Research Background................................................................

1

B. Research Method ......................................................................

6

CHAPTER II RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ..........................

8

A. Theoretical Description ............................................................

8

1. Curriculum Policy Making ..................................................

8

2. Field Theory ......................................................................... 10
B. Discussion ................................................................................ 13
1. The Proponents and the Opponents of the K-13
Suspension ......................................................................... 13
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2. The Perspectives on the K-13 Suspension: Pros
And Cons ............................................................................ 16
a. Proponents of the K-13 Suspension ............................. 17
1) Foundation: Juridical, Philosophical, and Substantive
Considerations ........................................................ 17
2) Teaching-Learning Process .................................... 21
3) Assessment ............................................................. 25
4) Professional Teacher Development ........................ 28
5) Provision of Resources ........................................... 30
b. Opponents of the K-13 Suspension .............................. 33
1) Foundation: Juridical and Substantive
Considerations ....................................................... 33
2) Teaching-Learning Process .................................... 35
3) Professional Teacher Development ........................ 37
4) Provision of Resources ........................................... 38

CHAPTER III CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................... 40
A. Conclusions .............................................................................. 40
B. Recommendations .................................................................... 41

REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 42
APPENDICES ................................................................................................... 45

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LIST OF GRAPHIC
Graphic

Page

2.1 The Proponents and Opponents of the K-13 Suspension ............................. 14

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Page
Appendix A The Sources of Data ..................................................................... 45

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the research background and research method.
A. Research Background
Curriculum 2013, or dubbed as K-13, is the newest curriculum replacing the
previous curriculum, Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP) or school-based
curriculum. K-13 implemented nationwide in Indonesia since July 2014. It was
suddenly suspended in the second week of December 2014. The curriculum was only
six months and lived under two different administrations. It was mandated nationwide
under the Yudhoyono’s administration and suspended under the Jokowi’s
administration.
It is undeniable that curriculum decision making by the authority matters so
much in the discourse of education. Egan (2003) stated that children of all societies
need some trainings and education. They need to be introduced to “a set of norms,
knowledge, and skills which the society requires for its continuance” (p. 9). However,
it is not easy to decide what to teach especially given the fact that the recent world is
so dynamic. It is stated by Nonaka, Toyomo, and Konno (2000), “Knowledge is
dynamic, since it is created in social interactions amongst individuals and
organizations” (p.7). Besides, the information technology grows rapidly and makes
knowledge obsolete fast. Accordingly, a curriculum needs frequent revisions
following the dynamic knowledge.
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It

is

explicitly

stated

in

the

Kompasiana

educational

website,

www.edukasi.kompasiana.com, that Indonesia has implemented ten different
curricula since its independence in 1945. They curricula that had been implemented
in Indonesia are Curriculum Rentjana Pelajaran in 1947, Curriculum Rentjana
Pelajaran Terurai in 1952, Curriculum Rentjana Pendidikan in 1964, Curriculum
1968, Curriculum 1975, Curriculum 1984, Curriculum 1994 and Suplemen Kurikulum
1999, KBK (Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi) or Competence-based Curriculum in
2004, KTSP (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan) or School-based Curriculumin
2006, and the newest curriculum is Curriculum 2013 or K-13. In the curriculum
making, the Department of Education will need to engage experts, academics, and
stakeholders to develop the curriculum.
The K-13 as the latest curriculum earned pros and cons for its suspension. The
implementation of the K-13 is recorded as the shortest curriculum which was
implemented nationwide in Indonesia. As stated in www.edukasi.kompas.com, the K13 was introduced in 2013 as a field-testing in 6,221 schools in Indonesia (Kompas,
12/5). Then the Minister of Education mandated the curriculum to be implemented
nationwide in July 2014 although there was not program evaluation done to assess its
strengths and weaknesses. Accordingly, there are a lot of argumentations related to
K-13. There are so many pros and cons that came from teachers and students who
experience in the field, government officials, educational experts, even from society
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3
Upon the administration changing in October 2014, the pros and cons of the
K-13 became stronger. It made the new Minister of Education, Anies Rasyid
Baswedan, formed a curriculum reviewer team to study the K-13. The team
recommended the K-13 to be suspended. This paper is set to capture the pros and
cons following the decision of the new Minister of Education. The data were taken
from 85 online news reports, gathered from major news agencies, such as Kompas,
Tempo, Liputan6, Detik, Okezone, Republika, Merdeka, and Antara. During
November and December, news reports about the K-13 were massively published by
both online and print mass media. There were many online mass media publishing the
news about the K-13 every day with more than one topic. The print mass media also
used the K-13 news as their headline. It was during the turbulent weeks of its official
suspension that the K-13 news reports were frequently published. November and
December are the limitation time for the data gathered. The news reports taken are
containing the K-13 issue.
What is the significance of reading news reports within the turbulent weeks of
the K-13 being suspended? It is to present two basic arguments, i.e. the dynamic of
popular knowledge and curriculum inquiry. First, according to Bauman (2013),
today’s knowledge is characterized by a high degree of fluidity. Everybody can
access knowledge because people live in the globalization era. Media is one of the
sources of knowledge. Now, everybody can express their ideas freely, can upload
personal information and download what they want to know. It is a form of
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4
anymore. Nowadays the citizen can create and consume information which is
available through internet. Given the popular construction of knowledge by people
for other people, this study will capture the curriculum knowledge construction
following people’s opinions, ideas, and experiences.
Second, the discipline of curriculum inquiry is filled with different
theorizations that will help people to understand the complexity of the field. It is
argued that people will obtain more understanding if there are more perspectives
applied. Kliebard (2004) gives a case in point viewed from the historical
investigation. He described that the early formation of curriculum development in the
United States between 1896 and 1956 had been characterized by ideological
contestations involving four different strands. The different strands were intellectual
traditionalist, efficiency, child developmentalist, and reconstructionist. It is explained
that intellectual traditionalist agreed when education was held traditionally. People
were educated to become intellectual leader. It was expected that they could be able
to lead others because they were honored. Efficiency strand came into the field of
curriculum upon the mass production in industry revolution era. The priority of
education was to improve the economic productivity. The next is developmentalist
strand. This strand agreed that education was held to construct children’s future.
While reconstructionist described that education was extremely important to organize
the world by reconstructing.
Ralph Tyler (1949) introduced an efficiency-based model as a curriculum
development. Up to this day, design of curriculum is rooted from Tylerian Rationale.

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Tyler explained that in all curriculum development projects included four
components as a major role. They are instructional goals, necessary materials to
cover, important strategies, and assessments or evaluation steps. However, another
small group of scholars set out to begin a different way to investigate curriculum.
To understand the complexity of K-13, we have to know what mass media
published in the period of “turbulent weeks” in November and December 2014. In
this study, the researcher will analyze the K-13 news reports published in the online
mass media. Personally speaking, the researcher is an English teacher candidate and
had experienced in implementing this K-13. The researcher started to teach in July
2014, the time when the curriculum was implemented nationwide. As a teacher
without enough knowledge about K-13, the researcher had to follow many technical
rules. Because of not having enough background knowledge, the researcher got
difficulties in implementing the K-13. This study allowed the researcher to develop a
critical thinking with regards to others’ positions, set of assumptions, and belief
systems. Accordingly, the researcher learnt how to be more appreciative of different
angels and perspectives.
This study also has much greater significance beyond the researcher’s
personal scope. The study tries to transcend both objective and subjective worlds. It is
described in field theory (Poston, LiPuma & Calhoun, 1993) that field theory can be
used to transcend two different stages, i.e. objective and subjective. In this
investigation, the researcher seeks to address what high dignitaries say about a
particular issue. In the same time, the researcher also captures what grassroots say

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about them. At this stage, the researcher intends to give fair treatments of the voices
coming from different levels.
Besides that, recent investigation done is little to link between inquiries of
curriculum with its social political context. This inquiry is to offer another
perspective, i.e. sociology of curriculum policy making upon which mass media
resource. This inquiry is intended to provide a more pluralistic view of curriculum
inquiry answering two research problems: (a) Who are the proponents and opponents
of the K-13 suspension presented in online news reports? (b) What issues did they
raise in relation to the K-13 suspension?
B. Research Method
This research investigates K-13 news reports taken from many online mass
media. The data of this research was descriptive. According to Ary, Jacobs, and
Sorensen (2010:424), documents, interviews, videotapes, and many other media
communications which are used to gather the data are the form of the descriptive
data. They are based on experiences and perspectives from the involved participants.
Because the data was descriptive, the method used in this research is qualitative
method. Lichtman (2013) states, “Qualitative research is a way of knowing that
assumes that the researcher gathers organizes, involve in-depth interview and/or
observations of human in natural and social setting”(p.9). Ary et al. (2010) states that
qualitative research helps researcher to understand phenomena, processes and point of
view from the participants involved (p.453).

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The type of research used in this study is discourse analysis. Leeuwen (2005)
states, “’Discourse analysis’ then means ‘the analysis of an extended text, or type of
text’” (p.94). Media discourse analysis is one kind of discourse analysis. It is stated
by Schiffrin, Tennen and Hamilton (2001), “Media discourse analysis (from the
linguistic to the sociological) is often the registering of the presence of bias or
ideology in language, or the problematizing of power relations in society” (p. 420).
Julien (2008) notes that content analysis, which is similar to discourse analysis, is
interpretive, involving close reading of text. Using a content analytic approach, it is
fully recognized that texts were open to subjective interpretation, reflected multiple
meanings, and were context dependent.
It is clear that the focus of the researcher will be the content of the K-13 news.
To do this study, the researcher gathered a lot of news reports taken from many
sources as the sample during November-December. Then the researcher read the
news reports many times. After that the researcher noted the proponents and
opponents of the K-13 suspension found in the news reports and made summary of
the content of the news reports in order to ease the categorization. The researcher
emphasized what the proponents and opponents of the K-13 suspension said in the
news reports then placed them into categorizations. These summaries of the news
reports then were analyzed. After analyzing them, the researcher categorized the data
found into some categorizations. How the graphic of the proponents and opponents of
the K-13 suspension and the complexity of the news reports hopefully can be
presented after the news reports have been already analyzed.

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CHAPTER II
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter consists of theoretical description and research findings.
A. Theoretical Description
1. Curriculum Policy Making
Curriculum policy making is a highly complex and dynamic enterprise and
filled with political and ideological contestations (Apple, 2009). It is important to
develop substantive understanding about the bigger contexts of education. Education
as social field is filled with a set of values, norms, rules, and regulation upon which
the field members establish communications, relations, and share power (Shulman,
1997). Multiple truths come out from different point of view, various theoretical
framework, and ideologies among the field members. Being knowledgeable to
different perspectives will allow its members to attend their own theoretical
frameworks and ideologies and keep being critical on their own biases.
Sociological inquiries on education have taken many paths. Anyon’s (1981)
classical investigations on social class and social knowledge have four social-classes
in primary schools with different versions of the curriculum-in-use (Luke, 2010).
Anyon develops an account of how school philosophy, curriculum official and
resources, staffroom and teacher understandings of the students “communities and
lives, and an enacted classroom curriculum together contribute to stratified versions
of knowledge, with ramifications for students” cultural capital. Moreover, she
8

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describes the explicit ideological messages about agency, power, political economy
and class position as the focus on social studies curriculum. She adds that social
organization of knowledge will be taken to constitute access and agency to different
kinds and levels of thinking, understanding, and knowledge. It will affect in terms of
education, employment, and class position. She describes that the dispositional
configurations of knowledge or power relations can be seen in classroom interaction.
Anyon’s (1981) concept of investigating the sociological landscape of
curriculum highlights a cultural reproduction theory (Bowles & Gintis, 1976). It has
dichotomist and deterministic view of reality. Sociological investigation can portray a
mesolevel of policy-making. Chisholm (2003) captures the egalitarian and democratic
perspectives. He investigated the process of curriculum revision in South Africa. His
investigation told that although there was heterogeneity of actors and interests, there
was not an explicit relationship between voice and outcome. It meant that the politics
of the curriculum rotated around the role of particular players. He described that
fundamentalist Christians group were not the most influential on the curriculum
although their voices were the loudest voices. The most dominant role came from the
ANC, the teacher unions and university-based intellectual. The ANC introduced a
modernizing, liberal humanist, and pragmatic approach. The teacher union confirmed
the foundation philosophy for post-apartheid curriculum. They united for a secular,
liberal humanist and rights-based curriculum that recognize the diversity in South
Africa. As the contrast, radical intellectuals criticized the discussion of the postapartheid curriculum to provide the theoretical and empirical climate for curriculum

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reform. These were the dominant players who influenced on the curriculum revision
in South Africa.
The other example of egalitarian and democratic perspective is taken from
Mutch’s (2003). He delineated the New Zealand’s policy making. She found that
institutional, contextual, and personal strands were involving in curriculum decision
making. The institutional strand tends to tell “what happened”. The contextual strand
aims to explain “why things happened as they did”, “in what circumstances” and
“why this might be important.” The personal strand aims to give more prominence in
the role of individuals in such a process. It is stated, “who was involved, how did
individuals impact upon curriculum construction and how did the process impact
upon them” (p. iii).
2. Field Theory
Field theory can be used to investigate how a curriculum is discussed within a
Bourdieuan theory. Bourdieuan field theory has been investigated and developed by
Moi, 1991; Brubaker, 1993; Postone, LiPuma, & Calhoun, 1993; Benson, 1999;
Dromundo, 2006. Moi (1991) states, “A field may be defined as a competitive system
of social relations which functions according to its own specific logic or rules”
(p.1020). He adds that there is a compete for the same stake between individuals or
institutions. While according to Dromundo (2007), “Bourdieu defines the concept of
field as a set of power relations between agents or institutions in the struggle for
specific forms of domination and monopoly of an efficient type of capital” (p.6).

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The field theory is important for this study for two reasons. The first reason is
that curriculum is a field and it is viewed as ideological contestation. Benson (1999)
describes that a field containing three positions. First, a field is viewed containing
two opposing groups. They are the dominant group and the dominated group. It can
be seen in a hierarchy of social structure that there are groups who lead the rest. The
dominated groups here can be described as grassroots who are mostly presided by
other groups. Second, each group consists of different layers with their own selfinterests. Both the dominant (the leader) and the dominated (the presided) groups
have fractions that hold their own self-interests. Third, opposing agents have general
rule that governs the contestations. There is autonomy which is driven by cultural
aspect. On the other hand, there is heteronomy which is driven by political and
economic rules. Benson (1999) clearly writes:
Bourdieu sees society as differentiated into a number of semi-autonomous
fields (e.g., fields of politics, economics, religion, cultural production, etc.)
governed by their own "rules of the game" and offering their own particular
economy of exchange and reward, yet whose basic oppositions and general
structures parallel each other. These binary oppositions are reflections and
refractions of the overall class division in society, between the dominant and
dominated classes, but also the split within the dominant class, between
dominant economic and political power on the one hand and dominated
cultural power on the other. That is, society is structured around a basic
opposition between "economic" and "cultural" power, with the latter generally
being weaker but, as in Weber, influential to the extent that it legitimates and
masks economic wealth. Reproducing this larger societal division between the
"economic" and "cultural" poles, each field is structured around the opposition
between the "heteronomous" pole representing economic and political capital
(forces external to the field) and the "autonomous" pole representing the
specific capital unique to that field (e.g., artistic or scientific or other species
of cultural capital) (p.464).

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It is clear that the term autonomy refers to the agents who has the personal control
upon the self- interests i.e. achievement of something. While the term heteronomy
refers to the external rule such as political and economic rules that there are many
conflicting self-interest inside. The self-interests of heteronomy go beyond personal
control.
Drawing from the explanation above, field theory is used to locate the
suspension of K-13 within the conceptual framework. It is argued that curriculum is
one of the existing examples of a field in social, political, and cultural life. Field
theory can be used to describe the reality or phenomenon; here it is the suspension of
K-13. The proponents and opponents who involved in the contestations can be
shown.
The second reason why this theory is used in this study is considering the fact
that those varieties of facts will be found in people’s life. By understanding the
significance of field theory in term of political behaviors, it is expected that the
findings of this study can be used as a pattern to predict similar fact in the process of
policy making in education. Besides, field theory can be used to analyze a certain
circumstance. It is written in Chapter I that in this study, field theory tries to
transcend both objective and subjective worlds. This investigation captures what high
dignitaries and grassroots say about the suspension of the K-13 in the same time. At
this stage, the researcher intends to give fair treatments of the voices that come from
different levels. The researcher did this field research by maintaining the genuine
objectivity so that the result findings will be the representative of the critical thinking

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and deeper understanding of the issue discussed that came from the proponents and
opponents of the K-13 suspension.
B. Discussions
The research findings are presented here. The proponents and opponents of
the K-13 suspension presented in the online news reports and the issues they raised
will be described here. Their perspectives on the issues they raised also will be
described. Curriculum is a field in term of education. It is mentioned in previous part
that it is viewed as ideological contestation. Moi (1991) states that there is a compete
in a field between individuals or institutions. It can be defined as a competitive
system. That is why Benson explains that a field is viewed containing two opposing
groups. The proponents and opponents of the K-13 suspension are the real example of
the existing groups in a field.
1. The Proponents and Opponents of the K-13 Suspension
There are proponents and opponents around the decision to suspend the
nationwide implementation of the K-13. The following graphic showed the number of
proponents and opponents of the K-13 suspension that were found in the online news
report during the turbulent weeks.

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Diagram 2.1 The Proponents and Opponents Found in The Data
High-End
(5)
Officials

Middle-end

(17)

(8)
Lower-end
(4)
Principals
(6)
Vice Principals

Proponents

practitioners

(2)
Teachers

(18)

(54)

(9)
Staff
(1)
Students

Users

(2)

(5)

K-13
suspension

Parents
(3)

External
Groups
(14)

Officials

Opponents
(25)

(20)

High-end
(8)
Middle-end
(2)
Lower-end
(10)

Practitioners

MKKS Malang

(2)

(1)

External
Groups

Vice Principal
(1)

(3)

The proponents and opponents of the K-13 suspension found in the data were
drawn systematically. The proponents of the K-13 suspension were categorized into
four categories. They were officials, practitioners, users, and external groups.

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In the form of hierarchy, officials consisted of high-end, middle-end, and
lower-end. There were 17 proponents from high-end officials, 8 middle-end officials,
and 4 lower-end officials. The high-end officials came from the high dignitaries such
as vice president, ministers and parliament members. The middle-end officials were
the officers in province while the lower-end officials were the officers from city and
district area.
The next category was practitioners that came from principals, vice principals,
teachers and staff in school who directly implemented the K-13. There are 18
practitioners found in the data, consisted of 6 principals, 2 vice principals, 9 teachers,
and 1 curriculum staff. The next category was users that were addressed to students
and parents. There were 2 students and 3 parents in this category.
Proponents group had 14 members of the external groups whose positions
were outside of the categorizations above. The external group seemed to agree the K13 suspension. They were Federasi Serikat Guru Indonesia (FSGI), Persatuan Guru
Republik Indonesia (PGRI), Forum Komunikasi Keluarga Guru Olahraga (FKKGO),
Ombudsman, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), Akademi Ilmu Pengetahuan
Indonesia (AIPI), Komisi Perlindungan Anak (KPAI), Majelis Guru Besar (MGB)
ITB, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Federasi Guru Independen (FGI), Serikat
Guru Indonesia (SGI) Purbalingga and Bima, IC as a teachers trainer, and WH as an
education practitioner as well as a member of curriculum reviewer team.

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The following described the opposing group, i.e. the opponents of the K-13
suspension. The number of opponents of the K-13 suspension was smaller compared
to the group that required the K-13 suspension to be done. Some findings that were
reported in the variety of online news reports were presented here. First, the number
of proponents of the K-13 suspension was bigger than the opponents, i.e. about 68,
4% vs.31, 6%, as the representative rate of 54 proponents and 25 opponents.
The opponents of the K-13 suspension were divided in the same
categorizations, i.e. officials, practitioners, users, and external groups. Officials were
divided into three categories; high-end, middle-end, and lower-end. The
categorizations were same as the proponents’ categorization. The members of the
opponents of the K-13 suspension were 8 high-end officials, 2 middle-end officials,
10 lower-end officials, 2 practitioners that came from 1 principal group and 1 vice
principal, and 3 external groups. The external groups are a party, a politician, and an
education practitioner.
2. The Perspectives on The K-13 Suspension: Pros and Cons
The following discussion described the proponents’ and opponents’
perspectives of the K-13 suspension issues. The data suggested the main major
findings related to positioning of the perspectives, i.e. five categories of issues. The
five categories of issues were Foundation: Juridical, Philosophical, and Substantive
Considerations; Teaching-Learning Process; Assessment; Professional Teacher
Development; and Provision of Resources.

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a. Proponents of the K-13 suspension
Here are the proponents of the K-13 suspension that were discussed in five
issues. These five issues were the biggest issues that existed in the news reports. They
were the problematical issues that were shown by the proponents and opponents.
Besides, the issues also appeared frequently in the data gathered. The five issues were
Foundation: Juridical, Philosophical, and Substantive Considerations; TeachingLearning Process, Assessment; Professional Teacher Development; and Provisions of
Resources. In this section, there was one proponent who did not mention the reason
why they supported the decision of the K-13 suspension. The official from the city of
Aceh supported the K-13 suspension. As cited in Merdeka (12/11), Aceh supported
the decision by Anies administration to quit the curriculum. No further clarification
about the reasons why the official decided to support such a policy but the following
proponents will be discussed into five categories of issues.
1) Foundation: Juridical, Philosophical, and Substantive Considerations
In terms of juridical consideration, based on UU Sisdiknas Number 20, 2003,
the central government had the authority to only regulate a curriculum framework and
its structure for both of elementary and high schools. The spirit of the law drew upon
the idea of democratization after Indonesia entered post-reform era. The legal systems
in Indonesia mandated that lower-level policies had to follow the higher-level
policies. Accordingly, a curriculum policy – which was decided by the Minister of
Education – had to reflect a continuity of the law. But it did not happen in the K-13

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implementation. K-13 was not only debatable in terms of its legal standings. It also
had a series of weaknesses in terms of both philosophical and substantive
considerations. The following proponents voiced their concerns.
A member of Indonesian House of Representives, TJ, stated that K-13 had led
to a centralized governance and prevented local geniuses/wisdom from growing
(Detik, 12/9). A trial of anti-decentralization was also stated by S, a teacher in an
SMP in West Java that local language subject (in this case, Sundanese) was deleted
(Tempo, 11/24).
Majelis Guru Besar (MGB) Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) stated that K13 was not accompanied by propositions on philosophical basis, theoretical
framework, national goals, and national educational design (Okezone, 12/12). In the
same source, it was stated that there was no relevancy between philosophic bases and
the technical of the K-13 implementation. To follow up the existing problems, MGB
ITB suggested that teachers’ preparation, instructional resources, and infrastructure
were extremely needed. According to MGB ITB, teachers’ skills were not only in the
case of knowledge.
For substantive consideration, it was stated by Sekretaris Jenderal Federasi
Serikat Guru Indonesia, RL. She said that there was a substantive error in K-13
regarded to the syllabus. She explained that there was a “malpractice” in the process
of elementary textbook making. The content of the book was not sync