THE INDONESIAN CURRICULUM: DOES IT RETAIN CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING?

Abstract

The paper aims at elaborating issues in Indonesian curriculum 2013, the latest curriculum in the country and address some issues in the pedagogical issues. Curriculum, considering its vital role in nation wide education, should get tremendous attention from all stakeholders: the government through the ministry of education, the school leaders, teachers, society and students. As curriculum plays as the national standards, all the executing stakeholder set their classroom aims, assessment, and plans accordingly. Based on the rationale, it is imperative to look at the curriculum from the lens of multicultural education because Indonesia is a diverse country. A curriculum that is responsive to the cultures in education setting would enhance the equality in education that eventually education for all can be achieved. This study employed systematic literature review as reseach method. The researcher examined literatures about related to culturally responsive teaching and the evidence of educational problems that currently happens from current published journals as well as important books related to culturally responsive teaching. The results indicated that there is a gap between the reality in the field and the educational system that has been established. A curriculum that is responsive to students’ culture urges to be there in the curriculum, whether it is from the teacher or the stakeholders. In addition, the higher education also started to step forward to curriculum that retains students’ culture.