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In 1976, the Indonesian government began to implement a new curriculum known as Curriculum 75. This was intended for all government primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools. This field study, which is written for non-Indonesian readers, examines the Social Science component of Curriculum 75 using elements of the Stake model of curriculum evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation is to show, within the Stake model, the intended antecedents, transactions and outcomes of the Social Science Curriculum; that is, the specifications of the curriculum documents and associated texts before implementation in the classroom. The principal argument of this evaluation is that the worth of the curriculum is discovered in the elements of control which are manifest in intentions. This evaluation selects three issues for closer examination and evaluation; economic development, political culture and the world view which are portrayed in the curriculum. This closer examination reveals that knowledge of economic development is emphasised more than knowledge of political culture. In turn, knowledge of the the world outside and beyond Indonesia which constitute the world view is the least important of the three issues, and particularly at the primary level receives very little attention whatsoever. The specific outcomes of the Social Science Curriculum show that the type of knowledge which is emphasised is cognitive understanding rather than the formation of attitudes and values. Pupils are expected to learn factual knowledge rather than develop personal and social values. The central theme or argument which this evaluation pursues is the notion of curriculum control. Curriculum 75 is the creation of an educational bureaucracy within a bureaucratic state. When understood within the context of the Jackson critique of contemporary Indonesia, curriculum is a bureaucratic function of the state. A principal element of that function is the exercising of control which, for the purpose of this field study, is revealed in a bureaucratic and a curriculum form. The curriculum form of control is the central notion in this evaluation. For the Social Science Curriculum to be successful in the Indonesian classroom, the Curriculum should specify contents and methods in such prescriptive detail that teachers are given a clear programme of what is expected of them. Teachers can only be successful when the Curriculum clearly communicates what teachers are required to do. Control in the sense of constraint is a vital element in that communication. The characteristics of curriculum control are described in terms of the Bernstein concepts of coding and framing. By tracing coding and framing techniques in the Social Science Curriculum in general and each of the three issues in particular, this study shows that the antecedents (as defined by Stake) are strongly controlled (through a Bernstein-type collection code). On the other hand, some curriculum control is lost in the transactions (as defined by Stake) because teaching and learning methods are not sufficiently framed. Future refinements in this Curriculum should concentrate on strengthening curriculum control through increasing the level of specification and prescription about learning methods. |
