IMPLEMENTATION OF MERDEKA BELAJAR CURRICULUM IN TEACHING ENGLISH AT MTS TARBIYATUL ISLAMIYAH RACI

Keywords: Curriculum, Merdeka Belajar Curriculum, perception
Merdeka Belajar Curriculum is the most recent curriculum used in Indonesia. This curriculum was put in place by the government to deal with the student crisis, which was worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic. Merdeka Belajar
Curriculum offers the students flexibility to learn internally, along with optimal learning content that allows the students sufficient time to comprehend and enhance their abilities and skills.
MTs Tarbiyatul Islamiyah Raci is one of the schools which implements Merdeka Belajar Curriculum for the seventh grade. Therefore, Merdeka Belajar Curriculum considered new in MTs Tarbiyatul Islamiyah Raci. This condition became the main concern of the researcher. Thus, the researcher conducted the research to know the implementation of Merdeka Belajar Curriculum as well as the perception of teacher and students as the doer of Merdeka Belajar Curriculum.
This research used qualitative method and analyzed based on Miles and Huberman’s theory (2014). The data collected by doing observation toward the learning activity held. The researcher also did interview and questionnaire toward
the English teacher and students of seventh grade at MTs Tarbiyatul Islamiyah Raci to gain the data about the perception of teacher and students as the doer of
Merdeka Belajar Curriculum in its implementation. The researcher also used the documentation to strengthen the result of this research.
The result of this research showed that the implementation of Merdeka Belajar Curriculum consisted of preliminary activity, core activity, and closing activity. The teacher has implemented those stages during the learning activity.
The implementation of Merdeka Belajar Curriculum in teaching English is better compared to the previous curriculum. The learning emphasized by the Merdeka Belajar Curriculum runs interactively because this curriculum is typically simpler
and deeper which focussed in essential material. Furthermore, learning activity by implementing this curriculum provides freedom and flexibility for both the
teacher and the students. The teacher is free to determine their own teaching tools that suit the students’ condition. Meanwhile, the students was prevented from being forced or pushed to master a subject. However, there are many
shortcomings in its implementation because this curriculum is relatively new and still in a transition period from previous curriculum. Despite the challenges faced
by the teacher during the implementation, the students were able to follow the learning activity as it progressed.