Harnessing student-centered learning for effective learning recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a learning crisis. The learning crisis makes clear the urgency of implementing personalized learning. Indonesia's rigid K-13 curriculum proved ill-equipped to address learning loss, since it provided little flexibility for teachers to address diverse student needs. The MOECRT's Merdeka Curriculum, adopted in 2024, is based on student-centered learning (SCL) principles. It has been effective for post-pandemic learning recovery and making up for learning loss that occurred before the pandemic. However, low performance in literacy and numeracy persists, especially in regions outside Java. This suggests that while the curriculum has merit in helping schools catch up after the pandemic, it is far from being a solution to Indonesia's deeply entrenched learning crisis across the archipelago. The Merdeka Belajar initiatives, a package of programs complementing the Merdeka curriculum, consist of programs to intervene in the realm of inputs (teacher and school readiness), processes (implementation of an SCL at the school level), and outcomes (evaluation of learning outcomes). The Merdeka Belajar have been criticized for their high costs and challenging implementation across regions. Learning disparities are most directly related to sub-standard teacher competencies. This highlights the need to revisit the quality of teacher training. While studies have emphasized the potential of input-focused initiatives such as Sekolah Penggerak (transformational schools) and Guru Penggerak (transformational teachers), they depend on the use of best practices across teachers and schools. The "agents-of-change" model employed in these initiatives should be complemented by a clear and meritocratic pathway for assigning the model teachers to leadership and administrative positions in schools. The Draft Bill on the National Education System must include a provision that promotes merit based teacher appointments to ensure that model teachers-those who effectively apply student-centered learning-can be placed in positions where they can influence, mentor, and support broader adoption of the approach across schools. Addressing learning loss requires the implementation of a student-centered curriculum like the Merdeka curriculum. SCL relies on teachers as the primary drivers of educational transformation. Student-centered learning-focused training programs such as Pendidikan Guru Penggerak are crucial for this effort and should be prioritized by the government to expand the implementation of student-centered learning.