Analysis of an English Literature Curriculum in a University in Indonesia

Asep Suparman, 1201147

UPI School of Postgraduate

Bandung, 2013

Introduction

At university level, there should be principles set in such a way that the teaching and

learning activities could be well administered. In this respect, every university has developed

curriculum to serve as educational guidelines for its stakeholders.

Curriculum development at university level should build on a systematic and

comprehensive approach. This requires the vision and mission of the institution to be well-

aligned with the goals and objectives of the courses developed based on a consideration of

needs of today and future’s society.

Essentially, curriculum development includes principles and procedures relating to

the planning, delivery, management, and evaluation of all teaching and learning processes

(Nunan, 1988; Richards, 2001). Generally it is an overall plan for a course that usually states:

(a) the educational purpose of the programme, in terms of aims or goals, (b) the content of the

programme and the sequence in which it will be taught (also known as the syllabus), (c) the

teaching procedures and learning activities that will be employed (i.e., methodology), (d) the

means used to assess student learning (i.e., assessment and testing), (e) the means used to

assess whether the programme has achieved its goals (i.e., evaluation) (Richards & Schmidt,

1985/1992/2002/2010).

In Indonesian context, curriculum development should refer to the Decree of

Minister of National Education No. 232/U/2000 about the guidelines for all educational

institutions in administering education. This decree states the goals and objectives of higher

education that manifest in the classification of subject matters in accordance with five pillars

of education: (1) Personality Development Subjects (Mata Kuliah Pengembangan

Kepribadian/MPK), (2) Knowledge and Special Skills Subjects (Mata Kuliah Keilmuan dan

Ketrampilan/MKK), (3) Creative Expertise Competency Subjects (Mata Kuliah Keahlian

Berkarya/MKB), (4) Creative Attitude Subjects (Mata Kuliah Perilaku Berkarya/MPB), and

(5) Social Context Subjects (Mata Kuliah Berkehidupan Bermasyarakat/MBB). Along the

same line, the Decree of Minister of National Education No. 045/U/2002 about Core

Curriculum also states that these five pillars the elements of competencies to be developed in

the curriculum design of a study program. Thus, all curricula should develop the

aformentioned competencies.

Methodology

Analyzing curriculum is an attempt to breakdown curriculum into its components.

The analysis is intended to see how they fit together a whole; to identify the underlying belief

and ideas and to examine the implication of the belief for the quality of educational

experience and how it implies the educational process (Posner, 1992). The process of

analyzing curriculum can be considered as the reverse process of planning curriculum. To

this end, descriptive analysis on the document of the curriculum was employed. The focuses

were the spread of subject matters and their classification in accordance with the five pillars

set by the Decree of Minister of National Education No. 232/U/2000 about the guidelines for

all educational institutions in administering education

Finding and Discussion

1. Educational System

The university in question adopts the credit-hour system; this is based on the Decree

of Rector No. 22/SK/1976. The guidlines for administering this credit-hour system refers to

the Government Regulation No. 60 of 1999 concerning higher education, the Decree of

Minister of National Education No. 232/U/2000 about the guidelines for all educational

institutions in administering education, and the Law No. 20 of 2013 on national education

system. Based on these guidelines, the university should always consider the following

factors:

a. The different nature of students

b. The increasing demands for professionals in the society

c. The prolific development of science and technology

d. The feasibility condition of learning infrastructure

e. The role of educational administrative personnel

f. The expertise of faculty members

The description of credit-hour system may be outlined as follows:

a. Every subject is assigned a value, namely credit

b. The number of credits assigned to each subject may be different and is not necessarily

the same

c. A credit  a unit that gives weighting to the value, level or time requirements of an

academic course taken

d. Credit-hour system reflects the workload of students and faculty members

e. This credit system will influence the great point average of each students

2. Curriculum

Table 1 First Semester

No Code Subject CHs Note1 SBF 4002 Society and Culture of Indonesia 22 SBI 4101 Ear and Speech Training 23 SBI 4102 Structure I 44 SBI 4105 Listening Comprehension I 25 SBI 4109 Reading Comprehension I 26 SBI 4112 Speaking I 27 UNG 4001 Religion Education 3

Total CHs 17

Table 2 Second Semester

No Code Subject CHs Note1 SBF 4101 The Indonesian Language 32 SBI 4203 Structure II 23 SBI 4206 Listening Comprehension II 24 SBI 4210 Reading Comprehension II 25 SBI 4213 Speaking II 26 SBI 4216 Writing I 27 SBI 4220 The Philosophy of Science 28 SBI 4221 Cultural History of Indonesia 29 SBI 4223 History of England 210 SBI 4224 History of English Language & Literature 2

Total CHs 19

Table 3 Third Semester

No Code Subject CHs Note1 SBI 4104 Structure III 22 SBI 4107 Listening Comprehension III 23 SBI 4111 Reading Comprehension III 24 SBI 4114 Speaking III 25 SBI 4117 Writing II 2

Table 4 Third Semester (Cont’d)

6 SBI 4125 Introduction to Linguistics 27 SBI 4126 Introduction to Literature 28 SBI 4222 Art Society of Indonesia 29 SBI 4127 The Japanese Language I 2 *Optional10 SBI 4131 The Mandarin Language I 2 *Optional11 SBI 4135 The German Language I 2 *Optional12 SBI 4139 The French Language I 2 *Optional

Total CHs 18

Table 5 Fourth Semesmter

No Code Subject CHs Note1 SBI 4208 Listening Comprehension IV 22 SBI 4215 Speaking IV 23 SBI 4218 Writing III 24 SBI 4243 Phonology 25 SBI 4244 Prose I 26 SBI 4248 Research Methodology 27 SBF 4205 History of Modern Thought 28 SBI 4228 The Japanese Language II 2 *Optional9 SBI 4232 The Mandarin Language II 2 *Optional10 SBI 4236 The German Language II 2 *Optional11 SBI 4240 The French Language II 2 *Optional

Total CHs 18

Table 6 Fifth Semester

No Code Subject CHs Note1 SBI 4119 Writing IV 22 SBI 4145 Prose II 23 SBI 4146 Poetry I 24 SBI 4149 Introduction to Linguistic Research 25 SBI 4150 Introduction to Literary Research 26 SBI 4151 Syntax I 27 SBI 4153 Morphology 28 SBI 4154 Theory of Translation 29 SBI 4155 British Studies 310 SBI 4129 The Japanese Language III 2 *Optional11 SBI 4133 The Mandarin Language III 2 *Optional12 SBI 4137 The German Language III 2 *Optional13 SBI 4141 The French Language III 2 *Optional

Total CHs 21

Table 7 Sixth Semester (Concentration: Literature)

No Code Subject CHs Note1 SBI 4258 Semantics 22 SBI 4259 Translation I 23 SBI 4256 American Studies 34 SBI 4261 Business English 25 SBI 4262 Drama I 26 SBI 4264 Comparative Literature 27 SBI 4265 Theory of Literature 28 SBI 4247 Poetry II 29 SBI 4266 Literature and Oral Tradition 210 SBI 4230 The Japanese Language IV 2 *Optional11 SBI 4234 The Mandarin Language IV 2 *Optional12 SBI 4238 The German Language IV 2 *Optional13 SBI 4242 The French Language IV 2 *Optional

Total CHs 21

Table 8 Sixth Semester (Concentration: Linguistics)

No Code Subject CHs Note1 SBI 4230 The Japanese Language IV 2 *Optional2 SBI 4234 The Mandarin Language IV 2 *Optional3 SBI 4238 The German Language IV 2 *Optional4 SBI 4242 The French Language IV 2 *Optional5 SBI 4252 Syntax II 26 SBI 4256 American Studies 37 SBI 4258 Semantics 28 SBI 4259 Translation I 29 SBI 4261 Business English 210 SBI 4262 Drama I 211 SBI 4267 Psycholinguistics 212 SBI 4238 Sociolinguistics 213 SBI 4269 Discourse Analysis 2

Total CHs 21

Table 9 Seventh Semester (Concentration: Literature)

No Code Subject CHs Note1 SBI 4170 Applied Linguistics 22 SBI 4160 Translation II 23 SBI 4157 Australian Studies 34 UNG 4007 Citizenship Education 35 SBF 4008 Community Service 36 SBI 4163 Drama II 27 SBI 4171 Seminar on Literature 38 SBI 4172 Aesthetics 29 SBI 4173 Literary Criticism 2

Total CHs 22

Table 10 Seventh Semester (Concentration: Linguistics)

No Code Subject CHs Note1 SBI 4170 Applied Linguistics 22 SBI 4160 Translation II 23 SBI 4157 Australian Studies 34 UNG 4007 Citizenship Education 35 SBF 4008 Community Service 36 SBI 4174 Second Language Acquisition 27 SBI 4175 Semiotics 28 SBI 4176 Pragmatics 29 SBI 4177 Seminar on Linguistics 3

Total CHs 22

Table 11 Eighth Semester

No Code Subject CHs Note1 SBI 4009 Undergraduate Thesis 62 UNG Entrepreneurship 33 SBF 4010 Journalistic 24 SBI 4278 Teaching English as a Foreign Language 25 SBI 4279 Creative Writing 2

Total CHs 11Note: Overall total of CHs: 147 CHs*) Students take two CHs of optional subjects

Referring to table 1-10, it can be concluded that the curriculum employed by the

programme in question is consistent with the Decree of Minister of National Education No.

232/U/2000 about the guidelines for all educational institutions in administering education

and the Decree of Minister of National Education No. 045/U/2002 about Core Curriculum for

it covers the five categories of subjects including (1) Personality Development Subjects

(Mata Kuliah Pengembangan Kepribadian/MPK), (2) Knowledge and Special Skills Subjects

(Mata Kuliah Keilmuan dan Ketrampilan/MKK), (3) Creative Expertise Competency

Subjects (Mata Kuliah Keahlian Berkarya/MKB), (4) Creative Attitude Subjects (Mata

Kuliah Perilaku Berkarya/MPB), and (5) Social Context Subjects (Mata Kuliah

Berkehidupan Bermasyarakat/MBB).

From the MKK and MBB, it is expected that the graduate will be proficient in

English as a Foreign Language (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), have linguistic

proficiency (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics,

psycholinguistics, and discourse analysis), and have teaching knowledge (TEFL). In addition,

there are as well literary and cultural subjects such as literature, British Studies, American

Studies, and Australian Studies.

The standard of competence and basic competence of this curriculum is in the

coverage of MKK and MKB as follows:

1. Language Proficiency Subjects

2. Linguistic Studies Subjects

3. Literary Studies Subjects

4. Language-Related Subjects

Overall, this programme consists of eight semesters and two concentrations:

literature and linguistics with the spread as follows:

Table 12 Core and Institutional Curriculum

Component Core/Institutional CHs

Language ProficiencyCore 36

Institutional 10

Linguistic StudiesCore 12

Institutional 17

Literary StudiesCore 18

Institutional 15

Language-RelatedCore 9

Institutional 6

Table 13 Core and Institutional Subjects

Component Core Subjects Institutional Subjects

Language Proficiency

Listening - 8 CHs Translation - 4 CHsSpeaking - 6 CHs Business English - 2 CHsReading - 8 CHs Ear and Speech Training - 2

CHsWriting - 6 CHs Theory of Translation - 2

CHsStructure - 8 CHs

Linguistic Studies

Introduction to Linguistics – 2 CHs

Psycholinguistics - 2 CHs

Phonology - 2 CHs Sociolinguistics - 2 CHsMorphology - 2 CHs History of England - 2 CHsSyntax - 4 CHs Pragmatics - 2 CHsSemantics - 2 CHs Semiotics – 2 CHs

Applied Linguistics - 2 CHsIntroduction to Linguistics Research - 2 SKSSeminar on Linguistics - 3 CHs

Literary StudiesIntroduction to Literature - 2 CHs

Creative Writing - 2 CHs

Table 14 Core and Institutional Subjects (Cont’d)

Component Core Subjects Institutional Subjects

Literary Studies

Prose - 4 CHs History of English Language & Literature - 2 CHs

Drama - 4 CHs Comparative Literature - 2 CHs

Poetry - 4 CHs Theory of Literature - 2 CHsLiterary Criticism - 2 CHs Literature and Oral Tradition

– 2 CHsTheory of Literature - 2 CHs Introduction to Literary

Research – 2 CHsSeminar on Literature – 3 CHs

Language Related British Studies - 3 CHs Discourse Analysis - 2 CHsAmerican Studies - 3 CHs Second Language

Acquisition – 2 CHsAustralian Studies - 3 CHs Teaching English as Foreign

Language – 2 CHs

Core subjects reflect what graduate is like expected from the course programme, and

institutional subjects manifest the vision and mission of the university in question.

Conclusion

This paper has analyzed the English literature curriculum used in a university in

Indonesia. Descriptive analysis on the document of the curriculum was employed. The

focuses were the spread of subject matters and their classification in accordance with the five

pillars set by the Decree of Minister of National Education No. 232/U/2000 about the

guidelines for all educational institutions in administering education. It is found that the

curriculum covers the five categories of subjects including (1) Personality Development

Subjects (Mata Kuliah Pengembangan Kepribadian/MPK), (2) Knowledge and Special Skills

Subjects (Mata Kuliah Keilmuan dan Ketrampilan/MKK), (3) Creative Expertise

Competency Subjects (Mata Kuliah Keahlian Berkarya/MKB), (4) Creative Attitude Subjects

(Mata Kuliah Perilaku Berkarya/MPB), and (5) Social Context Subjects (Mata Kuliah

Berkehidupan Bermasyarakat/MBB).

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