STUDENT RETENTION STRATEGY UNDER THE INDONESIAN "FREEDOM TO LEARN" POLICY: LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE ONLINE LEARNING MANDATE DURING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN
Keywords:
Online education, School dropout rates, Student retention strategies, Merdeka CurriculumAbstract
The implementation of Indonesia's Merdeka Curriculum policy, also known as the "Freedom to Learn Policy," coincides with a significant reliance on online education, mirroring the trend observed during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study aims to investigate the challenges regarding dropout rates compared to face-to-face education, necessitating the urgent development of effective student retention strategies. This study applied a qualitative approach involving 14 key informants representing various stakeholders such as teachers, parents, school principals, local governments, and school staff through semi-structured online interviews in Central Bangka Regency. Three factors influencing students' decisions to drop out are identified and analyzed employing thematic analysis. Student factors (lack of motivation, time management, lack of awareness, demographic factors such as gender, young marriage, and home area) that identify motivation issues as a primary concern, course/program factors (unstructured online learning system, difficult materials, overlapping assignments, lack of interactions, lack of teachers’ skills) that the unstructured online learning system is a major concern for stakeholders, and environmental factors (family issues, technological issues, social issues, and lack of government policy). The complex interplay of these factors underlies the dropout phenomenon in online education. The results find that three key strategies should be considered to sustain the Merdeka Curriculum: strategies aimed at raising awareness and addressing individual barriers, strategies for delivering high-quality curriculum-based activities with structured support mechanisms, and strategies for directly addressing environmental and emotional barriers. Implementing these strategies will empower stakeholders to proactively tackle the challenges posed by online education within the Merdeka curriculum, fostering an environment conducive to student success and academic achievement.
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