Comparative study of context-based science curriculum in Indonesia and Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31571/saintek.v13i2.10645Keywords:
context-based learning, science curriculum, curriculum comparison, local context integration, Indonesia, MalaysiaAbstract
This study examines the characteristics and approaches of context-based science curricula in Indonesia and Malaysia through a qualitative descriptive-comparative design. The study aims to identify curriculum orientations, forms of contextual integration, and differences in structural implementation between the two education systems. Data were collected through document analysis of official national science curriculum frameworks and supported by relevant scholarly literature. The findings indicate that both countries adopt a context-based orientation in science education, emphasizing the connection between scientific concepts and real-life situations. However, differences are found in the depth and structure of contextual integration. The Indonesian curriculum demonstrates greater flexibility, positioning context primarily as a conceptual linkage adaptable to local conditions. In contrast, the Malaysian curriculum integrates context more systematically within instructional design to strengthen conceptual understanding and application. These findings highlight the importance of balancing contextual relevance and structural coherence in curriculum development. The study contributes to comparative curriculum discourse and provides insights for strengthening context-based science education in diverse educational settings.
Downloads
References
Ariffin, N., Atan, N., Yusof, S., Said, M., & Tahir, L. (2023). Pembelajaran sains menerusi web berdasarkan kontinum pemikiran visualisasi dalam meningkatkan kemahiran proses sains murid. Innovative Teaching and Learning Journal, 7(2), 72–83. https://doi.org/10.11113/itlj.v7.136
Arnab, S., Wimpenny, K., Masters, A., Mahon, D., Minoi, J., & Mohamad, F. (2025). Empathic and agentic approaches to community-engaged research scholarship: A playful, frugal, and co-creative framework through the ACES project in Southeast Asia. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 24, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069251362618
Fathiyyah, S., & Muflih, M. (2023). Determinants of Islamic banking profitability: A comparative analysis of Indonesia and Malaysia. Jurnal Ekonomi Syariah Teori dan Terapan, 10(4), 391–402. https://doi.org/10.20473/vol10iss20234pp391-402
Hakiki, A., Lathifah, S., & Triasianingrum, A. (2024). Implementasi pembelajaran sains berbasis alam di SMP Sekolah Alam Cikeas Bogor. Jurnal Visi Ilmu Pendidikan, 16(2), 305–312. https://doi.org/10.26418/jvip.v16i2.41001
Hernani, H., Nurhadi, A., Mudzakir, A., Supriatna, A., Wahyuni, S., Depi, S., & Fadhilah, A. (2024). Design and implementation of contextual chemistry learning oriented towards science literacy to support the implementation of the Merdeka curriculum. Jurnal Pengabdian Isola, 3(1), 179–185. https://doi.org/10.17509/jpi.v3i1.70353
Ismail, Y., Daud, F., & Rachmawaty, R. (2025). The relationship of learning motivation and higher-order thinking skills with students’ scientific literacy ability. Bio-Inoved: Jurnal Biologi-Inovasi Pendidikan, 7(2), 318–326. https://doi.org/10.20527/bino.v7i2.22503
Mansir, F., Purnomo, H., & Tumin, T. (2020). Penerapan pembelajaran pendidikan agama Islam berbasis sains budaya lokal di sekolah dan madrasah. Tarbawy: Indonesian Journal of Islamic Education, 7(1), 70–79. https://doi.org/10.17509/t.v7i1.23478
Marsila, S., Sosri, L., Rahayu, P., Vreticia, E., & Koto, I. (2025). Analisis perbandingan sistem pendidikan di Indonesia, Uni Emirat Arab, dan Singapura dalam inovasi pembelajaran sains. Teaching: Jurnal Inovasi Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, 5(1), 54–64. https://doi.org/10.51878/teaching.v5i1.4650
Masalimova, A., Zheltukhina, M., Sergeeva, O., Kosarenko, N., Tsomartova, D., & Smirnova, L. (2024). Science teaching in BRICS: A systematic review of pedagogical approaches and challenges. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 20(4), em2432. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/14434
Mumtaz, A., Surana, D., & Afrianti, N. (2025). Implementasi Kurikulum Merdeka Belajar dalam pembelajaran sains di taman kanak-kanak. Bandung Conference Series: Early Childhood Teacher Education, 5(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.29313/bcsecte.v5i1.18124
Mustafa, Z., Ling, L., & Yusoff, N. (2024). Culturally responsive science pedagogy through Malay bardic stories. International Journal of Creative Future and Heritage (Teniat), 12(2), 47–56. https://doi.org/10.47252/teniat.v12i2.1257
Nawi, R., Abdullah, M., & Setambah, M. (2024). Pengajaran dan pembelajaran kontekstual dalam bidang usul al-fiqh bagi mata pelajaran pendidikan syariah Islamiah di Malaysia. Attarbawiy: Malaysian Online Journal of Education, 8(2), 120–132. https://doi.org/10.53840/attarbawiy.v8i2.245
Novita, I., & Qomariyah, N. (2025). Validitas E-LKPD berbasis literasi sains untuk melatihkan keterampilan berpikir kritis pada materi sistem pencernaan manusia. Berkala Ilmiah Pendidikan Biologi (BioEdu), 14(1), 232–239. https://doi.org/10.26740/bioedu.v14n1.p232-239
Nuraeni, A. (2023). Pendekatan pedagogi genre dalam mata pelajaran bahasa Arab Kurikulum Merdeka. Elementary: Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan Dasar, 3(3), 105–111. https://doi.org/10.51878/elementary.v3i3.2402
Nurdin, S., Azizah, V., & Veronica, Z. (2023). Hubungan antara kompetensi pedagogi guru sekolah dasar dengan implementasinya pada Kurikulum Merdeka Belajar. Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Pendidikan, 6(6), 4077–4084. https://doi.org/10.54371/jiip.v6i6.2133
Nurjanah, N., Wahyuningsih, S., Rasmani, U., Winarji, B., Fitrianingtyas, A., Zuhro, N., & Jumiatmoko, J. (2024). Persepsi pedagogi kreatif guru: Studi naratif praktik Kurikulum Merdeka pada pendidikan prasekolah. Murhum: Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 5(2), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.37985/murhum.v5i2.690
Putra, E. (2024). Social presence and satisfaction in online learning between Indonesian and Malaysian students. Lectura: Jurnal Pendidikan, 15(1), 133–147. https://doi.org/10.31849/lectura.v15i1.17715
Putri, A., Nurhasanah, N., & Azis, S. (2023). Tantangan penerapan pedagogi dalam pembelajaran pada siswa SMP. Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Citra Bakti, 10(2), 401–412. https://doi.org/10.38048/jipcb.v10i2.1337
Rahma, M., Wahyuni, N., & Purba, K. (2023). Implementasi pedagogi pada Kurikulum Merdeka Belajar di sekolah dasar. Jurnal Pendidikan Dasar Flobamorata, 4(1), 477–480. https://doi.org/10.51494/jpdf.v4i1.835
Rahmawati, Y., Ridwan, A., Faustine, S., Syarah, S., Ibrahim, I., & Mawarni, P. (2020). Pengembangan literasi sains dan identitas budaya siswa melalui pendekatan etno-pedagogi dalam pembelajaran sains. Edusains, 12(1), 54–63. https://doi.org/10.15408/es.v12i1.12428
Rusandi, D., Pramono, H., Herlangga, A., Carsiwan, C., & Priyono, D. (2024). Pendekatan pedagogis dalam desain kurikulum: Studi menjawab tantangan abad ke-21. Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Pendidikan, 7(8), 8671–8676. https://doi.org/10.54371/jiip.v7i8.5076
Salleh, A., & Halim, L. (2023). Pelaksanaan pendidikan STEM: Pengetahuan pedagogi isi kandungan, sikap, kemahiran pedagogi dan penilaian guru. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 8(2), e002146. https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v8i2.2146
Silaban, O., & Sriyati, S. (2024). Tinjauan pedagogi biologi berbasis kearifan lokal Naniura–Sashimi Batak. Biodik, 10(2), 22–29. https://doi.org/10.22437/biodik.v10i2.32255
Syafitri, I., Wahyuni, A., Tianita, T., & Koto, I. (2025). Eksplorasi implementasi kurikulum di Indonesia dan Inggris: Tinjauan pada aspek pembelajaran sains. Educational: Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan dan Pengajaran, 5(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.51878/educational.v5i2.4802
Wardana, R., Yanti, F., Dharmayana, I., Risdianto, E., Heryensi, E., Sartika, R., & Handayani, R. (2024). Optimalisasi pembelajaran sains terapan konteks teknologi ramah lingkungan berbasis keterampilan hidup guru sekolah Indonesia–Malaysia. Lumbung Inovasi: Jurnal Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat, 9(3), 673–682. https://doi.org/10.36312/linov.v9i3.2142
Wulansari, N., Sutrisna, I., & Dharmapatni, N. (2025). Contextual learning using Balinese salak probiotic drink to enhance science literacy in microbiology. Bio-Inoved: Jurnal Biologi-Inovasi Pendidikan, 7(2), 280–289. https://doi.org/10.20527/bino.v7i2.22246
Downloads
View: 40
Download: 12
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Ira Nofita Sari, Lia Angraeni, Kamalawati binti Dolhan, Chua Sim Huat
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
In submitting the manuscript to the journal, the authors certify that:
- They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal. Please also carefully read Jurnal Pendidikan Informatika dan Sains Posting Your Article Policy at http://journal.ikippgriptk.ac.id/index.php/saintek/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions
- That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
- That its publication has been approved by all the author(s) and by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
- They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
- They agree to the following license and copyright agreement.
Copyright
Authors who publish with Jurnal Pendidikan Informatika dan Sains agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
