Exploring Policymakers` and English Teachers` Perceptions and Interpretations in Makassar towards Curriculum 2013 (A Mixed-Design Study)

The study investigated the policymakers` perspectives and English teachers` perceptions and interpretations regarding the reform of Curriculum 2013 (K-13) as a replacement for the previous curriculum, School-Based Curriculum (SBC), given that issues around curriculum implementation have been considered inevitable (Brindley & Hood, 1990; Fullan & Stiegelbauer, 1991). The participants were three policymakers and eleven English teachers from four different schools around Makassar, South Sulawesi. To ensure methodological triangulation, this study employed a mixed design, combining the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, including classroom observations, interviews, and document analysis. From the policymakers` perceptions, the results revealed that K-13 was launched as a result of the failure of the previous curriculum, the anticipation of demographic and economic growth, and other benefits offered within the reform. Teachers perceived the reform to be lack of guidelines in the sense that teachers were lack of references to have comprehensive understanding of the curriculum in order that they could implement it well in their classrooms. They also suggested the difficulties around administrative matters, and considered these to be more important than providing genuine lesson plans for their classrooms. As a result, they tended to focus more on fulfilling the administration than the implementation of the curriculum itself. Furthermore, the teachers pointed to the difficulties around designing lesson plans, teaching and learning processes, and the assessment of K-13