TEACHERS’ CHALLENGES IN DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING THE MODUL AJAR OF THE MERDEKA CURRICULUM AT SMP NEGERI 8 PAGAR ALAM, SOUTH SUMATRA

The Modul Ajar is a structured teaching tool developed to assist teachers
in planning and delivering effective learning activities aligned with curriculum
goals. This study aims to describe the challenges faced by English teachers in
designing and implementing the Modul Ajar at SMP Negeri 8 Pagar Alam. A
qualitative descriptive method was used, with data collected through document
analysis and interviews with three English teachers. The findings revealed that in
the design process, some components of the Modul Ajar such as initial
competence, meaningful understanding, student worksheets, and reading materials
were often incomplete due to time constraints and limited understanding. In the
implementation process, teachers encountered challenges related to diverse
student abilities, limited technological infrastructure, and the complexity of
creating fair assessments. Despite these challenges, teachers remained committed
to applying differentiated instruction and maintaining a student-centered
approach. The conclution is that while the Modul Ajar created was mostly
appropriate, its optimal implementation requires teacher readiness, creativity, and
adequate support in line with the Merdeka Curriculum framework.
Keywords: Modul Ajar, English Teachers, Merdeka Curriculum, Implementation,
Challenges