Digitalization and the Merdeka Belajar Reform: a Policy Discourse Analysis Through Postmodern and Critical Lenses

Yunita Endra Megiati; Nandang Hidayat; Didi Sutisna

Authors

Yunita Endra Megiati Universitas Pakuan. Jl. Pakuan, Tegallega, Kecamatan Bogor Tengah, Kota Bogor, Jawa Barat 16143
Nandang Hidayat Universitas Pakuan. Jl. Pakuan, Tegallega, Kecamatan Bogor Tengah, Kota Bogor, Jawa Barat 16143
Didi Sutisna Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Kesehatan Sismadi. Jl. Warakas Raya No.5B, RT.8/RW.10, Sunter Agung, Kec. Tj. Priok, Jkt Utara, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 14370

Keywords:

Digitalization, Merdeka Belajar, Critical Discourse Analysis, Foucault, Governmentality, Hegemony

Abstract

This study examines the discourse of digitalization within Indonesia’s Merdeka Belajar education reform through the lens of critical theory and postmodern philosophy. Using Critical Discourse Analysis on three key policy documents, the 2020–2035 Indonesian Education Roadmap, Ministerial Decree No. 56/2022, and the Merdeka Mengajar Platform Guide—the study uncovers underlying power dynamics and ideological assumptions embedded in the national digitalization agenda. The analysis identifies three dominant themes: (1) the hegemony of technological-efficiency narratives, reflected in notable lexical disparities (for example, “digital” appears far more frequently than “character” in the Roadmap); (2) disciplinary mechanisms enforced through legal obligations to access state-mandated digital platforms; and (3) an instrumental rationality that narrows education to the development of digital talent. The study concludes that digitalization in Merdeka Belajar is not merely a technological transition, but a contested arena where power relations shape and potentially marginalize humanistic educational values.

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