Indriani H. Ismail, Soni Nopembri, Muhammad Nursa’ban, Amran Hapsan, Habibi Sultan, Tri Zahra Ningsih, Yuni Susilowati
Purpose: This quasi-experimental study examined the association between Indonesia's Kurikulum Merdeka, as a macro-level social intervention, and discrimination-related outcomes in schools, specifically its links to teacher attitudes toward students with disabilities and school tolerance climate. Method: Using nationally representative data from 333,489 elementary schools, a comparative static-group design was employed, with school socioeconomic status, school status, and regional location included as covariates. Results: Schools implementing the Kurikulum Merdeka were associated with significantly higher disability attitude scores (Cohen's d = 0.88) and tolerance climate scores (d = 1.05) compared to Kurikulum 2013 schools. Mediation analysis indicated that school tolerance climate significantly mediated the curriculum attitude relationship, accounting for 30.82% of the total association. Discussion: These findings provide evidence consistent with the view that values-driven curriculum reform is linked to meaningful reductions in school-based discrimination at scale, with implications for school social work practice in advancing inclusive education and social justice. © The Author(s) 2026
State University of Yogyakarta, Educational Research and Evaluation, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; State University of Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia
