Rethinking curriculum planning through backward design: a qualitative study of understanding by design in an inclusive school context

Abstract

This study examines the implementation of Understanding by Design (UbD) within an inclusive school context in Indonesia, focusing on tensions between centralized curriculum standards and localized pedagogical values. The research examines how inclusive schools negotiate backward-design principles amid dual accountability demands. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected through autoethnography, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and curriculum document analysis across two hubs of a progressive inclusive school network in different regional contexts. Findings reveal three interconnected tensions across UbD stages: (1) goal-setting challenges arising from navigating national curriculum standards alongside the school’s internal values framework (Citta); (2) an assessment implementation gap in which higher-order cognitive objectives documented in curriculum plans were consistently enacted at lower cognitive levels due to structural constraints; and (3) learning plan localization challenges reflected in the uneven implementation of the school’s 5M pedagogical framework. These tensions collectively illustrate what this study conceptualizes as implementation pragmatism. The study contributes theoretically by extending UbD scholarship into inclusive education contexts within the Global South, highlighting the limits of backward design under conditions of heterogeneity and regulatory pressure. Practically, the findings inform organizational and pedagogical practices, as well as school leaders, about the need for systemic alignment among inclusive curriculum aspirations, assessment structures, and classroom realities.