Need assessment of Indonesian Language Textbooks Based on Merdeka Curriculum in Vocational Schools in Sambas Regency

The primary objective of vocational school education is to prepare students for the workforce. The independent curriculum includes provisions for preparing students for the workforce. One of them is found in textbooks, which ought to encourage education and training for skills necessary for the workplace. This research aims to describe the perception and need for independent curriculum-based Indonesian language textbooks in vocational schools. This research used a case study approach with a purposive sampling technique. The data was collected from 17 Indonesian language teachers, 200 vocational school students, and 5 textbooks used at vocational schools in Sambas Regency. Data collection was obtained through questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis. Data was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results of the research showed that only 23% of the implementation of the independent curriculum from 17 Vocational Schools in Sambas district use independent curriculum textbooks, the need for vocational school teachers for independent curriculum-based textbooks reaches 79.5%, and the need for vocational school students for independent curriculum-based textbooks reaches 73.5%.