Essential Curriculum Content for Automotive Body Painting at Vocational High Schools: The Delphi Technique

The extensive content of the curriculum at vocational high schools (SMK) that students must master results in graduates not fully mastering their knowledge. Therefore, this study needs to be conducted to analyze the content of the SMK curriculum so that it can be curated into essential materials based on criteria of urgency, continuity, relevance, and applicability in the curriculum of the automotive body painting course at SMK. This research employs a modified Delphi technique in two rounds, involving a panel of experts consisting of 21 practitioners in the field of automotive painting. The questionnaire was developed concerning the objectives of the automotive body painting curriculum, comprising 16 contents evaluated using a four-level Likert scale. Data collection was carried out using Google Forms. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics with the aid of Excel and SPSS release 27. The study results indicate that there are eight highly essential contents out of the 17 in the automotive body painting curriculum. These eight contents are 1) Implementation of procedures for preparing materials and equipment for repairs; 2) Implementation of panel preparation procedures; 3) Application of putty method; 4) Application of sanding method; 5) Application of masking methods; 6) Implementation of metal panel painting procedures; 7) Implementation of plastic panel painting procedures; and 8) Evaluation and resolution of painting failures. Therefore, in implementing the curriculum, teachers can focus on the highly essential materials to enable students to learn more optimally.