Benefits, Obstacles, and Expectations of the Pancasila Learner Profile Strengthening Project (P5): Indonesian Mathematics Teachers’ Perspectives

The Pancasila Learner Profile Strengthening Project (P5) has changed how Indonesia builds its curriculum: a fixed portion of annual learning hours now goes to character education delivered through co-curricular projects. As teachers are instrumental in determining the enactment of such reforms, this study examines how Indonesian mathematics teachers evaluate P5 after implementing it, asking: (a) What benefits do they associate with P5? (b) What obstacles do they encounter during implementation? and (c) What expectations do they hold for its future? A convergent mixed-methods design was utilized. One hundred mathematics teachers from seven island regions and three school levels answered an open-ended survey. The researchers sorted their responses into categories and quantified them as frequencies, and coded follow-up interviews thematically to explain what each category contained. Data collection ran from October 2024 to January 2025. Teachers attributed P5 benefits to students' experiential learning and character development. However, they reported obstacles of student unpreparedness, scarce resources, inadequate training, and limited time. They also expressed expectations centred on policy support, resource allocation, training, and programme re-evaluation. When interpreted through the Concerns-Based Adoption Model, the perceived benefits are situated at the level of impact concerns. By contrast, obstacles cluster at the self and task levels. This suggests that most teachers are preoccupied with their own readiness and workload rather than the consequences for students. Sustaining P5 therefore depends less on redesigning the programme than on establishing the conditions that enable that progression.