Ki Hajar Dewantara’s Educational Philosophy: Among and Student’s Academic Performance

This research aims to describe an overview of the implementation of Ki Hajar Dewantara’s educational philosophy and concept of among, where according to Ki Hajar Dewantara, the purpose of education is to liberate a human being whose mind does not depend on others and rests on its strength, with the motto of Tut Wuri Handayani that provides a broad range of freedom. In line with the government policy, Merdeka Belajar, Freedom of Learning that was rolled out in Cendekia Harapan School in Bali–“CH Way of Learning”–has been proven to effectively increase student’s academic performance, which combines elements of interest, talent, individual speed, learning styles, and games into a fun and productive learning model, as well as emphasizes the freedom of “among” in each student, teachers’ role as “pamong” is to facilitate students to realize their greatest potential. Using a qualitative approach, observation, and interviews; the longitudinal results of the 2-years study show that students who choose to use this learning method are happier and more satisfied with their performance which correlates with academic performance and students’ achievement.