Abstrak
This research aimed to determine the reading comprehension problems experienced by students in the implementation of Merdeka Curriculum at SMPN 10 Tarakan and the causes of reading comprehension issues among seventh-grade students in class 7-1 at SMPN 10 Tarakan. The study employed a qualitative research with a descriptive qualitative model. This research was conducted at SMPN 10 Tarakan. The subjects of this study were 31 students from class 7-1, and one of English teacher who teaches in class 7-1 at SMPN 10 Tarakan. This research used observation sheets and interview guides to collect data. The researcher conducted classroom observation three times. And then the researcher interviewed six selected students and one English teacher. The data obtained were analyzed using the Miles & Hubberman theory. The research results indicated that students at SMPN 10 Tarakan faced difficulties in reading comprehension, including difficulties in understanding word meanings, comprehending long texts, identifying the main ideas of texts, understanding vocabulary and drawing conclusions. Furthermore, this research showed that the causes of students’ reading comprehension problems in the implementation of Merdeka Curriculum at SMPN 10 Tarakan are the students’ own background knowledge, the teaching techniques used by the teachers, and the environmental factors surrounding the students.