IREX: Teachers for Global Classrooms
Pamela Miller: Indonesia June 2013
Essential Question: What is the relationship between the educational system in Indonesia and Indonesia’s level of economic development?
Indonesia stands at the crossroad: one foot firmly rooted in tradition, one foot reaching out to embrace the modern world, and join the astounding economic miracle of Asia’s awakening. Indonesia is clearly a country in transition as it seeks to create new opportunities and a new national identity, but at the same time holds fast to its rich cultural traditions and harsh economic realities.
Indonesia is the world’s 4th largest country in population, but lags as the world’s 20th biggest economy. The essential premise is that there is a relationship between a country’s educational system and its corresponding level of economic development. In this paper, I will summarize my observations of the Indonesian educational system and link it to Indonesia’s economic development.
The educational philosophy and educational structure are vastly different from the western educational standards. When I asked teachers and administrators about their educational mission, I received answers such as: “to increase the conviction and belief toward Almighty God, to produce good hearted, well mannered, kind human beings, to develop character and compassion”
Obviously, Indonesian schools focus on character development to a much greater extent then in the United States. The result is that Indonesian students are far more respectful then their US counterparts. . There is no separation of church and state, and the national curriculum includes compulsory classes on religion. One’s national identity is defined by one’s religion, and is considered so essential that it is listed on one’s birth certificate. A common punishment for misbehavior is to tell the student to go and pray to God and to ask God’s forgiveness.
The school structure is also very different. There are both public and private schools, and students must compete for entry into a private school. Private schools have more resources, and ostensibly higher quality instruction. Students attend school six days per week, but the school day is very short. Classes are over by 12:30pm and the teacher’s day is done by 1:30pm. This is obviously a concession to the weather: the heat and humidity make classrooms unbearably hot, and rarely did I observe an air conditioned classroom.
There is a level of respect between the teacher and student that is enviable as an American teacher. The word for teacher is guru and that sums up exactly the hierarchy and status of Indonesian teachers. Although all the instruction was very teacher centered, with little student engagement, (by contemporary American standards) the students sat quietly and respectfully. While the classes seemed very calm and orderly, what was missing was a passion for learning. Textbooks seemed like outdated workbooks, and the emphasis was on rote instruction, memorized facts, instead of inquiry learning.
Indonesia ranks very high on the corruption index, according to the CIA World Fact book. This permeates the educational system as well. In our host’s school, the principal was retiring this summer. When I asked about the appointment of a new director, I was told that The Ministry of Education will most likely appoint the person who is able to pay the most money to acquire the job, regardless of competency or qualifications.
Every Monday morning the entire student body assembles for the flag raising ceremony. The students sing the national anthem which reiterates the Five Guiding Principles of Indonesian identity. They are 1. Belief in God, 2. Humanity, 3. Unity in diversity, 4. Representative government and 5. Equality for all persons.
All schools seemed to recognize the importance of English instruction, and viewed the ability to speak English as the path to a more successful life. Yet here too a dichotomy existed: most of the English instructors could barely speak English themselves. Their English proficiency seemed limited to a few memorized phrases, and there was a total lack of understanding, as well as the ability to carry out a basic conversation in English. However, most Indonesians speak at least three languages: native Javanese, Bahasa (the national language) and Arabic in order to be able to read the Qur'an. Obvioulsy their language proficiency greatly exceeds most Americans. .
Assuming that there exists a strong correlation between education and economic development, Indonesia may need to reform and update its entire educational system. Their schools seemed to me what schools in America most likely looked like in the 1950s. The new national curriculum for 2013, interestingly, removes science from the curriculum. Another interesting statistic is that only 20% of their students attend college. Many of the girls marry by age sixteen, so their education is essentially finished. Indonesia seems to recognize the importance of a strong national educational system as it committs an ever increasing share of its national income to building comprehensive schools.
While Indonesia's economy is on fire, many people are still employed in what by American standards would be considered sweatshop jobs. Our host teacher’s sister works in a laundry washing clothes seven days a week from 7AM until 7PM. Her salary is a whopping $90 per month, or $3 per day for a twelve hour day. Veteran teachers make $300 month and the Peace Corp volunteers we met are paid $100 per month.
Yet, Indonesia is awakening. It currently has one of the world’s fastest growing economies with a GDP growth of 6% annually. When I asked what Indonesia’s greatest asset for development is, the answer was labor. Much of the world's manufacturing is moving to Indonesia. The people seem willing to work long and hard for very low pay. While they may not have a western toilet, they all seemed to have cell phones, and are connecting with the outside developed first world.
As they engage more with the world with social media such as Facebook, the Internet, Twitter, they will be exposed to more ideas, new ways of conducting business, western outlooks, and new perspectives. Perhaps they will understand that knowledge is power, and a community develops as the quality of its schools increase. They have to play the catch up game beginning with making their schools places to learn a more relevant and engaging 21st century curriculum. This will require a paradigm shift from traditional values to acceptance of a more creative cognitive based curriculum. Revamping their schools, putting science back into the curriculum, changing attitudes toward female teenage marriages, prioritizing learning ahead of respect, all require a profound shift of values and traditions.
In conclusion, my observations on the ground in many different school setting in Indonesia, lead me to believe that Indonesia continues to have a mighty mountain to climb to join the developed world. Innovation does not happen overnight, a passion for learning must be allowed to flourish, creativity must be encouraged, and the system must change from answering questions, to questioning answers. As in India,, as the educational system increases, Indonesia will begin producing engineers, computer analysts, physicists, IT specialists, and so forth to compete with the first world economy.
Pamela Miller: Indonesia June 2013
Essential Question: What is the relationship between the educational system in Indonesia and Indonesia’s level of economic development?
Indonesia stands at the crossroad: one foot firmly rooted in tradition, one foot reaching out to embrace the modern world, and join the astounding economic miracle of Asia’s awakening. Indonesia is clearly a country in transition as it seeks to create new opportunities and a new national identity, but at the same time holds fast to its rich cultural traditions and harsh economic realities.
Indonesia is the world’s 4th largest country in population, but lags as the world’s 20th biggest economy. The essential premise is that there is a relationship between a country’s educational system and its corresponding level of economic development. In this paper, I will summarize my observations of the Indonesian educational system and link it to Indonesia’s economic development.
The educational philosophy and educational structure are vastly different from the western educational standards. When I asked teachers and administrators about their educational mission, I received answers such as: “to increase the conviction and belief toward Almighty God, to produce good hearted, well mannered, kind human beings, to develop character and compassion”
Obviously, Indonesian schools focus on character development to a much greater extent then in the United States. The result is that Indonesian students are far more respectful then their US counterparts. . There is no separation of church and state, and the national curriculum includes compulsory classes on religion. One’s national identity is defined by one’s religion, and is considered so essential that it is listed on one’s birth certificate. A common punishment for misbehavior is to tell the student to go and pray to God and to ask God’s forgiveness.
The school structure is also very different. There are both public and private schools, and students must compete for entry into a private school. Private schools have more resources, and ostensibly higher quality instruction. Students attend school six days per week, but the school day is very short. Classes are over by 12:30pm and the teacher’s day is done by 1:30pm. This is obviously a concession to the weather: the heat and humidity make classrooms unbearably hot, and rarely did I observe an air conditioned classroom.
There is a level of respect between the teacher and student that is enviable as an American teacher. The word for teacher is guru and that sums up exactly the hierarchy and status of Indonesian teachers. Although all the instruction was very teacher centered, with little student engagement, (by contemporary American standards) the students sat quietly and respectfully. While the classes seemed very calm and orderly, what was missing was a passion for learning. Textbooks seemed like outdated workbooks, and the emphasis was on rote instruction, memorized facts, instead of inquiry learning.
Indonesia ranks very high on the corruption index, according to the CIA World Fact book. This permeates the educational system as well. In our host’s school, the principal was retiring this summer. When I asked about the appointment of a new director, I was told that The Ministry of Education will most likely appoint the person who is able to pay the most money to acquire the job, regardless of competency or qualifications.
Every Monday morning the entire student body assembles for the flag raising ceremony. The students sing the national anthem which reiterates the Five Guiding Principles of Indonesian identity. They are 1. Belief in God, 2. Humanity, 3. Unity in diversity, 4. Representative government and 5. Equality for all persons.
All schools seemed to recognize the importance of English instruction, and viewed the ability to speak English as the path to a more successful life. Yet here too a dichotomy existed: most of the English instructors could barely speak English themselves. Their English proficiency seemed limited to a few memorized phrases, and there was a total lack of understanding, as well as the ability to carry out a basic conversation in English. However, most Indonesians speak at least three languages: native Javanese, Bahasa (the national language) and Arabic in order to be able to read the Qur'an. Obvioulsy their language proficiency greatly exceeds most Americans. .
Assuming that there exists a strong correlation between education and economic development, Indonesia may need to reform and update its entire educational system. Their schools seemed to me what schools in America most likely looked like in the 1950s. The new national curriculum for 2013, interestingly, removes science from the curriculum. Another interesting statistic is that only 20% of their students attend college. Many of the girls marry by age sixteen, so their education is essentially finished. Indonesia seems to recognize the importance of a strong national educational system as it committs an ever increasing share of its national income to building comprehensive schools.
While Indonesia's economy is on fire, many people are still employed in what by American standards would be considered sweatshop jobs. Our host teacher’s sister works in a laundry washing clothes seven days a week from 7AM until 7PM. Her salary is a whopping $90 per month, or $3 per day for a twelve hour day. Veteran teachers make $300 month and the Peace Corp volunteers we met are paid $100 per month.
Yet, Indonesia is awakening. It currently has one of the world’s fastest growing economies with a GDP growth of 6% annually. When I asked what Indonesia’s greatest asset for development is, the answer was labor. Much of the world's manufacturing is moving to Indonesia. The people seem willing to work long and hard for very low pay. While they may not have a western toilet, they all seemed to have cell phones, and are connecting with the outside developed first world.
As they engage more with the world with social media such as Facebook, the Internet, Twitter, they will be exposed to more ideas, new ways of conducting business, western outlooks, and new perspectives. Perhaps they will understand that knowledge is power, and a community develops as the quality of its schools increase. They have to play the catch up game beginning with making their schools places to learn a more relevant and engaging 21st century curriculum. This will require a paradigm shift from traditional values to acceptance of a more creative cognitive based curriculum. Revamping their schools, putting science back into the curriculum, changing attitudes toward female teenage marriages, prioritizing learning ahead of respect, all require a profound shift of values and traditions.
In conclusion, my observations on the ground in many different school setting in Indonesia, lead me to believe that Indonesia continues to have a mighty mountain to climb to join the developed world. Innovation does not happen overnight, a passion for learning must be allowed to flourish, creativity must be encouraged, and the system must change from answering questions, to questioning answers. As in India,, as the educational system increases, Indonesia will begin producing engineers, computer analysts, physicists, IT specialists, and so forth to compete with the first world economy.