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JAKARTA POST, 02 Mei 2013
Former minister of education and culture Daoed Joesoef once
declared that what made national education effective had nothing to do with the
adequacy of educational budgets, free education, autonomy in education, teacher
certification or national exams, but rather a relevant and futuristic concept
of education.
Clearly, what the former minister had in mind was a conceptual analysis or educational philosophy that could help clarify educational assumptions we’ve been working with.
Few people would deny the truth behind this proposition. For the national education system to bear fruit for the nation and its citizens, it needs to be guided by a clear and explicit educational concept that transcends technicalities.
Unfortunately, instead of envisioning the futuristic concepts relevant to our educational system, we’ve been for decades painstakingly experimenting with such technicalities as internationalizing the local curriculum, conducting teacher certification and assessing students through the national exams, albeit apparently without positive results.
The trouble with our current system of education lies not in the overemphasis on these technicalities, but in the disregard for seeking the conceptual framework that can provide robust justifications to carry out these technicalities.
This disregard certainly has serious ramifications in the contemporary context of education. National education stands on shaky ground. With the ubiquity of contesting conceptual frameworks stemming from the discourse of globalization and modernization, there is a tendency among us to resort to the dominant and superior educational concepts that seem to dovetail with the conditions of the local contexts.
This is precisely the attitude displayed by the policy maker in education, which in turn gives rise to the sheer ignorance of reconfiguring past educational wisdoms that in fact bore futuristic concepts relevant to the contemporary pedagogical paradigms.
It needs to be highlighted here that the cultural politics of globalization often confers on the modes of thinking from developed countries superior, universal and legitimate status and regards everything from developing countries as inferior, local and illegitimate.
The continual use of English as the dominant language in contemporary education and the adoption of models (from developed countries) materialized in local curricular and test designs provide evidence of neocolonialism and liberalism masquerading in the name of globalization or modernization in education.
In the context of post-colonialism in education in general and language education in particular, it is very opportune to think of futuristic concepts of educational systems by reconfiguring the long-practiced concepts laid down by the pioneers in national education.
The educational philosophical outlook of such a noted figure as Ki Hajar Dewantara, the founder of Taman Siswa in Yogyakarta, remains germane in the modern educational landscape.
For instance, his legacy of educational philosophy ing ngarso sun tuladha (in front set examples), ing madya mangun karsa (in the middle build up the spirit), tut wuri handayani (from behind provide guidance) captures the spirit of post-colonialism well in the context of globalization in education.
It represents the politics of identity, which is vital for deconstructing and appropriating dominant educational concepts bred by the discourse of globalization.
Rejecting the homogenization of cultures, ideologies and identities, the post-colonialist movement acknowledges the localization, diversification, hybridity and situatedness of knowledge in the specific societies to which it belongs. Most importantly, the relevance of local identities and languages in the contribution to the creation of globalization is greatly recognized.
Thus, despite the fact that Dewantara’s teachings and the teachings of countless other Indonesian educational pioneers like Kartini, Ahmad Dahlan, Mohammad Hatta and Muhammad Yamin took place in the colonial contexts, the underlying philosophies of these teachings are congenial with globalization and post-colonialism in education.
Also, a closer look at these teachings reveals that they go to the very heart of a post-colonial movement that opposes inequalities in power relations in terms of culture, ideology, identity and socioeconomic class, but reclaims the voices of the powerless and the oppressed.
Through the establishment of Taman Siswa, for instance, Dewantara closed the gap between the poor and the opulent (created deliberately by the Dutch colonists) in getting access to education.
Similarly, through the political movement known as the National Indonesian Education (PNI), Hatta opened up the possibility for all Indonesians (regardless race, ethnicity or socioeconomic background) to participate in educational activities.
Other Indonesian founding fathers in education struggled to create the national education system which granted, through the Constitution, all Indonesian citizens equality and freedom in education.
Given the rise of post-colonialism in the educational context, there is a reason for the reclamation of local wisdom in education which can be manifested in the reconfiguration of local educational philosophies and materialized in every crucial aspect of strategic educational policies such as curriculum and test design, the design of teaching materials and the protection of minority languages, among other issues. ●
Clearly, what the former minister had in mind was a conceptual analysis or educational philosophy that could help clarify educational assumptions we’ve been working with.
Few people would deny the truth behind this proposition. For the national education system to bear fruit for the nation and its citizens, it needs to be guided by a clear and explicit educational concept that transcends technicalities.
Unfortunately, instead of envisioning the futuristic concepts relevant to our educational system, we’ve been for decades painstakingly experimenting with such technicalities as internationalizing the local curriculum, conducting teacher certification and assessing students through the national exams, albeit apparently without positive results.
The trouble with our current system of education lies not in the overemphasis on these technicalities, but in the disregard for seeking the conceptual framework that can provide robust justifications to carry out these technicalities.
This disregard certainly has serious ramifications in the contemporary context of education. National education stands on shaky ground. With the ubiquity of contesting conceptual frameworks stemming from the discourse of globalization and modernization, there is a tendency among us to resort to the dominant and superior educational concepts that seem to dovetail with the conditions of the local contexts.
This is precisely the attitude displayed by the policy maker in education, which in turn gives rise to the sheer ignorance of reconfiguring past educational wisdoms that in fact bore futuristic concepts relevant to the contemporary pedagogical paradigms.
It needs to be highlighted here that the cultural politics of globalization often confers on the modes of thinking from developed countries superior, universal and legitimate status and regards everything from developing countries as inferior, local and illegitimate.
The continual use of English as the dominant language in contemporary education and the adoption of models (from developed countries) materialized in local curricular and test designs provide evidence of neocolonialism and liberalism masquerading in the name of globalization or modernization in education.
In the context of post-colonialism in education in general and language education in particular, it is very opportune to think of futuristic concepts of educational systems by reconfiguring the long-practiced concepts laid down by the pioneers in national education.
The educational philosophical outlook of such a noted figure as Ki Hajar Dewantara, the founder of Taman Siswa in Yogyakarta, remains germane in the modern educational landscape.
For instance, his legacy of educational philosophy ing ngarso sun tuladha (in front set examples), ing madya mangun karsa (in the middle build up the spirit), tut wuri handayani (from behind provide guidance) captures the spirit of post-colonialism well in the context of globalization in education.
It represents the politics of identity, which is vital for deconstructing and appropriating dominant educational concepts bred by the discourse of globalization.
Rejecting the homogenization of cultures, ideologies and identities, the post-colonialist movement acknowledges the localization, diversification, hybridity and situatedness of knowledge in the specific societies to which it belongs. Most importantly, the relevance of local identities and languages in the contribution to the creation of globalization is greatly recognized.
Thus, despite the fact that Dewantara’s teachings and the teachings of countless other Indonesian educational pioneers like Kartini, Ahmad Dahlan, Mohammad Hatta and Muhammad Yamin took place in the colonial contexts, the underlying philosophies of these teachings are congenial with globalization and post-colonialism in education.
Also, a closer look at these teachings reveals that they go to the very heart of a post-colonial movement that opposes inequalities in power relations in terms of culture, ideology, identity and socioeconomic class, but reclaims the voices of the powerless and the oppressed.
Through the establishment of Taman Siswa, for instance, Dewantara closed the gap between the poor and the opulent (created deliberately by the Dutch colonists) in getting access to education.
Similarly, through the political movement known as the National Indonesian Education (PNI), Hatta opened up the possibility for all Indonesians (regardless race, ethnicity or socioeconomic background) to participate in educational activities.
Other Indonesian founding fathers in education struggled to create the national education system which granted, through the Constitution, all Indonesian citizens equality and freedom in education.
Given the rise of post-colonialism in the educational context, there is a reason for the reclamation of local wisdom in education which can be manifested in the reconfiguration of local educational philosophies and materialized in every crucial aspect of strategic educational policies such as curriculum and test design, the design of teaching materials and the protection of minority languages, among other issues. ●
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