Cultural transformation and educational reform<\/p>\n
By Mochtar Buchori<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): It has been said that education is a culture-
\nbound phenomenon. This expression is usually interpreted to mean
\nthat the practice of education varies from one culture to
\nanother. The way the Javanese educate their children, for
\ninstance, differs from the way the Chinese educate theirs.<\/p>\n
Two inferences can be drawn from this expression. The first is
\nthat to be an effective practitioner of education in a society,
\none has to study not only the methods and techniques of education
\npracticed in that society, but also the cultural bases of those
\neducational practices. The second is that whenever a society is
\nundergoing a cultural change or transformation, there is the
\nimperative for that society to re-examine and revise its
\npractices of education. There is the imperative for that society
\nto carry out educational reform. If this reform is not thoroughly
\ninstituted, then the educational system will not be able to
\nfunction satisfactorily within the new environment.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been undergoing cultural transformation, waves
\nof cultural transformation in fact, since the advent of World War
\nII. The Indonesian government and the education community in
\nIndonesia have carried out a series of adjustments and
\ninnovations to help the educational system respond satisfactorily
\nto the new challenges in society. Yet, in spite of all the
\nefforts that have been made there are still a number of problems
\nthat remain unsolved. The final result is that our educational
\nsystem does not run as effectively and as efficiently today as it
\ndid in the 1950's, for instance. Thus, we can say that besides
\nprogress and development, we also see drawbacks and declines in
\nour educational system.<\/p>\n
What is the reason for all this?<\/p>\n
This is a very big question, to which no one can provide a
\ncomplete and satisfactory answer. In my view, part of the reason
\nfor this situation is that we have been operating too much \"on
\nthe surface level\" in our efforts to bring about improvements in
\nour educational system. We have not given enough thought to the
\nchanges that have taken place at \"the deepest levels\" of our
\ncultural life. In redressing our educational problems, we have
\ngiven too much attention to the administrative aspects of our
\nsystem, but not enough attention to the cultural sources of the
\nproblems that our schools have been facing.<\/p>\n
Let us take as an example the problem of unruly behavior among
\nstudents, including the problem of brawling among them. In our
\nrepeated efforts to mend this problem, we have been concerned
\nprimarily with the question of restoring order as soon as
\npossible. And most of us still think that this problem is
\nconfined primarily to schools and students in Jakarta, or at the
\nmost to two or three other big cities. We have always been quick
\nto point out that this phenomenon of student brawls never occurs
\nin rural areas, and also is never found among schools with
\nreligious backgrounds. On the basis of such observations we
\nconclude that the remedy should consist of three steps: (1)
\nadminister punitive but corrective measures to those students
\ninvolved in brawling; (2) return to our own cultural life style,
\nand resist this global pull of \"modern life style\" with all might
\nand means, and (3) give our students more religious instruction.
\nThis is a clear example of our reductive thinking.<\/p>\n
In facing this problem we seldom ask what the ultimate causes
\nof this situation are. We know that there must be some causes,
\nbut we think that to find out what they are is a very complex
\nproblem in itself. And in the Indonesian language of today
\nwhenever we use the word meaning \"complex\" to describe a problem,
\nit really means that we are unable to analyze and resolve it. We
\nalso never ask whether there is any relation between this problem
\nof student brawling and the loosening of moral norms that is
\nhappening in our society. We never ask whether cases of violence
\nand crimes committed by young people are in any way related to
\ncases of student brawling. We just do not go deep enough in our
\nthinking about these problems. We feel content to think and act
\nat the \"surface level.\"<\/p>\n
Why do we behave like this?<\/p>\n
I think because basically we are accustomed to perceiving and
\nthinking of education and schools as a phenomenon that stands on
\nits own, unrelated to any other social institution within the
\nsociety, and also unrelated to the society itself. We do not even
\nseriously accept the fact that the education we provide in our
\nschools is influenced in a positive and negative way by the
\neducation our students receive at their respective homes. This
\nis, in my view, the first cause of our habit of thinking about
\nour educational problems in a reductive manner.<\/p>\n
The second cause is that in administering school education we
\nroutinely narrow down our activity to one main activity:
\nimplanting knowledge into our students. We limit our educational
\ntask at school to develop the cognitive potential of our
\nstudents. Most of us never pay the slightest attention to the
\ndevelopment in our students of the power of conation; that being
\nthe ability to mobilize will or to act with purpose. Even
\neducation in religion is in most cases reduced to implanting
\nknowledge about religion, not inculcating a religious way of
\nlife. Religious education (pendidikan agama) is reduced to
\ninstruction about religion (pengajaran agama).<\/p>\n
Because of this tradition of thinking about education in a
\nreductive way we do not possess the intellectual capacity to
\nanalyze our educational problems within their cultural contexts.
\nWe do not have the capacity to see and understand educational
\nproblems as part of cultural problems. And in my opinion this is
\nall the result of our traditional way of educating our teachers
\nand educational system administrators.<\/p>\n
What do we have to do to correct this situation?<\/p>\n
I think we just have to change our way of looking at and
\nthinking about education. We have to develop a new way of
\nperceiving and thinking about the instilling of knowledge, and we
\nhave to learn and apply it. We have to learn, for instance, to
\nperceive education in the broadest sense of the word, as
\nindicated by the way we use the word 'pendidikan' (education) in
\nour culture. We have to learn to perceive our schools as a part
\nof a network of social institutions, and not merely as an
\nadministrative entity which can be separated from the rest of the
\nsociety at will. And finally, we have to think very seriously
\nabout a new design for our institutions for teachers' education.<\/p>\n
I admit, that this is a very huge agenda. But unless we begin
\nseriously to tackle this big problem now, we will be forever
\ntrapped in this situation of unfinished educational reform.<\/p>\n
The writer is former deputy chairman of the Indonesian
\nInstitute of Sciences and now rector of the Muhammadiyah
\nUniversity.<\/p>",
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