Globalization era and education in Indonesia<\/p>\n
Mochtar Buchori, Legislator, Jakarta, mbuchori@indo.net.id<\/p>\n
Globalization has come to us, and no nation, country or
\ngovernment can escape from it. It is a huge global force,
\neconomic and political force, whose actions affect the lives of
\nbig and small countries alike, either positively or negatively.<\/p>\n
We have thus far been a poor performer in this highly
\ncompetitive global game. We lose much, and gain little. The hope
\nis that we will have generations that will perform better at this
\ngame. This hope will materialize only if we succeed in redressing
\nour education, and transform it into an institution capable of
\ngiving the young what the late scholar Soedjatmoko termed
\nnational learning capability. This is the capability of a nation
\nto learn from experiences encountered in daily life and the
\ncapability to learn to become wise in life.<\/p>\n
This redressing act can be referred to as globalizing our
\neducation. This should be performed at two levels, i.e. at the
\noperational level and at the fundamental level.<\/p>\n
At the operational level, globalizing education means
\nadjusting education to changes in educational practices brought
\nabout by globalization. The purpose is to prevent our education
\nfrom becoming obsolete and irrelevant within new global practices
\nin education.<\/p>\n
At the fundamental level, globalizing our education means
\nalso paying due attention to the idiosyncrasies of our
\neducational system and society. This is to anchor our renewed
\neducation to social and cultural realities.<\/p>\n
The main difference between globalization at these two levels
\nis that globalization at the fundamental level purports to
\ngenerate an educational system capable of preparing the coming
\ngenerations for an intelligent participation in globalization.
\nThe dream is that Indonesia will be represented by people who are
\nconscious of the needs of their country while performing their
\nrole as active members of a global community.<\/p>\n
How do we globalize our education at the operational level?<\/p>\n
No one has any previous experience. Our education, after being
\nmodified for globalization, should be able to prepare the coming
\ngenerations for more effective communication and interaction with
\npeople from other cultures. So the the range of foreign languages
\nour education system offers must be reexamined.<\/p>\n
Two other important ideas are about broadening horizons, and
\nabout making the young aware of the man-made disasters that
\nthreatens our life on this planet. We must thus to think about
\ncourses that will make the coming generations literate about our
\nenvironmental conditions, human conflicts, and about the
\naccomplishments of organizations whose mission is to save our
\nplanet and humanity itself.<\/p>\n
The agenda for globalizing education at the fundamental level
\nwould include the essential step, at this stage, to make an in-
\ndepth inquiry of basic causes of our poor performance in the
\nglobalization game, and how to correct it -- and how our
\nculture, political system, and economic condition can be held
\nresponsible for our poor performance. Then the issue would be how
\nthe future generations can overcome these obstacles.<\/p>\n
can look at how countries like the U.S., Canada, members of
\nthe European Union, and Japan, have prepared their youth to
\nbecome trustworthy representatives of their respective countries
\nin the globalization game.<\/p>\n
We should, of course, not simply copy their systems, but this
\nkind of comparative study should make it possible for us to know
\nwhy in their respective cultural settings their systems work.
\nFrom this point we can sketch the contours of our globalization-
\noriented educational reform.<\/p>\n
The preparation of teachers should make them aware of the
\nfacts and demands of globalization, about the basic features of
\nour culture, our economic and political systems, and about the
\nevolution of our educational system. This must be made part of
\nthe reform.<\/p>\n
This is a huge order, but unless this is done, we will never
\nhave an educated manpower capable of transforming our educational
\nsystem into a national instrument with which to improve our
\nperformance in the next phases of globalization.<\/p>\n
Only an educational force that understands the reform agenda
\nand has a grasp of the basic idea behind the program can
\neffectively implement a platform for a comprehensive educational
\nreform. The best implementers of any educational program are
\nthose who can inspire and goad the young toward reaching the
\ndream envisioned by the program.<\/p>\n
To paraphrase Soedjatmoko, reformers must learn how to light
\nthe fire of hope in the hearts of the young, and how to keep this
\nflame burning.<\/p>",
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