ABSTRACT
To fully understand the current state of education in Indonesia, it is necessary to examine the development of the system, with particular attention to the imprint that the nation’s social, economic, and political conditions have left on the schools. The goals of the contemporary system, the function of the schools within society, the roles ascribed to teachers, and the government’s influence on teaching and learning are all rooted in the past. Previous analyses of the LCC-and the majority of all educational reforms introduced in Indonesia-pay scant attention to the links between current practices and historical precedent. Reports on Indonesian schooling have generally focused on technical issues rather than the contexts-historical and contemporarythat modulated responses to educational reforms. Consequently, assessments of and predictions concerning the potential impact of educational reforms often provide limited insights into the causes and effects of those change efforts. As I will show, educators’ conceptions of the purpose of schooling and of their responsibilities as members of the education system were formed in response to the nation’s unique political history. A scrupulous study of educational reform in Indonesia should therefore examine actors’ actions in relation to events in the past as well as the present.
