ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 illustrates the major turning point in the political climate in Indonesia from the 1990s to early 2000s and its impact on education. Under the Suharto regime (1967–98), a system of extreme top-down administration was widely implemented in all sectors including education. However, in the late 1990s, demands from the people for the fair distribution of national wealth and the fruits of development projects and programmes became increasingly strong. Eventually, mass protests by students and civil society groups forced the regime to step down, and a relatively peaceful transition to democratisation was realized. The democratisation of the political process and administrative system in the entire country influenced education reform, which commenced in the early 2000s. Drastic changes in education policies, including curriculum reform and teacher-related policy reform, have been implemented over the past two decades. Education system management has been decentralised since 2001, and major components of decision-making authority have been handed over to the district level. Some drastic paradigm shifts in school governance and classroom activities have also been introduced and have liberated educators from the strict control of the central authority. Finally, school principals and teachers in collaboration with local communities have become the main actors in ensuring education meets national standards and in securing children’s learning opportunities. This chapter discusses the remarkable shift in teacher identity and their expected roles in the process of democratisation as well as how this shift has transformed them into a driving force for school reform in Indonesia.
