‘Old, borrowed, and renewed’: A review of early childhood education policy in post-Reform Indonesia

Abstract

Early childhood education (ECE) is not new in Indonesia. However, in the past decade, it has received more attention, as shown by the growing number of ECE centres in both urban and rural areas. This growth is accompanied by policy development that corresponds to the global agenda of ECE. Policy development is inevitably linked with the support of international organisations (such as UNICEF and the World Bank) at both national and local levels, through loans and grass-roots pilot projects. Such neo-liberal policies have been seen as contributing to inequality in educational access in developing countries. What is lacking is an understanding of how policies, caught up in the interwoven nature of global discourse and social problems, are being implemented at the local level. Such understanding is especially important in the changing social and political context of post-Reform Indonesia. Using a critical approach, this article examines the discourse around ECE policies and practice through critical engagement with policy documents and relevant reports. Because policy processes are messy and in many ways relative, this perspective enables the dominant discourse, within which ECE operates, to be challenged. This article concludes by suggesting the integration of ECE and health services at the practice level in order to bridge the current gap between ECE policy and practice.