Aspirations of Fishermen's Families on the North Coast of Java for Children's Education

Abstract

So far, fishermen are associated with the poor with low education. This is due to the livelihood of fishermen who depend on the sea, which is very dynamic and uncertain. However, during the last 20 years, there has been a change in the perspective and aspirations of fishermen’s families towards their children’s education. The factors of fishermen’s livelihood, which are increasingly difficult and increasing accessibility, are expected to change the perspective on education. This research aims to explore the factors that change the aspirations of fishermen’s families towards education, both formal and informal education in Purworejo Village - Demak. The qualitative research method with ten informants conducted in-depth interviews, three focused discussions, and field observations to understand the existing phenomena. Focused discussions were conducted online and offline due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the research area. Data collection was carried out in July-August 2020 and March 2021. The results showed that the fishermen had seen the importance of their children getting a higher education. The increasing aspirations of fishermen’s parents towards education cannot be separated from the Family Hope Program (Program Keluarga Harapan or PKH), which can at least increase the school participation level of fishermen’s children. Parents expect their children to have a wider choice of jobs than those who live by profession as a fisherman, namely employee of the last resort.Selama ini nelayan diasosiasikan dengan masyarakat miskin yang berpendidikan rendah. Hal ini disebabkan mata pencaharian nelayan yang bergantung pada laut sangat dinamis dan tidak menentu. Namun, selama 20 tahun terakhir, terjadi perubahan cara pandang dan aspirasi keluarga nelayan terhadap pendidikan anak-anaknya. Faktor penghidupan nelayan yang semakin sulit dan aksesibilitas yang semakin meningkat diharapkan dapat mengubah cara pandang terhadap pendidikan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendalami faktor-faktor yang mengubah aspirasi keluarga nelayan terhadap pendidikan, baik pendidikan formal maupun informal di Desa Purworejo – Demak. Metode penelitian kualitatif dengan sepuluh informan dilakukan wawancara mendalam, tiga kali diskusi terpumpun, dan observasi lapangan untuk memahami fenomena yang ada. Diskusi terpumpun dilakukan secara online dan offline karena situasi pandemi COVID-19 di daerah penelitian. Pengambilan data dilakukan pada bulan Juli-Agustus 2020 dan Maret 2021. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa para nelayan telah melihat pentingnya anak-anaknya mengenyam pendidikan tinggi. Meningkatnya aspirasi orang tua nelayan terhadap pendidikan tidak lepas dari Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH) yang setidaknya dapat meningkatkan tingkat partisipasi sekolah anak-anak nelayan. Orang tua mengharapkan anak-anaknya memiliki pilihan pekerjaan yang lebih luas dibandingkan dengan mereka yang berprofesi sebagai nelayan, yaitu employee of the last resort.