Educational challenges in a small island community : a case study in Gili Asahan, Lombok, Indonesia

Abstract

This Master’s thesis focuses on educational challenges in a small island community, that is Gili Asahan village in Lombok, Indonesia. The idea for this study emerged from a voluntary organization called Kelas Inspirasi, which has an initiative to send volunteer teachers to overcome the lack of teaching staff on the island. The challenges found during the case study did not concern only the lack of teacher’s presence but also teaching in the multi-grade class setting as well as challenges in school’s facilities and infrastructure and furthermore, the influence of the rural community on schooling. After the researcher discovered the educational challenges of in this small island community, she set out to find possible solutions to overcome these issues.

The research is based on a case study. The researcher observed the location in its natural setting collecting the data of all daily activities inside and outside the classroom, making field notes. Hence, she was both a participant researcher and a voluntary teacher of a multi-grade class in the local primary school. The data was analyzed through explanation building by reflecting on the theoretical proposition as a connection link to the real event. Through the iterative process, the researcher was trying to compare findings and propositions, integrating the context and adding additional details until she gets the holistic and comprehensive analysis to understand the issue.

According to the findings, in this kind of remote and isolated islands, multi-grade classes are a necessity. The sparse population and difficult geographic conditions lead to difficulties in hiring more than one teacher. In this village, there were only 20 students enrolled in the primary school with grades 1, 2, and 4. The teacher-researcher was not prepared to teach in the multi-grade setting, so managing the classroom became oftentimes very challenging. Students were not properly engaged in the schooling process, they experienced neither sense of belonging nor autonomy in the classroom. Understandably, this led to students’ low study motivation as they became passive receivers, with the unfortunate outcome of future failure in schooling. While, the role of the community in the formal schooling process is not active and encouraging, the school merely becomes a place to entrust the children when parents go to work.

The researcher argues that in spite of some disadvantages, multi-grade classes have a potential to support Education for All, even in remote and isolated locations. However, teachers’ preparation in the multi-grade settings should start already in teacher training. The knowledge of multi-grade teaching could wane mismanagement in the classroom environment, overcome the limited resources, and maximize teacher’s presence to support active learners. The cooperation between community and school should be addressed to promote the “pedagogy of place” concept where teachers could design lessons according to children’s daily life in small island communities.