STUDY 3 - CHANGE IN PROBOLINGGO DISTRICT

3.1 Introduction

Probolinggo, East Jawa, is one of several districts in the country which has been involved in education development programs for the last 4-5 years. It has a supportive Dinas office which embraces change and which has been successful in disseminating innovations in the areas of teaching and learning, school based management and community participation throughout the district. The district is considered to be making faster progress in developing its own innovations too. The district has been frequently visited by district education officials (Dinas) and schools representatives from other districts in the MBE program in addition to receiving visits from a number of donors. This study aimed to document the changes that have taken place, to find out how and why, and who was largely responsible for them.

3.2 The Beginnings of Change

      Decentralization gave Probolinggo's district education office (Dinas P&K) the opportunity to take control of the inputs and direction of its basic education program. The office had already introduced the "Sekolah Unggulan" program in 1999. It now has 33 primary schools including 2 madrasah schools involved in this district-wide program, at least one per sub-district, each chosen based on its potential to improve and become a model school in the locality.

      The present Kepala Dinas P&K Probolinggo, Bp Sudirman (2003-), is an active supporter of the quality improvement programs in the district. He is following in the footsteps of his predecessor who is now Assistant Sekretaris Daerah (Sekda) in Probolinggo. Several initiatives were promoted during his time, including the Sekolah Unggulan program, now known as SD Jenderal, and the option for primary schools to develop their own test questions for end of primary school cycle examinations (ujian akhir sekolah or UAS) for class 6.

      One factor which could contribute to the acceptance of change by educators in Probolinggo may be the cultural climate. Approximately 70% of teachers are migrants into the district from other provinces where education is given a high priority (Bp Sudirman, Kepala Dinas). The culture of these migrants may contribute to their willingness and eagerness to accept innovations because they come from societies which value education. On the other hand, native populations in Probolinggo have been strongly influenced by previous migrations of Madura islanders whose culture considers religious values and wealth as more important than education. Bahasa Jawa mother tongue is largely confined to children in urban areas; Madurese language is largely the mother tongue of Probolinggo's less urban children.

Donor Assistance and Support

      An early stimulus for changes in schools came from the CLCC program which began in 2001. A leading force behind UNICEF's involvement in primary education in East Jawa province and so in Probolinggo district is Bp. Supriono Subakir. He was involved in the British government project supporting primary education - ALPS/CBSA in B. Indonesia in the 1980s. He spent three months in England as part of the ALPS program (study tour program). During his involvement with that project, he worked alongside teacher training colleagues from the UK. His visit to England exposed him to alternative teaching methods, classroom arrangements and assessment systems as well as advances in educational theory.

      The Science Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP ) has been running in Probolinggo since before decentralization providing material support and technical assistance to clusters of primary schools. This project has undoubtedly played its part in introducing new ideas to education officials and teachers in the area of primary school science. In December 2003, MBE began to be implemented in kecamatan Dringu, Kraksaan and Krucil (see Table 3.1).

Table 3.1: Programmes in Probolingo

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