PSPK
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Jakarta (2018) — Held at the Discussion Room of the Library of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, PSPK once again organized a public discussion through Beranda PSPK. This edition raised the topic “Character Education and 21st Century Skills in Development Planning.”
The discussion was attended by three main speakers: Dr. Ir. Subandi, MS. (Deputy for Human, Community, and Cultural Development, BAPPENAS); Dr. Supriano, M.Ed. (Director General of Teachers and Education Personnel, Ministry of Education and Culture); and Najelaa Shihab (PSPK Researcher). The session was moderated by Iwan Syahril, Ph.D. (PSPK Researcher and Lecturer at Sampoerna University). The discussion proceeded in a participatory manner for approximately two hours.
As moderator, Iwan Syahril, Ph.D. opened the discussion by posing a fundamental question: whether education today has been oriented toward the principles of wholeness and balance, in which all aspects inherent in students are considered equally important—particularly in responding to the challenges of the 21st century. He also referred to Ki Hajar Dewantara, who as early as 1946 argued that Indonesian education placed excessive emphasis on high academic achievement rather than on children’s psychological development. This issue is also closely linked to the quality of education in Indonesia, which has often been difficult to translate into concrete policy frameworks.
The first session was opened with a presentation by Najelaa Shihab, who illustrated why discussing education quality is critically important. Based on research conducted on a number of policy documents, education quality has in fact been one of the objectives in development planning, including in the education sector. In the 2015–2019 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN), for example, education quality is identified as one of the strategic directions to achieve development goals. Similarly, various education policy frameworks—from the National Education System Law, accreditation standards, National Education Standards, to character education—consistently emphasize the same vision of graduate profiles that encompass comprehensive competencies, including knowledge, attitudes, and skills.
Najelaa further explained that this perspective aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, which highlight a range of skills that students need in the 21st century. Numerous studies emphasize the importance of non-cognitive aspects as equally contributing to student success, both in the present and in the future. For instance, an OECD study (2014) indicates that mental health issues contribute to a reduction of GDP by up to five percent. In this context, Najelaa translated these findings into policy recommendations by proposing the use of AKSI (Indonesian Student Competency Assessment) as an alternative indicator to describe student outcomes more comprehensively, encompassing both cognitive and non-cognitive aspects.
Building on this presentation, Dr. Ir. Subandi, MS. highlighted the difficulty of determining appropriate indicators to capture education quality. Over the past decade, development planning has largely focused on expanding access to education. With regard to education quality, teacher quality has been one of the indicators used in education planning, with teacher certification serving as its proxy. Meanwhile, student quality has been represented through National Examinations (UN and IIUN) and PISA. Regarding students’ non-cognitive aspects, Subandi agreed that, in line with 21st century developments, comprehensive student skills are increasingly essential. These must be supported by a healthy school climate, parental trust, and teachers’ character as role models for students. He also noted that, to date, no specific indicators have been used in education development planning to capture these aspects. According to him, relevant indicators from other sectors—such as tolerance indices derived from the Social and Cultural Education Survey (Susenas)—could potentially be considered.
Responding to these points, the moderator continued the discussion from the perspective of education policy through a presentation by Dr. Supriano, M.Ed., focusing on teacher development policy. According to Supriano, the distribution of qualified teachers through the zoning system represents one option to improve education quality. There are approximately 2,578 zones, each with its own Subject Teacher Working Group (MGMP) that requires targeted interventions. He added that the establishment of core teachers in each zone has been implemented, with the expectation that these teachers will mobilize and support other teachers in their respective areas to apply good practices in the classroom.
The discussion then continued with feedback from several participants representing various stakeholders. Dr. Wawan Wahyu, M.Pd. (Lecturer at FPMIPA, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia) shared good practices implemented by teacher education institutions (LPTK) in developing the character of pre-service teachers through classroom practicum experiences. In addition, Dr. Saur Panjaitan (Secretary General of Taman Siswa) emphasized the importance of revitalizing Ki Hajar Dewantara’s values within character education.
In response, the panelists stressed the importance of translating these issues into policy frameworks. This was further reinforced by a participant, Joanne Dowling (TASS Facility Director), who presented a number of quality indicators—particularly non-cognitive aspects—relevant to development planning policy directions. Beyond AKSI indicators, aspects such as school culture and character education values, as well as students’ experiences and skills, are essential for future development. These relate to 21st century skills such as self-regulation and intrinsic motivation. Therefore, coordination among relevant ministries and agencies, including BAN, BSNP, Balitbang, and Dikdasmen, is critically needed.
Responding to these points, Najelaa emphasized that while these aspects are indeed important, incorporating them comprehensively into policy planning is not an easy task. Nonetheless, integrating non-cognitive aspects as equally important as cognitive ones already constitutes a significant step forward in policy frameworks, while continuing to improve measurement approaches.
In closing, the moderator summarized the key points of the discussion, emphasizing several follow-up priorities:
