In Indonesia, there have been major educational reforms linked to the professional development of teachers in efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning. However, research suggests programs such as the “Teacher Certification Program” had no significant impact on teachers’ or students’ performance (Chang et al. 2013; Fahmi et al. 2011). As previous research has shown, there is often a gap between what educational reform intends and what happens in the reality of schools and classrooms. One of the causes is that there is a lack of consideration of underlying assumptions behind teachers’ practices, specifically, what they prioritize and consider as important in daily activities. Without understanding the dynamics of social interactions in schools, educational reforms inevitably fail to meet the realities in classrooms.

  This paper examines a case in a Javanese junior high school and explores how the social accountability within a teachers’ community can discourage teachers from supporting student learning. While the challenge in transforming teachers’ practices in Indonesia is often attributed to a bureaucratic school culture, this only partially depicts the social dynamics of Indonesian schools. Based on data collected from fieldwork in a Javanese junior high school—Sari Junior High School—for seven months and data analysis using an ethnographic approach, this study examined the negotiation of accountability within a teachers’ community using the concept of “Teacher Strategies.” In developing the conceptual framework, the grounded-theory approach (Glaser and Strauss 1967) was used.

  The study revealed that teachers owed strong accountability to fulfill their responsibilities as members of the patriarchy or “familism” (kekeluargaan) system. The familism system binds its members to protect community interests by fulfilling both bureaucratic (official) responsibilities and social (unofficial) responsibilities. As civil servants, the teachers of Sari Junior High School prioritized state-mandated tasks such as the implementation of School Programs and prioritized them as a collective responsibility. At the same time, the teachers in the Javanese school enjoyed a relaxing working environment under the patriarchy of the familism system. The teachers were protected by a boss (principal) who acted as a father who was responsible for “keeping his family-organization happy and harmonious” (Shiraishi 1997: 97). Thus, there was a strong force to protect community interests and to maintain the social hierarchy.

  However, accountability to teaching and students were not structured under this collective responsibility of the familism system. In terms of teaching, teachers considered “the delivery of curriculum” for national exam preparation as their official responsibility; however, this was considered as an individual responsibility. Also, the responsibility to understand the curriculum rested on students and not teachers. While the teachers recognized “good teachers” as those who support students in understanding the curriculum, they also stated that everyone was merely “chasing the curriculum.” While very few teachers developed strategies to work with students, these teachers were considered as “exceptional.” The majority of teachers aligned their practice with minimum requirements to deliver the curriculum and preferred to employ didactic methods.

  The conceptual framework of “Teacher Strategies” of Sari Junior High School revealed how teachers responded and negotiated contesting accountabilities under the familism system. Teachers were responsible for fulfilling (a) bureaucratic accountability and (b) social accountability. For both of these accountabilities, they have a choice of either prioritizing (i) individual interests or (ii) community interests. (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

  This paper examines school enrolment rates and the factors that affect them among the Khumi, one of the smallest indigenous groups in the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh (Bangladesh). The findings are based on the analysis of data collected during field research conducted in the border area of the country from 2017 to 2019.

  Bangladesh has recently made dramatic strides in expanding and improving primary education. With a primary education enrolment rate of 97% and a completion rate of 78% in 2017, the country has attained the global standards outlined in the 1990 World Declaration on Education for All.

  In spite of, like other developing countries, Bangladesh still faces the problem of the “last 10%.” Specifically, access to primary education remains elusive for certain vulnerable groups, such as indigenous children, minority language children, children from poor families, and disabled children.

  This research focuses on one of the smallest ethnic minority groups, the“Khumi” in the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) area of Bangladesh.

  There are approximately 47 ethnic minority groups in Bangladesh, and 11 of them, including the Khumi, live in the CHT area. According to the Chittagong Hill Tract Development Facility – United Nation Development Programme (2009) study, approximately 65% of indigenous children in this area drop out of school at the primary school level. In 2009, the school enrolment rate for Khumi children was only 12%. The primary reasons for the delay in educational dissemination were language barriers, inappropriate curricula, and other factors, such as the distance between the school and home.

  Most previous research on the educational status and experiences of ethnic minorities have focused on larger ethnic minority groups. Although they provide important information for increasing school enrolment rates among ethnic minorities, experiences of small ethnic minority groups are overlooked. This study addresses this gap by examining the situation of the Khumi and the determinant factors affecting their school enrolment rates to shed light on the core of the problem concerning the“last 10%.”

  In this paper, we classify ethnic minority groups as large-scale, middle-scale, and small-scale. Large-scale minority groups have larger populations, possess the means to lobby the government and international organizations, and are able to establish non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Middle-scale ethnic minority groups have a smaller population but benefit from the support of NGOs and religious groups. In contrast, small-scale minority groups have a small population but little support from NGOs and religious establishments and limited ability to assert their needs and rights within the government or international organizations.

  Figures from 14 Khumi villages in 3 districts of Bandarban prefecture Rowangchori, Ruma, and Tenchi indicate that the school enrolment rate is improving. From 0% in their grandparents’generation to 24.4% in their parents’generation, it is now 73.3% in the current generation of children. On the other hand, significant gender difference has persisted over generations, with school enrolment rates of 41.9% for boys and 9.5% for girls in the parents’ generation and 85.7% for boys and 59.2% for girl, in the present generation. In addition, student enrolment rates for the Khumi vary considerably by district, for instance, 86.8% in Rowanchori and 50% in Tanchi.

  Besides the quantitative data on student enrolment rates, qualitative information is also necessary to understand the situation of the Khumi and the parental views on their children’s school attendance, for which Khumi parents were interviewed in this study. (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

  This paper aims to clarify the key factors that influence the parents or caregivers of primary school students in involving children’s education in poor urban areas in Mongolia, and to reveal the associations between the parents’ involvement and their capitals such as physical, human, and social capitals, and the parents’ aspiration for their children’s education.

  In the suburbs of Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, there are slum-like areas called Ger districts. In recent decades, a large number of younger ex-herder families have moved into Ger districts from the countryside after they had lost their livestock due to a severe cold climate. In these families, there are parents who did not have a chance to access to quality education since this generation had struggled with a difficult childhood derived from the country’s educational confusion after the introduction of a market economy in the 1990s. Currently, government services cannot meet the demands for infrastructure and education because of rapid population growth. In Ger districts, quality education is difficult to obtain since the number of schools and classrooms is insufficient and textbooks and learning materials are not provided to every student due to the government’s limited education budget. Regarding the educational environment, previous studies (e.g. Coleman, 1988) demonstrate that family capitals, including physical, human, and social capitals have associations with children’s educational attainment. There are also other studies about parental involvement in children’s education (e.g. Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler, 1997; Mayo and Siraj, 2014; See and Gorard, 2015; Jeynes, 2017), which greatly influences children’s educational trajectories. This study focuses on parental involvement in the families of lower socioeconomic status, because it has not been closely studied and it could find a solution to improving the quality of education in poor areas. If parents become more interested in their children’s education and encourage the children to pursue education, the educational situation in poor areas could be improved greatly.

  In this study, a questionnaire survey and a series of semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2016. It focused on two districts, Chingeltei District (District C) and Songinokhairkhan District (District S), because these districts have larger populations compared to other districts. District C is an old Ger area. People started to migrate from the countryside and settled down in this area more than 30 years ago. Therefore, the second or third generations make up the majority of the population. On the other hand, District S is a relatively new area; thus the infrastructure and the social services are under developed compared to District C. The first generation is the District S’s major population. This study targeted ten primary schools to conduct a questionnaire survey for parents or caregivers of second and fifth graders. A total of 3,000 questionnaire sheets were distributed to ten schools with a response rate of 75.5% (2,264). To collect detailed information on educational situation in the Ger districts, this study also conducted semi-structured interviews of 10 primary school principals or managers.

  In order to clarify the association between parental involvement in education and the family capitals, parent’s educational aspiration, and years of residence; a logistic regression analysis and a multiple regression analysis were conducted. The family capitals are composed of parents’ employment status (if they have jobs), parents’ years of formal education, and the respondents’ social capital. This social capital was measured by the answers and divided into two stages, which are before and after children’s enrolment in primary school. (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

  About 40% of private 4-year universities in South Korea are Christian. Although half are ex-Christian theological seminaries, the transformative development process that was involved in their establishment as universities has not been discussed thus far. This paper focuses on the fact that the seminaries, which were unrecognized in the 1980s, were approved as miscellaneous schools as part of a government-controlled, pre-university promotion process. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the influence that these schools later exerted on Christian universities’ development by examining the offensive and defensive process between national policies on unrecognized seminaries, the various strategies that seminaries used, and the transformation that has taken place with. We will discuss how the seminaries’ transformation into miscellaneous schools has contributed to establishment Christian universities.

  In this paper, we use Barton R. Clark’s triangle model as a theoretical framework. This model sets the state, society, and university as influential factors in the transformation of higher education organizations. This paper adds religious society as an influential factor in the transformation of seminaries.

  Relevant literature was reviewed in order to explore the details that pertain to government measures and responses from affected seminaries. We referred to published parliamentary minutes, government documents and statistics, and historical school materials. We obtained public government documents that have not been released to the public by requesting the information from government records archives. Moreover, in order to clarify the seminaries’ correspondence, we referred to literature that was in addition to each university’s school history.

  The 1970s, increase in the number of Christians coupled with the government’s growing restrictions on higher education meant that minister training was outpaced, resulting in many unrecognized seminaries. The government complained that these seminaries were recruiting students for themselves as “schools” and illegally granting degrees. The government then formulated a plan to control such seminaries. An announcement was made that seminaries that meet certain standards would be promoted to universities or miscellaneous schools, and the rest would be closed. The government has also sought to incorporate high-quality seminaries into their higher education system, increasing their capacities and providing financial support.

  Many seminaries applied for approval given the importance of their maintenance as minister-training schools. In addition, the recognition of the state as a higher education institution has been important for establishing schools’ social status. Obtaining a status that facilitates senior school entrance is useful for effective functioning as an educator training system since educators would obtain future degrees. It is also evident that the various Christian societies place great importance on the maintenance of their seminaries.

  However, only a few seminaries have been approved. Christian society revolted over the repeal of many seminaries, but some seminaries supported the government. Therefore, the government succeeded in dividing Christianity society. Seminaries in transition were obliged to comply with laws and regulations relating to facilities and equipment, staffing, teacher qualifications, and curricula. The schools had to include Korean history, national ethics and physical education as required subjects. Despite this, the schools became miscellaneous schools because it was possible to maintain the theology department and the essential function of minister training. (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)