Strengthening district ecosystem is one of the core principles of the KREASI program. To advance district education ecosystems, KREASI has organized Education Reflection Workshops across its eight intervention districts. These workshops brought together 335 participants to identify core priorities aligned with the KREASI program.
Through structured discussions in all eight districts—where stakeholders presented their data, compared findings, and reflected on shared challenges—the workshops revealed several critical, recurring issues:
- Curriculum and Assessment: Frequent curriculum revisions lack effective implementation, adequate resources, and sufficient teacher training. The integration of disability and climate education remains limited, while assessment methods emphasize theoretical knowledge over practical application.
- Teaching Practices: Many teachers struggle with subject mastery, classroom management, and lesson planning. A lack of ongoing professional development and mentoring opportunities contributes to ineffective teaching practices and low student engagement.
- Educational Leadership:Unclear career pathways and non-transparent selection processes discourage teachers from pursuing leadership roles. Remote areas face challenges in appointing qualified school principals, and new leaders often lack essential managerial and mentoring skills.
- Child Protection: Incidents of violence against children persist due to low awareness among educators and parents. Child protection policies are frequently underfunded, and fear of social stigma hinders reporting and timely intervention.
- GEDSI (Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion): Inclusive education remains underdeveloped due to inadequate infrastructure, limited teacher training, and weak enforcement of relevant school-level regulations.
- Climate Change: Limited awareness and training on climate-related issues hinder progress. Teachers lack access to appropriate teaching materials, and schools often lack infrastructure to support sustainable practices.
Following the Education Reflection Workshops, a Problem Deconstruction, Solution Design, and Ecosystem Activation Workshop was held on 17–18 March 2025 in Kayong Utara District, Kalimantan Barat Province. This event emphasized urgent reforms in curriculum development, teacher training, school leadership selection, child protection, inclusive education, and climate-responsive learning strategies. Subsequent workshops are underway in Halmahera Utara and Morotai Districts, with plans to expand to the remaining five districts.
The initiative, led by KREASI Save the Children and seven Local Implementing Partners (Artikel 33, Ikatan Guru Indonesia, LP Ma’arif NU, Yayasan Guru Belajar, PNF Dikdasmen Muhammadiyah, Wahana Visi Indonesia, and Perkumpulan Stimulant Institute), has mobilized a diverse ecosystem of stakeholders, including:
- School stakeholders: Teachers and school principals from Taman Kanak-Kanak / Kindergarten (TK), Raudhatul Athfal / Islamic Pre-School (RA), Sekolah Dasar / Primary School (SD) and Madrasah Ibtidaiyah / Islamic Primary School (MI).
- District-level government agencies: Development Planning Offices, Education Offices, Regional MoRA Offices, Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Offices, Environment Offices, and Social Affairs Offices, among others.
- Local community-based organizations (CBOs):
- Environmental: ASRI Foundation (Kayong Utara), Palung Foundation (Ketapang), Burung Palung National Park Extension Office.
- GEDSI-focused: Aisyiyah (women’s empowerment, Ketapang and Kayong Utara), Suluh Perempuan (Morotai, child and women’s rights), Obor Berkat Foundation (Nias Selatan).
- Academic institutions: STIT Tanggamus, UNHENA University, and UNIPAS Faculty of Teacher Training and Education.
- Teacher associations: Persatuan Guru Republik Indonesia / Teacher Association of the Republic of Indonesia (PGRI) branches (Nias Utara, Tanggamus) and IGI (Ketapang).
Author: Agustinus Mau Tukan
Editors: Anggi M. Nasution & Imelda Usnadibrata