Jasper Series 8-1 - Dr Anita-abstract

ABSTRACT
To provide education for peace and development, textbooks--including EFL textbooks--should be culturally sensitive and responsive to the varied sociocultural backgrounds that affect students' learning especially in such a diverse country as Indonesia. Within this perspective, this paper reported on a study of the 1994 English curriculum in senior high schools in Indonesia and analyzed whether the textbooks used in EFL classrooms incorporated multicultural aspects of student life and their diverse cultural environments and presented a balanced view of human experience with attention to gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and geography. One area of particular interest in the study was whether the multicultural perspectives determined the choice of topics presented in the reading passages. The study used a content analysis of all the reading texts used in the books.
I.	The Problem and its Background
	The rampant ethnic and religious tension in Indonesia frustrated the efforts of many social scientists, educators, and community leaders for the past few years. There were indications towards some gains in the country’s struggle for democracy. But the continuing ethnic and religious violence and unrest in some parts of the country show how prevailing and intransigent the problem of prejudice and discrimination has been. At a time when demographic changes and economic pressures are forcing people to come into contact with those from different backgrounds, feelings of distrust and alienation are rising.
	While schools and educators cannot change the economic growths and constraints that are the affecting factors of many of those human problems, they can make a difference in helping shape the students’ views of the world, respect for diversity, and a sense of shared humanity (Jacobs and Kates, 1999). During the last few decades, intercultural studies have enabled scholars and practitioners to see in all areas “the invisible paradigms” of the academic system and the larger cultural context that marginalize or trivialize the lives of women, ethnic minorities, and those outside the dominant class or culture. Language educators and EFL administrators need to look both inward and outward along with the push to make the curriculum more responsive to multicultural experiences.
	Within this perspective, this paper reported on a study of the 1994 English curriculum used in senior high schools in Indonesia and analyzed whether the textbooks used in EFL classrooms incorporated multicultural aspects of student life and their diverse cultural environments and presented a balanced view of human experience with attention to gender, local cultures, traditions, styles, and levels of community development.
II.	Statement of the Problem
	This study attempted to investigate:
	(1)	whether the English textbooks used in the 1994 Curriculum incorporated the multicultural perspectives in relation to the students’ diverse ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds;
	(2)	to what extent the English textbooks used in the 1994 Curriculum incorporated the students’ diversity in relation to gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and geography;
	(3)	and whether the English textbooks used in the 1994 Curriculum met the principles and underlying concepts set in the Teaching and Learning Guidelines (GBPP) and used the meaning-based approach in relation to the multicultural perspectives.
III.	Significance of the Study
	In Indonesia, the heavy pressure towards integration and national unity since its independence provided a different setting for the role of multiculturalism. The nation’s collective memory had been traumatized by the tension and violence resulting from various attempts at secession based on ideological, regional, cultural, as well as territorial differences and the efforts to terminate those attempts. Yet, by the national motto of Bhineka Tunggal Ika (E Pluribus Unum) in Pancasila, the emphasis on unity should not neglect diversity. Education that stressed only unity above all would produce narrow-mindedness and uproot individuals out of their indigenous heritage. The recent tension and violence in different parts of the country showed that the excessive drive for unity that had been enforced especially for the past thirty years was not an effective response to the risk and fear of disintegration. While in some other countries, “multiculturalism is a therapy for ethnocentrism, in Indonesia it is a balance for unity” (Budianta, 1996). Now that the nation is at a crossroad as a reform movement has started, ethnic, religious, racial, and class differences should be regarded as the national rich heritage. Within this perspective, multicultural education is needed to foster peace, understanding and respect among all members of society.
	In light of the need to foster peace and development, educators should recognize the underlying goals and values of the curriculum designs, materials and activities they deliver to the students. All curriculum materials and practices reflect certain social values. As the curriculum processes still depend mainly on textbooks, educators should therefore ensure that the books they use in their classrooms be culturally sensitive and respect students’ varied sociocultural backgrounds, which affect their learning. This study would shed some light on the multicultural values of the textbooks used in the EFL classrooms in Indonesia.
IV.	Scope and Delimitation
	One area of particular interest in the study was how gender and multicultural contexts determined the choice of topics presented in the reading passages. In order to provide a sharper focus, the study limited the scope and discussed the 1994 English curriculum primarily in relation to the perspectives of gender, ethnicity and geography, and socioeconomic status as reflected in the reading passages. This selection does not imply that the other areas are less important.
	It took seven months to complete the whole study. Four months (October 1999 through January 2000) to collect, through questionnaires sent to senior high school teachers in Central Java, East Java, Bali and Lombok, the titles of the textbooks used and three months (February through April 2000) to gather and analyze the data found in those textbooks. Central Java, East Java, Bali and Lombok were chosen because they were among the most developed provinces in Indonesia.
	This study focused on textbooks because they tended to be the dominant instructional media in the classroom (Patrick, 1988 and Lockheed & Verspoor, 1990). In Indonesia particularly, textbooks typically delivered the curriculum even though teachers were expected to develop innovative activities and use other authentic materials in the classroom. Especially in a context of scarce learning resources and a shortage of teachers—in terms of number and quality—textbooks appeared to have a strong positive impact on educational quality. A study by Neyneman, Farrell and Salveda-Stuarto (1981) as quoted in Supriadi (1999) indicated that 83% of 18 correlational studies showed significant positive correlations between textbook availability and student achievement. In brief, textbooks still dictated the teaching and learning process.
	Supriadi (1999) noted that in the last three years there had been a growing concern for the importance of considering multicultural issues in schoolbook provision programs in Indonesia. He further wrote that “schoolbooks should also be culturally sensitive and recognize varied students’ sociocultural backgrounds which affect their learning.” The research reported in this paper specifically addressed this issue and examined whether this emerging concern, especially pertaining to the perspectives of gender, ethnicity, geography, and socioeconomic classes, also affected in particular the content of the English textbooks for senior high schools in Indonesia.
V.	Definition of Terms
	*Curriculum*
	What was meant by curriculum in this paper was the written curriculum (Glatthorn, 1987) as reflected in the Garis-garis Besar Program Pengajaran (GBPP) or Teaching and Learning Program Guidelines (Department of Education and Culture, 1995) and translated into the English textbooks used in senior high schools in Indonesia.
	*The 1994 English Curriculum in Indonesia*
	The 1994 English curriculum was used in senior high schools throughout Indonesia and aimed at enabling students to acquire reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills in English. Themes in the English syllabi were chosen based on their cognitive development and interests. The level of vocabulary mastery was 2500 words for Natural Science and Social Studies majors and 3000 words for language majors. The scope of the English curriculum in senior high schools included reading, listening, speaking, and writing taught integratedly. However, a special emphasis was given to reading. Language aspects such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling were taught to support the enhancement of the four skills rather than mastery of each aspect per se.
	The Indonesian government, through the former Department of Education and Culture (presently the Department of National Education), endorsed one set of books only, that being English for the Senior High School written and published by the IKIP Malang Team. The endorsement was stated in the Decree by the Director General of Primary and Secondary Education, Department of Education and Culture No. 172/C/Kep/R/1995, June 5, 1995. The 1994 English Curriculum was still used at the time this paper was written.
	*Themes and Sub-Themes*
	Specifically, the 1994 Curriculum prescribed basic themes and several suggested sub-themes for each term and grade. Teachers had to include all those basic themes but had the freedom to choose, modify, add, and develop sub-themes based on each theme. Please see Appendix 1 for the prescribed themes and sub-themes allocation.
	*The Teaching and Learning Program Guidelines*
	The Teaching and Learning Program Guidelines stated that the 1994 English Curriculum applied a meaning-based approach with the underlying concepts as follows:
	1.	Language is a means to express meanings through a structure (grammar and vocabulary). Thus, structure serves as a means to express ideas, thoughts, opinions, and feelings.
	2.	Language, as well as a situational scope/context, determines meaning. The meaning-based approach should be based on cross-cultural understanding.
	3.	Meaning may be revealed through different sentences. A sentence may convey different meanings depending on the situation in which the sentence is used.
	4.	Learning a foreign language is learning to communicate through the target language. Learning to communicate should be supported by learning the aspects of that target language.
	5.	Learners’ motivation is a determining factor in the success of learning the target language. The level of this motivation heavily depends on the level of meaningfulness of learning materials and activities.
	6.	Learning materials and activities become more meaningful to learners when they meet the learners’ needs and are relevant to their experiences, interests, values, and future. Therefore, learners’ experiences and backgrounds should become an important consideration in determining the teaching and learning process so as to make the lessons more meaningful.
	7.	In the teaching and learning process, learners are the main subjects. Therefore, their traits and needs should be considered in all decisions pertaining to the teaching and learning process.
	8.	In the teaching and learning process, teachers act as facilitators and help learners enhance their language skills.
	English was taught in senior high schools in Indonesia with the following time allocation:

ABSTRACT
I.	The Problem and its Background
II.	Statement of the Problem
III.	Significance of the Study
IV.	Scope and Delimitation
V.	Definition of Terms
VI.	Review of Related Literature
VII.	Research Design and Methodology
VIII.	Presentation, Interpretation and Analysis of Data
	Table 1	Units of Analysis by Publisher
	Table 2	Theme Distribution in Reading Passages in Grade I English Textbooks
	Table 3	Theme Distribution in Reading Passages in Grade II English Textbooks
	Table 4	Theme Distribution in Reading Passages in Grade III English Textbooks
	Table 5A	Frequency and Percentage of Gender Representation in Texts
	Table 5B	Gender Representation in Text-Supporting Pictures
	Table 6	Aspects of Gender Bias Subcategory in Texts
	Table 7	The Frequency of Gender Bias Subcategory in Texts by Publishers
	Table 8	A Summary of Frequency and Percentage of Gender Bias in Texts
	Table 9	Gender Representation (biased and unbiased)
	Table 10	Gender Bias in Texts
	Table 11	Aspects of Socioeconomic Classes Subcategory
	Table 12	Category of Socioeconomic Class by Publisher
	Table 13	Java Subcategory
	Table 14	Non-Java Subcategory
	Table 15	International Subcategory
	Table 16	Aspects of Ethnicity by Publisher
	Table 17	Distribution of Ethnicity by Publisher
	Table 18	A Summary of Ethnicity Category
	Table 19	Category of Geography by Publisher
IX.	Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations
REFERENCES
Appendix 1
Appendix 2

Grades 1 and 2	:	4 x 45 minutes per week
Grade 3 (Natural Science stream)	:	5 x 45 minutes per week
Grade 3 (Social Studies stream)	:	5 x 45 minutes per week
Grade 3 (Language Studies stream)	:	11 x 45 minutes per week

Last updated: 19 August 2002
Last updated: 19 August 2002	Back	Top	Next