Decentralized Basic Education 2

Problem addressed and inputs provided

Decentralized Basic Education Quality of Teaching and Learning (DBE2): Launched in May 2005, DBE2’s five-year program works to improve the quality of teaching and learning in Indonesia’s public and private primary schools in seven provinces. DBE2 builds upon the successes and best practices of recent active learning/student-centered initiatives, and provides in-service teacher training to improve the school learning environment. DBE2 collaborates with the Ministries of National Education and Religious Affairs, Dinas Pendidikan, and other public and private sector partners. Its partners include the Open University at the national level, with two to three provincial universities in each of the selected provinces, and three US universities - Florida State University, University of Massachusetts, and University of Pittsburgh.

Since 1999, Indonesia has shifted from one of the world’s most centralized nations to one of its most decentralized. The responsibility for management and delivery of public services, including education, now belongs to the local governments, most ill-equipped to take on these new challenges of implementing new policy within an often fragile political and economic context, while concurrently building local capacity.  

A new curriculum has been designed to respond to student underachievement and high drop out rates at the primary and junior secondary level, approximately half. The new curriculum requires set of skills for teachers in adoption of new teaching and learning classroom approaches. To develop these skills, DBE2 targets activities at the school and cluster level that allow groups of teachers to process new information, practice new methodologies, and construct understanding and good practices over time.

During the course of the five-year award, USAID will provide $60 million in assistance to develop decentralized systems of in-service teacher education and improved school learning environments.  Support for educational quality improvement is now being organized in seven provinces; its activities implemented in no less than 100 districts; and the capacity of over 14,000 teachers upgraded to make use of more effective teaching practices.  

Strengthening Teacher Training

In targeted districts and provinces of Central, West and East Java; South Sulawesi; North Sumatra and Banten, the DBE2 partnership is creating opportunities for local officials, universities and other stakeholders to shape and take ownership of effective decentralized teaching training programs. In each district, clusters of schools serve as hubs for project tasks and activities, offering school administrators, teachers, and community participants valuable opportunities to engage in activities and strengthen their professional identity through active and participatory learning. Such opportunities provide the leadership and support necessary to make schools function more effectively and adopt improved management and instructional practices.

The in-service teacher training model positions Indonesian partner universities at the center of teacher training materials development and dissemination. Centrally located Cluster Resource Centers (CRCs) support and facilitate activities in each district, housing trainings and offering a place where teachers and project participants can gather to discuss training content, classroom applications and innovations, as well as access reference materials, and collaborate with colleagues.

Improving the Learning Environment

DBE2’s partnership strategy for strengthening the learning environment focuses on: school-based management training; community outreach and parent volunteers; active-learning pedagogy, gender sensitive classroom techniques, and multigrade teaching; civic education and service learning programs; early childhood education; Information and Communication Technologies; and ongoing local and national school assessments.  By seeking to leverage additional funding for project activities through Public-Private Alliances, government, entrepreneurs, multinational and domestic companies, NGOs and academic institutions, DBE2 creates innovative partnerships and serves as a catalyst to replicate best practices and scaled-up project activities.

Accomplishments and Challenges

By the end of September 2005, DBE2 accomplished the following:

• Hired all key advisors and opened Jakarta and provincial offices;
• Established co-location and co-programming agreements with other DBE partners for operational activities nationally and in the provinces;
• Established working agreements with provincial authorities and activated operations in six provinces, with planning and pilot activity begun in the seventh province (Aceh).
• Completed introductory training activity in Aceh. Key outcomes include an increased awareness of DBE program aims, structure and expected outcomes; and an increased understanding of school-based management, pedagogy; and community participation methods and expected outcomes.
• Developed criteria for the selection of school clusters in participating districts and compiled a pre-selection of participating school clusters with local officials and USAID;
• Submitted workplans and drafted a Monitoring and Evaluation plan;
• Established a working relationship with the Ministry of National Education through collaboration on national curriculum and national education assessment.
• Completed scope of work for civic education component with the Asia Foundation, with subcontract in process;
• Conducted an analysis of national educational assessment capacity and instruments and made recommendations for baseline assessment;
• Established a working group on public – private alliances and drafted  training plan for project staff; and
• Mobilized three U.S. universities for partnerships with Indonesian universities; drafted selection criteria for Indonesian universities.

DBE 2 faces the following challenges in 2006:

• Achieving full functionality of all management systems within provincial offices and the Jakarta office;
• Recruitment, training, and deployment of first cohort of District Coordinators and Master Teacher Trainers;
• Selection of participating Indonesian universities and establishment of effective working relationships for technically-sound contributions to achieving DBE2 results;
• Developing technical understanding, templates, and commitments for teacher training modules, aligned with national curriculum standards and DBE 2 assessment goals; and
• Developing and administering student performance tests.

Assessment

DBE2 is currently evaluating student performance instruments at the Ministry of National Education, and is planning a two-phased baseline data collection activity.  In the first phase, an achievement test for third and sixth grades created by the National Testing Center will be adapted. The second phase will use a test specifically developed to measure pre- and post-performance gains from the DBE2 interventions.

The Public-Private Alliance component of DBE2 will develop a needs assessment matrix to be used as a basis for pursuing public-private alliances to support DBE2 activities.

An analysis of international, cost-effective kindergarten programs is currently being carried out, used to define the most effective approach to establishing DBE2 community-based kindergartens. 

Assessments are being used to determine candidate locations for education “hotspots” (WIFI Internet wireless connectivity) and to determine how library books and material needs will be conducted.

All Education activities