Exercising Power and Cultural Dominance Through National Curriculum: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the National Early Childhood Education Curriculum of Indonesia

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Fifteen
  In Roundtable Session: Care, Veganism, Nontraditional Pathways, and Holistic Education (Table 13)

Abstract

The commitment of the Indonesian government to promote and provide early childhood education services is shown by the issuance of several national strategies and policies including the 2013 Early Childhood Education National Curriculum. Using the Significance Building tool of Gee’s Discourse Analysis approach (2004), this study investigates how language is used to establish or diminish its content as the national guidance to educate the young generation. The curriculum is found to be an authoritative document dictating the users with superlative, declarative and obligatory expression and establish its credential by quoting the law and scientific resources. It also weakens the agency of the teachers and while acknowledging cultural diversity, it perpetuates the dominance of one major cultural discourse in Indonesia.

Author

• Merly Aclin Nuasizta Klaas, University of Oregon
  Presenting Author