http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/05/13/educating-children-timika-no-easy-task.html
This article is talking about the difficulties faced in getting the local children to attend school, even though the school is fully subsidized by the government. Instead, the children are still clinging to their old ways and thus have ignored the government’s efforts.
It has been years since native Papua has not attending school to pursuing a standard education, but in the other hand they are frequently companying their parents hunting goods to help their family’s earnings by selling the goods they have found. As human, we select stimuli based on specific qualities to process the information that we get through frequency, contrast, intensity, and novel stimuli. Searching for some recycled goods has been a routine habit that has been influenced through their upbringings, routine that has been transferred from the adults, and the surrounding circumstances. The major influences have shaped the local children perception regarding their education, which has been an opposite issue for the big cities children where they are already being taught since they are young to pursuit an education as high as they can.
The local children’s routine has been shaped through their frequency and surrounding environment. However these factors have shaped the local children’s perception towards education contradicting with the government efforts to help them in education. The new stimuli about education that is purposed by government does not interest them since the children is still prefer to cling to their old ways. The children do not prefer to achieve the education, which actually can help their family’s earnings better in the future, instead they still doing their old habit since they think helping out the parents is more essential than studying.
This circumstance is considered as psychological perspective where individuals create the communication, since the local children still have the point of view towards education as they have been shaped. Although government has already subsidized the education, neither the local children nor the local adults can understand and set their point of view towards education as same as the government’s. In this case, the government has not been able to achieve the basic purpose of the effort; as the local children are still cling around with their old habit.
Francis Bacon analyses in the modern period are applied in this situation, which are idols of tribe and idols of cave. The idol of tribe is applied for the reason that government has rushed to conclude that they will achieve the wishful thinking to change the human cultural habit. In the other hand, the idol of cave is applied since the native children are still attaching to the frequent routine that is difficult to change.
Generally to change a basic routine that already being considered as a culture is indeed not an easy task, not even for a very powerful party as government. Nonetheless communication towards people from different backgrounds and culture is not as easy as people thought.
Therefore, do you still think that communication is as easy as you thought before? Can the powerful government change the mindset of people in a short time period?
This is quite evident in developing nations. Not only developing nations, but most evident there, that's what i mean.
ReplyDeleteWhen we look at development, education is absolutely key, especially in terms if bringing rural, poor societies our of poverty and into prosperity. It is certainly difficult for governments to intervene in terms of challenging and changing the individual beliefs and perceptions shaped by the rural poor. Eliminating other factors that lead to the failure of government policies, at the end of the day, it's up to culture, how open they are to change and whether they even see themselves as being deprived of certain things in life.
So like you said, changing cultural practices and deeply set beliefs are difficult, just like the med school article i posted (:
So yes, it is difficult to a certain extent for governments to changes mindsets and beliefs, unless the government is able to position itself in such a way that it can communicate to its people, relate to them, understand their needs, look at things from their perspective and gain a form of trust from the people. That's what, i think, good governments should or have the ability to do.
like max weber stressed in his study of society, the government is most probably lacking in 'verstehen'. an understanding of the culture.
ReplyDeletethe government would probably have to infiltrate the society of these rural villages so they can understand why education is secondary in their view. only then can they use the proper methods to try to persuade them that education is important.
sorry.. was studying for sociology.. just trying to apply my knowledge..
Your post makes me wonder: is the lack of education the cause of the lack of progress, or the other way round?
ReplyDeleteMany developing countries do not progress further than they do because of the lack of education services. However, it startles me that even with the government's proposal of free education (who said there are no free lunches in the world?!) in Papua, people are ignoring the opportunity.
The emphasis of communication as two-way has been brought to sharper relief. The role of a receiver is as important as a sender. The failure on either side would lead to a failure in conveying a message.
With that said, I agree with what has been said - that the government should actively try to relate to the locals, and convince them the importance of education to better lives. Nonetheless, in addition to that, the people should be receptive to new ideas.
yeah government must try more brilliant idea for development.
ReplyDeleteslow but sure.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePerhaps subsidies is not sufficient. An incentive like covering their household needs if children were sent to school, would probably be a better motivation.
ReplyDeleteWhat I can say as an Indonesian is, indeed all these "people" are not an easy people that you can just educate them because they have one basic perspective that we cannot even touch, which in this case is the working to help their family's income instead of having the education.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, government indeed needs more friendly approach to them to show how important is education is that can give a better future for them.
Can the powerful government change the mindset of people in a short time period?
ReplyDeletemy answer is depends on how the goverment rule it,...but less likely the mindset can be changed in a short time period.
nah...communication is never an easy form. People from various background find it hard to communicate in their own native language so forget about them communicating in any other language. in singapore itself, people tend to do better in all the other subjects but their mother tounge. and because our mindset has been set such by our own government, how in the world is it possible to change it within a short period of time?
ReplyDelete