Educational rights within the disability context: policy intervention efforts in Indonesia (EDUPOL)

Abstract:

The project (EDUPOL) aimed for Indonesian and Austrian researchers to jointly examine the relevant body of knowledge and legislation regarding the educational rights granted to people with disabilities based on research and regular collaboration.  During field visits the project team engaged with disability activists, policy actors, civil society organisations, researchers and practitioners. The joint analysis revealed a gap between national and regional policies and their implementation in the project area. In addition, the collaboration between the different actors is complicated by partially divergent perceptions of policies, practices and needs. EDUPOL has been a collaboration between the Center for Teacher Education at the University of Vienna and the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Udayana in Indonesia. The project management was done by the Inclusive Education Research Unit at the University of Vienna.

Implementation Period:

14.02.2024 – 22.06.2024

Project:

Project objectives and impact:

Among the main goals of the project were:

• to conduct a comparative policy analysis of the educational rights of people with disabilities in both countries and to use the advantage of good practices that the Austrian team has systematized so far thanks to several transnational projects on the educational rights of people with disabilities.
• to deepen this analysis and to conduct a systematic mapping of areas that need policy adaptations, new regulations and monitoring systems for policy implementation by bringing the experience of the Indonesian team on the law and legislation analysis together with the expertise of the Vienna team on disability studies and inclusive education.
• to engage stakeholders such as teachers, teacher educators, parents, social workers, school psychologists, local policymakers, local government representatives, school directors, and representatives of NGOs to map the ongoing implementations and to generate solutions
• to offer a platform of exchange where masters and PHD students from both countries can engage in participative and collaborative research.

In order to achieve the project’s aim, the project activities included the following:

• Conducting research by identifying and collecting data from legislation, scientific research papers, documents produced by international bodies, international and national projects and partner’s expertise concerning the educational rights of disabled people
• Reviewing the collected documentation in order to ensure validity and reliability, quality and scope for further usage. Evaluation of national strategies and policies in both countries and comparison-contrast method to decide how to inform the Indonesian policy
• Research stays in Austria and Indonesia for data analysis, participatory research with stakeholders as well as dissemination activities. The detailed plan for the research stays has been:
  • Indonesia: Data collection in focus groups with participants and practitioners (teachers, students, parents, graduate students, other professionals, representatives, and experts); the team will focus on facilitating safe spaces for participants to express and share their experiences.
  • Indonesia: field trips to schools, community centers, social work centers, meetings with local governments, state-level policymakers
  • Austria: Organizing panel discussion at the partner’s institution (University of Vienna) with an academic community and other researchers interested in the relevant topic during the visit of the Indonesian team.
• Working on academic publications in national and international peer-reviewed journals on the basis of the reviewed documentation and analysis of the collected data.
• Communication of the dissemination with the respective Indonesian authorities (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy) in order to increase the awareness of the policy actors regarding creating policy for the advancement of the educational rights of disabled people.
• Establishing a network of academicians, NGOs, practitioners and involved policymakers that can serve as a base for future partnerships not just in the field of educational rights, but also to create and accelerate future initiatives for programs for disabled people.
• Collaborative data management and collation of research outputs.

Results and contributions

The conducted project activities included:

• Analysis of the policy of inclusion published by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Ministry of Labor
• Development of guidelines for semi-structured interviews with stakeholders
• Development of guidelines for data collection during visits to ministries
• Development of interview questions for focus group discussions with policy makers
• Literature review on inclusive education in Indonesia
• Field visits
• Visit from the University of Vienna, Dr. Seyda Subasi Singh: Dr Singh held guest lecture/stadium generale on February 15, 2024 at 13.00 – 15.30 WITA in the BH Building Hall, Sudirman Campus, Faculty of Economics and Business, Udayana University. The purpose of implementing this International Guest Lecturer Public Lecture activity was to conduct a public lecture/studium generale with the theme Social, Educational, Political, and Economical Exclusion of People With Disabilities: An Intersectional Approach. The 2024 International Guest Lecturer Public Lecture of the Economics Study Program was moderated by a PSSEP lecturer, Ni Ketut Budiningsih, S.E., M.Sc. and attended by PSSEP students. Some of the issues discussed include Social, Educational, Political, and Economic Inclusion.
• Visit from the University of Vienna, Dr. Michelle Proyer: Dr. Proyer and the project team from Udayana University visited several stakeholders including NGOs, Ministry representatives and policy makers and conducted focus group discussions and interviews to collect data.
• Data collection in Bali in February and April 2024, several interviews with stakeholders, focus group discussions, NGO visits, academic exchange
• Academic visit to the University of Vienna in June 2024 to collect data in Austria and carry out data analysis. Other activities in Vienna, Austria also include attending public lectures in fields related to the ongoing research. A series of diverse and in-depth activities were arranged in a structured schedule and run for two weeks. The 2024 overseas business trip of the Economics Study Program was held on June 7-22, 2024 at the Center for Teacher’s Education, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
• During the visit to Austria: meeting with the University of Vienna team about the continuation of the EDUPOL research process and an overview of the activity schedule for the next two weeks, a visit to Schulzentrum Donaustadt, an inclusive high school in collaboration with the University of Vienna, attending a lecture related to inclusive education with the theme of emotional-social development by Dr. Seyda Subasi Singh as the head of the EDUPOL research team in the main building of the University of Vienna campus, discussion and data analysis activities were again carried out in the Center for Teacher’s Education department building, University of Vienna, a lecture entitled Inclusive Higher Education for People Forced from their Homes by The University of Winchester Sanctuary Network, together with the CREATE research institute, and Hampshire Universities, conducting a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) between the EDUPOL University of Vienna team, Udayana University, an invitation from Puspadi Bali, and Sentra Mahatmiya, Ministry of Social Affairs via Zoom which was continued with a small meeting to conduct temporary data analysis based on the latest FGD results. Team from the Udayana University also visited the Am Campus Hall of the University of Vienna for the Inclusive Education Day event. The visit ended with a closing meeting.

Publications and Project Outcomes:

The project team is currently writing up an academic article on the “Policy Development for Inclusive Job Market Access for People with Disabilities in Indonesia”. The manuscript will be submitted to the International Journal of Disability, Development and Education in November.