Informal learning: A case study of local curriculum development in Indonesia

Conclusion This paper has examined the informal learning of the Lamaholot people, a relatively small cultural community living in the regency of Flores Timur in eastern Indonesia. The informal learning in Lamaholot areas is different from the formal learning imposed by a central educational board in Jakarta. Informal learning is part of everyday life, and is used to preserve Lamaholot culture, while the formal learning is designed to help students participate in modern economic activities, even though it threatens the survival of the local culture. In order to build a school system that promotes both the acquisition of new knowledge and the preservation of Lamaholot culture, the incorporation of informal approaches into formal learning becomes a necessity. Models and strategies discussed in this paper indicate that it is feasible to implement such an integrated approach. Certainly it is better to try and fuse the traditional with the modern, rather than to perpetuate the imposition of an exclusive national curriculum that is detrimental to the development of local Lamaholot culture. By giving the Lamaholot people the right to preserve their culture within the context of the school, Lamaholot children will be able to acquire modern knowledge without losing their cultural identity. A senior lecturer at the University of Nusa Cendana, Kupang, Nusa Tingara Timur (NTT), Indonesia. At present he is a doctoral candidate in the School of Education at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia. His thesis focuses on cultures of knowledge and learning, and incorporates a case study of local curriculum development in the regency of Flores Timur, NTT, Indonesia.     

Early childhood teachers' understanding of inclusive education and associated practices: reflections from Greece

This paper focuses on Greek regular and special preschool teachers' understanding of inclusion; their views about the engagement of children with disabilities in typical day routines/activities; and their preferred strategies for facilitating children's engagement in classroom activities. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 77 teachers (45 regular and 32 special educators) drawn from 47 preschool mainstream settings in Greece. The analysis revealed that teachers hold conflicting and restrictive beliefs about inclusive education. Further, the teachers' accounts indicated that most of the children with disabilities were experiencing significant difficulties in their engagement during free-play as well as structured/semi-structured activities. Lastly, teachers identified a range of strategies that they deployed for promoting children's involvement in classroom activities. The paper concludes by highlighting the need to shift away from a narrow individualistic-deficit assumption of disability towards a socio-constructivist conceptualisation of ‘diversity’ and the establishment of genuinely inclusive school cultures.