A different result of community participation in education: an Indonesian case study of parental participation in public primary schools

Parental participation in school management is regarded as a good thing according to the rationale that local people know better and are able to be more responsive to their own needs. However, little is understood about the implications of the School Operational Support policy for community participation in education. This study investigated parental participation in the context of education decentralisation with regard to the changing situation in which the Indonesian government provides sufficient funds for school operational costs. Using a qualitative inquiry, researchers collected data through document analyses, questionnaires and interviews with stakeholders of two public primary schools in Depok, Indonesia. The study found that prior to the Free School Program, parental participation was limited to parents’ financial contribution and associated matters. However, since school was made free, parents’ involvement in school budgeting has become very limited; they are no longer engaged in the planning of allocations, and neither they nor the school committees are able to make inputs into decision making; even the functions of the school committees are limited to rubber stamping the school budget.