Sekolah Bertaraf Internasional (International Quality School) Empowering or ‘Disempowering'? a Postcolonialism Approach

Abstract

Designed as a response to the effects of globalization on education in Indonesia, Sekolah Bertaraf Internasional (SBI-International Quality School) is aimed at empowering students in tight global competition. It has been enthusiastically welcomed, particularly by parents, despite criticism on the use of English as the teaching-learning medium of particular subjects. As globalization is commonly considered another form of colonialization, it should carry similar characteristics to colonialism which Third World countries like Indonesia are familiar with. Taking the nation's experience as a colonized country into account, this paper will utilize postcolonialism in examining SBI to find out if it can really empower learners in global competition. This analysis reveals that SBI is a product of globalization as well as a reflection of neocolonialism.