Adequacy of High School Education for Future Indonesian Citizens

Adequacy of High School Education for Future Indonesian Citizens

The foundational question of whether a high school education sufficiently prepares Indonesian youth for the complexities of modern society and the global workforce remains a critical concern, given persistent issues within the national educational framework (Sain et al., 2024). This concern is amplified by Indonesia's consistently low scores in international assessments like the Program for International Student Assessment, where students perform below the OECD average in reading, mathematics, and science, highlighting significant gaps in critical thinking, literacy, and numeracy (Samala et al., 2024). These deficiencies indicate that the current high school curriculum may not adequately equip students with the robust cognitive skills necessary for navigating an increasingly complex global landscape (Samala et al., 2024). Furthermore, the 2022 PISA results specifically showed a significant decline in academic performance for Indonesian 15-year-olds across these core subjects, with scores among the lowest since Indonesia's initial participation in 2001 (Bilad et al., 2024).

This persistent underperformance underscores a fundamental challenge in fostering higher-order thinking skills, as evidenced by Indonesia's ranking 64th out of 65 countries in critical literacy skills, with most students only achieving basic proficiency levels (Azizah et al., 2018). Such a scenario necessitates a re-evaluation of pedagogical approaches, particularly in cultivating higher-order thinking skills which are crucial for active engagement with complex information, analytical reasoning, and creative problem-solving (Jumhur et al., 2024). The emphasis on 21st-century skills, including critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving, underscores the necessity for an educational system that moves beyond rote memorization to foster deeper cognitive engagement (Kurniati et al., 2024). Existing research indicates that despite commendable theoretical knowledge, Indonesian secondary education graduates often lack proficiency in practical problem-solving, with studies revealing subpar critical thinking abilities among students (Liana & Emmiliannur, 2023). This deficit is further exacerbated by the observed low levels of higher-order thinking skills among students, with very few achieving advanced proficiency, underscoring the urgent need for pedagogical reforms that explicitly target these cognitive domains (Pahdi et al., 2020). These findings suggest that Indonesian students are not sufficiently exposed to problems demanding critical and high-level thinking, often encountering content that is too general and thus hindering the development of sophisticated thought processes (Arifin et al., 2023). Specifically, Indonesian students demonstrate weaknesses in solving problems that require higher-order thinking skills, particularly those related to real-life applications (Nawawi et al., 2020). This is further compounded by a tendency towards conventional, less contextualized mathematics learning, which impedes the development of problem-solving capabilities essential for real-world scenarios (Mulyatna et al., 2021). For instance, the 2018 PISA report highlighted that Indonesian students ranked 74th out of 79 countries in literacy, indicating a significant deficiency in their ability to use scientific knowledge to solve problems and compete globally (Muhibbuddin et al., 2023). 

Moreover, Indonesian students' poor performance in the PISA 2015 mathematics test prompted the Ministry of Education to prioritize the integration of higher-order thinking into curricula beginning in 2018, aiming to address the observed weaknesses in mathematical literacy and problem-solving (Tanudjaya & Doorman, 2020). However, despite these efforts, the creative thinking ability of Indonesian students, particularly in mathematics, remains less advanced compared to international benchmarks, indicating a persistent gap in fostering original, fluent, flexible, and detailed thought processes (Maskur et al., 2020). This deficiency is further compounded by a pervasive lack of metacognitive skills among Indonesian students, which are essential for self-regulating learning and problem-solving (Pantiwati et al., 2022). This is particularly evident in their mathematical achievements, where Indonesia consistently ranks below the international average in surveys like TIMSS, indicating a weakness in conceptual understanding and critical thinking necessary for algebra and other complex domains (Agoestanto et al., 2020). These findings underscore a critical need for pedagogical reform to cultivate a workforce capable of complex reasoning and innovative problem-solving (Akhirmaini et al., 2021). This necessitates a shift from traditional, teacher-centered instruction towards more student-centered approaches that foster active engagement and critical inquiry (Diana et al., 2023). The persistently low mathematical scores of Indonesian students in PISA assessments further highlight a widespread deficiency in problem-solving and rationalizing literacy skills, necessitating a re-evaluation of current educational methodologies (Mulyatna et al., 2021). This includes addressing the consistently low mathematics learning outcomes, which have been observed nationwide and in international assessments such as PISA and TIMSS (Dianti et al., 2021) (Setiana et al., 2021). Indonesia's performance in PISA, where the country consistently ranks low, underscores a significant challenge in its educational system, with students achieving an average score of 379 in 2018, below the international mean (Abdullah et al., 2022) (Samala et al., 2024). This pattern of underperformance is consistent with findings indicating that Indonesian students exhibit low abilities in critical thinking, problem-solving, and metacognitive skills, which are fundamental for navigating 21st-century challenges (Pantiwati et al., 2022) (Sinurat et al., 2021). This situation highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive transformation of the Indonesian educational paradigm, emphasizing the cultivation of advanced cognitive skills beyond mere factual recall. This transformation is particularly crucial as Indonesian students' inductive and combinatorial reasoning abilities have been shown to be significantly worse than their international counterparts, especially in later secondary education (Wu et al., 2022). These deficits in reasoning skills directly impact their capacity to excel in subjects requiring complex analytical thought, such as mathematics and science (Wu et al., 2022). 

The persistent low rankings in international assessments like TIMSS and PISA further reveal that Indonesian students' mathematical reasoning abilities are significantly underdeveloped compared to their knowing and application domains (Sari et al., 2019) (Murtiyasa et al., 2018). This disparity suggests a pedagogical overemphasis on rote learning and procedural knowledge, at the expense of fostering deeper conceptual understanding and critical thinking necessary for advanced mathematical problem-solving (Murtiyasa et al., 2019). The inability of schools to adequately train students in critical thinking and problem-solving, which are crucial for 21st-century learning, is reflected in these low scores (Soraya et al., 2019). Further analysis reveals that the limited reasoning ability of Indonesian students, particularly in elementary settings, prevents them from logically connecting empirical facts to problems, thereby hindering their capacity to draw conclusions or formulate new arguments (Sulianto et al., 2020). This deficiency is further evident in their performance on international science assessments, where Indonesian students consistently score below the international average in all science cognitive domains, particularly in reasoning (Ha et al., 2021). This lack of scientific reasoning ability is further substantiated by surveys showing that Indonesian students ranked 44th out of 47 countries in the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study in 2015, with an average score of 397, indicating a profound deficiency in scientific literacy and critical thinking (Dewanti et al., 2021) (Suastrawan et al., 2021). This pervasive issue is exacerbated by instructional methods that frequently eschew problem-solving and decision-making for conventional lecturing, limiting opportunities for students to develop and express their reasoning skills (Ha et al., 2021). Consequently, Indonesian students frequently demonstrate a weakness in modeling real-world situations into mathematical frameworks and interpreting mathematical outcomes in practical contexts, suggesting a fundamental gap in their conceptual and analytical abilities (Darta & Saputra, 2018).

References

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  Agoestanto, A., Sukestiyarno, Y., Isnarto, I., & Rochmad. (2020). Analysis of Mathematics Modeling Student Ability in Algebraic Critical Thinking and Form of the Scaffolding. Proceedings of the International Conference on Science and Education and Technology (ISET 2019). https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200620.041 

  Akhirmaini, Z., Rulisa, M., Jannah, R., Anita, F., & Walid, A. (2021). ANALYSIS OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ABILITY IN WORKING ON HOTS PROBLEM POINTS ON VIBRATION AND WAVE MATERIAL. INSECTA Integrative Science Education and Teaching Activity Journal, 2(2), 175. https://doi.org/10.21154/insecta.v2i2.3448 

  Arifin, T., Mustadi, A., Zulfiati, H. M., & Fathoni, A. (2023). Analysis of HOT Content in the Integrated Thematic Students' and Teachers' Handbook of the 2013 Curriculum. Indonesian Journal Of Educational Research and Review, 6(1), 206. https://doi.org/10.23887/ijerr.v6i1.54325 

  Azizah, M., Sulianto, J., & Cintang, N. (2018). Analisis Keterampilan Berpikir Kritis Siswa Sekolah Dasar pada Pembelajaran Matematika Kurikulum 2013. DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals). https://doi.org/10.15294/jpp.v35i1.13529