Author Information
M Jacky, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, IndonesiaRusly Hidayah, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia
Dwi Anggorowati Rahayu, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia
Supriyanto , Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia
Abstract
This study aims to analyze the implementation of the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) program, specifically the “International Teaching Assistance” initiative held in Malaysia by the Council of Indonesian State University Rectors. This program is designed to provide educational access to children of Indonesian Migrant Workers who have not received formal education. The research hypothesizes that the MBKM program, particularly its “International Teaching Assistance” initiative, significantly contributes to improving the educational access and quality for PMI children, which in turn has the potential to break the cycle of poverty. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative research methods. Neo Framing Analysis and Neo Critical Discourse Analysis are applied to examine the representation and discourse surrounding the program's implementation. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 17 university students from Universitas Negeri Surabaya who participated as teaching assistants in the program, complemented by an online survey distributed to a broader group of participants to gather quantitative insights into the program's perceived impact. The findings reveal that approximately 2 million PMI children are unable to access formal education either in Indonesia or Malaysia, with most only receiving informal education through Community Learning Centres (CLC) that lack adequate facilities and teaching resources. This situation renders many PMI children vulnerable to illiteracy and lacking the skills required to improve their standard of living, perpetuating the cycle of poverty. The study underscores the urgent need for targeted educational policies and initiatives to address these systemic issues and create more inclusive, quality education. This article contributes a hybrid analytical framework integrating Neo-Framing and Neo-Critical Discourse Analysis to reveal how bottom-up pedagogical agency reconfigures transnational education beyond humanitarianism—thus offering a novel lens for postcolonial policy critique in Southeast Asia.
Paper Information
Conference: ACAH2025Stream: Immigration
This paper is part of the ACAH2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Jacky M., Hidayah R., Rahayu D., & S. (2025) Breaking the Cycle of Poverty: Analyzing the Implementation of the International Teaching Assistance Program for Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Children ISSN: 2186-229X – The Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities 2025 Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 285-297) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-229X.2025.23
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-229X.2025.23
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