Identity and education: negotiating differences between the expectations of Chinese Indonesians and national education policies

Abstract

After the restriction of Chinese organizations and cultures in Indonesia in 1966, Chinese-Indonesians (the Tionghoa community) began to lose the opportunity to express their ethnic identity. Thus, Christian schools that are well known as schools for the Tionghoa indirectly play roles as the only places where the Tionghoa can strengthen bonds among themselves. This study examines the different expectations of Christian schools and Tionghoa parents in regard to Tionghoa students' identity and how Tionghoa students perceive and embrace their identity. Through class observation and interviews in Lombok, West Nusatenggara, Indonesia, this study suggests that Tionghoa parents' expectations are varied across generations and different economic stances. At the same time, Tionghoa students are multiplying and negotiating as well as claiming, un-claiming, and reclaiming their identity, depending on the accepted norms.