Most Indonesian primary schools closed for two years in 2020, and many children in early grade classes received only a bare minimum of education during their formative years of learning to read.
What do we know?
Recent surveys taken by the Ministry of Education and partners in provinces across the archipelago of Indonesia reveal many children didn’t get adequate teaching in the foundational skills of literacy entering class 2 and even class 3. This is true In the remote areas of Bali, where the learning loss is even more severe. More than 50% of students have not reached the minimum competency limit for reading literacy in such regencies as Karangasem and Klungkung where the most densely populated districts have the highest poverty rates in Bali, 6.8% and 5.7% respectively (Kemendikbudristek, 2022).
~ Pusat Asesmen Pendidikan Badan Standar, Kurikulum, dan Asesmen Pendidikan – Kemendikbudristek. (2022). (2022). Rapor Pendidikan Publik. https://pusmendik.kemdikbud.go.id/profil_pendidikan
We are responding to this situation by launching an initiative to build child-friendly school libraries in these areas of need. Libraries must be developed to become children’s favorite places to enjoy books and develop reading habits. Assisting teachers to carry out library reading activities on a regular basis is equally important to support the reading skill development of young children.
Where are we working in Bali?
What is our impact in Bali?
We have so far developed 182 child-friendly libraries for elementary schools in 4 districts of Bali and 6 districts of Papua and West Papua. Principals, teachers, and librarians received intensive library training in order to help Indonesian children develop a love and habit of reading.
Data showing teacher and student progress in literacy was collected over the recent opening of 64 libraries in Bali in 2022. Teacher interviews and case studies were also conducted in the field. Key indicators for assessing student progress included reading at the right level, student engagement, and regular book check out to measure the habit of reading.
The project commenced in February 2022 with the development of Child Friendly School Libraries in 10 public primary schools as pilot projects which became operational in April 2022. Later, the project was expanded to 54 other public primary schools which became operational in September 2022. The data in these graphs show the progress of project implementation in the 10 pilot schools from April to August 2022. Furthermore, on September to October 2022 illustrates the overall data of the 10 pilot schools and 54 expansion schools.
Many teachers, who strive to provide the best education for Indonesian children, have had a positive impact in the child-friendly school library programme. Ms. A and Ms. D from SDN 3 Serangan, Denpasar are among them. The following is a story from the field about the program’s direct impact:
~ Ms. A and Ms. D – SDN 3 Serangan, Denpasar.
Ms. A and Ms. D are only a small percentage of the 33,873 teachers assisted in YLAI’s literacy programs to achieve our common goal of building a reading culture in Indonesia.
Why are school libraries important?
Libraries need to be developed to become children’s favourite places to enjoy books and develop a habit of reading. Children are all too often denied access to a wide and varied curriculum without a solid foundation in literacy. The ability to read and write is a requirement for success in many aspects within livelihood. When it comes to helping people escape poverty and achieve greater self-sufficiency, literacy education is crucial.
A reading culture has been a problem for many years in Indonesia. Indonesian children are not familiar with the activity of reading/reading story books on a regular basis. A lack of storybooks in schools narrows children’s opportunities to access the right books according to their level of difficulty. In addition, teachers also do not have adequate skills in helping with book reading activities, so literacy training is very important.
How do we develop a child-friendly school library?
In the process of developing a child-friendly school library, we collaborate with the school as well as parents and the community. Efforts are made to involve families and communities in order to maintain a reading culture in the home environment of children. The following depicts the phases of the child-friendly school library development process:
Phases of Child-Friendly School Library Development
You can learn more about the child-friendly school library development programme. here.
What is our future plan 2023-2025?
In partnership with local education departments, YLAI will conduct a school and classroom library intervention program in areas of need within Bali. Through this program, schools receive training in how to develop and manage a library within their school, and how to conduct reading activities using these books.
We also provide high-quality children’s reading books, which are expected to improve children’s Indonesian reading skills through reading, fostering their interest, habit, and love of reading. These children’s reading books are culturally relevant and appropriate for children’s ages and reading abilities in the early grades.
The following infographic illustrates our targets for 2023-2025 and the impact they will have:
How can you help?
We invite you to join us and teachers in this initiative to make a positive impact on literacy education in Bali, Indonesia. With your help, we are aiming to expand our school library program to reach primary school students across Bali, and mitigate the long-term effects of the pandemic on children’s education. In this way we can continue to work with Indonesian teachers toward the objective of inspiring a love of reading in the country’s younger generations.
If you would like to support a library, or books for one library, please donate here. YLAI will inform the school of the donor and invite the donor to the library opening. However, your donation in any amount will certainly contribute to the development of YLAI’s child-friendly school library program.
