From privilege to productivity: Neoliberal subjectivity and counter narratives in indonesian education


Abstract


This research aims to understand how neoliberal discourse dominates educational spaces in Indonesia and how this discourse contributes to shaping student subjectivity. Using a qualitative approach and Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA) methodology, this study analyzed focus group discussions involving 10 university students in Yogyakarta. The results show that neoliberal discourse is manifested in (1) a discourse of inequality and (2) a capitalist-economic discourse. This is apparent from students’ future orientation, which is reduced to employment prospects and individual success. Within this discourse, students are constructed as subjects who submit to the logic of the free market, thereby shifting the meaning and purpose of education from “educating the nation (mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa)” to serving employment needs and material measures of success. In addition to the neoliberal discourse, the study also identified a resistance discourse that emerges from participants — namely, the discourse of an ideal education. Within this resistance view, students hope for a contextual, humanistic education that can foster critical awareness, instead of serving merely as an instrument of capitalism. The researcher concludes that, although neoliberal discourse still dominates, differences in thinking and resistance can emerge when given sufficient space and awareness. The researcher also advocates for a more comprehensive, holistic, and contextual psychological approach to help create transformation and improve human conditions.


Keywords: Education in Indonesia, Neoliberalism discourse, Resistance

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