THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN THE CONCEPT OF INDEPENDENT CAMPUS IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESSIVISM

Benhur Samaloisa¹, Bintang Simbolon,²

Universitas Kristen Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

Email: benhursamaloisa1996@gmail.com, bintang.simbolon@uki.ac.id

Abstract

Education in Indonesia is a very important and valuable need, so it is considered a significant goal stated in the formal constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, especially in the fourth part of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution, which explicitly states that providing education to the people is the responsibility of answering the country. The aim of this research is to understand the development of independent campuses from the perspective of the progressivism educational philosophy. This research uses a qualitative approach through literature research. The development of independent campuses substantially reflects the principles of progressivism educational philosophy, because it advocates modernization and democratization to achieve independence and freedom in education. In the context of its educational and learning orientation, the independent campus is in line with the educational philosophy of progressivism, with a focus on developing various skills, scientific disciplines, social sensitivity and personality in students. The learning and education approach championed by the philosophy of progressivism aims to provide as many benefits as possible to students or students through optimizing their attention and talents. The benefits of this learning process are not only for individuals, but also for society as a whole, so that this helps create a just and prosperous life for all. Independent Campus is closely linked to the principles of progressivism because it emphasizes the importance of independence, modernization and democratization in education. This orientation definitely requires support from all parties so that there are no instant negative consequences in Indonesia.

Keywords: Independent Campus, Education, Progressivism

Introduction

Education in Indonesia is a very important and valuable need and policy. This is reflected in the official constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, especially in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution in the fourth part, which clearly states that educating the nation's life is the responsibility of the state. In addition, in Law Number 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System, education is formulated to improve skills, shape character, educate the nation, and improve the quality of life and dignity of Indonesian people in order to realize the goals of national education.

Education has an important role in driving culture. Traditions can change from era to era, and these changes start from the educational process itself. Education is also a process to humanize humans and make them behave more humanely. Human values are the focus of education, including ethics, skills, and obedience to the creator. Education is the key to human survival in the future. Therefore, a focus on superior results and preparation in various fields is needed so that Indonesia is not exploited by other countries.

Education is a human effort to improve social understanding and achieve prosperity. Through education, humans will have knowledge that is able to direct human civilization towards a better and higher quality. Quality education is also a picture of an advanced and modern society. Education is considered a cultural driver, where traditions and values change along with the development of education. Therefore, education is well designed and implemented. In this context, one of the schools of philosophy that supports effective education is progressivism.

John Dewey, an American philosopher, believed that the school of progressivism could be applied in schools as a rejection of authoritarian education. Progressivism in education believes in the need for changes in the learning process so that students are more active in participating, with teachers acting as facilitators. This school of philosophy opposes traditional education and advocates a democratic approach that values students' abilities more and encourages more interactive learning.

An independent campus is an education policy that has just been introduced by a Minister Nadiem Makarim in higher education. The goal is to provide flexibility to universities to simplify the administrative process, especially in terms of accreditation and acceleration of status as a PTN-BH and provide authority to open new study programs.

The independent campus includes student exchanges, job applications, teaching assistance, research, humanitarian projects, entrepreneurial activities, independent projects, and thematic KKN or village building. This is a response to the progress of time that requires a variety of memberships. However, the relevance of internships needs to be re-analyzed with national learning objectives and clear markers need to be given so as not to lead to the liberalization of learning in Indonesia.

In the independent campus, it is greatly influenced by a philosophy of progressivism education which emphasizes the significance of development in education. Progressivism is the foundation in planning education policies and their implementation, especially in the context of the progress of science and technology at this time. The philosophy of progressivism in education tends to lead to the liberalization of education, where the private sector is given the opportunity to manage education through the legal body. This matter is regulated in Law No. 12 of 2012, which stipulates that higher education in Indonesia is a non-profit in order to protect the rights of citizens in pursuing higher education.

Although independence in higher education is meaningful, this matter should not eliminate the position of learning and formal activities for the internalization of values and norms to form good character in students. It means maintaining the nation's self-proof as the foundation of education, especially in the modern context at this time, as a tribute to the existence of the nation's life in the source of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.

Research Methods

This research was carried out through a qualitative approach with a literature research procedure. The purpose of this study is to look at the development of education in the concept of an independent campus from the perspective of the philosophy of progressivism education. Surely an independent campus is a form of higher education policy that is progressive in nature because it is adaptive to the growth of the times, but it is not always mandatory to forget values, morals and personality in the education and learning process. The sources of literature in this study are usually divided into 2, namely primary and secondary sources. Primary sources focus on every scientific day because they have great validity and secondary sources are focused on formal documents of the country so as to minimize the occurrence of errors of a conceptual nature.

Results and Discussion

Education in the Perspective of Progressivism

Education from the perspective of progressivism is a facility that has been prepared to improve the skills of student participants so that they always survive the challenges of life that are practical to develop and progress. Education in its implementation based on the hope of pragmatism means that education must be able to share benefits and benefits for life to students, especially in experiencing things in the community.

Progressivist education emphasizes the concept of "progress" with the aim that humans have skills that can be raised and perfected through their areas and experiences by practicing their intelligence using scientific procedures to solve a case that arises both in their personal and social life (Wikandaru et al., 2021). (Ruslan, 2018), reported that the school of Progressivism in education does not only emphasize efforts to provide knowledge to students, but must share various activities that are more towards training thinking skills equally.

Progressivism shares principles in the application of education, including: a) the educational process begins and ends by the students, b) students as active objects, c) the position of teachers only as guides, facilitators, and directors, d) schools must be able to produce a cooperative and democratic climate, e) learning activities focus on problem solving (problem solving) not to direct study modules only (Toenlioe, 2014).

Education must be able to share independence and freedom with students, so that the potentials they have can grow well (Nursikin, 2020). In this context, at least educators must have a mindset that students are a distinctive and unique community, so that educators can explore their abilities, intelligence, tendencies, interests and various talents (Quay & Seaman, 2013). Until then, the concept of progressivist education views one of the meaningful dimensions in calculating the success of education is by looking at the extent that education is able to explore the skills and abilities that students already have optimally.

The Development of the Independent Campus from the Perspective of the Philosophy of Educational Progressivism

The educational philosophy of progressivism aims to promote development in education through the application of technology, data, and communication. This approach not only emphasizes this, but also prioritizes the development of students' skills and creativity in the learning process. Progressivism believes that students have the academic capacity to overcome their personal problems. In practice, the educational philosophy of progressivism places students as the main focus, with the role of educators being more as mediators or facilitators. Progressivism also encourages rapid change towards positive things in educational practice. In other words, education is expected to be able to bring change to students to become resilient individuals, able to face various situations, and adapt in society.

It is undeniable that modernization at this time inevitably affects the field of education, both in concept and practice, which must be adaptive to reality. With democratization and cooperation in learning, it is hoped that education will be effective, quality, and participatory. However, this matter is also a meaningful basis in an effort to justify the rights of students and optimal service for them.

Progressivism in higher education quickly creates negative consequences of higher education liberalization if it is not balanced with the integrity and morality of policy makers. The negative consequences of higher education liberalization include reduced opportunities for the younger generation who are unable to access higher education, so the need for legal protection and government readiness in distributing educational encouragement as an effective solution to minimize these negative consequences.

In practice, progressivism in higher education has negative consequences from the liberalization of higher education if it is not balanced with the integrity and morality of policy makers, both structural and functional. The description of the concept of liberalization in education in Indonesia has existed since 1995, especially after Indonesia ratified multilateral agreements that control trade in goods and services, including educational services, through GATS or the General Agreement on Trade in Services (Ramadhan, Priyono, & Trihastuti, 2019).

In an ideal context, progressivism in higher education must be optimized wisely to improve the quality and equality of national education, urge the modernization and democratization of education, and prioritize students as the main goal of education. Therefore, it is unwise for progressivism to be used by irresponsible parties for the benefit of individuals, because it is not compatible with the principles of education. Progressivism has an orientation to achieve independence in education, thus urging equality in the quality of education and healthy competition, especially at the university level (Taylor, 2016).

It should be noted that the implementation of an independent campus in higher education is a real embodiment of the educational philosophy of progressivism, as a response to various needs and challenges in this modern era. Higher education is meaningful in managing demographics because most of them are creative, innovative, and critical people. Therefore, the implementation of an independent campus as a form of higher education allows for better service to students and an increase in the quality of learning (Nabaasa, Ndaita, & Moses, 2019).

The liberalization of education in Indonesia has created a legal basis, such as Law No. 9 of 2009 concerning the Education Law Body, which was subsequently canceled by the Constitutional Court. The law stimulates a long debate because it is thought to limit access to higher education for economically weak groups. This confirms that there are limits in education liberalization in Indonesia, most importantly linked to equal rights and opportunities in education.

The learning and education orientation that progressivism strives for is to distribute as many benefits as possible to students through the development of their abilities. The efficacy of education is not only for oneself but also for citizens, so that education is considered as a tool to realize a just and prosperous life for all. For (Falaq, Faza, & Samders, 2023), progressivism emphasizes the meaning of understanding various skills that are useful for students for their future careers.

The Independent Campus is closely linked to progressivism because it prioritizes independence, modernization, and democratization of education. However, this approach must be supported evenly so as not to suddenly have negative consequences in Indonesia. Perfectly, the implementation of progressivism in higher education in Indonesia, whether in concepts, policies, or practices, must be an opportunity for the advancement of the nation's education and the creation of human energy sources that are characteristic, competitive, and superior.

Conclusion

In the development of the independent campus, it is very present the educational philosophy of progressivism with rationalization to the reality of the growth of the times, so that the emergence of something mesternization and democratization in the field of higher education. This independent campus has the main orientation in honing various student skills, understanding various knowledge and disciplines, being sensitive to certain social problems that are intertwined and helping students' character. Until various learnings can definitely be an opportunity and maximize the attention and talent of a (student) so that it becomes a social academic guideline for a career, especially in internship learning, it needs to be analyzed comprehensively and reflected so as not to create a cheap workforce and minimize the inequality between the ideals of the national education goals. Surely these developments need to be supported together so that the goals can be realized and achieved efficiently and accurately so that they can realize Indonesian human resources with character, competitiveness and superiority because the philosophy of education of progressivism in essence involves various parties and prioritizes independence or flexibility in education and learning so as to achieve its orientation.

References

Falaq, Yusuf, Faza, Iqbal, & Samders, Amrei. (2023). Philosophy of Progressivism in Learning IPS Education in The Era of Society 5.0. IJTIMAIYA: Journal of Social Science Teaching, 7(1), 15–28.

Nabaasa, GIMUGUNI LILLIAN, Ndaita, J., & Moses, K. (2019). Liberalisation of university education and the quality of teaching approaches: A perspective of public and private university education in eastern Uganda. International Journal of Education and Research, 7(8), 105–118.

Nursikin, Mukh. (2020). Pengembangan Kurikulum Pendidikan Islam dalam Perspektif Progresivisme. Jurnal Ilmiah Citra Ilmu, 16(31), 51–66.

Quay, John, & Seaman, Jayson. (2013). John Dewey and education outdoors: Making sense of the ‘educational situation’through more than a century of progressive reforms. Springer Science & Business Media.

Ramadhan, Idam Cahaya, Priyono, Joko, & Trihastuti, Nanik. (2019). PENYELENGGARAAN PERDAGANGAN JASA PERGURUAN TINGGI ASING DI INDONESIA DALAM PERSPEKTIF GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADES IN SERVICES (GATS). Diponegoro Law Journal, 8(1), 417–432.

Ruslan, Ruslan. (2018). Perspektif aliran filsafat progresivisme tentang perkembangan peserta didik. JISIP (Jurnal Ilmu Sosial Dan Pendidikan), 2(2).

Taylor, Isaac. (2016). Globalization of Higher Education in Malaysia. Georgia Journal of College Student Affairs, 32(1), 21–25.

Toenlioe, Anselmus J. E. (2014). Teori dan Filsafat pendidikan. Penerbit gunung samudera [grup penerbit pt book mart indonesia].

Wikandaru, Reno, Cathrin, Shely, Husin, Husin, Listiana, Indah, Pantas, Pribawa E., Widyoningsih, Widyoningsih, Bilqis, Fajar, & Indah, Astrid Veranita. (2021). The Contribution of the Pragmatism Educational Philosophy in the Implementation of Pancasila Education During Distance Learning. KnE Social Sciences, 552–566.

Adisel, A., & Suryati, S. (2022). Independent Education Learning in the Perspective of Progressivist Philosophy.

Anggraini, & Sari, Y (2022). "The view of the philosophy of progressivism towards the concept of independent learning. Journal of Education and Counseling, 4 (6)

Arma., Ismail. (2024). Analysis of the Independent Learning Curriculum in the Perspective of Educational Philosophy of Progressivism, Journal of Education, Josial and Religion, 21 (3)

Ministry of Education and Culture. (2020). Regulation of the Minister and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Number 3 of 2020 concerning National Standards for Higher Education. Jakarta: Ministry of Education and Culture

Nanggala, A., Suryadi, K (2021). Analysis of the Concept of an Independent Campus in the Perspective of the Philosophy of Educational Progressivism and Perenialism, Journal of Civic Education Undiksha, 9 (1)

Noddings, N. (2016). Philosophy of Education. Routledge.

Sopacua, J., Fadli, M. R. (2022). The Concept of Independent Education Learning from the Perspective of Progressivist Philosophy. Journal of Portrait of Thought. 26 (1)

Law No. 9 of 2009 concerning Educational Legal Entities

Law No. 12 of 2012 concerning Higher Education

Law No. 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System

Yunus, H. A. (2016). An Analysis of the Educational Stream of Progressivism and Essentialism in the Perspective of Educational Philosophy. Journal of Pendas Horizons, 2 (1)

Copyright holder:

Benhur Samaloisa¹, Bintang Simbolon,² (2025)

First publication right:

Advances in Social Humanities Research

This article is licensed under: