Project 1-021 Indonesia

Partnerships for enhanced engagement in research (PEER) SCIENCE
Cycle 1 (2011 Deadline)

Incorporating Bali's subak heritage into primary and secondary education: curriculum development, teacher training, and action research

PI: Sang Putu Kaler Surata (Mahasaraswati University)

US Partner: John Stephen Lansing (University of Arizona Tucson)

Project Dates: June 2012 - November 2014

Project Overview

Indonesia Partnership Picture
UNMAS students interview farmers from Subak Tampaksiring (photo courtesy of Dr. Surata).
Researchers developed course materials to teach primary and secondary students about the agroecology of Bali, with an emphasis on the ancient institutions that manage Bali’s celebrated rice terraces: subaks and water temples. Balinese subaks are traditional, community-level religious institutions that manage irrigation water, which is regarded as a gift from the Goddess of the Lakes, and as such, a shared resource.

Generations ago, nearly all Balinese children had direct experience of subaks and the agroecology of terraced rice, but today the majority of Balinese are no longer farmers, and knowledge of both the ecological and spiritual role of the subaks and water temples is much less accessible. The subak system is also experiencing threats from both land conversion and loss of soil fertility. The subaks and water temples are more than functional institutions; they are widely regarded as a cultural achievement of the Balinese people, and their vulnerability is a frequent topic in Balinese newspapers, television, and seminars.

As part of this project, both printed and Web-based instructional materials were created by teams of future teachers, who will received training in the formal evaluation of the pedagogical effectiveness of these materials and methods. The project team included U.S. researchers who were conducting a National Science Foundation-funded investigation of the resilience of Balinese subaks.

The development and assessment of the teaching materials was carried out by college students at Mahasaraswati University who were seeking certification as primary and secondary school teachers. This part of the project was organized as a series of projects embedded within the teacher training curriculum at Mahasaraswati. Students participated in data collection in the field, gaining firsthand awareness of the concerns and perceived vulnerabilities of the farmers and temple priests, working in teams to collect historical data, photographs, and oral histories that provided the raw materials for teaching modules.

Final Summary of Project Activities

Dr. Surata and UNMAS students with farmers from Subak Tampaksiring (photo courtesy of Dr. Surata).

The PEER research team produced learning modules, several undergraduate action research proposal projects, and 3,000 copies of student books. The PI held three workshops with 120 teachers and undergraduates to evaluate the student books’ effectiveness as an educational resource and discuss methods of adding it to the existing curriculum, and gave a presentation to the Environmental Education Center Bali on methods to integrate subak culture into school curriculums.

Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN) or Students Field Work is one of the three pillars of higher education in Bali. As a direct result of the PEER project, approximately 1,800 community members, youth groups, teachers, and students participated in the community service outreach over the course of 35 days in a fully immersive Subak cultural experience focused on heritage and sustainability, the first in KKN history. Participants trained on how to teach primary school students sustainability based on their environment and shared heritage.

The project was presented by the PI at the Asia Engage Conference. A second edition of the student book will be produced and printed by the Deputy of Cultural Affairs to be used as a resource for primary and secondary school students in Indonesia. The research team also received several grants from the Indonesian Ministry of Technology, Research, and Higher Education.

Publications

Surata, S.P.K., I.G.A.G.S. Jayantini, J.S. Lansing. 2015. Engaging Student Teachers in Designing Ecopedagogy Learning Modules for Bali’s Subak Cultural Landscape. NACTA Journal 59(2): 139-143 (June 2015). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/nactajournal.59.2.139

Surata, S.P.K., I.G.A.G.S. Jayantini, and J.S. Lansing. 2014. Exploring Community Capital of the Balinese Subak Cultural Heritage: A Content Analysis of Participatory Maps.
International Journal of Technical Research and Applications 2(7): 28/34. e-ISSN: 2320-8163

Surata, S.P.K., N.G.A.G.E Martiningsih, and I.G.A.G.S. Jayantini. 2014. Participatory Mapping: Developing Collaborative Learning for Educating Youth to Understanding Their Cultural Landscape Heritage. Proceedings of the 2nd Asia Engage Regional Conference, Bali, 17-20 November 2014.

Surata, S.P.K. et al. 2013. “Ngayah” Pelibatan Mahasiswa Calon Guru dalam Ipteks bagi Wilayah berbasis Pendidikan untuk Pembangunan Berkelanjutan dan Pariwisata Budaya. (Involving The Student Teachers in an Education for Sustainable and Cultural Tourism based Science and Technology for a Region Application) Aplikasi Ipteks, 4(1): 84-100 (Ngayah, A Journal of Science and Technology Application).

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