The Roots of U.S.-Indonesian Cooperation on Education

As Indonesia and the United States move forward with an historic plan to increase cooperation on higher education, it is important to understand the history of educational partnerships between the two countries.  Agus Suwignyo, an education historian at Gadjah Mada University, and a 2010 USINDO Sumitro Fellow, will discuss his research on the origins of U.S. – Indonesian cooperation on education.

Begining in 1956, the deans of several Indonesian universities visited educational institutions in the United States to study curriculum development and teacher training, while a group of American educational experts were sent to Indonesian universities to assist with the implementation of American methodologies.  These first exchanges of deans’ visits and educational personnel marked the foundation of educational cooperation between the United States and Indonesia, and stood as a milestone in the transition of Indonesian methodologies shifting from being based on continental European to American systems.  However, in recent historiographical accounts on the US-Indonesia cooperations during the period, educational partnerships have been overlooked .  Agus Suwignyo is exploring this gap in knowledge, and will present his preliminary findings at the USINDO open forum.

Lunch will be provided.