Colonial education policy and practice in Indonesia : 1900-1942

Abstract

So far, no detailed study has been made - either in Dutch, English, or Indonesian - of the history of education in Indonesia in the crucial period 1900-1942. In this study an attempt will he made to fill this gap. The only sizeable work in existence is Brugmans1 ’Geschiedenis van het Onderwijs in Nederlandsch- Indie1, published in 1937* In this work, the period under discussion is treated in outline only. Brugmans, who was a high colonial official and had been closely involved in some of the major policy decisions concerning education in this period, was obviously unable to disclose information which at that time was still on the classified list. The other secondary material is very limited, and consists mainly of journal articles dealing with specific aspects or topics of colonial education policy. This study, however, is based in part on extensive research in the Colonial Archives in the Hague and some hitherto unknown material has been brought to light. In order to give English speaking scholars some idea of the nature and the extent of the archival material available, the narrative has been kept fairly closely to the documents and a large number of excerpts translated by the author from the original Dutch - a little known language - have been included in the text.