Education in Indonesia: Trends, differentials, and implications for development

Abstract

This chapter focuses on trends in educational attainment in Indonesia over the past two decades, with a particular emphasis on regional and socio-economic differentials. The different possible sources of data for such analysis are first discussed, and trends in educational enrollment and educational attainment then briefly outlined, and triangulated across different sources. Available data on quality of education are then assessed in international comparative perspective. The main focus of the chapter is on differentials in educational attainment by region, gender and socio-economic background, utilizing data from the socioeconomic surveys (SUSENAS) and the 2010 Population Census. Educational attainment and literacy measures at the district level are regressed on indicators of per capita GDP and of poverty incidence. The transmission of socio-economic status across generations is studied using 2010 Census data by linking age-specific enrolment rates of children with the educational level of the household head. Show more