Join us at the upcoming Fulbright Research Presentation which discuss the study of tembang dolanan anak and how it is used as an educational means to help build Javanese children’s cultural identity in three time frames.

Presenter: Dr. Jui Ching Wang (Fulbright US Student Program 2016)
Home Institution:  Northern Illinois University
Host Institution:  Universitas Gadjah Mada

Dr. Wang’s will share her fieldwork in Yogyakarta where she focused on the study of tembang dolanan anak and how it is used as an educational means to help build Javanese children’s cultural identity in three time frames: pre-World War II, post-World War II, and the 21st century.

The fieldwork was specifically in Yogyakarta because this tradition has been incorporated into curriculum in many elementary schools, including the first school for ordinary Javanese, Sekolah Taman Siswa, founded by Ki Hadjar Dewantara (1889-1959). Three changing educational functions of tembang dolanan anak were defined:

1). To counteract the colonialism in the early 20th century, Ki Hadjar Dewantara advocated education for all children and used tembang dolanan anak to help children build their Javanese identity and cultural pride;

2). After World War II when Indonesia was established as a new country, Ki Hardi Sukatno (a.k.a. Pak Katno, 1915-1983), a music educator who worked closely with Ki Hadjar Dewantara, continued to compose tembang to promote and inspire a collective sense of societal and national pride;

3). To counteract the universal digital trend and the impact of globalization on children’s development in the 21st century, schools have started to restore the teaching of tembang dolanan anak, to provide more opportunities for children to engage in social interaction and actual hands-on activities involving tactile and kinesthetic training.

From the perspectives of child development, Dr. Wang attempts to frame the changing functions of tembang dolanan anak within the paradigms of enculturation and cultural cognitivism to identify the roles of politics and culture in cultivating children’s characters acceptable by the society.

This event is open to the public. Register soon in this link as  seats are limited.