A capability-driven path to well-being: cases of community-based education in rural Indonesia

Abstract

Global challenges call for changes in collective action. This is believed to be achievable through the creation of a shared knowledge society, whereby knowledge is defined as improved capacity for action. Unequal access to education, however, is persisting worldwide, creating obstacles to necessary mobilisations. Asymmetrical shifts in rural demographics due to what is often perceived as low-opportunity areas, exacerbate the relevance of the territorial dimension in this process. Community-based education can function as a buffer to such inequalities and empower communities through the creation of collective capabilities. Indonesia presents a peculiar social structure, with strong community linkages and yet tangible education inequalities. However, little research seems to be available regarding these interlinks, creating a gap in the literature that would otherwise help better understand the matter. By drawing from the Capability Approach literature and creating a blended theoretical framework that accounts for different levels of influence (macro, meso, and micro) to education inequalities, an explanatory multiple-case study analysis is proposed, to determine how and why three selected community-based education centres operate to create collective capabilities while serving different levels of rurality in South Sulawesi, East Java, and West Nusa Tenggara. A generative approach to social innovation is found as the underlying strategy in trying to address perceived conversion factors to educational equality.