Archipelagic Consciousness: Reimagining National Identi-ty Through Local and Maritime Histories in Indonesian Primary Education

Abstract

Background. Indonesia’s school history has long favored a centralized, land-oriented national narrative that pushes local and maritime histories to the margins. Few studies test whether teaching them builds a more inclusive sense of nationhood in children.

Objective. To examine whether a primary-school module built on local and maritime histories was associated with higher “Archipelagic Consciousness” than standard instruction, and to explore how students experienced it.

Methods. A quasi-experimental, mixed-methods study ran for one 16-week semester in four public primary schools in Palembang and Surakarta. In each school, a coin toss assigned one fifth-grade class to the “Nusantara Bertutur” module and another to the standard curriculum (180 students: 92 experimental, 88 control). The 24-item Archipelagic Consciousness Inventory (ACI) was administered before and after. Qualitative data came from focus groups, capstone projects, and observations. Analyses used analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with the pretest as covariate, and thematic analysis.

Results. The experimental group’s mean total ACI score rose from 2.98 to 4.35, while the control group’s moved from 2.95 to 3.10. The adjusted group effect was significant, F(1, 177) = 94.28, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.347. Three themes emerged: the sea as a connector (“The Map Came Alive”), local stories as part of national history, and a shift from “Othering” to “Interdependence”.

Conclusion. The module was associated with large gains in Archipelagic Consciousness, and students described the sea as a connector. Because classes were allocated, the instrument is new, and there was no follow-up, replication is needed before curriculum change.