Murni Sianturi - Education in Papua

Murni Sianturi - Education in Papua

From Talking Indonesia by Talking Indonesia

April 23, 2026 · 31 min

About this episode

Dr Murni Sianturi discusses the importance of recognizing existing educational opportunities in indigenous communities in West Papua.

When we talk about improving education in remote or indigenous communities, we usually start with the wrong questions. We ask: what's missing? What needs to be fixed? But what if the problem isn't a lack of education but a failure to recognise the rich opportunities for education that are already there? In this episode, Dr Murni Sianturi challenges some of the most deeply held assumptions about schooling, knowledge, and what it means to learn. Her research in West Papua pushes back on three pervasive myths: that indigenous parents don't care about their children's education, that learning only happens in formal schools, and that indigenous communities are problems to be solved rather than partners to be heard. Children in West Papua face additional challenges around their identity and how to navigate their Indonesian selves with their indigenous identity. At the heart of Murni's work is a deceptively simple argument — that education works best when it's built on real relationships, when schools treat families as partners rather than outsiders, and when children are allowed to explore all aspects of their identity so they know who they are and where they're going. This is a…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr Murni Sianturi

Topics covered

  • education
  • indigenous communities
  • identity
  • learning
  • partnerships

Keywords

  • education
  • Papua
  • indigenous
  • learning
  • identity
  • partnerships
  • knowledge

Mentioned in this episode

Places: West Papua, Indonesia

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