Implications of the social reconstructionism philosophy on the elimination discourse of the national examination in Indonesia

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Implications of the social reconstructionism philosophy on the elimination discourse of the national examination in Indonesia

Himawan Putranta

Department of Physics Education

Faculty of Tarbiyah and Education Universitas

Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga

Yogyakarta Jl. Laksda Adisucipto

Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia

Abstract

social reconstructionism national examination

The implementation of the national exams gave rise to various polemics that led to discourses of eliminating and replacing them with a minimum competency assessment and character survey. This research aims to determine the implications of the perspective of social reconstructionism philosophy on the discourse of eliminating national exams in Indonesia. This philosophical research is carried out by examining several scientific books and articles related to the philosophy of social reconstructionism and the discourse on the elimination of the national exam. The obtained data were analyzed with philosophical-hermeneutical analysis techniques to formulate the meaning of eliminating the national exam from the perspective of the philosophy of social reconstructionism. The results of this research indicate that the perspective of social reconstructionism philosophy on the discourse of eliminating the national exams is one of the answers to the critical situation in the Indonesian education system which has long been trapped by policies that are not well-targeted. The perspective of social reconstructionism philosophy is that the assessment of students' abilities is not only carried out on the cognitive aspects as has been done in national exams but also assesses the psychomotor and affective aspects of students. The replacement of the national exam with a minimum competency assessment and a character survey is a concrete step towards the realization of the social reconstructionism philosophy undertaken by the Indonesian government. Policy changes that determine the graduation of students, of course, change the direction of Indonesian education outcomes from cognitive outcome-oriented to process-oriented.

Keywords: educational philosophy, Indonesia, minimum competency assessment, national examinations, social reconstructionism

Х. Путранта

Вплив філософії соціального реконструкціонізму на дискурс щодо скасування національного іспиту в Індонезії

Анотація

Проведення національних іспитів викликало полеміку, яка спричинила дискурс щодо їхнього скасування і заміни оцінюванням мінімальної компетентності та аналізом характеру. Наше дослідження має на меті визначити вплив ідей філософії соціального реконструкціонізму на дискурс щодо скасування національних іспитів в Індонезії. Це філософське дослідження здійснюється шляхом вивчення наукових праць і статей, що стосуються філософії наукового реконструкціонізму і дискурсу щодо скасування національного іспиту. Отримані дані були проаналізовані із застосуванням технік філософсько-герменевтичного аналізу, щоб сформулювати значення скасування національного іспиту з погляду філософії соціального реконструкціонізму. Результати цього дослідження вказують на те, що погляди філософії соціального реконструкціонізму на дискурс щодо скасування національних іспитів є однією з відповідей на критичну ситуацію в освітній системі Індонезії, яка тривалий час перебувала в пастці політики без чіткого спрямування. Зокрема, погляди філософії соціального реконструкціонізму полягають у тому, що оцінювання здібностей учнів здійснюється не тільки за когнітивними аспектами, як це було на національних іспитах, а й також оцінюються психомоторні та емоційні аспекти учнів. Заміна національного іспиту оцінюванням мінімальної компетентності й аналізом характеру - це конкретний крок на шляху до реалізації філософії соціального реконструкціонізму, здійснений урядом Індонезії. Зміни в політиці, що визначає випуск учнів, звичайно, змінюють і напрямок індонезійської освіти від орієнтованої на когнітивні результати до орієнтованої на процес.

Ключові слова: Індонезія, національні іспити, оцінювання мінімальної компетентності, соціальний реконструкціонізм, філософія освіти

Introduction

Social reconstructionism is one of the streams in educational philosophy that has contributed to constructing breakthrough changes in the world of education. The flow of perspective of social reconstructionism philosophy sees education not only as a transfer of knowledge to students but as the main foundation in addressing and solving every social problem that occurs in everyday life. The reconstructionist perspective is that every individual needs to collaborate to be socially involved in dealing with current issues such as the issue of the industrial revolution 4.0 [Sharma 2000]. This shows that this school of social reconstructionism philosophy requires everyone not to be fixated on memories, but to provide reinforcement to continue to innovate to face and overcome present and future challenges. Thus, this school of social reconstructionism philosophy has characteristics that differentiate it from other philosophical schools in that this stream puts forward the existence of constructive social change to achieve social welfare for everyone [Nugroho, Purwanta 2020]. The characteristics that prioritize constructive social change, certainly raise the pros and cons of the perspective of the social reconstruction philosophy school. The perspective that contradicts the philosophy of social reconstructionism states that this school is considered unwilling to accept things that have been established and comfortable amid community life as well as culture. However, in principle, the social reconstructionism philosophy flow still accepts the existing cultural heritage of society, but it also needs to be adapted to the changing times.

This certainly strengthens the critical thinking of reconstructionists in criticizing whether something that has been established in society is by the challenges and demands of the present and the future. If things that have been established in the society are left alone, it will lead to repetition that is saturating and does not make the community more critical and can even make the community not developed or out of date. This of course requires changes that are either whole or partial to achieve community progress. Furthermore, based on the perspective of those who agree with the ideas put forward by the social reconstructionism philosophy school, it is stated that the flow of social reconstructionism becomes the basis for change towards progress. This can happen because the philosophy of social reconstruction sees a problem not only from a theoretical perspective but sees it from the perspective of real reality [Wall 2019]. This means that the flow of social reconstruction philosophy seeks to strengthen everyone to continue to move or change together with the changing times. This is done so that philosophy is not just solving textual problems but can solve problems that occur in social life [Purnamasari 2015]. In general, this perspective of social reconstructionism philosophy provides a great foundation for changes in the education system in Indonesia.

This is indicated by the repeated changes in the educational curriculum. Besides, what has become the latest discourse is the elimination of national exams for elementary to high school students as a determinant of their graduation and replaced by a minimum competency assessment and character survey [Mustaghfiroh 2020]. The implementation of the national exam as a standard for determining the graduation of elementary to high school students in Indonesia has so far raised its pros and cons. Many people with opposing arguments for the implementation of the national exam state that the implementation of the national exam is only about assessing the cognitive aspects of students [Saukah, Agus 2015]. This allows students to be unable to use the knowledge and understanding they must solve every problem they face. It feels unfair if an assessment that only assesses one aspect of ability in students is used as a standard for determining the graduation of a student from elementary school to high school. Given that education is a process that involves all abilities in students, it is only natural that the assessment used as a determinant of a student's graduation can assess all aspects of ability in students which not only include cognitive aspects but also include assessment of psychomotor and affective aspects.

There is also an argument that states that the implementation of the national exam in Indonesia so far is not to the demands of the industrial revolution which needs to be adjusted to real-life realities. Students are only given a problem that is textual and sometimes irrelevant to everyday life, so it provides less meaning to students [Nehru 2019]. This problem has certainly brought out its saturation among education observers and students themselves. With the problems in the education system in Indonesia, especially in the implementation of the national exam, which became a polemic, a massive change or reform movement emerged from the new social reconstructionist to try to overcome the problems of the national exam. The education reform that was carried out to improve the saturated condition of the national exam in Indonesia was initiated by the Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia in early 2020. The educational reform put forward by the Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia is to abolish the implementation of national exams for elementary school to upper-middle school students and replace it with a minimum competency assessment and character survey [Ismail et al. 2020]. Thus, based on one of the problems of education in Indonesia regarding the polemic of the discourse of eliminating national exams for elementary to high school students and replacing them with minimum competency assessments and character surveys, this paper will try to look at these educational reforms from the perspective of the philosophy of social reconstructionism.

Literature review

Social Reconstructionism Philosophy in Education

The philosophy of social reconstructionism was originally born from dissatisfaction with progressivists in addressing educational problems. This school of social reconstructionism philosophy demands changes or reforms in the field of education that can realistically address social problems that occur in everyday life. This reform movement in education began to emerge in the 1930s and was initiated by George Count and Theodore Brameld. Furthermore, the reconstructionist initiated by Count and Brameld were dissatisfied with the actions taken by progressivists in addressing educational problems [Orn- stein, Hunkins 2018]. Reconstructionist assumes that progressivists are only involved and participate in solving every problem that occurs in society at this time. This is supported by a scientific speech delivered by George Count about “Dare the School Build a New Social Order?” In the speech, Counts criticized the progressivists because they were less involved in social and economic problems as well as many progressive ideas that only focused on playing schools for upper-middle-class children [McKernan 2013].

Counts suggested that progressive educators should be more involved socially on current issues and that teachers should organize schools to become agents of social reform. Counts stated that if progressive education is to be truly progressive, it is necessary to face every social problem honestly and courageously to understand life in all real realities, establish organic relationships with communities, develop a realistic and comprehensive theory of welfare, and form a clearer vision with future-oriented [Pharisee 2013]. Meanwhile, Theodore Brameld, who often gets the nickname as the creator of reconstructionism, emphasizes that reconstructionism is a philosophical critique that is by the current conditions of society which are currently in crisis. Brameld bases his argument on two statements that society after the Second World War is in a state of crisis because they have been able to destroy their civilization. However, humans also can develop morals, knowledge, and technology to construct a new civilization that is peaceful and prosperous [Ento 2020].

Brameld also wrote his argument that educators and students have the right to take a stand to choose based on rational reasons and receive real information as well as careful examination and communication of all relevant evidence [Fatimah 2018]. In certain conditions, educators must be able to measure the extent to which social responsibility is. The task that needs to be completed before becoming a professional educator is to strengthen school control for purposes that attract most people. For reconstructionists, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of a problem are not sufficient for students to have so educators need to make changes [Mubaroq 2018]. Reconstructionists claim that society is always changing according to changing times so the educational system and curriculum must also change by basing it on social problems that occur in everyday life. Reconstructionists advocate for an educational program that critically looks at the cultural heritage of society in keeping with changing times, addresses controversial issues without hesitation, is committed to bringing about constructive social change, instills a future-oriented attitude that considers school reform, and gets support from participants students and educators to increase the opportunity to get education for all children [Brezinka 2012].

In this program, educators are considered agents of social change, meaning that they organize not to strengthen their professional security but to oppose outdated social structures [Magulod 2017]. Thus, the perspective of social reconstructionism philosophy initiated by Count and Brameld considers that there needs to be new construction in the life of a society that is just and proper and able to keep up with the changing times. In other words, reconstructionists demand education so that they have more awareness of real social problems [Haynes et al. 2014]. Furthermore, one of the concrete steps expected by reconstructionists in viewing changes in education is reconstructing educational goals to increase students' awareness of social problems faced by society universally and to nurture them with basic abilities to be able to solve these social problems. This is also supported by the statement that social reconstructionism requires students to grow their abilities to face the changing times because of the industrial revolution 4.0 [Zeich- ner 2011]. Social reconstructionism also requires education that can accentuate activities on the transformation of knowledge to students through a social-ecological approach, so that students are expected to strengthen their ability to think critically, innovatively, and be sensitive to social problems.

Meanwhile, the flow of social reconstructionism philosophy also perspectives schools as agents of change that not only transfer knowledge but teach values in life and reconstruct these values optimally so that more effective ways of thinking and ways of working emerge to make a better world from before [Gallard, Cartmell 2014]. Thus, the role of educators is not just running an established curriculum, but educators can critically link the material in the curriculum with social problems that occur in everyday life so that it has relevance to society. Based on the explanation of the philosophy of social reconstructionism in education, the flow of social reconstructionism becomes the basis for making changes to education so that it can keep up with the times. Besides, this school of philosophy is also the basis for raising awareness in the education system that education needs to be carried out thoroughly and integrated into social problems [Hartlep et al. 2015]. The goal is that education has a massive role in solving social problems. This is generally by the education reform movement that was discussed by the Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia in changing the long-established education system in the form of eliminating national exams and replacing them with minimum competency assessments and character surveys.

National Examination Implementation in Indonesia

The national exam is an assessment carried out on elementary to high school students at the end of their study period which aims to determine a student who can be said to have passed or completed his studies. National exams administered by the Indonesian government through the Ministry of Education and Culture are used to achieve the same passing standards for every student who attends education from elementary to high school levels throughout Indonesia [Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan 2011]. In principle, the implementation of the national exam in Indonesia is an evaluation of the learning process that has been carried out by students. The implementation of the national exam in Indonesia is carried out by assessing the cognitive abilities of students in solving the problems given in the form of test questions, be it essays or multiple-choice questions [Hidayah 2013]. This certainly indicates that so far, the implementation of the national exam in Indonesia has not assessed or evaluated the learning process. The implementation of the national exams conducted by the Indonesian government only focuses on assessing cognitive aspects and has not yet assessed the psychomotor and affective aspects of students [Hadi 2014]. The implementation of the national exam in Indonesia is carried out simultaneously and is carried out using the same test questions in all regions of Indonesia.

The passing standards of students in every region of Indonesia are the same to make it easier for the government to determine education policies. However, this is one reason that various polemics have emerged regarding the implementation of the national exam in Indonesia. However, the passing standards of students from elementary to high school set by the government through the Ministry of Education and Culture have changed from the start of the examination or evaluation of the learning process until now [Sundayana et al. 2018]. Besides, before evaluating the learning process of students from elementary to high school, which is known as the national exam, the Indonesian government has evaluated the learning process with different mechanisms. In the period between 1950 and 1960, the implementation of the evaluation of the learning process was called the final process. The evaluation of the learning process carried out in this period was held nationally. The evaluation questions are in the form of essays or descriptions and the results of the evaluation that have been done by students are corrected at the regional district center. In the period between 1965 and 1971, the implementation of the evaluation of the learning process was carried out by testing all subjects called state examinations. The central government determines the exam questions and the timing for them and applies them to all regions of Indonesia [Pusat Pengkajian dan Pembelajaran 2019].

In the period between 1972 and 1979, each school evaluated the learning process independently. The exam questions are developed by each school concerning the guidelines provided by the government. The period between 1980 and 2001 was the initial period of implementing the evaluation of the learning process as a national final exam called Ebtanas (National Final Stage Learning Evaluation). The evaluation of the learning process in this period was carried out using two kinds of evaluations, including Ebtanas for general subjects and Ebta for non-Ebtanas subjects. Ebtanas are organized under the command of the central government and Ebta is organized under the command of the provincial government. In this period, the student's graduation was determined based on the combination of the results of the two evaluations which were added to the daily test scores listed on the student's report cards. In the period between 2002 and 2004, the implementation of the evaluation of the learning process was no longer referred to as Ebtanas but was replaced by a new term known as the national final exam (UAN). Meanwhile, the graduation standard of students in this period underwent several changes. In 2002, students were declared to have graduated from elementary to high school levels based on the acquisition of subject scores [Pusat Pengkajian dan Pembelajaran 2019].

In 2003, the students' passing standard was 3.01 for each subject and the minimum average score was 6.00. Exam questions were developed by the Ministry of National Education and schools cannot control the test scores that each student gets. Every student who does not pass is allowed to repeat the exam. In 2004, the student passing standard was based on a minimum score of 4.01 for each subject and there was no requirement for a minimum average score. Meanwhile, the change in policy regarding the evaluation of the learning process of students began in 2005 to 2019. During this period the national final exam (UAN) changed its name to the national exam (UN). This national exam also changes the passing standards for students. In 2005, students can be declared passed if they get a minimum score for each subject of 4.25. If students do not pass the first stage of the national exam, they can carry out the national exam again for subjects that have not passed. In general, in 2005 there was a test national exam for students who did not pass the first national exam. In 2006, students can pass if they get a minimum score for each subject of 4.25 with the average value obtained must be more than 4.50. In the implementation of the 2006 national exam, there was no repeat test. In 2007, the student graduation standards were divided into two [Pusat Pengkajian dan Pembelajaran 2019].

Students can be declared to have passed if they get an average score of at least 5.00 and don't get a score less than 4.25 for all subjects. Students can also pass if they get a minimum score of 4.00 in one subject being tested, but students must score 6.00 in the other two subjects. In the implementation of the 2007 national exams, there was also no retested exam, and students who did not pass were advised to take the equivalent program in the form of a package C program or repeat the national exam the following year.

Meanwhile, in the implementation of the 2008 national exam, there were an additional three subjects tested, so there were six subjects tested. The passing standards of students in the implementation of the 2008 national exam are almost the same as the passing standards of the national exams in 2007. However, there is a slight difference in the passing standards of the national exams in 2008, namely that students can pass if they get a minimum average score of 5.25. In 2009, students can pass if they get an average score of at least 5.50 for all subjects and get a minimum score of 4.00 for a maximum of two subjects and a minimum of 4.25 for other subjects [Pusat Pengkajian dan Pembelajaran 2019].

In 2010-2020, students can be said to have passed if they have a minimum average score of 5.50 for all subjects with a minimum score of 4.0 for a maximum of two subjects and a minimum score of 4.25 for other subjects. However, the implementation of the national exam starting in 2015 is no longer used as a determinant of student graduation, but as a step to map the quality of education [Alawiyah 2015]. Meanwhile, in 2021 there is a discourse that the implementation of learning evaluation that has been carried out using the national exam system will be abolished and replaced with a minimum competency assessment and character survey [Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan 2019]. The plan to change the learning evaluation system certainly gives fresh air to education in Indonesia that the evaluation of the learning process is no longer just assessing the cognitive aspects of students but assessing all aspects that are owned by students holistically. Besides, changes to the learning process evaluation policy carried out by the Indonesian government are carried out to improve the quality and competence of graduates who are ready and able to face real reality [Komalasari et al. 2020]. However, this change in education policy seems to have not satisfied various parties in realizing education that can face and provide solutions to social problems.

Minimum Competency Assessment and Character Survey

The implementation of national exams in Indonesia has so far raised various polemics among education practitioners themselves. This is based on the arguments of some educational practitioners who are not in line with the implementation of the national exam which only assesses the cognitive abilities of students [Ratnasari 2018]. The implementation of the national exams that have been carried out in Indonesia is not by the real problems that are often experienced by students. As a result, the quality of graduates produced is not able to face and overcome various real problems [Sulisworo 2016]. Besides, the results of an assessment of literacy and numeracy skills in 2018 conducted by the organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD) through the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) put the numeracy ability ranking of Indonesian students at 72 out of 77 countries. Meanwhile, the numeracy skills of Indonesian students are ranked 72 out of 78 countries and their scientific skills are ranked 70 out of 78 countries in the world [OECD 2019]. For this and various other reasons, there has been a discourse that in 2021 the national exam will be removed and replaced with a minimum competency assessment (AKM) and a character survey.

The discourse of eliminating and replacing national exams with a minimum competency assessment and character survey is a manifestation of the plan for independent learning by delegating the authority to compile assessments to educators in each school [Kemendikbud 2019]. The preparation of the AKM and character surveys is focused on assessing the ability to use language or literacy and the ability to operate numbers or numeracy based on the assessment concept carried out by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) [Hadi 2020]. This educational reform is carried out so that the evaluation of the learning process and school graduates in Indonesia is of equal quality to international quality while still based on national wisdom. The two basic abilities that are assessed using the minimum competency assessment instrument are basic abilities that need to be mastered by every student. Literacy and numeracy skills are the main abilities as support in understanding and completing each subject and its application in the environment of everyday life sustainably [Windisch 2016]. The discourse on educational reform certainly raises its challenges for the government, education practitioners, educators, and students. This educational reform is scheduled to change the implementation of the national exams which have been based on summative and cognitive assessments only into formative, analytical, and applicable assessments with the realities of everyday life.

If this educational reform in Indonesia can be successful, of course, it can provide new hope for school graduates who can face and solve problems in real reality. However, if these reforms cannot run as expected, then it can be said that education in Indonesia is already in an established zone that does not want to harmonize with real problems that occur in everyday life. The literacy skills contained in the minimum competency assessment not only require students to be able to read reading but require students to be able to analyze and understand the concepts of reading [Goldman 2012; Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan 2019]. Meanwhile, the implementation of the character survey assessment was carried out to find out data about students in Indonesia in realizing the values contained in Pancasila in school life [Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan 2019]. The character survey assessment also aims to provide understanding and warning to each school to integrate the values contained in Pancasila in every learning and non-learning activity [Yamin, Syahrir 2020].

Meanwhile, the discourse on the implementation of the minimum competency assessment and character survey was not carried out at the end of the student's study period at each level of education as has been done so far by the national examination system. The implementation of the minimum competency assessment and character survey is scheduled to be held in the middle of the student's study period at each level of education [Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan 2019]. The implementation of replacing the national exam which is planned to be carried out in the middle of the student's study period is carried out since it gives more time to schools and education in making improvements before students complete their studies. Another reason is that it relates to the mental development of students that the implementation of the minimum competency assessment and character survey which is held in the middle of the student's study period will reduce excessive tension among students [Chao, Sung 2019]. In other words, the implementation of the minimum competency assessment and character survey is carried out when students are in fifth grade at the elementary school level, students are in grade eight at the junior high school level, and students are in class eleven at the high school level.

The discourse on the implementation of the minimum competency assessment and character survey for students from elementary to high school levels is carried out using applicable questions that are adapted to everyday social realities and integrated into computer technology assistance. The plans regarding the minimum competency assessment questions that are tested on students have varied forms, which include simple multiple- choice, multilevel multiple-choice, matchmaking, short entry, and description [Manongga et al. 2018]. Meanwhile, the implementation of a character survey is carried out based on obtaining information about the performance or learning outcomes of students from a social-emotional perspective which includes attitudes, values, religiosity, and daily behavior of students in the school environment. The character survey assessment is planned to measure the six values contained in Pancasila which include faith, caution, and noble character; global diversity, cooperation, independence, critical thinking, and creative thinking [Herawati et al. 2019].

Research problems

Changes that occur in everyday life play an important role in changing the order of social life, including in the education system. Changes in the education system in several countries, such as Indonesia, are made to improve the quality of education itself so that it is equivalent to education in developed countries. This certainly changes the system that has long been established and has become the prima donna for those who do not like change and flexibility according to the needs of changing times. The movement for change or educational reform in Indonesia that is currently the focus of discussion for education practitioners is the discourse of eliminating national exams and replacing them with new forms of assessment in the form of a minimum competency assessment and character survey. The discourse on the elimination of national exams that have been carried out in Indonesia to determine the passing standards of every student who attends primarily high school education certainly raises various pros and cons for education practitioners and academics themselves. This educational reform was carried out because the implementation of the national exams that have been carried out in Indonesia has been unable to assess the learning process and abilities possessed by students. The national exams that have been conducted have only focused on assessing the cognitive aspects of students who are not adapted to the social reality that is happening [Alhadza, Zulkifli 2017]. This of course has an impact on the results of the assessment carried out by the OECD through PISA that the literacy, numeracy, and science skills of students in Indonesia are still in the top five ranking countries [Nahdi et al. 2020]. Of course, these are some of the reasons for the emergence of changes in the education system in Indonesia by eliminating national exams and replacing them with minimum competency assessments and character surveys.

Research question

Based on the problems described in the previous section, a massive education reform movement has begun to emerge by changing the established system in the form of eliminating national exams and replacing them with minimum competency assessments and character surveys. The goals to be achieved from the reform of the Indonesian education system are to produce quality education that is equivalent to developed countries and to produce graduates who can face and solve many social problems that occur in everyday life. The discourse on reform of the education system in Indonesia is basically by the philosophy of social reconstructionism that education must be able to keep up with the changing times and education needs to be involved in solving every social problem that occurs in the realities of life to achieve critical, analytical, innovative, and environmentally sensitive individuals. Thus, the question to be answered in this study is how the social reconstructionism philosophy sees the discourse of eliminating national exams in Indonesia and replacing them with minimum competency assessments and character surveys.

Research focus

This study focuses on knowing the reform of the education system in Indonesia regarding the discourse of eliminating and replacing the national exam with an evaluation of the learning process in the form of a minimum competency assessment and a character survey from the perspective of social reconstructionism philosophy.

Method

This philosophical research is carried out by examining several books or scientific articles related to the perspective of the social reconstructionism philosophy on the eliminating discourse of the national exam. The data that has been obtained is then analyzed with philosophical-hermeneutical analysis techniques to formulate the meaning of the discourse on the elimination of the national exam from the perspective of the philosophy of social reconstructionism. The hermeneutical-philosophical analysis technique is an analytical mechanism that focuses on reflecting fundamentally on a controversial social phenomenon that is the topic of conversation in the social community. The philosophical- hermeneutical analysis also tries to understand and interpret social phenomena that are studied [Bakker, Zubair 1993; Shephard et al. 2019]. Hermeneutical aspects used in this study include descriptive aspects that are used to regularly describe the perspective of the social reconstructionism philosophy in education. The interpretation aspect is used to explore the sources of study in the form of books or scientific articles related to the perspective of the social reconstructionism philosophy on the eliminating discourse of the national exam. The induction aspect is used to analyze the perspective of social reconstructionism to obtain a synthesis of the philosophical points of thought. Meanwhile, the holistic aspect is used to review the concept of the philosophy of social reconstructionism. The heuristic aspect is used to perspective social phenomena that are part of the change movement. In other words, heuristic aspects are used to examine and provide contributions to social reconstructionism philosophy to the discourse of eliminating national examinations.

Results and discussion

Social Reconstructionism Perspective on the Elimination Discourse of National Exams

The philosophy of social reconstructionism is one of the schools of educational philosophy which is the background for the emergence of a change movement in education. Movement of change or reform in education requires education that can address every problem faced by humans in real life. Education is no longer seen as only being able to solve textual problems, but education is expected to be a solution or an agent of change that can be an answer in facing and resolving every problem that occurs because of changing times. With times that are always changing, of course, it requires education and curriculum to continue to change and be flexible according to the demands of the times. Do not let education become something that is well established and does not want to accept changes. This will certainly have a massive influence on the quality of education and the resulting human resources are unable to respond to the challenges of changing times.

Furthermore, the philosophy of social reconstructionism is a stream of educational philosophy that seeks to find agreement between humans to regulate the order of human life, especially in the field of education in a harmonious order for humanity and for the entire environment [Rameshwar 2019]. Thus, the flow of social reconstructionism philosophy focuses more on its perspectives on social phenomena that occur in society and how to innovatively manage these social phenomena. Social reconstructionism is an educational philosophy that requires students to be constructed for their ability to adapt to the demands of change and community development, because of the influence of science and technology [Barnadib 2002]. This is certainly in line with the movement for change or reform in education in Indonesia which plans to change the long-established learning process evaluation system so that it can align with the changes and demands of the times.

Although the education process evaluation system in Indonesia has changed, these changes were made with the aim that the quality of education and graduates could be equal to education in developed countries. These changes certainly do not eliminate the direction and goals of education in Indonesia, but instead, reinforce the goals of education in Indonesia so that it can be equal to developed countries and create graduates who can overcome the challenges of changing times. Meanwhile, the discourse on reform in the education system in Indonesia by eliminating and replacing national exams with the form of minimal competency assessment and character surveys is certainly influenced by several basic reasons. One of the reasons that underlie the change in the student learning process assessment system is that the assessment in the form of a national exam so far has not assessed all aspects of the abilities possessed by students [Rosidin et al. 2019]. Although there are often changes in terms of both the naming and the determination of the passing standards, the implementation of the national exam in Indonesia only assesses the cognitive aspects of students. Therefore, this is not the need for daily realizations.

In everyday reality, problems that arise require everyone to be able to solve them not only using cognitive aspects but require various aspects of complex capabilities. This is in line with the background of the reconstructionists in carrying out social change movements. Reconstructionist considers society to be in a critical stable state, so it is unable to face the challenges of changing times [Winch, Gingell 2004]. This is also evidenced by the reason for the emergence of a discourse on eliminating national exams and replacing them with minimum competency assessments and character surveys. The evaluation of the learning process of students also needs to be carried out meaningfully so that they have sufficient provisions when facing real problems. In real reality, students are not sufficient if they only can analyze, interpret, and evaluate. Students need to have other abilities for their social environments such as the ability to solve social problems and social care. This is also in line with the perspective of the philosophy of social reconstructionism that education is expected to be able to raise awareness for students to be actively involved in solving any problems that occur in everyday life [Ghasemi et al. 2017].

Meanwhile, the challenges of today's change, which have entered the era of the industrial revolution 4.0 and towards the era of society 5.0, require everyone to not only be able to think critically but want everyone to be able to think creatively and innovatively in solving real problems that occur in the social environment to achieve the common good. The assessment of the learning process given to students is essentially carried out to find out their response to the overall learning process that they have followed at each level of education [Fegasanti 2020]. However, the implementation of the evaluation of the learning process carried out in Indonesia in the form of a national exam does not assess all aspects that exist in students. As a result, the implementation of the assessment of students' abilities using the national exam is not balanced. Changing the national exams that have been carried out in Indonesia by replacing them using a minimum competency assessment and character survey will try to eliminate that [Iriani, Manongga 2018]. The minimum competency assessment and character survey are expected to be able to assess all aspects of students in a balanced manner.

This is also to the metaphysical foundation of social reconstruction that in education it is necessary to emphasize the provision of a balance between knowledge and character building that serves as capital in exploring real reality. The minimum competency assessment and character survey also focus more on solving problems that occur in real realities in everyday life or the social environment. This is also the foundation of the social reconstruction ontology that the reality to be faced by each student is always moving so students need to adjust to the dynamic movement of reality. The discourse on the implementation of minimum competency assessments and character surveys as a substitute for the national exam is also carried out to provide sufficient and appropriate provisions to students in overcoming social phenomena. This is on the epistemological basis of social reconstructionism that education needs to be done by adjusting the learning needs of students with factual social problems that occur amid community life. Implementing the evaluation of the learning process of students in Indonesia also focuses on character assessment with the aim that students can apply the values contained in the basis of the Pancasila state sustainably in their lives [Agus 2020].

This is also by the axiological foundation of social reconstructionism which perspectives that the educational process which is part of the communicant process and the interaction between humans and the universe also requires the application of values. Thus, it can be stated that the discourse of eliminating national examinations and replacing them with new forms of assessment in the form of minimum competency assessment and character surveys has parallels with the perspective of the philosophy of social reconstructionism. The two concepts each emphasize the existence of massive change and focus on the real reality that occurs in social life. Both the concept of minimum competency assessment and character survey and the philosophy of social reconstruction encourage the education system so that it can adapt to changing times so that education can become more advanced and able to answer social problems that occur in real everyday life.

Conclusion

Based on the previous description of the perspective of the philosophy of social reconstructionism on the discourse of eliminating national exams in Indonesia, it can be concluded that the philosophy of social reconstructionism is an educational philosophy that requires educational changes that focus more on engaging in overcoming every social problem. The changes made are intended so that education is not only concerned with the process of transfer of knowledge, but education is expected to be able to carry out a process of transformation of knowledge so that students can align themselves with the challenges of changing times. The discourse of eliminating national examinations and tackling them by using minimum competency assessments and character surveys is in tune with the philosophical concept of social reconstructionism. Both concepts emphasize the existence of educational changes and focus on social problems that occur in real reality. The perspective of the social reconstructionism philosophy on the eliminating discourse of the national examinations is a form of response to the critical situation in the Indonesian education system which has long been trapped by policies that are not well- targeted. The perspective of the social reconstructionism philosophy is that the assessment of students' abilities is not only carried out on the cognitive aspects as has been done in national exams but also assesses the psychomotor and affective aspects of students holistically. The replacement of the national exam with a minimum competency assessment and character survey is a real step towards the realization of the philosophy of social reconstructionism carried out by the Indonesian government to be able to assess meaningfully and holistically all aspects of students. Policy changes that determine the graduation of these students, of course, change the direction of educational attainment in Indonesia from being oriented to cognitive results only to being process oriented.

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