Journal of Nonformal Education
Vol. 12 No. 2 (2026): Community Education, Adult Education and Community Empowerment

Nonformal Literacy and Bounded Social Transformation: A Historical Study of Kejar Paket A in Indonesia, 1977–1999

Tarunasena Tarunasena (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia)
Dimas Aldi Pangestu (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia)
Wawan Darmawan (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia)
Hilda Restiawati (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia)
Syaiful Amin (Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
28 Aug 2026

Abstract

Background – Introduced in 1977, Kejar Paket A provided nonformal literacy for Indonesians who had never entered or completed primary school. This early function is often conflated with the elementary-equivalency pathway developed later. Research Urgency – Existing accounts emphasize policy milestones and aggregate successes while giving insufficient attention to curricular change, delivery mechanisms, documentary bias, and the evidentiary limits of transformation claims. Research Objectives – This study reconstructs Kejar Paket A between 1977 and 1999 and evaluates how its curriculum, learning arrangements, and management mechanisms contributed to literacy, livelihood capability, participation, agency, and educational access. Research Method – Qualitative historical research examined six purposively selected Gita Setra issues published in 1981, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1993, and 1999. Regulations and a contemporary UNESCO study provided corroboration; recent indexed scholarship supported comparison. External and internal criticism assessed provenance, credibility, institutional framing, consistency, and corroboration. Evidence was coded diachronically and thematically and interpreted through contribution analysis. Research Findings – The program developed through foundational literacy, functional consolidation, policy integration, and equivalency-oriented transition. A1–A100 materials combined literacy and numeracy with practical themes, group learning, tutoring, self-study, and low-cost media. Evidence is strongest for access and literacy capability; broader effects cannot be isolated from concurrent change. Research Conclusion – Kejar Paket A provided a flexible bridge among literacy, community learning, and basic education, but its contribution should be expressed as bounded and context-dependent rather than as a singular cause of macro-social change. Research Novelty – The study distinguishes early literacy from later equivalency and integrates source criticism, multidimensional transformation, and explicit evidentiary confidence in one historical account.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jone

Publisher

Subject

Education

Description

Journal of Nonformal Education is an journal with open access, a journal supported by a board of experts from various ...