Factors That Drive the Choice of Schools for Children in Middle-Class Muslim Families in Indonesia: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Every different community has different family educational goals. The educational goals can encourage forming a lifestyle that becomes the identity of a particular community, as is the case in the middle-class Muslim family community in Indonesia. While there is no caste system in Indonesia, middle-class Muslim communities have found ways to merge Islamic values and privilege into a new subgroup. This phenomenon mainly appears in urban areas with more advanced socio-economic development than other areas, such as Yogyakarta. This study explores factors that drive the choice of schools for children of middle-class Muslim families in Indonesia. We used qualitative research methods in the data collection and data analysis process. Participants in this study are seven parents from several modern Islamic-based elementary schools in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The results show, factors that drive the choice of schools for children of the middle-class family in Indonesia are connectivity between the goals of education in schools and the goals of family education is to build good children’s morals based on Islamic values and to provide a balanced provision of both religious and non-religious knowledge for the future welfare of their children.