This study analyzes how Indonesia translates Nordic educational equity into the Sekolah Rakyat program and examines the institutional conditions that shape this process. The study compares Nordic universalist welfare regimes with Indonesia’s hybrid developmental-welfare configuration to clarify the structural rationale for cross-regional comparison. The research draws on policy mobility theory and welfare regime analysis to explain how institutional infrastructures condition policy transfer. The study employs qualitative comparative policy analysis. The research analyzes policy documents, ministerial regulations, fiscal reports, and program design frameworks from Finland, Sweden, and Indonesia. The empirical focus examines Indonesia’s Sekolah Rakyat, a state-funded boarding school initiative that targets students from poor and marginalized households through centralized recruitment, standardized service provision, and full public financing. The findings indicate that Indonesia adopts a Nordic equity discourse, encompassing universalism, inclusion, and strong state responsibility. However, Indonesia operates within limited fiscal capacity, fragmented bureaucratic coordination, and lower institutional trust. These structural constraints restrict the transfer of teacher autonomy and trust-based accountability that characterize Nordic governance. Policymakers therefore implement hierarchical supervision and targeted intervention rather than decentralized trust-based models. The study concludes that educational equity depends on embedded welfare-state institutions rather than isolated pedagogical instruments. The article proposes a context-sensitive adaptation framework that conceptualizes policy transfer as selective institutional translation. This study contributes to comparative education policy by specifying the structural limits of Northern model diffusion in middle-income welfare contexts.

Authors:
Bahrul Alam, Ministry of Social Affairs Republic of Indonesia, Indonesia
Agus Danugroho, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia
Tuhfatul Mubarokah Assalamah, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia
Muhammad Alhada Fuadilah Habib, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia

About the Presenter(s)
Bahrul Alam is a professional at the Ministry of Social Affairs of Indonesia, focusing on social welfare, public policy, and community empowerment, with experience in programs for vulnerable groups.
https://id.linkedin.com/in/bahrulalam0897

Muhammad Alhada Fuadilah Habib is a doctoral student in Social Sciences at Universitas Airlangga, with research interests in social studies, public policy, and contemporary societal dynamics. https://id.linkedin.com/in/muhammad-alhada-fuadilah-habib

Connect on Linkedin
https://id.linkedin.com/in/bahrulalam0897

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