Reading beyond comprehension: critical literacy, civic reasoning, and the language of educational empowerment in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67490/ijled.v1i3.1052Keywords:
civic reasoning, critical literacy, educational empowerment, Indonesia, policy discourseAbstract
Background: Indonesian education increasingly frames reading as more than comprehension, yet relationships among critical interpretation, civic judgment, and learner empowerment remain fragmented across official policy domains. Objective: This study examines how Indonesian curriculum, assessment, regulatory, and implementation documents construct critical literacy, civic reasoning, and educational empowerment. Method: A qualitative documentary design analysed 27 prescriptive documents from a verified 40-document corpus through a Critical Literacy Discourse Matrix, Civic Reasoning Matrix, and Educational Empowerment Language Scale, using one bounded excerpt per unique document. Results: Interpretive evaluation appeared in 51.9% of prescriptive documents, whereas source scrutiny and perspective plurality occurred in 25.9% and 22.2%, respectively. Claim–evidence reasoning was the most prevalent civic orientation at 55.6%, while deliberation and civic action each appeared in 22.2%. Learner agency occurred in 44.4% of documents, but explicit voice and expression appeared in only 14.8%, revealing a stronger emphasis on cognitive responsibility than public participation. Implication: Policy coherence requires closer integration of source criticism, plural perspectives, deliberative practice, and opportunities for learners to produce and communicate knowledge. Novelty: This study introduces an integrated cross-document framework that traces how Indonesian educational discourse distributes epistemic authority, civic responsibility, and participatory agency across curriculum and governance levels within Indonesia’s education system.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Imam Masrur (Author)
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