MANAGEMENT OF THE INDONESIAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ALLIANCE IN PROMOTING TRADITIONAL SCHOOLS IN KERINCI

Objective: This study examines the management practices of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) in advancing Indigenous Schools in Kerinci, Jambi Province. The research focuses on the administration of these educational institutions, the specific role of AMAN, the obstacles encountered, and the strategic countermeasures implemented. Method: Employing a qualitative approach, the study utilizes a case study design centered on the Depati Puncak Negri and Koto Payung Semurup Tinggi Indigenous Schools. Data were collected through participatory observation, document analysis, and in-depth interviews with traditional leaders, AMAN administrators, indigenous educators, community members, and students. Results: The findings reveal that AMAN Kerinci's administration of indigenous schools incorporates fundamental management functions planning, organizing, executing, and monitoring that are deeply rooted in local cultural values and characterized by a participatory-collective framework. Identified constraints encompass a shortage of indigenous human resources resulting from inadequate generational succession, program inconsistencies, insufficient infrastructure, limited family support, an absence of specific regulatory frameworks, financial limitations, and the overarching pressures of modernization. Novelty: Furthermore, the alliance has introduced indigenous management innovations, notably the establishment of an Indigenous Facilitator Division, a Community-Based Evaluation System, and the digitalization of customary educational materials. Ultimately, this research concludes that the efficacy of indigenous schools is contingent upon the capacity of traditional institutions to systematically synergize ancestral values with contemporary management paradigms.