Paradoxical outcomes of national schooling in the borderland of West Kalimantan, Indonesia: The case of the Iban

This paper brings together facets of national belonging and national schooling within an Indonesian borderland context with the aim of understanding the often shifting and ambiguous relationship between border people and their nation-state. Mass-education in Indonesia is of fairly recent origin and has been an important instrument in the nation-building process. In this paper, I will argue that processes of national schooling are often more complex and seldom turn out as intended by national policy-makers. In the area studied national schooling has been only partially successful in creating identification with Indonesia due to certain socio-economic constraints and the local border peoples’ long history of cross-border relations.