Rethinking Formal Education through Ivan Illich’s Concept of Deschooling Society

Abstract

The formalisation of modern education has increasingly contributed to the dehumanisation of the learning process and fostered bureaucratic dependence on formal qualifications and certification. This study critically analyses the implementation of transformative pedagogy at Sanggar Anak Alam (SALAM) in Yogyakarta as a practical manifestation of Ivan Illich’s radical critique of institutionalised education in Deschooling Society. This qualitative study employed a systematic literature review of relevant academic literature retrieved from Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), followed by qualitative content analysis. The findings indicate that SALAM has deconstructed conventional classroom practices by promoting the principle of “Independent Thinking,” redefining facilitators as learning companions rather than one-way instructors, and developing a community-based learning ecosystem. Its operational curriculum is implemented through a “Learning Cycle” model and independent inquiry into real-world issues, including food, health, environmental, and socio-cultural concerns, while integrating local wisdom (titen) and narrative-based evaluation. Nevertheless, this alternative education model faces several challenges, including scalability, regulatory barriers related to the recognition of qualifications through Packages A/B/C, the sustainability of self-funded operations, and the need to strengthen facilitator capacity. The findings demonstrate how the deconstruction of conventional schooling can be translated into autonomous and community-based “learning webs” that reconnect education with everyday life and learner autonomy.