Education and Postmodernism (A Study of Implementation of Critical Pedagogy a Movement in Education in the Postmodernism Era

Abstract
Education becomes the frontline in forming the awareness of the nation and society because the
public awareness and maturity will be formed through a process of education as a social agent.
Education will create the human learners who are able to be the social agent. In reality, it shows
that the culture of pragmatism that comes from economic habitus has penetrated into the world of
education. Struggles between the interests of idealism with pragmatism in education take place
continuously. In addition, education in Indonesia is still stuck in the traditional pedagogy in which
the teacher's authority is still very dominant and become the single actor. Students marginalized in
the production of knowledge in school. Critical pedagogy is still limited to the educ ation debate
and discourse. In the perspective of critical education, educational orientation is based on the
ideology of idealism, the main emphasis in the pedagogical process is how to understand, criticize,
produce, and use science as a tool to understand the reality of life and change it. The
measurement of successfulness is emphasized on how far learners are able to become a critical
citizen, active and responsible. In line with this thought, postmodernism as a period of thought,
historical, and cultural rejecte d the totalitarian thinking as well as implies and encourage our
sensitivity to differences and strengthen tolerance. Postmodernism admits the particularity,
plurality and diversity, including their local wisdom. Education is not meant as a unif orm logic,
but meant by a variety of patterns and colors. Therefore, in the postmodern era teachers are
required to implement critical pedagogy in learning, by creating conditions that facilitate the
development of critical thinking as well as diversity of thought. The present paper addresses how
education relates itself to postmodernism, in particular, the implementation of critical pedagogy
as a movement in the postmodernism era.

Keyword: education, postmodernism, critical pedagogy, teaching, plurality