Community Development dalam Pendidikan: Strategi Membangun Partisipasi Masyarakat yang Berkelanjutan

Abstract

Community participation in educational development is often limited to program implementation, while identification, planning, decision-making, and evaluation remain dominated by governments or external institutions. This condition weakens community ownership and threatens program sustainability. This study examines how community development can foster sustainable community participation in education and identifies the factors shaping its implementation. An integrative literature review combined with a secondary case-study synthesis was employed. Relevant academic literature on community development, community education, empowerment, participation, and program sustainability was reviewed, alongside three Indonesian cases representing different patterns of community participation: Kampung Inggris in Kediri, village tourism development in Ponorogo, and KUPS Wisata Rengganis in Jember. The analysis indicates that sustainable participation depends not merely on the extent of community involvement but on the degree to which communities possess access to decision-making, participatory capacity, legitimacy, ownership, and control over programs. Kampung Inggris demonstrates relatively strong community-led participation and institutional sustainability, whereas the other cases reveal continuing dependence on government support, organizational capacity constraints, or limited community control. The findings suggest that community development in education requires a shift from administrative and instrumental participation toward substantive participation throughout needs identification, planning, implementation, evaluation, institutionalization, and community self-reliance. A collaborative governance model in which government and educational institutions function as facilitators while communities retain meaningful decision-making authority offers a stronger foundation for sustainable educational development.