Culturally Responsive Learning in Indonesian Early Childhood Education: A PRISMA-SCR Scoping Review of Local Wisdom Integration

Abstract

Culturally responsive learning has become a global priority in early childhood education, and in Indonesia it is mandated through the Independent Curriculum framework via the Project to Strengthen the Profile of Pancasila Students  and The Core identity  learning element. Yet despite this policy mandate, no standardized cultural curriculum or material repository exists, and the literature on how local wisdom is actually operationalized in early childhood classrooms remains fragmented across Indonesia's diverse ethnic and geographic contexts. This scoping review maps the extent, range, and nature of that evidence. Following the Arksey and O'Malley framework and reported per PRISMA-ScR guidelines, a bilingual search of Scopus and Google Scholar was conducted using Publish or Perish, screened against Population–Concept–Context criteria. Fifteen records were identified and screened, yielding seven empirical studies (2021–2025) spanning western to eastern Indonesia. Thematic synthesis identified five clusters of cultural modalities: traditional games and play artifacts, language and oral traditions, performing arts and music, material culture and food, and indigenous philosophies and value systems. Implementation followed a predominantly grassroots, bottom-up model in which teachers act as cultural brokers, embedding heritage into daily lesson plans and local ecosystems absent standardized materials. Three systemic challenges recurred: financial constraints in underfunded centers, the cognitive load of translating local wisdom into national literacy and numeracy indicators, and a values-disconnect from digital and metropolitan culture at home. Findings indicate that effective culturally responsive early education depends less on policy mandate than on sustained investment in teacher capacity and community ecosystems.