Implementing AI Policy in Indonesian Education: An Edwards III Analysis of Communication, Resources, Disposition, and Bureaucratic Structure

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly embedded in Indonesian education policy, some promote AI while others set safeguards for children, academic integrity, and responsible use. Drawing on George C. Edwards III’s policy implementation framework, this study analyses how AI policy is implemented in Indonesian education and identifies the factors that shape implementation. It adopts qualitative policy analysis within an interpretive tradition. The core document corpus consists of nine Indonesian policy instruments issued between 2014 and 2026, supplemented by national statistical data and published studies on digital access, teacher readiness, and AI governance. The author coded the documents deductively against four variables: communication, resources, disposition, and bureaucratic structure, and then compared the documentary evidence across instruments. The analysis finds that Indonesia has moved from a broad national AI strategy toward more sector-specific educational regulation, yet implementation remains institutionally fragmented. The 2025 curriculum regulation makes provision for Coding and Artificial Intelligence as an elective subject, while the 2026 Joint Decree sets age-appropriate, task-specific, and risk-based conditions for digital and AI use. Resource constraints appear in uneven digital access and teacher capacity, and the evidence on implementer disposition is mixed rather than neatly split into pro- and anti-AI camps. Bureaucratic structure is marked by responsibilities distributed across central and regional authorities. The study recommends a cross-ministerial coordination mechanism, explicit implementation guidance, sequenced development of teacher capacity, and measurable indicators for monitoring implementation. Its limitations are a document-based evidence base and the absence of direct interviews with policy implementers.