Yogyakarta, 2024 – The Directorate of Research and Community Service of Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta conducted a workshop on strengthening culturally based literacy and numeracy resilience for vocational high school principals across Indonesia at the Auditorium of BBPPMVP Seni Budaya Yogyakarta through Community Service funding under the Community Partnership Empowerment scheme, led by Prof. Dr. Siti Irene Astuti Dwiningrum, M.Si. The workshop was held on October 28, 2024, and was attended by vocational high school principals from across Indonesia. The workshop was also attended by the Head of Vocational High School Development Division, a Junior Policy Analyst, and a Curriculum Manager from the Yogyakarta City Office of Education, Youth, and Sports.

The activity began with an introduction by the project leader, followed by an official opening by the Junior Policy Analyst from the Yogyakarta City Office of Education, Youth, and Sports. This was followed by a presentation on resilience delivered by Prof. Dr. Siti Irene Astuti Dwiningrum, M.Si. In her presentation, Prof. Siti Irene Astuti Dwiningrum emphasized that resilience is an essential quality that educators should possess when delivering instructional materials in schools. Strengthening resilience is expected to address literacy and numeracy challenges among vocational high school students and to help students become better prepared to face various learning challenges. Learning innovation that incorporates culture as a source of instruction can be used to strengthen literacy and numeracy resilience.

The “River of Life” is a method used to explore individual strengths and weaknesses through experiential learning and significance learning approaches. The purpose of the River of Life method is to enable individuals to overcome their weaknesses and develop their potential to become more resilient.

Indonesia’s cultural diversity serves as a key asset for educators, motivating them to design mathematics instruction that enhances students’ literacy and numeracy resilience. The workshop is expected to increase principals’ awareness of using cultural approaches to strengthen literacy and numeracy resilience, enabling more creative and effective classroom instruction.