Silih Asah,Silih Asih,and Silih Asuh (SILAS): A decolonial conceptual framework for relational early childhood education in the Sundanese context amid global childhood discourses

Abstract

This conceptual article explores Silih Asah, Silih Asih, and Silih Asuh—a triadic Sundanese philosophy rooted in mutual learning, affection, and care—as a culturally embedded pedagogical foundation for decolonizing early childhood education (ECE) in Indonesia. As global perspectives on childhood increasingly influence national curricula, dominant early education models, shaped by Eurocentric frameworks, tend to prioritize cognitive outcomes, individualism, and standardized behaviors. These models often marginalize relational, affective, and community-based dimensions of learning that are central to many Indigenous worldviews. In the Sundanese context of Indonesia, such global pressures intersect with local realities, reshaping how childhood is socially constructed and lived. This article argues for a decolonial turn in ECE by centering Indigenous knowledge systems and moral ontologies such as Silih Asah, Asih, Asuh, which position the child as an emotional, social, and communal being. This framework is translated into classroom practice through the use of local folktales, cooperative games, empathetic teacher-child dialogue, and group-based activities that reflect gotong royong (mutual cooperation). Assessment practices shift from standardized testing to the observation of empathy, participation, and collective responsibility. As the first framework to systematically apply Silih Asah, Asih, Asuh within early childhood pedagogy, this article contributes a Southeast Asian specifically Sundanese relational learning model that resists the instrumentalization of early learning. It offers an alternative vision for schooling rooted in ethical interdependence, cultural identity, and the lived experiences of children within a globalizing world.