Axiology of Basic Education in the Land of Batak: Tension Between Traditional Values of Hamoraon, Hagabeon, Hasangapon And Modernization

Abstract

Basic education in Batak Land has long been driven by three cultural values: Hamoraon (prosperity), Hagabeon (descendants), and Hasangapon (honor). Modernization now challenges this value system through individual aspirations, a digital economy, language shift, and weakening communal social control. This study aims to describe how the three values operate as an axiological system in basic education, to identify the tensions that modernization produces, and to formulate a model of axiological reconciliation. A qualitative library research design was used. The corpus consisted of 33 documents published between 2018 and 2026, screened against explicit criteria and analyzed through content analysis with thematic coding. The results show four strands of literature: meaning and practice of Batak values (8 documents), axiological framing (6), integration of local wisdom into curriculum (11), and modernization pressures (8). One document reports that only 30% of Batak Toba adolescents aged 15 to 18 in a Medan district maintain the language, and another reports 17 million Indonesians identifying as content creators. None of the six axiological documents was situated in a Batak community. The study concludes that the tension is a problem of interpretation and transmission rather than a clash of rival value systems. A reconciliation model combining reinterpretation of the values, curricular embedding, and community partnership is proposed, with mother-tongue value vocabulary as an enabling condition. Implications are discussed for curriculum design, teacher education, and regional education policy.