Understanding and views about the
quality of education has been very diverse. Parents see
education as a quality educational institution magnificent, solid school building with
a red brick tiles,
beautiful school garden, and so on. The
scientists looked at the quality
of education as a school that many students
become winners in
various competitions or Olympic
games nationally, regionally,
and internationally. Repatriates have a different view again. Quality school is a
school that provides foreign
language courses for their
children. The rich would have a
different view. Quality
education is in their children's
education by paying school fees are sky-high
for obtaining a
variety of extracurricular activities
package. Various predicate
education institutions have been born, such as
the popular school, excellent schools,
plus schools, excellent
class. There are also various
educational institutions also predicates appearing
like mushrooms in the rainy season, such as a
boarding school, full day school,
internationally-minded national school, school of
nature, and internationally-minded
schools. All other
designations that are not to show aspects of the quality of education to be achieved.
So, how exactly is
quality education? In this brief article will
explain briefly about
the views of UNESCO on several dimensions of quality
of education. The description of the dimensions of the quality of education was contained in the book EFA Global Monitoring
Report 2005 or the
Global Monitoring Report for EFA.
Every year, UNESCO
published a report on the development of
education, both formal and
informal education, in various parts of the
world.
it
appears that there are at least five
dimensions related to the quality of education.
First, the characteristics of the learner (learner characteristics)
This dimension is
often referred to as input
(inputs) or even
a rough input (raw
inputs) in the production
function theory (production
function theory), namely learners or
learners with different backgrounds, such as knowledge
(aptitude), willingness and enthusiasm
to learn (perseverance
), readiness for
school (school readiness),
knowledge ready before
school entry (prior knowledge), and barriers to learning (barriers to
learning) especially for exceptional children. Many
student background factors that influence the
quality of education in this country. Many school-age children who are not supported
by favorable conditions, such as students who
come from poor families, families
broken (broken home), environmental health, early childhood parenting, and other
factors-other. The dimensions of the initial factor that affects
the quality of education.
Secondly, the
insistence on the input (enabling
inputs)
There are two kinds of inputs that will
affect the quality of education that is produced, the
human resources and physical resources. Teachers
or educators, principals,
superintendents, and other education personnel into human resources (human resources)
that will affect the quality of student learning outcomes (outcomes). The process of learning can not
take place with a
comfortable and safe learning
facilities, such as school
buildings, classrooms, books and
other teaching materials (learning materials), media
and props that can
be pursued by the school, including libraries
and laboratories, even the school cafeteria , and other educational facilities, such as textbooks and curricula
used in schools.
All that is known as physical infrastructure
(physical infrastructure or facilities). In
short, the quality of human
resources available in the
school and the
quality of school facilities are
two kinds of inputs
that greatly affect the quality of education.
Third, the teaching-learning process (teaching and learning)
The third dimension is often referred to as a black box (black
box) the problem of education. In the black box,
there are three main components of education that interact with one another, ie students,
teachers, and curriculum. Without the students, who
will be taught? Without teachers, who would teach,
and no curriculum,
what materials will
be taught? Therefore, the quality of teaching and learning, or the quality of educational
interaction that occurs in the
classroom, a factor which is
very influential on the quality of
education. The effectiveness of the
teaching-learning process is
influenced by: (1) a long time to learn,
(2) teaching methods used, (3) assessment,
feedback, a form of respect for students,
and (4) the number of learners in the classroom.
Classrooms in
Indonesia is very dry with medium and props.
Education expert, Dr. Arif Rahman, M.Pd.
often said that
we are like classroom
into a prison for children. When it was
announced that the board meeting of
educators, in the sense that there
is no class, then shouted the students, like
out of the
prison door. Indeed,
this is where the greatest weakness
of education in this country. Teaching and learning in our classrooms
are very dry from
the use of reinforcement techniques (reinforcement), dried from the use
of media and fun
props. Impact, can
be guessed, the learning outcomes that have not met the specified quality standards. The central problem of lack
of teaching and learning in
this class, is already known, the qualifications
and competence of
teachers. Half the teachers
we have not met the qualifying standard. Moreover,
the standard of
competence. There arose the term
'teacher unfit'. Not
to mention the issue of welfare. There is an opinion that states that all
problems come from welfare issues. Indeed,
the welfare of the teacher becomes one of the requirements that teachers be called
as a profession, in addition to (1) require expertise,
(2) the expertise
gained from the
process of education and training, (3) the
skill required of
society, (4) have professional organizations, (5) expertise paid adequate
wages (Suparlan, 2006).
Fourth, learning
outcomes (outcomes)
Learning outcomes is expected goals by all
parties. Here indeed there is a difference expectations of the parties. Many
industries and industries (Dudi) expects graduates
ready to use. Driven vocational education in
order to meet these expectations. Being the
practitioner education in general quite expect graduates who are ready to train. The reason, in order DUDI
can provide even
greater role in providing training.
At least, all the
lines, levels and
types of education produces graduates
who can read and write (literacy), math
(numeracy) and life
skills (life skills) This is for sure. In
addition, learners should have
the social and emotional intelligence (emotional
and social intelligences),
other values that the community needed. Associated
with different kinds of intelligence,
Howard Gardner asserts
that "only the
most important contribution
to a child's development is to help him to
find the most suitable field with his talent"
(Daniel Goleman, 2002:
49, in Suparlan,
2004: 39). Learning
outcomes that will be achieved in accordance with the actual potential, according
to their talents and abilities,
and in accordance with the type of intelligence, as well as the values of life (values) that is required for
maintaining and transform
the culture and personality of the nation. In the perspective
of educational psychology known
as cognitive, affective,
and psychomotor. In
a social perspective known as 3H (head,
heart, hand). Educational
leaders from Minang reminded that "Of
the tree should not be asked to bear fruit rambutan
mango, but make
every mango tree produce
sweet mangoes" (Muhammad Sjafei, INS).
All it on to achieve national
education goals ".... developing
students' potentials to become a
man of faith and fear of God
Almighty, noble, healthy,
knowledgeable, skilled, creative,
independent, and become
citizens of a democratic and responsible
"(Article 3
of Law No. 20
Year 2003 on the System
National Education).
Fifth, the context (contexts)
or the environment (environments)
These four dimensions are described interplay
with context (contexts)
or the environment (environments) that covers
various aspects of the natural,
social, economic, and cultural, as follows:
·
Economics
and labor market conditions in the community or economic and market conditions
in the public market.
·
Socio-cultural
and religious factors or factors sosip-religious and cultural.
·
Educational
knowledge and support infrastructure or infrastructure that support the
knowledge and education.
·
RESOURCES
AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION or the availability of public resources for
education.
·
Competitiveness
of the teaching profession on the labor market or the competitiveness of the
teaching profession in the labor market.
·
National
governance and management strategies or strategies of management and
governance.
·
Philosophical
standpoint of teacher and learner or philosophical views of teachers and
learners
·
Peer
effects or peer influence.
·
PARENTAL
SUPPORT or support from parents or family.
·
Time
available for schooling and home works or availability of time for school and
homework.
·
National
standards
·
PUBLIC
EXPECTATIONS or societal expectations.
·
Labor market demands of the labor market
demand.
·
Globalization
At first, the role of
parents (home) and the family has not been seen as a dimension that really
affect the quality of education. Now that parental support is one factor that
affects the learning outcomes of students. In the study of effective schools,
parents and the community support was one factor in effective schools.
The results of five studies
on effective schools explaining the factors in effective school can be described
in the following table:
Table 1 Results of Five Studies of
Effective Schools
|
Purkey & Smith,
1983
|
Levine & Lezotte, 1990
|
Scheerens,
1992
|
Cotton,
1995
|
Sammons, Hillman & Mortimore, 1995
|
|
·
Strong leadership
|
· Outstanding
leadership
|
· Educational
leadership
|
·
School management and organization, leadership and school inprovement,
leadership and planning
|
·
Professional leadership
|
|
·
Clear goals on basic skills
|
· Focus
on central learning skills
|
· -
|
·
Planning and learning goals and school-wide emphasis on learning
|
·
Concentration on teaching and learning
|
|
·
Orderly climate, achievement-oriented policy, cooperative atmosphere
|
· Productive
climate and culture
|
· Pressure
to achieve, consensus, cooperative planning, orderly atmosphere
|
·
Planning and learning goals, curriculum planning and development
|
·
Shared vision and goals, a learning environment, positive reinforcement
|
|
·
High expectations
|
· High
expectations
|
· -
|
·
Strong teacher-student interaction
|
·
High expectation
|
|
·
Frequent evaluation
|
· Appropriate
monitoring
|
· Evaluative
potential of the school, monitoring of pupil progress
|
·
Assessment (district, school, classroom level)
|
·
Monitoring progress
|
|
·
Time on task, reinforcement, streaming
|
· Effective
instructional arrangements
|
· Structured
teaching, effective learning time, opportunity to learn
|
·
Classroom management, organization and instruction
|
·
Purposeful teaching
|
|
·
In-service training/ staff development
|
· Practice-oriented
staff development
|
· -
|
·
Professional development and collegial learning
|
·
A learning organization
|
|
·
-
|
· Slient
parental involvement
|
· Parent
support
|
·
Parent-community involvement
|
·
Home-school partnership
|
|
·
-
|
· -
|
· External
stimuli to make schools effective
· Phisical and material school characteristics
· Teacher experience
· School context characteristics
|
·
Distinct school interactions
· Equity
· Special programmes
|
·
Pupil rights and responsibilities
|
The table explains that one
of the factors is known as the effective schools 'parental involvement',
'parental support', 'parent-involvement msyarakat', or 'family-school
relationships'. Of several factors such effective schools, the results of
studies in developed countries indicate that there are five factors that most
influence the effectiveness of a school (EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005, p.
66), namely
1. eduational strong
leadership -> related to teachers and educators
2. emphasis on acquiring basic
skills -> related to the curriculum
3. an orderly and secure
environment -> related to the context (environment);
4. high expectations of pupil
attainment -> associated with learners (coarse input);
5. frequent assessment of
pupil progress -> related to the teaching and learning process (process)
When linked between the
five factors of effective schools tersebu with five dimensions of quality of
education that has been described previously, it was evident that these five
factors in this paper is also known as the dimensions of the quality of
education. In other words, it can be mentioned that the school is not effective
other than is also the name for quality education. Of course also coupled with
effective school factors, including the role and support of parents and the
community, which is contained in the body known as the Board of Education and
the School Committee.
Conclusion
Based on the description
that has been presented in advance, one can draw some conclusions as follows:
(1) the quality of education has five interrelated dimensions, (2) five
dimensions of quality of education is essentially also the factors that make up
an effective school, (3) school effective, in other words, may be referred to
as a quality school, (3) parental and community support all efforts to improve
the quality of education is channeled through social institutions container
that is now known as the Board of Education and the School Committee.
