The quality of education in Indonesia

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.