Government should step in to standardize preschool programs<\/p>\n
Ratna Eliyawati, Contributor, Surabaya<\/p>\n
The past decade or so has seen a rapid growth of playgroups in
\nIndonesia's major cities. Modern domestic playgroups in the
\ncountry were pioneered by Taman Indria -- founded by Bu Kasur --
\nand was later followed by the next generation of child educators,
\nthe twin psychologists, Kak Seto and Kak Seno.<\/p>\n
The huge number of playgroups -- the fully foreign
\ninstitutions, franchisees, joint ventures as well as purely
\ndomestic ones -- have been spurred by the growing number of
\nworking parents who choose to have these child education
\nspecialists tend to the early development of their children.<\/p>\n
Being highly educated, this upper-middle and upper-class of
\nsociety is obviously very much aware of the need to educate their
\nchildren as early as possible. However, their awareness tends to
\nbe obsessive and sometimes without a deep comprehension of the
\nchild's psychological condition, they just get into the race of
\nenrolling their children with high expectations that theirs would
\nturn into the most superior child.<\/p>\n
Some educators have put forward various reasons for the need
\nof early education to increase a child's potential, though some
\nothers argue that such an early development should not be
\nburdened with unnecessary curriculum or with teaching materials
\nthat are irrelevant at this stage of development. This type of
\ncontroversy will always be there, while notwithstanding, early
\neducation centers keep mushrooming along with the increasing
\ndemand of this particular market segment.<\/p>\n
The early education centers are divided into several age
\ngroups. The infant group -- babies up to about one-year olds --
\nis not too popular in Indonesia, while the toddler category --
\nfrom one-year olds to about three-year-old children -- is hugely
\npopular. The preschoolers -- older but slightly overlapping in
\nage group -- are normally divided into two sub age-groups: The
\nfirst is between two and four-years old catered by playgroups and
\nthe second between four and six-years old attend kindergartens.
\nBoth these enjoy the highest popularity in the country's largest
\ncities, such as Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan.<\/p>\n
From the viewpoints of a businessman or someone having the
\nspirit of an entrepreneur, establishing a preschool may seem like
\na routine business, as the investment is quite large to cover the
\ncosts of site rental, equipment, books, toys and other related
\nfacilities like a mini zoo plus the high salaries of teachers
\netc. However, the first and foremost objective in establishing
\nsuch education centers should be the purpose and the relevant
\nquality of the education.<\/p>\n
Some of the important prerequisites of a good preschool are:
\nan appropriate location with roomy classrooms, a proven
\ncurriculum that matches each development stage of a child,
\nprofessional teachers as well as the required facilities and
\ninfrastructure. Studies indicated that preschools are beneficial
\nin increasing a child's early readiness for further studies,
\ninstilling self-discipline, reducing possibilities of failing
\nexams (due to early monitoring by teachers of a child's
\ncapabilities) and improving academic achievements.<\/p>\n
The early education also gives positive long-term benefits to
\na child for the rest of his life, as it stimulates the child's
\nbrain for maximum intellectual capacity as well his personality
\nand social behavior.<\/p>\n
In view of these important benefits produced by early
\neducation, the government should be more involved and step in to
\nstandardize the development of preschools, especially in the
\nfollowing areas: technical assistance to upgrade teachers'
\nquality; standardization of equipment, facilities and
\ninfrastructure; supervision to increase the quality of education
\nas well as evaluation and monitoring of program implementation.<\/p>\n
If the government is integrally involved in the development of
\nthese early education centers, there is a great probability that
\nparents would gain more benefits from the standardized education
\nprograms, the proportional costs and more definite end results. (
\nThe writer is a lecturer at the School of Psychology, the Tujuh
\nBelas Agustus University, Surabaya)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-should-step-in-to-standardize-preschool-programs-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}