Finding ways to improve the quality of education

Finding ways to improve the quality of education

By Setiono

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Juwono
Sudarsono has admitted there are flaws in the present education
system, which has received a barrage of criticisms from the
public.

People have long been perplexed by the frequent changes of
curriculums which never reflected a coherent and solid policy.
Still, many have expressed their concerns over the inconsistency
in implementing the educational programs, outlined in the policy.
Another criticism concerns the overloaded curriculums that place
a heavy emphasis on students' cognitive capacity.

In response to such criticisms, the minister, as quoted in an
interview with The Jakarta Post of Aug. 6, urged his ministry to
reform the education system and to prepare a nationwide education
blueprint that could be used as guidance for all educational
policies and programs. Furthermore, he also stressed the
importance of altering the concept of education from being
teacher-oriented to student-centered.

It is, therefore, apparent that our education system is far
from satisfactory and has in fact failed to meet the public
demands of quality education.

Owing to this condition, it is imperative for government to
establish a national assessment system in order to control the
quality of education. Quality assessment is of vital importance
as it is used as a means of accountability to the public, who
have placed their trust in education and have spent great amounts
of money on educational activities.

Another major reason for assessing the quality of educational
programs is to make a diagnosis in order to reveal certain
impediments that potentially hinder the improvement of education.
By so doing, beneficial inputs can be obtained so as to provide
proper remedies.

The decreasing quality of education should become a matter of
primary concern. Students often complain about the quality of
their teachers and of ineffective instruction. Likewise, teachers
overwhelmingly lament over their incompetent students.

Furthermore, many employers are unsatisfied with university
graduates because several of them are not adequately prepared to
do the jobs offered to them. Worse still, a large number of
university graduates become unemployed after they finish their
studies due to inadequate knowledge they obtain from school.

In entering the next millennium, characterized by science and
technology, education, particularly higher education, plays a
paramount role in producing highly capable and competent human
resources.

It is thus no exaggeration to assert that any educational
efforts should be directed primarily to improve the quality of
instruction, to enhance the quality of students' learning
strategy, to construct challenging testing devices and to develop
the interest to do intensive research.

One of the key elements that potentially determine the quality
of education is instruction.

Ineffective instruction might have negative impacts on the
students' learning, and might accordingly hamper the students'
attainment of their goals. Many teachers are of the opinion that
effective instruction is tantamount to presenting their teaching
in an appealing ways. They may think that the better they perform
their teaching, the more likely it is for the students to attain
their goals.

Nevertheless, the quality of instruction is not determined
merely by good teaching performance, but rather by the degree to
which the lessons make sense to students. To make lessons make
sense to students, teachers need to relate new information to
what students already know. They need to use real-life examples,
demonstrations, pictures and diagrams to make ideas vivid to
students.

Sometimes a concept the students obtain from their teachers
will not make sense to them until they discover it or experience
it themselves, or until they discuss it with others.

Another important aspect on quality of instruction is the
extent to which the teacher monitors how well students are
learning and adapts the pace of instruction so that it is neither
too slow nor too fast. For example, teachers are obliged to
frequently ask questions to see how much students have grasped.

The effectiveness of students' learning strategy is another
essential aspect that undoubtedly determines the quality of
education. The fact that many students are unable to apply their
knowledge they obtain from schooling is evident that they are
seldom encouraged to face problems that need solutions.

Instead, they are continually encouraged to use their memory
only, which enables them to store verbal material and retrieve it
when needed.

The goal of the present education system should no longer be
directed merely to cognitive strategy, but it has to promote
analytical, critical and responsible thinking in students when
they are confronted with practical problems that require an
adequate and competent solution.

This can be executed by assigning the students with study
tasks which consists of many problems. They are encouraged to
analyze, to synthesize the problems and finally to offer possible
solutions. In so doing, they are challenged to use logical
thinking and discover strategies that help them facilitate their
learning.

Proper statements of instructional objectives and the
effectiveness of learning strategies are basic requirements for
the construction of tests that could be used as instruments to
assess how well students have achieved the intended goals. The
level of students' performance, as measured by tests or
observations, is one of the indicators that reflects the quality
of education.

In constructing test devices, test makers should construct
test in such a way that they encourage students' critical and
logical thinking, and will eventually improve qualified learning.
Such test types as multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank are,
therefore, not recommended.

Finally, the quality of education could be improved by means
of cultivating the interest of doing research. The interest in
conducting research in the country seems to be lacking and this
reality inevitably creates constraints and hampers endeavors to
improve the quality of education.

After all, attempts to improve our education system must be
carried out by involving not only the central authorities but
also researchers, teachers, and the practitioners in the field of
education.

In other words, different groups within the society have equal
access and opportunities to participate and to work in tandem so
as to find ways to respond to the demands and interests of the
society for better and qualified education.

The writer is a member of the teaching staff member of the
Faculty of Education at the Atma Jaya Catholic University in
Jakarta.