Raising standard of national educational

Raising standard of national educational

Andrew Vivian, Coordinator Principal, Sekolah Ciputra High School, Surabaya

Indonesian education, like so many other sectors of Indonesian
society, is facing enormous challenges in the effort to stay in
touch with global trends. In recognition of the desirability of
curriculum change the Indonesian government has begun the
implementation of the Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi (KBK), a
collection of outcomes-based syllabuses for schools, from primary
through to the end of senior high school.

The KBK presents a different view of education to that
previously offered in most Indonesian schools. The emphasis is on
the learning outcomes that students achieve, within a content
framework. Teachers are forced to consider higher aspects of
thinking than straight recall, and to introduce teaching,
learning and assessment activities into their classrooms that
effect the achievement of knowledge, skills and values outcomes.

Effective educational change requires a number of
prerequisites, with the major ones being the support and
commitment of teachers. Teachers need to understand the benefits
of change for themselves and their students, and have the
resources to implement change. Time is the primary resource; time
for training and planning.

Many schools are under-resourced in terms of facilities and
teachers, and, in some parts of the archipelago, the task of
offering any sort of education is exceptionally difficult.
Additionally, the employment conditions of teachers in government
schools make it nearly impossible for school administrators to
organize the training and professional development needed for
meaningful curriculum change.

Fortunately, there are some schools that acknowledge a "social
contract" with Indonesian education. These schools have the
facilities and school organization that enable them to provide
their teachers with training and planning time. They play a role
in the training and development of teachers from other schools,
and in the supporting of principals and education bureaucrats in
implementing the KBK. These schools tend to be the leading
National Plus schools.

The tag "National Plus" has been recognized as an excellent
marketing tool, as exemplified by the proliferation of new
schools calling themselves "National Plus" throughout Indonesia.
In an article in The Jakarta Post, Raden Dunbar, the Chairman of
the Association of National Plus Schools, pointed out that many
of these new schools may not have the school organization or
curriculum to justify this classification. National Plus schools
are more than what the tag implies -- in addition to being
schools that offer the Indonesian national curriculum, "plus" an
international option, they have teaching methods and facilities
approaching those found in any other country in the world. In
other words, they are schools about which Indonesians can feel
proud. In common with every other developing section of
Indonesian society, international assistance plays a significant
part.

Implementing the KBK is more about how students are taught and
assessed, rather than about what they are taught. In secondary
schools it is about getting teachers away from the desk at the
front of the room and decreasing their reliance on textbooks. It
is about inquiry learning, cooperative learning and all the other
teaching strategies that have been successful worldwide. This is
where the international character of the good National Plus
schools is apparent -- they empower Indonesian teachers to
deliver the KBK in ways that are internationally proven.

Some of these schools are also providing experience for
Indonesian teachers in administration, particularly in the
"middle-management" positions that characterize effective schools
in developed countries. Creating roles for Indonesian teachers
such as organizing a subject faculty or supervising a year level
of students strengthen the culture of National Plus schools, as
well as providing experience for tomorrow's school leaders.

Another major contribution of the National Plus schools is the
provision of international-standard training and development for
their teachers. Indonesian teachers have the opportunity to
present workshops for Indonesian and expatriate teachers alike at
conferences and cluster meetings. National networks are being set
up in a number of subject areas. Some schools also provide their
teachers with international training and experience. The end
result is a growing number of Indonesian educators with skills
and knowledge comparable to that of teachers from any country.

A growing number of schools in Indonesia are adopting the
Primary Years Program (PYP) and Middle Years Program (MYP) of the
International Baccalaureate Organization. A basic tenet of these
programs is the underpinning of the curriculum with national
culture and identity, within a global context. These programs
provide an ideal vehicle for schools seeking to prepare students
who will contribute to the future development of Indonesian
society. The training and development and expectations of
Indonesian teachers in these programs is identical to those
everywhere else in the world.

In terms of student outcomes, the good National Plus schools
produce international-standard Indonesian graduates. A PYP
certificate or MYP certificate in the hands of an Indonesian
student is identical to that of a student from China, the U.S.,
Australia or Europe. Likewise, a graduate of the international
programs from these schools has exactly the same qualification as
a graduate from the host country. However, these qualifications
are gained within an Indonesian environment. The graduates have
the best of both worlds. Like good private schools in any
country, the graduates from the Indonesian national programs of
National Plus schools enter top Indonesian and international
universities.

The National Plus schools have the human and financial
resources to provide an education currently out of the reach of
most Indonesian children. However, they have the standards of
education that the KBK seeks to establish in every Indonesian
school. The issue is not so much "what" to teach, but "how" to
teach. Some National Plus schools have a proactive approach to
improving the educational expertise of their colleagues in the
National schools, through visits, workshops and conferences. They
share their pedagogical expertise.

Many Indonesian schools do have to be better resourced, and
the training and working conditions for most Indonesian teachers
must improve. Sections of the government have demonstrated a
vision of Indonesian education that will move the country into a
new era, but it is the National Plus schools that are making the
vision a reality.