BLOG PENDIDIKAN DAN BEASISWA

By Dion Ginanto              Principal leadership is an important factor for promoting high quality of innovation in schools. In every school in the world, including my school where I teach in Indonesia, they are trying to find the best model of leadership to be applied to improve the quality of schools. The principals in Indonesia use different kinds of leadership, but mostly they use the traditional model of leadership. Traditional leadership here means that the principal is the hero (head) of the school. In other words, the growth of the schools depends on the quality of the principal. Spillane et al. (2004) wrote that it is generally acknowledged that where there are good schools, there are good leaders. But then, if a principal leaves the school, it will be difficult to find a successor because candidates do not have the same capacity as their former principal. As a result, when the principal is changing, all the poli...

Dion Eprijum Ginanto “The fragility of crystal is not a weakness but a fineness". Parents understood that fine crystal glass had to be cared for or may be shattered. But when it came to you, they didn't seem to know or care that their course of their secret action brought the kind of devastation that could cut them. Their fraudulent marriage was for you a murder of every day's truth. You felt your whole life turned like a river suddenly reversing the direction of its flow. Suddenly running uphill. These revelations struck at the core of your sense of identity. They made your entire childhood seem like fiction. Chris never told them he knew and made me promise silence as well.” (Chris McCandles) From "Into the Wild" Novel by Jon Krakauer Some parents may think that what they did are for their kids. They work so hard; they go to work from morning until late at night. They argue that they make money for their kids’ future. However, parents sometimes f...

--> “Congratulation for your scholarship Dion, but be careful… America is the most dangerous place in this globe for Moslems. Don’t you know that USA is a country who discriminates Moslems?…” Almost everyday I heard that sentences from my colleagues before I departed to America to pursue my study. I was happy but nervous in getting such precious chance to study in Michigan State University. Moreover, the issue widespread around my country in Indonesia was that American Embassy would be very tough to give the visa. Therefore, before the visa interview I shaved my mustache and beard in order not too be looked as a terrorist. I unfriended some Muslims organization group in my facebook, since I heard that the US government has a sophisticated technology to track every detail information of every single people here in this earth. I was so worried of the racism issue, I was so scary about the gang issue, I was so horrified with the gun shoot at campus, I was so frighten w...

“Professionalism was associated with teacher supervision, curricular involvement, and taking initiative – not writing reports, hiring janitors, or ordering toilet paper” (Cuban, 1998, p. 61). It is interesting to identify a principal as a person who was hiring janitors and/or ordering toilet paper in the early decades of this century. This situation indicates that the role of principal was not really significant. Besides, many articles have reported that in the 1800s school did not even have a principal. Then, how did the school manage the complicated tasks such as students’ achievement, social control, curriculum, etc.? This paper will answer this question. I will discuss the changing role of the principal in the United States in four main eras: Janitor/Principal Teacher Era (1770-1929), Great Depression Era (1930-1953), Sputnik Era (1954-1980), and Nation at Risk Era (1980-1990). I will also discuss how and why the principal’s roles had evolved.  1. Janitor Era/Principal Teach...

After reading this article I realized that it is not easy to make an effective school. I used to think that principals could do everything they want to improve the quality of their school. In facts, however, there are a lot of things we must consider in achieving school effectiveness. There are at least three main points that Rosenholtz (1985) proposed to create a successful school: The principal's competency, effective school goals, and like-minded teachers. The first point in realizing school effectiveness is the principal’s competency. The principal’s approach in dealing with the goals of achievement is very important. Rosenholtz (1985) assumed that the principal should be able to do effective planning and lead action to mobilize teachers in eradicating low student achievement. In line with this, Bossert, et al (1982) stated that the principal should also be able to balance between the “bottom-up” and “top-down” views of organization in leading an effective school. Besides, ...

When I was child, my mom told me about her ideal she could not afford. She told me that she really wanted to be a teacher. But, In Indonesia at that time, education is the second priority for women, what the people thought was that the women no need to study highly, because they finally married and will work at their husband’s kitchen. And yes, my mom finally stopped her study at the very early time (Junior High School) because my dad engaged her to marry. Then, my mom told me that one day I must become a very professional teacher to continue her ideal.  During that time, I promise myself to make my mom’s dream comes true. I study hard, and I took Education faculty at university. My mom was very happy and proud of me knowing that I was the best graduate from my faculty. Not only that, after finishing my study I become a real teacher (government teacher/ civil servant). I am now happy because I can make my mom dream becomes reality. But when I teach my student, I found mys...

There is an ironical fact of education in Indonesia. Muhammad Am (2011) reported that Indonesia sits in the 56 position of the 127 countries in the world rank of dropout’s students. This phenomenon was very infuriating since Indonesia has declared its independence for 66 years. ELN (2011) wrote that in 2010, from the 31,05 million primary school students in Indonesia, 20,1 % dropped out from school and did not continue their study at the higher level. Siimilarly, 32% of 12,69 million junior high school students left school before completing their secondary education. In addition, there were 4,6 % high school dropouts Only around 40% of senior high school graduates continued their study to university. There must be some causes engender to this problem. The drop out causes can occur not only in Indonesia but also all around the world. At least there are some issues that affect the drop out case: family issue, academic issue, and social issue (Taniadworjan: n.d) The first factor ...