The contribution of education management in realizing quality educational institutions

The contribution of education management in realizing quality educational institutions

The role of education is crucial in developing the Indonesian human resources. In this context national education will determine the dynamics of national development in all its aspects. Education is essentially a process of coaching and training of humans as students. This coaching is directed towards thought, processing, and mental processing. With coaching if thought, then humans will develop their intelligence, with the human feeling being emotionally intelligent, and with the spiritual soul, humans become have faith and have piety of Almighty God. So that the perfect goal of education is to strive to realize a compleate human being.

The prosfect of national education related to the future of children as well as at the same time determine the future of the Indonesian nation. Therefore, the main task of national education is to develop the nation’s character for the development of human resources (HR). Moreover, the momentum of the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (MEA) as an external environment that demands the availability of professional and competitive human resources, the management of national education in the school system must continue to improve the quality of graduates produced.

According to Suryadi, education in Indonesian still faces obstacles in meeting the needs of the community for quality education. There are at least five global problems of national education in Indonesian, that is : (1) rapid increase in science and technology that requires cultural adjustment (cultural lag), (2) low labor productivity, the workforce in circulation is unskill labor (contruction workers,plantation workers,TKI/TKW), (3) students’ reading ability ranks 39th, (4) 39th math ability, and (5) 38th order science skills from 41 developed and developing countries.

All of these problems need to be addressed systematically and become the joint responsibility of educational planners,supervisors, so that the quality of education can be improved over time and sustainable. In the national education strategy plan there are at least five main problems whose solutions must be prioritized. These problems are related to improving the quality of education, improving the efficiency of education management, increasing the relevance of education, equitable education services, and character education.

For this reason, it is necessary to understand the contribution of education management in developing the nation’s resources in the context of globalization and the era of the ASEAN economic community.

            Education management is the whole process of organizing in an effort to cooperate with two or more people and or joint efforts to untilize all resources (personal and material) effectively,efficiently, and rationally to support the achievement of education goals.

Education management is basically the efforts related to educational activities in which the process of influencing, motivating, creativity of students occurs by using educational tools, methods, media, facilities and infrastructure needed in carrying out education. On of them is directly related to educators, namely people who work in delivering educational material to students.

            According to K.B Everard Geoffrey Morris and Ian Wilson, managerial education activities are specifically concerned with the maintenance and development of resources, namely : (1) Human (selection, job desain, performance management, career planning, training, projects, and coaching), (2) Material (estimates, stock supervision, asset supervision), (3) Financing (budgeting, monitoring costs, sources of costs, and profit/cost analysis).

In this context, management or management of education is the process of integrating school resources through the implementation of education management processes and functions which include planning, organizing, mobilizing, and controlling to achieve educational goals. Achievement og goals is the formal goal of education, and the individual’s goals in taking responsibility for mobilizing and advancing educational institutions.

The importance of effective management or management in education organizations is getting more and more recognition from various parties. It turn  out the research on school effectiveness and school improvement shows that the quality of leadership and management is one of the most important variables to distinguish between successful and unsuccessful schools. In this case, the management of education in schools must be focused on the service of the stakeholders themselves. School stakeholders consist of at least student and parents of students, community leaders, government, founders and school owners, alumnae, teachers, and employees. That means that management cannot be regarded as static in directing the education process. In other words, good management will make a difference in the quality of a school’s educational process.

            Micro-education, the management of education focuses on the area of its work in micro-school management. As for school management is the center of implementing various teaching plans and the place to realize the goals set by education management. So the function of school management is to play a big role in encouraging the teaching process towards a higher level that simultaneously promotes the community. Management of education in schools prepares input for higher education that is more competitive to be fostered and developed through the strategic roles of academies/polytechnics, high schools, institutes, and universities.

     As stated by Bush and Coleman, the aim of education management is to facilitate student learning as a form of learning process. In this context, education management functions in a spectrum that produces planning, organizing, communication, coordination, leadership, mobilization and supervision of the education process. All of these functions are carried out by managers, planners, leaders, implementers, and supervisors of education in various institutions, offices and implementing bureaucratic units and developers of national education institutions as stipulated in the regulations and legislation that are designated by the government. That way, management education provides the implementation of the main tasks and functions of the school, while leadership makes it easier for school personnel to realize the vision, mission, goals and strategies so that the main tasks and functions are carried out optimally, effectively, efficiently, and of quality.

The factors that determine management reform, especially school management are determined by the quality of managerial leadership carried out by the principal's leadership. Strong leadership must get top priority. On the other hand, with strong leadership, of course the leader must also be superior. Superior leaders appear fully to provide climate, stimulation, and exemplary with all the real impulses there are in personal activities. Increasing the involvement of teachers and school staff members in decision making, mastering opportunities for joint planning, the purpose of changing school culture, means requiring staff members to assume responsibility for school improvement with the authority and support needed to create instructional programs that reach their student education needs. School education leadership that will determine the severity of school effectiveness in producing the best service and graduate quality that satisfies educational stakeholders.

The characteristics of effective schools are: (1) strong leadership by principals, (2) high expectations of principals and teachers for student achievement, (3) emphasizing mastery of basic abilities, (4) a regular school environment, (5 ) systematic evaluation of students, (6) increased time for teaching and learning tasks.

Effective schools have teachers who fully carry out their responsibilities and high expectations for student achievement. However, the emphasis on open communication, and collaboration between school staff members is a characteristic of an effective school climate. In addition to class, climate, optimism and high expectations are provided. Finally, the climate of professional collaboration in a school is effective with school committees and related parties encouraging an awareness and acceptance of the community in the existence of a school that is effective in quality.

To that end, increasing management contributions and educational leadership in the development of quality human resources need to combine management changes and leadership enhancement by education policy makers who focus on community needs. The government needs to improve the recruitment and guidance system for school principals, and school leaders improve the management and school leadership based on quality improvement, especially the service of learning programs for learners or the quality of graduates.