PRINCIPAL ROLE IN IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION

By : Subagio,M.Pd
In an effort to improve the quality of education is mandated in accordance with Law No.20 of 2003 on National Education System , as the substance of the National Education System Law is clear from his vision, namely the realization of the educational system as a powerful social institutions and authoritative to empower all citizens of Indonesia developed into a quality manuasia so as to proactively answer the challenges of the times.
To realize this, then the role of principal is expected. The resulting product should schools do not like the factory can only produce graduates, but how to keep it high quality so that graduates could face challenges in accordance with the times.
In accordance with the demands of the Law on National Education System, then to become the principal must be those who truly meet the requirements, be it academic requirements, as well as other requirements. Because of school progress, be it quality, or otherwise, will be largely determined by anyone headmaster.
Broadly speaking, the scope of the principals can be classified into two main aspects, namely the work in the field of school administration and the work relating to professional coaching education. To carry out the task with the best - well, there are three main types of skills that must be owned by the principal as educational leader of technical skills (technical skills), communication skills (human relations skills) and conceptual skills (conceptual skill).
According to the perceptions of many teachers, school leadership success mainly based on its ability to lead. The key to the smooth working principals and emotions lies in the stability and confidence. This is a psychological basis for treating its staff fairly, provide exemplary in attitude, behave and perform tasks.
In this context, the principal is required to display the ability to foster cooperation with all personnel in an open work climate that is a partnership, and to increase the active participation of parents. Thus, the principal can get the full support of each program works.
The involvement of principals in the process of student learning more done indirectly, ie through the guidance of teachers and efforts to provide the necessary learning tool.
The school principal as a communicator on duty to be an intermediary to pass on instructions to the teacher, as well as their aspirations to local school personnel to teachers, as well as the aspirations of the school personnel to vertical agencies and the community. Communication pattern of the school are generally family by utilizing their spare time. The flow of information delivery takes place in both directions, ie top-down communication, tend to be very instructive, while the bottom-up communication tends to contain a statement or a demand for technical details of operational tasks. The media of communication used by the principal are: official meeting, circular, book tour information, data boards, verbal announcements and messages conveyed orally chain.
In the field of education, the meaning of quality has a sense according to the meaning contained in the learning cycle. Briefly mentioned a few key words the sense of quality, namely: standards (fitness to standards), appropriate use of market / customer (fitness to use), according to development needs (fitness to latent requirements), and according to the global environment (fitness to global environmental requirements). As is the quality in accordance with the standards, that is if one of the aspects in the management of education in accordance with the standards set.
Garvin was quoted as saying Gaspersz defines eight dimensions that can be used to analyze the characteristics of a quality, namely: (1) performance (performance), (2) features, (3) reliability (reliability), (4) confirmation (conformance), (5) durability, (6) competence (servitability), (7) aesthetics (aestetics), and (8) perceived quality customers who are subjective.
In view of the general public is often found that the quality of the school or schools of excellence can be seen from the physical size of the school, such as buildings and the number of extra curricular activities provided. There are also people who argue that school quality can be seen from the number of graduates of these schools received further education. To understand the quality of formal education in schools, it is important to see formal education in schools as a system. Furthermore, the quality of the system depends on the quality of the components that make up the system, and the process continued until fruition.
In the implementation of quality improvement management, principals should always understand the school as an organic system. For that principals must act more as a leader than a manager. As a leader, then the principal must: (1) More direct than pushing or forcing (2) It rests on the cooperation in performing the task than relying on authority or decree. (3) Always instill self confidence in teachers and administrative staff. Instead of creating fear. (4) Always show how to do something rather than show that he knows something. (5) Always keen to develop an atmosphere rather than develop a dull atmosphere (6) Always fix the existing errors rather than blaming the error on someone, working with great toughness rather reluctantly because of scarcity (Boediono, 1998).
According Poernomosidi Hadjisarosa (1997 in Slamet, PH, 2000), the principal is one of the school resource called the human resource manager type (HR-M) which has the duty and function of coordinating and harmonizing the human resources executive types (HR-P) through a number of management input to HR-P use his services to interfere with the remaining resources (SD-slbh), so the process of teaching and learning can take place either to produce the expected outputs.
In general, the characteristics of strong principals can be written as follows (Slamet, PH, 2000): Head of School:
(A) It has deep insights in the future (vision) and know what action to do (mission) as well as to understand exactly how that will be taken (strategies), (b) Have the ability to coordinate and harmonize all the existing limited resources to achieve goals or to meet the needs of the school (generally infinite), (c) Have the ability to make decisions with skill (fast, precise, fixed, and accurate), (d) Have the ability to mobilize resources for achieving goals and capable of inspiring his followers to do important issues for school purposes, (e) Having a tolerance for differences in each person and do not seek out people who looked like him, but absolutely intolerant of those who underestimate the quality, performance, standards, and values; (f) Have the ability to fight the enemies of the principal, the indifference, suspicion, do not make decisions, mediokrasi, imitation, arrogance, extravagance, rigid, and duplicity in attitude and action.
The role of principals in improving the quality of education as follows:
1). Head of school using a "systems approach" as a basic way of thinking, how to manage, and analyze how school life. Therefore, principals should think the system (not unsystem), namely to think correctly and fully, to think coherently (no hopping), think holistically (not partial), think multi-inter-cross-disciplinary (not parosial) , think entropic (what is modified on a particular component will affect other components); think "causal" (remember his creation is always in pairs); think interdipendensi and integration, think eklektif (quantitative + qualitative), and think syncretism.
2). The headmaster has a complete input management and clear, yangditunjukkan by the completeness and clarity in the task (what to do, which accompanied the functions, powers, responsibilities, obligations, and rights), plan (description of the product to be produced), program (allocation of resources to realize the plan), the provisions / limitations (regulations, qualifications, specifications, work methods, work procedures, etc..), control (action step), and gives a good impression to his men.
3). The school principal to understand, appreciate, and exercise its role as a manager (to coordinate and harmonize their resources to achieve goals), leader (mobilize and empower human resources), educator (ask favors for change), entrepreneur (make something happen), supervisor (directing, guide and give examples), the creator of the work climate (make working delicious life situations), the board / administrator (mengadminitrasi), reformer (adding value), the regulator (making school rules), and motivational (menyemangatkan).
According Enterprising Nation (1995), managers have a tough eight competencies, namely: (a) people skills, (b) strategic thinker, (c) visionary, (d) flexible and adaptable to change, (e) self-management, (f ) team player, (g) ability to solve complex problems and the make decisions, and (h) ethical / high personal standards.
Moderate American Management Association (1998) wrote 18 competencies that managers must possess strong, namely: (a) efficiency orientation, (b) proactivity, (c) concern with impact, (d) the diagnostic use of concepts, (e) use of unilateral power, (f) developing others, (g) spontaneity, (h) accurate self-assessment, (i) self-control, (j) stamina and adaptability, (k) perceptual Objectivity, (l) positive regard, (m) managing group process, (n) use of sosialized power, (o) self-confidence, (p) conceptualization, (q) logical thought, and (r) use of an oral presentation.
1). The school principal to understand, appreciate, and execute the task dimensions (what), processes (how), environmental, and personal skills, which can be described as follows: (a) dimensional task consists of: curriculum development, personnel management, student management, facilities management, financial management, relationship sekolahmasyarakat, etc., (b) dimensions of the process, including decision-making, institutional management, program management, coordinating, motivating, monitoring and evaluation, and management of teaching and learning process, (c) environmental dimensions include time management, places, resources, and interest groups, and (d) the dimensions of personal skills including self-organization, human relations, self carriage, problem solving, speaking style and writing style (Lipham, 1974; Norton, 1985).
2). The school principal was able to create a challenge school performance (the performance gap between the actual / actual and expected performance). Departing from here, then formulated the targets to be achieved by the school, followed by selecting the functions necessary to achieve the target, then perform a SWOT analysis (Strength, Weaknes, Opportunity, Threat) to find factors that are not prepared (containing the problem) and to address problem-solving steps. Throughout the question remains, then the target will never be reached.
3). Headmasters seek a compact teamwork / cohesive and intelligent, and makes interconnected and bound between functions and between citizens, fostering solidarity / cooperation / collaboration rather than competition, forming a climate of collectivity that can guarantee the certainty of outcome / outputs school.
4). Head of the school created a situation that can foster creativity and provide opportunities for citizens to do the experimentation-experimentation to generate new possibilities, although the results are not always right (wrong). In other words, the principal encourages citizens to take and manage risks and protect them if the results are wrong.
5). The headmaster has the ability and the ability to create school learning.
6). The headmaster has the ability and the ability implement school based management as a logical consequence of the shift in management policy, namely the shift from Center-Based Management to the School-Based Management (in the framework of regional autonomy).
The school principal focus on the management of the learning process as the main activities, and looked at other activities as a support / support teaching and learning process. Therefore, the management of teaching and learning process is considered to have the highest interest rate and other activities considered to have a lower interest rate.
The school principal is able and capable of empowering school (Slamet PH, 2000), especially its human resources through the granting of authority, flexibility, and resources.
School leadership that will consistently apply the rules of the immense influence on quality improvement in schools with a record of the interaction between principals and teachers and parents support each other and fill each one consistent and responsibilities of the rights and obligations so as to create conditions that desired.