Statement of Purpose

Dion Ginanto
My desire to continue my studies by pursuing a doctoral degree has grown
deeply throughout my Educational Leadership studies at Michigan State University.
It has become stronger through several courses, especially a course about creating
accountability in schools and achieving a positive school climate. After getting
involved in several experiences in high schools in Indonesia, I do believe that school
leadership is a very important factor in well-functioning education systems and
schools. School leadership is important for school effectiveness and for preparing
students to achieve their future success (Hariri et al., 2012)1. To create a successful
school, strong leadership is considered to be its basic foundation. However, studies
of school leadership are few in the Asian context (Raihani, 2008 in Hariri et al.,
2012)2, including in Indonesia.
My intention is to continue my intellectual quest from my Masters program,
which is about educational administration and leadership. I would like to investigate
further the process of recruiting teachers, staff, and school principals in Indonesia.
More specifically, I am considering doing research on how policies can impact
principal hiring practices, and on how policies can make those practices more
equitable. In my country, the school principal issue is now becoming an interesting
topic in the area of education. Since 2001, the management and administration of
education has changed drastically, from centralization to decentralization. This
includes the recruitment process for public school principals. As a result, there are
different mechanisms for hiring school leaders in every school district. Indonesia
has already had guidance in the recruitment of school principals, through the
regulation of the National Education Minister number 13/2007 and number
28/2010. However, the absence of supervision from the Education Ministry has
caused local governments to create their own mechanisms of recruitment, and
thereby creating bribery and nepotism in the hiring process. Sutisna (2009) 3
reported that in DKI Jakarta (the capital city of Indonesia), a principal candidate
needs to pay $5,000 for becoming a primary school principal, $10,000 for becoming
a junior high school principal, and $60,000 for becoming a high school principal.
Therefore, the role of the principal as an instructional leader and a
community leader cannot be implemented well in schools, and a positive school
climate/culture is difficult to achieve. The absence of internal and external checks
and balances from both the Ministry of Education and society has led to weakening
Hariri, et.al (2012) Principalship in an Indonesian school context: Can principal
decision-making styles significantly predict teacher job satisfaction?, School
Leadership & Management: Formerly Organization, 32:5, 453-471.
2 idem
3 Sutisna, Nanang (2009) Departemen pendidikan dituding paling banyak lakukan
suap. Retrieved from:
http://www.tempo.co/read/news/2009/01/28/058157279/DepartemenPendidikan-Dituding-Paling-Banyak-Lakukan-Suap
1

education policy for leader hiring in a decentralized system. This also results in the
lack of distributed and shared leadership in schools, which leads to less
collaborative cultures in the buildings. The research on principal recruitment
policies will help create an accountable, fair, and equitable system for school
principal hiring.
At Michigan State University, there are several professors with whom I am
interested in working: Dr. Kristy Cooper who studies school improvement, dropout
prevention, and the qualities of effective schools; Dr. Muhammad Khalifa, who
works on how schools can create an overlap between school and community; Dr.
Amita Chudgar who works on equal access fro children and adult to high quality
learning opportunities irrespective backgrounds; and other professors in K-12
Educational Administrations can help me shape and improve my inquiry and
efficacy in doing deeper research on educational administration and leadership.
Michigan State University, especially the College of Education, has been known as a
respected institution, which has a strong research reputation among universities at
national and international levels. I am confident in my ability to make use of my
opportunity to study for my Ph.D. in Educational Administration at Michigan State
University, in order to become a professor and a researcher, and to contribute to
reform in my home country.