Name : Asiyah

Number of student : 2201415035

Class : 02 of education

>> Assignment of Reading examination

1. > previewing is a technique in reading to get the general information. Previewing is very useful
for reading heavy and long articles. You can only read the important words or general idea in
that article. You only have to choose first sentence and last one or two paragraph, and read it.
You can avoid reading the things that you don`t really want or need to read. The positive side in
preview is : it keeps you spending long time for read the article. And the negative side is : it
doesn`t give you the details.
2. > scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in telephone book or dictionary.
You search for key words or ideas. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down the page
seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when you first find a resource to
determine whether it will answer your question.
3. > skimming is high-speed reading that can save you time and help you get through lots of
material quickly. You skim to get the general sense of a passage or book, not specific details.
4. > Inferences is reasonable conclusion.

5. > main idea is a statement of the author`s idea about the topic. A main idea statement is always
a complete sentence that includes both the topic and the ideas that the author wishes to
express about the topic.
 B

Summary of Education Counts !

Education Counts!

Zulfa Sakhiyya, La Trobe University

I Made Andi Arsana, University of Wollongong
Mikha Ramadewi, University of Queensland

What runs through the book Education Counts is the long standing impetus to highlight
some critical issues of education policies and practices in Indonesia. There are at least three
reasons of why education counts in Indonesia and therefore why education is central in this book.
First, conceptually, education is seen as the backbone of a nation-state. Speaking consistently to
that view, The National Education System explicitly states that education is to develop capacity,
build characters and shape national civilization (Department of National Education, 2003, chapter
II, article 3). Second, more specifically, there has been a political goodwill from the government of
Indonesia which places primacy and resources on education sector. This is evident from the fact
that the Ministry of National Education has received the biggest allocation as compared to other
ministries and departments, or around 17.3% of the National Budget (State Auditor, 2010). Third,
education is the closest issue for us as academics, scholars, and at times students studying
overseas. In line with the spirit of democracy, we want to remove the policy from its pedestal and
make it accessible to the wider community (Ozga, 2000: 2). This intention is the antithesis from the
belief that policy belongs only to the government. On the contrary, we believe that we as
academics, scholars, and students are closely engaged with and directly influenced by educational
policies. This means that being involved in debates about education would advance the
contemporary debates which leave us to re-think and make our own assessment of what counts as
education in Indonesia.

This book takes a critical approach to educational issues in Indonesia. This does not mean
that we are unwelcoming the changes and new trends in the policies and practices of education,
rather we are re-thinking of the concepts, implementations and unintended consequences a policy
might have. Therefore, what counts as education is not merely as how much budget allocated for
education sector, nor simply what trends our education system are following. Rather, it is the
concern about how to reveal unjust problems in education and how to work for a more socially
just education system (Gunter & Fitzgerald, 2009: 307).

With such underlying position, this book presents eight papers which examine issues related
to educational policies and practices: decentralisation, internationalization, one-size-fits-all view of
teaching and learning, and Deaf literacy. All our contributors investigate the bits-and-pieces of what
actually happens in the field and relate them to the bigger picture of the policy. Departing from the
discussion, each of our author humbly recommends what we could do for a more socially just
education system.

Rosdiana Sijabat looks into the current practices of decentralisation of education,

particularly in Bantul district. By historically studying at the districts spending on education, the
programs the local government runs, and the extent of community participation, Sijabat explores
how decentralisation influences the education service delivery in Bantul and wonders whether it
portrays deconcentration, delegation or devolution way of administrative reform. More specifically
on decentralisation, Raihani examines the current practices of School Based Management. He
focuses on the extent of community participation in the primary and secondary schools as one
implication of decentralisation of education. While it is good to see that the community actually
participate in the schools through formal and informal channels and play significant roles in
improving the schools quality; relentless efforts to both sustain and improve the quality of
community participation through training and workshops are needed.

With the second issue, internationalization of education, Sri Soejatminah investigates the
emerging trend of internationalization of higher education in Indonesia. By the initiative proposed
by the DGHE (Directorate General of Higher Education), the government encourages the 50
Promising Universities to achieve international competitiveness, i.e. world-class level. Perceiving
as a strategy to enhance nations competitiveness, the government has provided extensive
supports for internationalisation. Soejatminah argues that although the government supports
internationalization; more strategic steps regarding the improvement of universitys capacity to
engage in the global market place is necessary. At the system level, these could include the
provision of information on the capacity of foreign universities including its national quality
assurance system, the development and implementation of Indonesian Qualifications Framework,
and the inclusion of the assessment on quality of internationalisation programs within the function
of Badan Akreditasi Nasional (National Accreditation Board); while at university level means the
need to conduct quality review of programs on internationalization. At secondary level of schooling,
Anis Sundusiyah looks into the policy of International Standard School (Sekolah Berstandar
Internasional or SBI), and more specifically focuses on the English additive bilingual instruction. Her
paper reveals that the SBI policy aims at advancing students English competence, and therefore
teachers knowledge, skills and dispositions are central to students learning. However, the policy
lacks resources and coherent professional supports to assist bilingual subject teachers. She
recommends the establishment of a focused, coherent partnership for bilingual teachers at local
level, pre-teacher preparation programs with solid bilingual concentration to facilitate generational
flow of qualified teachers, and a thoughtful alignment of financial resources and supports.

The one-size-fits-all solution views that teaching, learning and assessment are generic
therefore it is able to solve educational problems (Smyth & Shacklock, 1998). The corollary of this
view is that it places primacy on the majority and dominant groups, hence the minority and
disadvantaged groups secondary (Fitzgerald, 2009). National examination is one instance. Rahmila
Murtiana advances the debates on national examination and argues that it is reductive to take on
national exam as the sole measurement of passing criterion. Government might take it as the
benchmark of education quality across provinces in Indonesia, nevertheless, Murtiana advocates
that the heterogeneity of social, economic, political and cultural conditions across archipelago
counts and alternative assessments should be provided only if we want to work for a more socially
just education system. Anton Rahmadi, Mohamad Adriyanto, and Irma Istiqamah complement
Rahmilas argument by revealing that the quality of education at remote areas is lower than those
in urban areas or cities. They employ the Human Development Index and teachers conditions in
several districts in East Kalimantan as the indicators of the education quality at remote areas. These
authors are of the same opinion that education at remote areas may lack of resources, such as poor
facilities, inadequate teachers, limited access to lesson materials and technology. In similar vein,
Made Windu Antara Kesimans study shows that in each local area, the community has its own
unique wisdom or culture that should not be neglected or eliminated at the expense of a uniform
national curriculum. The study serves an initiative of a local university lecturer (Kesiman himself)
who incorporates the Balinese cultural system of irrigation during rice cultivation into one of the
case studies in his Computer Operating System course. The system, called Subak, is first explored
through a model analysis. The analysis finds that this religious and social based cultural heritage is
an integrated system similar to a modern computer operating system. Based on this finding, he
then develops novel Subak learning material for his Information Technology students. Interestingly,
the injection of local culture system material enhances students achievement and motivation on
the subject.

Galuh Sukmara, Dinna Damayanthi and Adhi Bharoto are prolific activists for the Deaf. In
their paper, they voice out the silenced issues of Deaf literacy in Indonesia: although it has been
agreed that Sign Language is one primary means to communicate with the Deaf, yet unfortunately
Sign Language is not employed and taught at most schools of the Deaf. They argue that Sign
Language is central in enabling the Deaf students to access knowledge and make sense of the
world. They ground the argument from the empirical data of the bilingual education system
implemented in Matahariku Deaf Center, Yogyakarta.

All of these matters are likely under-researched and the selected articles want to redress the
imbalance in the literature. In the aggregate, this book hopes to invite a critical reading on
education policies and practices as well as to reach out the silenced issues, such as Deaf literacy and
education at the remote areas. This book is one contribution of Indonesian students studying
overseas for education in Indonesia.