Learning of Biographical Writing for Coping with Ethnic Prejudice in a Culturally Diverse Society

<p style="text-align: justify;">The purpose of this paper is to explore if the learning of biographical writing contributes to the positive views and attitudes towards others of different groups. The paper used the Research and Development approach by designing and implementing a learning model of biographical writing. The subjects of this study were 200 seventh-grade students having different ethnic and religious backgrounds from nine junior high schools. The data-collecting method was pretest-posttest. The results of the study demonstrated that the average scores of the aspects of student empathy, student positive attitudes towards ethnic differences, and student positive attitudes towards religious differences increased in all the schools investigated. The increase of average score in the aspect of student empathy, positive attitudes towards ethnic differences, and positive attitudes towards religious differences could be classified into three categories: high, medium, and low. Most of the schools under study experienced medium and low increases of average score in all aspects.</p>

Analisis Kualitas Soal Try-Out Bahasa Inggris SMP di Kota Makassar Berdasarkan Teori Respon Butir

The aim of this study was to describe the quality of English testing intrument used in Try Out National Exam conducted by 40 Junior High Schools in Makassar-Sulawesi Selatan, using Item Response Theory (IRT) especially based on one (1PL), two (2PL), and three (3PL) parameters models. The data consist of 1.267 student’s answer sheets and the test has 50 multiple choice items. Results showed that the test is preferably good at both item difficulty and item dicrimination as suggest by 1PL and 2PL estimation. But at 3PL estimation, the test unable to discriminate students ability, while 38 % of the items were easy to guess.

School Operational Assistance and the Future of Financial Management in the Education Sector

This study aims to analyze the School Operational Assistance and the Future of Financial Management in the Education Sector. The approach used in this research is a qualitative method with a descriptive course. The types of data used in this research are primary and secondary data. Preliminary data were obtained from in-depth interviews and questionnaires with informants through purposive sampling technique; the respondents in this research were 65 people, including school administrators and school committees. At the same time, secondary data is obtained from the literature study to acquire and build an abstraction about the research objectives and data support so that general conclusions can be made to specific. This research is conducted on Junior High Schools in West Jakarta, which received School Operational Assistance funds. Based on the results of data analysis, it can be concluded that Junior High Schools in West Jakarta in terms of planning, implementation, and accountability indicators are in the very effective category. This is due to the school's financial management that applies three main strategies, namely Strategic Planning, Strategic Management, and Strategic Thinking.

DESAIN MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN MATEMATIKA TOPIK FAKTOR PERSEKUTUAN TERBESAR (FPB) BERBASIS APLIKASI SCRATCH

The purpose of this study was to describe the results of research on the design of Scratch-based learning media on the topic of the Greatest Commonwealth Factor (FPB). This study uses the Multimedia Development Life Cycle (MDLC) development model through six stages, namely concept, design, collecting, assembly, testing, and distribution. Furthermore, to find out the student's response to the media that has been designed so that a research instrument is used in the form of a questionnaire via Google Form and given in 2021. Research participants are students at one of the junior high schools in the city of Bekasi, West Java. Based on the results of the study, it is known that the learning media for the topic of FPB mathematics can be well designed through the MDLC development model through six stages. In addition, it is known that the student's response to the media that has been designed is positive. Thus the need for further research including game design on different topics.

Gambaran Sarana dan Prasarana Bimbingan dan Konseling pada Sekolah Menengah Negeri di Indonesia

The implementation of effective guidance and counselling services requires adequate facilities and infrastructure in accordance with national standards in Permendikbud No 111 of 2014 regarding guidance and counselling in secondary education in Indonesia. This study aims to describe the condition of the facilities and infrastructure for guidance and counselling in state secondary school; junior and senior state high school in Indonesia. The method used is the survey model. The research data were collected from 65 State Senior High Schools, 25 State Vocational High Schools and 58 State Junior High Schools spread over 71 districts/cities in 18 provinces in Indonesia. The instrument used a semi-open questionnaire adopted from Permendikbud No. 111 of 2014 regarding guidance and counselling in primary and secondary education. The results of the study showed as many as 4.68% of state senior high schools and 8.77% of state junior high schools did not have a counselling room. A total of 20.31% of state senior high schools, 58.82% of state vocational high schools, and 52.63% of state junior high schools did not have special room for individual counselling. A total of 10.93% of state high schools, 52.94% of state vocational high schools and 21.05% of state junior high schools did not have living room. A total of 39.06% of state senior high schools, 64.70% of state vocational high schools, and 64.91% of state junior high schools did not have group guidance and counselling rooms. A total of 31.25% of state senior high schools, 35.29% of state vocational high schools, and 59.64% of state junior high schools did not have data room. As many as 31.25% of state senior high schools, 82.35% of state vocational high schools, and 73.68% did not have library display room (bibliocounseling). This study revealed that the facilities and infrastructure for guidance and counseling in state secondary schools in Indonesia do not in accordance with the minimum standards issued in Permendikbud No. 111 of 2014. The implementation of effective and efficient guidance and counselling services requires facilities and infrastructure that corresponds with the minimum standards. Based on this study results, it is anticipated the stakeholders of guidance and counselling services, especially in education sections in Indonesia, would pay attention and provide the minimum standard of guidance and counselling facilities and infrastructure.

PENGARUH KEPEMIMPINAN KEPALA SEKOLAH, KELENGKAPAN SARANA PRASARANA SEKOLAH DAN KOMITMEN ORGANISASI TERHADAP KINERJA GURU SMP SE-KECAMATAN BALOCCI KABUPATEN PANGKEP

Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian eksplanatori dengan menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif. Pemilihan jenis penelitian ini agar dapat dijelaskan secara deskriptif hubungan yang terjadi antara variabel, sehingga diperoleh pengertian yang mendalam tentang objek yang diteliti. Terdapat tiga definisi operasional variabel yaitu(1). Kepemimpinan Kepala Sekolah (X1), (2) Sarana Prasarana (X2) (3) Komitmen Organisai (X3) merupakan orientasi nilai terhadap organisasi yang menunjukkan bahwa seorang guru sangat memikirkan dan mengutamakan pekerjaan dan sekolah tempat tugasnya. Variabel komitmen akan diukur dari indikator (1) Affective Commitment, (2) Continuance Commitment dan (3) Normative Comitment dan (4) Kinerja Guru (Y). Populasi dari penelitian ini adalah seluruh SMP Negeri dan swasta di kabupaten Pangkep. Instrumen yang digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data mengenai ketiga variabel penelitian yaitu kepemimpinan kepala sekolah (X1), sarana prasarana (X2), komitmen organisasi (X3) dan kinerja guru (Y) adalah kuesioner. Kuesioner ditujukkan untuk seluruh guru di SMP di Kecamatan Balocci. Metode pengumpulan data yang dilakukan dalam penelitian ini adalah dengan memberikan kuesioner kepada responden penelitian. Berdasarkan hasil analisis data dan pembahasan disimpulkan sebagai berikut: (1) Terdapat pengaruh signifikan kepemimpinan kepala sekolah terhadap kinerja guru SMP se-Kecamatan Balocci. (2) Terdapat pengaruh signifikankelengkapan sarana prasarana sekolah terhadap kinerja guru SMP se-Kecamatan Balocci. (3) Terdapat pengaruh signifikan komitmen organisasi terhadap kinerja guru SMP se-Kecamatan Balocci. (4) Terdapat pengaruh bersama yang signifikan anatara kepemimpinan kepala, kelengkapan sarana prasarana sekolah dan komitmen organisasi terhadap kinerja guru SMP se-Kecamatan Balocci. This research is an explanatory research using a quantitative approach. Selection of this type of research in order to describe descriptively the relationship that occurs between variables, in order to obtain an in-depth understanding of the object under study. There are three operational definitions of variables, namely (1). Principal Leadership (X1), (2) Infrastructure (X2) (3) Organizational Commitment (X3) is a value orientation towards the organization which shows that a teacher really thinks about and prioritizes work and the school where he is assigned. The commitment variable will be measured from the indicators (1) Affective Commitment, (2) Continuance Commitment and (3) Normative Commitment and (4) Teacher Performance (Y). The population of this study were all public and private junior high schools in Pangkep district. The instrument used to collect data on the three research variables, namely the principal's leadership (X1), infrastructure (X2), organizational commitment (X3) and teacher performance (Y) was a questionnaire. The questionnaire was addressed to all teachers in junior high schools in Balocci District. The data collection method used in this study was to provide questionnaires to research respondents. Based on the results of data analysis and discussion, it is concluded as follows: (1) There is a significant influence of principal's leadership on the performance of junior high school teachers in Balocci District. (2) There is a significant effect of completeness of school infrastructure on the performance of junior high school teachers in Balocci District. (3) There is a significant effect of organizational commitment on the performance of junior high school teachers in Balocci District. (4) There is a significant joint influence between the leadership of the head, the completeness of school infrastructure and organizational commitment to the performance of junior high school teachers in Balocci District.

Philippines teachers’ beliefs on digital teaching competence in post-pandemic recovery: Still prefer online?

As the effect of school closure following the coronavirus lockdowns, the use of virtual classrooms has extremely rocketed to replace face-to-face school interaction. This change has resulted in new habits and adaptation in methods and approaches of teaching, particularly in the era of post pandemic recovery. This study is based on the phenomena occurred in most of school environments where digital (online) teaching practices become a new habit for teachers and students. A question that may arise is “do they still prefer online after the pandemic?” Drawing on this issue, this study aims to examine the beliefs of Philippines junior high schools teachers on digital teaching competence and to explore their preferences on teaching methods (online or offline) in post pandemic recovery. This study utilized a discovery-oriented qualitative approach, bridging into personal narrative and ethnographic perspective by involving twelve teachers teaching at several junior high schools in Davao Philippines. The results revealed that the teachers’ beliefs mattered in terms of digital platforms (tools) and classroom activities. The results further depicted that their acquisition of digital teaching competence greatly depended on teacher professional development programs and individual trainings. Moreover, this study also discussed the teachers’ preferences on the model of teaching either online or offline after the schools is opened. The results of this study contribute to providing valuable insights into redefining the situation of teaching and learning process in the era of post pandemic recovery.

A Study of Noun Phrase Awareness at the Eighth Graders of Two Islamic Junior High Schools in Makassar

Syntactic awareness has been linked to reading comprehension skills. In Junior high schools, syntactic awareness of noun phrases can be very important for the students in the Indonesian context because it can improve their reading comprehension. However, teaching noun phrases for the students can be challenging due to the grammar difference. The junior high school student’s noun phrase awareness was measured using a developed test. It consists of 28 questions with seven noun categories. The reliability test was conducted using KR-20 and the result was .90. The study indicated the average score of the students was 69.07 (fair). Of the seven noun phrases category, nominal possessors and conjoined noun phrases were good, prenominal possessors, multiple genitive constructs, alienable and inalienable possessions, and ad-positional phrases were fair, and nonreferential generative was weak. Referring to the result of the research, it is suggested to improve the student’s noun phrase awareness to enhance their reading comprehension.

Four C’s Skills Integration in the Lesson Plans of Grade 7 English Teacher

Four C skills’ integration in English curriculum has been investigated in recent years. Unfortunately, those studies focused on the integration of 4Cs in lesson plans carried out in elementary schools. Thus, this research aimed to analyze how the 4C skills were implemented in English lesson plans of 7th grade. The data were collected through content analysis on ten lesson plans of public and private junior high schools in Jakarta and Bekasi. It was found that all analyzed lesson plans have incorporated the 4Cs skills; communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. However, there were indicators of each skill that more dominantly appeared in a certain topic or were seen not to be incorporated in any examined lesson plans. In addition, teachers mostly incorporated the 4Cs skills in the learning activity and assessment. Although all the analyzed lesson plans have integrated 4Cs, the fulfilment of the indicators of each skill still needed to be improved. These findings are expected to be a recommendation for educators especially English teachers in designing lesson plans which integrated the 4C skills as the keys to a lifetime of learning and creative work as the current world of work is required leads to the need for integration of 4Cs in the classroom.

Strategies to Improve Education Quality at Junior High Schools

This study aimed to introduce education practitioners and the general public to the strategies that schools have undertaken to improve the quality of education. This research used qualitative methods to explore existing phenomena. The research was conducted at one of the junior high schools in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews whose questions were developed after being in the field. The data were processed using qualitative data analysis techniques. Source triangulation was carried out with three teachers. The results showed that there were strategies that were considered effective in improving the quality of education. This quality improvement was indicated by the good student output and the trust of the community who considered the school to be one of their favorite schools in the area; through this quality improvement, the school became an example for others. Some of the strategies that were considered effective were implementing student-centered learning, increasing the number of high achieving new student admissions, strengthening human resources, providing educational rewards, and learning outside the classroom. Keywords: junior high school, education quality improvement