No Sinecure Acting as Public Intellectual in Education

The author has earlier made a plea for educators acting as public intellectuals in society to counteract still influential neo-liberal tendencies in educational policies and practices. Against emphases on overstretched attention for measurable output and accountability in education, the aim of education in schools is formulated in terms of holistic personhood formation. Interviewing three educators in different phases of their carrier, it becomes clear that working in academia nowadays it is no sinecure to act as a public intellectual. The author also presents his own experiences in different roles, and makes clear that the instructional niche one is working in could be of utmost importance for really taking that role. To realize a change, it is, according the author, necessary to stop with too much focus on highly cited publications in academic journals, and on individual researchers instead of on research groups working collectively together in joint research programs and with societal partners.

Manajemen sistem informasi e-budgeting pada Sekolah Menengah Atas Negeri di Kota Yogyakarta

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk: 1.) Mendeskripsikan mengenai manajemen sistem informasi (SI) e-budgeting di Sekolah Menengah Atas Negeri (SMAN) di Kota Yogyakarta; dan 2.) Menganalisis keunggulan dan hambatan dalam manajemen SI e-budgeting di SMAN di Kota Yogyakarta. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif dengan jenis studi kasus. Penelitian dilaksanakan di SMAN di wilayah Kota Yogyakarta. Subjek penelitian meliputi kepala sekolah, bendahara dan admin e-budgeting. Penelitian juga dilakukan pada Dinas Pendidikan Pemuda dan Olahraga, Balai Pendidikan Menengah Kota Yogyakarta, dan Dinas Pendidikan Kota Yogyakarta. Data dikumpulkan melalui teknik wawancara, observasi dan studi dokumen. Analisis data menggunakan model analisis data Creswell. Teknik keabsahan data penelitian menggunakan teknik triangulasi dan menggunakan bahan referensi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan sistem e-budgeting baru diterapkan pada jenjang SMAN sederajat. Perencanaan mengikuti pola penyusunan RKAS. Pengorganisasian meliputi pengerahan staf dan adanya pelatihan. Sistem ini berfungsi untuk mengelola dana BOS dan APBD. Pengawasan dilakukan oleh kepala sekolah dan dinas terkait. Terdapat keunggulan dan hambatan dalam implementasi e-budgeting. E-budgeting berperan dalam meningkatkan transparansi dan akuntabilitas pembiayaan pendidikan. AbstractThis study aims to: 1.) Describe the management of information systems (IS) e-budgeting at State High Schools (SMAN) in Yogyakarta City; and 2.) Analyze the advantages and obstacles in the management of SI e-budgeting at SMAN in Yogyakarta City. This research is a qualitative study with a case study type. This research was conducted at SMAN in the Yogyakarta City area. Research subjects include the principal, treasurer, and admin e-budgeting. The research was also conducted at the Youth and Sports Education Office, Yogyakarta City Secondary Education Center, and the Yogyakarta City Education Office. Data collected through interview techniques, observation, and study of documents. Data analysis uses Creswell's data analysis model. The validity of the research data using triangulation techniques and using reference materials. The results showed that the new e-budgeting system was applied at the same level of high school. Planning follows the RKAS preparation pattern. Organizing includes staff deployment and training. This system functions to manage BOS and APBD funds. Supervision is carried out by principals and related agencies. There are advantages and obstacles in implementing e-budgeting. E-budgeting plays a role in increasing transparency and accountability in education funding.

Toward a Framework for Public Accountability in Education Reform

Public accountability through information disclosure is a pillar of modern education reform efforts. Despite the ubiquity of this approach, we argue that public accountability in education is undertheorized and often predictably unlikely to achieve its intended policy goals. Drawing on examples from an equity-oriented court case in California and the literatures on democratic engagement and parent use of school performance data, we propose a framework for thinking about the design of public accountability systems in education. The framework could provide guidance for policymakers considering new efforts at improving schools through the production and dissemination of educational data.

Constructivist Grounded Theory Practice in Accountability Research

This article offers the application of constructivist grounded theory in inquiring dimensions of accountability in education. The classical version of grounded theory, which was aligned with the positivist epistemology, has been well discussed in qualitative research. However, the constructivist version of grounded theorizing concerning education has not been adequately articulated in the existing literature. In response to this methodological gap, this paper discusses the canons of constructivist grounded theory in reference to inquiring school actors’ accountability for service delivery in education. The paper draws empirical evidence from the author’s study conducted in the context of community schools in Nepal. The paper argues that theory construction in constructivist grounded theory design is accomplished through the interaction of both data-indicated and extant theoretical concepts by integrating inductive, abductive and deductive reasoning during various stages of the inquiry. The paper also argues that, in constructivist grounded theory, it is not the data saturation as such but the level of researcher’s satisfaction where the grounded theorizing terminates. The paper concludes that the constructivist epistemology of grounded theorizing is useful in addressing the localized understanding of accountability in the decentralized context of education governance in Nepal.

Seeking Theoretical Common Ground: An Integrative Framework of Understanding Accountability for Service Delivery in the Community School in Nepal

Existing literature provides ample evidence on how people understand accountability in different contexts. However, little attention has been paid on the integration of various theoretical perspectives about understanding accountability for education service delivery. Discussing theoretical premises against the empirical evidence from the community schools of Nepal, this article explores common ground of various theoretical perspectives about understanding school actors' accountability. It provides a framework for understanding accountability by integrating the ancient principle of 'karma-yoga' and modern theoretical ingredients of structure-agency and knowledge-power. The article argues that both ancient and modern streams of theoretical perspectives are not mutually exclusive rather they share a common ground of process-based accountability which is embedded in broader concept of responsibility. Finally, the paper contributes to existing literature of accountability in education arguing that the school head’s agency rather than working structure of the school played a significant role in creating an accountable space between the school head and other actors in the community school.