Indonesian Favourite Islamic Curriculum Model Based on Cultural Perspective

This article describes a favorite Islamic school curriculum model that is different from other conventional school curricula. Based on the superior curriculum, the aim of this research was to determine the model and implementation of the leading Islamic school curriculum - MTs Negeri Model Pandeglang, SMP Islam Al-AzharSerang, and SMPIT Raudlotul Jannah Cilegon - and to create a comparison of the model and implementation of the curriculum. This study used a qualitative method with a case study research design. The leading curriculum studied were the different curriculum between the three leading Islamic schools. Semi-structured interviews, observation, and documentation were used to collect data. Data were analyzed qualitatively using the Miles and Huberman procedure.The results of the study found a model curriculum better than the previous curriculum, improved by 50%. The superior school curriculum model tends to highlight content that is characteristic (13%), superior in objectives (12%), creative in approach (7%), precise and thorough in evaluation (8%), and has high quality implementation (10%). The conclusion is that the superior school curriculum model has high quality characteristics in accordance with school goals. Because the leading schools have different curricula, quality characteristics are a distinguishing factor from other conventional schools. This curriculum model is implemented optimally and has a high quality in curriculum content, methods, and evaluation of learning. This superior curriculum is effective for improving learning and can be applied in any school.

Professional Guidance and Counselling Services for Open and Distance Learning Students in Nigeria Authors

Counselling services are common features in conventional school settings and are designed to help students resolve personal and academic issues, explore career options and attend to their social needs. It is of great concern that these services are absent in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programmes, although the peculiar nature of the programmes reveals the urgent need for them. ODL students should be able to access guidance and counselling services just as their counterparts in the conventional school setting. The main focus of this article is to point out the relevance of professional guidance and counselling services in ODL programmes in Nigeria. An in-depth description of these services and the benefits ODL students can derive from accessing them is presented. In addition, the authors adapted a conceptual model to accentuate the expected output of professional counselling services. The purpose of this model is to present a clear explanation of the fact that adequate provision of professional counselling services will lead to the improved school, workplace and family environment. It is expected that this will lead to good behaviour and improved academic performance, invariably creating a safe school, out of school and workplace environment for ODL students. Recommendations include the creation of awareness programmes through online seminars and workshops to educate ODL students on various ways to access guidance and counselling services.

From classrooms to Centres: Mary and David Medd’s contribution to postwar school design in Britain

This paper reports on the primary school design processes carried out around the 1940s in the County of Hertfordshire in Great Britain, which later evolved into innovative strategies developed by Mary and David Medd in the Ministry of Education from the late 1950s. The whole process, undertaken during more than three decades, reveals a way of breaking with the traditional spatial conception of a school. The survey of the period covered has allowed an in-depth understanding of how learning spaces could be transformed by challenging the conventional school model of closed rooms, suggesting a new way of understanding learning spaces as a group of Centres rather than classrooms. Historians have thoroughly shown the ample scope of this process, which involved many professionals, fostering a true cross-disciplinary endeavour where the curriculum and the learning spaces were developed in close collaboration. A selection of schools built in the county has been used to typologically analyse how architectural changes began to arise and later flourished at the Ministry of Education. The Medds had indeed a significant role through the development of a design process known as the Built-in variety and the Planning Ingredients. A couple of examples will clarify some of these strategies, revealing how the design of educational space could successfully respond to an active way of learning.

Teachers' perceptions of integrating kindergarten and first-grade primary school language curricula

The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the perceptions of kindergarten teachers and first-grade primary school teachers on the integration of kindergarten and first-grade of primary school language curricula. This research is part of a broader study of the relation between natural/early and conventional/school literacy, the teachers' perceptions of the possibility of integration of language curricula, as well as practices resulting from the study of curricula. The data were collected through a questionnaire sample of 326 kindergarten teachers and 306 teachers who were teaching at the time of this study the first-grade of primary school in two Greek prefectures. Research data has shown that first-grade teachers appear to be more positive than kindergarten teachers towards integrating the two curricula. Both kindergarten teachers and first-grade teachers seem to partially agree with the creation of a curriculum with common goals and objectives. Nevertheless kindergarten teachers appear more hesitant, expressing their concerns and fears of a potential “schoolarization” of the kindergarten.

Aksesibilitas Pada Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Swasta Di Kota Banjarmasin

Indonesia is one of the countries that respects the human rights of its citizens. Based on the fundamental constitutional mandate that education is the right of every citizen without exception, one of the indicators is that educational institutions must open opportunities for every citizen. This study aims to evaluate the existing educational facilities in the city of Banjarmasin, precisely some private Islamic Elementary School (MIS). The method in this research is descriptive qualitative. This method aims to describe the situation as a whole and thoroughly related to the selected object. The results of research related to accessibility for people with disabilities still cannot be seen in some of MIS choosen as the object of this study. The results of this study get the fact that all research objects are not friendly to people with dissabilities, such as conventional school steps. Even though the rule of laws is complete, but in fact, the implementation of these laws still encountered some problems until now. Accessibility for disability is one indicator as a child-friendly school, so, hopefully this research will be a piece of initial information for stakeholders in the Ministry of Religion in improving the quality of essential Islamic education services.

Holistic education – a model based on three pillars from cognitive science. An example from science education

In this conceptual article we present a modular model of holistic education. Within this approach, an educational activity (and a child’s learning that derives from it) can be characterized in three dimensions: 1) safety, inclusion and participation; 2) interaction, cognition and representation; and 3) affective action leading to imagination and creativity. A holistic approach nurturing the full cognitive development of a child requires going beyond what a conventional school offers, but still presumes designed but liberating processes. We provide a neurobiological argument for holistic education supported by evidence for the featured three dimensions of holistic education along with illustrative examples.

THE ACOUSTIC QUALITY OF SEKOLAH ALAM CLASSROOM (CASE: SEKOLAH ALAM IN BANDUNG)

ABSTRACT Sekolah Alam (The Nature School) is a new concept of school in Indonesia that divide its learning process, both indoor and outdoor. As it needs more outdoor space for learning activity, this type of school has larger yards yet smaller classroom compared to conventional school. As it is still new, no previous study has been done to understand the relation between space dimensions, building material, and surroundings to this school classroom acoustic quality. Therefore, this journal studied acoustic quality by calculating Reverberation Time (RT60) and measuring Background noise value of one typical class of Sekolah Alam in Bandung. Reverberation Time (RT60) was calculated using space dimensions and materials that exist within the studied classroom, while the background noise value was measured using Data Logging Sound Level Meter (SLM). The results indicate that the studied class has an ideal acoustic quality for learning activity. The main factors that affected these results are the classroom has a small size in volume and surrounded by lush trees which work as noise controls. Keywords: Reverberation Time; Background Noise; Sekolah Alam; Nature School; Classroom; Elementary School

Pushed or Pulled Out? The Racialization of School Choice in Black and White Mothers’ (Home) Schooling Decisions for Their Children

Homeschooling is an increasingly common schooling option for middle-class black families yet is often overlooked in research on race and education. Drawing on interviews with 67 middle-class black and white mothers living in one northeastern metropolitan area—half of whom homeschool, while the other half enroll their children in conventional school—the author examines how race influences mothers’ decisions to homeschool or conventional school. The findings show that mothers’ schooling explanations reflect their experiences as shaped by the racial hierarchy constituted in schools. Black mothers respond to a push out of conventional schools on the basis of their children’s experiences of racial discrimination. In contrast, white mothers respond to a pull out of conventional schools to individualize their children’s academic programs. Building on racialized organizations and critical race theory, these findings elucidate how the formal structure of schools is racialized in ways that constrain black mothers’ agency, while enabling the agency of white mothers to activate school choice. The findings underscore how homeschooling, often assumed to be race neutral, is racialized in ways that reproduce inequalities under school choice and appears to redress discrimination in schools.

IEQ Field Investigation in High-Performance, Urban Elementary Schools

School buildings are one of the most commonly occupied building types for children, second only to their homes. Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is an ongoing issue in schools, especially in urban environments where students are exposed to higher levels of outdoor pollutants. To examine this issue, five elementary school buildings located in a major city on the East Coast of the United States were selected for one-week of quantitative IEQ measurements, with a satisfaction survey collected from teachers at the selected schools. The schools included three high-performance schools, one recently renovated school, and one conventional school. Despite building designers and operators following the recommendations of current high-performance design standards, the three high-performance school buildings did not have measurably better IEQ than the renovated and conventional school buildings, nor were they perceived as better based on the satisfaction survey. This indicates that current high-performance design standards may not place enough emphasis on reducing health-related pollutants in urban schools.