A-1 DEEP LEARNING AND ACADEMIC LITERACY - PPS Unnes ...

[Ranbir Singh Malik] A-1 

DEEP LEARNING AND ACADEMIC LITERACY— 

HOW THEY WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO CHARACTER BUILDING? 

Prof. Ranbir Singh Malik 

ranbir@upi.edu 

ABSTRACT 

This paper focuses on three vital issues and challenges our educational institutions are facing 

today: Learning approaches, academic literacy and character building. With the emergence of 

modern technology, mode of teaching and learning has been undergoing big changes and the 

domain of academic literacy has spread beyond reading and writing. The character of future 

citizens has to be defined in terms of their ability to show mutual understanding, tolerance and 

compassion for coexistence as well as moral human beings, savvy in handling modern 

technology and its ethical and legal implications for modern living. 

Key Words: deep learning, academic literacy, character building 

INTRODUCTION 

Twenty first century represents an era of information revolution, where the strength of a nation 

is to be determined by the quality of human resources. It has begun as an era of knowledge 

management, information technology revolution and globalization. Knowing how we learn, 

knowing how to turn information into knowledge, and knowing how to document and analyse 

life-long learning are essential in the 21 st century because of the major changes around the 

globe. To enhance students‟ chances for employability they need to be equipped with skills to 

handle the complexity of modern world where education plays the key role in everyday living. 

Technological changes at an unprecedented rate during the past few decades have touched 

and transformed every aspect of our living style. The power of information technology doubles 

every 18 months (Garreau, 2005). By 2020 computers will be embedded everywhere-in our 

walls, tables, desks, clothing and bodies. People will communicate with one group of these 

computers-called intelligent assistants.... of all the total computing capacity of the human race- 

all human brains, plus the technology the species has created-10% will be non-human.... By 

2009 of all the total computing power of the human race-all human brains plus all the 

technology that the species has created-more than 99% will be non-human (Kurzweil, 2005, 

p.17). During the past three decades the pace of technology has made an enormous impact 

on the practice of teaching and learning. With increased use of technology in education and 

expectations from the stakeholders, teachers are expected to demonstrate that they are 

International Seminar Proceeding, Postgraduate Semarang State University 2012 1


making difference in student outcomes. These unprecedented technological and social 

changes put pressure on our educational institutions to prepare the challenges of the new era 

human race has entered. “ What we must be educating students to know is how to learn, how 

to turn information that is now so accessible and ubiquitous into knowledge and how to 

document and analyse their own learning” (Cambridge, 2006, p.4). Teaching quality and 

maintenance of standards are under greater pressure than ever before. While the developed 

countries have already achieved literacy rate above 95%, the developing countries are still 

way behind in terms of not only providing education for all but the quality of education they 

offer to their citizens. Many universities in Southeast Asia such as Japan, South Korea, 

Singapore and Malaysia have improved their teaching practices. Cramming students into large 

lecture halls is no longer good enough to create positive learning and critical thinking. 

Teaching training and teaching learning practices have come under close scrutiny in an effort 

to create a better literate society to handle the challenges of 21 st century. 

HOW STUDENTS LEARN 

Student learning research originated with Marton and Saljo‟s (1976a, 1976b) studies of 

surface and deep learning. They gave students a text to read and told them they would be 

asked questions afterwards. Students responded in two different ways. The first group learned 

in anticipation of questions, concentrating anxiously on the facts and details that might be 

asked. They „skated along the surface of the text‟ (Marton and Saljo, 1976a), using surface 

approach to learning. These students remembered disjointed facts, and did not comprehend 

the point the author was making. The second group on the other hand, set out to understand 

the meaning of what the author was trying to say. They went below the surface of the text to 

interpret the meaning, using deep approach. They saw the big picture and how the facts and 

details made the author‟s case. Similar findings about students‟ approaches to learning have 

been reported in the United Kingdom (Entwistle and Ramsden, 1983) and Australia (Biggs, 

1979, 1987a). 

Education is about conceptual change, not just the acquisition of information. Such 

conceptual change takes place when (a) it is clear to both teachers and students what the 

intended outcome of teaching are; (b) students experience the felt need to get there; (c) 

students feel free to focus on the task; (d) students work collaboratively and in dialogue with 

others. 



How effectively teachers teach depends upon what they think about teaching. Many 

internal and external factors affect the development of children‟s academic and functional 

literacy skills. Children‟s feelings about learning and how they perceive themselves in 

academic learning are related to teachers‟ relationship with students and their style of 

teaching. Students may use inappropriate or low level activities, resulting in a surface 

approach to learning. They may use high level activities to achieve the intended outcomes 

resulting in deep approach to learning. Good teaching supports appropriate learning activities 

and discourages inappropriate ones. 

Surface Approach 

The surface approach arises from an intention to get the task out of the way with minimum 

trouble, while appearing to meet course requirements. Low cognitive-level activities are used, 

when higher level activities are required to do the task properly. Examples of surface learning 

include rote learning selected content instead of understanding it, using secondary references 

as they were primary ones. However, verbatim recall is sometimes entirely appropriate, such 

as learning lines for a play, acquiring vocabulary or learning formulae. Memorisation becomes 

a surface approach when understanding is required and memorisation is used to give the 

impression that understanding has occurred. Biggs (2007) identifies the following factors 

which encourage students about surface learning: 

When student intends to achieve a minimal pass. 

When non-academic priorities exceed academic ones. 

When students have insufficient time; too high a workload. 

When students have a cynical view of education. 

When students have high level of anxiety. 

When there is a genuine inability to understand particular content at a deep level. 

From the teacher side 

When teaching piecemeal by bullet list, not bringing out the intrinsic structure to the 

topic. 

Assessing for independent facts, inevitably the case when using short-answer and 

multiple choice tests. 



Teaching and especially assessing in a way that encourages cynicism. For example, 

when a teacher says, “I hate teaching this section, and you are going to hate learning 

it, but we have to cover it”. 

Providing insufficient time to engage the task; emphasizing coverage at the expense 

of depth. 

Creating undue anxiety or low expectations of success: „Anyone who can‟t understand 

this isn‟t fit to be at university. 

However, even under the best teaching some students will still maintain a surface 

approach. It is probably less likely that under poor teaching students will maintain a deep 

approach. The first step in improving teaching, then, is to avoid those factors that encourage 

surface learning. 

Deep Approach 

The deep approach arises from a felt need to engage the task appropriately, so the student 

tries to use the most appropriate cognitive activities for handling it. When the students feel this 

need-to know, they automatically try to focus on underlying meanings, on main ideas, themes, 

principles and successful applications. When using deep approach in handling a task, 

students have positive feelings, interest, and sense of importance. Factors that encourage 

students to adopt deep learning include: 

From the students’ side 

An intention to engage the task meaningfully and appropriately. Such an intention 

may arise from an intrinsic curiosity or from a determination to do well. 

Appropriate background knowledge. 

The ability to focus at a high conceptual level, working from first principles, which in 

turn requires a well-structured knowledge base. 

A genuine preference, and ability, for working conceptually, rather than with unrelated 

detail. 

From the teacher side 

Teaching in such a way as to explicitly bring out the structure of the topic or subject. 

Teaching to elicit an active response from students, e.g. by questioning presenting 

problems, rather than teaching to expound information. 



Teaching by building on what students already know. 

Confronting and eradicating students‟ misconceptions. 

Assessing for structure rather than for independent facts. 

Teaching and assessing in a way that encourages a positive working atmosphere so 

students can make mistakes and learn from them. 

Emphasizing depth of learning, rather than breadth of coverage. 

Using teaching and assessment methods that support the explicit aims and intended 

outcomes of the course. 

Encouraging the need to know, instilling curiosity, building on students‟ prior 

knowledge are all things that teachers can attempt for enhancing deep learning. Desirable 

student learning depends both on student-based factors-ability, appropriate prior knowledge, 

clearly accessible new knowledge-and on the teacher context, which includes teacher 

responsibility, informed decision-making and good management. But the bottom line is that 

teachers will have to work with students they have. While lectures and tutorials might have 

worked when students tended to bring their deep approaches with them, they may not work so 

well today. It is important to focus on those factors that encourage a deep approach. 

Biggs (1989) suggested a third approach to learning: strategic approach. In the 

strategic approach students‟ intention is to get the highest possible grades mainly through 

organization and management of themselves and the course material to meet the assessment 

criteria. 

Difference between Learning Approaches and Learning Styles 

Some people speak of students‟ approaches to learning as if they were learning styles 

students use whatever the task or the teaching (Schmeck, 1988); others speak of approaches 

as entirely determined by context, as if students walk into learning situation without any 

preference for their way of going about learning (Marton and Saljo, 1976a). Biggs (1990) 

suggests a middle position. Students do have preferences for this or that approach, but those 

preferences may or may not be realized in practice, depending on the teaching context. We 

are dealing with an interaction between personal and contextual factors, not unlike the 

interaction between heredity and environment. Both factors apply, but which predominates 

depends on particular situations. 



When using a deep approach, students use full range of desired learning activities; 

they memorise formulae, but move from there to applying these formulae to new examples. 

Surface learning has to be discouraged and deep learning has to be encouraged. 

Teaching for deep learning requires that we eliminate those aspects of our teaching 

that encourage surface approach to learning and that we set the stage properly so that 

students can more readily use deep approaches to learning. This involves setting students to 

agree that appropriate task engagement is a good and impelling idea (otherwise known as 

„motivation’), and establishing the kind of climate that will optimize appropriate interactions 

with students. An appropriate aspect to effective teaching is reflective practice, using 

transformative reflection, which enables teachers to create an improved teaching environment 

suited to their task. 

Getting Students Involved: Motivation 

Teaching for deep learning teacher‟s task is to maximize the chances for all students to be 

motivated. The best sort of motivation arises from intrinsic interest. Nobody wants to do 

something they see as worthless. Neither do they want to do something, however valued, if 

they believe they have no chance of succeeding. In both cases, doing the task will be seen as 

waste of time. This commonsense theory of why students do or do not want to learn is called 

expectancy-value theory of motivation which says that if anyone is to engage in an activity, 

s/he needs both to value the outcome and to expect success in achieving (Feather, 1982). 

The high value and expectancy of success both need to be present: if either one is zero, then 

no motivation activity occurs. Expectancy value theory is particularly relevant in the early 

stage of learning before interest has developed to carry continuing engagement along with it. 

With a history of successful engagement with content that is personally meaningful, 

the student both builds up the knowledge base needed for deep learning and motivationally, 

develops the expectations that give confidence in future success, which psychologists call 

self-efficacy or ownership: „I am sure I can do this, this is the type of the things I like doing‟. 

Expectations of success are instilled on the basis of previous success. Westerners differ 

significantly from Chinese in their attributions for success and failure. Westerners tend to see 

success as being attributable more to ability than to effort, while ethnic Chinese see effort as 

more important. This is possibly one reason that Chinese students do so well in international 

comparisons of attainment (Watkins and Biggs, 1996). 



Teacher feedback has powerful effects on students‟ expectations of success. 

Feedback as to progress also encourages beliefs in future success, which again is easier with 

criterion-referenced assessment: „This is what you did, this is what you might have done, this 

is how to get a better result‟. Children who have strong belief in their own abilities, good goal 

setting strategies, self-motivation and educational ambitions are more likely to be successful 

academically than those who do not have these beliefs. McLean describes the characteristics 

of highly motivated students: 

Motivation for learning comes ideally from inside. Self-motivation is a door that can 

only be unlocked from the inside. Students are on the lookout for information about the self 

that shapes their thoughts that, in turn, are main driving forces behind their approach to 

learning (p.1230....Successful students have a capacity to work hard and show a determined 

single-mindedness and strong commitment to their activities. They enjoy high intrinsic 

motivation and are deeply absorbed in their activities. They are sure about what they want to 

do and have a clear and strong sense of control and direction. They are free from any feeling 

of inferiority, are able to keep persisting however frustrating the task and so, crucially cope 

well with failure and setbacks. They are high in self-efficacy beliefs (2004, pp. 127-128). 

Extrinsic motivation occurs when students do a task because of the value or 

importance they attach to what the outcome brings. The quality of learning is surfacial under 

extrinsic conditions. In surface learning students‟ attention is not so much on the task as on its 

consequences. Such extrinsic motivation is a standing invitation to students to adopt surface 

learning approach. Social motivation occurs when students learn in order to please people 

whose opinions are important to them. If the purpose of studying, or the fruits of good 

education, is valued by other people important to the student, education may take on an 

intrinsic importance to the student. This is evident particularly in many Asian families who 

have high regard for education. Children with such family background are likely to accept that 

education is a good thing to be pursued without question. Intrinsic motivation is the academic 

ideal teachers should strive for to develop in their students. University teachers are in a good 

position to be seen as models, especially in one-to-one situation of dissertation supervision. In 

intrinsic motivation the point is to travel rather than to arrive. Intrinsic motivation drives deep 

learning and the best academic work. It increases with continuing successful engagement with 

a specific task. The key to motivation is to ensure that academic activities are meaningful and 



worthwhile. This is made very clear in problem-based learning, where real-life problems 

become the context in which students learn academic content and professional skills. 

Teachers create a certain learning climate through formal and informal interactions 

with students, which establishes how we and our students feel about learning. This naturally 

has strong effects on students‟ learning. A characteristic of award-winning university teachers 

is their willingness to collect student feedback on their teaching, in order to see where their 

teaching might be improved (Dunkin and Percians, 1992). Expert teachers continually reflect 

on how they might teach even better. Reflective practice can be formally encouraged and 

directed as „action research’ (Kember and Kelly, 1993). Action research involves changing 

teaching systematically to improve the learning practice. Biggs (2007) prefers to use the term 

transformative reflection than the term reflection. Reflecting on teaching requires an explicit 

theory of teaching. 

Teachers in the faculties of excellence have formally mastered the art of learning 

process. They know what is to learn in their disciplines and they are master learners in their 

field. In fact, it is because of these attributes they are teaching in the institutes renowned for 

excellence. A master learner‟s learning approach is associated with the deep approach. 

Faculties of excellence keep refining their abilities and skills for master learning. The 

academics in these institutions continue to take deep approaches towards their ongoing 

research, scholarship and learning in their fields. Characteristically, these master learners 

consider “learning as a constructive process of asking questions, addressing problems, 

making connections with personal experience, and drawing on existing knowledge” (Light, 

2006, p.13). An essence of good teaching does not lay simply in the mastery of tips, 

techniques and the best practices but is rather situated in a fundamental change in the way 

institutions of excellence think of learning process (Light, ibid). 

Scholarly work must have clear goals, adequate participation, appropriate methods, 

significant results, effective presentation and reflective critique (Glassick, Huber and Maeroff, 

1992, p.22). The scholarship of teaching and learning is central to the work of research and 

teaching institutions. The quality of teaching is measured against the quality of student 

learning. 



ACADEMIC LITERACY 

Broadly speaking, academic literacy refers to critical thinking, reading, writing, speaking and 

listening skills learned in a society. It varies depending upon the particular context of a society. 

Academic literacy is probably thought as if only a perfect student could possess. Literacy is 

not a unitary concept. Instead, it is of various types: technology literacy, mathematical literacy, 

visual literacy and so on and so forth. Academic literacy research has developed over the past 

20 years as a significant field of study that draws on a number of disciplinary fields such as 

applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, anthropology and socio-cultural theories of learning. 

Academic literacy, the ability to successfully master the types of material taught in most school 

curricula is a sub-area of cognitive development for children of school age. Most of the 

intellectual growth that occurs during formal education can be classified as improving 

academic literacy. Arguably, an academically literate person can effectively communicate and 

handle the tools to tackle the problems they confront in their daily lives. Schools and 

institutions of higher education have come under close scrutiny and are being held 

accountable about their practices of teaching. The range of literacy emerging from the 21 st 

century conditions mean that students need to develop different and new abilities related to 

learning, information and knowledge. In the 21 st century what we must value in the institutions 

of higher education is literacy related to learning, especially how we learn, how we turn 

information into knowledge, and how we document and analyse our learning within and 

beyond formal education. Literacy is the condition of being knowledgeable in a particular 

subject or field. Academic literacy, the ability to successfully master the types of material 

taught in most school curricula is a sub-area of cognitive development for children of school 

age. Most of the intellectual growth that occurs during formal education can be classified as 

improving academic literacy. Academic success is an important predictor of many behaviours 

in later life improvements. Many internal and external factors affect the development of 

children‟s academic and functional literacy skills. 

True academic competency depends upon a set of perceptions and behaviours 

acquired while preparing for more advanced academic work. Academic success depends 

upon students exercising the stamina and persistence useful in other areas of their lives. 

Academically successful students have learned that intellectual endurance in the form of 

rethinking, rereading rewriting offers rewards. The dispositions and habits of mind that enable 

students to enter the ongoing conversations appropriate to college thinking, reading, writing 



and speaking are inter-related and multi-tiered. Students need skills enabling them to define, 

summarise, explain, evaluate, compare/contrast and analyse. Competencies in reading, 

writing, listening, speaking and in the use of technology presuppose the intellectual 

dispositions valued by community in the university. 

In problem-based pedagogy students encounter problems which require them to 

decide what they need to know, how to go about getting necessary information, how to think 

critically about solution options, and how to apply their learning. Performance assessment 

aligns with problem-based learning as students demonstrate that they know how to apply that 

learning and are assessed on these abilities. 

Another aspect of literacy that is essential for students is information literacy which 

includes assessing, evaluating, using and generating information, coupled with experience of 

turning information into knowledge. Just as problem-based learning and performance 

assessment align with knowing how to turn information into knowledge. “Information and 

communication technology literacy is the ability to use digital technology and communication 

tools to succeed in an information society. This includes the ability to use technology as a tool 

to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information and the fundamental 

understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information” 

(http://www.ets.org/ictliteracy). 

CHARACTER BUILDING 

There is an increasing interest in implementing character education in schools. In the USA 

there has been proliferation of organizations, courses, literature, and curriculum materials 

seeking to promote character education. Politicians in the USA and Britain often present it as 

a response to a list of ills facing society which originate in the behaviour of juveniles. Growing 

social phenomenon of juvenile delinquency such as various cases of moral decadence in 

society has made people to improve the quality of character education. Teen age suicide and 

pregnancy, declining academic performance, school drop-out rates, increasing drug usage, 

pre-marital sexual activities have increased in recent decades. 

Character education is the intentional effort to develop good character in young 

people. It is the composite of those psychological characteristics that impact the child‟s 

capacity and tendency to be effective moral agent i.e. to be socially and personally 



responsible, ethical, and self-managed. Teaching for good character means we want children 

to be able to judge what is right, care deeply about what is right and do what they believe is 

right (Lickona, 1991). Character education is a movement to create schools that foster ethical, 

responsible and caring young people by modelling and teaching good character through 

emphasis on universal values that we all share. It is intentional and proactive effort by schools 

to instil in their students important core ethical values such as caring, honesty, fairness, 

responsibility, and respect for self and others. Character is the most important essence a 

person can possess as it defines who the person is and frequently measured to refer to how 

good a person is. It is teaching children about basic human values with a goal to raise children 

to become morally responsible and self-disciplined members of the society. Character 

education then ought to be most effective if it relies predominantly on those social, educational 

and contextual processes that are known to significantly impact the psychological 

development of such characteristics. Schools play a crucial role in the foundation of civic 

character. Recent findings show that effective character education supports and enhances the 

academic goals of schools and good character education promotes learning. “The inseparable 

skills of critical thinking, writing, listening and thinking depend upon students‟ ability to 

postpone judgement and tolerate ambiguity as they honour the dance between passionate 

assertion and patient inquiry (Academic Literacy, p.12).” 

How to Incorporate Character Education into School Life? 

Formal institutions like schools which socialise the younger generation are expected to 

increase their role in the formation of personality of students through increased intensity and 

quality of character education. Character education provides long-term solution that stress 

moral, ethical and academic issues of growing concern to the society and key to the safety of 

our schools. In schools, character building can be taught through moral values. Character 

education pre-supposes that schools have the responsibility to facilitate students to encourage 

fundamental moral values to conduct their behaviour throughout life other than help them to 

be smart in academic learning. The teacher should facilitate to shape the character of 

students in order to achieve the purpose of character education. As schools implement values 

and character education, the implicit curriculum should not be ignored or under estimated. The 

ways teachers relate to parents and students all provide invaluable opportunities for modelling 

behaviour based on values and character we seek to develop in students. This modelling 



process should permeate the total school climate, including the way discipline is administered 

and classroom strategies are used. 

Character education is foundational, a different way of going about the business of 

education rather than another add-on to the already over-packed school day. In excellent 

schools character building is given a priority status where moral values and virtues are 

blended with the development of cognitive development. The welfare of a nation is tied with 

the character of its citizens. Anna Hazare‟s Movement against Corruption and Black Money in 

India is a drive against the erosion of moral values which Mahatama Gandhi stood for. 

Although character-related challenges are perceived to be greatest at the high school level, 

character education interventions have primarily targeted the elementary and middle school 

developmental levels. Why have high schools not embraced character education as a central 

school improvement strategy? Leming (2006) offers one main reason: high school teachers 

tend to identify themselves as subject matter specialists and give less emphasis to character 

building than teachers in elementary and middle schools. In other words, they are likely to see 

character education as relevant only to the extent that it supports the academic mission, 

narrowly defined as teaching and learning the formal curriculum. Also, some high school 

teachers typically do not see character as contributing directly to academic learning because 

they tend to equate character education with discussing ethics, or with „touchy-feely’ social 

and emotional activities, which they view as peripheral to the demands of the academic 

curriculum (Lickona and Davidson, 2005, p.27). Another argument is associated with whether 

the limited resources should be spent on improving academic literacy or character building. 

Supporters of character building argue that character education is foundational, a 

different way of going about the business of education rather than another add-on to the 

already over-packed school day. It is generally argued that moral character is the 

responsibility of parents together with faith communities and that in any case in a multicultural 

society there is no agreed way to determine what is good or bad character. Teachers are 

perceived to be moral authorities by their pupils whatever they themselves think about their 

teaching. Halsey (1994) argues that teaching profession should be re-shaped to achieve a 

greater parenting role for schools. Teaching has been turned into a cognitive relation between 

old and younger people with someone else responsible for the really difficult part- the 

development of a child‟s character. Halsey argues that teachers need to take the parenting 

role more seriously because education is a process of teaching someone how to live. “No 



change of circumstances can repair a defect of character. Intelligence is not enough. 

Intelligence plus character should be the goal of education”, said Martin Luther King”. 

As we become more aware of the societal crises the feeling grows that schools 

cannot be ethical bystanders. As a result, character is making a comeback in American 

schools. Education all over the world has two main goals: to help young people master the 

skills of literacy and numeracy and to help them build good character. Now character 

education has become values education: right and wrong are relative; they must not be 

judgmental. When we think about the kind of character we want our children to have, it is clear 

that we want them to be able to judge what is right, care deeply about what is right, and then 

do what they believe to be right-even in the face of pressure from without and temptation from 

within (Lickona, 2005). Classrooms today represent a microcosm of our rich and diverse 

society. In plural societies values constantly change and children are presented different 

models about right and wrong. Discussions of moral or character education have been rife 

with controversy. Character is intimately linked to ethos of the society itself and shaped by 

public forces. Public values have influence on private life. Active citizenship is the belief in the 

importance of a democratic society and willingness to translate that belief into action. In a 

multicultural society, democracy will succeed or fail depending upon character of its citizens. 

Effective character education is not adding a program or set of program to a school. 

Rather, it is a transformation of the culture and life of the school (Berkowitz and Bier, 2006). 

Although primary responsibility for character and citizenship development lies with parents 

and families, schools also play an essential supportive role. In fact, teaching of values is part 

of schooling. Often we think of learning as consisting entirely of academic skills and 

knowledge, but character and citizenship are the foundation of learning. Two educational 

goals most desired-academic competence and character development -are not mutually 

exclusive but complementary (Wynne and Walberg, 1985). Students who are self disciplined, 

or more religious, hardworking score higher on achievement tests (Kagan, 1981). Good 

character consists of knowing the good, desiring the good and doing the good (Lickona, 1991, 

p.51). Character education is a holistic approach with the following attributes: 

Everything in the school is organized around the development of relationships 

between students, staff and communities. 

The school is a caring community of learners with a palpable bond connecting 

students, staff and the school. 



Social and emotional learning is emphasized as much as academic learning. 

Cooperation and collaboration among students are emphasized over competition. 

Values such as fairness, respect and honesty are part of everyday lessons. 

Students are given ample opportunities to practice moral behaviour through activities 

such as service learning. 

The old model of the teacher-centred classroom is abandoned in favour of democratic 

classrooms where teachers and students hold class meetings to build unity, establish 

norms and solve problems. 

Singaporean model, given below, captures the essence of the type of literate society 

of the 21 st century. Many of these values and competencies are being taught in schools today. 

Schools need to strike a better balance between the content knowledge and the acquisition of 

the competencies and values to thrive in the future. A sound education system strives to 

produce confident self-directed, active contributor, and concerned citizen. People with such 

attributes have a strong sense of right and wrong. They are adaptable, resilient, reflective, 

compassionate, and rooted in a strong sense of civic responsibility. 

The aim of new Law of Education System in Indonesia is to develop potentials of the 

students to be religious, morally high, independent, creative, intelligent, democratic citizen and 

responsible for the welfare of the nation (Hassan, 2003, p.455). New law demands that 

religious education should be taught to students at every level of education because it 

develops knowledge understanding about religions, and multicultural and interfaith dialogue. 

“Religion is one, if not the basic, for developing the right interpretation of human values by 

providing right information and help students implement the right conduct in society” Hassan, 

2003, p. 455). Even though the concept of religious teaching varies vastly from one country to 

another, teaching of character education has taken off in the USA and the European 

countries. 



CONCLUSION 

Source: Ministry of Education of Singapore Press release 2012 

Figure 1 

21 st Century Competencies and Desired Student Outcomes 

There is a growing awareness worldwide that the social fabric which binds societies together 

is disintegrating. Juvenile delinquency, sectarian violence, intolerance, corruption, 

international terrorism, poverty are the social ills which pose huge challenges to the policy 

makers and educators. Sound education and good character hold the key for curing many of 

the ills that have plagued the human race. Technology has provided us the tools to do the 

things in a smarter way but how we use it depends upon our level of level of literacy and the 

strength of our character. Educational institutions at all levels have the capacity to develop 

citizens with a global outlook where people of different faiths, beliefs, races can live in 

harmony for the common good. The pathway to eliminate ignorance is through education. 

Singaporean slogan „Thinking Schools and Learning Society‟ has a lot of merit. Educators 



bear heavy responsibility to prepare citizens with a cosmopolitan outlook, deep thinkers, 

literate in depth and breadth and those can use technology for the service of human race. 

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[Vincent P. Costa] A-2 

INTRODUCTION 

DEVELOPING LITERACY IN CHILDREN 

THROUGH CLASSROOM BASED READING PROGRAMS 

Dr. Vincent P. Costa, Ed.D. 

Education Development Specialist 

VCosta@edc.org 

Developing reading habits in children provides them with a strong foundation for further 

learning. By beginning in lower primary school, children are challenged intellectually to 

integrate all they have learned in order to understand a story. As children develop 

intellectually more challenging reading programs are required. Training teachers in the 

development of reading skills then is important for nurturing a reading habit. Special 

techniques are required to instill this reading habit. 

One component of USAID‟s Decentralized Basic Education (DBE) Project addressed the need 

to improve teaching and learning for primary education. The Education Development Center 

under Component 2 Teaching and Learning (DBE 2) designed a program that would develop 

a reading culture for children in the lower primary grades. This was achieved by placinglibrary 

corners in grades 1 to 3classrooms and providing teacher training that introduced reading 

activities forthe classroom. This was achieved through the provision of non-textbook (story 

books) reading materials for all DBE primary partner schools. These were placed in classroom 

library corners and in the Cluster Resource Centers (CRC) 1 . Besides the provision of 

storybooks, participating teachers were engaged in a program of professional development to 

enhance their skills in integrating reading activities into their lesson plans and to promote the 

development of a reading culture within their school communities. Another component of the 

program concerned the involvement of parents to promote a reading culture. Children were 

able to barrow books from the classroom library or from the CRC and bring them home to 

share with their parents. 

1 Cluster Resource Centers were developed in each of the DBE school clusters to support 

teacher development through training, availability of learning resources, developing learning 

resources for the classroom and information sharing. 



The program was implemented in 1067primary schools from six provinces in Indonesia. More 

than 1100 teachers participated in the program and a total of 662,800 books were distributed 

to the schools and Cluster Resource Centers 

CLASSROOM READING PROGRAM 

The Classroom Reading Program (CRP) involved the purchase of books and a sequence of 

training programs that included: provincial Training of Trainers, school cluster workshop and a 

follow-up enhancement workshop. Reading specialists from the US and Indonesia reviewed 

the available storybooks in Indonesia and selected 40 titles to be included in the classroom 

library corners and CRCs. Five copies of each title were included in each school package for a 

total of 200 books. These were then divided among the three classrooms from grades 1 to 3. 

A complete package was also provided for113 CRCs. 

The Reading Specialists and DBE 2 CRPCoordinator conducted a national workshop for the 

six Provincial CRP Coordinators and two provincial facilitators. The training materials were 

reviewed and implementation plans developed for each province. 

At the provincial level the National and Provincial CRP Coordinators conducted the Provincial 

Trainingof Trainer Programs. For these workshops the DBE 2 Master Teacher Trainer (MTT) 

and one Pemandu Bidang Studi (PBS) 2 from each cluster attended the program. There were a 

total of 216 participants. During these sessions the participants were instructed using the 

training program for implementation in the school clusters as well as instruction onthe 

development of learning resources to compliment the reading activities. 

2 PBSs are local teachers who oversee the school cluster teachers either for general or specific 

subject matters. They support in-service training and local administrative support for the 

teachers. 



With the facilitators prepared to introduce the program, the 

school cluster training proceeded with one teacher from 

the lower grades, the principal and supervisors. The 

provincial CRP Coordinator assisted the facilitators in the 

training. The national CRP Coordinator monitored selected 

cluster training programs in the six provinces.The training 

consisted of three modules that were conducted over a 

three-day period. 

Armed with their new skills teachers began incorporating 

reading activities as part of the regular curriculum. To insure that teachers were implementing 

the training properly and to provide feedback to the teachers on their performance the 

program included a mentoring component. MTTs and PBS who served as facilitators arranged 

visits with the participants to observe their classroom literacy activity. Following the lesson the 

facilitators would discuss the session with the teacher and commented on the application of 

the new techniques employed in the instruction. 

Key elements of the CRP 

Literacy training was based on the principles of Active Learning. The training applied a two 

level approach. At the first level the classroom techniques being introduced were based on 

active learning principles. The second level concerned the approach to instruction for the 

participants. The active learning techniques were introduced using the same active learning 

methods. So participants not only learned about the new methods they also experienced how 

the methods were to be conducted. 

The emphasis on active learning was based on the learning outcomes introduced by the new 

Bloom‟s Taxonomy (Anderson& Krathwohl 2001).The taxonomy identifies intellectual skills in 

an increasing order of complexity. In Diagram 1 we see the six levels of intellectual skills in the 

taxonomy. These are from lowest to highest: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, 

Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating. Effective learning then suggests that activities be 

conducted that engages children in using the higher level learning outcomes. 

Teachers practice making learning 

resources based on book topics in the 

Jogonalan School Cluster Klaten, 

Central Java 



Diagram 1 Bloom’s New Taxonomy of Learning 

Source: 

www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm 

More traditional methods of teaching 

emphasize the lower level learning 

outcomes of Remembering and 

Understanding. It is when we 

introduce activities that engage 

children in applying, analyzing, 

evaluating and creating that deeper 

learning occurs. New knowledge 

and skills are more effectively 

integrated into the learner‟s 

memory. Much like muscle strengthening, the more the child practices using the higher level 

thinking skills the stronger they become. 

The CRP training emphasized lesson planning that incorporated these higher-level, thinking 

skills. Participants were asked to apply the taxonomy to a verbal presentation. In small groups 

the participants developed an analysis of the presentation in regard to which of Bloom‟s 

thinking skills were being employed. These were then shared with the other small groups and 

summarized the results. 

Our understanding of the brain functions have increased significantly over the last two 

decades and much has been written about the specialization of the different sections of the 

brain. By using higher level thinking skills new memorization techniques were presented 

during the training. These are: 

Total Story Technique: children are asked to create a 

story from the words that students will need to memorize. 

Total Word Technique:information that is to be 

remembered is converted to an acronym or abbreviation 

for easier memorization 

Total Number technique: remembering numbers can 

Right Brain-Left Brain Thinking 

The left-brain is associated with logic, 

numbers, writing, intelligence, calculation, 

analysis and short-term memory. The right 

brain is associated with creativity, 

imagination, music, colors, shapes, emotions 

and long-term memory. Improve 

memorization by creating activities that 

relying on the strength of either side of the 

brain (USAID 2010-2) 



be difficult, so convertingthe number to a phrase or story that is easily remembered can aid in 

remembering the number. More information is available at 

http://pontohcutex.blogspot.com/2011/07/total-number-technique-tnt.html. 

Techniques for Developing Reading Skills 

There were several activities that the CRP introduced that provided a good foundation for 

promoting reading literacy. Based on active learning theory the different exercises can be 

applied with any storybook. The following are the highlighted activities with brief descriptions: 

Book Talk:In this exercise each child in a small group will be given a storybook to read. The 

books can be read in class or taken home to read. A list of questions such as “Who is the 

main character?” “What is the story about?” and “What is the setting for the story?” are 

provided to each child. In the small group the children are asked to share about the story they 

read using the questions as a guide to explain the book. The questions provide a way for the 

children to begin analyzing the structure of the book and to identify key information concerning 

the story. In the small groups after each child gives their presentation the children identify the 

most interesting Book Talk. Additional activities could include having the most interesting 

stories shared with all the small groups in the class. This is written on a large card and placed 

on the wall. 

Book Reading: in this activity the teacher models oral reading using pauses, stops and 

emphasis appropriately. The teacher can pause and ask questions concerning the specific 

events or character‟s thoughts. One can ask if the title of the book was a good one or are 

there suggestions from the children. Children can comment on the cover of the book 

concerning the relevance to the story. The teacher could also ask about: 

The name of the author and illustrator(s), 

Comments on the illustrations in the book, 

Possible alternative s to the ending of the story, and 

Propose different beginning, middle or ending to the story. 

By stopping and asking questions the teacher is modeling techniques for the children to apply 

in understanding a story. 



Story Pyramid: in this exercise children are asked to identify the beginning, middle and end 

of a story. They are then guided in the creation of a three-sided, paper pyramid and asked to 

make a picture or artwork that illustrates each of the three sections of the story. Children are 

then asked to explain the story using the story pyramid. 

Grab Bag: is a technique that promotes imagination and creativity. The teacher provides a 

small bag of items relevant to a storybook that the children have not read. Each small group 

receives a bag of items that they place on the table. The children have twenty minutes to 

develop an idea of what the story is about and the title from the items in the grab bag. They 

record their ideas and then present these along with the other small group presentations. After 

all the presentations are finished the teacher then shows the children the book. Interestingly if 

the children develop a different story it is an indication of creativity and should be encouraged. 

Promoting A Reading Corner 

In creating a reading corner it is important to locate it in an accessible site so that children can 

select books and servers as a way to encourage children‟s reading interest. Highlight the 

reading corner with attractive displays. Arrange time for the children to use the reading corner 

before, after or during school time. Set-up a book barrowing program with sigh-out and 

timeframe policies. Develop a code of conduct for the use of the books for the children and for 

the parents. 

Creating A Reading Culture 

Parental support is really important in establishing a reading habit for children. Socializing a 

reading program will be very important. Providing guidance to the parents on classroom 

activities and how to support reading assignments for homework is crucial to establishing a 

reading culture. Parents can help with preparation of the Book Talk and Story Pyramid 

activities. Children will be asked to keep a reading journal of the books they read. Parents 

need to encourage the children in this activity. 



Another way to promote reading is to conduct reading adventures with the school community. 

Reading adventures are „activities that can be done by students, parents and teachers 

together. This activity can be a bazaar, exhibitions, drama performances, puppet show, 

costume contest, or a combination of all. In this activity, parents, teachers and students will 

spend time together and doing various activities related to the storybooks (USAID 2010-3). “ 

Creating festive events in celebration of reading children are easily motivated to continue 

reading as a habit. Stories actually come alive. Here are 

Some examples: 

Drama, from a fairy tale in the book. 

Performing puppet show, where students can make the dolls. 

Perform a song and /or dance, from a storybook. 

Listen to the tale, which could be a parent to the child. 

Games: Treasure Hunt, Grab Bag 

Write or read poetry. 

Book character costume contest 

A book cover competition 

FINAL COMMENTS 

Developing reading habits is crucial to the intellectual development of a child. With 

appropriate activities children‟s higher-level thinking skills are engaged in such a way that they 

strengthen their critical thinking skills. Reading requires an imagination based on what children 

already know. The activities suggested in the CRP encourages children to use their 

imagination by creating pictures, physical representations, performing scenes, writing 

interpretations, recommending alternative endings or beginnings to a story and/or proposing a 

different title to the book. 

There isa physiological benefit to reading that helps individuals to better integrate the 

knowledges, skills and experiences they possess. In a research study concerning poor 

readers, psychologists compared brain MRIs before and after an intense remedial reading 

program. (Keller& Just 2009, Just 2009). They discovered that the white matter of the brain 

for children in the study actually increased in depth compared to a control group of competent 



readers of the same background. The white matter is associated with linking the various parts 

of the brain that stores knowledge, skills and intellectual competencies. The intensive reading 

program actually created or reinforced the linkages between the existing and new 

knowledges, skills and intellectual competencies. This suggests deeper learning and more 

global understanding. At the end of the remedial intervention the participating children‟s 

reading capacity was at the same level or higher than their peers. 

An effective reading program is crucial to developing children‟s capacity to understand 

complex situations and to link different subject matters that normally are taught as separate 

units in the classroom. Developing reading habits in children not only improves learning it also 

strengthens the intellectual capacity of children. In developing a reading program the activities 

need to be adjusted with the intellectual capacity of the child and gradually increased as 

competency and age evolve over time. 

REFERENCES 

Anderson, L. W. & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing. New York: 

Longman. 

Just, M. (2009). Carnegie Mellon scientist discovers first evidence of brain rewiring in children. E! Science News 

Keller, T. A. &Just, M. A (2009). Altering Cortical Connectivity: Remediation-Induced Changes in the White 

Matter of Poor Readers. Neuron 64, 624-631, December 10, 2009, Elsevier, Inc. 

USAID (2010-1). Program Membaca di Kelas DBE 2: Pengembangan Profesionlisme Guru Modul 1 

USAID (2010-2). Program Membaca di Kelas DBE 2: Pengembangan Profesionlisme Guru Modul 2 

USAID (2010)-3. Program Membaca di Kelas DBE 2: Pengembangan Profesionlisme Guru Modul 3 


[Sri Rejeki Urip] B-1 

DEVELOPING MORPHOSYNTAX TEACHING MATERIALS 

BASED ON THE CONSERVATION AND CHARACTER EDUCATION 

FOR FRENCH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDENTS 

Sri Rejeki Urip 

Semarang State University, Indonesia 

uriphart@yahoo.com 

ABSTRACT 

This paper is a conceptual idea of developing teaching and learning materials of 

Morphosyntax course by integrating conservation and character education for the second 

semester students of French Language Education Program, Faculty of Languages and Arts, 

UNNES. This idea derives from UNNES commitment to pursue the noble mission of the 

Government to develop sustainable character education to all students through all subjects by 

emphasizing active and enjoyable learning activities. Morphosyntax is the study of rule 

combinations of morphemes to form words, phrases and sentences, and the affixation 

process which includes derivation and flexion. Because this course has its own characteristics 

which are different from other courses such as Citizenship Education and Religious 

Education, it requires specific ways to integrate the values of conservation and character 

education in it. The Character education must involve the aspects of moral knowing , moral 

feeling, to achieve a moral action. The Character education developed in UNNES is the 

character education based on conservation. The main character value of UNNES which is 

also the vision of UNNES - Healthy, Better, and Prosperous - is a reference for the 

development of noble character values of UNNES covering the 8 pillars of values, namely 

(1) Religious, (2) Honest, (3) Caring, (4) Polite, (5) Tolerant, (6) Democratic, (7) Intelligent, 

and (8) Strong. These values will be referred in developing learning materials for the 

Morphosyntax course. 

Key Words: conservation, character education, morphosyntax, teaching 

materials 

INTRODUCTION 

The current condition of Indonesia can be said to be in a state of uncertainty especially when 

we see in terms of moral. Currently, it is difficult to judge what is right and wrong, as wrong 

can be justified, and vice versa. Recognizing the current condition of the community, the 

government puts character education as the first of the eight missions to realize the vision of 

national development (http://pendikar.dikti.go.id/gdp). 

In grand design of character education, Ministry of Education stated the principles used in the 

development of character education, namely the sustainable character education to all 

students through all subjects by emphasizing active and enjoyable learning activities (Ministry 

of National Education, 2010: 12-13). 



State University of Semarang (UNNES) as a part of the higher education system takes part in 

carrying out the noble mission of government to develop a character education to its students 

(Handoyo and Tijan, 2010). Based on the principle above, UNNES should develop the 

sustainable character education to all students through all subjects by emphasizing active and 

enjoyable learning activities. 

One of courses in French Language Education Study Program of Faculty of Languages and 

Art of UNNES is Morphosyntaxe. Morphosyntaxe is a course that contains the rules of the 

combination of morphemes to form words, phrases, and sentences, as well as the affixation 

process both derivative and flexion. On this subject is discussed how the word in French is 

formed, and how the words combine to form phrases and sentences, for example, the word 

ami 'friend' is formed into amical 'friendship', or amicalement 'friendly'. 

In line with the principles stipulated by Ministry of National Education that character education 

is carried out through all the subjects/courses, the development of teaching materials of 

Morphosyntaxe based on character values and conservation is a necessity for students of 

French Language Studies Education UNNES FBS. The values of the main characters 

developed in UNNES, namely (1) Religious, (2) Honest, (3) Caring, (4) Tolerance, (5) 

Democratic, (6) Courtesy, (7) Smart, (8) Strong which is the descriptions of the Healthy, 

Superior, Prosperous (Handoyo and Tijan, 2010: 7) will be the main material on the subject to 

be managed as the objective of Morphosyntaxe. These eighth values of the character will be 

translated in French and become (1) Religieux, (2) Honnête, (3) Soin, (4) Tolerance, (5) 

Démocratique, (6) Poli, (7) Intelligent, (8) Fort which are the descriptions of (1) Sain, (2) 

Meilleur, and (3) Prospère. Students as the participants in this course will learn how the 

internal structure of these words will be analyzed , and also learn how these words are derived 

into other word classes or formed into phrases, and sentences that contain the characters. 

Thus, at the same time, students experience the process of cultivation of character and values 

of conservation inside of the students. 

This article discusses how is the teaching materials of Morphosyntaxe based on values of 

character education and conservation will be conceptually developed for students of French 

Language Education Program of FBS UNNES. 



REVIEW OF RELATED THEORIES 

Morphosyntaxe 

Morphosyntaxe is a part of the Linguistics. The linguistics is the study of the language 

(Dubois et al., 2001: 285). Morphosyntaxe describes the rules governing the combination of 

morphemes to form words, phrases, and sentences, including the affixation of flexion and 

derivation (Dubois et al., 2001: 312). The term Morphosyntaxe is from Morphologie and 

Syntaxe. Morphologie is the study of internal structure of words, while Syntaxe is the study of 

rules governing the combination of words in the sentence (Moeschler and Auchlin 2000: 53). 

The internal structure of words in French is the result of two different types of formation 

process, which are called by affixation, flexion and derivation, and composition, i.e., 

combinations of words. The examples of affixation: the words découragés ‘discouraged’ is 

derived from {de} + {courag} + { é} + {s}. The compound word machine à écrire ‘typewriter’ is 

derived from the word machine ‘machine’, à ‘to’, and écrire ‘write’. 

Affixation 

Affixes are morphological unit that are not free. Affixes are classified into two categories, 

namely (1) Affixes de Flexion 'Inflectional Affixes', and (2) Affixes de Derivation 'Derivational 

Affixes'. Inflectional affixes are used to mark different grammatical features that the root 

possesses which marks gender, number, and person (Moeschler and Auchlin 2000: 57). In 

French, inflectional affixes are suffixes. The word gentille ‘kind’ has inflectional affixes - lethat 

means feminine, and -s that means plural. 

In French, derivational affixes are used to change the grammatical category ( word class). The 

derivation is a productive process of word formation in French. For example, the root am + 

derivative affix -i will form a noun ami ‘friend’. The word ami + derivative affix -cal becomes 

the adjective amical ‘friendly’. Amical + derivative affix -ment will form the adverb 

amicalement. 



Composition 

Composition is the process of forming words by combining some words. The combination of 

words that can stand alone, for example is chou 'cabbage' and fleur 'flower', that can be 

combined into un chou en fleur 'the flowering cabbage', or un chou fleur 'cauliflower'. 

Grammatical Category 

The existence of Grammatical Category gives the facilitation to develop general rules of 

syntax, such as word oiseau ‘bird’ should be preceded by a determinator, e.g. to form a noun 

phrase un oiseau ‘a bird’. In French, there are 9 word classes, namely (1) Nom, (2) Pronom, 

(3) Adjectif, (4) Article, (5) Verbe, (6) Adverbe, (7) Preposition, (8) Conjonction, and (9) 

Interjection. Semantically, each class of words associated with specific meanings, or refers to 

something outside language, such as nouns refer to people, things, thoughts, or place. Verbs 

and adjectives refer to the process or state. Adverbs point characteristics of verbs. 

Prepositions and conjunctions refer to the logical relationships between words or sentences. 

Article limits nouns. Pronoun replaces the noun or refers to the communicators. Interjection, 

not the same as the others, is used as a direct reaction to the speaker in the utterance 

(Dubois et al., 2001: 253). 

Grammatical Functions 

Grammatical function defines the relationship that exists between words or groups of words 

with others in the structure of the sentence. Grammatical functions such as Subject, Object 

shows the relationship between a group of words—a nominal phrase, a prepositional phrase 

with the verb. Subjects function in French is defined from the position before the verb and the 

adjustment of the relations contained in the verb. The subject determines the form of 

adjustments of the verb based on the persona and the number. 

According to Dubois et al. (2001: 68) in French, the grammatical function of subject can be 

filled by (1) proper name, (2) nominal phrase, (3) verbs in the infinitive form, (4) clause. Each 

of these examples are given as follows: 

(1) Paul est ridiculous. 'Paul is funny'. 

(2) Ce clown est ridiculous . ‘This clowns is funny (3) Pleurer est ridiculous. 'Crying is funny' 

(4) Que tu croies ces rumeurs est ridiculous. 

'That you trust the issue is funny'. 



Immediate Constituents 

Analysis of sentences into the immediate constituent is a hierarchical analysis that is usually in 

the form of a tree diagram (Dubois et al., 2001: 70). The principle of this theory is that all 

sentences of a language is not formed of a series of separate elements, but rather a 

combination of constructs that forms the constituents of a sentence. These constituents are 

also the result of the formation of the constituents in the lower level. Thus, the sentence is the 

result of the organization of several layers (Dubois et al., 2001: 144). 

Here is an example of sentence to be analyzed into the immediate constituents by using a tree 

diagram. 

l'enfant déballe son cadeau 

‘ the child opens the gift' 

l'enfant déballe son cadeau 

l’ enfant déballe son cadeau 

son cadeau 

Character Education 

Character education developed in UNNES is conservation-based character education 

(Handoyo and Tijan, 2010).The function of character education is (1) to develop the potential 

to be good, to think good, and to have good behavior, (2) to strengthen and build a 

multicultural nation of behavior, (3) to improve the nation civilization in the competitive 

world. Character education is developed through various media, including schools. A good 

character education must involve the aspects of moral knowing, moral feeling , to achieve a 

moral action. (Ministry of National Education 2011) 

In line with the National Long Term Development Plan years 2005 to 2015 that puts 

character education as a foundation to realize the national development vision - to realize the 

noble, moral, ethical, cultured, and civilized society based on the philosophy of Pancasila 



(Directorate General of Higher Education 2011), the Ministry of National Education sets 18 

character values that comes from religion, Pancasila, culture, and national educational goals. 

They are (1) Religious, (2) Honest, (3) Tolerance, (4) Discipline, (5) Hard Work, (6) 

Creative, (7) Independent, (8) Democratic, (9) Curiosity, (10) The Spirit of Nationality, (11) 

Love the country, (12) Rewarding Achievement, (13) Friendly / Communicative, (14) Love of 

Peace, (15) Like to read, (16) Care for the Environment, (17) Social Care, and (18) 

Responsibility (Ministry of National Education 2010: 9-10). 

Character education developed in UNNES is conservation-based character education. This 

means that the seeding of character values to students should be guided by good intentions to 

care for, preserve, maintain, and develop physical and social environment and cultural values 

for the realization of the life of harmony between the environment and human life. 

The values of noble character who has evolved over time and can be further developed, 

including the value of religious, honest, caring, tolerant, democratic, well mannered, intelligent, 

and tough. These eight values are the descriptions of the main values of UNNES, namely 

healthy, superior, and prosperous. The details of the eight-character values are as follow. (1) 

Religion is the attitudes and behaviors that reflect the view of devotion to God Almighty. (2) 

Honest is the suitability of attitude, speech, and behavior that made a man can always be 

trusted. (3) Care is the attitude and actions that are directed to share and help others and act 

to preserve the natural environment in a sustainable manner. (4) Tolerant is the attitude of 

understanding and accepting the fact, attitudes, or actions of others that differ from those to be 

believed or done, (5) Democratic is the attitude or action that is based on respect for the 

rights and duties of others in equality. (6) Courtesy is the attitude that reflects the refinement 

and behavior as a form of respect for others. (7) Smart is the ability to know and understand 

everything fast and precise and capable of solving the problem. (8) Tough is a capability that 

is not easily defeated because of the strength, reliability, and endurance to face any situation. 

(Handoyo and Tijan 2010: 7). 

UNNES as an educational institution carries out a mission as expressed by Dodi Nandika from 

Ministry of National Education that in a high education, there is a mandate to be noble, to 

behave properly. The most in the mission for an educator is not teaching, but rather to collect, 

maintaining, and transferring the values and culture. Actually, the forerunner of the high 

education is to gather the thinking process with a noble character. Thus, the lecturers are 

polite, sincere and compassionate in serving students. The students are also polite, but 



remain critical of intelligent, the staffs, too. That is the real mission of a university (Fathur 

Rokhman Nandika and Amin Joseph cited by Handoyo and Tijan, 2010: 4). 

THE CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF MORPHOSYNTAXE TEACHING MATERIALS 

The Implementation of character education is a way to improve the moral situation of 

Indonesian nation. The principles to develop sustainable character education to all students 

through all subjects by emphasizing active and enjoyable learning activities give the 

opportunity to integrate the values and character of the conservation into Morphosyntaxe 

course. Since this course has a different characteristic from other subjects which can be used 

as a means to develop character education, such as Citizenship Education, or Religious 

Education course, it would require specific ways so that the values of character and 

conservation can be integrated into it. 

The way that will be used is to involve students in the aspect of moral knowing. The 

Morphosyntaxe course that relates to words that are processed or analyzed will use the 

terms of values in character education and conservation as the teaching materials. The 

main value of character of UNNES which is also a vision of UNNES, namely (1) healthy, (2) 

superior, and (3) prosperous will be a reference for the development of the noble character 

values. 

The way that will be used is to involve students in the aspect of moral knowing. The 

Morphosyntaxe course that relates to words that are processed or analyzed will use the 

terms of values in character education and conservation as the teaching materials. The 

main value of character of UNNES which is also a vision of Unnes, namely (1) Healthy, (2) 

Superior, and (3) Prosperous will be a reference for the development of the noble character 

valuesthat is healthy, superior, and prosperous to be a reference for the development of noble 

character values of UNNES that cover the 8 pillars of value, namely (1) Religious, (2) 

Honest,(3) Caring, (4) Polite, (5) Tolerant, (6) Democratic, (7) Intelligent, and (8) Tough. 

These values will be translated into French: Conservation, Sain 'Healthy', Meilleur 'Superior', 

Prosphère 'Prosperity'. The eight characters of values are also translated in French: (1) 

Religieux 'Religious', (2) Honnête 'Honest', (3) Soin 'Care', (4) Tolerant 'Tolerant', (5) 

Démocratique 'Democratic', (6 ) Poli 'Courtesy', (7) Intelligent 'Smart', and (8) Fort 'Tough'. 



Overall, the picture of the descriptions of the main values of UNNES that will be used as a 

base of teaching materials in the course of Morphosyntaxe can be observed on the following 

figure. 

Sain 

Meilleur 

Prosphère 

Figure 1 

Base of Teaching Materials 

in the Course of 

Morphosyntaxe 

(Handoyo and Tijan, 2010:12) 

Religieux 

Honnête 

Poli 

Tolérant 

Démocratiquee 

Intelligent 

Fort 

Soin 

These words in the Morphosyntaxe course will be used as teaching materials. For example 

in the affixation, some words will be analyzed how the internal structure. If a word is not able 

to be analyzed, then the formation will be presented to other classes of words, e.g from the 

adjective poli, when it is coupled with the suffix-tesse, it will form a noun politesse ‘courtecy'. 

When poli is coupled with the suffix-ment, it will form the adverb poliment 'politely '. 

At a higher level, the word poli can be used to form a phrase, for example, a noun phrase un 

adorable politesse ‘a delightful politeness’. At a higher level, a sentence can be made, for 

example, Cette étudiante est très polie ‘This student is very polite'. 



As long as the students are in the course of Morphosyntaxe for one semester, they will 

experience the process of habituation in recognizing and managing the character values in 

terms of 'moral knowing'. From this continuous processes, it is expected that they attain the 

moral aspect of feeling, which would then obtain the aspects of moral action as that the 

Ministry of Education expects in the Grand Design of Character Education. 

The conceptual development of Morphosyntaxe teaching materials will be realized through 

the Research and Development that is funded by Institute for Research and Community 

Service of UNNES. In the process of writing this article, the Exploration Phase of the 

research and and development is taking place. 

REFERENCES 

Dubois, Jean et al. 2001. Dictionnaire Linguistique. Paris: Larousse. 

Handoyo dan Tijan. 2012. Model Pendidikan Karakter Berbasis Konservasi. Pengalaman 

Universitas Negeri Semarang. Semarang: Kerjasama antara Universitas Negeri 

Semarang dan Widya Karya – Semarang 

Kebijakan Nasional Pembangunan Karakter Bangsa. http://pendikar.dikti.go.id/gdp/wpcontent/uploads/Desain-Induk-Pendidikan- 

Karakter-Kemdiknas.pdf (Accessed 

30/5/2011) 

Kemendiknas. Desain Induk Pendidikan Karakter. http://pendikar.dikti.go.id/gdp/wpcontent/uploads/Desain-Induk-Pendidikan-Karakter-Kemdiknas.pdf 

Moeschler, Jacques dan Antoine Auchlin. 2000. Introduction à la Linguistique 

Contemporaine. Paris: Armand Colin. 


[Atiek Zahrulianingdyah] B-10 

THE ORGANIZING OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH NUTRITION EDUCATION 

AND TRAINING TO INCREASE FAMILY HEALTH DEGREE 

Atiek Zahrulianingdyah 

The Student S3 of Education Management Study Program 

Postgraduate of Semarang State University 

ABSTRACT 

The organizing is one of determinants in the management program of training, the organizing 

functions to integrate the available resources or can be provided into a systematic activity to 

achieve the purpose that has been determined before. Women have a central role in the 

family, especially in preparing qualified human resources, both in terms of physical, 

intellectual, and emotional. It is assumed if mother has the knowledge and attitudes of good 

nutrition, so the hope of the family will be fulfilled in nutritional intake each day. But the 

phenomenon that is faced in the developing countries today is generally still the same, 

namely, the low of health level they have, particularly at women of productive age. Therefore, 

it is necessary to look for the health empowerment efforts of women who truly fit to the needs 

of each community. 

Key Words: woman empowerment, nutrition education and training, family health 

degree 

INTRODUCTION 

The women empowerment is an important part in the development process of a 

state, because in the life of the state women have the same rights and obligations as men. 

Women have a central role in the family, especially in preparing qualified human resources, 

both in terms of physical, intellectual, and emotional. The evidence indicates that women in 

the developing countries around the world are far behind and less participation in the various 

fields of development, one of them is education. The low education level of women causes a 

variety of problem factors that is faced by women, at least in terms of the low absorpsion and 

involvement in the technological advancement of all fields. The common problem that is faced 

the world today is how to empower women who are the majority of low educated and less 

fortunate, especially mothers in the family who are in the countryside. 

The family is vital part in shaping the quality of human resources, physically, socially, 

emotionally and morally. Mother plays an important role especially in the procurement and 

distribution of food within the family. It is assumed if mother has the knowledge and attitudes 

of good nutrition, so the hope of the family will be fulfilled in nutritional intake each day. But the 

phenomenon that is faced in the developing countries today is generally still the same, 



namely, the low of health level they have, particularly at women of productive age. This is one 

of reasons for the height of maternal mortality and childbirth in the developing countries. 

Through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) the nations of the world have agreed 

eight points of agreement, one of them is to increase the mothers’ health level and reduce the 

risk of maternal mortality with target 2015 the maternal mortality and childbirth are 102 per 

100.000 live births. In Indonesia, the maternal mortality and childbirth are still very high, it is 

the highest mortality rate in Asean and becomes nasional concern. Based on the 

Demographic Survey and Indonesia Health 2007, the maternal mortality rate is 228 per 

100.000 live births. 

The efforts to overcome these problems have been done, either by government or 

private (non-government organizations, social organizations, women's organizations). 

However, the results have not been as expected yet. The temporary notion of the writer on the 

problem is that the program is offered always comes from top (bottom-up), not designed 

based on needs analysis and findings in the areas that are targeted, so it does not fit to the 

community characteristics. 

The problem is how to overcome and cope with it? This is our common task, 

especially in concerned and has high regard towards the quality of human resources both 

nationally, regionally and internationally. The health programs are offered and still exist 

currently, are often very general, it means not see case by case, so the success rate is very 

low, it is proven to the morbidity and mortality rate of women are still quite high. Therefore, It is 

necessary to look for the health empowerment efforts of women who truly fit to the needs of 

each community. 

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT 

The sense of empowerment that is developed by Cornell Empowerment Group, 

defines the empowerment as an ongoing deliberate process, centered on local communities, 

and involves the principle of mutual respect, critical reflection, caring, and group participation, 

through the process people who have lack of equivalent part of valuable resource will obtain 

greater access and have control of the resource (Perkins and Zimmerman, in Randy and 

Riant, 2007). Rappaport (in Randy and Riant, 2007) states that the social experts have 

developed a theory of empowerment for 20 years. The empowerment is defined as a process, 

a mechanism, in these cases are individual, organization and the community become experts 



of problems that they face. The empowerment theory assumes that: the empowerment will be 

different form for different people, different contexts, the empowerment will fluctuate or change 

in line with time. 

Simply Randy and Riant (2007) reveal that the empowerment is a natural process. Tt means 

that we are natural in everyday life. The empowerment is a "process of becoming," not an 

"instant process". As a process, the empowerment has three stages, namely: 

1. The first stage is awareness. At this stage, the target which would be empowered is 

given "enlightenment" in the form of giving awareness that they have the right to have 

"something". 

2. The second stage is capacity, it is often called capacity building or in simple language 

is enabling. 

3. The third stage is the supply of power or "empowerment". This is in accordance with 

the quality of the receiver skills. 

In effort of empowerment, according to Randy and Riant (2007) it is necessary to be observed 

the approach of community empowerment that is used as a poverty reduction strategy, the 

approach has at least five conditions, namely: 

1. It should involve local people collectively in the local community organizations 

proactively. For that, it is necessary to be shaped community groups ingrained at the 

grassroots level (collectivity). 

2. Should facilitate the access of local communities on the source of funding for poverty 

reduction. Therefore, the mechanism of direct transfer to collective account of the 

society groups is an option that is so far considered the best. 

3. Should be cognitively aware of citizens that the process of poverty reduction should 

be done alone by them democratically in order to strengthen social capital and 

develop the universal values that include honesty, humanity, togetherness, mutual 

help, social justice, etc. Therefore, it is required the assistance process committed by 

self-supporting and the mechanisms of technical assistance by trained personnel. 

4. Should involve the State apparatus from the closest to the social surrounding to the 

district/city and province because they rare until now considered the most 

understanding of their social condition and all at once increase the responsibility of 

the local apparatus to facilitate the activities of their people in decision-making 

process for the community themselves. 



5. The empowerment approach should be understood as a strategy not a destination. 

While the purpose of the empowerment approach that should be understood is to 

improve the welfare of poor families that is characterized primarily by more and more 

increasing income of poor families and further characterized by the decline of 

expenditure charge of poor families. 

ORGANIZING EDUCATION AND TRAINING 

The organizing is one of determinants in the management program of training, in 

addition to other factors such as planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. 

It is interpreted as the whole process of selecting individuals and allocates facilities and 

infrastructure to support the individuals task within the organization and regulate mechanisms 

of work so that achieve the desired goal. Some experts give the sense of organizing 

differently. The difference is due to the background differences of the experts skill and 

influenced by environmental conditions in implementing the organizing function. As quoted by 

Sudjana in his book “Manajemen Program Pendidikan” (2004: 105-108) the experts define 

(Filippo and Musinger) that the organizing is activity to design and establish implementation 

component of an activity process. The components consist of manpower, functions and 

facilities. More specifically it is stated that organizing is activity to determine the human 

resources that is involved in an activity, decide the task of everyone who is involved in activity, 

and arrange the rules of the activity that is contained in the provision of the institution. 

Everyone who is involved in it can utilize the facilities and available tools to facilitate the 

implementation of activity that has been arranged in the plan. 

Terry (2003) explains that organizing is the basic activity of management. It is 

conducted to gather and organize all the resources that are required in the plan, especially 

human resources, so that the activity of achieving purpose that has been determined can be 

implemented efficiently and effectively. By the organizing, people can be united in one group 

or more to perform various tasks. The organizing goal is to help people to work together 

effectively within the umbrella organization or institution. 

Paul Hersey and Kenneth H. Blanchard in their book “Management of Organizational 

Behavior”, define the organizing is as an activity that combines human resources, capital and 

facilities, and uses those resources to achieve the purpose that has been determined. Based 

on the limitation, the organizing functions to integrate the available resources or can be 



provided into a systematic activity to achieve the purpose that has been determined before. 

Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, state that the organizing is as an effort to arrange human 

resources and non-human, including natural resources into a productive combination. 

Based on some explanation of the organizing as stated above can be concluded that 

the organizing is an attempt to integrate human and non human resources that is needed into 

a single unit to implement activities as planned in achieving the goal that is determined in 

advance. In other words, the organizing is the process of managerial activity to form an 

organization which is given task to implement a plan that has been set to achieve organization 

goals. In the definition above, it contains seven organization characteristics, 1) the organizing 

is related to the leader effort or manager to incorporate human resources and non- human that 

are needed, 2) the human resource consists of people or groups of people who meet the 

specified requirements. The requirements include the skills, abilities, and physical condition in 

accordance with the demands of the organization as well as the environment development, 3) 

the existence of non-human resource includes the facilities (buildings / homes and fixtures), 

equipment and available cost or can be provided, as well as the potential physical 

environment; 4) the resources are integrated into an organization; 5) in the organization there 

is a division of tasks, authority and responsibility among the people to run a series of planned 

activities; 6) the series of activities are directed to achieve goal that has been determined; 7) 

in the activity of goal achievement, human resource is the holder of the major role and the 

most decisive. 

Crow and Crow state that education is a process that contains a variety of suitable 

activities for the individual of his/her social life and helps to continue the customs and culture 

as well as social institutions from generation to generation (Munib, 2004: 32). The education 

is widely defined as a aware effort or planning that can change individual behavior from not 

knowing to knowing. Gunarsa (1995) states that the education is a process that is done 

consciously, continuously, systematicly and directed that encourage the changes in the 

individual. The involvement of a person in the process of education and the achieved 

educational level will affect and shape the way, the pattern and framework of thinking, 

perception, understanding and personality. 

According to Rothwell, (1996: 26), training is an activity that focuses on efforts to 

identify, secure, and help to enable a person capable of displaying work at this time and in the 

future. The main pressure of the training is on the role of individuals work. The main 



intervention in the training is planned learning for the individual. The training is aimed to 

increase the extent of the individuals act based on their needs to know or demonstrate their 

work ability. According Djuju Sudjana (2004), the functions of education outside the school are 

recommended to be used in the management of training program are: (1). Planning, (2) 

organizing, (3) Motivating, (4) conforming with sub-functions of supervision, supervision, and 

monitoring, (5). assessment or evaluating, and (6) developing. 

Referring to the theory of Bloom's taxonomy, the behavior change is always linked to 

the three regions or domains, namely, cognitive, affective and psychomotor. One of nutrition 

education forms is the provision of counseling to the community. As said by Azwar, (2003) the 

health counseling is an educational activity that is done by spreading the message in order to 

foster interest, understanding and awareness of individuals and communities to live healthier. 

According Suhardjo (1999), the nutritional counseling is an educative approach to produce the 

individual or community behavior that is required in improving or maintaining good nutrition. 

Educative approach is defined as a series of activities which are carried out systematicly, 

planned, directed, with the active role of individuals and groups to solve community problems 

by taking into account socioeconomic factors and local culture. 

Thus, the organizing of education and training is the first step that should be carefully 

designed, involve various of related components such as human resource, non-human 

resource (facilities, guidelines implementation, objectives, learning materials, methods, time, 

etc.). The design should be based on needs analysis or analysis of findings and designed 

jointly involving all the related elements (stakeholders, designers ideas, funders). 

BEHAVIOR OF EATING HABIT 

According to Berg (1996), eating habit is formed of self-person because of process of 

socialization which is obtained from the environment, including aspect of cognitive, affective 

and psychomotor. In line with the opinion that refers to the theory of Bloom's taxonomy is 

Gronlund et al (1970), states that there are three regions of behavior can be observed as a 

result of counseling activities, namely: 

1) Cognitive area is started from knowing level, understanding, using, analysis, synthesis 

up to the level of evaluation. 

2) Affective area is started from the level of receiving, giving, responding, assessing, 

organizing, up to the level of comprehending fully. 



3) Psychomotor area is started from the ability to perceiving, mental readiness, physical 

and emotional, guided response, mechanism up to response of complex outward. 

The result of education and counseling is expected to reach the three levels, because the final 

goal of counseling is to obtain knowledge, appreciation and application. 

And also Graeff et al (1996:138) state that the human behavior is the result of 

experience and human interaction with the environment that is manifested in the form of 

knowledge, attitudes and actions. In other words, the behavior is person's reaction towards 

stimulus that comes from outside or inside him/herself. Based on those opinions, Suhardjo 

(1999:128) states that the eating habit is a symptom of cultural and social that can give a 

behavior picture of the values held by a person or group of people. 

Leagens (in Zahrulianingdyah: 2009) states that the behavior of individual covers 

everything that become the knowledge, the attitudes, and the action customary. Thus, the 

behavior does not arise from inside of the individual, but it is the result of individual interaction 

with the environment. Some of the factors that motivate behavior are 1) the environment 

condition, 2) personal encouragement, such as desires, feelings, emotions, instincts, needs, 

wish, intentions, and 3) achieved goals. 

The theory above shows that the behavior of human food consumption is obtained 

with a variety of efforts, since from the consideration what is appropriate and should be eaten, 

how to get and process it, how to organize and eat it. These activities occur repeatedly and 

eventually will become something the family eating habit. From the family eating habit will 

evolve into a group or community eating habit. 

In effect the food is needed by human to maintain life in a sufficient rate, namely, no 

less and no excess. However, the quality of the food that is eaten will affect the level of health, 

intelligence, growth and development of the human body. Thus, adequate food of nutrition is 

needed by human to be consumed in the balanced sufficient quantity. It is as stated by Darwin 

Karyadi (1993:27), that nutritious food has a role with respect to the quality of human 

resource, classified as follows: 

1. The influence on physical development, mental and social that has implication 

towards human height, intelligence, cognitive ability, and national security; 

2. Affect the stamina towards the occurrence of infectious diseases or immune 

competence; 



3. Affect the physical endurance that has implications for the performance or exercise; 

and 

4. Closely associated with the high or low of sickness and death rate. 

Until now, domestic affairs, especially related to the caring child and preparing food 

are still viewed as the work that should be done by women (Zahrulianingdyah, 2009: 32). 

Therefore, it appears that the mother especially in developing countries still plays an important 

role in the affairs of the family food. The logical consequence of the opinion above is the 

behavior of family food consumption is largely determined by the knowledge, attitudes and 

skills of mothers in providing family meals. The knowledge and skills are gained from 

education and experience that are possessed by mother. The education that is meant can be 

formal and non formal education which have contributed to the problem of family welfare. As 

stated by Rogers and Shoemaker, the formal education is helpful to support the acceptance of 

skilled non-formal education materials. The involvement of mothers in the counseling activity 

is expected to positively affect on the provision of family food. Thus, it is expected if the 

mother's educational level is high then the nutrition knowledge, nutrition attitude and 

application of nutrition in the family will also rise and will impact on the members of her family, 

which eventually lead to the good and correct eating habits behavior. 

To get the nutritious meal in the family, should pass many factors, namely, should 

have nutritional knowledge, perception of true foodstuff, have perception and meal culture that 

support, know food processing and supported by the readiness of the economy that is very 

relative and individual. It can be obtained through nutrition education and training that is 

organized well according to the needs of the user community. The materials of nutrition 

education and training, among others, consist of knowledge of nutrition, foodstuff knowledge, 

knowledge of cooking techniques, knowledge of menu, knowledge of recipes and others 

knowledge as needed to support the realization of behavioral change or shift of eating habit in 

the family. 

CONCLUSION 

In realizing a healthy society should be started from shaping healthy family that is 

aware of the importance of nutrition for life. This can be achieved when all the component that 

is related to and responsible for the establishment of healthy society, jointly design a program 

of community empowerment, especially women of productive age who is organized well and 



correctly. The needs of user community that is trarted from the needs analysis so that can 

actually reach the desired destination. 

The organizing of education and training should involve the variety of components of 

human resource (implementers, participants, speakers) and non-human (facility, place, time, 

training manuals, teaching materials, methods, learning strategies, media, etc.) those are 

combined synergistically. To realize the attitudes and behaviors of nutrition as well as health 

awareness, needed a set of learning materials that support, those are the knowledge of 

nutrition, foodstuff knowledge, food processing techniques, knowledge of menu and food 

processing practices. 

REFERENCES 

Azwar, A. 2003. Pengantar Pendidikan Kesehatan. Yogyakarta: Aditya Media. 

Barasi, Mary E. 2009. At a Glance Ilmu Gizi. Jakarta: Penerbit Erlangga 

Drummond, Karen Eich and Brefere, Lisa M. 2004. Nutrition for Foodservice & Culinary Profesionals, 

fifth edition. Published by John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey: Inc, Hoboken. 

Foster G.M, Anderson B.G. 2006. Antropologi Kesehatan. Terjemahan. Jakarta: 

Universitas Indonesia Press. 

Graeff Yudith A, John P.Elder, Elizabeth Mills Booth. 1996. Komunikasi untuk 

Kesehatan Perubahan Perilaku. Terjemahan Mubasyir Hasanbasri. 

Yogyakarta: Gajah mada University Press. 

Gibney, Michael J., Margetts, Barrie M., Kearney, John M., Arab, Lenore. 2009. Gizi 

Kesehatan Masyarakat. Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kedokteran EGC. 

Groundlund,N.E.1970. Stating Behavioral Obyectives for Classroom Instruction 

The Mac Millan Co. London. 

Guire, Michelle Mc. And Beerman, Kathy A. 2005. Nutritional Sciences, From 

Fundamentals To Food. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press. 

Mujiman Haris, 2009. Manajemen Pelatihan, berbasis belajar mandiri. 

Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar. 

Randy R Wrihatnolo dan Riant Nugroho Dwidjowijoto. 2007. Manajemen Pem- 

berdayaan, sebuah Pengantar dan Panduan untuk Pemberdayaan Masya- 

rakat. Jakarta: Gramedia. 

Rivai Veithzal, Murni Sylviana, 2009. Education Management. Jakarta: Rajawali 



Press. Devisi Buku Perguruan Tinggi. PT Raja Grafindo Persada. 

Soehardjo. 1999. Sosio Budaya Gizi. Bogor: PAU Pangan dan Gizi Institut 

Pertanian Bogor. 

Sudjana D. 2004. Manajemen Program Pendidikan. Bandung: Falah Production 

---------- 2007. Pendidikan dan Pelatihan dalam Ilmu dan Aplikasi Pendidikan 

Bagian 4 Tim Pengembang Ilmu Pendidikan Fakultas Ilmu Pendidikan 

Universitas Indonesia. Bandung: PT Imperial Bhakti Utama. 

Terry, G.R. 2003. Dasar-dasar Manajemen. Jakarta: Bumi Aksara. 

Zahrulianingdyah Atiek. 2009. Diversifikasi Pangan dalam Kebiasaan makan 

Keluarga di Desa Mangli Kabupaten Magelang. Penelitian. Semarang : 

Lembaga Penelitian Universitas Negeri Semarang. 


[Katharina Rustipa] B-11 

COHERENCE-BASED TEACHING TO ADVANCED WRITING, TO FOSTER 

THE STUDENTS’ SUCCESS IN THEIR STUDY AND THE PROFESSIONALS’ SUCCESS IN 

THEIR CAREER 

Katharina Rustipa (Doctorate student of UNNES) 

Katrin_esde@yahoo.co.id 

ABSTRACT 

English written form is badly needed by professionals and students for the success in their 

career and in their study. However, coherent writing is not an easy task, even for advanced 

writers because it is a complex work that needs complex skills. Based on this background, the 

study investigates the coherence of English advanced writings of Indonesian writers. The 

study is aimed at finding out (1) The coherence of English Arguments of Indonesian writers, 

(2) How the coherence concept can assist the teaching of Advanced Writing. This study is 

descriptive and qualitative. The data of the study are 14 English Arguments of Indonesian 

writers found in The Jakarta Post in the last three years (2009-2011).The research results 

reveal that (1) The English Arguments of Indonesian writers are mostly developed partly 

coherently. (2) The significance of the coherence concept is to design coherence-based 

teaching to Advanced Writing. It is suggested that English teachers apply coherence-based 

strategy to teach Advanced Writing. The coherence-based teaching can be explained as 

follows. The teaching materials comprise (1) Discourse organizational development, (2) 

Argumentative genre, (3) Cohesive and metadiscourse markers, (4) Fullness of paragraph 

development, (5) Clear and effective introduction, (6) Relevant title formulation, (7) Clear 

conclusion. The teaching materials are presented in the following stages: (1) Introductory 

activities, (2) Explicit teaching, (3) Students handouts, (4) Awareness-raising tasks, (5) Writing 

practice. 

Key Words: coherence, coherence-based teaching, advanced writing, 

organizational pattern, cohesive devices, metadiscourse 

markers 

INTRODUCTION 

In this globalization era, English is established as the world language of research and 

publication. This makes the English language, especially that of the written type significant for 

students and professionals. McNamara et al. (2010: 58) states as follows: “Writing well is a 

significant challenge for students and professionals.” Light (2001) in McNamara et al. (2010: 

58) states that for professionals, writing skills are essential for their day-to-day work and 

critical for entry and promotion in their disciplines. Writing provides the ability to articulate 

ideas, argue opinion, and synthesize multiple perspectives. Geiser and Studly (2001) in 

McNamara et al. (2010: 58) state that for students, writings are among the best predictors of 

success in course work during their years of study. 



Cameron (2007: 43) finds out that writing skill is not only difficult for the students but also for 

scientists, writers and editors. Similar with Cameron, Almaden states that writing is a highly 

complex process for novice and non novice writers alike since it involves advanced skills that 

include critical thinking, logical development, and coherence of ideas (2006: 127). 

Tangkiengsirisih (2010: 2) finds out that even advanced learners at a high proficiency level of 

English have problems with academic writing at the level of text organization and cohesion, 

even though they have started learning English since elementary school level throughout the 

school years. 

According to Storrer (2002: 1), authors should design a text in such a way that the 

addressee may detect the relationships linking individual text constituents. In other words, the 

authors should write a coherent text. He further explains that the concept of text coherence is 

developed for linear text, i.e. text of sequentially organized content. Coherence is a key 

concept for text comprehension and text clarity. In transferring knowledge or information, the 

author intends to support the readers as best as possible, in arriving at coherent knowledge 

structure. 

The author focuses on the models of coherence design on discourse production. 

These models describe the strategies the authors use in order to guide and promote the 

process of coherence building done by the readers. On the contrary, the reader focuses on 

the models of coherence building. These models describe how readers build coherent 

knowledge structures while processing text (Storrer, 2002: 1). 

Moore (1971) cited by Almaden (2006: 127) states that writing puts the burden of achieving 

coherence on both native and non-native writers of the target language, since both have the 

responsibility to produce coherent discourse to indicate unobtrusively logical interrelationships 

of parts to their readers. Based on the considerations above, I would like to investigate the 

coherence of the English Argumentative Discourses of Indonesian writers. Tran (2007) states 

that the articles of opinion in newspaper are comparable to college writings and they are valid 

choices to represent advanced writings, besides they present a wide range of topics. Tran 

further explains that the articles are preferable data for advanced writing research because 

students’ essays are usually short, and rigidly controlled by the organizational framework 

provided in class. 

Coherence refers to the concepts and relations underlying text’s meaning that contribute to 

the text theme. Coherence builds text unity by being consistent in the context of situation, 



context of culture, by continuity of ideas/ of sense/ of concepts. A text lacks of situational 

coherence if we cannot think of one situation in which the sentences occur. There is no 

coherence of field, there is a change from one field to another. There is no coherence in 

mode, e.g. some clauses reflect written language, other clauses reflect spoken language. 

There is no coherence of tenor, e.g. we cannot determine what role the writer/ sayer of the 

text is playing. A text lacks of generic coherence when there is no identifiable generic 

structure, e.g. each clause seems to come from a different genre. And, in the text there is no 

clear schematic structure. It should be born in mind that the coherence of a text will lead the 

readers or listeners to effective comprehension and interpretation of the text. And therefore it 

will lead to optimal relevance, i.e. adding the readers’ existing knowledge, strengthen the 

readers’ existing knowledge, or contradicting the readers’ existing knowledge (Halliday and 

Hasan, 1976: 3; Eggins, 1994: 87; Almaden, 2006: 128; Storrer, 2002; Moreno, 2003: 116, 

Celce Murcia and Olshtain, 2000: 125). 

The coherence of a text can be classified into 3 levels: coherent, partly coherent, 

incoherent. A coherent text has the following criteria: (1) Linear organization, (2) Does not shift 

topics or digress, (3) Generic coherence (clear schematic structure with a clear purpose), (4) 

Situational coherence (clear context of situation), (5) Skillfully uses metadiscourse markers/ 

cohesive ties, (6) Fullness of paragraph development, (7) Begins with clear and effective 

introduction, (8) Concludes with a statement that gives the reader a definite sense of closure, 

(9) Makes few or no grammatical errors that interrupt the discourse flow or the reading 

process, (10) Relevant title formulation (Eggins , 1994: 87; Storrer , 2002; Bearsdly, 1976; 

Celce Murcia and Olshtain, 2000: 125; Halliday and Hasan, 1976: 3; Ngadiman, 1998: 152- 

153; Almaden, 2006; Lee, 2002: 36-37; Bamberg, 1983). 

A partly coherent text fulfills enough of the criteria above so a reader will be able to make at 

least a partial integration and comprehension of the text. Incoherent text has the following 

criteria: (1) Non linear organization, (2) Shifts topics or digresses frequently from the topic, (3) 

Unclear schematic structure, (4) Unclear context of situation, (5) Uses few metadiscourse 

markers/ cohesive ties, (6) Incomplete paragraph development, (7) Begins with an unclear 

and an ineffective introduction, (8) Creates no sense of closure, (9) Makes numerous 

grammatical errors resulting in a rough or irregular discourse flow, (10) Irrelevant title 

formulation. 



This research is aimed at finding out the coherence level of the English Arguments of 

Indonesian writers. It investigates the English Arguments of Indonesian writers found in the 

Opinion Forum of The Jakarta Post. The current study is expected to give pedagogical 

significance. Pedagogically, the research findings will be beneficial for developing strategy for 

teaching writing, i.e. coherence-based strategy to teach Advanced Writing, in order that the 

teachers can offer more explicit and constructive help or guidelines to their students to revise 

their own writing. 

RESEARCH METHOD 

The study is a descriptive and qualitative in nature. It describes the observed 

phenomena in the form of words rather than numbers. The coherence of the English 

Argumentative discourses written by Indonesians will be identified and analyzed. The study 

belongs to Discourse Analysis. Celce-Murcia and Olshtain (2000: 4) state that discourse study 

is the study of language in use that extends beyond sentence boundaries. This section will 

discuss research design, object of the study, method of data collection, data validation and 

enhancement, method of data analysis. 

Research Design 

To achieve the goal of the research, the study will be conducted in three stages: 

exploratory stage, descriptive stage, explanatory stage. In the exploratory stage, some 

phenomena will be observed. It is conducted by referring to the research objective. In the 

descriptive stage, careful descriptions will be developed. It is conducted by describing patterns 

obtained in the exploratory stage. In this stage, an empirical generalization will be formulated. 

In the explanatory stage, explanation concerning the empirical generalization will be 

developed. In this explanatory stage, a theory used to explain the empirical generalization is 

developed. 

Object of the Study 

The study analyzes 14 articles from The Jakarta Post in the last 3 years (2009, 2010, 

2011). Various topics with writers of various professions are taken. 



Data of the Study 

Since the objective of the study is to find out the coherence of the English 

Argumentative Discourses written by Indonesians, thus, the data of the study are the threads 

of ideas of the English Argumentative Discourses written by Indonesians. The objects of the 

study from which the data are taken are articles in the Opinion Forum of The Jakarta Post 

newspapers. 

Method of Data Collection 

Coherence can only be learnt through what the writers express and the sequence of 

ideas they express in the text. Thus, threads of ideas of the texts will be collected. The 

investigator will make field notes concerning the profile of the Argumentative Discourses, i.e. 

the title, controlling idea (both the thesis statement and topic sentences), supporting ideas, the 

relationship between controlling and supporting ideas, paragraph unity, the metadiscourse 

markers/cohesive devices. 

Data Validation and Enhancement 

Due to the fact that the key instrument of the study is the investigator herself, there is 

a possibility of invalid data and analysis. For this problem, triangulation is used to increase 

validity (Patton: 1983). Lincoln and Cuba (1985: 219, 301) as cited by Purwanto (2007: 100) 

suggest that triangulation can be of methods, sources, investigators and theories. This 

dissertation uses investigator’s triangulation. An academician from Sanata Dharma University 

is asked as an expert to evaluate the data (threads of ideas) and the data analysis. 

Method of Data Analysis 

The data are analyzed at two levels of analysis, (1) at micro or paragraph level and 

(2) at macro or overall composition level. At the whole composition level, the complete picture 

of the text features is tried to be found out. The following points are successively analyzed at 

the whole composition or macro level: (a) title formulation, (b) thesis ( in the thesis statement)/ 

macro theme (Martin, 1992), (c) sub thesis/ sub topic (in the topic sentence) at every 

paragraph/ hyper theme, (d) coherence between paragraphs (relatedness between thesis [of 

the whole discourse] with the topics of the paragraphs), (e) the flow of ideas or the pattern of 



organization, (f) the generic structure, (g) the situational variables (field, mode, tenor), (h) the 

cohesion, (i) the correctness of grammar. 

At the macro level, the flow of ideas or the pattern of organization and the generic 

structure of every text will be analyzed. The pattern of organization can be straight linear 

pattern or non linear (circular, digressed, parallel) (Kaplan, 1987). The stages of the text will 

also be revealed, whether it fulfills the criteria of the generic structure of an Argumentative 

Discourse. The situational variables will also be revealed to find out whether the text reflects 

the context of situation. (Eggins, 1997) 

At the paragraph level, the controlling idea which is called a topic (in the topic 

sentence) and the supporting ideas or sub topics (in supporting sentences) are identified. To 

determine the coherence at the paragraph level, how those ideas are organized is analyzed. 

The analysis includes: (a) topic, (b) sub topics, (c) fullness of development, (e) coherence 

within paragraph or paragraph unity. 

From the explanation above, it is clear that the analysis of the data in this dissertation 

involves identifying topics and sequences of topics/ ideas. This analysis is called, topical/ 

organizational/ linear analysis (Lautamatti: 1987; Austin Community College: 

www.io.com/~tcm/structure/guides/subtopics - accesed on December 30th 2010; D’Angelo: 

1980). After the topical analysis is done, the investigator contemplates the underlying 

coherence pattern of the entire essay. D’Angelo calls this activity as paradigmatic analysis. He 

says that paradigmatic analysis is done by rereading and contemplating the essay carefully 

and then the pattern of the essay is abstracted and put into a paradigm. Thus, this study 

applies topical, paradigmatic analysis. 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

After analyzing the data using coherence parameters proposed by scholars, it is found 

out that 3 articles (21%) are organized coherently, while 11 articles (79%) are organized partly 

coherently. Based on the research findings, the weaker features of the English Arguments by 

Indonesian writers are: the paragraph development, the insufficient use of textual cohesion 

markers, the flow of ideas, the introduction, the situational coherence. On the basis of these 

findings, in the following the coherence-based approach to teach advanced writing is 

proposed. 



Coherence-based teaching means teaching the elements of coherence. When students 

understand how these elements of coherence work in texts, they are more likely to use them 

more appropriately to develop coherence in their writing. The elements/ parameters of 

coherence used in this study are (1) Linear organization, (2) Does not shift topics or digress, 

(3) Generic coherence (clear schematic structure with a clear purpose), (4) Situational 

coherence (clear context of situation), (5) Skillfully uses metadiscourse markers/ cohesive ties, 

(6) Fullness of paragraph development, (7) Begins with clear and effective introduction, (8) 

Concludes with a statement that gives the reader a definite sense of closure, (9) Makes few or 

no grammatical errors that interrupt the discourse flow or the reading process, (10) Relevant 

title formulation (Eggins , 1994: 87; Storrer , 2002; Bearsdly, 1976; Celce Murcia and Olshtain, 

2000: 125; Halliday and Hasan, 1976: 3; Ngadiman, 1998: 152-153; Almaden, 2006; Lee, 

2002: 36-37; Bamberg, 1983). 

These elements can be refined into teaching materials as follows: 

1. Discourse organizational development 

This refers to parameters 1 and 2. In this part, the students are taught with the flow of ideas of 

an essay, i.e. linear and non linear flows of ideas. 

2. Argumentative genre 

This refers to parameters 3 and 4. Since advanced writings are comparable with 

argumentative genres, i.e. both need arguments to support the thesis, thus Argumentative 

genre needs to be taught. In this part, the students are taught to start with a communicative 

purpose in writing, then thinking of what kind of schematic structure or genre to achieve the 

communicative purpose. Afterwards, the students decide the register or the context of 

situation which gives the abstract schematic structure the “details”. 

3. Cohesive and metadiscourse markers 

This refers to parameter 5. Based on the research findings, even advanced writers have 

problems with cohesion in writing. Forty percent of the data have problems with textual 

cohesive markers. That is why, this material needs emphasis and obtains more teaching time 

allotment. In this part, the students are made aware concerning the differences between 

textual and point-to-point cohesion. 

4. Fullness of paragraph development 

This refers to parameter 6. Based on the research findings, 50% of the data have problems 

with paragraph development. Therefore, this material needs emphasis and more teaching time 



allotment. Although the students have learned how to construct complete paragraphs when 

they were at the intermediate level, actually they still find problems in constructing full 

paragraphs. In this part, the teachers also need to explain the differences between the 

paragraphs that stand alone and those that become parts of the longer texts. 

5. Clear and effective introduction 

This refers to parameter 7. In this part, the students learn that an effective introduction is 

started with a general statement leading to a thesis statement. 

6. Relevant title formulation 

This refers to parameter 10. In this part, the teacher teaches how to get a topic and how to 

formulate the topic into relevant title. 

7. Clear conclusion 

This refers to parameter 8. In this part, the students learn how to make a conclusion or a claim 

after the thesis or proposition is supported by the data, reasoning, backing in the Argument 

stage. 

Note: grammatical accuracy referring to parameter 9 will not be taught explicitly because this 

element is not problematic for the writers. 

Lee (2002: 33-34) shares that to help the students understand how the elements of coherence 

function in a text and improve their writing, the materials on each of the coherence features 

are used in 5 stages of instruction, i.e. introductory activities, explicit teaching, student 

handouts, awareness-raising tasks, and follow-up writing practice. Based on Lee’s ideas, the 

list of 7 materials mentioned above is presented in the five instructional stages. 

Below I describe one of these materials and how it can be employed to teach Advanced 

Writing. 

1. Introductory activities 

Introduce the students to the topic and stimulate their interest in the role of coherence in 

writing. In the introduction to the schematic structure of Argumentative discourse, for instance, 

students can take turn writing/ telling about a problem that is familiar to them all, e.g. a case of 

corruption involving political elites. Then, the schematic structure, e.g. Background, 

Arguments (Warrant, Backing, Qualifier, Reservation), Claim are discussed. This is helpful to 

teach the students how to become more aware of the distribution of information in the text. 

2. Explicit teaching 



Provide students with explicit explanations, preferably using authentic texts and simple textanalysis 

tasks. For example: in teaching the schematic structure of Argumentative Discourse, 

the teacher can ask the students to analyze texts that contain Background, Argument, Claim 

structure. The teacher can also ask the students to rearrange jumbled sentences. Then, the 

teacher checks the students’ answers and points out the correct answers. 

3. Students handouts 

After explicit teaching, the students need to internalize and consolidate understanding of the 

teaching materials. Unfamiliar terms can be explained and illustrated with examples in this 

stage. For example: a handout for schematic structure of Argumentative Discourse defines the 

meaning of schematic structure and illustrates the stages of Argumentative Discourse: 

Background, Arguments (Warrant, Backing, Qualifier, Reservation), and Claim. 

4. Awareness-raising tasks 

This is a crucial stage of teaching where the students do a range of text analysis tasks in order 

to apply the concept they have learned. These tasks require reading and some rewriting. For 

example: the students are asked to read an Argumentative Discourse and analyze its 

schematic structure. In this part, the students work in a small group in analyzing the text, and 

then revise it individually. 

5. Writing practice 

This stage allows the students to apply the concepts to their own writing. For example: the 

teacher can give the students a topic, and then tell them to plan their argumentative writing 

using the schematic structure they have learned. 

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 

After analyzing the data using the coherence parameters proposed by the scholars, it 

is found out that 21% of the Argumentative texts are organized coherently, while the other 

79% are organized partly coherently. It means that English Arguments of Indonesian writers 

are mostly developed partly coherently. The main features that reduce the text coherence are 

the insufficient textual cohesion markers and the incompleteness of paragraph development. 

On the basis of the research findings, the coherence-based approach to teach Advanced 

Writing is designed. The teachers can apply the coherence-based teaching as an alternative 

teaching strategy in order that they can offer more constructive help to their students. The 

coherence-based teaching that demands the students to do text-analysis tasks will enable the 



students to become critics for their own writings and in turn they will be able to revise their 

own writing. The coherence-based teaching will make the students aware the important role of 

coherence in their writings because they will be exposed with the features of coherence. 

REFERENCES 

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[Muhammad Yunus and Firman Parlindungan] B-12 

CHALLENGING STUDENTS IN ACADEMIC CONTROVERSY TO FOSTER 

EXCELLENT READING LITERACY 

Muhammad Yunus1, a and Firman Parlindungan2, b 

1 Jl. MT. Haryono 193, FKIP Universitas Islam Malang, Malang, East Java 65144, Indonesia 

2 Jl. MT.Haryono 193, FKIP Universitas Islam Malang, Malang, East Java 65144, Indonesia 

a brother_yunus@yahoo.co.id, b cakradonya@hotmail.com 

ABSTRACT 

The objective of this research was to describe how academic controversy technique improved 

the reading skill of the second semester students at English Department of Islamic University 

of Malang. As such, classroom action research was used. The subjects of this study were one 

class of second semester students that consist of 28 students. They were taught by using 

academic controversy technique to improve their reading skill. The data analysis in 

observation used quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data obtained from the 

test and questionnaire, while the qualitative data was from observation sheet and field-notes 

of the teaching and learning process. The findings show that the students became more 

active and motivated in the teaching and learning process. They can handle their lack of 

vocabularies during reading. They were able to cooperate in a team and to develop reading 

material independently to support their comprehension. This fact is supported by the result of 

their reading comprehension test was in the average 81.46 with the percentage 84.62% of 28 

students got score ≥ 75. The activity involved the students in great intellectual debates that 

shape their reading comprehension skill. 

Key Words: reading, academic controversy, classroom action research 

INTRODUCTION 

As one of the important skills in English, reading must be learned and taught in a proper 

way to get better English proficiency. According to Nation (2009:9) “An essential part of the 

reading skill is the skill of being able to recognize written forms and to connect them with their 

spoken forms and their meanings.” It means that reading process is occurring when there is 

an existing interaction between the reader and printed text. Interaction in this case is an active 

action of a reader in bringing meaning from his cultural background knowledge and getting the 

meaning from the printed text. However, there is a case where one can verbalize any word in 

a text but he cannot answer any question from it. 

In the classroom, reading is considered as the most important activity, not only as a 

source of information and pleasurable activity, but also as a means of extending one’s 

knowledge of language. In line with that statement, Nation (2009:49) also claimed that 



“Reading is a source of learning and a source of enjoyment”. As a source of learning, reading 

can support student’s knowledge of the world and increase their new vocabulary that helps 

them to have sustainable language learning. As a source of enjoyment, reading is a goal when 

learners establish reading skill and fluency, their enjoyment can increase. 

The researcher found a problem in the class of Reading Course II at the second 

semester students of English Department of Islamic University of Malang. Students were 

unable to criticize the reading material given. They can comprehend the meaning of a text only 

on its surface. Since Reading Course II at English Department emphasis on the student’s 

ability to understand detail, main ideas as well as relationship (language, content and 

organization) which include more difficult lexical items, idiomatic expression, and grammatical 

structure relevant to the reading passages, students are required to achieve more reading 

skills. However, their levels of reading comprehension within a text need to be improved in 

order to have them in a higher level of proficiency. In accordance with that problem, students’ 

motivation and activeness in the classroom must also be concerned to get them in a 

sustainable learning. 

Meanwhile, reading comprehension consists of some levels which refer to hierarchy of 

human mind operation, from the lowest to the highest level. They are literal comprehension, 

interpretative comprehension, and critical comprehension (Smith and Robinson, 1980:216). 

Critical comprehension as the highest level requires readers to think critically of what is written 

in the text. Burns, Roe, and Ross (1984:190) defined that critical reader must be an active 

reader, questioning, searching for facts, and suspending judgement until he or she has 

considered all of the material. Ennins (in Smith and Robinson, 1980:218) listed twelve aspects 

of critical readers: (1) grasping the meaning of a statement, (2) judging whether there is an 

ambiguity in a line of reasoning, (3) judging whether certain statements contradict each other, 

(4) judging whether a conclusion follows necessity, (5) Judging whether a statement is specific 

enough, (6) Judging whether a statement is actually the reaction of a certain principle, (7) 

judging whether a statement is reliable, (8) judging whether an inductive conclusion is 

warranted, (9) judging whether the problem has been identified, (10) judging whether a 

definition is adequate, (12) judging whether a statement made by an alleged authority is 

acceptable. 

Concerning with critical comprehension, Johnson & Johnson (in Jacobs, et.al, 1997) 

developed the Academic Controversy technique which is also known as Cooperative 



Controversy, and Structured Controversy. As a part of cooperative learning, this technique 

benefits learners to stimulate their new cognitive analysis leading to reconceptualization, 

synthesis, and integration of the best ideas, reasoning, and conclusions. Johnson et. al. (in 

Andi 2010:22) convinced that academic controversy technique leads collaborative problem 

solving, collaborative inquiry, and critical thinking. 

Few studies related to this research served as additional references. Andi (2010) 

investigated whether teaching English by using academic controversy model have better 

speaking achievement than those taught by using ordinary method. The study found that the 

respondent taught by academic controversy technique have better speaking achievement. In 

addition, Yunus (2004) studied approaches, methods, and techniques that used by the 

lecturer of reading course at English Department of Islamic University of Malang. The findings 

discovered that the approaches used are skills and strategies approach, communicative 

approach, and question comprehension approach. The methods used are top – down method 

and bottom up method. The techniques used are the implementation of both methods. 

Teaching reading as one skill of English, however, cannot be implemented the same way 

years by years, the reason is because there is a change of circumstance that the same 

method cannot give significance results anymore. 

As reviewed above, the researcher wants to improve the reading comprehension skill of 

second semester students at English department of Islamic University of Malang. And it can 

be seen that academic controversy technique enables students to meet the increasing level of 

comprehension. Therefore, this study focused on how academic controversy technique 

improved the students’ reading comprehension skill. 

The researcher realized that the weakness of this study was on the research 

instrument used for collecting data such as test, questionnaire, and observation sheet. It might 

have content validity problem. In addition, to present the controversy during the teaching, to 

make the technique successful, the researcher had to choose a debatable text. It means that 

the text given must contain a contradistinctive opinion. As a matter of fact, the current 

controversial issue over the world was the best topic to be given during the implementation of 

this study. 




Design 

The research design employs for this research is CAR (Classroom Action Research). 

The research procedures start from research preparation (including preliminary study and 

deciding criteria of success) and research implementation which includes planning the action, 

implementation, observation, and reflection. This procedure was conducted in cycle. Since the 

researcher unable to do the implementation and observation all at once, the researcher asked 

another researcher to help the process as collaborator. 

Subjects of the Study 

The subject of this research was one class (class 2nd E) of second semester students 

at English Department of Islamic University of Malang which is located on Jl. MT. Haryono 193 

Dinoyo Malang East Java. There were 28 students who were taught by using academic 

controversy technique to improve their reading comprehension skill. 

Teaching Procedure and Lesson Plan Design 

The main components in the lesson plan covered the objectives of the teaching and 

learning process, the materials, the techniques of teaching, the steps of the classroom 

activities, the learning sources, the assessment and the score rubric. The standard 

competence was developing the student’s reading proficiency in English Reading to 

intermediate level (approximately 5,000 words). While the basic of competence were 1) the 

students understand and respond to information presented in a variety of forms of text, 2) the 

students recognize, understand, and distinguish between facts, ideas, and opinions, 3) to 

demonstrate the ability and to extract relevant information from a wider range of texts, 

including magazines and newspapers likely to be read by students, 4) To demonstrate the 

ability and to identify the important points or themes within an extended piece of writing. The 

teaching scenario is as the following. 

1. Selecting issue to be read and discussed as focus of academic controversy 

2. Dividing the suite team into two groups, assigning the pro and con position, and preparing 

for presentation 

3. Assigning the groups to present the position 

4. Asking the group to analyze and critique the opposing position 



5. Assigning the groups to make agreement 

Criteria of Success 

The criteria of success were made as a sign to determine that the use of academic 

controversy technique will have already succeeded in solving the problems. As the focus of 

this study was in both cognitive and affective aspects, therefore this the criteria of success is 

formulated as the following. 

TABLE 1: Criteria of Success 

Aspect Descriptors Standard Instrument 

Cognitive 

Cognitive 

Affective 

Affective 

Student’s reading score are improved 

≥ 75 as the minimum mastery learning 

standard 

The students can handle their lack in 

vocabulary in the text 

The students are active in teaching and 

learning process 

The students are motivated in teaching 

and learning process 

The students are able to cooperate in a 

team and to develop reading material 

Affective 

independently to support their 

comprehension 

Implementation of the Action 

≥ 80 % 

Students 

≥ 80 % 

Students 

≥ 75 % 

Students 

≥75 % 

Students 

≥75 % 

Students 

Reading Test 

Questionnaire 

& Field note 

Questionnaire, 

Observation sheet, 

field note 



field note 



field note 

The researcher applied the action in four meetings that organized in teaching and 

learning process while one meeting for test of reading comprehension. The schedule is as the 

following. 

TABLE 2: Teaching Implementation 

Meeting/Action Topic 

Action I Corporal punishment for children 

Action II Men are compulsive shoppers as their female counterparts 

Action III Democracy and economic growth 

Action IV Safe sex education for children 

Action V 

Test of reading comprehension and students’ responses 

toward the technique 

At the beginning of the class, the researcher gave brainstorming in the form of leading 

questions or body movement. After that, the students were divided into groups that consisted 



foursome. The researcher then offered an issue and give background information related to 

the topic. When finished, in the main activity, students completed some tasks and read the 

text. After reading, they assigned controversy position and prepared for controversy. And then 

they had quick debate attack. At the end of the class, students made conclusion and relation 

from the text within the class. And the last, the researcher gave feedback and evaluation. 

Observation 

The observation conducted when the action was happening in the classroom. This 

activity was done by the observer or collaborator. All the information collected by using 

observation checklist, field notes, questionnaire sheet and test of reading comprehension. 

The first instrument was observation checklist. The aim of this instrument is to know 

the development of the students during the teaching and learning process. The aspects that 

measured were student’s activeness, motivation, and interpersonal skill and ability in 

developing reading material. The researcher divided this instrument into three main headings; 

pre activities, whilst activities, and post activities. This instrument was completed by the 

collaborator teacher who always join the class while the teaching and learning process. 

The second instrument was field note. In this research, the researcher took note 

regularly while teaching students. A Field note was used to know the progress and record 

activities, or events in the teaching and learning process. This instruments measured both 

cognitive and affective aspect of the students. 

The third instrument was questionnaire sheet. The questionnaire was used to collect 

data from the students. This consists of questions related to the technique which 

implemented. The questionnaire was given to the students to get their response related to the 

technique used. There were four aspects that measured by this instrument they were 

stimulating students to enrich vocabulary, the activeness, the motivation, and the interpersonal 

skill and ability in developing reading material. 

The fourth instrument was reading test. The researcher gave test of reading 

comprehension to the students to get students’ score or to measure the students’ 

achievement in comprehending the material. There were 30 multiple choice questions which 

asked about main idea, implied meeting, detail information, objective of the text, language and 

organization of the text. Those aspects were based on the curriculum of English Department 

of Islamic University of Malang Year 2008 



Reflection 

In this part, the term reflection is related to reflect and evaluate whether the 

implementation of the strategy in this research is successful or not based on the observation. 

If it is not, it will be continued to the next cycle. The result of the analysis is consulted with the 

criteria of success. Meanwhile, the weakness in the first cycle is improved to the next cycle. 

This cycle is stopped when the criteria of success are fulfilled. 

FINDINGS 

Having analyzing the observation checklist, it was found that the students debate 

back and forth trying to convince the other pair that their view is the correct one. The 

collaborator noted that some of the students tend not to argue what their friends were 

presenting in a contra position. He also noted that the researcher didn’t give brainstorming 

and directly gave the text without giving warm up to the students. The collaborator teacher 

then stated that although without brainstorming, the students were still active in the class. 

From field-note analysis, certain activities were found necessary to pay attention to. 

The collaborator wrote a field note from the first meeting that 1) the students were active 

enough in answering the teacher’s questions. Their activeness was also supported by the 

interesting topic they chose and the pictures presented in slide show power point related to 

the topic, 2) the students were active enough to speak when they have a debate but some of 

the students still had difficulty in making consensus about what they had debated, 3) the 

students had difficulty in comprehending the text individually or independently, 4) the students 

stated that the text given was difficult, especially the vocabularies of the text. For the second 

meeting, the collaborator noted that the students’ understanding on the text was very great 

because they were very familiar with the issue of the text. This condition made the students 

enthusiastic to respond or to answer the teacher’s instructions or questions. In the third 

meeting, the collaborator noted that 1) the opening was so attractive because the teacher 

gave the students a “chicken dance” to be followed based on the video, 2) actually the text 

given was more difficult but by using cooperative controversy technique they can comprehend 

the text, 3) the students looked enthusiastic to comprehend the challenging text given. The 

last note from the fourth meeting, the collaborator noted that most of students were very active 

to discuss the text; they shared the information based on their prior knowledge. They can 



comprehend the text easily by discussing in the form of debate. They can finish the task in the 

given time with the right answer. 

Moreover, another finding derived from questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 

20 questions in the form of YES or NO. It was divided into four headings; stimulating the 

students to enrich their vocabulary, the students activeness, the students motivation, and the 

students interpersonal skill and ability in developing reading material. The Students must 

answer all the questions based on their experience and feeling as long as the implementation. 

The result of the questionnaire is showed as the following. 

TABLE 3: Questionnaire Result 

Category 

100 

f (%) 

90 80 70 

∑ (%) Mean (%) ∑ f 

Stimulating the students to 

enrich vocabulary 

5 13 9 1 2640 87.86 28 

Students activeness 13 11 3 1 2600 92.86 28 

Students motivation 

Students interpersonal skill and 

25 9 5 0 2610 93.21 28 

ability in developing material to 

support comprehension 

3 3 0 0 2770 98.93 28 

Based on the responses of the questionnaire, the researcher found the percentage of 

the students’ attitudes toward teaching reading using academic controversy technique as 

follows: 87.86 % of the students thought that the technique can stimulate them to enrich their 

vocabulary mastery and can make easier in understanding the text. 92.86 % of the students 

thought that the technique made the students active in teaching and learning process. 93.21 

% of the students thought that they were motivated in teaching and learning process. 98.93 % 

of the students thought that they were able to cooperate in team and to develop reading 

material independently to support their comprehension. 

Furthermore, the findings also derived from test of reading comprehension. It was 

followed by 26 students. Two students were absent. The test was written test that consist 30 

multiple choice questions. The time allotment was 90 minutes. The criteria of success of the 

students’ reading score are ≥ 80% of students passed the minimum mastery learning 

standard ≥ 75. The data showed that there are 84.62 % of the students who passed the 

minimum mastery learning standard while the mean score is 81.46. Then there were 4 

students failed with the percentage 15.38%, and 2 students were absent. So from 28 students, 



there were 26 students that followed the test. This result had passed the criteria of success. 

The data is presented in the table below. 

TABLE 4: Test Result 

Recapitulation Remark 

Students Passed the criteria of success 22 

Students Failed 4 

Students were absent 2 

Total of Students 28 

Percentage of students passed the test 84.62% 

Percentage of Students failed 15.38% 

Total percentage 100% 

The Mean Score 81.46 

Based on the findings above, the researcher reflected this study which concerned on 

the implementation of academic controversy technique to the criteria of success as mentioned 

earlier. Firstly, the students were involved in the implementation of academic controversy 

technique enthusiastically as the technique in teaching reading. They were very active to 

discuss and comprehend the text given. They actively looked up the dictionary and shared 

with their partner if there was unknown word from the text and they also motivated to read and 

to do the task given. 

Secondly, having analyzing the data of the study taken by questionnaire, the 

researcher found that the percentage mean score of the criteria of success in stimulating the 

students to enrich their vocabulary was 87.86 % of students felt stimulated by the technique, 

while students’ activeness was 92.86 % of the students participated actively during the 

implementation of the technique. In addition, the student’s motivation was 93.21 % of students 

were motivated to read the text given, while the student’s interpersonal skill and ability in 

developing material was 98.93 % of the students had good cooperative in team and good in 

developing reading material. From the test result of reading comprehension test, there were 

84.62% of the students got the score ≥ 75 and the mean score of 26 the students was 81.46. 

It was clear that by implementing academic controversy technique, the second 

semester students at English Department of Islamic University of Malang were able to handle 

their lack of vocabulary in reading. They were active and motivated in the teaching and 

learning process. They were able to cooperate in a team and develop reading material 

independently to support their comprehension. Finally, the comprehension skill of the students 



had met the target in the criteria of success. Considering that this study had produced the 

expected outcome and the criteria of success had achieved, thus the next cycle was not 

necessary. In the other word, this action stopped because all the criteria of success had 

fulfilled. 

DISCUSSION 

Having analyzing the result of this action research and then it is discussed on the 

basis of the relevant theories. Useful recommendations are included for improving reading 

comprehension skill through cooperative controversy technique. 

Firstly, according to Johnson et. al. in Andi (2010:22) academic controversy technique 

is the instructional use of intellectual conflict to promote higher achievement and increase the 

quality of problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, reasoning, interpersonal 

relationship, and psychological health and well being. This statement reflected on the study 

conducted by the researcher that academic controversy can manage the tasks and activities 

of reading much proper and effective. This technique, in fact, had successfully produced 

effective learning outcomes which organized reading material into three steps they were 

before reading; 1) categorizing, organizing, and deriving conclusion from present information 

and experiences, 2) active representing and elaborating of position and rationale, being 

challenged by opposing views, while reading; 1) experiencing conceptual conflict, uncertainty, 

and disequilibrium, 2) active search for more information and understanding opposing position 

and rationales, and after reading; 1) accuracy of perspective taking, incorporation of 

opponents’ information and reasoning, attitude and position to higher stages of cognitive 

reasoning. Those activities made students more active and enthusiastic in participating on the 

lesson. 

Davies (1995) defined that reading comprehension as a mental or cognitive process 

in which the reader is trying to follow and respond to a message. From the steps of academic 

controversy technique can be seen that this technique leads the students to follow the text by 

selecting an issue and active searching unknown vocabulary. Then the students respond the 

text by presenting their opinion and convince it with their partner in the step of discussion. 

Secondly, academic controversy technique motivated the students to learn reading 

and to be independent readers. It was proved by the mean score of student motivation 

obtained from questionnaire that 93.21% of 28 students felt motivated. Johnson and Johnson 



(in Jacobs, et.al, 1997) confirmed that structuring cooperative controversy is a discussion that 

helps students to broaden and deepen understanding related to an issue, problem, or topic. In 

while reading activity, the students worked in groups where they can share ideas with their 

partner and convinced that their view is the correct one. In this step the students automatically 

involved in a process of sharpen their critical thinking and understanding of the text. Nunan 

(1991) defines that reading comprehension as a process that involves actively constructing 

meaning among the parts of the text, between the text, and personal experience. 

Thirdly, the technique helped the students to overcome their lack of vocabulary by 

assigning the students to search and prepare a position. The research proved that 87.86% of 

28 students were able to comprehend the text easily because they knew the vocabulary 

before reading the text given. As it is noted by Johnson et.al (1996:24) the technique 

motivates an active search for more information (called epistemic curiosity) in hopes of 

resolving the uncertainty. This statement strengthen the result of the study that active search 

for more information as Johnson meant include the intent to search unknown vocabulary. 

Fourthly, concerning with Johnson’s statement that academic controversy also 

promote and increase the quality of interpersonal relationship, the study was proved that 

98.93% of 28 the students had good interpersonal skill and ability in developing reading 

material because in the steps of while reading they work and read the text in groups that help 

them understand the text through an interactive process as Nuttal (1985) said that reading not 

only as an active process, but also an interactive process . 

Finally, it can be said that academic controversy technique successfully improved 

reading comprehension skill of the second semester students at English Department of 

Islamic University of Malang, especially class second E. The proof was obtained from the test 

result that 84.62% of 26 the students got score ≥ 75 in which the mean score was 81.46. The 

mean score of the test has passed the criteria of success. 

CONCLUSSION 

The researcher draws the conclusion based on the study that had done and 

presented in the previous chapters. Based on the result, it can be concluded that by 

implementing academic controversy technique, the reading comprehension skill of the second 

semester students has improved. The students became more active and motivated in the 

teaching and learning process. They can handle their lack of vocabularies during reading. 



They were able to cooperate in a team and to develop reading material independently to 

support their comprehension. It was right then the result of their reading comprehension test 

was in the average 81.46 with the percentage 84.62% of 28 students got the score ≥ 75. 

In this research, the procedure of cooperative controversy technique that the 

researcher used to teach reading was as follows. 1) Selecting issue to be read and discussed 

as focus of academic controversy, 2) dividing the suite team into two groups, assigning the pro 

and con position, and preparing for presentation, 3) assigning the groups to present the 

position, 4) asking the group to analyze and critique the opposing position, and 5) assigning 

the groups to make agreement. Meanwhile, the reading material was divided into three 

headings. They are before reading, while reading, and after reading activity. The researcher 

always made the lesson plan for each meeting and started the class by giving brainstorming 

and leading question in order to help students met their prior knowledge related to the text 

being discussed. During the process of reading, the students were in groups or pairs. Then at 

the end of the class, the researcher gave feedback to let students know how well they had 

performed. 

Moreover, based on the result of the questionnaire, the technique had improved the 

student’s activeness because 92.86 % of 28 students answered strongly agree that academic 

controversy technique made the students more active. As well as the students’ motivation, 

93.21 % of 28 students answered that the technique motivated them to improve their reading 

comprehension skill. The students also agreed that their interpersonal skill and ability in 

developing reading material had been improved by academic controversy technique. It was in 

98.93 % of 28 students. The technique also stimulated the students to enrich their vocabulary 

that 87.86% of 28 students agreed that they were able to overcome their lack of vocabulary. 

The improving of the students’ motivation and activeness were showed not only from the 

questionnaire result but also from the researcher’s observation and field note during teaching 

learning in the class. So the result had achieved the criteria of success. 

In short, this study was only carried out in one cycle because it can be said that 

academic controversy technique had successfully improved reading comprehension skill of 

the second semester students at English Department of English Department of Islamic 

University of Malang, especially class second E. 



SUGGESTIONS 

The first suggestion is addressed to the lecturers or teachers who have the same 

problem. In order to improve the students’ reading comprehension skill, the lecturer of 

Reading course or teacher is suggested to apply cooperative controversy technique in 

teaching especially reading comprehension. It is suggested because cooperative controversy 

technique can solve the students’ problem in comprehending a wider range of text including 

magazines and newspapers likely to be read by the university students. It is also suggested 

that the lecturer should use an appropriate technique in teaching reading to create an active, 

interactive, and communicative reading class. One of the techniques that recommended is 

academic controversy technique. 

The second suggestion is addressed to further researcher. Considering that academic 

controversy technique effectively improved the reading comprehension skill of the second 

semester students at English Department of Islamic University of Malang, the use of academic 

controversy technique in teaching reading comprehension skill is needed to be explored 

further in different grade, level of education, and also different skill. 

REFERENCES 

Nation, I.S.P, Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing, Routledge, New York, 2009. 

Smith, N.B & Robinson, H.A, Reading Instruction For Today’s Children, Second Ed., Prentice 

Hall Inc, New Jersey, 1980. 

Burns, Roe, and Ross, Teaching Reading in today’s Elementary School, Houngton Miflin 

Company, Boston, 1984. 

Jacobs, M, George, Lee, Siowck, Gan, and Ball, Jessica, Cooperative Learning; A 

Sourcebook of Lesson Plans for Teacher Education, San Clemente, New York, 

1997. 

Susilo, Andi. 2010. The Effectiveness of Academic Controversy Model as a Technique of 

Teaching Speaking for The Students of English Department at The University of 17 

Agustus 1945 Banyuwangi. Unpublished Thesis. UNISMA. 

Yunus, Muhammad. 2004. Approaches, Methods, and Techniques that used by the lecturer of 

reading course at English Department of FKIP UNISMA. Unpublished Thesis. 

UNISMA. 

Davies, F, Introducing Reading, Penguin, London, 1995. 



Nunan, D., Language Teaching Methodology: A Text Book for Teachers, Prentice Hall 

International Ltd., London, 1991. 

Nuttal, Cristine, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, Heineman Educational 

Books, London, 1985. 


[Atip Nurwahyunani, et all] B-13 

TEACHERS’ EDUCATION PROGRESSIVE LEARNING 

BASED ON INTEGRATED LESSON STUDY 

Atip Nurwahyunani, Eko Retno Mulyaningrum, and Mei Sulistyoningsih 

Biology Education Department 

Faculty of Mathematics and Science Education of IKIP PGRI Semarang 

yun_sus@yahoo.co.id 

Cauda_284@yahoo.com 

meisulis@yahoo.co.id 

ABSTRACT 

Reformulation of higher education at teachers training college to improve the quality of education 

today is an important agenda of the educational institutions. It was intended to change the 

paradigm of learning which no longer emphasizes on the role of the teacher as the primary 

source of learning (teacher center), but the students active participation in learning that should be 

the main intention (student center). Progressive learning for teachers to make learning active and 

fun is necessary, so that the learning process is no longer the conventional shades, but created a 

hand on activity and daily life based learning. Empowerment of teachers according to the capacity 

and the problems is needed to be done to overcome the disadvantages of conventional systems 

and the difficulties faced by the teachers. One theory behind this idea is the progressive learning 

theory. The theory of progressivism is an expansion of education pragmatism thoughts. These 

theories view learners as active social beings, and that learners want to understand about the 

environment where they live, both personal environment (individual) or collective (social). 

Progressivism focus on children as individuals who want to learn rather than as subjects of study, 

emphasizing on the activities and experiences exploration rather than verbal and reading skills, 

and enhancing shared learning activities rather than individual learning. One effort to develop the 

teaching profession is to provide a facility that can provide opportunities to teachers for learning 

how to learn and to learn about teaching, with lesson study. Lesson study is a model of 

professional development of educators through collaborative learning and assessment based on 

the sustainable principles of collegiality and mutual learning to build a learning community. 

Key Words: progressive learning, lesson study 

INTRODUCTION 

Reformulation of higher education teacher in order to improve the quality of education 

today is an important agenda is the task of educational institutions. It was intended to change 

the paradigm of learning which no longer emphasizes the role of the teacher as the primary 

source of learning (teacher center), but the liveliness of the students in learning that should 

take precedence (student center). Therefore, it is required learning for teachers to realize 

progressive learning active and fun, so the learning process is no longer the conventional 

shades, but created a hands on activity based learning and daily life 



From the results of the implementation of the initial observation that the lesson study team 

coordinated biological MGMP in Semarang City, showing that learning is not maximized; 1) Learning 

is occur unnatural, the atmosphere is tense, the situation will be forced to conform to a model 

teacher. 2) Explanation of material hus giving less opportunity for students to express opinions or 

convey knowledge. 4) When the teacher to explain and answer questions that have not optimized 

media. 5) When the learning is always the teacher, so that learning is still teacher centered. 3) The 

students question is always in-handle teachers, it is too long, so spent many time. 6) Scenario 

monotonous sequence of learning materials that make the students bored. 7) Assessment alternatives 

was not optimal, with a scoring technique is still confusing. Thus the problems that appear are not 

competent teachers with their tasks entailed. So the impact on the achievement of educational goals is 

not optimal yet. Existing conditions as above the question arises in our mind, "Actually, what lack of 

education system we have lived all this time?" 

This study aims to reformulation that integrates the educational unit. The theme of this research 

refers to research roadmap IKIP PGRI Semarang 2012-2016. Moreover, specifically this study in 

accordance with details of topics IKIP PGRI Semarang R & D is research on teacher professional 

development. This research roadmap that span the 'hierarchy on the target of 2012-2013, which is the 

component of a (number of educational research 4) (attached). Especially in planning the learning 

process, the implementation of the learning process, learning outcomes assessment, and monitoring 

the learning process so that the learning process carried out effectively and efficiently through a 

progressive learning based lesson study. 

PROGRESSIVE LEARNING 

The theory of progressivism is actually an expansion of educational pragmatism thoughts. 

These theories view learners as active social beings, and he believes that learners want to understand 

about the environment where it is located, both personal environment (individual) or collective (social). 

Progressive education with the figures of its predecessor, Francis Parker and John Dewey's view that 

learners is one unified whole. Teaching material comes from his own experience of learners in 

accordance with the interests and needs. He reflects on the problems that arise in life. Based on its 

reflection, he can understand and use it for life. More educators are experts in methodology and assist 

in the development of students according to ability and speed respectively. 

According to Dewey, there are three levels of activities that can be used in schools. The first 

level of education for children in preschool, the children of this level of training required with respect to 

the development of sensory abilities and developing of physical coordination. The second level of 



learning should be studied using materials sourced on the environment. Variety of learning materials 

needed to foster interest and creativity in learning. According Sunyono (2008) learning resources can 

use the surrounding community, physical environment around schools, materials used or unused 

waste, and natural phenomena around. Thus the source of learning to use printed materials such as 

textbooks, magazines, newspapers, and the natural objects around the student (such as clocks, 

bells, rivers, garbage, plants, animals) can also be used as a learning resource for learning. The third 

level is the degree to which the child will come up with ideas or an idea, test it, and use these ideas or 

ideas to solve problems or similar problems. Carol (2007) states creativity comes when students are 

given problems to solve. Research Hendon in the journal of international science teaching for 

enlightenment: A holistic approach in developing a teacher's guide for best practices to teach at 

secondary level, stating that the cognitive abilities of students, is one thing that contributes to learning 

outcomes (Hendon et al, 2007). There are five principles of progressive education, namely: 

1. giving freedom to children to develop naturally, 

2. interest, direct experience is the best stimulus to learning, 

3. teachers have a role as a resource and learning mentors 

4. develop partnerships between schools with the family, and 

5. progressive schools have become test labs and educational information. 

Progressivism focus on children as individuals who want to learn rather than as 

subjects of study, emphasizing the excavation activities and experiences rather than verbal 

abilities and reading skills, and enhance shared learning activities rather than individual 

learning. (Mashadi, 2008). In addition, the form of student learning activities during the 

learning process is usually associated with student discipline in following the lesson, prepare 

the equipment, listen to the persistence of information, writing, reading, observing, thinking, 

and doing exercises or practice (Sahono, 2004). Results of research conducted by Yates 

(2007) also showed that active learning can improve student learning outcomes. In Yates 

research the high activity in study, can improve learning outcomes, so as a candidate of 

biological science teachers would have students study program has three components 

namely: 1) scientific attitude; objective and honest, 2) the scientific process: design and 

conduct experiments, 3) scientific products ; principles, laws and theories (Nur, 1983). 

Related with the description above, the progressive learning is one of the appropriate 

measures to be applied as a reformulation of teacher education, as an effort to produce teacher 

candidates who are able to implement areas of expertise, in line with developments in education. 



TEACHER EDUCATION BASED ON INTEGRATED LESSON STUDY 

Implementation of the learning process is almost always oriented to the students as a center of 

learning (student centered learning oriented). However, it is not meant setting aside the important 

role of teachers in learning. The success of the learning process through strategies/learning models of 

any kind, only possible if done by a professional teacher. 

One effort to develop the teaching profession is to provide a facility that can provide 

opportunities to teachers for learning how to learn and to learn about teaching, which is the lesson 

study (Santyasa, 2009). Lesson study is a model professional development of educators through 

collaborative learning and assessment based on the principles of sustainable collegiality and mutual 

learning to build a learning community (Mustikasari, 2008). Lesson study is a teacher professional 

development strategies. Groups of teachers to develop learning together, one teacher was assigned 

to carry out the study, other teachers observe students' learning. Sudrajat A (2008) conducted a study 

on "Lesson Study to Improve Processes and Learning Outcomes", in this study it proved that lesson 

study can improve students' learning processes and outcomes SD / MI. This process is carried out 

during the learning occur. At the end of the activity, the teachers get together and do the frequently 

asked questions about learning to do, revise, and develop the next learning based on the discussion. 

In addition to involving teachers as collaborators, the lesson study also involves teachers and other 

relevant parties in developing programs and implementing effective learning. In this research, lesson 

study team consisting of professors, teachers and teams of experts work together to carry out the 

stages in the lesson study (Karim, 2006). Lesson study activities carried out in three stages of 

activities: (1) Plan, (2) Do, and (3) See. 

1. Plan 

At this stage to identify problems that exist in the class to be used for planning activities 

and lesson study alternative solutions. Identification of problem solving in the context of the 

planning problem is related to: 

a. Characteristics of students 

Planning of Biology Learning (PPBio) can facilitate and motivate students to 

recognize, accept, absorb, and understand the linkages or relationships between 

concepts, knowledge, values, or measures contained in some indicators and basic 

competence. 

b. Curriculum 

In PPBio learning, it takes a flexible curriculum, achievement-oriented students' 

understanding of completeness (rather than on achieving a target delivery of content), 



the curriculum curriculum. Teachers have the authority to develop materials, methods, 

assessment of student learning success, in this case the lecturer weeks to develop 

materials to guide students in the preparation of teaching materials. 

c. Standards of competence and basic competences 

Standards of competence and basic competences subjects as stated in the content 

standards, need to consider: 

1) The order is based on the concept of a hierarchy of disciplines and / or level of 

difficulty of the material, not necessarily in the order that is in the content 

standards. 

2) The linkage between the standards of competence and basic competence in the 

subject. 

3) The linkage between the standards of competence and basic competences 

between subjects. 

d. Facilities and infrastructure 

Facilities and infrastructure in PPBio learning is necessary because it is used for 

learning concepts associated with the theme. Facilities and infrastructure need to be 

optimized to achieve the learning objectives. 

From the results of problem identification and solution planning discussion, then 

compiled and packaged in a learning device, consist of: Syllabus, RPP (Plan of 

Implementation of Learning), Teaching materials, worksheets and evaluation tools 

(Trianto, 2007) 

2. Implementation (Do) 

This stage aims to implement a learning plan. In the learning process, one of the lecturers 

act as executor lesson study and other experts and professors who act as observers or 

observer in the implementation of the learning PPBio observations using the observation 

sheet which has been prepared and other necessary devices. The observer noted the 

positives and negatives in the learning process, especially in terms of interest and 

creativity. Focus instead on the observation of the appearance of the teaching faculty, but 

more focused on student learning activities based on the procedures and instruments that 

have been agreed at the planning stage. 

3. Reflection (See) 



At this stage of reflection, the teacher appears, and the observer and expert discussions 

about the learning that has just done. The first implementation of the RPP lecturers who 

were given the opportunity to express his impressions during the performance of learning, 

then the observer (other lecturers and experts) present the results of the analysis of 

observational data, especially concerning the activities of students and teacher responded 

to by the implementer. It is important in this stage is to consider re-RPP that had been 

developed as a basis for further improvement (Cerbin, 2006). 

RESEARCH METHODS 

Paradigm Research 

This research is conducted to assess the development of character education through 

progressive learning-based reformulation of lesson study is integrated in the teacher and 

junior high school through IPA MGMP team of Biology in Semarang City. The development of 

this learning model is based on the development of educational curriculum began to 

emphasize character education based on local wisdom. In diagrammatic research paradigm 

can be seen in the figure below: 



ANALISIS AWAL 

• Banyaknya guru sains yang merasa kesulitan untuk 

mengimplementasikan students center dalam 

pembelajaran individual 

• Belum adanya model pembelajaran sains yang dapat 

mengakomodasi reformulasi pendidikan tinggi keguruan 

melalui pembelajaran progresif berbasis lesson study 

terintegrasi 

ANALISIS KEBUTUHAN 

• PERATURAN MENTERI PENDIDIKAN NASIONAL NOMOR 41 TAHUN 2007 (23 

NOVEMBER 2007) : pendidikan diselenggarakan sebagai proses pembudayaan 

dan pemberdayaan peserta didik yang berlangsung sepanjang hayat. Dalam 

proses tersebut diperlukan guru yang memberikan keteladanan, membangun 

kemauan, dan mengembangkan potensi dan kreativitas peserta didik. 

• PERATURAN PEMERINTAH NOMOR 19 TAHUN 2005 tentang Standar Nasional 

Pendidikan salah satu yg dikembangkan adalah standar proses meliputi: 

perencanaan proses pembelajaran, pelaksanaan proses pembelajaran, penilaian 

hasil pembelajaran, dan pengawasan proses pembelajaran untuk terlaksananya 

proses pembelajaran yang efektif dan efisien. 

Perlu dikembangkan suatu model 

pembelajaran progresif berbasis 

lesson study terintegrasi sebagai 

salah satu wujud reformulasi 

pendidikan tinggi keguruan dalam 

rangka pengembangan 

profesionalitas guru 

Mengimplementasikan 

reformulasi pendidikan 

tinggi keguruan : 

sebagai wujud 

implementasi 

pengembangan 

profesionalitas guru 

Figure 1 Research Paradigm 

• Implementasi reformulasi 

pendidik keguruan yang 

masih tahap konsolidasi 

dan peletakan dasar-dasar 

• Belum berkembangnya 

panduan pelaksanaan 

reformulasi pendidikan di 

tingkat keguruan melalui 

pembelajaran progresif 

berbasis lesson study 

terintegrasi 

PERMASALAHAN PADA 

IMPLEMENTASI 

PENGEMBANGAN PENDIDIKAN 

PROFESIONALITAS GURU 

Mengembangan 

model 

pembelajaran 

progresif 

berbasis lesson 

study 

terintegrasi 

Research Design 

The design of this study is a research & development with modifications. The selection of R & 

D research design is based on the merits and suitability of this design with research problems. 

Data were analyzed using the research results of mixed-method descriptive quantitative and 

qualitative. By using this method is expected to obtain a complete picture of the progressive 

learning model based integrated lesson study in higher education as a teacher of teachers 

implementing superior characteristics. 

At the trial stage of the model used experimental designs. This design uses a 

determination of a specific subject for the two groups, namely the experimental group and 

control group. To view the pretest and posttest effectiveness is then given to the control group 

and experimental group with the assessment based on the same professional development 



and at the same time. Treatment studies were conducted on experimental groups, namely the 

development of progressive learning model based integrated lesson study, while the control 

group did not use a model of progressive learning. 

Tabel 1 Desain Validasi Model Pembelajaran Progresif Berbasis Lesson Study Terintegrasi 

Explanation: 

Class Pre-test Treatment Post-test 

Experiment A1 X1 T1 

Control A2 - T2 

A : initial competent student test 

X1 : learning is implemented with a progressive learning model 

Q 

based integrated lesson study. 

: The final test students are competent 

Chart design of the first year of study 



1. Introduction Study Phase 

Literature 

The conceptual framework of 

teacher professional 

development 

Various research results 

implementation of progressive 

learning 

2. Planning Stages 

Higher education teacher 

Progressive learning model 

Model lesson study 

Develop a needs 

assessment based on 

observations 

3. Development Stage 

4. Testing Limited Stage 

5. Analysis Stage 

Stages of Research 

Research Problems 

Analysis 

Determine the effectiveness of the 

indicators of progressive learning 

model based integrated lesson study 

Figure 2 Chart Design of Research 

Observation 

Making the design development of a progressive learning 

model based integrated lesson study 

Conducted tests to measure 

the effectiveness of the 

assessment 

Concept Analysis of lesson 

planning 

Performance Analysis of the 

teachers (at school) and 

student learning plan 

Identification of progressive 

learning based integrated 

lesson study 

Stages of processing, analysis and interpretation of data 

reflection and evaluation of the progressive learning model 

based integrated lesson study. 

This study will be in stage I to V, here's an explanation of each stage of the research: 

Phase 1: Preliminary Study 

Plan the development of the activity 

progressive learning model -based 

integrated lesson study 



Preliminary studies carried out to map on the implementation of this phase is 

focused on the issues that have been taken from the initial observations on 

biological science MGMP team of teachers Semarang city characterized by 

excellence in learning through lesson study. Phase 1 consists of two activities, 

namely the study of literature and observation studies In the study of literature will 

be assessed on the conceptual framework of the argument as well as various 

studies on progressive learning model based lesson study. Literature review will 

then focus on the development of learning and its assessment. 

The second focus of the study is a preliminary observation study that aims to 

collect information about organizing a progressive learning based lesson study in 

higher education teacher training related to the superior characteristics of teachers 

in the city of Semarang. 

Phase 2: Planning (Plan) 

At the planning stage, the plan is carried out based on necessary analysis to obtain 

information about the things that need to be developed in designing a assessment 

model based on observation studies, determine the indicators effectiveness of 

progressive learning model based integrated lesson study and planning the 

development the activity of -based learning model of progressive lesson integrated 

study. 

Phase 3: Development (Do) 

On the stage of design development of progressive learning model based lesson 

study as professional development of prospective teachers in higher education 

biology teacher and science MGMP Semarang. 

Phase 4: The trial is limited (Do) 

At the trial stage of the assessment conducted trials that have been developed to 

measure the effectiveness of progressive learning model based integrated lesson 

study as a teacher of superior characteristics. The next stage of the analysis carried 

out after learning model validation stage. The results obtained from the validation 

stage the advantages and disadvantages of the developed assessment tools. Then 

be revised in some ways and eventually obtained a progressive learning model based 



lesson study in an efficient and effective as a teacher reformulation of superior 

characteristics. 

Phase 5: Analysis (See) 

At this stage of analysis and interpretation of data is the result of reflection and 

evaluation of the progressive learning model based integrated lesson study. The 

results of this analysis is expected to be developed to make the guide a progressive 

learning model based integrated lesson study. 

Type of Research 

This study is a mixed-method research which using data collection methods are 

qualitative and quantitative. Data is collected simultaneously during the development process 

of progressive learning model based integrated lesson study. 

Place and Time of the Study 

Data is collected on the team IKIP PGRI Semarang and Semarang MGMP biological science and 

junior high school Semarang city. For designing the research, development of the learning model 

study is a mixed-method research which using data collection methods in qualitative and quantitative. 

Data is collected simultaneously during the development process of progressive learning model based 

integrated lesson study and data analysis and preparation of studies conducted in the city of 

Semarang in 2012. 

Research Subjects 

The subject of this study was students of biology courses and team IKIP PGRI Semarang. 

The Research Instrument 

The device integrates a model-based lesson study developed and designed based on research 

issues and stages of research. Broadly speaking, the instrument is divided into two, namely: 1) at 

each stage of the research instrument to collect the necessary data. 2) the instrument-based learning 

model integrated lesson study to develop the professionalism of teachers and prospective teachers. 

According Hobri (2009) to measure the validity, practicality, and effectiveness of the model is 

conceived and developed the research instruments. Instruments that can be used are (1) sheet 

validation, (2) the observation sheet, (3) the questionnaire responses of students and teachers to the 

components and learning activities, (4) test results to learn. Instruments developed in the research 



stage to stage adapted to the needs of observation studies and pilot stages. Preliminary stages of the 

study developed the necessary instruments for observation studies, as listed in the following table: 

Table 2 The Developed Instrument 

Aspects Indicators Data research Instrument Time 

Aspects of • Interaction • Interaction of • interaction of Before the 

Instrument Time of students students and students and reformulation of 

Indicator Data and 

lecturers 

lecturers 

teacher 

Sources 

lecturers, • The learning • Learning education: 

Organization of teachers and process 

processes development of a 

learning in 

secondary school 

science teachers 

and student 

performance related 

to the 

implementation of 

the superior 

characteristics of 

teachers in 

educational 

activities 

• 

students 

Learning 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Questionnair 

es 

Video taping 

Audio 

recording 

beacons 

interview 

progressive 

learning model 

based integrated 

lesson study 

• Interaction of • characterize • the Character • Observation Before the 

students and d by 

Education in Sheet reformulation of 

lecturers 

excellent Learning of • Observation teacher 

• The learning teachers: IKIP PGRI Notes 

education: 

process • 

• 

mastering 

soft skills 

and hard 

skills, 

Participate 

Semarang • 

• 

Direction 

interview 

Assessmentbased 

character 

development of a 

progressive 



lesson study 

in improving 

the quality of 

national 

education, 

education 

• Have 

exemplary 

conduct and 

delivery of 

course 

materials. 

State of the Environmental • MGMP Team • Questionnair Before the 

environment. infrastructure that of Biology e 

reformulation of 

Facilities and supports learning Students • directions teacher 

infrastructure 

• lecturers 

interview education: 

• Observation 

Sheet 

development of a 

progressive 



lesson study 

At the trial stage of the instrument developed in accordance with expert validation and 

observation validation, as shown in table 3. 



Table 3 Validation Phases of The Instrument of Progressive Learning Model 

Based Integrated Lesson Study 

Aspect Indicators Data research Instrument Times 

The test device is a 

progressive 



lesson study. 

Character 

development of 

students, 

teachers, 

students, 

including 

discipline, 

honest 

openness, 

fairness, 

cooperation, 

responsibility, 

honor, respect, 

independence, 

critical, creative. 

Progressive 

learning 

implementation - 

based 

integrated 

lesson study 

Students, 

Lecturers 

Lecturer in the 

process of 

progressive 

learning based 

integrated lesson 

study 

The observation 

process of 

argumentation, 

audio visual 

recordings, 

interview guides 

written 

arguments, 

either orally, 

written 

argumentation 

skills test 

progressive 

learning process 

based 

integrated 

lesson study 

After stage 

of 

development 

and 

validation 

experts, as 

well as 

during of 

observation 

validation 

phase. 

After stage 

of 

development 

and after 

stage of 

validation 

experts, as 

well as 

during the 

observation 

validation 

phase 

To assess the expected formation of character in students, developed the progressive learning 

model based integrated lesson study. More detail can be seen in 4 Table. 



Treatment 

Character 

development 

through progressive 



lesson study 

Method of Data Analysis 

Table 4 Instrument Development Model of Progressive Learning 

Based on Integrated Lesson Study 

Variables 

The characters 

are developed 

individually 

The characters 

are developed 

as a group 

Indicator of 

character 

Discipline, 

creativity, 


critical, selfreliance, 

honesty, 

fair 

Cooperation, 

mutual respect, 


open 

Type of 

instrument 

Syllabus, lesson 

plans, 

worksheets, 

observation 

sheets, audio 

visual 

recordings 

compiled a 

transcript, 

interview 

guidelines, 

assessment 

rubrics of 

character. 

yllabus, lesson 

plans, 

worksheets, 

observation 

sheets, audio 

visual 

recordings 

compiled a 

transcript, 

interview 

guidelines, 

assessment 

rubrics of 

character. 

Time 

During the 

preliminary 

study phase, 

during the 

observation 

validation 

process 

During the 

preliminary 

study phase, 

during the 

observation 

validation and 

dissemination 

Methods of data analysis performed using mixed-method triangulation design is to simultaneously 

analyze data from quantitative and qualitative data as well as the combined data. Further using the 

results of analysis to understand the research problem. The rationale of the design analysis of this 

data is the lack of one type of data will be supplemented by other data types. In this case the 

quantitative data provides a way to generalize while qualitative data provide information about the 

context and setting. 



Quantitative statistical test performed to determine the gain of the evolving character of each 

treatment on the observation validation phase (Hake, 2005). In the meantime a qualitative descriptive 

analysis performed on the data questionnaires, interviews, observation sheets and transcripts of 

learning, at this stage of preliminary studies and implementation of progressive learning model based 

integrated lesson study, for observation validation. Table 5 shows clearly the techniques of data 

analysis refers to research problems. The process of triangulation of data analysis is then performed 

by analyzing both types of data both qualitative and quantitative data separately and then compare the 

results and subsequent interpretation of whether the data is performed to support each other or 

opposite each other. 

Research problems 

Table 5 Data Analysis Techniques 

Data Analysis Techniques Analysis of results 

Suitability of the Progressive 

Learning Model Based 

Integrated Lesson Study with 

Character Education 

Development in IKIP PGRI 

Semarang, and Semarang 

City Junior High School 

The success desiminassi 

progressive learning model 

based on integrated lesson 

study with the development of 

character education IKIP 

PGRI Semarang and Junior 

High School of Semarang City 

Constraints Implementation of 

a progressive learning model 

based on inetgrated lesson 

study with the development of 

character education in IKIP 

PGRI Semarang and junior 

high schools of Semarang 

City. 

• qualitative descriptive 

analysis of the data 

questionnaires, interviews, 

observation sheets, as 

well as transcripts of 

learning 

• Quantitative analysis to 

test for character data 

with ANAVA . 

• Analysis of triangulation of 

qualitative and quantitative 

data during the 

implementation of a 

progressive learning 

model based integrated 

lesson study in the 

observation validation and 

revision stages of the 

model. 

• qualitative descriptive 

analysis of the data 

questionnaires, interviews, 

observation sheets, and 

transcripts of learning 

• The response of students, 

lecturers, and teachers to 

progressive learning 

model based integrated 

lesson study 

• The response of 

students, lecturers, and 

teachers to the learning 

model 

• Characters that develop 

after the application of 

learning models 

• Device of learning 

• The difficulties of 

students, lecturers, 

teachers, in the 

implementation of the 


• The response of 

students, lecturers and 

teachers of the learning 

model 



Annual Indicators 

1. Improved performance of teachers in learning activities. 

2. Improved student learning outcomes in the cognitive, affective, psychomotor. 

3. Produced design development of a progressive learning model based integrated lesson 

study. 

4. Produced a progressive learning assessment tools are effective. 

CONCLUSION 

A progressive learning for prospective teachers can make learning active and fun, so the 

learning process is no longer the conventional shades, but created a hand on activity based 

learning and daily life. Lesson study is as a model of coaching profession as an important 

educator efforts to provide facilities which can provide opportunities for teachers to learning 

how to learn and to learn about teaching. Learning-based progressive integrated lesson study 

in higher education teacher training is one of implementation in developing character 

education teacher candidates. 

REFERENCES 

Akcay, B. 2009. Problem Base Learning In Science Education. Journal of Turkish Education. 

6(1): 26-35. 

Akinoglu, O, R.O.T. 2007. The Effects of Problem Based Learning In Science Education On 

Students Academic Achievement, Attitude And Concept Learning. Eurasia journal of 

mathematics, science & technology education. 3(1): 71-81. 

Carol. 2007. Creativity, Problem Solving and Innovative Science: International Education 

Journal, ISSN 1443-1475 2007 Shannon Press. 

http://iej.com.aucarol.aldous@flinders.edu.au [accessed 02/02/09] 

Cerbin and B.Kopp. 2006. Lesson Study a Model For Building Pedagogical Knowledge and 

Improving Teaching. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher 

Education. 18 (3): 250-257. 

Depdiknas, 2002. Kurikulum Hasil Belajar Sains. Jakarta: Puskur Balitbang, Depdiknas. 

Depdiknas, 2008. Panduan Pengembangan Pembelajaran IPA Terpadu. Jakarta: Pusat 

Kurikulum, Depdiknas. 

Dikti, 2012. Panduan Penelitian Dikti Edisi VIII. www.dikti.net 



Hake. 2005. Will the No Child Left Behind ActPromote Direct Instruction of Science? 

American Journal of Physics 24. 245 Hatteras St., Woodland Hills, CA, USA 91367, 

http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake [accessed 10/27/09] 

Hendayana S, Suryadi D, Karim AM, Sukirman, Ariswan, Sutopo, Supriatna A, Sutiman, 

Santosa, Imansyah H, Paidi, Ibrohim, Sriyati S, Permanasari A, Hikmat, Nurjanah, 

Joharmawan R. 2007. Lesson Study Suatu Strategi Untuk Meningkatkan 

Keprofesionalan Pendidik (Pengalaman IMSTEP-JICA). Bandung: FPMIPA UPI-JICA. 

Hendon, ST. Abdullah, S. Khalijah. 2007. Science teaching for enlightenment: A holistic 

approach in developing a teacher's guide for best practices to teach at secondary 

level, Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 8, Issue 1, Article 12 

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[accessed 02/02/09] 

Hobri. 2009. Metodologi Penelitian Pengembangan (Developmental Research) : (Aplikasi 

Pada Penelitian Pendidikan Matematika). Jember : Word Editor Office 2003. 

Karim, Muchtar A. 2006. Implementation of Lesson Study For Improving The Quality of 

Mathematics Instruction in Malang. Tsukuba journal of educational study in 

mathematics. 25: 67-73. 

Mashadi Imron. 2008. Makalah Pendidikan Progresif. http://lintangabyasa.blogspot.com/2008/08/makalah-pend-progresif.html 

Muhadjir, Noeng. 2000. Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif Edisi VI. Yogyakarta: Rakesarasin 

Mulyasa, E. 2005. Menjadi Guru Profesional. Bandung: PT. Remaja Rosdakarya 

Mustikasari, A. 2008. Menuju Guru yang Profesional Melalui Lesson Study. http://eduarticles.com/category/lesson-study/ 

(13 September 2009). 

Ngasbun Egar dkk. 2011. GATI IKIP PGRI KU: Pendidikan karakter dalam pembelajaran di 

IKIP PGRI Semarang. Semarang: IKIP PGRI Semarang Press 

Nur, Muhammad. 1983. Keterampilan Proses Calon Guru Sains. Jurnal Analisis Pendidikan. 

4(4) 

Sahono, Bambang. 2004. Pengaruh Model Pembelajaran terhadap Hasil belajar IPA: Studi 

eksperimen pada peserta didik kelas V Sd di kota Bengkulu. Jurnal Kependidikan 

Triadik, 7(2) 

Santyasa, W.I. 2009. Implementasi Lesson Study dalam Pembelajaran. Makalah disajikan 

dalam “Seminar Implementasi Lesson Study dalam Pembelajaran bagi Guru-Guru TK, 

Sekolah Dasar, dan Sekolah Menengah Pertama di Kecamatan Nusa Penida”. (13 

September 2009). 



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Penelitian:.http://akhmadsudrajat.wordpress. com/2008/02/22/lesson-study-untukmeningkatkan-proses-dan-hasil-pembelajaran/ 

Sunyono. 2008. Pengembangan LKS Berbasis Lingkungan Pada Mata Pelajaran IPA. Jurnal 

Penelitian: http://pustakailmiah.unila.ac.id/wp-content/ uploads/2009/07/Sunyonopengembangan-lembar-kerja1.pdf.03September 

2009 

Trianto. 2007. Model Pembelajaran Terpadu dalam teori dan Praktek. Jakarta: Prestasi 

Pustaka 

Yates. M. 2007. Teachers´perceptions of their professional learning activities. International 

Education Journal, 8 (2) 213-221. ISSN 1443-1475 Shannon Research Press. 

http://iej.com.au.shirley.yates@flinders.edu.au [accessed 10/27/09]. 


[Nunung Nurjati] B-14 

BILINGUAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER 

EDUCATION 

Nunung Nurjati 

University of PGRI Adi Buana Surabaya 

noengcy@yahoo.com 

ABSTRACT 

It is debatable whether or not it is the right time to implement bilingual education or instruction in 

Indonesia, especially at the elementary and secondary level of education. Bilingual programming 

is a significant breakthrough, however, there are many aspects to develop. One particular 

program is applying bilingual instruction for primary school teacher education (PGSD). Through 

the development of bilingual instruction in PGSD, three goals can be achieved: 1) promoting a 

new concentration in the bilingual program, 2) proposing the use of bilingual learning in the 

classroom, and 3) introducing the SIOP model in bilingual programs. 

Key Words: bilingual, primary school 

INTRODUCTION 

Until recently, it was debatable whether or not it is the right time to implement bilingual 

education or instruction in Indonesia, especially at the elementary and secondary level of 

education. There are opposing factors related to bilingual education in Indonesia. The 

government has introduced the concept of an international-based curriculum which is bilingual 

and the content subjects are taught in English. The objective of this program is to produce 

graduates whose command of English is highly competent in several subjects and in 

accordance with the development of those subjects. 

Bilingual programming is a significant breakthrough, encouraging the use of English in 

non-English subjects (known as subjects across curriculum). Even though it is a brand new 

program, the enthusiasm from members of the public, school staff and other beneficiaries is 

very high. This program is popular and attractive to everyone and has good prospects for 

future growth. Further, according to the Ministry of Education, the aim of the project is to raise 

the standards of education generally through the development of schools to an international 

standard. 

On the other hand, there are some aspects of the bilingual program that are not 

successfully developed. A research report facilitated by the British Council and authored by 

Steven Bax (2010) on English Bilingual Education in Indonesia maintained that there are 



some points that should be taken into account when implementing the program. First, tests at 

the end of each school phase (UNAS) are provided only in Bahasa Indonesia. Thus, some 

students who have studied subjects in English feel disadvantaged. It also means that these 

students must revise all of the science and maths in the year before the exams in Bahasa 

Indonesia just for the exam. This is clearly not satisfactory. Second, the teachers are not 

English specialists and their instruction could suffer from some inaccuracies. Misconceptions 

will occur in this instance. Lastly, teachers lack confidence because there is no development 

throughout the year and very few workshops. It is quite clear that the first priority is to provide 

teachers with the language training necessary to provide them with the skills to teach in 

English. 

According to Satria Dharma, Chairman of the Indonesian Teachers Association, in his 

petition presented to Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives, there are 

flaws in the implementation of the International School-based Program (SBI). Some of the 

flaws are based on incorrect assumptions. Kemdiknas assumed that in order to be able to 

teach a hard science in English a teacher should possess a TOEFL score equal to or greater 

than 500. He reasoned that there is no relationship between a TOEFL score and teaching 

ability because the score is not a measure of pedagogical competence. Satria also explained 

that other weaknesses of the SBI are chaos in the teaching-learning process and didactic 

failure. According to him, a teacher cannot be conjured up in five days that is able to teach 

material in English. As a result, many students failed the SBI national exam (UN) because 

they did not understand the field of study. 

Why does it matter? 

It is not easy to teach English in school, particularly at the primary level. English as a 

subject in primary schools has been required for several years. This policy was stated by the 

Minister of Education and Culture in decree number 060/U/1993 dated February 25, 1993 

establishing English as part of the elementary school curriculum to be started in the 4th grade. 

The public has widely responded positively to the requirement of English instruction in the 

elementary schools. Following this, English is taught at the secondary school levels. It is a 

mandatory subject on national exams at both school levels. 

School principals assign teacher to teach English even though the teachers do not 

have the educational background in the subject. This results from the school being forced to 



teach English because of public demand or orders from superiors. The schools have not been 

able to adequately implement this requirement because of inadequate teacher training and 

poor curriculum development. Policies were implemented before a careful analysis of the 

situation was made. Are workers in the field ready? Is there an existing curriculum or 

syllabus? What is clear, however, is that English is taught at the primary school level as well 

as content subjects such as hard sciences and social studies. These subjects can be taught in 

English only if the teaching staff is ready. Public demand, namely the parents who want their 

children to learn English, is not the reason to implement the policy. Only the decision of the 

local education department can require schools to provide English as a compulsory subject. 

Another indicator that proficiency in English language skill in national education is a significant 

need is the failure in the implementation of the internationalized program in school-based 

curriculum. 

In light of the problems listed above, bilingual teaching in regular classrooms at the 

elementary school level would be one solution. This can be achieved only by adding a 

component of bilingual education in the preparation of elementary school teachers. Added to 

that curriculum should be teaching English for young learners and teaching content subjects 

such as sciences and social studies in English. 

Bilingual Program in Education 

Simply, bilingualism is defined as being able to speak two languages. Bilingual 

instruction is teaching most subjects in school in two different languages. There are at least 

two bilingual types of Indonesian school. The first consists of vernacular and national 

language. It is presented as a local subject or local material. For instance, local material in 

Javanese areas applies Javanese language and Indonesian language instruction. The second 

consists of national language and foreign language. Here languages consist of predominantly 

English and Arabic. There is also an assortment of others, basically those that are considered 

global languages. (Ahmad Fikri, 2011). 

Another perception of a bilingual program is when it is designated to be a program of both 

national language and foreign language used for the language of instruction for the content 

subjects (Iversen, 2008). In this case the main global language is English. As the class goes 

bilingual it does not mean that the English portion is more dominant than Indonesian or evenly 



delivered in both languages. The instruction can be arranged based on the purpose of the 

teaching. For instance, English can be used as a language of instruction to interact with 

students in routine activities. These would be simple instructions such as to begin the class, 

comprehension, classroom management. Teachers would be encouraged to communicate 

these kinds of instructions to the students while in the classroom or in other areas of the 

school. Larger commands in Indonesian can be used in the teaching of content subject such 

as maths, natural sciences and social sciences. The mother language would be applied more 

in those subjects where presentation is an important role in student comprehension of the 

subjects. When students fail to comprehend, it follows that they will not master the subject. At 

this point the teaching objectives may not be achieved. 

In addition, there is a concern if the use of English language in teaching dominates in the 

classroom. This concern comes from the diminishing role of Bahasa Indonesia happening in 

big cities. In an article, Anita Lie writes that this appeared among children of wealthy families 

who select international schools where instruction is given in English or another prestigious 

international language such as Chinese. She cites some reports that such children are not 

able to sing the national anthem ‘Indonesia Raya’ or recall Pancasila. Therefore, there are 

bigger concerns of our national language being decayed by the use of English among children 

and Bahasa Indonesia not being used as a unifying force among various ethnic groups in 

remote areas. In remote areas, however, the role of Bahasa Indonesia as the medium of 

instruction in schools has remained unchallenged. 

Various ways of teaching bilingual methods have been designed to develop the academic 

proficiency of teachers of English Language Learners (ELL) when teaching content subjects in 

English. Many research projects have introduced the new methods. The writer is interested in 

developing a model called Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP). It is the latest 

model of instructional practice that has been modeled and applied in the United States. SIOP 

is said to be the most influential instructional innovation since the 1970s (Faltis is Echevarria, 

2007). The approach was introduced the early 1980s by Stephen Krashen as a way to use 

second language acquisition strategies while teaching content-area-instruction (Echevarria, 

2007:56). 

Further, Echevarria (2007:56) mentions that sheltered instruction, known as SDAIE 

(Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English) as well, provides assistance to learners 

in the form of visuals, modified texts and assignments, and attention to their linguistic needs. 



The term sheltered is used to describe content-area classes for English language learners 

such as sheltered maths, sheltered science and sheltered social studies. 

In more detail, Echevarria describes that the SIOP is comprised of 30 features organized 

around the 8 components of preparation, building background, comprehensible input, 

strategies, interaction, practice/application, lesson delivery, and review/assessment. In SIOP 

classes, language and content objectives are woven into the lessons in a particular subject 

area so that the teacher develops both subject matter competence and the English language 

abilities of the students. Teachers use the SIOP as both a lesson-planning guide and a way to 

reflect and improve upon the effectiveness of their teaching. 

Future program for UNIPA 

Considering the fact that bilingual instruction can be developed for primary school 

teacher education, the PGSD study program at UNIPA Surabaya should take this as the 

opportunity to promote a new concentration in the existing program. Basically, this program 

differs from the previous bilingual program known as international standard by the 

government. This new concentration will include two things: 1) development of the existing 

English content program, and 2) introducing the SIOP model to be taught in bilingual 

programs at the elementary school level. 

CONCLUSION 

In brief, it can be said that the bilingual program in Indonesia needs to be developed 

regardless of the drawbacks of its implementation. Surely, there are many aspects that need 

improvement if we want the program to continue. The government and educational institutions 

should go hand in hand to develop the program. One particular program is applying bilingual 

instruction for primary school teacher education (PGSD). Through the development of 

bilingual instruction in PGSD, three goals can be achieved: 1) promoting a new concentration 

in the bilingual program, 2) proposing the use of bilingual learning in the classroom, and 3) 

introducing the SIOP model in bilingual programs. 

There is a saying that in the era of globalization we should be ready to compete with 

others by showing our competence. This competence can be best shown by a mastery of a 

global language. It is up to us to improve so that we can meet the demands of this era or stay 

at the same level and be left behind. The time is now to implement the change. 



REFERENCES 

Bax, Stephen. 2010. Researching English Bilingual Education in Thailand, Indonesia and 

South Korea. www.britishcouncil.org/accessenglish (retrieved on 01-07-2012) 

Bialystok, Ellen. (1991) Language Processing in Bilingual Children. Cambridge University 

Press: Cambridge 

Burden, Paul. R., Byrd, David. M. (2004). Methods for Effective Teaching: Promoting K-12 

Student Understanding. Pearson Education: United States of America 

Echevarria, Jana., Graves, Anne. (2007). Sheltered Content Instruction: Teaching English 

Language Learners with Diverse Abilities. Pearson Education: United States of 

America 

Freeman, David. E., Freeman, Yvonne. S. (2001). Between Worlds: Access to Second 

Language Acquisition. Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH 

Iversen, Eva (2008). Mother Tongue and Bilingual Education: A Collection of Conference 

Papers. The Education Network: Copenhagen 

Jepsen, C. (2009). Bilingual education and English proficiency. University of Kentucky Center 

forPoverty Research Discussion Paper Series, DP2009-01. Retrieved [Date] from 

http://www.ukcpr.org/Publications/DP2009-01.pdf. 

Lie, Anita. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/10/01/preserve-linguistic-identities-andcultural-diversity.html 

(26-4-2012) 

Fikri, Ahmad. The Implementation Bilingual Education in Indonesia, 

http://mufazi881.blogspot.com/2011/05/implementation of-bilingual education. html 

(retrieved on 25-4-2012) 


[S a r w i ] B-15 

APPLICATION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL OPEN-INQUIRY MODEL TO 

IMPROVE THE UNDERSTANDING ON WAVES CONCEPT AND TO 

DEVELOP STUDENTS CHARACTER 

S a r w i 

Study Program of Physics Education, Physics Department 

Semarang State University 

Jl. Raya Sekaran-Gunungpati, Semarang 50229 

e-mail: arwimahmud@yahoo.com Phone: 08122929255 

ABSTRACT 

Development of learning process by using the experimental open-inquiry model to attain the 

learning purposes. The purpose of this research are to improve the understanding on waves 

concept used critical thingking skills form and to develop students character at study program of 

Physics Education. The research was carried out by using pretest-posttest control group design 

of wave course provided for sophomore 44 (treament) and 40 (control) students of physics 

education department educational institusion. Instruments of objective test on wave concepts 

and assessment sheets are used for collecting the data. The results of this research show that 

the students use critical thinking skills form to understand especially for elementary clarification 

and basic support 78% and 74%, whereas for the inference and the advanced clarification skills 

the learning achievement only 63% and 55%. The average gain factor normalized () = 0.56 is 

achieved. The research also results are t count = 4,26 and p = 0,02; its show that between 

experiment and control groups significant difference. The result also show that average score of 

the students character 3.7 (in scale 4) included in high category. It can be concluded that 

application of the experimental open-inquiry model effective to improve the understanding on 

waves concept and to develop students character. 

Key Words: open-inquiry model, waves concept, students character 

INTRODUCTION 

Laboratory activities that provide opportunities for learners is a laboratory inquiry. 

Activities are designed to learners and actively experience the learning process. Inquiry 

laboratory activities can involve the three domains of learning are cognitive, affective, and 

psychomotor. Psychomotor domains include data collection, implement procedures for using 

tools and make observations. Cognitive activity can be described by formulating the problem, 

setting specific goals, describes the theoretical basis sequentially and systematically, to 

discussion and interpretation, and report results. Experiments can display higher-order 

thinking skills such as analyzing, concluding and evaluating the concepts of science that is 

used as the basis for the discussion of theoretical and experimental results. Affective domains 


[S a r w i ] B-15 

include, among others, work together with others (cooperation), knowledge sharing , learning 

to communicate, and appreciate opinion others. 

Wave of open-inquiry experiment that exposes students to the open issues will be 

raised and increasing social competence in character. Social activities will be implemented 

through writing character basis in a systematic and sequential theories, design experiments, 

formulate the experimental procedure in detail, the present data are communicative and 

properly, process and report the results correctly, and a discussion of experimental results 

using the scientific method. 

Research by way of open-ended experiment on wind energy has been held [1]. By 

using this way, students can develop, conduct, and evaluate the scientific methods and skills 

of their experiments. The results of this study concluded that students do the development of 

knowledge when faced with a complex physics project and the reasons why a particular 

method. The impact of the research results are useful for developing a learning-centered 

learners with tasks that are characterized by open-ended problems. 

Laboratory research on teaching creative projects have been carried Noe optics 

through open-ended laboratory projects students can do simple research, such as the object 

light, optics, and sound waves [2]. Laboratory-based research project (open-ended 

Experiments) through a physics laboratory or a laboratory project also carried out [3]. 

Planinsic managed to uncover about the development of competencies and skills of the 

scientific process first-year physics students through the lab project. Open-ended laboratory 

activities require hard work and independence of the student to solve the problem of wave 

experiments. The study [4] managed to uncover differences in the use of student achievement 

of competencies between the tool kit at home and experimental physics experiments in 

college physics. The process of implementation of these experiments focused on the 

development of research, measurement, and reporting skills, as well as the ability to give a 

reason theoretically. 

The use of open-inquiry experiment can generate and increase the competence of 

critical conceptual thinking and creative thinking. A number of issues including, the behavior of 

sound waves in the experimental medium resonance tube is electrically still not well 

understood by students, but this material requires critical thinking skills regarding the behavior 

of wave propagation and reflection at the end of the free and bound. Likewise, the Michelson 

interferometer experiments, cannot explain the correct working procedures and principles 


[S a r w i ] B-15 

have not been able to explain the interference effect on the symptoms of the Michelson 

interferometer. These are some examples of the pitfalls in implementing a wave experiments. 

Learning through the waves of the open-inquiry experiments also used to develop the 

characters. The character means a personal attitude of a stable process results in a 

progressive and dynamic consolidation, integration and action statements [5]. Conveyed the 

meaning that is consistent [6] that the character is a dialectical movement of individuals in a 

dynamic consolidation process resulting in a stable personality trait. Character education 

emphasis on the psychosocial elements tied to education and environmental context. Further 

study revealed the character associated with the personality of a person who displays the 

traits or characteristics of a typical person who comes from the acomodation and associated 

with the environment. 

There are a number of learning strategies that can be used as a vehicle for character 

education [5], namely: a) creative approaches, b) pictorical riddle approach, and c) approach 

to inquiry. Approach used in this research inquiry, which uses mental processes to discover 

scientific principles and improve intellectual potential. Type of inquiry is applied to the wave of 

learning is an open inquiry (open-inquiry). Experimental activities conducted through the 

preparation of experimental design, implementation, preparation of reports, presentations and 

reports. Lecturers make observations and guidance when group learning difficulties. Lecturers 

and assistants only provide direction and guidance to find the best solution. 

Social aspects of character that will be developed in this study are grouped into two 

components, namely components of personality and performance. Social aspects of the 

character shown by the indicator of student honesty, hard work, curiosity, independence, and 

cooperation. 

Mastery of physics including waves requires the ability to think logically and critically, 

therefore, developed a model that should facilitate the activity of thinking. Include critical 

thinking skills to make a simple explanation, in-depth explanation, decide / judge, and 

concluded [7]. The process of gathering facts and information, thinking to conclude (deduction 

and induction), and perform advanced analysis and compiling the results of experimental data 

processing is the wave of critical thinking activities. 

Concept of learning strategies can be done effectively by making the analysis of the 

concept includes the concept label, attribute concepts, positioning concepts, examples and 

not an example [8]. Cooperative model is one way of learning the concept that aims to 


[S a r w i ] B-15 

motivate students to support each other and help each other, to master competencies taught 

[9]. Thus the social impact work group awareness will lead to recognition of the advantages 

and disadvantages of each individual in the group. This technique is applied to prove 

positively that the relative adult learners and the school with a different type. Carried out by 

forming a cooperative strategy classes in small groups of 2-3 students. Student involvement 

with the activities of thinking during the learning process, have a positive impact on the 

achievement of mastery of the concepts being studied [9,10]. For example, at each stage of 

the working group members to present ideas and concepts are understood to answer given 

the task of the lecturers. So the reward of cooperative learning groups based on their 

individual achievements of all members of the group and has contributed greatly to the 

achievement of learning outcomes [9]. Also on the stage of presentation, attendees can 

submit questions and give feedback, so that the presenter to answer and defend their opinions 

logically. 

Objectives are achieved: 1) mapping the mastery of the concept of wave to use 

critical thinking skills, 2) develop the character of students who support the professional 

competence of teachers. Expected benefits of the research results are given briefing materials 

mastery of the concept of wave to use critical thinking skills and personality to give stock to 

prospective teachers of physics. 

RESEARCH METHODS 

The research was conducted on Physics Education Studies Program, one of LPTK in 

Semarang. The method used is an experimental study pretest-posttest design with controlgroup. 

Subjects were 44 students (experimental) and 40 students (control) participants at the 

lecture courses in the second wave. Techniques of data collection is done by using objective 

tests and observation instruments. Tests designed to uncover the ability to master the concept 

of a wave of critical thinking skills as well as reveal the student. Pretest scores and postes 

were analyzed by N-gain (g-normalized) to determine the increase in the procurement of the 

concept of a wave of initial conditions (pre) and end conditions of learning (post) [11]. 

Furthermore, the data is processed in a descriptive-qualitative percent. To test the 

effectiveness of the model used paired two-sample t-test [12]. 


[S a r w i ] B-15 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

Data results for the wave concept is based on mastery of skills of critical thinking skills 

are shown in Table 1. The table includes the concept of mastery scores are grouped into four 

waves create a simple explanation, to make further explanation, decide/judge, and concluded. 

Concept test results of students who achieved at the level of thinking to make a simple 

explanation and make a further explanation of 78% and 74%, while scores of critical thinking 

skills to decide and conclude is 63% and 55%. This indicates the completion of a matter wave 

that require higher level thinking skills as well. Wave problem which demands the ability of 

generalization, applying the appropriate principles and reasoning which require assumptions 

and reasoning, students have not mastered properly. 

In Table 1, demonstrate critical thinking skills students use in completing the test 

questions waves. Interference test results to achieve the greatest average tenure among the 

other three subtopics. For sound waves and diffraction of light occupy two levels, while the 

electromagnetic wave is subjects most difficult. The results of wave analysis of the problem on 

the component skills of thinking. The same level of critical thinking to problem-assisted image 

types, students more easily controlled; ie about two-slit Young interference. On issues that 

demand the ability to reconstruct the wave concept and the relation between concepts and 

principles, for example, the resonance tube experiment and application of the concept of 

interference on the experimental tools, it is still difficult to resolve student. Critical thinking 

skills of students at the elementary level can be equipped to solve the problem of the wave. At 

the high order thinking (concluding, making further explanation) student still needs to be 

improved. 

Table 1 

Implementation of Open-inquiry Wave Experiments to Improve 

Waves Concept Mastery 

Critical Thinking Skills 

(CTS) 

Sound 

wave 

EM wave Interference Diffration Average 

(%) 

Elemantary clarification 

(%) 

82 68 84 77 78 

In-depth clarification (%) 80 65 78 72 74 

Evaluation/judgement (%) 72 55 65 60 63 

inference (%) 60 50 58 53 55 

average (%) 74 60 71 66 67 


[S a r w i ] B-15 

The results also reveal an increase in control of matter waves before and after study 

carried out, which expression that the Hake factor or normalized gain (N-gain). Test result 

data that includes the concept of wave of sound waves, electromagnetic waves, interference 

and diffraction of light are listed in Table 2. The results of data analysis revealed that the 

experimental group of 0.70 for 8 people (17%) and control≥students who obtained N-gain 

group 4 people (10%). Mastery of the material achievements of the wave height between the 

two groups did not differ significantly. The results of other analyzes, the scores obtained by 

medium and low achievement between the two groups differ significantly. Similarly, N-gain 

averages obtained for both groups 56.0 and 42.6 (scale 100). The results of wave score 

postes mastery of the experimental group is better than the results of the pretest score of 77% 

and 74%. Enthusiasm for learning, this high performance group showed a highly effective 

learning outcomes. For students who have a pretest score less well, and then achieve a better 

score posttest, need to be rewarded. 

The results of data analysis group are achievement can be stated that the control of 

matter waves for the pretest and posttest at 22 and 77 (experimental) and 19 and 74 (control). 

If viewed N-gain is achieved, showing a significant increase in the 56 and 42.6. Their mastery 

of the material changes between before and after the implementation of learning 

Table 2. Pretest and Posttest scores,, and N-wave gain for All Materials 

Experimental and Control Groups 

Level 

Number (N) 

E K 

Pretest (%) 

E K 

Posttest (%) 

E K 

N-gain (%) 

E K 

High 11,0 10,0 22,0 19,0 77,0 74,0 70,0 66,0 

Moderate 22,0 20,0 18,0 16,0 64,0 52,0 56,0 40,0 

Low 11,0 10,0 16,0 14,0 53,0 39,0 42,0 26,0 

Average 18,7 16,3 64,7 55,0 56,0 42,6 

Description: E (experimental group) and K (control group) 

programs, meaning the applied learning strategies affect learning outcomes. For an educator 

needs to consider the results of this effort to give students a final judgment. To achieve 

mastery of low achievement group 64.7 (experimental) and 55 (control), with N-gain 42 and 

26. Through data analysis of N-gain was concluded that increasing mastery of the concept of 

a wave of the experimental group is much better than the mastery of concepts by the control 


[S a r w i ] B-15 

group. N-gain achievement shows that they have shown increasing mastery of the waves 

quite well. 

The results have not mastered the sound waves well, indicated by a sound 

understanding of the concept of resonance electrical equipment. Reflection at the free end 

and the end of the bound (needed experience phase reversal), which became the basic 

concept. Students have not been able to explain the reflection waves using mathematical 

equations describing wave propagation and on the free end and fixed end. A similar incident 

experienced by prospective teachers of physics students in Turkey [13]. They had 

misconceptions about the reflection and transmission of mechanical waves. Students have not 

been able to describe the propagation of mechanical waves at the boundary correctly. The 

results of the test results of the research data processing concepts applied to the 44 students 

(experimental) and 40 students (control) on all the essential concept of the wave by 64 and 

52. The results of the t-test analysis of two-way independent samples using the 0.05 (5%), 

obtained t count 4.26 with n1 = 44, and n2 = 40, so that dk = n1 + n2 - 2 = 82. α = 0.05, t = 

1.67, df = 82 at.α = 5%. Furthermore, the value t count is tested with the t table. The results 

obtained t count > t table, with p = 0.02. This result expression that the experimental group 

scores differed significantly than control group scores. These results are in line with Tanel 

and Erol [14], suggesting the use of the test "Topics Achievement Scale Magnetism", 

managed to uncover the differences between cooperative learning groups and conventional 

groups, significantly on the topic of magnetism. Experimental model of open-inquiry wave 

facilitate active thinking in mastering the concept of waves. 

The results of the social aspects of data collection are showed student character in 

Figure 1. The same character scores obtained experimental and control groups on indicators 

of honesty and curiosity. For indicators of hard work and independence, scores obtained two 

groups differ quite large. The use of an experimental model of open-inquiry wave effectively to 

develop the character of students. During completing each task or problem members work 

together in a compact and are responsible for obtaining the best solution. According to Khan 

[5] states that the model of inquiry learning can develop mental processes to perform the 

scientific method and increase the intellectual potential of students. 


[S a r w i ] B-15 

Figure 1 Score Indicator character obtained in the experiment and 

control experiment Open-inquiry 

Description: F1 (honesty), F2 (hard work), F3 (to know), F4 (independence) and F5 

(partnership) 

CONCLUSION 

Experimental Open-inquiry models allow students to think critically in the control of 

matter waves. Development of critical thinking skills in the indicator gives a simple explanation 

and make an in-depth has been controlled well, which indicated the achievement of mastery 

78% and 74%. Indicator to decide / assess and conclude by 63% of students achieved and 

55% N-gain experimental group gained an average 56 (medium) and controls 42.6 (medium) 

in a scale of 100. Processing the data using two-way t-test (p = 0.02) to score posttest 

experimental and control groups revealed that there were significant differences between the 

scores obtained posttest experimental group (treatment) and control groups (non-treatment). 

The statement means that the control of matter waves of the experimental group (open-inquiry 

learning) better than the control group (regular experiment). Effective social aspects of the 

characters are developed through open-inquiry-wave experiments. 

REFERENCES 

Priemer, B. (2004). Open-ended Experiment about Wind Energy. Department of Physics and 

Astronomy, Germany. [Online]. Tersedia: http://www.recsam.edu.my/rndpdf/ [ 29 Juni 

2009] 

Noe, J.W. (2007). Simple Creative Projects From An Optics Teaching Laboratory. 

Department of Physics and Astronomy, University Stony Brook, USA. 

Online:spie.org/etop/2007/etop07methodsV.pdf . Diases: 6 Juni 2009. 


[S a r w i ] B-15 

Planinsic, G. (2007). “Project Laboratory for First Students”. European Journal of Physics, 28, 

S71-S82. 

Turner, J. & Parisi, A. (2008). “A Take-Home Physics Experiment Kit for On-Campus and Off- 

Campus Students”. Journal of Teaching Science, Vol. 54. 

Khan, Y. (2010). Pendidikan Karakter berbasis Potensi Diri, Mendongkrak Kualitas 

Pendidikan. Yogyakarta: Pelangi Publishing. 

Koesoema, A. D. (2010). Pendidikan Karakter, Strategi Mendidik Anak di Zaman Global. 

Jakarta: Grasindo. 

Clulow, V. & Brace-Govan, J. (2001). Learning through bulletin board discussion : A 

preliminary case analysis of the cognitive dimension. Paper presented in the 

Moving Online Conference II, September 2-4, 2001, Gold Coast, Australia. 

Lang, H.R. & D. N. Evans, (2006). Models, Strategies, and Methods: For Effective Teaching. 

New York: Pearson Education, Inc. 

Slavin, R.E. (2005). Cooperative Learning: Teori, Riset, dan Praktik. (Terjamah oleh Nurulita). 

Bandung: Nusa Media. 

Muijs, D. & Reynolds, D. (2008). Effective Teaching: Teori dan Aplikasi, edisi kedua. 

Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar. 

[Hake, R.R. (1998). “Interactive-Engagment vs Traditional Methods: a Six-Thousand- 

Student Survey of Mechanics Test Data for Introductory Physics Courses”. Am. J. 

Phys. 66: 64-74. 

Sugiyono. 2006. Metode Penelitian Pendidikan: Pendekatan Kuantitatif, Kualitatif, dan R & D. 

Bandung: Alfabeta. 

Tanel, R., Sengoren, S.K., & Kavcar, N. (2008). Prospective Physics Teachers’ Ideas and 

Drawings about The Reflection and Transmission of Mechanical Waves. Lat. Am. J. 

Phys. Educ. 2 (2): 113-123. 

Tanel, Z. & Erol, M. (2008). Effects of Cooperative Learning on Instructing Magnetism: 

Analysis of an Experimental Teaching Sequence. Lat. Am. J. Phys. Educ. 2 (2):124- 

136. 


[Yuni Pantiwati and Erly Wahyuni] B-16 

GROWTH DYNAMICS OF CAREER AND TEACHER PROFESSIONAL 

DEVELOPMENT MODEL 

Yuni Pantiwati and Erly Wahyuni 

Muhammadiyah University of Malang 

ABSTRACT 

Professional development has a broader meaning of the career development needs to be 

maintained its quality. In the career dynamics there are two main components, namely the 

employment and career phase that must be exceeded through formal and informal activities. 

Professional development is considered a conceptual framework of social, economic, and political 

trends since the events of this aspect can influence policy as well as government policies 

determine the development of the profession. 

Key Words: career cycles, professional development 

INTRODUCTION 

Professional development apparently not only used for work that has been recognized 

as a profession, but in almost every job, lay people often call a professional if it works good, 

workmanlike, and the results are satisfactory. According to the Pribadi ( dalam Hamalik,2008) 

profession is essentially an opened statement or promise, that someone would devote himself 

to a position or a job in the usual sense, because the person feels needed to position or job. 

The word professional in professional education refers to special education expertise, 

while professionals in the broader sense includes not only skill but the dimensions of scientific, 

social, ethical / moral and human values of a work. According to Supriadi (1998:100) 

educational profession meant a profession that is growing (emerging profession), the maturity 

level has not reached through the previous professions (old professions) has been achieved 

before. It is, therefore not surprising that there is a call teacher as a profession, there is also a 

consider it is not a profession, and some even take the middle ground by calling teaching as a 

"semi-professional". 

A professional is someone who has the capability corresponding to the academic field, 

in full devotion, is responsible to himself, society and the profession, and know why, how and 

why it works. The word professionalism is not only used for work that has been recognized as 

a profession, but in almost every work. In layman's language, all the works (vocation) later 

referred to as profession. Therefore to examine more about the profession, you should keep in 



mind the characteristics of profession. Supriadi (1998:96) shares the characteristics of the 

profession as follows: 1) The work has a social function and significance because it is 

necessary to serve the community. On the other hand, public recognition is a prerequisite for a 

profession is much more important than the recognition of the government, 2) profession 

requires certain skills acquired through education and training in the "long" and intensive and 

carried out in certain institutions that are socially accountable, 3 ) profession is supported by a 

scientific discipline (a systematic body of knowledge), not just a flake or just common sense, 

4) There is a code of ethics that guide the behavior of its members with a clear and decisive 

sanctions against violators of the code of conduct by professional organizations, 5 ) As a 

consequence of the services provided to the community, the members of the profession by 

individuals or groups of financial reward or material gain. 

Demands on the professionalism of teachers are still talked about today, both in 

Indonesia and in countries that have been developed, such as the United States. Described in 

the journal Educational Leadership to become professional teachers are required to have five 

things: (1) has a commitment to students and their learning, (2) control of in depth material / 

subjects that they teach and how to teach it to students, (3) shall be responsibility to monitor 

student learning outcomes through a variety of evaluation techniques, (4) able to think 

systematically about what he does and learn from experience, (5) should form part of a 

learning community within the profession. Furthermore, Agus (2005) states forming the 

competence dimension of teacher professionalism consist of: (1) understand the curriculum 

(ideal, formal, instructional, operational), (2) control subjects (teaching field) and the various 

components of learning, (3) understand the development Science and Technology (expressed 

as a certified Professional). 

Based on various opinions about the teaching profession suggests that the teacher is a 

profession because it has met the requirements as profession. Only if there are those who 

think teachers are semi-profession, it is because there are some disadvantages that may 

reduce the position of teacher of teachers as profession. Therefore, teachers need to enhance 

the professional status recognized profession for society as a steady no longer in doubt. 

Professional development in a broad sense refers to the development of one's role, 

particularly the professional development of teacher is professional development to achieve a 

better improvement. According to Ganser (2000) Professional development includes formal 

and informal experiences. Formal experiences such as scientific meetings, workshops, 



seminars, publications written or oral, non-formal experience is more directed at the 

development of the individual to himself, as an example of someone who read the manuscript 

through the conduct of scientific publications, search for information through the mass media 

television, radio , or the print media and the like. 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

Broader concept of `professional development of career development, as stated by 

Gllanthorn (1995) that" the growth occurs that the teacher moves through the professional 

career cycle”,( Dynamics career into the factors that influence the career advancement that 

are not directly influence the development of the teaching profession, as shown in Figure 

01.Dalam career dynamics there are two main components, namely the employment and 

career phase that must be exceeded through formal and informal activities until retired period. 

In every certain stage in the life of the period where teachers are doing activities that are 

productive, innovative, and creative. When teacher follows step-by step career dynamic 

certainly any period of employment of teachers charged with activities that support and even 

accelerate their professional development so that a teacher who professional. In each stage 

has a different activity of scientific activity, if there is a correlation observed between the years 

of service with the quality of teachers' activities, as every past one phase of a teacher must 

complete the bills. 

Service life of 1-3 years is a period to maintain a career in this phase the teacher enters 

a new life after a formal teacher education, know better the work environment with colleagues 

related to the teachers, principals, related agencies, and of course citizens of the school. 

Service life of 4-6 years, the teacher began to enter a plateau after her/his career know better 

life, but on years of service 7-18 years starting teacher charged with activities that support 

career development and a provision to teachers in carrying out this professional phase. Many 

activities can be done by teacher in doing those phase, such as improving scientific activities 

both formal and non formal. Academic activities are strongly encouraged to improve the 

quality of learning that indirectly improves achievement and student learning outcomes. Third 

phase time about 11 years is long enough, to develop themselves as further study, making the 

scientific work of LKS, modules, textbook, paper, article or a form of scientific work and 

scientific publications both written or oral. Self development is not just limited here, teachers 

can also learn about leadership, management or study of cultural, religious, and during the 



working life of 19-30 is the silent time when the previous phase has been filled with activities 

that are meaningful, then the phase is entering a period of preparation to end the career 

dynamics. Activities both academic and non academic career is a provision to the summit as 

an important step in developing the profession to become a senior teacher of professional 

teachers. Thus became the model for junior teachers for senior teachers have been doing the 

activities performed at each stage. 

1 - 3 

4 - 6 

7 - 18 

19 -30 

31 -40 

Experimentation/ 

diversification 

serenity 

Figure 0.1 Teacher Career Dynamic 

(Source: Turkey:1998) 

Career entry: survival and discovery 

Stabilization 

Disengagement 

Stock taking 

interrogations 

conservatism 

Career development dynamics to become a teacher consists of four stages: 1) Preteaching, 

involvement in education and the role of students; 2) the emergence of teachers' 

concerns when starting out learning to survive, and 3) study the situation by combining the 

learning problem by trying to transfer the teaching situation; 4) The ability of teachers 

responding to the student needs and learned to cope with their needs. 

Unruh and Turner, 1970, in Guskey (1998) propose the time required for a three-stage 

career development, a period of early stage (approximately 1 to 5 years), the period of 

building a sense of security (about 6 to 15 years), and the ripening period (approximately more 

than 15 years). The stage of proposal in this time when it is related to the dynamic cycle of a 

career there as an example of the suitability of the period of 6-15 years expressed as a safe 

period, the cycle as a period of stable career. This period was stable and secure but need to 

be reviewed at this time that teachers should not be complacent because they have to prepare 



for self-development into the next period. Sense of security is only passable after the early 

career teachers to understand the situation but after that the teacher must develop a career 

into the next period Likewise, when entering a period of maturation, mature in the sense that 

teachers are prepared to assume senior teacher who became a role model for junior is 

considered by the previous period in their field that demands professional. It is clear there is a 

correlation time of work and professionalism of teachers, the length of service, then the level 

of professionalism of teachers, the better, so it is no longer working lives of teachers are 

influenced by the time wasted. 

According to the proposal Unruh and Turner (1970) years of service orientation actually 

shorter than the dynamics of the career cycle that spurred teachers to develop professional 

teachers career and achievement faster, but keep in mind the professional teacher cannot be 

achieved only with a single stage in the future as a professional teacher is still require renewal 

and continuous improvement so that the professional teacher should still be maintained and 

preserved. Professional teacher education teacher candidates began to retirement, college is 

the lead agency that produces professional quality of teachers so that teachers have also 

influenced the education system adopted. Furthermore, in the tenure of teachers required 

cooperation between schools and related institutions to maintain a professional teacher. 

Activities for teachers can be trained to the needs of teachers, institutions, or government. 

Ingvarson (1998) stated professional development model is a specific process and 

planned opportunities to develop the teaching profession from preparation .The comparison 

between professional developments with the traditional system usually located on the "in 

service training" with "standardized system." In service training of existing controls carried out 

by the government as the organizer is also instrumental in setting goals, and as consultant. 

This model is used for short term courses or workshops, which are not related to the practical 

issues, being standardized system for the control of a professional when deciding on the 

objectives and also help implement the model, opportunity as well to design and identify the 

real needs of teachers do in their daily activities. 

The things to consider in conducting professional development, namely: 1) the purpose 

and object of professional development, 2) the context in which professional development is 

placed; 3) personal and professional character of Participation system, 4) model, technical, 

and implementation procedures; 5) financing costs and professional development; 6) 



determination of the decision makers; 7) asses effectiveness evaluation process and 

professional development; 8) support infrastructure for professional development. 

Chocran Smith and Litly (2001) described three approaches or system of professional 

development in education policy, namely: 

1. Knowledge for practice: the knowledge and theories are used to increase the practical 

2. b.Knowledge in practice: some of essence of knowledge for learning practical 

knowledge 

3. Knowledge of practice model: knowledge is not divided into formal and practical 

knowledge, the teacher uses knowledge to learning as a process of inquiry used in 

the learning environment in effective learning. 

A teacher is not enough to understand about professional development, but more 

important is how to succeed be professional teachers. The following tips are described to be a 

successful professional teacher: 1) identify changes between the individual and the 

organization, 2) think big but start small; 3) working in a team to continue giving support, 4) 

follow the procedure to achieve good results; 5) provide follow-up and support. Thus, the 

teacher can work alone, but never an always cooperate, mutual support, caring for each other 

with mutual support for career development together. Therefore, it is necessary to have 

activity program that supports career development. The program should be developed, 

namely: 1) stimulate and support initiatives at the school, 2) fundamental knowledge about 

learning, 3) constructivist learning model, 4) intellectual, social, emotional and repair actions, 

an understanding of the material, seta involve friends to work same; 5) show respect for the 

teaching profession, and learning; 6) providing adequate time for follow up; 7) fixed access 

and inclusive. 

The above program can be run properly would require support from all four sides. There 

are four crucial factor in the development of teachers, namely: 1) the realignment of the 

learning development process, 2) the role of leader at the school level, 3) organizational 

culture at the school level; 4 ) the role of external agencies, particularly local and regional 

level. 

Professional development of teachers’ beliefs and behaviors has an impact on the 

teacher profession. Many ways can be done by someone to improve profession individually 

and institution organizer. Development of teachers at University High School Urbana 

(Gregorc, 1973) carried out through the following stages: 1) the initial stage, commitment to 



teach and develop the concept of educational purpose , teaching the principles and character, 

hope and role in the process of education, as well as the role of schools as social 

organizations, 2) stage growth, organizational and professional commitment.; 3) maturation 

stage, making a strong commitment for education and contribute to a variety of school 

resources, 4) phase stabilization function, the individual has made a full commitment to the 

profession of education trying to understand the potential as individuals and as a teacher 

members of the profession. 

With so many patterns, models or strategies that can be done to develop the teacher 

profession of course the more options there are many aspects to be considered to determine 

the model to be used. Considerations derived from internal and external factors, internal 

factors such as teacher ability, age, area of study, years of service, are external factors from 

the school, local conditions, and the condition of the student. Internal and external factors are 

the factors that determine the characteristics of careers in developing profession. In career 

cycle, it can be seen the environmental factors that affect personal and organizational 

environment, in full can be seen in Figure 02. 

Some characteristics of professional development: 1) the constructivist, the 

consequences of teachers implementing active learning. 2) Professional development requires 



a long time; there is a correlation between the knowledge and experience has, 3) development 

of profession as a process in certain situations that is contextual. Further, schools transform 

into learning communities, community inquiry, professional community, and community 

caregivers because teachers develop professional activities. Guru successful professional 

development opportunity "on the job learning" increased activity, such as study groups, action 

research, and portfolio. 4) Results of identification, one of which is intimately linked to school 

reform, professional development is to build a culture is not just a mere vocational training. 

The success of this program is influenced by school programs, teachers but not supported to 

develop school program or curriculum changes, it is not effective; 5) teachers should be 

practical, one of which is the basis of knowledge gained from science and experience; 6) 

Professional development is a process collaboration, cooperation occurs through 

collaboration, reflection, so that professional development is more effective when there is 

meaningful interaction, not only the teachers themselves but teachers with other teachers, 

staff, parents and even community., 7) professional development looks very different in that of 

various arrangement, even in the setting of professional development can occur variety . Many 

choices in Professional development model, but there is no best single model of professional 

development which can be implemented in some situations, area or context, the application 

needs to consider the mixing of several professional development models. In other words, 

professional development is considered a conceptual framework of social, economic, political 

events and trends as these aspects can influence policy as well as government policies 

determine the development of the profession. 

CONCLUSION 

1. In the career dynamics there are two main components, namely the employment and 

career phase that must be exceeded through formal and informal activities. 

2. The comparison between the traditional professional developments with the system is 

usually located in the "in service training" with "standardized system". 

3. Professional development is considered a conceptual framework of social, economic, and 

political trends since the events of this aspect can influence policy as well as government 

policies determine the development of the profession. 



REFERENCES 

Betty E. Sleffy, Miekael P.Woffe, Suzanne H. Pasch, Billie J. Enz. Of 1999. Life Cycle of 

the Career Teacher 

Guskey, Thomas R. and Huberman, Micccchael.Professional Development in 

Education.Teacher College, Columbia University. New York and London 

Hamalik, Oemar. , 2008. Teacher Education Competency Based Approach. New York: 

Literacy 

Ralph Fassler, Indith C. Chislesen. In 1991. The Teacher Career Cycle: Understanding 

and Guiding the Professional Development of Teachers: Allyn & Bacon 


[Djoko Sutopo] B-17 

LITERACY AND CONSERVATION 

Joko Sutopo 


djokosutopo_msi@yahoo.com 

ABSTRACT 

This study is attempting to find out the relationship between literacy and environmental issues 

including conservation. In doing this, I applied the approach of Systemic Functional Linguistics 

(SFL) proposed by MAK Halliday (1995). SFL perceives language as a resource for making 

meanings. The data of this study is taken from printed media, particularly The Jakarta Post. The 

issues on environment are selected based on the assumption of Hegel’s dialectical. Put more 

simply it means not accepting that one thing is true and the opposite is false, but trying to see 

how each contributes to an understanding. In this study, the text under investigation serves to 

illustrate a basic premise of systemic linguistics that language use is purposeful behavior. The 

writer of these excerpts did not just produce them to kill time, or to display their linguistic abilities. 

They wrote the texts because they want to use language to achieve a purpose: they had goals 

that they were using language to achieve. We could gloss the overall purpose of Text 1 is to 

criticize Indonesian government for not putting high priority in addressing environmental issues 

despite the commitment that had been made. 

Key Words: literacy, conservation, environmental issues, ideational meanings 

INTRODUCTION 

Literacy is commonly defined as the ability to read and write. For some, it also connotes 

general learnedness and familiarity with literature. Most foreign language programs aim to 

develop students’ competence in both these areas. They focus on basic ability in reading and 

writing in introductory and intermediate courses, and on literary and cultural knowledge in 

advanced courses. At the lower level of most foreign language curricula, literacy is conceived 

as being text-centric, rather than reader- or writer-centric. At the upper end of the college 

curriculum, two additional strands of literacy come into play. One, which we could call the ‘high 

cultural’ strand, involves the transmission of cultural knowledge and the development of 

aesthetic appreciation, literary sensibility, and a cultivated spirit. The other, which we could 

call the ‘cognitive’ strand, involves the development of textual analysis skills and critical 

thought. 

Critical literacy derived from critical pedagogy is compatible to meet the need. Critical 

pedagogy underlines that teaching is not just transferring knowledge. Production and 

reproduction of knowledge must occur in the classroom. This can materialize by combining 



“reading words” and “reading the world”, reading texts always in context. Texts in critical 

literacy can be taken from news, novels, songs, poetry, video clips or films. 

Here learning is not conducted in the classic banking model of education where 

teachers have the privilege of transferring knowledge. Instead they serve mainly as facilitators 

who raise questions for deep and critical dialogues in Socratic style classes. This approach 

allows teachers and students to confront the hidden curriculum, the reality both at schools and 

in society that contradicts the values we hold. 

In an attempts to reconcile communicative language teaching approaches, with their 

emphasis on face-to-face verbal interaction, with the development of learners’ ability to read, 

discuss, think, and write critically about texts, Richard Kern (2000) argued that the ‘textcentric’, 

‘cultural’, and ‘cognitive skills’ views of literacy share a number of limitations. First, 

they reify literacy as an end product of instruction, instead of as a variables set of process 

contingent on textual, cognitive, and social factors. Consequently, educators’ efforts are 

oriented towards defining boundary lines of acceptable normative standards and search for 

what might constitute a minimum criterion level. Teachers may orient their teaching to the 

criterion level of learner skills so they can demonstrate achievement of stated program goals, 

but students may remain at the periphery of literacy if they have not integrated these various 

skills. 

Second, these definitions of literacy tend to exclude contextual factors – how people 

in different communities produce and use texts in different ways. In viewing literacy primarily 

as an individual, ‘in the head’ phenomenon - a private repertoire of abilities and knowledge – 

educators often disregard significant differences in the purposes, functions, and social value of 

literacy across cultural contexts. 

Third, traditional views of literacy are largely incompatible with the goals of 

communicative language teaching because they emphasize prescriptive norms rather than 

appropriateness of use. On the one hand, we want our students to communicate effectively 

with different groups in a range of social contexts, using a variety of discourse gambits 

appropriately in different situations. On the other hand, we teach (and most importantly, test) a 

standard of literacy that requires adherence to usage prescribed by a socially dominant norm. 

By extending the notion of literacy beyond the strict traditional limits of reading and 

writing skills, and even beyond the skills of text-centric literacy interpretation., language 

teachers at all levels can create a more coherent curriculum – one that maintains ongoing 



attention to communicative skills in spoken language as well as in a range of written genres, 

from the introductory through to the advanced levels of language study. 

Scholars in disciplines such as rhetoric, composition, educational psychology, 

linguistics, sociology, and cultural theory have recently critiqued mainstream notions of literacy 

and have contributed to new, socially-based, conceptualizations of literacy. These educators 

challenge skill-based definitions of literacy, which are focused on the ability to read and write 

in ways commensurate with prescriptive, normative standard. They question the notion of a 

monolithic, generalizable concept of literacy, and favor the idea of multiple literacies – roughly 

defined as dynamic, culturally and historically situated practices of using and interpreting 

diverse written and spoken texts to fulfill particular social purposes. 

The pedagogical implication of this study is that academic language teaching should 

foster literacy, not only in terms of basic reading and writing skills, but also in terms of a 

broader discourse competence that involves the ability to interpret and critically evaluate a 

wide variety of written and spoken texts. 

Apart from involving vocabulary and structures, using another language effectively 

involves thinking differently about language and communication. How we can begin to 

understand another way of thinking, how we can be sensitized to different cultural frames, 

when we are in a classroom abroad, is the significant questions. We learn a great deal about 

the conventions of the language in addition to glimpse the beliefs and values that underlie the 

discourse, by examining the particular ways in which language is used to capture and express 

experiences. Paulo Freire suggests that our challenge is to teach our students to read not only 

the word but also the world. To sum up, shifting frames of reference, shifting norms, shifting 

assumptions of what can and cannot be said is required in order to communicate successfully 

in another language. 

CONSERVATION 

By definition conversation is the protection of the natural environment or the act of 

preventing something from being lost, wasted, damaged or destroyed. Forty years after the 

first Earth Day was celebrated in the US we find the earth today is not improving, some would 

say it is even getting worse. However today, at least public awareness about the importance 

of saving our blue planet is much better than 40 years ago, including here in Indonesia. The 

challenge, meanwhile, remains huge. 



Awareness is much better now as evident from various events organized to promote 

green technology, green development and even green economy, in spite of the fact that we 

still see many factories dumping toxic waste. Mining companies leave their open pits 

unattended; illegal loggers freely plunder our tropical forests; public buses pollute our skies 

with their black fumes; and many of us who live in urban areas still use and consume products 

that are not environmentally friendly. 

Our fellow countrymen who live in the countryside may be better in treating the 

environment, at least until recently. But now, with improved income and widespread 

consumerism, as promoted by our media – especially television – even people living in remote 

areas now imitate the lifestyle of people in the city. 

Mankind’s domination and rapid expansion on Earth has been blamed by 

environmentalists as the root of environmental destruction. However, in both Judeo-Christian 

and Islam teachings, man is not only granted the right to utilize natural resources for the 

fulfillment of his interest, but he is also responsible for the maintenance and caring of the 

Earth. 

Religion and environmentalism actually have several things in common and can 

therefore help each other achieve the common goal, which is ensuring a healthy Earth, even 

though they may have different reasons. Religious followers want to keep the Earth habitable 

because the future of humanity depends on it. Environmental activists want to save the Earth 

for the sake of the Earth. Both religion and environmentalism require a long-term vision. 

Religious devotees know that their actions, be they small or large, will have an effect on them 

in the future. Good deeds will bring good results and vice versa. 

Both religion and environmentalism forbid us to be selfish. Religion encourages 

altruism by promising a reward in the hereafter as well as in the world. Social harmony can 

only be achieved when the members of a society are considerate and helpful to each other. 

Likewise, to solve environmental problems altruism is absolutely required. If people living near 

upstream rivers pollute the rivers, people living downstream will suffer the consequences. If 

we pollute the air, the pollutants will be moved by the wind and affect people in other areas. 

On global scale, countries generally accept that global cooperation is needed to overcome 

environmental issues. 

Being altruistic and taking a long-term approach, both religious devotees and 

environmentally-committed people are ready to sacrifice their materialistic pleasures for the 



sake of the environment. To achieve nobility, religious devotees must be able to control their 

desire. Many religions have sacrifice rituals and encourage their followers to live a modest life. 

The Prophet Muhammad and other Prophets live in austerity. Living a simple life is the 

essence of conservation. A luxurious life will result in resource depletion and environmental 

pollution. Both religion and environmentalism value quality of life but not extravagance. 

Both religion and environmental movement leaders must also be ready to fight for a 

noble cause. The majority of people pursue a worldly life. They strive to amass wealth beyond 

their basic needs. Governments as well as companies always promote consumption in order 

to increase economic growth. Promoting a modest life is therefore a daunting task. 

Few people have the capability and willingness to consider long-term goals. Asking 

them to sacrifice pleasure that they experience now in exchange for a better future will be 

difficult. In short, encouraging people to adopt a religious path as well as an environmentally 

sound way of life will be a never-ending struggle. Only those with clear vision and strong 

conviction can bear this task. 

The climate change conundrum has become a talk-shop between politicians of 

economy-driven developing and developed countries. Prominent British scientist and 

environmentalist James Lovelock in a recent interview wit The Guardian daily quipped that 

humans were too stupid to stop climate change and suggested democracy be temporarily 

suspended. 

British Muslim environmentalist Fazlun Khalid believes the answer lies in faith. 

Khalid said the environmental crisis we faced was rooted in our ‘competing nation state” 

model locked into a capitalistic economic paradigm, which encourages a consumer culture 

and in turn sets no limits on growth. 

There are two forces working against each other in the environmental debate, Khalid 

said. A consumerist force – best described as everyone wanting access to education and 

good life, which drives the exploitation of natural resources and will ruin the environment – and 

morality. He said that the pull (from morality) is not strong enough. Even though scientists 

have warned about the danger of global warming to the earth and future generations, people 

still need to be motivated to take action. That (motivation) comes from your faith,” he said. 

“There is a very strong need to raise Muslim awareness, Muslim consciousness to 

this issue,” he said, adding that Indonesia had enormous potential given how religious its 



population is. Khalid said that Islam was inherently environmental, although few people realize 

this. 

“Unfortunately 99 percent of Muslims do not know what know Islam says about the 

environment. Even ulemas are surprised,” he said. People need to be trained and reminded 

of the importance of the environment to Islam,” he said. “Teaching children to pray or fast, pay 

zakat (alms) or do the haj is not enough. In fact, you can say that every good action is a form 

of worship. “Protecting the environment for the future generation is a form of worship,” 

The Indonesian government is committed to reducing carbon emissions due to 

deforestation and forest degradation. President SBY said in Copenhagen that by 2020, 

Indonesia would reduce carbon emissions by 26 percent on its own, or 41 percent with the 

financial help from international donors. 

Based on its functions, forest area in Indonesia is divided into three categories: 

production, protection and conservation forest areas. During the New Order regime, all forest 

areas were managed by the central government, namely the Forestry Ministry. Unlike other 

departments, the Forestry Ministry has an authority over 120 million hectares of Indonesian 

land, designated as forest area. 

Since the autonomous era began, the central government has delegated the 

management of production forest and protection forests area to regional administrations, but 

the regulation is made by the Forestry Ministry. During this autonomous era, the Forestry 

Ministry has little power to control the production and protection forest areas, because district 

heads and provincial forest offices are more loyal to the regents or governors who appointed 

them to power. 

In addition, the persons appointed as district heads or provincial forestry offices are 

not necessarily foresters. They, in turn, appoint officials who are not foresters either. A a 

result, many protection and production forest areas are now managed by non-foresters who 

have no emotional bond to forest areas or to senior foresters at the Forestry Ministry. It is 

understandable that the head and staff of district and provincial forestry offices have low 

motivation to protect forest areas. Illegal conversion of forest may occur easily. 

Another factor contributing to this is the fact that many production forest areas were 

exploited excessively during the New Order regime and were not productive when the 

autonomous era began, and consequently did not generate income to local government. Many 



governors have submitted requests to the Forestry Ministry for converting forest areas in their 

regions for other land use. 

The Forestry Ministry is currently reviewing the proposals, but it is unlikely that all 

the requests will be approved. Whether or not the ministry approves the proposals, however, 

in reality illegal conversion has been occurring. The Forestry Ministry has very little power to 

protect the forest areas from encroachment. 

The Ministry of Forestry has also failed to grow forest. For several decades the 

ministry has tried to rehabilitate damaged forest in forest areas through forestation program 

and plant trees outside forest areas through the afforestation program. Social forestry, 

involving local people in creating community forest, has also been conducted for more than a 

decade. 

During the presidency of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the reforestation and afforestation 

programs were revitalized and renamed the Rehabilitation of Forest and Land Movement. In 

2009, the ministry introduced a slogan: One Man, One Tree. This year the President has 

targeted to plant 1 billion trees. 

It is encouraging that Semarang State University has declared herself a 

Conservation University. This university can be developed as a center for environmental 

movement. Cooperation among lecturers, students, officials and other stakeholders is 

absolutely required to avoid environmental catastrophes due to climate change and other 

impacts of environmental deterioration. 

Scientists for this university should provide understanding of how ecosystems work 

and the impacts of our actions on them as well mankind’s role as part of the ecosystem. 

Religious leaders in this university could provide religious foundation, such as divine 

revelations and the examples of prophets, to motivate the followers to save the environment. 

Environmental activists in this campus may help organize the movement. 

We have damaged the Earth so severely that devastating global environmental 

calamities may be looming in the future, jeopardizing the lives of our descendants. But the 

majority of us continue to go about their business as usual. Unless the religious leaders in this 

campus participate in saving the Earth, the general public won’t be sufficiently motivated to 

adopt conservation. 

Intuition does not provide a sufficiently reliable source of data for doing functional 

linguistics. Thus, systemicists are interested in the authentic speech or writing of people 



interacting in naturally occurring social contexts. We are interested, for example, in language 

events such the following. 

Global warming and civilization 

Adverse impacts from global climate change on the earth’s ecosystem and human wellbeen 

felt in the last half century. According Climate Change (IPCC) data from 1970-2004, the 

earth’s temperature has increased by an average of 0.2 degree Celsius per year. 

The year from 2001-2010 have been the warmest 10 year period since the beginning 

of weather recording in 1850. The heat of the oceans increased in the second half of the 20th century. 

Consequently, glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets from the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans 

have recently been melting, which resulted in a mean sea level rise from -20 centimeter in 

1950 to +5 centimeters in 2000. 

This year the earth experienced extreme weather, such as a deadly summer heat wave 

in Russia with temperatures soaring to a record 38.2 degrees Celsius; heavy rains and flood in 

Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia; droughts that afflicted the Amazon basin and 

southwest China; floods that devastated Pakistan; and drastic changes in oceanic and 

atmospheric conditions in the California Current Ecosystem brought about summertime 

hypoxia, anoxia and massive fish kills. 

If the earth’s temperature cannot be maintained and increases more than 2 degrees 

Celsius, a number of catastrophes will occur in various parts of the globe. These will include 

rising sea levels by 1 to 6 meters, which could inundate coastal areas around the world, 

increased flooding and altered rainfall cycles. 

Dry seasons will get longer and wet seasons will get shorter but more intense. Heat 

waves would be more frequent and dangerous. Shifting weathers patterns could destabilize 

the world’s food supply and access to clean water, and lead to mass migration as farmers and 

fishermen flee drought or flood-prone regions. 

Globe climate change and its concomitant negative impacts has mostly been a result of 

increasing global emissions of greenhouse gases originating from the burning of fossil fuels, 

deforestation and extreme changes in land use and land use and land cover. 

Yet, few nations, expect Indonesia, have taken serious action to curb global warming by 

legally binding themselves to cut greenhouse gas emissions as prescribed by the IPCC. 



According to the IPCC, If we were to avoid unmanageable catastrophes from global 

warming, the emissions rate of greenhouse gases should be cut by 25-40 percent in 2020 and 

50 percent in 2050 from 1990 levels. Developed countries should reduce their emissions by 

80 percent by 2050. 

During the 2009 COP-15 conference in Denmark, President Yodhoyono pledged 

Indonesia would reduce carbon emissions by 26 percent from the business-as-usu-al estimate 

of emissions in 2020. Unfortunately, Indonesia’s heroic commitment has not enticed other 

nations, particularly the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases, the US and China, to follow 

suit. 

Rich nations like those in Europe, the US, Japan and Australia are re-luctant to slash 

their greenhouse gas emissions because emerging nations with high economic growth in the 

last 15 years, especially China and India, have not legally committed to reducing their carbon 

emissions. In the meantime, developing and poor nations are worried that cutting emissions 

could hamper economic growth they badly need to deal with unemployment and poverty. 

Such rationales, from both rich and poor nations, are depicted in Garret Hardin’s 

“tragedy of the commons” story, which applies to almost all common-property resources. 

In the story, a group of medieval English herders keep increasing the size of their 

individual herds, eventually exceeding the capacity of the village commons with everyone 

losing their entire herds. 

At the time Hardin’s paper was published in 1968, many people found the “tragedy” 

metaphor in- sightful and applicable to the world’s fisheries provide a telling example of the 

common dilemma: The resource is fragile, and the fish you do not catch today may be caught 

by someone else tomorrow. 

But since each fisherman operates with the same rationale, the users of the fisherycommon 

resource are caught in an inevitable process that leads to the extinction of the very 

resource on which they all depend. Because each user ignores the cost imposed on others, 

individually rational decisions accumulate to result in a socially irrational outcome. 

It is therefore timely for all citizens and governments of the world to join hands to 

significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions. Although stabilizing atmospheric CO 2 levels is a 

staggering challenge, it is certainly doable. 

Recent environmentally friendly technological innovations in forestry, agriculture and 

fisheries and in mining, transportation, energy and industrial processes have made it possible 



to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as recommended by the IPCC and, at the same time, 

maintain economic growth. 

With advance in wind turbine design, more efficient solar cells, geothermal, bio-energy 

and fuel cells, we now have the basic technologies needed to shift quickly from a carbonbased 

to a hydrogen-based energy economy. The fuel cell is a device powered by hydrogen 

and uses an electro-chemical process to convert hydrogen into electricity, water vapor and 

heat. 

Hydrogen can come from many sources, including the electrolysis of water or the 

reformulation of natural gas or gasoline, a process that extracts the hydrogen from 

hydrocarbons. If the hydrogen comes from water, then electricity from any source can be used 

to electrolyze the water. If the electricity comes from a wind farm, hydropower stations, 

geothermal power stations or solar cells, the hydrogen will be clean and produced without 

carbon emissions or air pollutants. 

Curbing global carbon emissions by 25-40 percent by 2020 and 50 percent by 2050 is 

definitely within range. Ambitious though this might seem, it is commensurate with the threat 

that climate change poses to our earth and civilization. 

Transitivity 

Key: 

P=Process, Pm=material, Pme=mental, Pb=beharioural, Pv=verbal, Pe=existence, 

Pcc=circumstantial, Pp=possessive, Pc=causative 

A=Actor, G=Goal, B=beneficiary, R=Range 

S=Senser, Ph=Phenomena 

Sy=Sayer, Rv=Receiver, Vb=Verbiage 

Ve=Verbal 

Be=Behaver, Bh=Behaviour 

X=Existence 

T=Token, V=Value, Cr=Carrier, At=Attribute, Atv=Attributive 

C=Circumstance, Cl=location, Cx=extent, Cm=manner, Cc=cause, 

Ca=accompaniment, Ct=matter, Co=role 



Text 1 

1. Is (Pm) Indonesia (S) paying enough attention (Pm) to environmental issues? (Ph) 

10. In September last year, when the parliament passed a new law strengthening the authority 

of the Environment Ministry (C) it (T) seemed as if the country was finally ready for concrete 

action (V). 

3. Since the Bali Climate Change Conference in December 2007 (C), observers (S) 

had certainly been expecting (Pme) something (Ph). 4. At the conference (C), President Susilo 

Bambang Yudhoyono (Be ) emerged (Bh) as a key leader (Co) in the fight for an international 

agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions (Ct). 5. Changes in domestic policies, it (Be) 

seemed, would almost certainly (C) follow (Bh). 

6. But an examination of the Yudhoyono government’s approach to the 2009 

legislation (Sy) suggests (Ve) that whatever else the government had in mind at the Bali 

conference, 7. (Vb) developing a systematic approach to the way the country deals with its 

environmental problems (Cr) has not been (Atv) a high priority(At). 

8. The legislation (Rv) was originally drawn up (Ve) by Environment Minister Rahmat 

Witoelar (Sy) as a revision of law 23 of 1997(Vb). 9. Among other things, the legislation (G) 

was designed to give (Pm ) the environment ministry (A) enforcement power rather than 

depending on the police and other law enforcement institution (Ct). 

But the draft was never sent to Parliament. No reason was given, but the timing 

suggests that it could have been related to the controversy over the disastrous volcanic mud 

flow in East Java in 2006. 

The catastrophe certainly put the government in a difficult position. Critics blamed 

drilling activities by Lapindo Brantas. This company was controlled by the family firm of 

Aburizal Bakrie, then the coordinating minister for people’s welfare and one of the President’s 

most important financial backers. Lapindo Brantas denied any responsibility, claiming that the 

mudflow was caused by an earthquake. 

With millions of dollars in compensation being demanded by various aggrieved 

parties, strengthening the country’s environmental legislation at that time would hardly have 

seemed like a good idea to those in power. 

But the pressure for a revision of the law remained strong, and it was not long before 

the parliament’s Commission 7 on the Environment and Mining began reviewing the legislation 

on its own initiative, with the help of local environment groups. 



Approved by Parliament in September last year, the new legislation enables national 

park rangers to investigate and arrest those violating environment laws. In the past, rangers 

could only report perpetrators to the police. 

The law also requires companies – most notably mining companies – whose 

operations have an impact on the environmental license and undergo an environmental 

assessment process before starting operations. And if the terms of these environmental 

licenses are breached, the ministry is empowered to revoke them and issue fines. Yet another 

clause stipulates sanctions for local and central government officials who issue mining permits 

without following the proper-procedures. 

Non-government environmental organizations The Straits Times spoke to in Jakarta 

last month said they regarded the new law as a major improvement on previous legislation. 

However, they did point out some weaknesses. 

Clause 3 of Article 43, which outlines fines to be imposed on polluters, is a particular 

concern. Berry Nahdian Furqon of Walhi (Indonesian Friends of the Earth) said he was 

worried that the way the provision was worded could undermine the possibility of criminal 

charges provided for in other parts of the legislation. It could also shift the responsibility for 

clean-up operations from the polluter to the government. 

Chalid Muhammad of the Green Institute lamented the lack of a moratorium on the 

hundreds of mining permits already issued by local kabupaten (regencies) throughout the 

country. 

But the real concern about the new environmental legislation is the low priority it 

appears to have with government officials. Outlining his key objectives for the first 100 days of 

President Yudhoyono’s second term of office, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta 

said he intended to concentrate on two things – sending a delegation to the Copenhagen 

climate change talks (last December), and developing a system to prevent forest fires. 

Many believe Gusti should have spent more time drawing up the new environment 

law’s implementing regulations instead. In Indonesia, such regulations are often delayed for 

years. And even after the regulations are issued, there is no guarantee that they will do the 

job. 

In an emailed response to Straits Times enquiries, Sony Keraf, who chaired the 

parliamentary commission that drafted the law, warned that the “content and spirit” of such 

regulations often have “nothing to do with the law”. 



Citing the inability or willingness of the authorities to prosecute cases of illegal 

logging in 2007 and 2008 uncovered by police in Riau, Chalid says he believes that, without 

strong support from the President, Gusti will be very unlikely to use his new powers to take on 

major polluters that have a close relationship with those in power. 

It is hard to disagree. 

This text, whose source will be disclosed shortly serves to illustrate a basic premise of 

systemic linguistics that language use is purposeful behavior. The writer of these excerpts did 

not just produce them to kill time, or to display their linguistic abilities. They wrote the texts 

because they want to use language to achieve a purpose: they had goals that they were using 

language to achieve. We could gloss the overall purpose of Text 1 is to criticize Indonesian 

government for not putting high priority in addressing environmental issues despite the 

commitment that had been made. 

In having a purpose, these instances of language use are typical, not exceptional: 

people do not “just talk” or “just write”. Any use of language is motivated by a purpose, 

whether that purpose be clear, pragmatic one, or less tangible, but equally important, 

interpersonal one. 

These texts also illustrate a second consequence of asking functional questions 

about language: that we have to look at more that isolated sentences. If I have presented you 

with only one sentence, chosen at random, from the text, for example, “But the draft was 

never sent to Parliament” it would have been very difficult for you to determine the motivation 

for the writing. Similarly, from the writers’ point of view, it would have been almost impossible 

for them to achieve the desired goals through a single sentence. In other words, to achieve 

successfully the overall purposes of criticizing, the writers must meet the implicated goals of 

explaining a problematic phenomenon. 

If we are to understand what language is achieving in the situation, we need to 

describe the communicative behavior as involving not just one sentence, but at least two: both 

the command and the response. Typically, of course, getting something done using language 

will involve many more than two moves. As the texts above show, in order to explain why they 

condemn and why the others advocate the celebrities, the writers have presented a discussion 

consisting many sentences. They have in other words produced what systemic linguists call a 

text. 



The term text refers to a complete linguistic interaction (spoken and written), 

preferably from beginning to end. Because the purpose and structure of communicative 

behavior cannot be described by looking at only single sentences, systemic linguists look 

instead at texts, the linguistic products of everyday language events. 

CONCLUSION 

In this study, the text under investigation serves to illustrate a basic premise of 

systemic linguistics that language use is purposeful behavior. The writer of these excerpts did 

not just produce them to kill time, or to display their linguistic abilities. They wrote the texts 

because they want to use language to achieve a purpose: they had goals that they were using 

language to achieve. We could gloss the overall purpose of Text 1 is to criticize Indonesian 

government for not putting high priority in addressing environmental issues despite the 

commitment that had been made. 

In having a purpose, these instances of language use are typical, not exceptional: 

people do not “just talk” or “just write”. Any use of language is motivated by a purpose, 

whether that purpose be clear, pragmatic one, or less tangible, but equally important, 

interpersonal one. 

These texts also illustrate a second consequence of asking functional questions 

about language: that we have to look at more that isolated sentences. If I have presented you 

with only one sentence, chosen at random, from the text, for example, “But the draft was 

never sent to Parliament” it would have been very difficult for you to determine the motivation 

for the writing. Similarly, from the writers’ point of view, it would have been almost impossible 

for them to achieve the desired goals through a single sentence. In other words, to achieve 

successfully the overall purposes of criticizing, the writers must meet the implicated goals of 

explaining a problematic phenomenon. 

If we are to understand what language is achieving in the situation, we need to 

describe the communicative behavior as involving not just one sentence, but at least two: both 

the command and the response. Typically, of course, getting something done using language 

will involve many more than two moves. As the texts above show, in order to explain why they 

condemn and why the others advocate the celebrities, the writers have presented a discussion 

consisting many sentences. They have in other words produced what systemic linguists call a 

text. 



The level of literacy has something to do with one’s consciousness of environmental 

issues including conservation. The higher the level of one’s literacy the more the 

consciousness he possesses. In education context, literacy-based teaching is therefore 

relevant to improve students’ consciousness on environmental issues including their 

conservation involvement. 

REFERENCES 

Eggins, Suzanne, 1994, An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics, Pinter 

Publishers: London. 

Fiske, John, 1990, Introduction to Communication Studies, Routledge, New York. 

Gerot, Linda & Peter Wignell, 1994. Making Sense of Functional Grammar, Gerd 

Stabler, NSW 2062. 

Halliday, M.A.K., 1974, Interview with M.A.K. Halliday , in H. Parret (ed.), Discussing 

Language (Janua Linguarum Series Maior 93), The Hague: Mouton, 81-120 

(extracts reprinted in Halliday 1978) 

Halliday, M.A.K., 1985a, Introduction to Functional Grammar, Edward Arnold: London. 

Halliday, M.A.K., 1985b, Spoken and written language, Geelong, Vic.: Deakin 

University Press (republished by OUP 1989). 


[Pujaningsih] B-2 

CHARACTER BUILDING THROUGH LITERACY INSTRUCTION 

FOR DIVERSE STUDENT IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 

Pujaningsih 

Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia 

pujaningsih@gmail.com 

ABSTRACT 

In rural area, schools face many challenges that related with poor academic achievement, 

behaviour problems and lack of parental support. Previous study found that the number of 

student with reading difficulties around 6 – 22 student in each class in Kotamadya Yogyakarta 

(Pujaningsih, et al. 2011). The majority of those student mostly found at schools in rural area. 

School plays the main role to educate those student non only as academic matters but also 

their characters. In the reverse side, Arismunandar (1997) found that one cause of stress in 

teachers is ongoing poor behavior, lack of motivation, low attention and response to the 

subjects being taught. Most of those student have reading disability so teacher have 

challenges to improve their quality of instruction in literacy not only to make they able to read, 

write but also could develop their character to be a good citizen and leader in the future 

eventhough they live in rural area that closed to poverty. Teacher can develop three area of 

instruction, are: 1) content (learn about respect, leadership, honesty, responsibility, etc), 2) 

process (to build basic habits and collaboration through peer reader), and 3) product (literacy 

to improve skill of comunication, mediate thoughts and emotions). Those three kind of 

strategy are suitable for class with diverse learners.. 

Key Words: character buildings, diverse student and literacy instruction 

INTRODUCTION 

The results from Arismunandar (1997) found that one cause of stress in teachers is 

ongoing poor behavior, lack of motivation, low attention and response to the subjects being 

taught. Student with this profile can be found in almost every class and are often recognized 

as student with learning difficulties. Student with learning difficulties, as one of the diversities 

found among student, often are found in elementary school. 

Some research has found the disadvantaged phenomenon in some of the students 

with low achievement. Bryan, 1997; Sale & Carey, 1995 (cited Pavri & Lutfig, 2000; Cook, 

2000) found that teachers’ acceptance of the students with learning difficulties is rare; 

therefore, it is not surprising if there are many negative views toward them. Compliments are 



rare, and low expectations along with active rejection are often addressed to student with 

learning difficulties compared to student without learning difficulties (Heron & Harris, 1993; Sitt 

et al. 1998 cited by Pavri & Luftig). Poor treatment by the teacher is often encountered and 

should be addressed. One thing that should be highlighted is that other student also learn the 

same thing in the way they treat people with skills deemed 'not equal’ to theirs. 

STUDENT WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES 

Student with learning difficulties are widely recognized by teachers and peers as 

student who are slow to learn or have difficulties learning because they lack academic 

achievement. Their prevalence is higher especially in urban area. These problems relate to: 

Definition of Student with Learning Difficulties 

Learning difficulties experienced by a child when he is not able to achieve the learning 

objectives and the learning has been defined over a certain period of time, is expressed by 

Endang S (2001). Burton (1952 in Endang.2001) also indicates the same idea. According to 

him, indications that a child is having learning difficulties appear when that child fails to 

achieve the learning objectives. Failure experienced by the child is described as follows: 

Student are considered as failing if they are not achieving the minimum level of mastery in a 

certain subject, in accordance with the goal that has been established by the teacher. In the 

daily reality, the student scored less than six. 

Student are unable to show achievement according to the potential that they have. 

Student are unable to complete their developmental tasks because they are experiencing a 

developmental disorder. 



Student are unable to reach the minimum requirement which is used as the prerequisite for 

study at the next level. 

Munawir et. al (2003) added that student who have physical abnormalities, mental and 

or behavioral disorders, because of their disorders, experience learning difficulties; the same 

is true of gifted student and they are included as student with learning problems/difficulties. 

Learning difficulties defined in this paper lead to failure in achieving the goal of learning 

caused by a minimal level of mastery that is recognized based on the low level of the mastery 

of the material and barriers in the teaching and learning process. 

Prevalence of student with Learning difficulties 

Some results illustrate the diversity of student who have learning difficulties. Research 

by Pujaningsih et al., in 2002 in the district of Berbah found that 36% of the student had 

learning difficulties with the following details: 12% slow learners, 16% specific learning 

difficulties (LD/ learning disability) and 17% Mentally Retarded. Marlina (2006) found 55 

student with specific learning diffiulties (Learning Disability) in 8 primary schools in Padang. 

These figures only offer a partial picture of the number of student with learning difficulties as a 

whole because the LD student are only a part of the student with learning difficulties. 

Specifically, difficulty in reading was found in about 10% - 20% of the student of primary 

school age (Gorman C, 2003). 

Recent study identified student in first to third grade who have reading diffiuculties in 

Kotamadya Yogyakarta about 142 student in 18 elementary school (Pujaningsih, et. Al, 2011). 

Most of them are boys compare to girl wich was 109 and 33 respectively. Table 1 below 

reveals a data about those findings. 

Table 1 Number of Student with Reading Difficulties in Low Grade 



in Kotamadya Yogyakarta 

No School’s name Quantity 

Gender 

B G 

1. SD Panembahan 22 13 7 

2. SD Suryodiningratan 2 9 8 1 

3. SD Tegal panggung 20 16 4 

4. SD Percobaan 1 2 1 1 

5. SD Keputran IV 11 10 1 

6. SD Langen sari 11 9 2 

7. SD Tukangan 14 9 5 

8. SD Lempuyangan 1 7 4 3 

9. SD Ungaran 1 1 0 1 

10. SD Demangan 4 3 1 

11. SD Gedong kiwo 18 14 4 

12. SD Pujokusuman II 5 3 2 

13. SD Pujokusuman III 6 5 1 

14. SD Prawirotaman 4 4 0 

15. SD Suryodingratan 1 1 1 0 

16. SD Rejowinangun 2 6 5 1 

17. SD Keputran A 11 7 4 

18. SD Keputran I 1 1 0 

Total 142 109 33 

Source: (Pujaningsih, 2011) 

Table 1 shows higher number of student with reading problems in Elementary school. 

Most of them are found in school where located near urban area. It clear be seen from the 

number of incidence is up to 10 student in those schools. 

Problems related with learning difficulties 

In general, the problem with student with learning difficulties covers three things: 

academic barriers, social interaction barriers and low motivation in learning. All of these three 

are interelated and therefore learning accomodation focuses on overcoming them. 

Academic barriers for most student with learning difficulties are closely related in terms 

of language, attention, cognitive skills, memory and social emotional conditions (Smith, 1998: 

45-48). Pujaningsih (2011) identified typical behaviors of student with reading difficulties 

based on teacher observation, are: 



a. Finger tracing 

b. Ignore reading punctuation 

c. The voice of student too soft/loud 

d. Wrong reading articulation 

e. Spelling reading 

Chidren with learning difficulties have problems in social interaction and they tend to 

be rejected by their peers. (Farmer & Rodkin, 1996; Nabasoku & Smith, 1993 in Pavri & Luftig, 

2000). Limited social interaction causes more loneliness in those student compared to their 

peers. (Pavri & Luftig, 2000; Luftig, 1987; Margalit, 1998 in Pavri & Luftig, 2000). 

Student’s learning disabilities have negative impact on their psychological condition 

that includes self-concept, self-esteem (self-efficacy), and learning motivation. Low self- 

concept causes low learning enthusiasm and minimizes the possibility of overcoming learning 

difficulties. This condition is a “vicious circle” which exposes student to a bad situation for their 

future. Harwell (2002: 37) proposed that ABB have the same self concept and self esteem as 

other student in terms of non academic matters; however, in terms of academic matters they 

feel lower. Lackaye and Margalit (2006) found that student with learning difficulties felt lonelier 

and have negative feelings/bad moods. This can further develop towards depression (Maag & 

Reid, 2006) and a suicidal tendency. 

Failure Cycle of Reading difficulties 

In student with resistance reading then he will have a tendency to reluctant and even refuse to 

learn to read. Failures experienced by student with conventional learning methods to trigger 

fear and rejection. Westwood (1997) describes linkage conduction low learning motivation in 



student with learning difficulties as 'failure cycle'. One example of 'failure cycle' can be seen in 

the following visualization. 

I’m not able to 

read 

I don’t like my 

teacher 

I hate reading 

Figure 1: Failure cycle 

Children 

My teacher so my 

mother always 

critism my poor 

ability 

Source: (The failure cycle in Westwood, Peter. 1997) 

On the picture above looks if one student feel that reading is hard to do so he tend to be 

hate to do activities related with reading. He try to escape when ask to read so he get a little 

practice and his reading ability still poor. Since his conditions need additional help for parents 

and teacher but he always refused so they become harder to push him finnaly he hate his 

teacher nor reading activities. He felt stupid, insignificant, invaluable, and believed that the 

teacher did not like his presences, to feel unfairly treated, do not understand. Viewed from the 

perspective of action and reaction that most likely it is to direct the teachers' reaction to the 

positive direction so that the circle of the above problems will not be held continuously and 

adversely affecting the future of student. 

Reading is 

hard for 

me 

I rare get practice 

so my ability in 

reading 

still low 

I don’t like reading 

I will ignore reading 

as possible 

Exclusion of student with learning difficulties is often encountered and it shows the 

condition of lack acceptance of diversity of the school. This was due to awareness of diversity 

is still low so that social interaction between the child with other student often faces many 



obstacles. Favazza et al. (2000) further states that the acceptance of the existence student 

with learning difficulties cannot just happen instantly. Support and conditioning are needed to 

make the other student received them. Peer rejection to the student with learning difficulties 

were often encountered when there is no support to accept them (Frea, Craig-Unfeker, Odom, 

& Johnson, Odom & Braun, in Favazza, et al. 2000). A kim. Y (2003) also stated that teachers 

needed to help create a climate that encourages interaction between student who are rejected 

by her friends. 

The problems on the diversity of student especially student with learning difficulties 

emerged and intertwined with each other and require attention and action from the teacher as 

mediator. This action is necessary to change the paradigm of their existence rather than as a 

troubled and troublesome child. 

While teacher have the main role to create learning proccess become accessible for 

diverse student, Golick (1973 in Charlton. 2005) stated that student who need more time and 

more assistance is a challenge for teachers to looking for a challenging and fun activities. 

Otherwise the situation can be realized when teachers are willing to take part in the effort to 

find a way out. There are some soft skills that need to be underlined, such as: 

a. Not looking 'student' with learning difficulties' as barriers to the learning process but a 

challenge to find a fun activity. 

b. Positive expectations from teachers who communicated from each greeting, speech, 

behavior, smile so that every child feels accepted. 

c. Provide a variety of flexibility in learning. 



CHARACTER BUILDING THROUGH LITERACY FOR DIVERSE STUDENT 

Good character is not happen instantly, it is developed over time through a sustained 

process of teaching, example, learning and practice. During daily activity in teaching and 

learning process, character is build throughout school curriculum and culture, such as reading 

instruction. 

Teacher can develop three area of reading instruction, are: 1) content (learn about 

respect, leadership, honesty, responsibility, etc), 2) process (to build basic habits and 

collaboration through peer reader), and 3) product (literacy to improve skill of comunication, 

mediate thoughts and emotions). Those three kind of strategy are suitable for class with 

diverse student. 

Content 

Through content of books, it gives natural place to pursue questions of value and 

character as they occur in literature, language expression and the writing and creative 

processes. Many books for student are published now with various of theme and moral value 

as a content. Teacher could ensure a successful experience with those books with following 

sugestion (Yopp & Yopp, 1992): 

Read the book. It is not possible to plan the course of instruction without becoming familiar 

with the book. 

Identify themes in the book. Teacher could select the themes that are most appropiate for 

all student (such as: examines of loneliness, traditions and survital, respect, leadership, 

honesty, responsibility, etc) that can be integrated with other curricula areas. 

Plan activities for three stages of study; before, during and after reading the book. 

Prereading activities should enhance student curiosity and activate relevant background 

knowledge. During reading activities should improve comprehension and call attention 



to effective use of language. Postreading activities should extend student thinking about 

ideas, events, or characters in the book and promote connections between the book 

and real life. Student with limited background knowledge on a particular topic will 

benefit from listening to the comments of peers. 

Build an atmosphere of trust. Student will feel free to communicate their feelings, 

experiences, and ideas only if there is an atmostphere of trust in the classroom. 

Reading Process 

Reading proccess give experience for student to develop cognitif, afective and 

behavior. Recent research found that readers’ organized knowledge of the world provides the 

basis for his or her comprehension of ideas in text (Yopp & Yopp, 1992). Conversation about 

content of books promote higher level of reasoning activities. Student with different reading 

ability could share about their opinion, discussing and analyzing what has been read. 

Poor reader typically isolated from their peers in reading class. Those condition could 

create to be afective lessons for other students by using alternatives approach, such as: 

whole-class instruction, use cooperative learning groups, interest group, peer tutor group and 

special needs group. In whole-class instruction set, some students may respond at a higher 

level of thinking than others, but each students can contribute and each can benefit form 

listening to the experiences and opinions of his or her peers. When students share ideas in 

cooperative learning, they are learning from one another and activating their background 

knowledge. 

Basic habit, such as: show up, on time, start promptly, complete tasks, follow directions, 

get along with adults and get along with peers could enhance through three reading activities 

(prereading, during reading and postreading). 



In general, students with reading presence is an opportunity for teachers to improve 

the competency and learning resources to other friends to develop positive attitudes. This 

statement is in line with the opinion Vaidya & Zaslavsky (2000) who argued that the presence 

of student with special needs in regular classroom a positive impact on other student, among 

others: a) the warmth and the ability to make friends, b) develop a personal understanding of 

diversity student, c) increase awareness to other student, d) development of social skills and 

e) reduction of anxiety for the human differences that cause comfort and awareness. 

Product of reading activities 

Since literature serves as a model of effective language, its use also influence students’ ability 

in many areas, such as writing ability (Yopp & Yopp, 1992), reading, listening, speaking, 

viewing and visual representing. So it can be said that literacy could improve skill of 

comunication, mediate thoughts and emotions 

Publishing student book in the classroom is a natural extension of reading books and a 

wonderful way to integrated\ the language art (Yopp & Yopp, 1992). For students who have 

reading difficulty involves more intensely in the literary experience than having them to write. 

Student can use narration and illustrations or borrow the author’s literary structure to creat a 

new work. 

Students could develop their creativity and comunicate their thoughts by rewriting the 

story and change the setting, main character from a female to male, verbs, from a third- 

person to a first-person voice and all adjectives. copy and change the story. Student also can 

reread their books to other students or take one home and share it with other family members 



CONCLUSION 

Teacher play as the main role for diversity student in their classroom. Teacher can 

create learning proccess as a way to build character for all students by create heterogenous 

students in to meaningfull reading instructional. Teacher can develop three area of instruction, 

are: 1) content (learn about respect, leadership, honesty, responsibility, etc), 2) process (to 

build basic habits and collaboration through peer reader), and 3) product (literacy to improve 

skill of comunication, mediate thoughts and emotions). Those three kind of strategy are 

suitable for class with diverse student. 

REFERENCE 

Arismunandar. (1997). Hubungan antara Karakteristik Individual dan Lingkungan dengan 

Stress Kerja Guru di Sulawesi Utara. Malang: not published (dissertasion). 

Charlton, B. W. (2005). Educational Games: A Technique To Accelerate The Acquisition Of 

Reading Skills Of Student With Learning Disabilities. The International Journal of 

Special Education, Vol 20, No.2. 

Cook B.G, e. a. (2000). Teacher’s Attitudes Toward their Included Students with Disabilities. 

Exceptional Student. Fall 2000;67, 1; ProQuest Education Journals, 115. 

Endang S (2001). Diagnosis Kesulitan Belajar dan Pengajaran Remidial. Diktat 

kuliah.Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta. 

Gorman, C. (2003, August 31). The New Science of Dyslexia. Time magazine [Online]. 

Favazza, P. C., Phillipsen, L. dan Kumar, P. (2000). “Measuring and Promoting Acceptance of 

Young Student with Disabilities”. Exeptional Student; Summer 2000; 66, 4; ProQuest 

Education Journals pg. 491. 

Harwell, J. M. (2001). Complete Learning Disabilities Handbook: Ready-to-Use Strategies & 

Activities for Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities. san Fransisco: John Wiley 

& Sons, Inc. 

Lackaye,T & Margalit, M. (2006). “Comparison of Achievement, Effort, and Self-Perceptions 

Among Students with Learning Disabilities and their peers from different achievement 

groups”. Journal of LD.Sept/Okt 2006. 

Maag. J. & Reid. R. (2006). “Depression Among Students with Learning Disabilities: Assesing 

the Risk”. Journal of LD: Jan/Feb 2006;39,1; Proquest Education Journals p.3. 



Marlina. (2006). Tingkat Penerimaan Teman Sebaya Pada Siswa Berkesulitan Belajar di SD 

Inklusi. Jurnal Pendidikan Khusus Vol.2 No.1. pp.18-23. 

Munawir Yusuf., dkk. (2003). Pendidikan Bagi Anak Dengan Problema Belajar. Solo: PT Tiga 

Serangkai Pustaka Mandiri. 


[Agnes Widyaningrum] B-3 

SHAPING STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE AND APTITUDE IN PRESERVING AND MAINTAINING 

CULTURAL IDENTITY 

Agnes Widyaningrum 

FBIB University of Stikubank Semarang 

agnes.maryanto@yahoo.com 

ABSTRACT 

Batik registered legally in UNESCO as our own cultural heritage and it granted. It directly 

committed to contribute positively to promote batik, for instance schools will wear batik as one 

of schools’ uniforms. In teaching and learning process, some topics discuss cultural heritage 

explicitly as well as implicitly regarding to the facts that teachers as educators are expected to 

influence Indonesian people especially younger generation to follow the movement in digging 

deeper and finding more Indonesian cultural heritage. This occurred nearly in every field and 

activity that is aimed at maintaining Indonesian culture. As one of formal institutions, school is 

also shaped students’ characters. Some indicators are formulated to determine the 

appropriate standard for evaluating students’ characters. Setting up the right format in the 

teaching and learning process is a good preliminary start to achieve the target. In this case 

the target is that the students’ are successfully applied cultural values and maintained cultural 

heritage which leads to applying cultural identity in their daily life. If they can do it naturally 

there will be no fear among Indonesian people that young generation will make Indonesian 

identity disappeared because of the influence of other cultures. Therefore, the character 

education is embodied in natural setting eventually. 

Key Words: culture, cultural values, cultural heritage, attitude, aptitude 

INTRODUCTION 

The date when UNESCO finally announced that Batik is claimed as one of Indonesian 

cultural heritage is a proof that Indonesian people are proud of thier own cultural identity. 

Before batik is accepted internationally as Indonesian culture, the world knows that there are 

some threats coming from other countries who also have the same determination to claim that 

batik is their own. There has been many efforts done in aiming at the objective to make the 

whole world realised about this matter eventually. 

Apart from batik, there are many more Indonesian heritage that exist and wait for 

action to get the admission from people all across the world, one example is Komodo. It is a 

rare species of animal that is almost extinct because of human civlization that put this animal 

life in dangerous situation. Jusuf Kalla through his action to vote for Komodo as one of seven 

wonders has a brave and challenging idea. He proposed this idea and is pioneering to take 

real action to show to the whole world that Komodo is worth accepted and he proved it. 



Thinking ahead and having critical opinion are valuable attitudes that each Indonesian 

student must posses. It is especially for university students whom are approaching to the 

global competition among many competitiors in the world. If they do not have positive attutide 

they will get difficulty in winning the competition. Besides, students’ behaviour who are 

reluctant to join in real action to promote Indonesian heritage is a negative trait that is very 

detrimental in keeping and maintaining cultural identity. 

Based on the recent condition, the government tried to build students’ characters 

through different activities, for istance is trough the action to keep the cultural heritage. The 

scheme that has been proposed is through the school subjects, extra as well as intra 

curricular activities. The real action to achieve this goal is by shaping students’ attitude and 

aptitude to respect Indonesian’s nature and its heritage inside. We are now struggling to find 

out ways to eduacate students; as young people to realize that it is a must for them to keep 

and maintain Indonesian’s cultural identity. 

SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS OF LANGUAGE LEARNING IN INDONESIA 

Indonesia has Pancasila as the state phylosophy and Ki Hadjar Dewantoro’s teaching 

called Unity in Diversity as fundamental thinking trough actions heading to the same directrion, 

that is respecting others’ differences. Those differences may be beneficial or even detrimental 

for the people who have extreme ideology. Some facts proven that Indonesia faces many 

conflitcs ranging from ethnical up to ideological or belief. If the government can not give firm 

action to execute those conflicts, sooner or later there will be no longer living peacefully in 

harmony. 

The word culture has different meanings and many kinds of forms which depend on 

the views proposed by some scholars. Pettigrew (1979) siad that culture is the system of such 

publicity and collectivity accepted meanings operating for given group at a given time. While 

Davis (1984) defined culture as the pattern of shared belief and values that give the members 

of an institution meaning, amd provide them with the rules for behaviour in their organization. 

Cushway and Lodge (1993) stated that culture is a value syatem that influences the way the 

people think. Therefore we can conclude that culture is a set of value that becomes reference 

for people who live inside to create a behaviour in accordance with the environment. 

Furthermore culture can be viewed as a form of identity as well as a social control. (Agung 

Iskandar et al, 2011:256) 



Brown (2007:188) stated that culture is our continent, our collective identity. Larson 

and Smalley (1972:39) described culture as a “blueprint” that “guides the behaviour in groups 

of people in a community and is incubated in in family life. It governs our behaviour in groups, 

makes us sensitive to matters of status, and helps us know what others expect of us and what 

will happen if we do not live up to their expectation. Culture helps us to know how far we can 

go as individuals and what our responsibility is to the groups. Therefore, Indonesian students 

are expected to show cultural identity of Indonesia, for example their attutide and behaviour 

represent their way of thinking. Specifically, they can talk in their local language in their daily 

conversation and keep other local cultures where do they belong to. 

When we say that language is a part of culture, we may think of culture is a way of 

life. It is the context within which we exist, think, feel, and relate to others. It is a “glue” that 

binds a group of people together. Several countries ago, John Donne (1624) had this to say 

about culture: No man is an island, entire of itself, everyman is a piece of the continent, a part 

of the main;...any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and 

therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee”. (Brown, 2007:188) 

Before language is found, poeple communite using body language but then spoken 

and written form of communication are emerged and they influenced people to commuicate 

using those forms. Language is a form of culture therefore languague closely relates to 

culture. The above definition about culture is a set of value admitted and applied by people 

who live inside the culture. It means that people will value and judge whether the attitude and 

behaviour of someone reflect the culure they are living. One example is a negative habit of 

people who are not aware of the cleanliness, green living, and ecosystem living, so that as a 

result of their habit they will create permanent damage in their environment. Moroever, the 

dangerous effect of their bad habits will be felt by younger generation if there are no action to 

change those bad habits. 

The habit itself is something that becomes a routine activity done by people. If they 

keep doing these bad habits like littering anyhwere, cutting trees without replanting, hunting 

and killing rare species of animal, etc, younger generation of their culture will no longer get 

clean and green environment. Furthermore they will have to take consenquences as what 

their ancestors have done. There is a solution to stop those bad habits that is through 

education. Education can be done formally as well as informally. The goal of education is to 



enlightening the nation. Through education, it is expected that younger generation can 

preserve and maintain culture so that the identity of a nation will not dissapear. 

The raise of students’ awareness towards the green living is a good tendency that 

keeping and maintaining green environment is a real action to keep and preserve the culture. 

Culture is a very broad term but a small part of it is attitude and behaviour that help students 

build their own character through education. Education takes a prominent role in shaping 

students’ character formally at school and informally at home by the family and the 

environment. 

Brown (2007: 188) said that culture might also be defined as the ideas, customs, 

skills, arts, and tools that characterize a given group of people in a given period of time. But 

culture is more than the sum of its parts. According to Matsumoto (2000: 24) that culture is a 

dynamic system of rules, explicit and implicit, established by groups in order to ensure their 

survival, involving attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, behavious, shared by a group but 

harbored different by each specific unit within the group, communiated across generations, 

relatively stable but the potential to change across time. There are nine indicators proposed by 

Matsumoto in terms of culture that belong to social factors which influenced people whom 

belong to certain society. 

Society and environment are two factors that will influence one to another in everyday 

life. Previously, Indonesian society is strictly followed what is called culture of clothing. Before 

the Independence day, Indonesian people especially women must wear skirt and are not 

allowed to wear trousers. But years are passing by and Indonesia is widely open for other 

cultures to interact with Indonesian culture, like the way women dress up and involve in state 

affairs; how young generation are fond of gadget as the result of advance technology; and 

how men talk and think of gender issues. Those are a few examples of the influence of other 

cultures towards Indoensian people. 

In terms of language, we all know and agree to the notion that English is an 

international langauge. English is currently said to be an international language eventhough 

when we say this, we do not really understand what does it mean. Actually it seems extremely 

difficult to comprehend various sorts of logical deductions stemming from the present state of 

the English Language. In what follows, we will discuss some of the fundamental issuess 

involved in recognizing, promoting, and teaching and learning English as an international 

language. (Honna, 2008: 1) 



The role of English in Indonesia is as the first foreign language but in our neingboring 

country, like Singapore, English is as the second language. In countries where English is 

marked as a second langauge, it actually functions as an official language often employed in 

addition to other local languages. Furthermore, English as an international language was 

formerly referred to as English as a “foreign” language (Honna, 2008: 2). It implies that English 

is used as a formal language in formal situation, including in schools. 

Contemporary English has two functional and structural characteristics that no other 

languages have developed in the history of linguistic evolution. Functionally speaking, English 

has conspicuously spread among nonnative speakers as sizable number of Asian, African, 

Pacific, and Carribean countries designate it as their official, associate official, or working 

language. There are some reasons why English is important in the contemporary world. 

English has become a common language of enlightened individuals in the fields of trade, 

commerce, tourism, regional development and cooperation, overseas studies, and academic 

pursuit across the world. (Honna, 2008: 5). Indonesia is a country where English is used as 

the first foreign language, it means that we still use Indonesian langauge in formal context 

including schools. Therefore the spread of English is not as fast as in Singapore as English is 

one of compulsory subjects in school context in Indonesia. Furthermore, Indonesia is a 

multicultural country that has many cultures inside, like ethnics, nations, including their own 

local identity like language. 

ATTITUDE AND APTITUDE 

Historically, we admit that there are some characteristics known as stereotypes or 

generalizations. Mark Twain gave us some delightful politically incorrect vignettes on other 

cultures and other languages in The Innocents Abroad. In reference to the French language, 

Twain commented that the French “always tangle up everything to that when you start into a 

sentence you never know whether you are going to come out alive or not. (Brown, 2007:190) 

We can conclude that Twain at that time have the same perception as people in general, 

expressed caricatures of lingustics and cultural stereotypes. 

Sometimes culture is ambiguous. It implies that our own culture-bond worldview, we 

too often picture other cultures in an oversimplified manner, lumping cultural differences into 

exaggerated categories, and then view every person in a culture as possessing stereotypical 

traits. For instance, American are all rich, informal, materialistic, overly, friendly and drink 



coffee. Italians are passionate, demonstrative, great lovers, and drink red wine. Germans are 

stubborn, industrious, methodical, and drink beer (Brown, 2007: 192). Based on the 

description, we may say that young Indonesian people have circular thinking, are less 

motivated in learning seomthing, are passionate in following trends especially becoming 

gadget freaks, and are less motivated in respecting other local cultures. They are easily 

attacked by other foreign cultures in food, fashion and lifestyle. 

The next thing that we should think of is how do stereotypes are formed. Our culture 

milieu shapes our worldview in such a way that reality is thought to be objectively perceived 

through our own cultural pattern, and a differing perception is seen as either false or strange 

and is thus oversimplified. We should be careful and filter every culture that are already 

existed in our home country if we do not want to loose our own identity. We are already had 

aptitude, it is a skill and ability that we owned. By schooling, we will get formal knowldge and 

we can empasize our own aptitude in learning something. 

Brown (2007: 191) stated that if poeple recognize and understand differing 

worldviews, they will usually adopt a positive and open-mided attitude toward cross-cultural 

differences. A close-minded view of such differences often results in the maintenance of a 

stereotype-an oversimplification and blanked assumption. A stereotype assigns group 

characteristics to individuals purely on the basis of their cultural membership. The stereotype 

may be accurate in depicting the “typical” member of a culture, but it is inaccurate for 

describing a particular individual, simply because every person in unique and all of person’s 

behavioral charateristics cannot be accumulately predicted on the basis of overgeneraized 

median point along a continuum of cultural norms. 

We may not stereotyping or overgeneralizing poeple from other cultures but should be 

avoided. It is because of cross-cultural research has shown that there are indeed 

characteristics of culture that make one culture different from another (Atkinson, 1999, 2002, 

Matsumoto, 200). For example Condon (1973) conluded from cross-cultural research that 

American, French and Hispanic worldviewa are quite different in their concepts of time and 

space. Furhtermore, cultures can also differe according to the degrees of colletivism, power 

distance, unceratainty avoidance, and gender role prescriptions. 

In school context, both teachers and learners of a second langauge need to 

understand cultural differences, to recognize openly that people are not all same beneath the 

skin. Langauge classrooms can celebrate cultural differences, and even engage in a critical 



analysis of the use and origin of stereotypes (Abrams, 2002). As teachers and researchers we 

must strive to understand the identities of our learners in terms of their sociocultural 

background (Atkinson, 1999). When we are sensitively at tuned to perceiving cultural identity, 

we can then perhaps turn perception into appreaciation (Brown, 2007: 192). 

When we do stereotyping, usually it implies some type of attitude toward the culture or 

language in question. This implication of biased attitudes are based on insufficient knowledge, 

misinformed stereotyping, and extreme ethnocentric thinking. Attitudes, like all aspects of the 

development of cognition and affect in human beings, develop early in childhood and are the 

result of parents’ and peers’ attitudes of contact with people who are “different” in any number 

of ways, and of interacting affective factors in human experience. Indonesian schools have 

done some activities through their curriculum in order to build students’ charaters. Moreover, 

they also experience some activities done in the family and environment. The students will get 

knowledge formally from schools and informally at home. 

Another scholar, Gardner and Lambert (1972) extensive studies were systematic 

attempts to examine the effect of attitudes on language learning. After studying the 

interrelationships of a number of different types of attitudes, they defined motivation as a 

construct made up of certain attitudes. The most important of these is group specific, the 

attitude learners have toward the members of the cultural group whose langauge they are 

learning. English is a compulsory subject in Indonesia, it implies that English is obligatory to 

be taught and learned in schools. English subject is taught from younger age, it is called 

young learners education up to university level. By learning English, we also learn the culture 

because language is a part of culture. We can improve our attitude and aptitude while keeping 

the culture as our national identity. 

Indonesian culture faces many threads, one example is our national language and 

local languages. Since English becomes the first foreign language and as an obligatory 

subject to be taught in schools, English can endanger the existence of our own langugae if we 

do not keep and maintain our own identity. Beacuse learning a second langauge implies some 

degree of learnnig a second culture, it is important to understand what we mean by the 

process of culture learning. Second langauge learning involves the acquisition of second 

identity. This creation of a new identity is at the heart of of culture learning, or what some 

might call acculturation. (Brown, 2007: 194) 



The process of acculturation can be more acute when langauge is brought into the 

picture. To be sure, culture is deeply ingrained part of the very fiber of our being, but 

language-the means for communication among members of a culture-is the most visible and 

available expression of that culture. As a result, a person’s worldview, self-identity, and 

systems of thinking, acting, feeling, and communicating can be disrupted by a contact with 

another culture (Brown, 2007 : 194). We may not be able to avoid the acculturation but we 

may protect ourselves from endangering our own language. This acculturation process is part 

of our learning process because we learn English therefore we may learn the English cultiure 

as well. 

CHARACTER BUILDING TROUGH ACTION TO PRESERVE AND MAINTAIN CULTURE 

Education starts at the beginning of a child’s life. The child can get his education at 

home from the parents and surrounding, and when he reached school age, he will go to 

school. The role of peer groups will soon take over the role of parents as the child grows. But 

school also influences him to learn from their milieu as well as classmates. Learning process 

may start anywhere but the point is that he can get knowledge for his own good. 

Indonesian government sets up the new model of eduation that is called character 

education. This kind of education is aimed at building students’ character, one of ways is by 

preserving and maintaining our own culture. Referring to former education model, modern 

character eduation is a reaction towards the previous model of education functions on 

students’ growth, but recent model focuses on the basis of students’s universal values. It 

implies that psychological condition is an aid for students’ character and not as a fundamental 

basis for building their character. 

Character education is not totally a new tradition in Indonesian education. Some 

former Indonesian scholars are R.A. Kartini, Ki Hadjar Dewantara, Soekarno, Hatta, etc have 

tried to apply the spirit of character eduation as a foundation for nations’ personality and 

integrity in accordance with the context and situation (Koesoema, 2007: 46). They are the 

Indonesian heroes in education therefore we should follow their spirit to think beyond our mind 

today to face the future without leaving our own identity. 

There is a saying from Emmanuel Mounier about character, he said that what is truest 

of an individual, and the most himself, is his possibility, that is only shown indistinctly in his 

history. To know a character is to know and love its promise and not to imprison it in a 



carapace (Koesoema, 2007: 79). As one of multicultural country, Indonesia has many different 

cuultures along with their values and norms. Even though we have our national idenitty as a 

result of Youth Pledge in 1928, we must take real action to keep our local identity. 

Talking about character relates to moral character as well. Moral character or 

character is an evaluation of a particular individual's durable moral qualities. The concept of 

character can imply a variety of attributes including the existence or lack of virtues such as 

integrity, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors or habits. Moral 

character primarily refers to the assemblage of qualities that distinguish one individual from 

another — although on a cultural level, the set of moral behaviors to which a social group 

adheres can be said to unite and define it culturally as distinct from others. Psychologist 

Lawrence Pervin defines moral character as "a disposition to express behavior in consistent 

patterns of functions across a range of situations”. 

There are two approaches when dealing with moral character: Normative ethics 

involve moral standards that exhibit right and wrong conduct. It is a test of proper behavior 

and determining what is right and wrong. Applied ethics involve specific and controversial 

issues along with a moral choice, and tend to involve situations where people are either for or 

against the issues against the issue. In 1996, V. Campbell and R. Bond proposed the 

following as major factors in influencing character and moral development: heredity, early 

childhood experience, modeling by important adults and older youth, peer influence, no the 

general of physical and social environment, the communications media, what is taught English 

in the schools and other institutions, and specific situations and roles that elicit corresponding 

behavior. 

What is character? A dictionary describes character as the complex of mental and 

ethical traits marking a person. But a real character is who we really are. It’s what we do. It’s 

the accumulation of thoughts, values, words and actions. These become the habits that 

determine our destiny. A person’s destiny can be summed up to a road of success or a road of 

failure. People say you can achieve success by having good character. But what really is a 

good character? A person of good character thinks right and does right according to the core 

universal values that define the qualities of a good person: trustworthiness, respect, 

responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Well whatever we shall call character, though 

our role as character developers is to guide people’s thoughts, words, actions, and habits 

toward these values, which all people share, regardless of differences. 



CONCLUSION 

A character covers moral and phyisical traits. We may not discuss characeter 

separately but as a whole. Talking about character relates to culture that ifluences a person to 

think, act, and take responsibility for what he has done. The concept of character can imply a 

variety of attributes including the existence or lack of virtues such as integrity, courage, 

fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors or habits. Moral character primarily refers 

to the assemblage of qualities that distinguish one individual from another — although on a 

cultural level, the set of moral behaviors to which a social group adheres can be said to unite 

and define it culturally as distinct from others. 

In teaching and learning process, language has a prominent role because it is as a 

means of communication. The role of English in Indonesia is as the first foreign language, it 

means that we still use our national identiy, Indonesian language in formal situation, but the 

process that we posses is called second language acquisition. Learning English can not be 

separated from learnig its culture. Beacuse learning a second langauge implies some degree 

of learnnig a second culture, it is important to understand what we mean by the process of 

culture learning. Second langauge learning involves the acquisition of second identity. This 

creation of a new identity is at the heart of of culture learning, or what some might call 

acculturation. 

REFERENCES 

Agung, Iskandar. 2011. Pendidikan Membangun Karakter Bangsa : Peran Sekolah 

Membangun Karakter Bangsa Pada Peserta Didik. Jakarta: PT Bestari Buana Murni 

Bailey, Kathleen M. 2001. Pursuing Professional Development: The Self As Source. Canada: 

Heinle & Heinle Thompson Learning. 

Brown, Douglas H. 2001. Teaching by Principles: an Interactive Approach to Language 

Pedagogy. Second Edition. San Fransico: Longman. 

________. 2004. Language Assessment : Principles and Classroom Practices. San Francisco: 

Longman. 

________. 2007. Principles of Langauge Leaerning and Teaching. San Fransico : Longman 

Chaika, Elaine. 1994. Language: The Social Mirror. Third edition. USA : Heinle&Heinle 

Publishers. 



Honna, Nobuyuki. 2008. English as a Multicultural Langauge in Asian Contexts: Issues and 

Ideas. Japan: Kurosio. 

Johnson, Elaine B et al. 2010. Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL). Menjadikan Kegiatan 

Belajar-Mengejar Mengasyikan dan Bermakna. Bandung: Kaifa Learning 

Koesoema, Doni. 2007. Pendidikan Karakter: Strategi Mendidik Anak di Zaman Global. 

Jakarta: Grasindo. 

Salkind, Neil J. 1985. Theories of Human Development. New York: John Wiley and Sons. 

Santrock, John W. 2009. Psikologi Pendidikan. Edisi Ketiga. Jakarta: Salemba Humanika. 


[Dwi Winarsih] B-5 

INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE DEVELOPMENTAL DIMENSION OF LITERACY AND 

CHARACTER EDUCATION 

Dwi Winarsih 

winarsih_dwi@yahoo.co.id 

ABSTRACT 

The study explores interconnection between phenomena of developmental dimension of 

students’ literacy and character education. This ethnography study involved 5 SMA teachers. 

The data collected from document analysis taken from syllabuses, schemes of work, lesson 

plans, and worksheets, recording, questionnaire, structured open-ended interviews, 

classroom observations, and stimulated recall. Data analysis shows the cognitive, linguistic, 

and sociocultural strategies can be employed as it was done by students whose literacy skills 

and English proficiency are better. This means they do not only possess relevant knowledge 

take for example information literacy skills but also interpersonal relations with good 

character. The less proficient of literacy dimension the less demanding of literacy practice, 

while the more proficient of dimension of literacy the more demanding literacy practice, the 

students have. Concerning with cultural theme, teachers apply concept of peace and harmony 

(kerukunan and keselarasan) in teaching-learning process. 

Key Words: literacy, character, cultural theme 

INTRODUCTION 

Government of Indonesia concerns with the national character. Nowadays character 

building and moral values have become crucial issues in education. Teachers in every level of 

education are assigned to plan activities of teaching and learning which contain character 

formation in order that schools educate and produce citizens who have good and qualified 

character. These facts are actually in line with the great demand of free trade globalization 

era. 

Literacy which is generally refers to the practice of reading and writing, in practice, 

covers almost all walks of life in a better world (Holme, 2004). It is assumed that written text 

has been a pleasant channel of communication between the old and young, the writer and the 

reader, etc. The writer intentionally put moral values and culture information in the text to 

foster character building. Thus, activities in literacy-based teaching i.e. reading and writing are 

supposed as a vehicle through which students learn about foreigners’ character and moral 

values as well as their own. 



REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 

Literacy is a term often heard in and out of the classroom. While traditionally the term 

literacy has been commonly defined as the ability to read and write (Kern, 2000). The common 

idea of literacy is using printed symbols and images to derive meaning for purposeful, 

personal, and culturally relevant communication. 

Literacy is traditionally perceived as the impersonal decoding or encoding of detached 

texts (in the product-oriented tradition) or the dynamic cognitive strategies that construct 

personal meaning in the text (in the process-oriented tradition). Literacy education is effective 

when it is conceived as dynamic and multidimensional in nature. Kucer (2009) says becoming 

or being literate means learning to effectively, efficiently, and simultaneously control of 

linguistic, cognitive, sociocultural, and developmental dimensions of written language in a 

transactive fashion. 

The linguistic dimension conceives of reader and writer as code breaker and code 

maker, the cognitive as meaning maker, the sociocultural as text user and text critic and the 

developmental dimension as scientist and construction worker. Readers draw upon these four 

knowledge resources when engaged with any written language events. 

The ability to read and write becomes the basic focus in introductory and intermediate 

courses. Teaching is focused on correctness and convention of language. While in advance 

course the focus is on literary and cultural knowledge. Wells in Hammond (1992) classifies 

levels of literacy into four i.e. performative, functional, informational, and epistemic. At the 

lower levels literacy concerns with being text-centric. It deals largely with text characteristics. 

As the purpose of English teaching in SMA is to prepare the students to get 

informational level that they will be able to access knowledge using English, teachers should 

selectively choose materials and learning activities for the promotion of the achievement of 

this literacy level. Hence the students can be self-reliant, adaptive, and acceptable community 

members as they know how to communicate appropriately in a particular context. This is 

indicated by their ability to interpret and create texts at discourse level (text plus contexts) 

because language (text) as stated in Curriculum 2004 is developed on the basis of context of 

culture and context of situation. Context of culture produces various kinds of texts or genres. 

When the students learn English texts, they are engaged in interpreting and creating those 

texts in English cultural contexts (English genres) which are different from ours. 



In tune with context of culture and context of situation, a text fosters moral values 

which contribute much towards character building. The moral values within a text might 

contain values in relation to God, in relation to human being, in relation to individual in running 

this life, and in relation to the nature life such as preservation of nature. 


This research belongs to an ethnography study that portrays and reveals phenomena 

in English as a Foreign Language classroom using literacy-based teaching. Nunan (1992) 

says that ethnography involves the study of the characteristics of a group in a real-world 

setting. 

In this study we chose five teachers of public schools of SMA Negeri 1, SMA Negeri 

2, SMA Negerei 3, SMA Negeri 4, and SMA Negeri 5 of Magelang Municipality. The selected 

subjects are those who have been certified and got teaching experience for more than fifteen 

years. 

In collecting the data, this research utilized the following techniques: document 

analysis taken from syllabuses, schemes of work, lesson plans, and worksheets, recording, 

questionnaire, structured open-ended interviews, classroom observations, and stimulated 

recall. In analyzing the data Spreadly‘s (1980) model is employed. Using this, we observed a 

social situation in this to discover a cultural scene. It is sought to capture a larger pattern with 

such concepts as values, value-orientation, core values, ethos, world view and cognitive 

orientation in literacy-based teaching. 

DATA ANALYSIS 

Teachers’ views of what constituted literacy influences the way they approach the 

teaching of English as a foreign language in the classroom. The dominant view of literacy is 

that of reading and writing, consequently literacy-based teaching involves reading and writing 

to teach. Parallel to this, in teaching English, SMA teachers of Magelang as subjects of the 

research concern with how students construct the linguistic, cognitive and sociocultural 

dimensions of written texts. 

From linguistic perspective of the dimension of literacy (Kucer, 2009), the data taken 

during the research tell that teachers lead student to improve the ability to recognize graphic 

representation of words and knowledge of the conventions that determine how linguistic 



elements can be combined and ordered. Teachers need to help students get knowledge of 

morphological, lexical, and syntactic relationship in sentences. Literacy requires 

understanding of relationships between larger segments of texts as well as knowledge of 

genres. 

Another dimension of literacy is cognitive one that Kern (2000) says that literacy 

requires more than perceptual and sensory motor skill; it also demands the reader’s active 

participation at a cognitive skill. The excerpts show that the teachers develop students’ 

cognitive dimension of literacy by facilitating them (Kern, 2000) to be active readers at 

cognitive level. In reading practice, the data tell that teachers demand students to relate the 

written symbols they perceive to the knowledge of language and content areas in order to 

bring meaning to a text. The teachers involve thinking process of student to predict the 

meaning of linguistic symbols, moral values, and the content of the text. Further data also tells 

that writing practice assigned by D1 to students requires active thinking and problem solving. 

She frequently facilitate students to relate students knowledge of linguistic feature of texts 

such as functional grammar used, vocabulary, functions or purposes of the text, social 

membership that involve in the text, etc. At cognitive level, four of the subjects develop 

students’ dimension of literacy in reading and writing, however, one teacher told the 

researcher during interview that he hardly develops students’ cognitive dimension in writing 

due to limitation of linguistic elements mastery such as vocabulary and structure. 

Reading and writing are not simply individual acts of thought and language and 

language, but also patterned social acts and behavior of the group (Kern, 2000). This means 

that literacy also covers socicultural dimension. As social practices literacy focuses on the 

function of literacy event and forms of linguistic characteristics of group literacy activity. An 

examination of literacy practices of students’ sociocultural dimension shows that these five 

subjects facilitated student to improve sociocultural dimension of literacy. They discussed the 

purposes of literacy practices across social group to improve an understanding of rules and 

norms for transacting with written language within and across social group. Students made 

use of their knowledge of particular literacy forms and functions that valued and supported by 

social groups. Based on the excerpts all teachers tried to develop students’ socilcultural 

dimension of literacy that covers the purpose of literacy activity and consider social group 

membership impacted use of print in this manner (Kucher, 2009). D1 always asked students 

to identify the purpose of literacy activity in discussions in her classroom relate to certain text- 



type they were reading or writing. She thought that her students as students of international 

standard school could determine the social function and the membership of texts because 

they had sufficient background knowledge of language to do the assignment. In tune with D1’s 

professional practice, I2 also led students’ literacy activity that aimed to improve sociocultural 

dimension of literacy. In her teaching, she related to passing the time for example in an 

enjoyable manner using television comedy program. The social group membership and social 

identity of the text is socioeconomic status or class of television viewers. Improving students’ 

socicultural dimension of literacy, E3 relates literacy activities that involve social group of 

family in daily living to increasing one’s knowledge using report text. The next teacher P4 

related literacy activities to increasing students’ knowledge using report text that was used by 

people who concern with flood. And K5 relates literacy activities to group of people of text by 

comprehending the detail information of text. 

English teachers of SMA in Magelang municipality as subject of this research try to 

apply their teaching methodology as it is recommended by the curriculum. Based the 2006 

curriculum of English in Indonesia English as a Foreign Language teaching in Indonesia 

involves collaboration between teachers and learners with the teacher taking on an 

authoritative role similar to that of expert supporting an apprentice to build text for different 

purposes. It equips students with life skills which concerns with literacy. 

Schools are a principal site for literacy. Literacy is formally taught, learned, and 

sustained throughout students’ academic experience. As cultural site of literacy activity, the 

schools have specific rules or norms for how texts are to be formed. These employments, 

rules, and forms may (1) affirm, build on, and extend the way in which language is used, (2) 

require adaptation in how thought and language is used. Consequently teachers’ professional 

practice reflects their effort to develop literacy, it is very important to keep three dimension of 

literacy to develop in mind. The less proficient of literacy dimension the less demanding of 

literacy practice, while more proficient of dimension of literacy the more demanding literacy 

practice, the students are. 

With increased internationalization, growing knowledge-intensive work, and increasing 

use of information technology, schools are required to produce graduates who have civilized 

manners and to be conscious of social position. This means they do not only possess relevant 

knowledge take for example information literacy skills but also interpersonal relations with 



good character. Character building becomes an issue to develop in every subject teachinglearning 

activities. 

In tune with Javanese concept that the older man have more experience to share, the 

teachers prefer to suggest the students as young generation to have inner management to be 

true. Thus teaching-learning process applied, are mostly teacher-centered that those are 

directed specifically by the teacher who focuses and serves to direct the learning in very 

purposeful ways. The next concept is keeping peace and harmony. The teacher whose 

students have low mastery of vocabulary and sentence structure hardly demands them to 

write because he thinks it creates conflict asking them to generate ideas without having 

sufficient language elements mastery. Checking and giving comments on mistake that are 

addressed to personals usually bother feeling. For the sake of inner harmony and peace 

teachers avoid it, as in Javanese this against with the concept of having quiet orderliness of 

life. 

CONCLUSION 

Development reflects growth in the individual’s ability to effectively and efficiently 

engage the linguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural dimensions of literacy in an ever widening 

range of context. The students who have limited knowledge of these dimensions are able to 

effectively and efficiently apply this knowledge in only a relatively narrow range of context. 

They seem to know little about the text when given less supportive texts to read. On the other 

hand, development involve increasing the range of materials and contexts in which the 

cognitive, linguistic, and sociocultural strategies can be employed as it was done by students 

whose literacy skills and English proficiency are better. 

The teachers should be open to enhance students’ and their ethos work because in 

this free trade globalization era, they need to revitalize literacy especially in reading and 

writing, unless Indonesians will be consumers and viewers of advanced or established 

countries. 

REFERENCES 

Achmadi, Asmoro. 2004. Fisafat dan Kebudayaan Jawa. Surakarta: Cendrawasih 

Agustien, I.R. Helena. 2006. Competence-based Curriculum and Its Practical Implications. 

Paper. Universitas Negeri Semarang. 



Depdiknas. 2005. Peraturan Pemerintah Republik Indonesia Nomor 19 tahun 2005 tentang 

Standar Nasional Pendidikan. Jakarta: Depdiknas Republik Indonesia. 

Depdiknas. 2007. Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan Nasional Republik Indonesia Nomor 41 

Tahun 2007 tentang Standar Proses untuk Satuan Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah. 

Jakarta: Depdiknas Republik Indonesia. 

Derewianka.Beverly. 1995. Exploring How Texts Work. Australia: Australian Print Group 

Hammond, et al. 1992. English for Social Purposes. Sydney Australia: Macquarie University 

Holme, Randal. 2004. Literacy An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 

Kern, Richard. 2000. Literacy and Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press 

Kucher, Stephen. 2009. Dimension of Literacy. New York: Routledge 

Richard, C. Jack and Lockhart, Charles. 2000. Exploring Reflective Teaching in Second 

Language Classroom. The United States of America: Cambridge University Press. 

Sofo, Francesco.1999. Human Resource Development, Perspective, Roles and Practice 

Choice. NWS: Business and Professional Publishing. 


[Atip Nurharini ] B-6 

GROWING MULTICULTURAL SPIRIT THROUGH CULTURAL ARTS AND SKILLS 

EDUCATION 

Atip Nurharini 


atip.nurharini@gmail.com 

ABSTRACT 

Cultural arts and skills is a form of activity in the field of education that can overcome the 

problems associated with the cultural diversity that is owned by our nation. The variety of 

culture diverse must be introduced to a child from birth to adulthood. Moreover, establishing a 

multicultural spirit is an activity which is developed continuously by the youth of the nation. We 

can develop the spirit of multicultural through education both formal and informal. Culture 

diversity of nation are getting lost from the memory of the people led the nation lost their 

identity as a valuable nation. This causes a crisis of moral and civilized nation, or the loss of 

the nation's character. By developing the multicultural spirit through cultural arts and skills 

education, we try to help unify the nation in a democratic way, with emphasis on the 

perspectives of plurality of people in different area, ethnic groups, and different cultural 

groups. Base of the concept, the school is conditioned to reflect the practice of democratic 

values. Students will be trained to be sensitive to the unity, harmony, subtlety of character, 

and high taste. This education focuses on the personal formation of students into a smart, 

good personality, interesting and enjoyable in accordance with the rules of cultures, nations 

and even religion. Aesthetic and emotional intelligence is an important provision in preparing 

children to meet a bright future. The impact of aesthetic and moral intelligence is a person will 

be successful in dealing with all sorts of challenges, including challenges academically, 

morally, people, even the global world. 

. 

Key Words: multicultural spirit, cultural art, skill education 

INTRODUCTION 

The success of a nation is determined by human attitudes in fostering the 

consciousness as a cultured and high identity Indonesian in accordance with the character of 

the nation. Human consciousness can be achieved by either through policy-oriented education 

that not only on science and technology, but also oriented toward the arts. 

Educational efforts do not lead to culture isolation in our nation, let alone see the 

character of our multicultural culture. The term "multicultural" indicates the cultural diversity 

according to character of the nation and makes it possible to live together, rather than develop 

a “sin qua non” what it means to live as a human being. (Makedon, 1996:1) 

Even in this globalization era, so many moral crises that spread in Indonesian society. 

Recently, the moral crises spread intensively to all people not only in the elder, adults, and 



teenagers but also in children. According to the analysis of social behavior, the phenomenon 

is a fact that there are undeveloped aspects of sense, reason, and spiritual in the community. 

The phenomenon of moral crisis is characterized by the attitude of indifference toward others, 

selfishness, aggressiveness, or high destructive behavior in a human. The efforts to refine the 

feeling, mind and behavior are very important to find a solution, if the problem is the people’s 

behavior that increasingly gruff, cruel, and harsh. 

The whole community, observers, scholars, and educators involved in the education 

world need of a variety of education concept formulas that can integrate the aspects of mind 

intelligence and feeling intelligence and variety of ideas to be implemented, so our education 

figured the character of the nation. Cultural arts and skills education as beautiful artworks is 

assumed to be able to overcome the problems. By introducing cultural arts and skills 

education from an early age to adulthood, an individual will be trained to be sensitive to unity, 

harmony, refinement of manners, and taste. 

Actually, the role of cultural arts and skills education not only to develop human 

capabilities in the field of aesthetics, but also play a role in developing skills in logic and ethics. 

Based on research that cultural arts and skills education is able to improve emotional 

intelligence (EQ), creativity (CO), moral (MQ), adversity (AQ) and spiritual (SQ). (Cut Kamaril, 

2001: 1) 

Based on the analysis of results of study obtained from the cultural arts and skills 

education expert, especially the art of music experts, it found an understanding that the role of 

music in building of character is very strong. This conclusion appears based on historical 

analysis and analysis of behavioral mechanisms. Music has a strong influence on physical 

and mental of individuals and the characters of communities. Broadly speaking, the role of 

music in building the behavior is as a basic character building or in other words, the music 

serves as the foundation of the formation of character, forming a sense of moral justice and 

forming behavior, love and gentleness. 

In addition to the art of music was also found a research that dances can provide a 

strong foundation of social forms and the sensitivity of feeling to love, respect, uphold the 

values of personality and humanity. In the learning of the dance arts education has values that 

must be cultivated and applied in the lives of learners. Habits in the learning activities are the 

values that should be nurtured to foster creativity and appreciation of dance in the context of 

the introduction of aesthetics and ethics. 



Establishing the habits in learning of cultural arts and skills education shows the 

concept that cultural arts and skills education are able to build the nation into a human who 

active, creative, personable, high morals, a strong mental attitude, knowledgeable and has a 

good skills, developing independence and responsible towards the advancement of his nation. 

Base on that concept, cultural arts and skills education that implemented in the elementary 

teaching must have greatly contribution for the progress of the learners, which is based on the 

character of the nation. 

DISCUSSION 

The Role of Cultural Arts and Skills in Education 

Arts in learning reflects a variety of roles that can develop students' basic skills such 

as physical perceptual, intellectual, emotional, social, creativity, and aesthetic. The definition 

shows that if the children are trained and coached intensively and continuously, entering the 

soul of arts into their lives, it will always produce a maximum result. The results obtained are 

influenced by creativity that supports high intellectuality. The need for training and coaching 

can be started since the children born until they go to school. 

At the time the child begins to study at schools such as the elementary school, 

children are expected to acquire basic knowledge which is very essential for the self 

preparation and adaptation for their adulthood. Children are expected to learn about the arts of 

appreciation, and the arts of love towards their own works or others. The works they make 

themselves can train the children some particular skills (Hurloc, 1979). The existence of these 

skills automatically entered the soul of arts to other subjects such as arts of counting 

(arithmetic), the arts of writing (literature), planting flowers (biology), arts of motion (dance), 

and the arts of sound (music playing). Those phenomena indicate that the children can create, 

move, improve mental abilities and appreciate their own works and others. The cultural arts 

and skills education consist of various materials that include arts of dance, music, and skills. 

Those various multi-arts are described as follows: 

Dance Arts Education 

Dance is one of the beauty of motion of human body that move, has a rhythm, and 

soulful, or in other word dance is the beauty of pattern of the human that moves, has a rhythm, 

and harmonic-spirited. (Bagong Kussudiardja, 2000:11) 



The motion in dance is the parts of human body has been formed, and then moved. 

Motion can be done individually or in group. After the parts of the human body in form and in 

motion, the form and motion must be rhythmic. The rhythm can be fast or slow. The meaning 

of soul in dance is form, movement, and rhythm that created by the human soul. Form and 

motion describe the desire of human; therefore, to implement the dance motion we need the 

ability of animating. As the perfection of dance performance, there should be the elements of 

harmony such as the form, motion, rhythm, and soul that is created by the power of the human 

soul, and all of the elements must be harmonic, because harmony creates beauty of a dance 

form. 

In the modern theory, various arts theories appear discussing the functions and the 

position of human as the creator of artworks, so that the works raise an aesthetic experience 

for people who watch. According to Collingwood 1958 (in Djelantik 1999:129), the art of 

expression, emotion transferred from the creator intended as the communication (expression, 

transferring a feeling to other people). Based on that theory, it produces an expression 

approach. Here we see that dance as an expression can be transferred through modern 

educational dance, drama, dance, creative dance, expressive dance, dance of nature, and 

interpretive dance. Those approaches emphasize more on the process towards dance. 

Referring to the expression approach above, a concept of dance arts education which 

orient to children or students is taken, it refers to the dance education to fulfill the basic needs 

of children in order to actualize them (Salam, 2002:7). The arts of dance learning as a media 

of conceptual creative education aim to develop an appreciation of aesthetic and ethical 

aspects. Psychologically, in learning the arts of dance, especially in the creation of dance 

works have confession of the form of personality. Moreover, it also developed creativity, 

because creativity is a unit of the potential that exists in human beings. With different levels, 

each human being basically has the potential to be creative. It goes without saying that the 

impact of the appreciation and creativity has many roles in determining the pattern of 

civilization or culture. From this insight, creativity in learning the arts of dance is not only just 

potential, but also has become a reference value or benchmark in determining the status of 

human existence. 

In learning dance arts, it has a very high value for human development. It can be 

reviewed through the values in a dance, especially the value associated with the development 

of physical and spiritual. In physical development, the performance of a dance through 



rhythmic motion and harmony can regulate the rhythm of heart development, the process of 

digestion, the functions of other parts of the body and strengthens specific muscles. 

Creation of the dance art is expressed through motion which must involve also the 

space and time. With the motion carried by the dancers would still need the calm capacity that 

appropriate with the needs of the motion. When the motion is more intense in the body of the 

dancer, the more power is needed, and vice versa when a dancer do not reveal the power of 

motion, then the less power is needed. The ability of each motion is related to the 

requirements of space, and time. In space, something that moves will create a certain 

distance, and distance in a certain time is used by the speed of motion (Djelantik 1999:23). 

Between motion, space and time have been structured as an expression of motion 

(wiraga), rhythm (wirama), and soul (wirasa). Hadi (2002:10) states that the beauty of dance is 

not only the harmony of the composition or structure of motion (wiraga), with the rhythm of 

gamelan music only (wirama), but the whole expression must contain the meanings of the 

purposes of dance which have close relationship with personal experience, mental, and 

emotion (wirasa). 

Fine Arts Education 

Fine arts are the result of interpretations and responses of human experience in the 

form of visual and palpation. Fine arts play a role in fulfilling certain goals in human life or as 

well as purely esthetic needs. Works of fine arts can cause a variety of impressions (beauty, 

unique, or bitterness) and has the ability to evoke thoughts and feeling. By understanding the 

meaning of fine arts forms, a sense of satisfaction and pleasure will be obtained. The concept 

arts are particularly: the nature of fine arts, aspects of the fine artworks and diversity of fine 

arts. In the broadest sense, fine arts can be understood as a "product" or as "proficiency" or 

as "creating activity or creative activity". It could be argued that the definition of fine arts is 

complex because of the type and scope is so diverse and widespread. In a limited sense of 

fine arts or visual arts can be defined as a form of artistic expression that expresses the 

experience of life, human aesthetic or artistic experience by using a variety elements of arts to 

produce composition or structure of fine artworks that can be seen, observed, touched, heard 

or appreciated by public or a connoisseur of arts. 

Aspects of fine arts consist of: a) the form and content in fine arts, b) media in the fine 

arts, c) the subject matter, material, and techniques of fine arts. Form or visioplastic is the 



result of configuration from the surface and edges of a form that can be seen, observed, and 

touched. The form of fine artworks can be only a visual or a combination of visual with sound 

and motion elements. Content or Ideoplastic is the aspect of idea or theme or meaning of the 

form of artworks. The content or meaning of an artwork depends on the perception of 

audience or public. Meaning can be divided into denotative meaning and connotative 

meaning. Media derived from the word "medium" can be interpreted as a means or a tool to 

convey a message to the recipient or public. Subject matter of an artwork is anything that 

presented in the works; it may be an idea or ideas, natural objects, events or incidents, 

themes, symbols and allegories contained in artworks. 

In the process of creating an artwork, the interaction between the media, materials, 

subject matter and the acquisition of certain techniques is very important in the appearance of 

an artwork. Optimal skill of technique acquisition is supported by knowledge of materials, 

including: materials and tools used in the work. Based on this description, it indicates that the 

concept of fine arts is a basic knowledge in the artwork in particular fields of fine arts, so if 

students are familiar with the works of fine arts may well appreciate, respect, protect and 

preserve a fine artwork. 

Musical Arts Education 

Undeniable, the importance of music education for children as stated in the preface of 

Children Dictionary that the music “is one of the most persuasive art form in our society, and 

its appropriate that it is part of the curriculum for all children in the primary school”. The 

purpose of music education for elementary school children are: 

1. To train or develop the child in the enjoyment and understanding of music 

that will enhance their quality of life. 

2. To help your children realize their potential by providing opportunities to 

increase creativity and expression of feelings and ideas through music. 

3. To develop the child's musical interests and abilities that will enable it to 

participate in making music, not only in schools but also for his adult life 

and also may be the basis for future music career. 

4. To help children become customer / smart music lovers through activity of 

appreciating various types of music. 

5. To offer a wide variation in the activity of musical experience. 



The purposes of singing are to enhance the interest of child in the music and enhance 

the ability of children to sing with great expression. The activities of the musical experience 

"listening" aimed at improving the child's sense of interest to listen to music and enhance the 

ability to respond to music emotionally and intellectually. The purpose of playing the music is 

to increase the sense of interest of children playing musical instruments, creating a sense of 

confidence in playing music using the correct technique, accompany singing and 

improvisation. While the "move" enhances the pleasure of children on the move while the 

music played, to respond the motion properly, it also improves self-control and coordination. 

As for the "Be creative" can increase the child's pleasure in music creation. It might be using 

the instrument, voice and body as a means of self expression and communication. 

Skills Education 

The meaning of skill education is guidance given to the child, in order to have the 

ability (in terms of making and creating) for doing something well or carefully from resources in 

the environment to be craft items that are useful to fulfill the needs. 

Like the Malay community's plait arts that is still admired and loved. Plait arts activities 

have started since long ago. This can be seen from the houses of ancient society in which the 

walls of their homes were plaited with reed and the fineness of plait arts still survives until 

now. Walled and roofed houses are not hot because the thick layer of palm leaves that 

impeding the flow of hot air. 

Plait arts originated and developed without accepting outside influences. The use of 

rope, root, and rattan are the first principle in the creation of plait handicrafts business has 

become a business tradition since long time ago. Principle ingredients of this plant growing 

wild jungle-forests, swamp, villages and regions around the sandy beach. There are two 

important characteristic in a variety of plait, namely the creation of motif and patterns. 

MULTICULTURAL BASED EDUCATION 

Multicultural-based education is defined as a social policy based on the principles of 

cultural maintenance and has a mutual respect between all cultural groups in society. 

Multicultural learning is basically a national educational program so that the multicultural 

communities can participate in realizing the democratic ideal of life for people. (Banks, 1993) 



Multicultural education is based on philosophical ideas about liberty, justice, equality 

and protection of human rights. The nature of multicultural education is to prepare all students 

to work actively toward structural equality in organizations and schools. Multicultural education 

is not the policy that led to the institutionalization of inclusive education and learning and 

teaching by the propaganda of pluralism through a curriculum that contributes to individual 

cultural competitions. 

Learning the cultural arts and skills introduce several of multicultural nations; where 

the learning empowers students to develop respect to people with different cultures, giving the 

opportunity to work together with people or groups of people from different ethnic or racial 

directly. Multicultural education also helps students to recognize the correctness of the views 

of diverse cultures, helping students to develop pride in their cultural heritage; to make the 

students realize that value conflicts are often the cause of conflict among social groups 

(Savage & Armstrong, 1996). Education with the spirit of multicultural conducted in an effort to 

develop students' ability to see life from different perspectives of different cultures with their 

own culture, and having positive attitudes towards cultural differences, race, and ethnicity. 

(Farris & Cooper, 1994) 

The goal of multicultural based education can be identified: (1) to enable the role of 

schools in view of the existence of diverse students, (2) to assist students in building a positive 

treatment for cultural differences, racial, ethnic, religious groups, (3) provide resistance for 

students by teaching them in decision-making and social skills, (4) to assist learners in 

building cross-cultural dependence and gives a positive image to them about the different 

groups. (Banks in Skeel, 1995) 

CONCLUSION 

Education is one of very important factor in one's life because through education one 

can increase the intelligence, skills, develop self-potential and can form a responsible person, 

intelligent and creative. 

Cultural arts and skills education is necessary introduced to children at an early age to 

adulthood. The introduction of cultural arts and skills in elementary school have benefits for 

the nation character building, such as: 1) As a development, to develop the skills and creativity 

of students in accordance with the potential, talents and interests, 2) Social, to develop 

students' sense of social responsibility, respect for others and formed a partnership based on 



the culture and high identity according to the character of the nation; 3) Recreational, to 

develop a relax atmosphere, encouraging and fun for students, support the establishment of 

personal quality of Indonesian people based on of the nation’s character with a high 

multicultural spirit. 

REFERENCES 

Ainul, Yaqin. 2005.Pendidikan Multikultural, Yogyakarta: Pilar MediaAl Bagdadi, 

Abdurahman. 1991. Seni dalam Pandangan Islam. Jakarta: Gema Insani 

Banoe, Pono. 1984. Pengantar Pengetahuan Alat Musik. Jakarta: CV Baru 

Hadi, Sumandiyo. 1996. Aspek-aspek Dasar Koreografi Kelompok kelompok. Yogyakarta: 

Manthili 

Hariyono. 1996. Pemahaman Kontekstual tentang Ilmu Budaya Dasar. Jogjakarta: Kanisius. 

Hurlock, Elizabeth B. 1978. Child Development Perkembangan Anak Jilid II, Edisi Keenam. 

Aliha Bahasa Meitasari Tjandrasari dan Muslichah Zarkasih. Jakarta: PT. Gelora 

Aksara Pratama. 

Kussudiardja, Bagong. 2000. Dari Klasik Hingga Kontemporer. Yogyakarta: Padepokan 

proses yayasan Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja. 

Munandar, Utami. 1992. Mengembangkan Bakat dan Kreativitas Anak Sekolah. Jakarta: PT 

Gramedia Widiasarana Indonesia. 

Salam, Sofyan. 2002. Paradigma dan Masalah Pendidikan Seni. Tt 

Safaria, Triantoro. Panduan Mencetak Anak Super Kreatif. Jogjakarta: Platinum. 

Sedyawati, Edi (ed). 1984. Tari Tinjauan dari Berbagai Segi. Jakarta: Pustaka Jaya. 

Soedarsono. 1972. Djawa dan Bali: Dua Pusat Perkembangan Drama Tari Tradisional di 

Indonesia. Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press. 

Sutrisno, Mudji. 1993. Estetika Filsafat Keindahan. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Kanisius. 

Suroso, Cut, Kamaril, Wardani. 2001. Makalah Seminar dan Lokakarya Nasional: Konsep 

Pendidikan Seni Tingkat SD-SLTP-SMU. Jakarta:Universitas Negeri Jakarta 

Rohidi, dkk. 1994. Pendekatan Kesenian Seni Tari II untuk SPG. Bandung: Percetakan Offset 

“Timbull” Bandung. 

Zakiyah Dradjat. 1986. Dasar-dasar Agama Islam. Jakarta 


[Sri Wahyuni, et all] B-7 

USING FOLKLORE TO BUILD CHARACTER 

(STUDY CASE OF LOOK AHEAD 2) 

Sri Wahyuni 

Muhammad Arief Budiman 

Putu Diah Kanserina 

IKIP PGRI Semarang 

ABSTRACT 

The trend in education world is character building. There are many ways to build a certain 

character. The character that is wanted of course a good one. Some characteristics that can 

be categorized as a positive behavior are such as kind, friendly, honest, loving, caring, and 

many more. When we were children we recognize these characteristics in the stories which 

we get from our parents, or teachers, our books, and other sources. Regarding this situation, 

we can use these stories to build the students' character. Beside for this purpose, we also 

take part in preserving our culture. These stories are created by our ancestor long time ago. 

They create this kind of stories to teach their younger generation. Copying the same situation, 

we can teach our next generation in the same way. The writers analyze Look Ahead 2, book 

for students of senior high school grade 2. In this book there some folklore, both from our own 

country and other countries. Folklores from Indonesia are the legend of Situ Bagendit, the 

legend of Keong Mas, the legend of Bunga Batu, the legend of Rawa Pening, the legend of 

Joko Tole, and the legend of Timun Mas. Besides folklores from Indonesia, there are some 

folklore from other countries too, such as: the legend of the sun and the moon (Nigeria), Anne 

Boleyn (UK), and others. At least there are 15 stories in this book. The writers randomly select 

three stories as samples, namely the legend of Keong Mas, the legend of Rawa Pening, and 

the legend of Timun Mas. Analyzing these three stories, the writers found that the main 

characters have a positive characteristics which can teachers impose to the students both 

explicitly and implicitly. On the contrary, the writers also found the antagonists who have 

negative characteristics. Mimicking the above situation, the teachers can warn the students 

about these ill-favored traits. 

. 

Key Words: character education, cultural identity, folklore 

INTRODUCTION 

Meaningful activities are started at development stage, where children start to learn 

about rules. Habitual shaping on existing rule depends on routine repetition on rule 

implementation and consistency on that rule implementation. When the habit is shaped, the 

children will value their selves according to the routine they own. 

Value development of one’s character and habit starts from the early stage of knowing 

the character value itself. The second stage is recognizing the character value according to 

the given example in daily life by the supervisor in school or parents and close friends in 

home. The third stage is accustoming and getting appreciation from close person thus it 



becomes habitual. The four stage or the last stage is that this habitual becomes character 

value which is automatic (adhering) in flesh and bone. 

The red thread of understanding self habit and character is divided into three parts. 

They are morals, leadership, and thinking ability. The morals are devotion to the lord, self, 

family, society, and environment. It means building vertical relation with the lord and horizontal 

relation with other people. It also means practicing self proficiency to be a leader in society by 

increasing the ability of communication, cooperation, and managerial. In the last part of 

thinking ability, it grows curiosity that leads to the outcome. From these three parts, it is 

expected giving understanding of the values more meaningful and deeper. 

CULTURAL IDENTITY 

Life development on society which can be denied is part of the culture. It will be 

shaped from every move and pattern of society life thus creating distinctive culture. The 

question is how the culture which grows in society bears strong culture to be the pillars for 

human life. It depends on how far the culture building have been pioneered and fought for. 

Culture is always identified with art. There are many art performances to be 

associated with preserving local culture. Referring to this condition, it is expected that these 

performances will not be only ceremonial and become merely attraction for the tourists. These 

performances are expected to inspire the audiences to be more aware of their own culture. It 

is also expected that this kind of occasion can nark the soul of the spectators to take part in 

developing and preserving local culture. 

The current condition should not block the mind of the locals about the past and 

future. The locals should also be aware of the present situation and adapt to the existing 

circumstances. By being aware, the locals can give their contribution in preserving the culture. 

By being aware, they will discern what they should do to contribute in this sector. They will 

also be aware of the goal that the government wants to reach. Grasping the goal, they can 

predict the next step to conduct. They should realize that the present will be the past and the 

history and become the media for our reflection in undergoing the future. 

CHARACTER BUILDING 

Now the term character building becomes cliché, almost meaningless. It is said by 

politicians, education bureaucrats, and education organization leaders. And this phrase does 



not leave any significant sense anymore. When this term is said by prominent figures such as 

Bung Karno, Mohamad Said of Taman Siswa, Sutan Takdir, Soedjatmoko, this term gives 

noteworthy impression in people heart. 

Recently, if people hear this phrase said by some figures, it will slip by their mind. It 

will not stay in their brain or heart. The question is whether character building is still matter in 

Indonesia or not. When Bung Karno said this phrase, it is in political context. He meant that 

the nation character should be built. When education figures (such as Mohamad Said and Ki 

Hajar Dewantara) said them, the context is pedagogic. They meant about student’s character 

building. The other question appears about how to educate students thus not only being smart 

but also having positive characters. 

Referring the explanation above, the problem of character building is a big issue, very 

huge event. All the dilapidation that we experienced today comes from the non existing strong 

characters in our selves. The nation character is fragile and the Indonesian character is 

unsteady. There is a big number of honest people in Indonesia, but they are hopeless in 

facing a small number of corrupt people who have authority or hitchhike to those who have 

authority. 

There is something wrong with our character education. Many character educations 

are formulated in religion lesson, nationality class, or course of budi pekerti. Their main 

program is introducing values only on cognitive stage. The farthest stage they get is in 

affective stage. 

It is sad because character education should bring the children through three stages: 

cognitive (knowing), affective (recognizing), and real experience. In pedagogic term it is called 

from gnosis to praxis. To reach praxis level, there is one very important incident that should 

happen in their selves. That is the strong will to carry out the values. This happening is called 

conation. And the step to educate the children in having strong will is called conative. 

ANALYSIS OF KEONG MAS 

The story goes like this: there was a couple in the kingdom. They were Prince Raden 

Putra and Dewi Limaran. One day Dewi Limaran walked in the garden and found a snail. She 

felt digusted and threw the snail into the river. The snail who actually a powerful witch got 

angry and cursed Dewi Limaran into golden snail. Then the witch threw the golden snail into 

the river. The golden snail drifted away and got caught in the net fish of an old woman. The 



old woman took it home. Every night the golden snail turned into Dewi Limaran and she 

worked very hard to do house chores in the old woman’s house. Every morning the old 

woman got surprised to see the condition of her house. One night the old woman pretended to 

sleep. When the golden snail turned into Dewi Limaran, the old woman interrogated her. Dewi 

Limaran told everything. Dewi Limaran also told that it need a special gamelan to break the 

curse. The old woman came to the kingdom and told everything to Prince Raden Putra. Then 

he prepared a special gamelan to break the curse. He did successfully. In the end Prince 

Raden Putra and Dewi Limaran live happily ever after. 

The message from this message is that we should love the God’s creatures, including 

other humans, plants, and animals. All the creatures have the right to live in the earth side by 

side with other creatures. We cannot dominate this land by ourselves. It is showed when Dewi 

Limaran selfishly threw the snail into the river because of merely feeling disgusting. Then she 

got what she deserved. It can be called the law of karma. She is violating a snail and then she 

becomes one so that she can experience what it is like to be a snail. The other character who 

can be role model for the students is the old woman who caringly took home a snail to her 

home and took care of it. The second lesson of this story is that we should make right of 

everything we did wrong. In the story Dewi Limaran work very hard every night to redeem her 

mistake. By working hard she hopes she can pay what she had done before. If we realize that 

we did something wrong, we will feel regret. In regretting for what we did, we should do 

everything to make it right again for paying for our past so that the law of karma does not fall 

upon us. 

ANALYSIS OF TIMUN MAS 

Table 1 The Legend of Timun Mas 

children 

Sender 

Prayed to give 

Helper 

Bamboo needles, 

seed of cucumber, dressing 

and salt 

Object 

Buto Ijo 

Subject 

Timun Mas 

Receiver 

Timun Mas 

Parents 

Opponent 

Buto Ijo 

In this discussion, Timun Mas parents (receiver) prayed to Buto Ijo give them a baby 

(sender) after long time of their marriage the did not have one. Buto Ijo (Object0 accepted but 

he granted their wish in one condition that when their children grown up, they had to sacrifice 



them to Buto Ijo. In one day, after the children grown up, Buto Ijo asked him to carried their 

children to him, but Timun Mas (Subject) parents asked to run faster and bring bamboo 

needles, seed of cucumber, dressing and salt 9helper) in order to safe from Buto Ijo 

(opponent). Lastly, with these things Timun Mas saved and she lives with her parents happily. 

ANALYSIS OF RAWA PENING 

Table 2 The Legend of Rawa Pening 

Sender 

Object 

Successful harvest Held ceremony 

Helper 

Small bamboo 

Subject 

Naga Baru Klinting 

people 

people 

Receiver 

The Pening’s 

Opponent 

The Pening’s 

In this discussion, we can see that when the successful harvest (sender) came, the 

Pening’s people (receiver) held the ceremony (object). Naga Baru Klinting (subject) came to 

the village and wanted to join, and then they refused him, they did not realise that the biggest 

trouble of their life will be coming. When they refused him, Naga Baru Klinting came to the old 

lady and he talked her that she had to prepared a boat. Then in the one day, he asked to the 

people (opponent) in the field to pull small bamboo (helper). And no one could not pull it. 

When Naga Baru Klinting pulled it, the water immediately flooded the village. Since then on 

the lake is called Rawa Pening. 

CONCLUSION 

In character education there are three stages which have to be implemented. The first 

is introducing the values cognitively. The second is grasping and understanding the values 

affectively. The third is shaping the will conatively. This is the classic trilogy of education which 

is translated by Ki Hajar Dewantara into cipta (create), rasa (feel), and karsa (work). 

Based on this analysis, basically character education is guiding the chidren to be 

willing to tied theirselves to the existing values. It can be said that the goal is to create 

voluntary personal commitment to the values in the self of the children. From this point of view 

it should not be difficult to find the angles which we done wrong in the education sector seeing 

that the moral of our nation is decreasing recently. 

Regarding the point above, we can focus on the evaluation system. For 

understanding the students’ character after receiving the character education, we could not 



just give them multiple choice questions. We should change how we evaluate them into 

observation system. We can place them in certain situations that will intrigue their personality 

to find the best solution. Logically we want our students to have positive impact after receiving 

character education. It means that we want them to have positive virtues, such as 

attentiveness, obedience, faith, wisdom, creativity, tenderheartedness, diligence, 

thankfulness, patience, honesty, contentment, etc. 

REFERENCES 

Bunanta, Murti. 2003. Indonesian Folktales (World Folklore Series). Westport: Libraries 

Unlimited. 

Davis, Fred. 1994. Fashion, Culture, and Identity. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. 

Geertz, Clifford. 1977. The Interpretation Of Cultures (Basic Books Classics). New York: Basic 

Books. 

Hall, Barbara. Draine, Cathie (ed). 1991. Indonesia (Culture Shock! A Survival Guide to 

Customs & Etiquette). Portland: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company. 

Isaacs, David. 2001. Character Building: A Guide for Parents and Teachers. Dublin: Four 

Courts Press. 

Lickona, Thomas. 2004. Character Matters: How to Help Our Children Develop Good 

Judgment, Integrity, and Other Essential Virtues. New York: Simon and Schuster. 

Sedyawati, Edi (ed). 1984. Tari Tinjauan dari Berbagai Segi. Jakarta: Pustaka Jaya. 

Soedarsono. 1972. Djawa dan Bali: Dua Pusat Perkembangan Drama Tari Tradisional di 

Indonesia. Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press. 

Sutrisno, Mudji. 1993. Estetika Filsafat Keindahan. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Kanisius. 

Suroso, Cut, Kamaril, Wardani. 2001. Makalah Seminar dan Lokakarya Nasional: Konsep 

Pendidikan Seni Tingkat SD-SLTP-SMU. Jakarta:Universitas Negeri Jakarta 

Rohidi, dkk. 1994. Pendekatan Kesenian Seni Tari II untuk SPG. Bandung: Percetakan Offset 

“Timbull” Bandung. 

Zakiyah Dradjat. 1986. Dasar-dasar Agama Islam. Jakarta 


[Widya Karmila Sari Achmad] B-8 

SOME PROBLEMS OF THE SECOND SEMESTER OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

TEACHER OF EDUCATION FACULTY UNIVERSITAS NEGERI MAKASSAR FACE 

IN DICTATION CLASS 

Widya Karmila Sari Achmad 

Makasar State University 

ABSTRACT 

This research uses descriptive method that aims to provide a description of the problems 

faced by students in the lesson "dictation" as a compulsory subject for students majoring in 

English. From the analysis of test results can anket and dikemukan that the major problems 

faced by students in the following subjects "dictation" is related to (1) professor who dictated 

the material, (2) structure / grammar, (3) a limited vocabulary , and (4) the issue is less clear 

pronunciation. This will be even tougher if seoarang lecturers are native speakers dictate. 

Problems that have been described above is also in line with the results of tests "dictation" 

which shows the average value of their "fair" with the acquisition of an average value between 

65-79. 

. 

Key Words: elementary education teacher, elementary level, dictation class 

INTRODUCTION 

To many linguists, language is said to be an integral part of human life. This is due to 

the fact that it accompanies wherever and whatever a person is (Brown, 1980:102). It is used 

as a means of conveying one’s ideas in society. Consequently, one can express what he or 

she thinks or feels to the others. In this case, language is used for communication. Beside 

language, we also acknowledge the power of other kinds of communication means such as 

gesture, posture shift and the like. However, Chaer and Agustina (1995) consider that 

language seems to be the most powerful one since we can still use it to communicate with 

other people even in the dark, unlike the former mentioned ones. 

English is one of the foreign languages people want to learn. People want to learn it 

because, for example, they want to understand what the foreigners talk or maybe they want to 

get a better job. Precisely, people learn a language because of different motivation and 

purposes. Harmer (1991:1-2) states that there are a number of different reasons for studying a 

language and the following list will give an idea of the great variety of such reasons: 

a. School curriculum 

b. Advancement 



c. Target language community 

d. English for Specific Purposes 

e. Culture 

f. Miscellaneous 

Until recently, English is still a favorite means of communication among the people in 

the world, and it is an international language which is used all over the world. Furthermore, it 

is stated as the most prominent official language used in the United Nations Organization. So, 

English becomes an important tool of international communication. Therefore, being able to 

use English, we can easily associate with foreigners, and build friendships among societies of 

various nations. 

In some Asian countries, including Indonesia, English is taught as a foreign language 

and becomes a compulsory subject from junior high school up to university level. Lately, It is 

also taught at some elementary schools as an optional subject, in the light of local content 

with respect to the introduction of the newer order of development called “Reformation Era” 

in which one of the policies is to promote the rapid growth of regencies through local 

autonomy. 

With regard to the teaching of English at university level, this language is taught in 

many different ways and in more general purposes. Two forms of English teaching that the 

teachers usually use in university level, are; oral and written. Oral communication is a twoway 

process between speaker and listener (or listeners) and involves the productive skill of 

speaking and the receptive skill of understanding (or listening with understanding). Listening is 

one of the four language skills taught at the Bahasa Inggris of Education Faculty of Universitas 

Negeri Makassar as a compulsory subject. In one hand, in listening comprehension, we do not 

only need to involve any overt responses on the part of the students. On the other hand 

dictation involves the ability not only to understand a sequence of sentences read aloud but 

also to reproduce it in writing. Some of us may remember dictation from our schooldays, with 

pleasure; some may have felt bored while some may have found it an encouraging exercise. 

It is widely known that in special cases, a teacher may use dictation as the teaching 

device. In so doing, the teacher can win the students’ interest and make them pay more 

attention to the materials facilitated by the teacher, if they are not interested in the class or feel 

bored. The reason is that by using this technique the students are supposed to pay more 

attention to listening the material that the teacher dictates. It implies that in handling the class, 



teacher can use the dictation technique (Davis, P and Rinvolucri, M: 1988). In many cases, a 

teacher will probably read a text for the students, dictate it, and then read it three times so 

that students could check it through. The kinds of the subject matter that the teacher use in 

teaching dictation can raise the interest of students in following the class. 

The research question put forward in this study is “What problems do the second 

semester students of Elementary Teacher Education Department of Education Faculty 

Makassar State University face in dictation class?” 

Because the students of Elementary Teacher Education Department of Education 

Faculty, Makassar State University still have some problems dealing with comprehending and 

rewriting English passages dictated by the teachers, this study aims at giving description 

about the problems the students face. Therefore, the significance of this research is viewed 

from the need to discover some findings on the problems faced by the students in dictation 

class. Based on the students’ problems, the teacher as one of the main factors in teaching 

and learning activities in classroom interaction is expected to do his best to cope with the 

problems in his teaching. In so doing, similar problems would hopefully be overcome, or at 

least reduced. 

THE RESEARCH METHOD 

This research employs descriptive analysis method aiming at giving a description about the 

problems the students faced in their dictation class. The population was the second semester 

students of Elementary Teacher Education Department of Education Faculty Makassar State 

University who entered in 2011. The number is 40 students, and the researcher took all the 

number of the student as the population who then become the sample of this study due to 

application of total sampling technique. However, due to certain reasons, only 36 students 

who could participate in the study as respondents. 

In collecting the data, the researcher used a dictation test and an open-ended 

questionnaire in order to find out the problems the students encountered in dictation class. 

The test is in the form of a short passage containing two paragraphs of about 200 words in 

length. The passage was adopted from FORUM volume XXVI number 4, October 2009 page 

10. The questionnaire, which was made by the researcher himself, consists of 12 items. 

The collected data through the open-ended questionnaire were analyzed in a 

percentage by applying the following formula: 



P = Fq x 100 % 

N 

Notation: 

P : Percentage of the questionnaire responses. 

Fq: The frequencies of items 

N : Subject 

With regard to the dictation test administering, the researcher tabulated the test 

results and then classified them into five levels based on the UNM standard of evaluation as 

follows: 

Score 90 - 100 is classified as very good. 

Score 80 - 89 is classified as good. 

Score 65 - 79 is classified as fair. 

Score 55 - 64 is classified as poor. 

Score < 54 is classified as very poor. (UNM , 2009: 9) 

And, finally, the means score was calculated using the following formula: 

Σ X 

X = ----- 

N 

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 

Notation : 

X : Means score 

ΣX : total number of score 

N : number of students 

The findings of the research deal with the student’s problems discovered from the 

questionnaire and the result of dictation test. 

1. Student’s attitude toward the problems encountering in dictation class. The questionnaires 

that were distributed to the students consist of 12 items. Those are open-ended 

items. The questionnaires that were grouped into five can be seen in the following 

tables. 

a. The student’s response to the statements concerning with the one who dictates the 

material (questionnaire item 1,2, and 3; tabulated in table 1). 



Table 1 

The Students’ Responses to The Statements Concerning 

with the One Who Dictated the Material 

n =36 

Responses f % 

1) Does the lecturer dictate the material during the dictation class 

- yes 36 100% 

- no - - 

2) 

3) 

Do you understand the materials dictated by the lecturer easier than the 

ones dictated by native speaker? 

- yes 36 100% 

- no - - 

Were the materials presented by native speaker difficult for you to 

understand? 

- yes 25 69.40 

% 

- no 11 30.60 

% 

The table above shows that all of the students (100%) had positive answer for item 1 

and 2 while item 3, 30,6% students chose negative answer. 

This indicates that during attending dictation class the students found the materials 

difficult if they are dictated by the native speakers. 

b. The students’ responses to the statement concerning the use of structure in dictation 

class (questionnaires are items number 4 and 5, tabulated in table 2). 

Table 2 

The Students’ Response to the Statements Concerning 

the Use of Structure in Dictation Class 

n = 36 

Response f % 

4) Do you think the poor mastery of structure affect you to 

understand the materials in dictation class? 

- Yes 36 100 % 

- No - _ 

5) How should the dictation materials be presented? 

- word by word 2 5,6 % 

- sentence by sentence 30 83,3 % 

- one page entirely 4 11,1 % 



Table 2 above shows that all students (100 %) had positive answer for item 4, while 

for item 5, most of them (83,3 %) chose the second choice and the rest (5,6%) were in the 

first choice. 

It means, all students thought that poor mastery of structure affected them to 

understand the material in dictation class. Then, most of the students thought that the form of 

materials presented should be in sentence by sentence form. 

c. The statement’s responses to the statements concerning to the use of vocabulary 

command in dictation class. In this part, the data were collected through item 6 and 

tabulated in table 3. 

Table 3 

The Students’ Responses to the Statements Concerning to the Use of Vocabulary Command 

in Dictation Class 

n = 36 

Response f % 

6) Do you think the vocabulary command affect you in attending 

dictation class 

- yes 36 100 % 

- no - - 

On table 3, it is shown that all students (100 %) chose the positive answer for 

item 6. It means that the vocabulary command affect them in attending dictation class. 

d. The students’ responses to the statements concerning the concept of material 

presented in dictation class (questionnaire item 7, 8, 9, and 10; table 4) 

Table 4 

The Students’ Responses to the Statements Concerning to the Concept of Material Presenting 

tn Dictation Class 

n = 36 

Responses f % 

7) do you agree if all materials of dictate are written entirely ? 

- yes 21 58,3 % 

- no 15 41,7 % 

8) Does the topic affect you to follow and to understand the 

material in dictation ? 

- yes 36 100 % 

- no - - 

9) Do you think the materials are written should be only the 

important ones? 



- yes 36 100 % 

- no - - 

10) In which form of materials do you understand more easily? 

- monologue 10 27,8 % 

- dialogue 9 25 % 

- short story 17 47,2 % 

On table 4 above, it shows that for item 7, most of the students (58,3%) chose 

positive answer, and the rest (41,7 %) chose negative answer. All of the students (100 %) 

had positive answer for item 8. The majority of the students (58,3%) chose positive answer 

and rest of them (41,7%) for negative answer of item 9. Ten students chose the first choice 

(27,8%), nine students (25%) had the second choice, while most of the students (47,2%) 

chose the third choice for item 10. 

It means all of the students agree if the materials in dictation were written entirely in 

the form of short story. In addition, the topic of the concept helps them to understand easily. 

e. The students’ responses to the statements concerning with pronunciation in dictating 

the materials (questionnaire item 11 and 12; table 5). 

Table 5 

The Students’ Responses to the Statements Concerning to Pronunciation in Dictating the 

Materials 

n = 36 

Responses f % 

11) Which accent is easy for you to understand? 

- British 27 75 % 

- American 9 25 % 

12) How should the speed in dictating the materials be? 

- slow 36 100 % 

- fast - - 

Table 5 above reveals that most of the students (75 %) chose the first choice and the 

rest of them (25 %) took the second choice for item 11, while all of the students (100%) took 

the first choice in item 12. 

This indicates that the students were more interested in British accent than American 

one. Then, they thought that the material should be dictated slowly. 

2. The findings of the data analysis collected through the test. 



The score of the students were classified and tabulated into percentage (see 

appendix C). The rate percentage of the second semester students of elementary education 

teacher is as follows: 

Table 6 

Rate Percentage of the Students Score Obtained through the Objective Test 

Classification Score f (%) 

Very good 90 – 100 3 8,3 

Good 80 – 89 3 8,3 

Fair 65 – 79 13 36,2 

Poor 55 – 64 9 25 

Very poor Less than 55 8 22,2 

Total 36 100 % 

The table above indicates that most of the second semester students of Elementary 

Teacher Education Department of Education Faculty Makassar State University, who entered 

in 2011, namely 13 out of 36 students or 36,2% got “fair score” in dictation test. The table also 

indicates that 3 students or 8,3% got “very good”, the same number and percentage got “god” 

score, 9 students or 25% got “poor” score, and the rest, 8 students or 22,2% got “very poor” 

score. 

In order to find the mean score of the students in dictation test, the following 

calculation was done: 

X= X 

N 

Notation: 

= 

2415 

36 

= 67,1 

X : means score 

X : total number of score 

N : number of students 

The calculation above indicates that the mean score of the students in dictation is 

67,2. Based on the classification stated, the mean score of the students falls into “fair” 

classification. 



After evaluating the data in the previous part, the researcher presents the discussion 

of the findings in order to get a clearer explanation. The discussion is divided into three parts 

and sequenced as follows. 

1. Students’ attitude toward the problems encountering in dictation class 

The result of the findings shows that the third semester students had positive answer 

for several items as follows. 

Item 1 = 100 % 

Item 2 = 100 % 

Item 3 = 65,4 % 

Item 4 = 100 % 

Item 6 = 100 % 

Item 7 = 58,3 % 

Item 8 = 100 % 

Item 9 = 100 % 

In addition, they thought that the presentation of the materials in dictation class should 

fulfill the criteria namely; it should be in the form of short story, it should spoken out in 

sentences using British accent, ad it should be pronounced slowly (item 5, 11, and 12). 

2. Problems encountered by the students in dictation class 

The result of the questionnaires shows that the third semester students found some 

problems in dictation class. They were caused by these following factors: 

a. Who dictates the materials 

The second semester students found that the material was easier to understand if 

dictated by the native speaker. 

b. Structure 

The second semester students thought that the low mastery of structure affected 

them to understand the materials. They found difficulties to understand the passage 

being dictated. 

c. Vocabulary 

The second semester students thought that their low of vocabulary command affected 

them to write the words correctly. Most of the students omitted the words because 

they did not catch what words were dictated. 



d. Pronunciation 

The second semester students thought that British accent was easier to understand 

than American accent. It should be pronounced slowly. 

3. The Result of dictation test 

Table 5 shows that 8,3 % of the students were classified into very good qualification. 

It is similar to the percentage of students who had good qualification. While the fair 

qualification was obtained by 36,2% of the students. A smaller percentage (25%) of the 

students got poor qualification and the rest of them (22,2 %) had very poor classification. 

It indicates that the third semester students had fair ability to catch the words that are 

dictated. This statement was supported by the calculation of the students’ mean score (67,1) 

indicating “fair qualification” based on the UNM standard of evaluation (2009). 

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 

After analyzing the questionnaires and evaluating the results of students’ test, the 

researcher infers that the problems encountered by the students were the person who dictates 

the material, structure, vocabulary and pronunciation. If the native speaker dictates the 

material, it will be difficult for the students to understand it. Besides, the poor mastery of 

structure and the lack of vocabulary command affect them to understand the materials easily. 

Further the students thought that British accent is easier than American accent. Those 

problems above correspond with the result of students’ dictation test which showed that their 

qualification is fair. 

With respect to the conclusion stated above, the researcher wishes to put forward 

some points which are expected to be of much use for the improvement of the teaching of 

English using dictation as follows: 

1. The teacher of dictation subject should give more practices for the students by 

paying attention what problems that the students encountered very often. 

2. The teacher of dictation subject should vary the topic of material to attract the 

students. 

3. The students should improve their vocabulary enrichment, the structure mastery to 

help them in dictation class. 



REFERENCES 

Brown, Douglas. 1980. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. New Jersey: 

Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffts. 

Byrne, Donn. 1986. Teaching Oral English (new edition). England: Longman Group UK 

Limited, Longman House, Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE. 

Cahyono, Bambang Yudi. 2001. Second Language Writing and Rhetoric. Research Studies in 

Indonesian Context. State University of Malang Press, Indonesia. 

Cahyono, Bambang Yudi. “Communication Strategies”. In, TEFLIN Journal, II, 2, 1989. Pages: 

17-29. 

Chaer, Abdul and Agustina, Leonie. 1995. Sosiolinguistik: Perkenalan Awal. Jakarta: PT 

Rineka Cipta. 

Cunningsworth, Alan. 1984. Evaluating and Selecting EFL Teaching Materials. London: 

Heinemann Educational Books Ltd. 

Dakin, Julian. 1973. The Language Laboratory and Language Learning. England: Longman 

Group UK Limited. 

Davis, P and Rinvolucri,M. 1988. Dictation New Methods, New Possibilities. New York: 

Cambridge University Press. 

Edwards, Jane A. and Lampert, Martin D.(eds.) Talking Data: Transcription and Coding in 

Discourse Research. New Jersey: Lawrence and Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. 

English Language Education. “An annual publication on the teaching and learning of English”. 

Volume 5, Number 1, July 1999. Published by the Department of English, State 

University of Malang ISSN 0853-2133. 

Griffiths, Aileen. Implementing Task-Based Instruction to Facilitate Language Learning: 

Moving Away from Theory. In, TEFLIN Journal, Volume XII Number 1, February 2001. 

Pages: 49-59. 

Harmer, Jeremy. 1991. The Practice of English Language Teaching (New Edition). England: 

Longman Group UK Limited. 

Hubbard, Peter. Jones Hywell, Barbara Thorton, Rod Wheeler. 1983. Useful Classroom 

Techniques. London: Oxford University Press. 

Johnson, Keith and Morrow, Keith (eds.). 1981. Communication in the Classroom. 

Applications and Methods for a Communicative Approach. Longman Group Ltd. 

Nur, Serliah. 1996. Using Songs In Teaching Dictation. Thesis S1 FPBS IKIP Ujung 

Pandang. 



Rivers, M. Wilga. 1981. Teaching Foreign Language Skills. The University of Chicago Press, 

United States of America. 

Stern, H. H. 1983. Fundamental Concepts Of Language Teaching. London: Oxford 

University Press, Oxford London. 

Wileis, Jane. Teaching English Through English a Course in Classroom Language and 

Techniques. England: Longman Group UK Limited. 


[Masitah] B-9 

CHARACTER EDUCATION IMPLEMENTATION 

MEASURES FOR STUDENTS PGSD 

Masitah 


ABSTRACT 

Character education in Indonesia is not yet entrenched, so that a challenge for its 

development efforts. This leads to both educators and learners are not familiar with the 

character education model. It takes a strong commitment to design and implement this 

program effectively. In addition, the sources of information available more models in other 

countries refer to different cultures and needs relative to Indonesia. Character education to 

teach ways of thinking and behavior habits that help individuals to live and work together as a 

family, community, and state and help them to make decisions that can be accounted for. Is 

the reference characters as those in The Six Pillars of Character issued by the Character 

Counts! Coalition (a project of The Joseph Institute of Ethics). Six types of characters are as 

follows: a. Trustworthiness, the shape of the character that makes a person: integrity, honest, 

and loyal; b. Fairness, on the character that makes a person has an open mind and do not 

like to take advantage of others; c. Caring, the shape of the character that makes a person 

has a caring attitude and concern for others and the social conditions of the surrounding 

environment; d. Respect, on the character that makes people always appreciate and respect; 

others; e. Citizenship, character shapes that make a person aware of the laws and regulations 

as well as care; to the natural environment; f. Responsibility, on the character that makes a 

person responsible, disciplined, and always doing something as good as possible.. 

Key Words: implementation, education, character 

INTRODUCTION 

Character of an individual form since he was small because of the influence of genetic 

and environment. The process of character formation, whether consciously or not, will affect 

the way individuals see themselves and their environment and will be reflected in everyday 

behavior. University as an institution of higher education is one important resource. While 

evaluating our purposes, it is important to develop a curriculum that clearly indicate the 

character education. However, the short-time study and the high cost of education encourages 

students to be a pragmatic student in achieving his goal. Academic activities are very 

demanding of students so that the portion of the concentration social activities become less 

and less. 

Encouragement to interact socially with others is lacking, but it is very important in the 

formation of character. Based on a brief observation to the alumni, it was found that many 

alumni who were not ready to plunge into the world of work. Durability and adaptability in the 

environment and the pressures of work often complained of as the main obstacles that hinder 


[Masitah] B-9 

career development. Recognizing that individual characters can not be formed only through 

one or two activities only, it will be character building curriculum developed sustainable and 

integrated in the lecture, where the process also involves faculty, staff, and other institutions 

within the university, so the character building benefits can be felt. 

IMPORTANCE OF CHARACTER EDUCATION 

"Character Determines someone's private thoughts and someone's actions done. Good character is 

the inward motivation to do what is right, According to the highest standards of behavior, in every 

situation "(Hill, 2002). Character education to teach ways of thinking and behavior habits that help 

individuals to live and work together as a family, community, and state and help them to make 

decisions that can be accounted for. Is the reference characters as those in The Six Pillars of 

Character issued by the Character Counts! Coalition (a project of The Joseph Institute of Ethics). 

Six types of characters are as follows : a. Trustworthiness, the shape of the character that 

makes a person: integrity, honest, and loyal; b. Fairness, on the character that makes a person has an 

open mind and do not like to take advantage of others; c. Caring, the shape of the character that 

makes a person has a caring attitude and concern for others and the social conditions of the 

surrounding environment; d. Respect, on the character that makes people always appreciate and 

respect; others; e. Citizenship, character shapes that make a person aware of the laws and regulations 

as well as care; to the natural environment; f. Responsibility, on the character that makes a person 

responsible, disciplined, and always doing something as good as possible. 

Sources suggests that the character education in several countries began primary education, as in the 

United States, Japan, China, and Korea. These will be given an abstract of several studies the results 

of character education in America and China. The U.S. government strongly supports character 

education program in place since the basic education. This can be seen at every educational policy 

states that provide a large enough portion of the design and implementation of character education. 

This can be seen in the many sources of character education in America can be obtained. 

Mostly, the programs in character education curriculum that emphasizes experiential study as a means 

of character development siswa.The Monk Study. In his research, Mr. Doug Monk from Kingwood 

Middle School in Humble, Texas, compared the evaluations of teachers to students before and after 

implementation of the curriculum Lessons in Character. The curriculum more invites students to 

interact in social activities and develop their sensitivity, have a positive impact in changing the way of 

learning, caring and respect for the school staff, and the increasing involvement of the students 

volunteered in humanitarian projects. (Brooks, 2005) 


[Masitah] B-9 

In China, the educational reform program desired by Deng Xiaoping in 1985, explicitly 

expressed the importance of character education: Throughout the reform of the education system, it is 

imperative to bear in mind That reform is for the fundamental purpose of turning every citizen into a 

man or woman of character and Cultivating more constructive members of society (Li, 2005). 

Therefore, the character education program has become a prominent activity in China which is run 

from the level of pre-school to university. 

Li Lanqing, a Chinese politicians and bureaucrats who have a comprehensive and in-depth 

understanding of the stresses education about the dangers of an education system that is too stressed 

memorizing, drilling, and a rigid way of teaching, including the education system is oriented only to 

pass the exam. As a result, China is a relatively new wake of the economic, social, and culture run by 

the Cultural Revolution by Mao, can so quickly catch up and become a developed country. President 

Jiang Zemin himself has gathered all the members of the Politburo to discuss how to reduce the 

burden of student learning through the adoption of the education system worthy of the life and fun, and 

development of all aspects of human dimensions: cognitive (intellectual), character, aestetika, and 

physical (athletic). (Li, 2005) 

DESIGNING CHARACTER EDUCATION 

The process of character education in the Department PGSD has not been much touched the 

character building of students. College education in just a few short years before students enter the 

working world, so the primary and secondary education should be more involved in character 

education. Unfortunately, character education at the primary level to secondary schools in Indonesia 

have not really got the place than academic education. There are many schools which, although it is 

important to realize that character, has not made a serious coaching to develop positive character. 

This resulted in the input received by college students who are not ready to be educated character. 

In the midst of all the shortcomings and obstacles that exist, majoring PGSD still trying to 

develop an education system that aims to increase the academic competence and character of 

students. Character education in PGSD better known by the name of the character development 

(character development (CD)). Determination (CD) as one of the strategic plan and the drafting team 

(CD) is proof of commitment PGSD department it self. 

In general, the character development plans can be divided into three stages: Early Stage. 

Emphasis on character development changes the status of student awareness of student life as a 

student who has a series of consequences and responsibilities of adulthood; Stage Associate. This 

stage is the emphasis on independent learning process of students, train students to socialize with 

others and develop their sensitivity; End Stage. At this stage of the development process focused on 


[Masitah] B-9 

the profile of graduates is expected by the industry; Both the initial stage, middle, and late stages of the 

development, characters that do always refer to 6 characters mentioned in section 2.1. and its 

implementation will involve elements of the above system. 

STUDENTS CHARACTER IDENTIFICATION 

The materials to be used as character development objectives in this program are determined based 

on the identification of student character. Character is very difficult to measure variables, even with a 

psycho though. However to be able to design a training program with the appropriate character, must 

be measured against the character of students. A psycho-testing device to measure the character of 

students according to the Six Pillars of Characters has been designed (Hendra and Fransisca, 2003), 

and this device will be used to take measurements. This tool has been designed to provide an 

overview of individuals according to the Six Pillar character: trustworthiness, Fairness, Caring, 

Respect, Citizenship, and Responsibility. The output of this test is rated low, medium, and high for 

each character of each student. These results will be weighted and obtained a total score of each 

character for all students tested. From the test results are known generally to the student of class 2003 

had a tendency to a low value for the character of Caring, Respect, and Citizenship. Thus, the threepoint 

character is used as a reference in preparing the material in a character building program the 

student of class 2003. 

IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION 

Curriculum development program for the preparation of a systematic character and integrated in every 

aspect of education in PGSD requires a process and a long enough time. As a pilot project, PGSD 

character development programming in the form of live events across multiple SD for 3 months and 

weeks PGSD concern for students. Once programs are implemented, then the evaluation must be 

conducted and measurements to assess the effectiveness of the program that has been done. 

Difficulties encountered in this case is, as already mentioned before that the characters evolve through 

a process, not only the events that affect just a moment. Therefore, it is certainly not valid if the 

character tests re-applied immediately after the program finished running. 

However, based on observations with the students participating in live events and weekend 

care, most of them feel new and different experience that opens their eyes to the ways of life far 

different from what they live for this. It is their awareness of the importance of respecting others, toil, 

and his work, and many other things that make them more appreciative of life they have received. 

These activities also have a positive impact in their outlook and behavior, which can be seen from their 

daily interaction with their environment, especially in the majors PGSD. 


[Masitah] B-9 

In the long run, the parameters that can be an indicator of the benefits of character 

development for majors PGSD major strategies are tailored to the retention rate (at least the students 

who dropped out due to non-financial matters), the number of community service performed by both 

lecturers and students, duration, and ability to survive in the job. 

BARRIERS 

Character education in Indonesia is not yet entrenched, so that a challenge for its development efforts. 

This leads to both educators and learners are not familiar with the character education model. It takes 

a strong commitment to design and implement this program effectively. In addition, the sources of 

information available more models in other countries refer to different cultures and needs relative to 

Indonesia. 

CONCLUSION 

Character education is important for the growth of the individual to be whole human beings and should 

be done early. But that does not mean if not accommodated the basic education of character 

education, the college also feel no need to minister. It is important for universities to not only pay 

attention to the needs of students' academic competence, but also building a character in order to 

graduate academically prepared graduates and good character. 

PGSD majors desire to nurture student character has been poured into its strategic plan and 

design a systematic and integrated program have been started. As a pilot project, carried out in a live 

program and weekend care. The results of this program is not directly change the character of 

students, but has given a positive color in a lecture. For the future, designing character education 

should be done with high commitment and continuous improvement efforts will be made. 

REFERENCES 

Brooks, D., 2005. Increasing Test Score and Character Education The Natural Connection. 

Hendra, M. Fransisca, 2003. “Identifikasi Karakter Mahasiswa Teknik Industri Universitas 

Kristen Petra dan Harapan Industri Terhadap Karakter dan Non-Technical Skill 

Lulusan”.Skripsi Jurusan Teknik Industri, No: 01/0754/IND/2003, Universitas Kristen 

Petra, Surabaya. 

Hill, T.A., 2005. Character First! Kimray Inc., http://www.charactercities.org/downloads/ 

publications/Whatischaracter.pdf. 

Li, L., 2005. Education for 1.3 Billion. Pearson Education and China: Foreign Language 

Teaching & Research Press.

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