Basic Concept of School-Community Relations

Basic Concept of School-Community Relations A. Basic Concept of Principles According to the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), 'principle' has the meaning of a basis, truth that is the basis for thinking, acting and so on. Meanwhile, according to Russel Swanburg, principle can be interpreted as a fundamental truth and doctrine that underlies an idea. In line with Russel, Syah Djanilus argues that principle is something that is used as a basis for thinking, standing and so on. From the opinions above, it can be concluded that 'principle' is actually a fundamental statement or general or individual truth that is used by a person/group as a guideline or basis for thinking or acting. B. School Management Principles There are four principles in school-based management as a form of implementation of regional autonomy in the field of education which are the basis for achieving its goals, namely (Depdiknas, 2007). 1. The first principle is autonomy, interpreted as independence, namely independence in organizing and managing itself (independent management). In terms of the principle of independent management, it is distinguished from the view that considers schools only as implementing organizational units that only carry out everything based on direction, instructions, and instructions from above or from outside. Independence in programs and funding is the main benchmark of school independence. In turn, independence that continues continuously will guarantee the survival and development of the school according to its own initiative based on the aspirations of the school community in accordance with applicable national education laws and regulations. Of course, the independence in question must be supported by a number of abilities, namely the ability to make the best decisions, the ability to be democratic/respect differences of opinion, the ability to mobilize resources, the ability to choose the best implementation method, the ability to communicate effectively, the ability to solve school problems, adaptive and anticipatory abilities, the ability to synergize and collaborate, and the ability to meet its own needs. 2. The second principle is flexibility, which can be interpreted as the flexibility given to schools to manage, utilize, and empower school resources as optimally as possible to improve school quality. With greater school flexibility, schools will be more agile and do not have to wait for direction from their superiors to manage, utilize, and empower resources. With this principle of flexibility, schools will be more responsive and faster in responding to all challenges faced. As in the principle of autonomy above, the principle of flexibility in question still refers to applicable policies, regulations and legislation. The program and preparation of the RAPBS will differ from one school to another, even when the budget allocation owned by the school is the same, but the emphasis and selection of priorities can be different. This principle opens up opportunities for school creativity to make innovative efforts that are believed to be able to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of school management, especially the active, creative, effective, and enjoyable learning process. 3. The third principle is participation, which is the creation of an open and democratic environment. School residents (teachers, students, employees) and the community (parents of students, community leaders, scientists, entrepreneurs, and so on) are encouraged to be directly involved in the implementation of education, starting from decision making, implementation, and evaluation of education which is expected to improve the quality of education. This is based on the belief that if someone is involved (participates) in the implementation of education, then the person concerned will have a "sense of ownership" towards the school, so that the person concerned will also be responsible and dedicated to achieving school goals. The greater the level of participation, the greater the sense of ownership; the greater the sense of ownership, the greater the sense of responsibility; and the greater the sense of responsibility, the greater the dedication. The involvement of school residents in school administration must consider expertise, limits of authority, and relevance to the objectives of participation. Increasing the participation of school residents and the community in school administration will be able to create: (a) openness (transparency); (b) strong cooperation; (c) accountability; and (d) educational democracy. 4. The fourth principle is initiative, based on the concept that humans are not static resources, but dynamic. Therefore, the potential of human resources must always be explored, discovered, and then developed. Thus, educational institutions must use a human resources development approach that has a dynamic connotation and considers and treats humans in schools as very important assets and has the potential to continue to be developed. This principle shows the importance of the human factor in organizational effectiveness. The human resources perspective emphasizes that people are valuable resources in the organization so that the main point of management is to develop human resources in schools to take the initiative. Based on this perspective, schools aim to build an appropriate environment for school residents to be able to work well and develop their potential. C. Basic Concept of School-Community Relations Etymologically, "public relations" is translated from the English word "Public Relations", which means that the relationship between schools and the community is a reciprocal relationship between an organization (school) and its community. According to Kindred Leslie, in his book "School Public Relations" he explains the meaning of schoolcommunity relations as follows: "School-community relations are a process of communication between schools and the community to try to instill an understanding of the community about the needs of educational work and encourage community interest and responsibility in efforts to advance the school". Community and school relations according to Asnawir (2005) are a series of organizational activities to create harmonious relations between schools and the community or certain parties inside or outside the organization. This harmonious relationship aims for schools to get positive support in efforts to create effective and efficient cooperation.