Relationship Between Educational Leadership and Educational Funding

Relationship between Educational Leadership and Educational Funding a) Quality of Education The era of globalization in the 21st century demands an increase in the quality of human resources in every country, including Indonesia. One of the efforts that has been able to improve the quality of human resources is through education, education is the spearhead of human development because it is through education that quality human resources can be produced. Although it is said that there has been an increase in the field of education in Indonesia, it seems that the quality of education in Indonesia is not yet something to be proud of. The Ministry of National Education also noted that the ability of Indonesian students in the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) Test in 2006 held by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), Indonesia was ranked fifth from the bottom out of 54 countries, still below Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. Based on the EDI (Education Development Index) parameters, Indonesia is ranked 71 (medium EDI). With these conditions, it can be said that the quality of education in Indonesia, although there has been an increase from year to year, is still relatively low. Another equally important problem concerning the quality of education in Indonesia can also be seen from the low education budget, because the 20% education budget as mandated by the 1945 Constitution still includes teacher salary components in it, which has an impact on reducing the budget for improving the quality of education in Indonesia. Schools are educational units which are organizations tasked with carrying out the vision and mission of the Department of Education. Schools are implementers of education which are implementers of education which are a system consisting of various main components such as: students or learners (main input); resource input or additional input which is divided into human resources (teaching staff and education personnel), curriculum, educational facilities/infrastructure, school funds or finances, management; there is also environmental input or environmental input consisting of economics, politics, social, culture and technology that exist and play a role in the school. To produce quality school graduates who reflect the quality of education, it must be in line and balanced with a quality teaching and learning process. Quality teaching and learning activities consist of four aspects, namely the completeness and understanding of the curriculum, preparation of teaching and learning activities (KBM), implementation of KBM, and assessment of KBM results. A quality teaching and learning process will produce quality graduates which is marked by an increase in student learning outcomes. Teaching and learning activities carried out by students will certainly bring changes to the knowledge, attitudes and skills of students. Learning outcomes are basically the result of the interaction of various factors that influence the overall learning process which causes students to differ from one another in terms of academic achievement. b) Principal Leadership Leadership according to G.R. Terry (in Hersey, 1988:14) is "leadership in the of influencing people to strive willingly for group objectives". Lichard I. Lester (A. Dale Timpe, 1991: 145) himself stated that leadership is "leadership as the art of influencing and directing people through obedience, trust, respect and enthusiastic cooperation in achieving common goals". Meanwhile, according to Robbins (1998:175) "leadership as the ability to influence a group towards achieving goals. From the various opinions of these experts regarding the definition of leadership, we can conclude that leadership is an art of conveying the will to others and how to organize a person or a group to work together in achieving the desired common goals. There are several theories of leadership that we often read in various literature or scientific studies, but one of the most widely known theories is: 1) character theory; 2) behavioral theory; 3) probability theory; 4) attribution theory; 5) transactional versus transformational theory; 6) visionary theory. The behavioral theory of leadership is a theory that suggests that specific behaviors distinguish leaders from non-leaders. Leaders can be learned from behavioral patterns and not from the nature of the leader. Robbins divides two dimensions of leadership behavior, namely: 1) employee-oriented, where in the first point the leader's character is described as a leader who emphasizes interpersonal communication; 2) production or results-oriented, in the second point Robbins describes a leader who tends to focus on and emphasize technical aspects or job tasks. The principal as the leader of the educational unit has a very large role in the success of the school, because an effective school is determined by the leadership of an effective principal. There are six (6) characteristics of an effective principal according to Soelistia, namely: 1) developing collaboration in problem solving and conducting open communication, 2) collecting, analyzing and using data to identify school needs, 3) using funds to identify and plan changes needed in instructional programs, 4) carrying out and monitoring school improvement plans, 5) thinking systems in determining focus to achieve student learning achievement goals. The principal as a manager has functions and duties as an educator, manager, administrator and supervisor. An effective principal can function as an educator, manager, administrator, supervisor, leader, innovator, and motivator. So it can be concluded, the leadership of a principal is an ability possessed by someone who will become a leader in influencing other people or a group to be able to carry out an activity in order to achieve common goals. The duties of a principal as a manager are to plan, implement, and supervise school activities which include teaching programs, staff activities, student services, finances, resources, and establishing cooperation with the community.