Curriculum Development in Indonesian Education

Pendidikan Indonesia telah belangsung selama berabad-abad mengikuti perkembangan sejarah, elonomi, politik masyarakat Indonesia. Pendidikan Indonesia sejalan dengan tumbuh kembangnya kerajaan-kerajaan di Nusantara dan juga masuknya agama-agama besar di Indonesia seperti Hindu, Budha maupun Islam. Namun perkembangan pendidikan modern di Indonesia diawali dengan masuknya kolonial bangsa barat ke Indonesia. Setelah Indonesia merdeka, pemerintah terus menerus melakukan pembangunan pendidikan secara nasional di seluruh wilayah NKRI. Pembangunan pendidikan tidak bias terlepas dari pengembangan kurikulum karrena kurikulum adalah inti dari proses pembelajaran. Kurikulum disususn dan dikembangkan sesuai kebutuhan siswa, sekolah, masyarakat serta tuntutan jaman

A Comparative Study on Japanese and Indonesian Elementary School

Pendidikan dasar secara umum terbagi dalam dua lembaga pendidikan yakni sekolah dasar dan sekolah menengah pertama. Proses pendidikan yang berlangsung di sekolah dasar merupakan landasan yang sangat penting untuk proses pendidikan di lembaga selanjutnya. Tujuan yang sangat penting dari proses pendidikan di sekolah dasar adalah pengembangan otot, emosi, sosialisasi, pengenalan lingkungan,dan aspek kebahasaan. Kemudian, mulai kelas empat di sekolah dasar ,para siswa mendalami ilmu pengtahuan secara intensif. Sekolah dsar di Jepang menekankan pada pendidikan mental sehingga anak bisa lebih ulet, tabah, toleran, dan optimis dalam hidup bermasyarakat. Pendidikan moral, olah raga, ketrampilan, dan pendidikan kesejahteraan keluarga sangat penting dalampengembangan kepribadian siswa. Pelajaran matematika dan ilmu pengetahuan banyak diajarkan dengan pendekatan kontekstual di sekolah dasar di Indonesia dan Jepang. Kedua Negara juga mulai memberikan pelajaran Bahasa Inggris kepada siswa sekolah dasar untuk mengenalkan secara dini bahasa dab kebudayan bangsa lain serta mempersiapkan mereka dalam persaingan global. Melakukan studi banding terhadap kondisi pendidikan Negara lain membuat kita memperoleh informasi yang benar terhadap pencapaian kita dan Negara lain di bidang pendidikan serta membuat langkah-langkah perbaikan berdasarkan data yang terpercaya bukan kabar burung yang tidak jelas

Proton beam radiotherapy in the management of uveal melanoma: clinical experience in Scotland

<p>Aim: To evaluate proton-beam radiotherapy (PBRT) in the management of uveal melanoma in Scotland.</p> <p>Methods: A retrospective review was undertaken on all patients receiving PBRT for uveal melanoma (1994–2005). Data obtained included: gender, past ocular/medical history, age, presenting complaint(s), diagnosis, laterality, tumor location/ultrasound characteristics, visual acuity (VA) and intraocular pressure. At post-treatment reviews (3, 6, 12, and 24 months), the following data was obtained: VA, intraocular pressure, tumor appearance and ultrasound characteristics. Mean follow up was 38.8 months.</p> <p>Results: Seventy-six patients were included. Mean age was 64 years; male to female ratio was 1.1:1. Ninety-seven percent demonstrated initial treatment response; 87% had successful control of tumor growth. Mean pre-treatment tumor height was 6.2 mm v.s. 4.8 mm post-irradiation (p < 0.001). Pre-irradiation VA was <3/60 in 18.5% compared with 74% post-irradiation (p < 0.0001). There was a statistically significant association between adverse events (enucleation, metastasis) and greater maximal basal tumor diameter. Eighteen eyes were enucleated. The median survival time was estimated to be 54 months.</p> <p>Conclusion: In our experience, PBRT is a precise, reliable and effective treatment in the management of large, and previously treated uveal melanomas. It prevents enucleation in the majority at short term follow-up.</p&gt

Strategies used by ESL learners to derive meaning of vocabulary in a short story

This study aims at identifying the strategies used by learners to derive meaning of vocabulary in one of the KBSM literature component, which is short story. The effectiveness of the strategies identified is also being looked at. Besides that, it is also to find out if the ESL learners use the five common strategies to derive meaning of words. A total of 70 Form Two students in Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Munshi Abdullah, Kulai, Johor participated in this study. The research instruments used for this study were questionnaires and a rated vocabulary exercise on a short story. The questionnaires were distributed to each respondent with the purpose of finding out the strategies used to derive meaning of words, in general readings as well as in a short story. In addition, the rated vocabulary exercise was given to them to see whether the strategies used in deriving meaning of vocabulary in a short story have been effective or otherwise. This was done by comparing the exercise scores and the strategies used. Result from the findings indicate the following: 1) The learners do use the five common strategies mentioned by most researchers in the field, 2) In deriving the meaning of vocabulary in a short story, most of the high, average and low achievers referred to the dictionary, 3) The effectiveness of the strategies used depended on the learners’ language proficiency and their ability to fit in the meanings of the unknown words with the context in which these words occurred. Finally, the pedagogical implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are put forwar