A study of the implementation of school-based management in Flores Primary Schools in Indonesia

School-Based Management (SBM) with devolution has become the most prominent feature of public school management systems in most countries around the world. In Indonesia, the Central Government established a Commission of National Education (Komisi Nasional Pendidikan) in February 2001 on the basis of Law 22/1999 by which education was decentralized. The Commission recommended the formation of school councils at the school level to improve quality of national education. The Government then embarked on the formation of school councils in Western Sumatera, Eastern Java, and Bali. On the basis of these trials, the councils were considered strategic in promoting democratic principles in schools, creating higher levels of parental participation in school governance, and improving the quality of national education. For these reasons, in 2002 and 2004, the Government provided a set of guidelines to establish mandatory corporate governing body type school councils in accordance with the Law 22/1999, the Commission and Education Act 20/2003. With the turn of the 21st Century, all Indonesian public schools have implemented SBM. This study was aimed at examining whether improvements in student achievements have been achieved resulting from the implementation of SBM. The research was conducted in 2007 using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies comprising of an empirical survey with the active participation of 504 respondents who were school council members and semi-structured interviews with 42 participants belonging to all categories of representatives of school councils as well as documentary analyses. The research was conducted at 42 primary schools of Ngada District in the island of Flores. Data generated from the two phases of the research demonstrate that there have been school improvements and student achievements resulting from the implementation of SBM. SBM policies and programs have created better teaching/learning environments and student achievements. Further, the research suggests that continuous developments and capacity building such as training on school leadership and management, workshops on SBM, and increased funding from governments are needed to affect further improvements in school effectiveness with the implementation of SBM.