Organization and Management of Early Childhood Education Program: An Evaluation on Subur Sejahtera Kindergarten, Kendari, Indonesia (Published)
The objective of this research is to describe the implementation of early childhood education program (ECEP) at Kindergarten of Subur Sejahtera Kendari, Indonesia. This research uses qualitative method, with Context, Input, Process and Product (CIPP) model evaluation design adopted from Daniel Stufflebeam (2003). The results of the study indicate that: (1) the context component covering the legal basis of the program has been fulfilled; (2) the input components that include human resources in the form of teachers and staff have been fulfilled, with appropriate academic qualifications, and adequate facilities and infrastructures; (3) the learning process implementation component has shown sufficient circumstances in accordance with those required in the national curriculum; and (4) product components covering output and outcomes are in good category. Thus, it can be concluded that the implementation of ECEP at Subur Sejahtera Kindergarten, Indonesia is in accordance with national standards of early childhood education. The suggestions that can be put forward are: (1) the competence of the kindergarten teachers still need to be improved; (2) the quality of teaching and learning process need to be improved; and (3) the teaching and learning process need to be managed more effectively by taking into account the developmental aspects required in accordance with national standards of education.
Keywords: Early Childhood Education, Management, Organization, Output, input.
The teaching of English to French-Speaking Cameroonian learners at the secondary level of education in Cameroon: A Phonological Appraisal (Review Completed - Accepted)
This work set out to examine the teaching of English in the Francophone subsystem at the secondary level of education in Cameroon. The researcher was motivated by the fact that, in Cameroon, when Francophone learners leave secondary school, despite their rich syllabus, most of them still perform poorly orally. Their speech is generally full of phonological errors that pose problems of intelligibility, as each of them typically adds in his/her own speech some idiosyncratic features reflecting his/her particular native language, educational background and personal temperament. The data – which were drawn from both phonic and written sources thanks to some survey methods like questionnaires, interviews as well as textbooks and English papers in official examinations – were systematically analysed within the theoretical frame of Needs Analysis. Interestingly, the findings reveal that most Francophone learners still perform poorly orally when they leave secondary school because aspects of spoken communication like phonology are not given sufficient attention. In fact, the teaching of English at the secondary level of education in the Francophone subsystem does not respect the syllabus specifications for the teaching of English to Francophone learners; rather, it is examination-oriented. Thus, only aspects of written language (grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, essay writing) that are evaluated by official examination English papers are sufficiently taught. Our findings equally reveal that, in the textbooks that are designed for the teaching of English to Francophone learners, phonology is totally downplayed. With regards to the English paper in official examinations, our findings show that no consideration is given to phonology. The four sections that make up the paper are based on grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension and essay writing.
Keywords: Cameroon Educational System, Francophone subsystem, Phonology, input.