Peer-reviewed article
Optimizing Management of Early Childhood Education in Community Empowerment
Nunu Mahmud Firdaus, Ansori Ansori ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines how non-formal early childhood education programs in Indonesian communities can be better managed. The research found that a community-based early childhood education center in Bandung does not meet government standards for management. The study identifies barriers including low public awareness about early childhood education's importance, poor infrastructure, and the misconception that these programs are only for wealthy families. The authors recommend that program managers implement stronger management practices to achieve educational goals.
Key points
- The community-based early childhood education program studied does not meet government standards for management processes
- Low public knowledge about early childhood education importance is a major barrier to enrollment
- Community members mistakenly believe early childhood education programs are only accessible to economically wealthy families
- Lack of infrastructure (APE - learning media/facilities) affects program quality
- Effective implementation of management functions is necessary to achieve program objectives
Limitations
This is a case study of a single early childhood education center and does not test whether management improvements actually improve child outcomes or enrollment rates. The document does not provide data on child learning or development results.
Abstract
Considering the low level of public knowledge about the importance of Early Childhood Education and the low quality of management and the lack of infrastructure (in the form of APE) as well as the many assumptions from the public that Early Childhood Education can only be reached by economically capable people causing lack of motivation to involving their children in the Early Childhood Education program, it is deemed necessary to carry out a study on the optimization of the management of non-formal Early Childhood Education programs held in the community, such as the SPS Early Childhood Education Cempaka which operates in RW 09 Ciwaruga Village, Bandung Regency West. Through the application of qualitative methods with a case study approach, the results of this study reveal that the management process still does not meet the standards required by the government as the organizing program for the Similar Early Childhood Education Unit (SPS) program. Therefore, the manager must be able to define and find ways to achieve all the objectives set through the effective implementation of management functions of Early Childhood Education management.