Self-efficacy in learning

Alvin Toffler, an American writer and futurist, stated, “The illiterate of 21^st century will not be those who can not read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn”. It is about the future human in information age. The Information Age, also commonly known as the Digital Age, is an idea that the current age will be characterized by the ability of individuals to transfer information freely, and to have instant access to information that would have been difficult or impossible to find previously. It is assumed that all people in the world are able to read and write. Ironically, in the present day we still face a number of illiterate. According to data from UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (2011), 793 million adults –most of them girls and women- are illiterate.  Indonesia, and eight other countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan) are home to over two-thirds of the world’s adult illiterates and more than half the planet’s out-of-school children.

In West Java, Indonesia, specifically in Jatinangor, I found a group of 30-40 year old illiterate women who learned to read and write. Everyday after finishing their housework, they gathered at one member’s home and started the class. In another location, I found a group consists of young adults aged 18-21 who dropped out of high school. They dropped out because of lack of financial support. Then they continued to study in a non formal school, which free of charge, named Kejar Paket C (Study Group Package C) at PKBM (Pusat Kegiatan Belajar Masyarakat or community learning centre) Linuhung. Study Group Package C is a non-formal education program organized by Department of National Education Indonesia which equivalent to senior high school. Either the first group (illiterate women) or the second group (dropout students) is a group of learner, no matter how old they are. It is argued that they had something motivated them to learn, to achieve, to succeed. What kind of psychological state that underlies and affects the learning process?

Sekolah Ayah Edy

Kamis pagi pekan lalu (17/1) dengan rintik hujan yang kadang menjadi deras-gerimis-deras kembali, tak bisa dibedakan apakah itu pagi atau sore hari. Matahari tak tampak, semua warna berselimut kelabu. Di Jakarta tersiar berita bahwa hari itu menjadi hari cuti bersama karena banjir telah menjangkau pusat kota. Sebagian commuter dari Bogor turut merasakan dampaknya. Namun berita tersebut tidak berpengaruh banyak pada saya yang sedang libur semester, walaupun tetap saja terkejut menyadari banjir yang meluas pada hari-hari berikutnya.

Hari itu sebagaimana telah direncanakan dari satu minggu sebelumnya dan diniatkan sejak satu tahun sebelumnya –hehehe..sebegitu lamanya, ya-, saya berkunjung ke sekolah milik Ayah Edy, bernama STAR International. Sekolah ini merupakan prasekolah –meliputi childcare, playgroup, dan kindergarten- yang menerapkan kombinasi konsep internasional dalam sistem pendidikan dan program pembelajarannya, di antaranya multiple intelligence, holistic learning, character building, dan entrepreneurship.