By: Yenti Juniarti, S.Pd, M.Pd, and 1st-grade PG-PAUD Students
Education for early childhood essentially encompasses all efforts and actions by educators and parents in the process of caring, nurturing, and educating children. It creates an atmosphere where children can explore experiences, providing them opportunities to understand and comprehend learning experiences from their environment.
With the issuance of Law No. 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System (Sisdiknas), the existence of early childhood education is officially recognized. It is stated in the Seventh part, articles 28 paragraphs 1-6, directing early childhood education towards pre-school education for children aged 0-6 years.
In elaborating the definition, Law No. 20 of 2003 concerning Sisdiknas states: Early childhood education is an effort aimed at children from birth to six years old, carried out through educational stimulation to aid physical and spiritual growth and development. This helps prepare children for further education.
Early childhood, referring to preschool-aged children (0-6 years) based on various studies, is considered the golden age, where human intelligence is determined (Hariwijaya, 2007:32). Early childhood education is expected to enable children to grow to their full potential, allowing them to build themselves, their environment, and their nation.
One of the fulfillments of the right to education at an early age, specifically for 3-5 years old, is the Early Childhood Education (PAUD) program. In its implementation, every neighborhood in Indonesia is encouraged to have at least one PAUD.
PAUD is an alternative to fulfill educational rights besides Kindergarten (TK) or Quran Education Park (TPA). Types of PAUD services include holistic and integrative offerings, covering formal, non-formal, and informational education.
According to Minister of National Education Regulation No. 13 of 2005, PAUD is classified as non-formal education.
Other types of non-formal education besides PAUD include Child Care Centers (TPA), Play Groups, and Similar PAUD. Similar PAUD means PAUD organized together with Integrated Health Service Post (Posyandu) programs.
In the National Department of Education (Depdiknas), PAUD is included in the Non-Formal Education (PLS) program.
Benefits of PAUD Services: PAUD services are beneficial for children as they help develop their abilities and skills in various areas. Moreover, PAUD helps bridge gaps between children and parents, as well as between children and society.
PAUD Competency Basis includes the abilities that early childhood should possess in various aspects of development such as physical, social, emotional, moral, and cognitive. The development of learning aspects in early childhood education must adhere to the standards of early childhood development competencies, including moral and religious values.
Values taught to early childhood involve positive behavior, independence, discipline, honesty, and other behaviors. Regular activities related to religious values should also be provided, such as mastering daily prayers.
Physical/Motor Skills: In this aspect, educators must stimulate the physical and motor development of children according to their age. This can be achieved through various educational games.
Social and Emotional: Children are educated to develop social skills through the process of socialization. This aspect equips children with the ability to solve social problems they face, achieved through continuous habituation processes.
Language: In this aspect, children are encouraged to master communication skills according to their developmental stage. Language proficiency, based on a child’s age, can be divided into two periods: pre-linguistic (0-1 year) and linguistic (1-5 years) periods.
Cognitive: Cognitive development in children usually refers to Piaget’s opinion, dividing cognitive development into four stages: sensorimotor period (ages 0-2), preoperational period (2-7 years), concrete operational period (7-11 years), and formal operational period (ages 11 to adulthood).
Art: Skills in the field of art can be developed through music, dance, drawing, and other skills that provide aesthetic and artistic abilities to early childhood.
Development and learning are an interaction between biological maturity and the environment, both the physical and social environment. Play is an important means for social, emotional, and cognitive development, depicting a child’s progress. Accelerated development occurs when children have the opportunity to practice various acquired skills and face challenges slightly higher than what they have mastered.
Children have various modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, or a combination of these types) to know something, allowing them to learn different things in demonstrating what they know.
Standards of Child Development Achievement Levels (STPPA): STPPA serves as a reference for developing standards for content, processes, assessment, educators and education personnel, facilities, management, and financing in managing and organizing early childhood education.
Guidelines for the Standards of Child Development Achievement Levels (STTPA) aim to facilitate determining basic competencies used in formulating learning. These guidelines are based on the Minister of Education and Culture Regulation Number 137 of 2014 regarding Standards for Early Childhood Education.
Content Standards: Content Standards are criteria for the scope of material and competencies towards achievement levels appropriate for the child’s age. The scope of content standards includes developmental programs presented in thematic forms.
Process Standards: The third national standard for PAUD is process standards. This standard is the criteria for implementing learning in PAUD units or programs to help fulfill developmental achievement levels suitable for the child’s age. Process standards include planning, implementation, evaluation, and supervision of learning.
Assessment Standards: Assessment Standards are criteria for the assessment of the process and results of learning to determine achievement levels appropriate for the child’s age. In the assessment process, educators must adhere to six principles that form the basis of the assessment process and mechanism: educational, authentic, objective, accountable, and transparent.
Educator and Education Personnel Standards: Educator and education personnel standards are criteria for academic qualifications and competencies required for PAUD educators and education personnel.
Facility and Infrastructure Standards: Facility and infrastructure standards are criteria for supporting the holistic and integrative provision and management of early childhood education that utilizes local potential.
Management Standards: Management standards are criteria for planning, implementation, and supervision of educational activities at the unit or PAUD program level.
Funding Standards: Funding standards are criteria for the components and amounts of personal and operational costs at the unit or PAUD program level. Operational costs can be used for various needs, including facilities, infrastructure, and program and human resources development. (*)
