This partnership program between UNESA and INOVASI ran from 12 September 2018 to 11 July 2019.

“This activity aims to improve the pedagogic and professional competencies of elementary school teachers. Such increased competencies will impact on their teaching methods in class, and in turn the students’ skills improve. In addition to that, it also increases school enthusiasm and community awareness of the importance of literacy,” explained Kisyani, Head of the Center for Literacy Studies of UNESA.

 

 

The program uses a balanced literacy framework and implemented in 15 elementary schools in Taman district and Sidoarjo regency areas in East Java.

“Balanced literacy (Literasi Berimbang) is a learning approach to develop skills in understanding and producing information. Balance is achieved through a combination of various learning strategies with the aim of producing competent and literate learners,” said Pratiwi Retnaningdyah, a literacy expert from UNESA who graduated from The University of Melbourne.

Prof. Dr. Wahyu Sukartiningsih M.Pd., a lecturer and a professor at UNESA also added, “Child-friendly literacy reflects society’s understanding of the issue of children’s rights and protection. Child-friendly in this program implies the concept of child protection, which includes three things, namely child protection, being gender-friendly, and disability-friendly.”

Moreover, as a child education expert, Wahyu hopes that child-friendly literacy is understood by all education providers including the Education Office, supervisors, school principals, and teachers. Furthermore, when providing education, this child-friendly literacy should be an integral part of determining education policy. The impact of this would be that child-friendly literacy will be implemented by teachers in the classroom, involving parents and the community.

A simple example could be teachers selecting and developing child-friendly lesson material. Tia Retno Ayu Santoso, a teacher at SDN Cemengkalang state elementary school in Kota district, Sidoarjo regency, has truly benefited from being assisted by UNESA.

“What is obvious is that after being assisted by UNESA, the reading speed of the first graders has increased. They are now able to write stories in a few paragraphs by using simple words,” she explained.