CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background
According t o dat a from t he Nat ional Associat ion of Cerdas ist imew a
dan bakat ist imew a, 2% of school -age populat ion, w ere children w ho have
special t alent or gift ed children. If it refers t o t he BPS 2005, t here w ere
65,291,624 children of school age (ages 4-19 yrs) (Sulipan, 2010: 2). This
means t hat t here are 1,305,832 children in Indonesia have t he special t alent
(Cerdas Ist imew a dan Bakat Ist imew a ). While t he figure is relat ively small,
but service t o t hem is not sufficient . The only form of educat ion services for
children Cerdas Ist imew a dan Bakat Ist imew a is in t he form of accelerat ion.
Based on dat a from Cerdas Ist imew a dan Bakat Ist imew a Associat ion of
2008/ 9, t he number of Cerdas Ist im ew a dan Bakat Ist imew a students who
have served in accelerat ed schools w ere st ill very sm all, t hose w ere 9,551
people or 0.73% of Cerdas Ist im ew a dan Bakat Ist imew a st udent s
underserved.
In t erms of inst it ut ions, from 260 471 schools, 311 new schools have
child care program s for Cerdas Ist imew a dan Bakat Ist imew a . This means t hat
t here is a lit t le school t hat provide educat ional services t o st udent s Cerdas
Ist imew a dan Bakat Ist im ew a, as w ell as t he limit at ions of t he various
services. M ost of t hese children are " forced" t o follow t he same educat ion
w it h norm al children, so t hey have a st at e of " underachiever" .
Act of Nat ional Educat ion Syst em no. 20 of 2003 on Nat ional
Educat ion Syst em, Art icle 5, paragraph 4 st at e s t hat " Cit izens w ho have t he
pot ent ial of int elligence and special t alent s are ent it led t o special educat ion" .
The need for special at t ent ion t o t he Cerdas Ist im ew a d an Bakat Ist imew a
child ren is an effort t o develop t he full and opt imal pot ent ial of learners
(Sulipan, 2010:2).
Int elligent and gift ed children have unique personalit ies. Generally,
t hey have a st rong preference for t he various areas of int erest , are very
int erest ed in t he moral and et hical issues, very aut onomous in making
decisions and det erm ining act ions (Anonymous, 2011: 1). A num ber of t his
unique charact erist ics if not properly underst ood by t eachers and parent s, it
w ill creat e t he percept ion as if t he gift ed children are st ubborn individuals,
unw illing t o compromise even t here is an ext reme w ho considers t he gift ed
children has a low-rat e behavior.
One corridor of educat ional services for st udent s w ho have
except ional abilit y and int elligence is t hrough t he accelerat ed program
(accelerat ed learning). Providing special programs in an effort t o t reat gift ed
children is by t he convening of an accelerat ed program as a service to
In each organizat ion, t he posit ion and role of a leader has alw ays
been cent ral (M edizine, 2011: 2). Go forw ard and ret reat organizat ion
depends on t he ext ent t o w hich the leaders are able t o creat e on advancing
t he organizat ion. Similarly, in t he cont ext of t he school as an organizat ion,
t hen t he principal is also very import ant in advancing t he inst it ut ion he leads.
When t he qualit y of educat ion of a school w ill be improved, t hen t he key is in
t he st rong leadership.
The principal as responsible individual in t he school has an obligat ion
t o t ry t o make all t he pot e nt ial t hat exist s in t he inst it ut ion may be best
ut ilized t o achieve t he expect ed goals. Therefore, t he principal leadership
becomes one import ant fact or t hat can encourage school resources t o realize
t he vision, m ission, goals, and object ives of t he schoo l.
The principal is t he key success in empow ering t he communit y and
t he school environment . Therefore, as t he leader, t he principal is expect ed t o
be able t o build, manage and develop t he resources t hat exist in schools
(Jacub, 2011: 8).
To assist principal s in organizing t he school properly, it needs an
essence of t heoret ical ideas, such as t he classic concept ion of organizat ional
st ruct ure, hierarchy, aut horit y and mechanisms for achieving coordinat ion in
t he school e nvironment (Wahjosumidjo, 2007: 4- 5).
Principal's leadership w ill be very influent ial even crucial t o t he
t he principal leadership is t he st rat egic posit ion in achieving t he goals of
educat ion. School success is t he success of t he principal, and t he success of
principal is t he success of school (Wahjosumidjo, 2008: 349). Because t he
school’s failure and success is largely det ermined by t he principal as t he
cont roller and det erm iner of t he direct ion t o be t aken by t he school toward
t he goal. The success of a school is essent ially locat ed on t he efficient and
effect iveness of t he principal appearances.
SM A Negeri 1 Purw orejo t hat w as founded in 1955, is one of t he best
schools in Purw orejo. It is on Jl. Tent ara Pelajar No. 16, Pangenjuru Tengah
village and occupies a land area of 20,000 m2. This school has implement ed
an accelerat ed program since 2006, i.e. since t he government launched an
accelerat ed program. In it s implement at ion, t he program did not run
properly. It appeared from t he new st udent s t hat did not m eet t he crit eria
or rules set by t he government , IQ t est less t han 130 w as accept able in
accelerat ed classes. This w as done t o m eet t he quot a of st udent s in
accelerat ed classes.
In t he process of im plem ent at ion, t he com pliance of facilit ies and
infrast ruct ure, mot ivat ion and management of principal leadership is
needed. Therefore, t he w rit er did a research ent it led “The Principal’s
B. Research Focus
Based on t he research background, t he quest ion t o be asked, how are
t he charact erist ics of t he principal’s leadership in t he accelerat ed program at
SM A Negeri 1 Purw orejo? The focus w as elaborat ed int o t hree subfocuses.
1. How are t he charact erist ics of t he principal’s leadership in managing t he
hum an resource of accelerat ed program at SM A Negeri 1 Purw orejo?
2. How are t he charact erist ics of t he principal’s leadership in mot ivat ing
st udent s of t he accelerat ed program at SM A Negeri 1 Purw orejo ?
3. How are t he charact erist ics of t he principal’s leadership in t he
management of facilit ies and infrast ruct ure of accelerat ed program at
SM A Negeri 1 Purw orejo?
C. Research Objective
There w ere t hree object ives in t his st udy.
1. To describe t he charact erist ics of t he principal’s leadership in managing
t he hum an resource of accelerat ed program at SM A Negeri 1 Purw orejo .
2. To describe t he charact erist ics of t he principal’s leadership in mot ivat ing
st udent s of t he acce lerat ed program at SM A Negeri 1 Purw orejo .
3. To describe t he charact erist ics of t he principal’s leadership in t he
management of facilit ies and infrast ruct ure of accelerat ed program at
D. Research Benefit
1. Theoret ical Benefit
As a cont ribut ion in t he development of t he st rat egic t heory t hat
can be used t o im prove t he effect iveness of leadership of principal in t he
accelerat ed program .
2. Pract ical Benef it
a. As input for principal and t eachers in improving t he qualit y of t he
accelerat ed program.
b. As a reference for school t o formulat e t he school policy t o develop an
effect ive school.
E. Glossary
1. Principal's leadership is a behavior pat t ern charact erist ic of a leader at
t he t ime affect ing his subordinat es, somet hing chosen by t he leader of
w hat t o do, how t he leader act t o influence members of t he group form
t he st yle of leadership.
2. Accelerat ed program is t o accelerat e t he learning mat erials t hat w ill be
delivered t o st udent s, so aut omat ically t hey get more dense mat erial in a
fast er t im e t han RSBI class (The Pioneering of Int ernat ional St andard
