"HighScope Indonesia Defines Academic Skills for 21st Century Education"

Jakarta, 22 May 2019 - Continuing HighScope Indonesia's active role in developing the education system in Indonesia and to provide new understanding and insights to fellow education practitioners and parents of students, HighScope Indonesia invited Thomas R. Guskey, Ph.D, an education expert in the field of assessment from the United States. On this occasion, HighScope Indonesia held a parents workshop titled "Is My Child's School Academic Enough?" on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 and at the Black Box Theater, Sekolah HighScope Indonesia TB SImatupang. This Parents Workshop aims to broaden parents' knowledge of academic skills, which were previously traditional, into the academic skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.

On the same occasion, HighScope Indonesia saw the need to define academic skills in accordance with the times. "Academic skills as the ability to grasp the knowledge taught in school to be processed scientifically and creatively using executive function of the brain and the ability to present essential understanding clearly and logically." HighScope Indonesia believes that academic skills are not only skills in reading, writing, arithmetic, and getting good scores on exams, but as children's abilities to capture the knowledge taught in school, and processed scientifically and creatively by the brain's executive function; and the ability to communicate the essence of knowledge clearly and logically.

General perceptions of academic skills are mostly related to academic performance and grades. Actually academic skills are not only academic performance but also soft skills. The future of work requires individuals who have strong academic skills. Therefore, schools must prepare students to develop students' academic skills. However, what kind of academic skills actually are and how should schools develop students' academic skills? What do we really know about academic performance and skills? Why are academic performance and skills necessary for children? What impact will the development of academic performance and skills have on the future of children? What do good schools do to develop children's academic skills? How can we as parents help our children hone their academic potential? These questions were answered and explained by Thomas R. Guskey, Ph.D in this Parent Workshop.

Thomas R. Guskey, Ph.D is Professor Emeritus at the College of Education at the University of Kentucky and Senior Research Scholar. He is the author/editor of 24 award-winning books and more than 250 book chapters, articles and professional papers on educational measurement, evaluation, assessment, grading, and professional learning. He will provide general education regarding the perception, development, and relevance of academic skills, which have been defined as skills and proficiency in the academic field that exist in formal education and the skills required in universities & the world of work today and in the future. Through this activity, it is hoped that parents of students will gain new insights into academic perceptions itself and the academic demands required by universities and the world of work. HighScope Indonesia has been working with Thomas Guskey since 2014 in developing a scoring and reporting system at HighScope Indonesia schools.