Metacognitive Leadership and Digital-Enabled Partnership Management in Inclusive Early Childhood Education: A Case Study of Special Companion Teachers at PAUD Terpadu Anak Saleh Malang

Syafira Fadillah Maulidah, Fariza Ika Cahyani, Eny Nur Aisyah

Abstract


The digital age, educational management increasingly depends not only on technology adoption but also on frontline educators' metacognitive capacity to monitor, regulate, and adapt their practice under conditions of uncertainty. This study examines this capacity through an in-depth analysis of Special Companion Teachers (Guru Pendamping Khusus/GPK) who realise inclusive education rights for early childhood learners with autism spectrum disorder at PAUD Terpadu Anak Saleh Malang, an exemplary inclusive institution at the regional level. Employing Permendikbudristek No. 48 of 2023 on Reasonable Accommodation for Students with Disabilities alongside metacognitive and reflective-practice frameworks as an analytical lens, this research constructs a comprehensive understanding of how self-monitoring, self-regulation, and digitally mediated coordination shape policy implementation at the micro level. A qualitative approach with an intrinsic case study design was applied through data triangulation encompassing semi-structured interviews, field observations, and documentary analysis. Findings indicate that GPK function as street-level bureaucrats whose effectiveness as educational managers rests on four interrelated dimensions: (1) systematic pre-learning commitment grounded in multidisciplinary collaboration and distributed leadership for Individual Learning Programme (ILP) development; (2) metacognitive self-regulation, evidenced through real-time monitoring of children's emotional escalation cues and iterative revision of intervention strategies; (3) pedagogical competence expressed through tactile learning media engineering, instructional differentiation, and digitally supported progress tracking; and (4) digitally enabled communication partnership management, particularly the use of daily logbooks and instant-messaging platforms to sustain school-family intervention continuity in near real time. The study also identifies two structural issues requiring urgent management and policy intervention: formal qualification gaps among non-special education GPK and parental fiscal unaffordability of inclusive operational costs in private early childhood institutions. The findings offer implications for transformative educational leadership and digital-age management practice, and policy recommendations are directed to the Ministry of Education and regional governments to establish formal GPK certification pathways, metacognitive-oriented professional development, and subsidy mechanisms for private inclusive PAUD operational costs.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ainscow, M., Booth, T., & Dyson, A. (2006). Improving schools, developing inclusion. Routledge.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Armstrong, F., Armstrong, D., & Barton, L. (Eds.). (2016). Inclusive education: Policy, contexts and comparative perspectives. Routledge.

Brantlinger, E. (2006). Who benefits from special education? Remediating (fixing) other people's children. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/122.311

Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive-developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906–911. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.34.10.906

Fujita, N. (2012). Bottom-up reform with a top-down mandate: The challenge of implementing inclusive education in Japan. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16(12), 1339–1354. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2011.580466

Kementerian Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Republik Indonesia. (2011). Undang-Undang Nomor 19 Tahun 2011 tentang Pengesahan Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Konvensi Mengenai Hak-Hak Penyandang Disabilitas). Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia.

Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi Republik Indonesia. (2023). Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi Nomor 48 Tahun 2023 tentang Akomodasi yang Layak bagi Peserta Didik Penyandang Disabilitas. Kemendikbudristek RI.

Lipsky, M. (1980). Street-level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in public services. Russell Sage Foundation.

Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.

Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. SAGE Publications.

UNESCO. (1994). The Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000098427

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.

Webster, R., Russell, A., & Blatchford, P. (2015). Maximising the impact of teaching assistants: Guidance for school leaders and teachers (2nd ed.). Routledge.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


This proceeding series is indexed by:

ipiii.pnggoogle.png

ISSN: 2987-2448