YOGYAKARTA - Education does not only develop the cognitive aspect. Ideally, education can help the whole human development, including physical, psychological, social, and religious development. The school is one place for kids and teenagers to grow and develop together with the family and the environment. The schools are expected to support the development of children and adolescents holistically and balanced. On the other hand, not a few children and teenagers struggle with various problems every day.
The result of a survey conducted by the Center for Public Mental Health (CPMH) Faculty of Psychology on school and vocational school students in four major cities in Central Java and East Java recently discovered high level of abuse in schools. This survey also found relatively high unsatisfaction among students to their situations at school. Beyond that mental and psychosocial health problems were found in the medium rate in about one-third of the respondents.
Head of Education Division as well as psychologist of the Center, Prof. Dr. Amitya Kumara, MS, said that the problems of junior high and high school students are more prominent on issues related to motivation and self-concept and social relationships. 'Students are often required to develop the cognitive ability alone and are not guided in developing other skills,' 'Kumara said in a Seminar on Toward School Well-Being in Faculty of Psychology, Saturday (21/5).
Kumara said that in the professional working practice of UGM Psychology students, a trend in the education that is found from kindergarten to high school levels from 2008-2011 shows more behavioral problems at the kindergarten level as much as 34 percent. Furthermore, at the elementary level more common cases of cognitive problems are found. Meanwhile, in junior and senior high schools, many motivation problems (32.8 percent) and 26.1 percent of social problems are found.
To reduce the level of abuse and social problems in school, he suggested four aspects in the establishment of school well-being, namely the development of school conditions, social relationships in school, self-actualization, and health status, including mental, spiritual, and physical health.
The same thing was also delivered by activist of Plan Indonesia, Amrullah Sofyan, who delivered the results of survey of 300 elementary, junior, and senior high schools students in two sub-districts in Bogor. As many as 15.3 percent of primary school students, 18 percent of junior high school students, and 16 percent of high school students admitted to have often been maltreated in schools. Abusers in schools are teachers (14.7 percent) and school friends (35.3 percent)