Literacy culture management of elementary school in Indonesia.

Literacy has become one of the education needs in the 21st century. Literacy education implementation can be held through the management of literacy culture in schools. This step is taken as an effort to optimize the quality of education and equalize the students' achievement at the international level. This study aimed to analyze the implementation of literacy culture management applied in elementary schools, in Indonesia. This research used the mixed-method sequential explanatory. The interviews, questionnaires, and documents study techniques were performed to collect data from teachers, students, and principals of public elementary schools in Boyolali, Central Java, Indonesia as data sources. Data were validated using the triangulation technique and triangulation sources. The data then were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings of the study revealed: (a) literacy culture planning has been implemented optimally; (b) the organization of literacy culture has been carried out by establishing a school literacy team and it has operated optimally; (c) management of literacy culture; which consists of habituation, development, and teaching; has been implemented, and the objectives have been achieved (d) control includes regular academic supervision and evaluation has been carried out properly. This research implies that management literacy culture implementation in Boyolali, Indonesia can be a good reference and guideline for schools that will adopt a literacy culture program that needs intensive efforts to improve literacy culture in schools.

Introduction

Indonesia has entered the era of the industry 4.0. In this era, educators are expected to improve their human resources, especially in the ability to manage an organization. Education quality can be seen not only by students' output or learning achievement but also by other components such as teacher development program, learning materials, teaching methods, facilities, and infrastructure. The strategy to improve the quality of education in schools is to increase literacy culture management. Literacy refers to a process of reading, writing, and speaking to build, integrate, and criticize meanings (Frankel et al., 2016) whereas is a part of school management's responsibility. The strong interactions that exist between the school and home areas and the importance of practicing the literacy culture have been carried out. Some researchers create of a 'third space' to build a literacy culture. This room was developed through managing a reading corner in the school room, or developing a family level by placing the reading room together with the family room (Moje, 2008). The 'third space' theory proposed about the creation of a new literacy space between home and school areas. In this space, primary education children incorporate their experiences with popular culture, television and digital media, such as computers and tablets, into school experiences that promote their literacy.

ITU (2019), ITU's Measuring digital development: latest figures show that an estimated 4.9 billion people are using the Internet in 2021, or roughly 63 per cent of the world's population. This is an increase of society literacy to have come online during that period. Literacy culture has existed since 2003 and it is one of the controllers of the quality of education services. During its development, literacy culture became one of the 21st-century skills. Literacy is used to facilitate access to information acquisition and problem solving. Education must be able to embody literate students who manage to face obstacles in the future. To achieve the literacy goals, schools must prepare variety of activities, including literacy programs. Literacy can be recognized in several programs, such as reading recovery, walking notes, library visits, reading months, and others (Costello, 2012). The programs should be implemented following the main direction of the implementers. As the result, schools can develop three components including (a) good management practice, (b) accommodate and facilitate students to develop literacy culture, and (c) combine 21st-century skills in learning (Pacific Policy Research Center, 2010). In this field of education, the importance of management literacy culture in school becomes the public spotlight. This is because literacy can provide provisions for children to get used in reading, writing, appreciating, responding, and having awareness about the positive or negative impacts of using modern information technology (Nurasiah et al., 2017). Accordingly, this study is important in describing the actual implementation of management literacy culture, especially in elementary schools.

Several empirical results regarding the level of students' literacy ability have been revealed by various survey institutions. Since 2015, the Ministry of Education paid full attention to two international studies, namely Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). This is due to the fact that Indonesia received low achievements in both studies. In 2011, PRILS reported that the reading ability of fourth-grade elementary school students was ranked 45th out of 48 countries included in the survey (OECD, 2016). Moreover, PISA in 2018 also reported that Indonesia was ranked 71th out of 82 countries in terms of primary school students’ reading ability (OECD, 2019).

This problem must be addressed immediately through a well-planned management strategy. The low culture of literacy of the nation leads to uncompetitive human resources due to the lack of science and technology mastery, as a result of the lack of interest and low ability in reading and writing skills (Hidayat et al., 2018). Schools must be able to accommodate the literacy culture that is relevant with the 21st-century education. In formal education, active roles of stakeholders, such as school principals, teachers, educators, and librarians are particularly essential to facilitate the development of students’ literacy components and literacy awareness (Fauziah and Lestari, 2018). The literacy culture embedded in students affect their future success, both at school and in social life. In short, optimum school management will produce students with good literacy skills.

In a previous study, Auberry (2018) examined how literacy education and its management system improve students' ability to identify fake news in a model school. Furthermore, Maulida and Suriansyah (2019) also researched the management of literacy culture in elementary schools. They concluded that schools with good literacy culture management system tend to have much more achievements than schools that did not implement literacy culture program. Although the impacts of literacy culture management have been examined previously, however, little is known for the aspects of planning, organization, habituation, and controlling implemented in the program. In our knowledge, there is no study evaluating literacy management program in primary schools in Central Java area, Indonesia. The advantage is that this study can enrich the scientific repertories of cultural literacy programs in each region.

Based on these reviews, the formulation of the problem in this research is how to implement literacy culture management in elementary schools. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the management of literacy culture in elementary schools.

Literature review

The development of a literacy culture has been greatly assisted by the government and community. As the research findings of Srimulyo et al. (2020) who obtained data that the government has made efforts to develop a literacy culture through Community Reading Parks, although the implementation has not been optimal. This is due to budget constraints, lack of information, and low public awareness of literacy culture. This finding is correlated with this study, especially in the discussion of developing a literacy culture. The difference lies on the application of the literacy culture where the previous findings are applied in the community, while this research was carried out in elementary schools.

Other findings are also almost similar to this study. Suryawati et al. (2018) also examined the implementation of the School Literacy Movement (SLM) in junior high school students. The data showed that schools have pioneered the implementation of SLM, but SLM has not been implemented by all teachers in the school which agreed with Suryawati et al. The similarities are in the implementation of the SLM, while the differences are in the research subjects. This study chose elementary schools as research subjects, while the research of Suryawati et al. (2018) set secondary school as the subject of the study. The researcher has two reasons why elementary schools are the subject of this research. The first reason is that elementary school is the most basic level of formal education in Indonesia. Second, the primary school level aims to provide basic knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are useful for students. These two reasons are in accordance with the mandate of the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia in 1945 Number 20 of 2003 on the national education system. Meanwhile, secondary education is a continuation of basic education. The characters of junior/high school students are to have better knowledge and interest in learning. They already know and master a lot of information compared to elementary school age students. Literacy programs implemented in junior/high school tend to be successful. This is in line with research conducted by Porat et al. (2018) where junior high school students show high self-confidence in implementing literacy programs in their school.

Kurniasih et al. (2017) said the same thing. The research findings state that there are at least two components in the implementation of literacy culture, namely planning and actuating. This research has the addition of two components in the implementation of literacy culture. The addition is in the form of an organizing and controlling component. Thus, this research has four components in the implementation of literacy culture, namely planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling. The components used in this study become icons and it departs from previous findings. The research findings will be comprehensive and rich in information so that it will produce new theories as to the implementation of literacy culture in elementary schools.

By comparing several previous findings, this study has several unique and striking differences. First, this research is focused on elementary schools. Several previous findings have determined that junior high schools are the research sample. As previously discussed, basic education has different characteristics from secondary education. Primary education students need special attention so that they like literacy and aware of the importance of literacy for themselves so that they will get used to cultivate literacy programs in the future. Real facts in society show that elementary school age children are less concerned with literacy and have low interest in reading.

Second, this study focuses on four components of management literacy culture, namely Planning, Organizing, Actuating, and Controlling (POAC). These four components are the key to the implementation of school management, both in primary, secondary, and tertiary education. If the implementation of management does not adopt all of these components, the school cannot run well. This is because POAC is used by an institution to achieve a goal to be achieved.

Materials and methods

Research design

This research is a mixed study. Mixed method research involves “the collection or analysis of quantitative and qualitative data in one study in which data are collected simultaneously or sequentially, given priority, and involve data integration” (Creswell, 2014). Through data integration, mixed method can respond to the research questions in a more meaningful way. The mixed-method was chosen because this research expects to obtain information about the implementation of literacy culture management in elementary schools. This research intends to explore the participants' views (qualitative) then it is analyzed based on the wide sample (quantitative). This research then intends to gain the quantitative statistics from the sample, and then conduct interviews and observations towards some individuals to explain in detail the result gained (O'Cathain et al., 2007).

This research used mixed-methods sequential explanatory. In this research, explanatory sequential and quantitative data were analyzed according to the design specified then continued with collecting qualitative data and its analysis. On the data interpretation, this research explains that the qualitative data describes what is obtained from the quantitative research result.

Participants

The subjects of this research are the principals, teachers, and students in public elementary schools Simo, Boyolali, Central Java, Indonesia. This research decided on the participants because they are the executors of the implementation of literacy culture programs at schools. Besides, the principals and the teachers are the ones who are responsible for developing the students’ literacy at schools.

This study used a purposive sampling technique. This sampling technique is also called the judgment sampling technique, which means deliberate sample selection from a study based on the quality of samples (Etikan et al., 2015). By applying the purposive sampling technique, this research applied the Boyolali area as the population of this study with a focus on elementary schools. This area was chosen because several schools in the area have become as the models for school literacy management and movement. This research analyzed the required information before finding the people who were considered insightful, experienced, and willing to provide knowledge until the data were deemed sufficiently complete, comprehensive, and valid (Tongco, 2007).

This research was carried out from January 2021 to November 2021. This period was chosen because it was the beginning of the semester to set the school programs (semester program, annual program, and daily program). Besides, this period is considered as an effective time for meeting between the principals, teachers, school committee, and students’ parents.

Data collection techniques

Data were collected through several techniques, including interviews, documentation, and questionnaires. The first thing done by this research was distributing the questionnaire to the respondents. The questionnaire technique was used to determine the views of the principal, teachers, and students. This research distributed the online questionnaire through Google form. It was done because this is a friendly platform for the respondents (flexible time and place). This research was collecting the questionnaire in one month at the beginning of the research. The respondents answered the questionnaire about 60 min.

The questionnaire instrument has been divided into two topics, namely school literacy culture and management (planning, implementation, organizing, and controlling). The first questionnaire focuses on school literacy culture. Questionnaire items addressed to teachers amounted to seven statements, questionnaire items for school principals amounted to 12 statements, while for students there were 11 statements. Meanwhile, the questionnaire that focuses on the management of literacy culture consists of 33 statements and has been divided into four components. The planning component is 17 statements, implementation is five statements, organizing is six statements, and control is five statements. Questionnaires on management were addressed to teachers and students. In preparing the questionnaire, this research used a Likert scale with four categories, including strongly agree (4), agree (3), disagree (2), and strongly disagree (1). The description of each category is as follows: strongly agree (SA), agree (S), disagree (D), and strongly disagree (SD). The determination of the questionnaire is carried out by considering the category of the questionnaire assessment interval.

Next, this research conducted interviews with the respondents. An in-depth interview was used in this research. The in-depth interview questions asked depends on the interviewer to reveal more about the management of the SLM in the sample elementary schools. At least, there were nine items of interview questions submitted to the respondents. Some of the points that became the topic of the interview were school management and governance, community participation, student activities, school facilities, role models, teacher activities, school programs, classroom activities, and community participation. These interviews were addressed to teachers, school principals, and students. Interviews were conducted directly to the respondents. The method used for interviews is a guided-interview. The guided-interview focuses on the subject or interview areas, however, they can be revised after the interview because new insight appeared after the interview was conducted. Other important matters related to the research discussion are continued after the main points have been asked to the respondents.

The interview was conducted face-to-face with the respondents (principals, teachers, and students). This research used an open interview. The technique used in this interview was a semi-structured interview. This technique was chosen because it can develop the questions and discuss the issue. During the interview, the researcher introduced herself first. Then the researcher delivered the questions, took notes, and recorded them as proofs. The interview lasted for one until 2 h in one meeting. It was agreed by the researcher and the respondents in the time contract to accommodate the respondents' other activities and not to burden the respondents. This is in line with Field and Morse (Holloway and Wheeler, 1996) that an interview must be done in 1 h. If one interview is done more than 3 h, the researcher needs to re-check the results, and has to re-write what is needed without changing the interview content, and also has to keep the respondents’ identity. The researcher also recorded interview activity by using a voice recorder on the handphone.

In addition, documents study is carried out to trace administrative traces in the form of photos or documents regarding school literacy culture planning. The researchers received documentation in the form of pictures of each step of the implementation of school literacy culture. Each step is represented by one image that best describes the implementation of literacy culture. There are some reasons why the researcher used documents study. The reason is that the documents can be easily obtained and provide rich information. This reason is in accordance with Guba and Lincoln (2005) that the documents are always easily obtained and become strong information to reflect the situation and can be re-analyzed without making some changes in it.

Data validity techniques

During data collection, this research checked the validity of the data. The instrument was validated based on three things, namely content, construct, and empirical validation. Content validity is intended to determine whether the contents of a measuring instrument are representative or not. Content validity is an opinion, either your own opinion or other's opinion. The construct validity is a special abstraction and generalization and is a concept created specifically for scientific needs and has a limited meaning. The non-test instrument used can be said to be valid at least if it has met the content validity determined by expert judgment. The things that need to be validated are the content of literacy culture management, the use of language in each instrument, as well as management evaluation. Content validation is done by asking for consideration from experts in the field of management and literacy. The expert assessors selected were lecturers from Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FTTE, known as FKIP) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) with expertise in the management and literacy. The assessment of the selected language expert is the Indonesian language lecturer FKIP UNS. The selected evaluation expert appraiser is a lecturer from FKIP UNS evaluating school management.

The steps to obtain empirical validity of the instrument include reliability testing between panels by calculating the coefficient of agreement between observers (panel), which is also known as the concordance coefficient. The validity of the instrument is sought empirically by testing the total item validity known as the Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The results of the data validity test from the expert appraiser obtained several things to be improved by this research. The main focus is the improvement of content on school management and language improvement. The language improvement contains more flexible and less rigid arrangement. Expert appraisers also provide input for using language that is easily understood by respondents. Other inputs contain differentiating sentences addressed to principals, teachers, and students.

After being tested for content validity, this research continued to test empirically on respondents in the population area (but outside the research sample). The empirical test results will be analyzed again by calculating the results through the product moment correlation formula (Karl Pearson). This calculation is only carried out on the questionnaire instrument. Meanwhile, the interview instrument was still being tested empirically to test the language readability and content understanding of the respondents outside the sample. Then, the results of the questionnaire instrument validity test were reanalyzed to test its reliability. Based on the results of both tests (validity and reliability), data were obtained that all items of the questionnaire statement were worthy of being used as research instruments.

Next, this research deploys all the instruments by doing the actual research. During the research, this research tried to explore things that were not obtained from interviews or questionnaires by analyzing several important documents from the school.

Data analysis techniques

There are two kinds of data analyses in this research; i.e. quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis. The quantitative analysis was done using descriptive statistics. This type of analysis is important to be done because it gives detailed visualization in this research. Descriptive statistic was found in the average questionnaire result from the respondents. The result then was counted and obtained the average to acknowledge how many participants answer strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree with the statements in the questionnaire. The qualitative data analysis in this research adopted Miles and Huberman's interactive model starting from data reduction, data display, to drawing conclusion (Miles and Huberman, 1994). The process will be described as below.

First, data reduction is a selection process, focusing, simplifying, grouping, and transforming the raw data from the field reports. Reduction is done continuously during the research. During the data collection, the reduction (summarizing, coding, taking notes, etc.) was conducted until the report is completed. The data reduction done in this research was by grouping the data according to the research subject and which ones were not. After grouping, the researcher maintained the data needed.

Second, data display presents the data in form of narrative text, graph, or diagram systematically and easy to understand, then it leads to the conclusion. Miles and Huberman (1994) limit the data display as the information/data arranged that can lead to a conclusion. The data display can be in form of images, tables, or narration. All was done to combine the information. The table displayed is the summary of the questionnaire result. The narration written describes the questionnaire table and the summary of the interview result with the respondents. The images displays are the images from each step the management of literacy culture applied during the research. Therefore, this research can observe what has happened and decide the next process using the data displayed.

Third, according to Miles and Huberman (1994), drawing conclusion is a complete configure activity. This process aims to obtain the meaning of the data collected by finding similarities and differences to conclude the answer to the problem that existed. The conclusion is also verified during the research. The last conclusion not only happens during the data collection but also needs to be verified so the data is accountable. After the data is displayed and described, this research obtained the answer to the problem. Then, from the answer, this research can create a general conclusion and can generalize the research result.

Results

The findings of the study were gained through a series of steps. To find out the management of literacy culture, the researcher tested each management principle to see how well it was applied. The steps are planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling. The details of each of these steps are as follows:

Planning

In management, planning involves defining goals and deciding how to accomplish them. All management functions begin with planning, which is the most important step. The following is the result of distributing a questionnaire on literacy culture management planning:

Based on the questionnaire analysis, it can be seen that most respondents agree with the statements. Table data 1 informs about the planning made by the principals. Bellows are the explanations:

The principals' planning was started by analyzing the internal and external school environment factors. This statement focuses on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats sourced from the two factors. The method used in the analysis is SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). Strength method was used by analyzing the internal and external school environment, such as the quality and strengths owned by the teachers at schools or teachers' achievements, students' achievement in writing (internal environment), and the parents' supports for the students (external environment). The weaknesses method was done by analyzing the weaknesses that exist at school. The principals discussed some weaknesses; such as the obstacles that happened to all school elements, then they tried to solve the problem that happened at schools. The opportunities method was done by analyzing the chances or opportunities taken by the school, such as enrolling in literacy competitions in the regional area, the opportunities to join a literacy event that is held in the Boyolali area, and other activities. The last method is threats. Every institution has obstacles or threats from the internal or external school area. In this case, the principals have to anticipate every threat coming, such as the inability to join annual literacy activity threats because they don't have qualified human resources. Therefore, the schools have to act seriously to prepare the second plan so they can join every literacy culture activity in Boyolali.

Internal and external environment analysis becomes a starting point for the school to determine the purpose of the literacy culture program. From the questionnaire data, most teachers agreed that the principals have already determined the purpose of the school programs. This data is in line with the interview result. The teachers stated that the principals have decided the vision, mission, and school purpose in Curriculum (2013). The principals have considered the internal and external school evaluation in making the vision, mission, and school purpose. Not only deciding the purposes, but also the long-term and short-term plans, such as basic literacy activity plan, providing library, media, etc. This determination is going with the arrangement of accomplishment program strategies, such as providing books, giving socialization, and making a team. The strategies used are one book one student activity, reading competition, seminar, and the others. From the interview, the respondents stated that the principals shared their vision, mission, and school purposes with the stakeholders. They also had coordination with the teachers and education authorities through the teacher's meeting. The meeting is conducted every new academic year when the teachers and the principals arrange the policy cover resources, facilities, budgeting, and infrastructure to support the literacy culture program. Furthermore, the principals formulate the accomplishment strategies, impact, and literacy culture program evaluation. Then, the schools distribute the program to parents to get their supports.

The next planning, the principals arrange the strategies to evaluate/assess, and follow up the program implementation. There are some assessment indicators to measure the success of the literacy culture program; they are students' reading habits, academic and non-academic achievements, the increase of students' writing, etc. Furthermore, the principals have to determine the human resources to conduct the program and librarian. The principals, as the planners, also have to arrange the budgeting source and facilities to support the program such as books, newspapers, electronic media, and others. The last thing done by the principals is making the policy together with the teachers about the program. One of the policies is literacy activity in the teaching-learning process, and includes this program into teacher's lesson plan. These data are in line with the interview that the teachers directly include the literacy activity in the lesson plan and it relates with the Curriculum 2013 as this curriculum is implemented in Indonesia. The literacy indicators are adjusted with students' characteristics and the potential of the region. These indicators are expected to solve the challenge and manage literacy learning in the classroom. Finally, literacy indicators can be adjusted to the characteristics of students from each region by looking at the region's potential area indicators are expected to answer challenges and manage literacy learning in the classroom to aim to improve academic and non-academic achievement in the learning process in schools (Table 1).

Table 1

Response of respondents about planning aspects of literacy culture management.

No.	Statement	SA	A	D	SD
1	The principal analyzes the internal environment in the form of strengths and weaknesses of the school.	32	4	0	0
2	The principal analyzes the external environment in the form of opportunities and threats from the school.	30	6	0	0
3	The principal determines the goals of literacy culture development.	31	5	0	0
4	The school principal sets long and short term plans.	32	4	0	0
5	The principal makes plans for activities such as basic literacy, library, media, visual, technology, and spiritual.	30	6	0	0
6	The principal developed a strategy for achieving preparation including providing reading books, socializing, and forming the Literacy team.	32	4	0	0
7	The principal formulates strategies for achieving literacy culture programs (basic literacy, library literacy, media literacy, visual literacy, technology literacy, club literacy, one child one book activities, class libraries, and reading contests, meet the author, seminars and literacy workshops).	29	7	0	0
8.	The principal formulates strategies for achieving follow-up to the literacy culture programs including writing synopsis, short stories, essays, novels, and literacy contests.	30	6	0	0
9	The principal formulates strategies for achieving the results/impact analysis of literacy culture programs.	32	4	0	0
10	The principal formulates strategies for achieving literacy culture program evaluations.	29	7	0	0
11	The principal sets indicators of the achievement of literacy culture program success through increasing students' reading fondness.	35	1	0	0
12	The principal determines the indicators of the success of the literacy culture programs through the number of students' writing posted.	29	7	0	0
13	The principal determines the indicators of the success of the literacy culture programs through enhancing students' academic and non-academic achievements.	31	5	0	0
14	The principal determines the human resources needed (teachers, librarians, subject teachers, ICT teachers, and special teachers).	30	6	0	0
15	The school principal determines financial resources	30	6	0	0
16	The principal determines the facilities and infrastructure to support the literacy culture programs (Literature books, class libraries, newspapers, magazines, electronic media, LCD, and projectors).	31	5	0	0
17	The school makes literacy culture program policies to teachers.	30	6	0	0
	Average score (%)	85.45	15.55	0	0

Note: SA = 85.45; A = 15.55; D = 0; SD = 0.

Organizing

In addition to the results of planning, this research also leads to the organizational aspect. The results are as follows.

Table 2 explains that most of the teachers agree with every statement given in the questionnaire. Every statement in Table 2 shows that the principals usually manage the activities which support literacy programs at school. The school has worked together with Jawa Pos (newspaper publisher) and Dinas Pendidikan (educational authority) to share information and collaborate, for example becoming speakers, trainers, and publisher agents for teachers' and students’ writing. To realize the program, they have made a literacy team and divided the job description and responsibilities for the members. This is in line with the interview result which explains that the school has already had a literacy team. This team has been made for around one year. This team optimizes the school activities so each member works on their job. There will be a rotation role for the members so each person will experience different job for each program. The rotation is done based on the needed, it usually happens at the beginning of the academic year (odd semester). The schools also conduct training to improve the human resources, and occasionally rotate the library members to give a new experience in the literacy program. The training gives the teachers new insight into literacy and they can implement it in their school.

Table 2

Response of respondents about organizing aspect of literacy culture management.

No.	Statement	SA	A	D	SD
1	The school plans collaborative activities with Jawa Pos and the Office of Education.	34	2	0	0
2	The school principal forms the Literacy TEAM.	33	3	0	0
3	The school principal divides the duties and authority of each member of the Literacy TEAM.	31	5	0	0
4	The principal conducts training and resource development activities.	33	3	0	0
5	The principal rotates the library staffs.	35	1	0	0
	Average score (%)	92.22	7.78	0	0

Note: SA = 92.22; A = 7.78; D = 0; SD = 0.

This finding shows that the teachers have implemented each statement on the organizing aspect and it is in a good category. Some activities in the organizing stage are distributing tasks, deciding the rights and responsibilities of each person, and classifying the activities into some sub-parts. In class, teachers are fully responsible to control literacy culture management. It includes, but not limit to preparing topics, materials, and display boards. In preparing the topics, teachers should pay attention to (1) the potential of students, (2) similarities with local wisdom, (3), benefits for students, and 4) allocation of available time. Literacy materials can be both in the form of textbooks and non-textbooks. Meanwhile, the display board aimed to appreciate and share the literacy results.

Actuating

In the management of literacy culture, the step that will determine the success of the program lies in the implementation aspect. If the implementation is carried out according to plan, then the results obtained will be in accordance with initial expectations. In this study, there were several statements submitted to the respondents. Some of these statements and their results are presented in Table 3.

Table 3

Response of respondents about acting aspect of literacy culture management.

No.	Statement	SA	A	D	SD
1	The principal conducts outreach activities to teachers that are carried out at the start of literacy culture programs.	32	4	0	0
2	The school principal conducts outreach activities to parents conducted to ask for parental support in literacy activities at school.	28	8	0	0
3	The principal conducts outreach activities for students conducted to provide education about the aims and benefits of literacy.	30	6	0	0
4	The principal gives motivation to all teachers, library administrators, and students.	31	5	0	0
5	The school principal drives literacy culture programs through reading challenges and literacy competitions.	29	7	0	0
6	The principal gives awards to teachers and outstanding students.	29	7	0	0
	Average score (%)	82.87	17.13	0	0

Note: SA = 82.87; A = 17.13; D = 0; SD = 0.

Table 3 illustrates that most of the teachers agree to every statement in the questionnaire about actuating aspects of literacy culture management. It means the implementation of management of literacy culture has been implemented well. Here is the explanation for Table 3 about actuating aspect of literacy culture management. The first series is an introduction. The questionnaire data emphasize that the principals are used to conduct internal introductions about the literacy culture program. The data from the questionnaire also highlight that most of the teachers strongly agree that the principals are used to do socialization with the students and parents. This is in line with the interview finding where the principals have already introduced the literacy program to the teachers, students, and parents at the beginning of the semester. This activity aims to gain support from the parents towards the implementation of the literacy program. On the other hand, the students do this activity as a part of education about the purposes and the benefits of literacy. The activities done by the teachers and students are similar. The teachers give a reading example before the class started, while the students are getting used to reading about 15 min before, in the middle, and at the end of the lesson. The students are also asked to write and continue the text being read by writing the title, author's name, and the content in a brief. The teachers maximize the reading strategies in the classroom (read-aloud, guided-reading, shared-reading). As a habit, the teachers provide both fiction and non-fiction books to enrich the students' understanding. The schools also prepare the reading room in the library to support the literacy program.

The teachers also agree with the statement where the principals make support to succeed the literacy culture program by giving reading challenges and literacy competition. The support has been realized by enrolling students and teachers in literacy competition events in Boyolali. From these activities, the teachers and the students are expected to receive achievements, confidence, and good outcomes; either it relates to literacy or not.

The development phase came next. Through the preceding introduction, the development of literacy culture programs would be well realized. Development was focused on both teachers and students. Self-development encompassed reading newspapers, going to the library twice a week, participating one book per month program, and participating in scientific article writing. Of the several programs established, the principals also gave rewards to outstanding teachers and students as an appreciation and to motivate them to be more enthusiastic. Students could visit the school library for at least 1 h a week (can be done both during relevant learning). Students were invited to take part in the literacy festival program and visited book fairs or other literacy-based celebrations.

Student work, such as poems, rhymes, story summaries, drawings, handicrafts, and practicum performance, was another way to create a literacy culture. The display board was used to teach students how to develop their literacy skills. Students would obtain more literacy awareness if more work was shown in the classroom. Development was also manifested in the form of school facilities. For example, libraries, posters in each classroom, corridors, and other areas of the school, and reading corners in each class. A librarian used the available resources to provide literacy services in the library. The library administration was performed manually. Visitors, for example, should sign the guest book by hand. Furthermore, the membership cards were not electronic ones yet.

To optimize the programs, the schools also involved the participation of other parties (parents, alumni, and society) to develop a school literacy culture. The schools ensured the books were accessible in the library and the school. Literacy culture was carried out not only in the classroom but also outside of it, such as in the library. The librarian was in charge of providing visitors with literacy services. The forms of services include: (1) arranging the reading room, (2) preparing the guest book, and (3) displaying the library collections on the existing bookshelves. Then, library utilization which includes: (1) providing circulation services, (2) reading on the spot, (3) referral services, (4) literature search, (5) presenting the latest information, (6) audio presentation, (7) reproduction services, and internet services.

The schools strove to develop a literacy culture through fundraising for businessman or other funders outside the school environment. The schools also promoted literacy activities to parents through training in reading aloud, training for parents, and promoting reading activities at home. The development of a literacy culture has also been accomplished through the use of online media. To gain community support, the schools created websites and published literacy activities in online media. Other partners, such as regional libraries and the local education office, were also involved in the collaboration.

The third aspect at the implementation stage is teaching. The schools’ literacy teams had a continuing literacy program. Teachers were looking for an effective teaching method to help students develop their literacy skills. They compiled a lesson plan including media and teaching materials. By utilizing the available facilities, teachers could optimize learning and use additional books in all subjects.

Controlling

Controlling is an action of ensuring that school programs are implemented. The main goal of controlling is to keep all processes run smoothly at the planning, acting, and organizing stages.

Table 4 shows that some teachers agree to the controlling of management of literacy culture items. It means that the controlling aspect in the management of literacy culture works well. The data in Table 4 shows that the principals control the implementation of literacy culture in every class. This activity takes place several times and it is conducted every month. The principals encourage and give motivation to the students. Furthermore, the teachers and the principals evaluate the implementation technique at the end of the literacy culture program. The evaluation focuses on the obstacles in conducting the literacy culture program. Next, the third item emphasizes that the principals have already been familiar to evaluate the availability of students’ literacy books, both at school and home.

Table 4

Response of respondents about controlling aspect of literacy culture management.

No.	Statement	SA	A	D	SD
1	The school principal monitors the implementation of the literacy culture programs to each class.	27	9	0	0
2	The school principal evaluates field technical activities in the form of constraints and problems encountered in implementing literacy culture programs.	29	7	0	0
3	The principal evaluates the students' literacy books.	34	2	0	0
4	The school principal follows up through motivating students.	33	3	0	0
5	The principal conducts a monitoring process related to time constraints.	30	6	0	0
	Average score (%)	85	15	0	0

Note: SA = 85; A = 15; D = 0; SD = 0.

Then, the fourth item explains that the principals have conducted a follow-up activity for the literacy program to be held in the future. Therefore, the schools have to motivate the students to read regularly, every day, at school. The last, the principals usually conduct a monitoring process towards the teachers in time management during the literacy program at school. This finding is suitable with the interview result.

In the first step, the principals administered periodic academic supervision. Supervision of the management of literacy culture was carried out by periodic visits to classes once every two weeks or once a month. This activity was done through direct observation of the learning process in the classroom followed by some notes from the supervisor. The following time, the results of the observations were directly reported to the teacher. The supervision aimed to monitor the implementation of literacy culture programs in each class, evaluate technical activities including obstacles encountered in implementing the program, evaluate literacy books used by students, and monitor time constraints.

In the second step, the principal conducts internal control. The principal is responsible for reminding the school staff about their responsibilities as school staff. From observations and interviews with school principals and several teachers regarding literacy culture, many things were revealed with both positive and negative outcomes.

Several positive things have been implemented in terms of management and governance indicators. First, the school principal personally supervises all teachers on a constant schedule, with the results made public at the meeting, and those who are not doing well will be coached individually. Second, the 10% budget of Annual Activity Plans (AAP) is allocated to increase learning. Third, the school shows all elements in preparing the AAP. Fourth, School Activity Plan and Budget (SAPB) are displayed in school for transparency. Fifth, AAP supports extracurricular activities, especially Taekwondo and Drum band. The aspects that have not been implemented, such as supervision frequency, are also insufficient. As a reflective material, this deficiency still needs to be corrected.

Activities that have been carried out in society participation are (1) the parents' association holds regular monthly meetings, (2) the Peers Counselor has savings that are used for student activities, (3) the committee supports the financing of several school activities that are not covered in the SAPB, (4) the development of National Science Olympiad, and (5) parents who have certain expertise according to their profession become the source of activities. For example, soldiers can be used to discipline the students to be more punctual and nurses can teach a healthy lifestyle among students. The limitation is that there are 2–3 passive parents.

Observations and interviews in this study indicated several items, such as maximizing school facilities. Each class has a reading corner, which is facilitated by the parents' association. The classroom is carpeted, which helps students to read while sitting on the floor. The purchase of books accounts for 20% of the budget. Simply, the books and reading corners are prepared by the parents' association. Students may borrow books and take them home. Unfortunately, there are no visiting books in the library; only borrowing books are available. On some tables, there are graffiti made by students. A code is not issued to all teachers.

Experiencing, Interaction, Communication and Reflection (EICR) activity is already underway in which the display of students’ work also already exists. Adequate classroom learning resources are available. Classrooms are decorated with flat shapes. When a student moves forward, the student behind is not active. Students are freed to work independently so that some students cannot work properly, for example, finishes are not concurrent and some are wrongly cutting.

From the explanations above, it can be seen that four management steps have already been conducted by the principals and teachers to maximize the management of literacy culture in elementary schools in Simo, Boyolali, Central Java, Indonesia. The chart 1 below illustrates the result.

Chart 1

Literacy culture management achievement chart.

Chart 1 illustrates that literacy culture in elementary school in Simo, Boyolali has been organized well. Every management step produces a maximum average. The diagram indicates the respondents (principals and teachers) can realize every step thoroughly. The maximum result is achieved by the organizing stage because the schools manage the literacy team and choose the competent resource (teachers). Therefore, the management of the literacy program at school is manageable and works well. Meanwhile, the implementation or actuating stage is the lowest step achieved in the management. However, the gap in the average result of the actuating/implementation stage is not too far compared to the other steps. The score is quite safe and controllable. The implementation stage is often different from what had been planned. The implementation usually follows the condition in the field. Sometimes, the implementation is different from the initial plan. However, in this research, the implementation of literacy culture works well. All the stakeholders at school are getting used be with the programs planned before. The literacy program at school is conducted flexibly as the school needs.

This finding is in line with the aim of the research. This research aims to analyze the implementation of the management of literacy culture. The implementation of management consists of analyzing, organizing, actuating, and controlling. The alignment of the research objectives with the results of the study can be seen in every step and the result gained. This research reveals that the principals have already implemented the management of literacy culture optimally. The optimal management is obtained because every management step is conducted. In the planning stage, the principals have successfully formulated the vision, mission, and purpose of the school and the indicators of literacy activity on the teachers’ lesson plan by applying SWOT. On the organizing step, the principals have created a literacy team at school and prepared the job description. In the actuating stage, the principals have introduced, developed, and taught the literacy program to the teachers and students. On the controlling stage, the principals are habituated to control in a certain period to teachers and staff. Generally, this research has produced findings that are aligned with the aim of this study.

Discussion

Literacy culture planning was designed and outlined in the form of a work program, organizational structure, a solid literacy team to create a culture or habit of literacy. To support literacy culture, the schools implemented 15 min reading program. The follow-up of this activity was the development of a school literacy climate. This is an important principle in literacy because it is evidence that the program is well integrated, between schools and communities (Kern, 2000). Reading before learning helped both teachers and students improve their skills and interest in reading since it has become a habit (Lastiningsih et al., 2017). Unfortunately, some previous researchers failed in the habituation stage (Mariana and Anggreni, 2019). This was due to the assumption that the learning process is the most important thing among other activities at school. Previous research also reported that reading habits were not optimal because students found it difficult to find reading books that suited their interests (Perbowosari, 2018). Meanwhile, development can be implemented in writing activity, both scientific and simple writing. Writing scientific papers helps students and teachers reflecting on their experiences and encourages critical abilities (Ibarreta and McLeod, 2004). This is relevant to the objectives of the literacy program initiated by the Ministry of Education and Culture, namely to optimize literacy culture, especially in writing and reading activities so that students recognize alphabets better.

The results of this study correspond to the results of previous studies. The planning stage covered activities to determine the objectives of the program, time, cost, and the number of resources. The planning process in schools was carried out collaboratively by involving all school officers. This participation created a feeling of belonging so that they were motivated to realize the program until succeeded. The results of previous studies reported that the participation of all school officers significantly influenced the success of the program (Sajawandi et al., 2020).

Planning is the process of determining the goals and steps to achieve them. The planning stage functions to determine the objectives or action framework needed to achieve goals by determining strategies, policies, tactics, and programs. This is associated with the findings of previous researchers that literacy program planning consists of the objectives, the program set, the strategies used, and the resources involved. Research conducted in Kenya reported that program design is carried out by developing program functions, establishing feedback strategies, and targeting support from various parties (Piper et al., 2018). The results showed that the implementation of the literacy program is getting better and more consistent. This is also supported by previous researchers that program design, both assessment and follow-up, must be carried out consistently so that the goals of literacy can be realizable (Jefferies et al., 2018).

Based on the findings of this study, the organizing process was divided into three stages, namely the stage of determining, grouping, and arranging activities. One of the activities during the deciding stage was collecting resource data. The researchers then used the grouping stage to establish an organizational structure for the literacy team and assign tasks to each team member. It is important to have a specific organizational structure for the literacy team to strengthen team relationships because of the teamwork between teams, program implementation can run well. This is following the results of previous research, which found that the relationship between team members’ relationship support the organization as a whole by allowing them to assist one another and providing advice for program success (Fogarty et al., 2017; McCarthy and Sheehan, 2014).

Furthermore, at the organizing stage, some activities were carried out by compiling a budget for the literacy program, determining the time and place for program implementation, collaborating with the Jawa Pos and education officers, and rotating team members. Previous researchers reported that the institution's collaboration with school residents was needed as a form of contribution to the school (Garavaglia et al., 2021). Rotation or systemic rearrangement was used to offer service to students. Furthermore, deciding on a budget is a crucial matter for carrying out the program. The findings of this study are consistent with previous studies in which the use of a budget is the first step toward a program's progress. The funds will be used to purchase equipment and supplies for literacy programs, as well as for other purposes. To make the right choices with joint planning, it is important to have a strong position in assessing and classifying the budget plan. Decisions are made not only in the budget, but also in other activities, such as teacher assignment exchange, teachers and student's participation, and compensation required streamlining the program. According to previous research, planning is done to make decisions, participation, compensation, and is geared toward the teacher mobilization process (Zoogah, 2017).

Acting

Literacy culture management was acted in three stages: habituation, development, and teaching. The habituation stage has been well-implemented. There are a variety of programs that have an effect on student motivation and achievement in school. Students were encouraged to read regularly as a result of the habit formation, which included teaching them about reading as an enjoyable hobby and expanding their vocabulary. Reading books is an activity that takes advantage of the school library's position. Many previous studies have proposed this habit since the study's findings show that when literacy habituation is done regularly in schools, students' academic achievement improves (Banat and Pierewan, 2019). The importance of literacy skills is emphasized especially the summarizing and writing book synopsis tasks. This leads to another activity, such as storytelling. This activity is enjoyable and allows for language exchange, creativity stimulation, and the integration of cognitive dimensions in the growth of literacy skills (Bežilová, 2019; Cremin et al., 2018; Peck, 1989; Phillips, 2000). The teachers helped students to develop a habit of reading. According to Sadeghi et al. (2021), the teacher can provide an example of good habituation in accordance with his role as an effective teacher. The aim was to enhance students' comprehension of reading, making responses, and student independence through strategies (Graves and Brown, 2011). The technique was used to inspire students to participate in natural activities. Student behavior resulting from teacher-generated techniques, according to Gallant, should be experienced naturally as a way of encouraging children's participation in learning (Maureen et al., 2020). The schools' facilities were also varied. A library, reading corner, and reading area with a diverse selection of books are available. To build literacy programs, the schools included the public participation.

After reading the book, the development stage was completed by writing remarks. The teacher would then regularly review the results. School literacy culture programs may also benefit from book review activities. As a result, students are becoming increasingly interested in and willing to improve themselves through learning, such as participating in writing competitions. Schools and their services would not hesitate to reward students who succeed in this competition. Students are becoming more positive about engaging in several literacy programs in schools as a result of the incentives. These findings are consistent with previous studies, which found that when students were given extra attention from teachers, their learning assessment results improved. Because of the penalties and rewards at school, students are becoming more responsible for their roles as students.

The teaching stage was utilized with several indicators such as the ability to respond to questions orally or in writing, the ability to optimize learning media, student performance displayed in class, appreciation for student achievement, and the results of student literacy competitions. Students also had a larger space to access information from the teacher and book reading material while they were in the classroom. Previous findings revealed that literacy was implemented in the classroom by involving students in the creation of simple works (Castelli et al., 2014). Previous research review indicated that the integration of literacy programs with teaching has a positive impact on the literacy achievement of all school members (LeBlanc, 2021; Nuryana et al., 2020).

Teachers used a range of techniques when instructing students. The technique should be adjusted depending on the form of literacy practice. Literacy activities such as reading, for example, would be related to language learning using a framework that can directly influence the students’ learning. Other researchers has used print media as a literacy program optimization strategy for peer learning, family engagement, and self-participation (Britt et al., 2018). According to previous studies, students' duty in teaching is to master knowledge using a range of skills (Baji et al., 2018; Chen et al., 2014). Because of the vast amount of informations they have gathered, students would have a better understanding of problem-solving.

Control and supervision are inextricably linked. Controlling practices are very close to reviewing the systems that have been put in place. The controlling stage including (1) habituation, development, and teaching activities; (2) the effectiveness and the impact of maximizing the use of school facilities and infrastructure; (3) impact of school library management on literacy development; (4) impact of reading room procurement; and (5) impact of parental involvement.

Previous studies concluded that there was a correlation between parental involvement and academic achievement (Boonk et al., 2018). Parents expected that literacy programs in their schools would help their children's success, thus, they fully supported the program. In line with this study, parental involvement has a positive effect on academic achievement (Hill and Tyson, 2009; Patall et al., 2008). Moreover, Stenseel (2006) reveals in his study that home literacy environment affects the children's literacy development in regarding to academic achievement in elementary school. In line with that, another study informs that parental management style at home can assist the implementation of teacher literacy programs so that teachers are assisted in controlling students (Sherbine, 2019). The assessment of literacy program activities had been agreed upon as a crucial component in achieving student academic achievement (Graves and Brown, 2011).

In addition to parents, there was also an effect on the availability of reading space. The special and enjoyable reading space designed for students would draw students' interest. It is important in this study because it showed that providing space for students read and write is a strategy for schools to improve student comprehension. Furthermore, the presence of facilities and infrastructure in the form of a reading space can affect student disciplinary attitudes since students are directly responsible for maintaining the space (Draper et al., 2010).

Control cannot be separated from all stakeholders in the school to provide constructive criticism and suggestions. Control is also linked to developing students' implicit awareness to assess program satisfaction (Fogarty et al., 2017). Therefore, teachers need to provide assistance and control regularly for the implementation of the program. With feedback and criticism from the control stage, schools can make follow-up plans for literacy programs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, overall, this research demonstrates that all aspects in the literacy culture management such as planning, organizing, acting, and controlling programs evaluated in this study have been implemented following good management practices. This finding represents a good leadership quality of elementary schools in the area of Simo, Boyolali, Central Java Indonesia.

This study provides a grounding for much needed future research into literacy culture management by management setting. First, the limitation of this study is that it employed too wide research subjects, necessitating the careful selection of important data with high accuracy is needed. In suggestion, future studies could identify topics of a smaller scope, it is better to limit the subject area such as only two schools, so the researcher will reduce the data easier. Second, follow-up studies could broaden the data-corpus analyse to identify or measure literacy culture management of school. Third, qualitative descriptive approaches are less capable of in-depth data analysis, therefore, the future researchers can use the case study approach to collect abundant and detailed data from the research findings. Fourth, the researcher suggests conducting the research topic about literacy culture in secondary school or university, therefore, the future research can use a case study on an institution to have a thorough study.

In implication, this research gives theoretical and practical implications. The theoretical implication is the implementation of management of literacy culture that consists of four stages i.e. planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling. While the practical implication in this research is that this research can be a suggestion for the teachers and principals to improve the management of literacy culture existed.

In recommendation, this study includes detailed data for each stage of management, enabling the findings of this study to serve as a guide for any educational institution involved in developing literacy programs. The activities that are carried out are also various. The outcome has an impact on student academic performance. Consequently, the results of this study can be used by the principal and the local education government to assess a school's performance. Teachers can share information about the implementation of literacy culture in their schools through the Teacher Working Group (TWG) program. Meanwhile, for the other researcher, this finding can be a reference to conduct the same topic study but with different research methods, research subjects, and different places. Similar research will enrich the information about literacy culture theory.

Declarations

Author contribution statement

Sri Marmoah: Conceived and designed the experiments; Performed the experiments; Analyzed and interpreted the data; Contributed reagents, materials, analysis tools or data; Wrote the paper.

Jenny Indrastoeti Siti Poerwanti: Conceived and designed the experiments; Analyzed and interpreted the data; Contributed reagents, materials, analysis tools or data; Wrote the paper.

Suharno: Conceived and designed the experiments; Performed the experiments; Analyzed and interpreted the data; Wrote the paper.

Funding statement

This work was supported by Universitas Sebelas Maret (260/UN27.22/HK.07.00/2021).

Data availability statement

Data included in article/supplementary material/referenced in article.

Declaration of interests statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

No additional information is available for this paper.