Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9, 934-946 2025 Publisher: Learning Gate DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate History: Received: 31 July 2025; Revised: 11 August 2025; Accepted: 14 August 2025; Published: 15 September 2025 * Correspondence: endang.sri.fip@um.ac.id The effectiveness of driving school committee at the primary school level Endang Sri Redjeki1*, Leni Gonadi2 1Pendidikan Luar Sekolah, Fakultas Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia; endang.sri.fip@um.ac.id (E.S.R.). 2Departemen Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, Fakultas Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia; leni.gonadi.fip@um.ac.id (L.G.). Abstract: While existing research on school committees has emphasized capacity-building and evaluative measures, their role in policy formation remains poorly understood. This study, therefore, aims to explore the influence of school committees on primary school policy development in Malang City, Indonesia. This research employed qualitative methods to collect data from 22 informants representing management of school committees across 26 primary schools. Key elements of committee formation were examined, including committee composition, ownership of the school committee decree (SK), tenure, and operational background of the committee. The findings indicate that the schools have not fully met the key elements necessary for establishing effective committees, even though they are designated as trigger schools. Nevertheless, this did not diminish the commitment and motivation of the school committees to contribute to the development of the schools. The results suggest that, despite structural challenges, school committees play a significant role in shaping school policies. Furthermore, the study highlights the need for an institutional improvement program aimed at strengthening the understanding of school committees regarding their rights and obligations, which is essential for the success of the school development initiatives. Keywords: Committees, Driving school, Elements of committee, Primary school. 1. Introduction One of the recent efforts made by the Indonesian Ministry of Education to improve the quality of education is to transform formal schools into driving schools, a series of independent learning programs. The previous transformation program was a series of independent learning programs, and an Indonesian education policy was launched by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture [1]. The independent learning program provides flexibility for educational institutions that autonomously run the wheels of education [2]. Therefore, the driving school program is a refinement of the previous school transformation program. The Driving School Program will accelerate public/private schools in all school conditions to move one step further. The program is carried out in stages and integrated with the ecosystem until all schools in Indonesia become Driving Schools [3]. Driving schools bring a new color to the world of education in Indonesia. This program aims to build positive relationships between schools to share good practices from one school to another to realize excellence and equitable distribution of school quality. It can be concluded that the focus of this program is to provide mentoring and training to school principals, teachers, and local governments to create high-quality educational implementation [4] Driving schools, which are also a breakthrough launched by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, jointly aim to improve the quality of education [5]. This program provides an opportunity for schools to be better together and improve the quality of their learning. The driving school program has a mechanism regulated by the Indonesian Ministry of Education; the ministry appoints schools that become driving schools based on predetermined criteria. The https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0232-3685 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3009-8606 935 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate Ministry of Education decides based on criteria by considering the representation of regions that represent the diversity of Indonesia's territory [6]. As is known based on [7], the city of Malang is one of the cities in Indonesia that has passed the Driving School program. A total of 50 formal schools, from Kindergarten (TK) to Senior High School (SMA) and Special Schools (SLB), were appointed by the government as driving schools. In response to the driving school program, one of the goals of the driving school is to create a collaborative climate for stakeholders in the field of education within the scope of schools, local governments, and the central government [8]. It is emphasized that collaboration with the community around the school from parents, community leaders, and the local government is a characteristic of the driving school [9]. The school committee is a form of collaboration between the school community consisting of parents and local community leaders. The school committee is part of the school and contributes positively to realizing school programs. The school committee is a partner in various activities related to the educational aspect [10]. The purpose of being a partner is to be a standard part and have an important role in realizing school programs. For this reason, the school committee involves various parties from the school's internal and external environment. Support from the school's external environment involves the student's parents [11], who are members of the school committee. The school committee performs its functions according to its vision and mission. Every school needs to participate in the committee to fulfill the role of the quality education mandate. The school committee has become part of the school element and a form of actual participation from an organized society. Every formal school in Indonesia has a school committee. Community participation in education management and community participation in the implementation of education are no longer seen as obligations but as rights [12]. In essence, the school committee in each school has the same role. Pioneering the development and development of educational innovations that are more anticipatory towards improving the quality, relevance, and competitiveness of education is part of the role of the school committee [13]. There is little emphasis on driving schools, namely increasing the participation of the community, the corporate world, and other education stakeholders, which is directed at togetherness to shoulder responsibility between the government, the community, and students as part of a dynamic, adaptive, and initiative learning subject that has a positive impact on the role of the driving committee. The committee's role in supporting school programs, especially driving schools, is vital for realizing the vision and mission of driving schools mandated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. The role is slightly different from the school committee; it is generally challenging to manage the driving school committee. In general, schools have partnerships with school committees to improve the quality of education through various programs carried out together so that students can achieve proud achievements [14]. The program is intended to participate in the learning process by becoming a resource person in the classroom and providing financing assistance for procuring learning media. One form of school committee participation is to seek financial assistance from the business world and industry. Approach the community to become resource persons in various school extracurricular activities [10]. Obstacles to increasing community participation in committees include environmental and parental factors and patterns of relationships between communities and parents in finance, academia, and evaluation. The study results show that the obstacles often found in the participation of school committees are that committee administrators rarely attend meetings and parents object when making voluntary donations [15]. This barrier is natural because one factor facing the school committee's work is finance. The strategies offered, such as the use of social media as a means of empowering school committees, are promising. Strategies to increase community participation can be carried out by revitalizing the role of committees, utilizing institutions and social media, and improving parental education [16]. The elements that need to be considered in the management of the school committee are that the school committee is required to compile the membership and management. The School Committee that the principal has determined must prepare articles of association and bylaws that contain the 936 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate membership and management of the school committee [17]. The articles of association and prepared bylaws provide a clear picture of the duties and functions of the school committee. This element is in line with how the school committee should have a role that is by the responsibilities inherent in the management of the school committee as a manifestation of the effectiveness of the school committee's performance [18]. Based on the above description, the driving school committee is responsible for being involved in the driving school program. We know about the importance of their role in general and the problems they face in general. However, we do not have systematic basic data on the elements that form the committee's involvement in the role of the driving school committee. An important step in finding out the role of the school committee in the driving school is to know the motivation and level of understanding of the school committee in schools entrusted by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture as the driving school. Several previous studies emphasized training activities to increase the capacity of elementary school committees [9, 19]. They photographed the success and evaluation of the role of school committees in the scope of elementary school units [15, 20]. There has not been much research on the role of school committees in their contribution to driving school policy. 2. Method A qualitative research method with a focus group technique [21] was carried out in this study by conducting interviews with the driving school committee to determine the role of the driving school committee at the elementary school level in Malang City. Twenty-two informants representing the driving school committee became resource persons in this study. The data is analyzed by collecting questionnaire data, displaying it, and discussing it. Data was collected by distributing qualitative survey questionnaires through Google Forms in the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) session before interviews with representatives of the driving school committee. The informants in this study were twenty-two driving school committees from the elementary school level in Malang. The informant is a member of the driving school committee and is active in the driving school committee. It should be noted that the number of driving schools at the elementary school level in the city of Malang is 26 driving schools. This number was obtained from data from the Malang City Education Office based on the decree of the Ministry of Education [22]. Surveys and interviews were conducted as FGD with the elementary school driving school committee. The school committee members who attended were representatives of the school committee at the driving schools in Malang. The representative who is mandated is that each school sends representatives of their school committee to this FGD activity, where there are schools that send committee chairpersons as well as secretaries, treasurers, or committee members. The implementation of the FGD was carried out to confirm the role of the school committee in driving schools, especially at the elementary school level in the city of Malang. Confirmatory studies with relatively focused research questions and well-bonded samples of people, events, and processes, then a well-structured instrument design is a logical choice [23]. Therefore, the researcher compiled an instrument containing six questions related to the effectiveness of the role of the school committee, which was distributed to school committee representatives from the elementary school driving school. 3. Results and Discussion The results of the interviews and surveys were collected by the researcher and organized by the researcher manually using Excel to organize the data obtained. Excel is beneficial for creating simple matrices and storing qualitative survey data [23]. The interview was conducted in a discussion with the school committees that drive the elementary school education level. The interview began by distributing a survey questionnaire through a Google form containing simple questions related to the initial information of the committee's existence, as many as six questions. Interview questions and surveys refer to the effectiveness of the school committee [18] and school committee policy [17]. 937 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate Furthermore, interviews were conducted regarding their participation so far as a committee in schools designated as driving schools. The results of the initial information survey are entered into Excel to visualize the data in the form of tables. The results of the interview are not shown in this article. Data analysis, which includes collecting questionnaire data, displaying data, and discussing results, is described as follows. 3.1. Questionnaire Data Collection The researcher chose Google Forms because participants could answer all the questions quickly. Researchers use email to collect Google form results, which are displayed in Excel and visualized as pivot charts. A total of six questions were entered into a Google form by the researcher and shared with participants through access links for participants to fill in. The questions are prepared using Indonesian according to the language used by the informant who answers the questions on the Google form. The six questions asked in the survey distributed to FGD participants are shown in Table 1. Table 1. Driving School Committee Survey Questions. Number Question 1 What is your position in the management of the school committee as? 2 Do you receive a Decree (SK) for the management of the committee? 3 How long have you been a member of this committee? 4 What is your day-to-day job? 5 What motivates you to continue to be a part of the driving school committee? 6 What is your level of understanding of the roles/responsibilities of the driving school committee? In the initial information survey, the questions attached to the questionnaire included elements that formed the committee, such as the position/position of the committee management, the ownership of the decree, the daily work background, and the period of duty as the administrator of the driving school committee. The questions were also supplemented with questions related to their opinion of motivation and the level of understanding of their role as a driving school committee, a total of 26 people filled out the initial information survey questionnaire that was shared. The researcher looked at the survey results and concluded that there were only 22 appropriate questionnaire answers because the other four survey results were the results of a survey filled out by the driving school committee at the kindergarten level. Meanwhile, this research focuses on the elementary school driving school committee. 938 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate Figure 1. Instrument Filler Driving School Committee. The school committees that attended the FGD were 26 driving school committees, consisting of 22 elementary school driving school committees and four kindergarten driving school committees. Researchers in this study only analyzed the results of a survey of 22 elementary school driving school committees. The survey data was entered into Excel, and the researcher ignored the survey results from four kindergarten driving school committees. Furthermore, the data is processed and presented using Excel to display the survey data so that it is easy to understand. 3.2. Displaying Data The data is presented in the form of pivot charts that show the committee's choice of answers to four questions related to the elements that form the committee on the motivation and understanding of the committee's role/responsibility submitted in the questionnaire. PivotCharts and PivotTables are tools often used to analyze qualitative data such as customer surveys, operation reports, polls, and so on [24]. The following is a presentation of questionnaire data filled out by 22 elementary school driving school committees in Malang. The survey results are managed using Excel as a pivot chart to obtain the following data. 939 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate Figure 2. Charts Cross-Tabulations Ownership of Decrees (yes). Committee Position and Motivation. Figure 3. Charts Cross-Tabulations Ownership of Decrees (No.), Committee Position and Motivation Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the elements of committee formation of comitte ownership of the decree and composition of the committee management with the school committee's opinion regarding the motivation to continue to be a school committee member. Figure 2 shows the results of the committee with a decree, and Figure 3 shows the results of the committee that does not have a decree. The row label shows the composition of the school committee management, which is divided into four positions: head, member, secretary, and treasurer. The results of the school committee opinion survey related to motivation were analyzed in three parts: significant, ordinary and extensive. The elements that form the committee described by the researcher are the composition of the school committee management, the ownership of the management Decree (SK) from the principal, and the background of the committee's work. The first description is related to the composition of the committee management, namely the position/position and ownership of the decree and the motivation to continue to be part of the driving school committee. The first assumption is that the higher the position/position of the committee management stated in the committee management decree, the 940 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate greater the motivation to be part of the driving school committee. Based on the data in Table 1, it was found that there were more positive motivations than negative motivations to continue to be part of the driving school committee; this was shown by 12 people who held the positions/positions of chairman, secretary, treasurer, and members of 16 people whom the principal gave a management decree expressed high motivation to continue to be part of the driving school committee. On the other hand, six people expressed ordinary motivation to continue participating in the driving school committee. Interestingly, table 2 shows three people who hold the position of chairman and committee member without being given a management decree by the principal expressing high motivation to continue to be part of the driving school committee. This differs from just one person who stated an ordinary motivation to continue to be part of the driving school committee. This indicates that with or without a management decree by the principal and the position of membership in the management of the driving school committee does not dampen the committee's motivation to continue to be part of the driving school committee. The second description is related to the background of the committee's work and the period of duty to understand the roles/responsibilities of the driving school committee. The second assumption is that the longer the term of office as a committee, the better the understanding of the roles/responsibilities of the driving school committee. The third assumption is that the more complex the background of the committee's work, the better the understanding of the roles/responsibilities of the driving school committee. The analysis of the second and third assumptions is shown in Figure 3, Figure 4, and Figure 5. Figure 4. Charts Cross-Tabulations Background of Committee Work, Tenure (under 3 years) and Level of Understanding. 941 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate Figure 5. Charts Cross-Tabulations Background of Committee Work, Tenure (3-6 years) and Level of Understanding. Figure 5. Charts Cross-Tabulations Background of Committee Work, Tenure (6-9 years) and Level of Understanding. The bar charts indicate the elements of committee formation, such as work background and tenure, along with the school committee's opinion regarding the school committee's level of understanding of the role/responsibility. For the term of service (1-3 years) in Figure 4, the term of service (3-6 years) in Figure 5, and the term of service (6-9 years) in Figure 6. The school committee opinion survey results related to the level of understanding were analyzed in three parts: strongly understanding, understanding, and not sure. The row labels show the work background, which is divided into five: teachers, lecturers, cultural experts, private workers, and housewives. The researcher classified work backgrounds as catering owners, traders, and cooperative administrators into private workers. Based on the data from Figure 4, Figure 5, and Figure 6, it was found that the work background of the housewife dominated the management of the driving school committee. Seven housewives with a tenure of 1-3 years, three with a tenure of 3-6 years, and one with 6-9 years have become committee members. Information from the graph shows that more committees feel aware of their roles/responsibilities in managing the driving school committee than those who feel doubtful. The data was shown by 15 people with three different service periods (1-3 years, 3-6 years, 6-9 years) from 22 people with different work backgrounds who expressed their understanding of the roles/responsibilities 942 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate of the driving school committee. The data indicates that the work background and tenure of the committee do not reduce the committee's understanding of the role/responsibility of the driving school committee. 3.3. Discussing the Results of the Questionnaire Data The discussion of the results of the questionnaire data was divided into three parts according to the research assumptions proposed. 3.3.1. The First Assumption is that the Higher Position of the Committee Management Stated in the Committee Management Decree, the Greater the Motivation to be Part of the Driving School Committee The school committee is part of the school as an independent institution. It consists of students' parents, the school community, and community leaders who are concerned about improving education quality [17]. The largest element of school committee membership, as much as fifty percent, is the parents of students. School committee membership is determined based on mutual agreement at a joint meeting with the principal. The management of the school committee has been regulated based on existing rules. It consists of the chairman, secretary, treasurer, and specific fields according to the needs selected based on deliberation [25]. The school committee is an independent institution that the school initiated to help to realize school programs. The composition of the school committee management depends on the conditions and needs of each school or educational unit concerned [25]. The school committee is formed based on deliberation and ratified by the principal. Therefore, the ratification is stated in a decree or so-called committee decree signed by the principal. The committee decree is a tangible manifestation of the existence of a school committee in a school. The committee decree is an archive that proves the truth of the existence of the school committee. Archives are a source of accurate information, which is evidence that can account for the truth about all activities in an educational institution [26]. Ideally, the formation of school committees needs to be strengthened by the existence of a school committee decree. The school committee's SK archive lists the membership structure of the school committee, which consists of the chairman, secretary, treasurer, and members. It was found in this study that the membership of the school committee works together to realize school programs regardless of the position/position listed in the committee decree. The result is in line with the results of previous research, which shows that the school committee has contributed to providing input in preparing the school program [27]. Providing input to schools strengthens the creation of school programs for the progress of schools. The existence of a school committee is intended so that people who have commitment and loyalty and care about improving the quality of education have a forum to contribute [28]. One way to improve the quality of education is to form a committee that aims to accommodate and channel the aspirations and initiatives of the community in giving birth to educational policies and programs in schools [29]. The school committee jointly contributes to listening to and accommodating the aspirations and input from students' parents as a form of education for the achievement of school programs. The study results show that the non-financial support in the form of human resources provided by the committee to schools, if well coordinated, will help improve the quality of educational services [30]. 3.3.2. The Second Assumption is That the Longer the Tenure as a Committee, the Better the Understanding of The Roles/Responsibilities of the Driving School Committee School programs that require the involvement of the school committee, in addition to realizing school programs, are the procurement of learning infrastructure. Efforts are made by collaborating with the committee to support schools in procuring facilities and infrastructure and implementing school programs or activities [15]. The involvement of the school committee is a form of improving the quality of learning, which leads to improving the quality of the school. The results of the data analysis found that parental participation in improving the quality of primary school education was manifested in 943 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate aspects of learning, students, facilities and infrastructure, public relations, education finance, and school personnel [31]. The manifestation of committee participation based on an understanding of the aspects possessed by committee members will positively impact its effectiveness. Therefore, schools and school committees are expected to go hand in hand in making school programs successful. The committee's role is to work with the school to realize school programs. The School Committee, in carrying out its functions and duties, coordinates with the school concerned [17]. Coordination is carried out through various techniques, such as the school holding meetings and inviting the school committee, as well as through announcements through electronic media. Conventional coordination through correspondence is also still an option for schools to announce the project program. The results of the study show that one of the techniques for establishing relationships with the community is also carried out through correspondence; in this case, the school sends letters to the parents of students and the community [32]. The time needed to realize the school program in collaboration with the school committee is at least three years by the term of office of the school committee management. In this study, the average term of office given to the school committee appointed directly by the school is 1-3 years or one period of school committee management. School Committee membership serves a maximum of three years and can be re- elected for a single term [17]. The term of office can be extended according to the school's needs and policies, which means there is continuity of management. The results of this study show that the committee's tenure does not reduce the committee's understanding of the role/responsibility of the driving school committee. The results mean that the membership of the school committee, which is sometimes the same person from year to year, is not a problem for the committee or the school. The term of duties for the management of the school committee is stipulated in the committee's articles of association and can be assisted by resource persons [33] or based on the results of deliberations of school committee members [10]. 3.3.3. The Third Assumption is That the Higher the Background of the Committee's Work, the Better the Understanding of the Roles/Responsibilities of the Driving School Committee The school committee consists of parents of students and local community leaders who are considered capable and willing to be involved in realizing school programs. School committee members come from communities with different work backgrounds, such as teachers, lecturers, cultural experts, private workers, and housewives. It was found in this study that the work background of the committee members did not reduce the committee's understanding of the role/responsibility of the driving school committee. The results aligned with the previous research results show an increase in the role of school committees, one of which is that school committee membership can involve people from various educational backgrounds and professions [34]. In addition, despite their low educational qualifications, most school committee members show an adequate understanding of their responsibilities. It can be concluded that the level of education does not affect the level of understanding of the committee [18]. On the other hand, previous studies have shown that parents from higher socioeconomic backgrounds report more confidence in being involved in their children's education. In contrast, parents with lower levels of education show low confidence in their abilities through statements about their inability to be actively involved in their children's education [35]. Considering that the role of the school committee is significant in improving the quality of driving schools, this is an important part that needs to be considered. The school committee plays a role in 1) determining the policy of school programs, 2) pursuing the success of school programs through fundraising, 3) supervising educational services, and 4) becoming a place of aspirations of students, parents, and the surrounding community related to the school [17]. Furthermore, [36] stated that the purpose of the school committee is 1) to accommodate the aspirations of students, parents/guardians, and the community in the formulation of the implementation and supervision of school policies, 2) to accommodate the participation of parents/guardians, and the community in school governance by their respective roles and functions, 3) as a bridge to disseminate school policies to interested parties for the progress of the school. 944 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate Therefore, strengthening school committee members from various work backgrounds is still needed. The suggestion is in line with the results of the study, which stated that the performance components of the school committee include strengthening the institution of the school committee, improving the organizational ability of the school committee, and increasing the educational insight of the committee management [37]. Although the school committee collaborates with the school regardless of their respective work backgrounds, the work background of school committee members who do not take up full time is at least an added value for the optimal involvement of the school committee in realizing school committee programs. One way to increase the school committee's role is through the management of the school committee to spend more time carrying out its roles and functions in the school [34]. 4. Conclusion The existence of committees in driving schools helps in realizing school programs in driving schools, so that several elements form committees such as (a) the composition of the school committee management, (b) the ownership of the management decree (SK) from the principal, (c) the term of office/position, and (d) the background of the committee's work needs to be considered with the role of the Driving School Committee. Motivation as part of the driving school committee and the level of understanding of the role/responsibility of the driving school committee are indicators of the level of role discussed in this study. The research team found that the lack of fulfillment of the elements that form the committee in the driving school did not discourage the committee from continuing to be part of the driving school committee and did not reduce the level of understanding of the committee's roles/responsibilities of the driving school committee. However, improving the institution of school committees through strengthening understanding of the obligation to succeed in school programs is still necessary. This signals policyholders to enrich knowledge-strengthening programs for school committees involving schools, as long as policies related to driving schools are a priority to improve the quality of surrounding schools according to one of the objectives of the driving school. Research is still limited in analyzing the results of qualitative surveys and has not examined the role of the driving school committee in depth from various more complex indicators. It would be interesting if the discussion were expanded by analyzing the educational background of school committee members who have not been accommodated in this study. Further research with in-depth interview techniques and analysis of the school committee work program is recommended to corroborate the findings of this study. Institutional Review Board Statement: Ethical review and approval were waived for this study by Malang City Education Office because the research involved no more than minimal risk and all participants were adults who provided written informed consent. Transparency: The authors confirm that the manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study; that no vital features of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned have been explained. This study followed all ethical practices during writing. Acknowledgement: This research can be carried out as a series of activities funded through UM Internal funding in 2023. Gratitude and respect from the research team to the Institute for Research and Community Service (LP2M) of the State University of Malang and respondents from the elementary school driving committee in Malang who collaborated well in this research. 945 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate Copyright: © 2025 by the authors. This open-access article is distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). References [1] A. P. Kasih, "Minister of education and culture nadiem: 8 priority programs for independent learning in 2021," Kompas.com, 2021. [2] A. Faiz and F. Faridah, "Mobilization teacher program as a learning resource. Constructivism," Journal of Education and Learning, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 82-88, 2022. [3] S. Patilima, "Driving schools as an effort to improve the quality of education.," in In Proceedings of the National Seminar on Basic Education, Gorontalo, Indonesia, 2021. [4] B. Khofifah and M. Syaifudin, "Analysis of government policies regarding driving schools," Journal of Research Innovation, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 7405–7410, 2023. [5] A. Asrifan, P. Mahbub Ibna Seraj, A. Sadapotto, and K. J. Vargheese, "Theimplementation of independent curriculum as the newest curriculum applied at sekolah penggerak in Indonesia," International Journal of Open Learning and Educational Heritage, vol. 2, pp. 62–74, 2023. [6] Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, research and technology. Jakarta, Indonesia: Driving School Program, 2021. [7] C. Indonesian Ministry of Education, Research and Technology,, Determination of the educational unit for the implementation of the driving school program batch III. Jakarta, Indonesia: Driving School Program Batch III, 2022. [8] F. F. Syafi'i, "Independent learning: Driving schools," in In Proceedings of the National Interest in Primary Education, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2021. [9] H. Prasetyono, A. Nurfahana, I. P. Ramdayana, T. Anita, and N. Hikmah, "Strengthening the Learning Committee of the Driving School Program," PKM Journal: Community Service, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 155–164, 2022. [10] Suriyah, "the influence of school committees on the quality of education at state elementary school 012 labuhan tangga kecil, bangko district, rokan hilir regency," ANNIZHOM," Journal of Management and Education, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 37–45, 2024. [11] S. J. Bennell, "Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship: Leadership, Collaboration, and Networking in Primary Schools," International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 5-32, 2015. [12] T. Budiarti, T. Haryati, and Y. Yuliejantiningsih, "The role of school committees in the implementation of school- based management principles in Kindergarten Perjuangan Kluwah Village, Bandar District, Batang Regency," Journal of Educational Management (JMP), vol. 12, no. 2, 2023. [13] R. W. Ningsih and N. Farida, "Community empowerment in an effort to improve the quality of early childhood education. LITERACY," Journal of Education and Teacher Training, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 45–52, 2022. [14] S. Firdaus, Asrin, and Safruddin., "School partnership and school committees in improving the quality of education at SDN 2 aik mual for the 2021/2022 academic year," Scientific Journal of the Education Profession, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 192– 196, 2022. [15] D. N. Septiana, I. Bafadal, and D. E. Kusumaningrum, "The involvement of school committees in improving the quality of education. JAMP," Journal of Educational Administration and Management, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 293–301, 2018. [16] B. Arifin, A. Dermawan, and I. Habsyi, "community participation in education (study on secondary schools: Smpn 1 malang, smpn 10 malang, smp plus al kautsar)," Khatulistiwa: Journal of Education and Social Humanities, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 163-177, 2022. [17] Indonesia, Regulation of the minister of education and culture of the republic of indonesia number 75 of 2016 concerning school committees. Jakarta, Indonesia: Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016. [18] S. O. Masue, "Empowerment and effectiveness of school committees in tanzania," Master’s thesis, Universitetet i Bergen, Bergen, Norway, 2010. [19] M. Nur and D. Anggrini, "Collaboration with various parties in the success of the driving school program at SD Negeri 004 Karakean, Mamasa regency, west sulawesi province," Journal of Progressive Community Service, vol. 7, no. 1, 2023. [20] R. Nursanti, Y. Dwikurnaningsih, and Mawardi., "Evaluation of school committee performance in state elementary schools," Manage Education Management Journals, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 73–85, 2020. [21] M. A. Masadeh, "Focus group: Reviews and practices," International Journal of Applied Science and Technology, vol. 2, no. 10, 2012. [22] Indonesia, " Decree of the director general of early childhood education, primary education, and secondary education number 7883/c/hk.0301/2022 concerning the determination of the implementing education unit of the batch iii driving school program," Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, 2022. [23] M. B. Miles, A. M. Huberman, and J. Saldana, Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook 3rd ed. ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2014. [24] H. Guerrero, Excel data analysis modeling and simulation 2nd ed. ed. Switzerland: Springer, 2019. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 946 Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology ISSN: 2576-8484 Vol. 9, No. 9: 934-946, 2025 DOI: 10.55214/2576-8484.v9i9.10020 © 2025 by the authors; licensee Learning Gate [25] Qomaruddin, "School committee management," Journal of Islamic Education, vol. 2, no. 2, 2022. [26] M. Rifauddin, "Management of technology-based electronic archives," Khizanah Al-Hikmah: Journal of Library, Information and Archive Sciences, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 168-178, 2016. [27] M. Sukadari, E. Huda, H. Perianto, Haryanto, and E. Subarkah, "Improving education quality of secondary school in Indonesia: An empirical research," Journal of Southwest Jiaotong University, vol. 56, no. 4, pp. 330–337, 2021. [28] A. M. Bisri, "An analytical study of school/madrasah committees in guarding the quality of education, Munaddhomah," Journal of Islamic Education Management, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 51–64, 2020. [29] Z. Zubaedi, "The role of school committees in improving the quality of education in elementary schools, Armada " Multidisciplinary Research Journal, vol. 1, no. 6, pp. 448–457, 2023. [30] N. Nuraya, A. Adiman, E. S. B. Herawati, J. Warlizasusi, and R. R. Aliyyah, "Implementation of theroles and functions of the school committee in improving the quality of education services in the city of Cirebon," Tadbir : Jurnal Studi Manajemen Pendidikan, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 81-100, 2021. https://doi.org/10.29240/jsmp.v5i1.2113 [31] R. B. Sumarsono, A. Imron, B. B. Wiyono, and I. Arifin, "Parents' participation in improving the quality of elementary school in the city of malang, east java, Indonesia," International Education Studies, vol. 9, no. 10, pp. 256- 262, 2016. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v9n10p256 [32] N. E. Agustina, R. Bambang Sumarsono, and I. Gunawan, "Implementation of school and community relationship techniques (a case study in sdn karangbesuki 2 Malang, Indonesia)," In Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research (ASSEHR), vol. 244, 2018. [33] B. Ismail, "The role of school committees in improving the quality of education in elementary schools. AXIOMS," Journal of Economic Sciences and Education, vol. 1, no. 2, p. 118‑132, 2024. [34] A. Mustadi, E. Zubaidah, and Sumardi, "The role of school committees in improving the quality of learning in elementary schools," Educational Horizons, vol. 3, pp. 312–321, 2016. [35] K. Yulianti, E. Denessen, and M. Droop, "indonesian parents' involvement in their children's education: A study in elementary schools in urban and rural Java, Indonesia," Sch Comm J, vol. 29, no. 1, 2019. [36] E. Mulyasa, School-based management. Bandung, Indonesia: PT Remaja Rosdakarya, 2014. [37] Fathurrahman, "Optimizing the performance of school committees in the processing of educational units reform," Journal of Education and Learning, vol. 9, no. 1, 2020. https://doi.org/10.29240/jsmp.v5i1.2113 https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v9n10p256