<![CDATA[Pendidikan bermutu berperan penting untuk evolusi ekonomi dan pembangunan sosial suatu negara. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menggali upaya peningkatan mutu pendidikan di sekolah menengah pertama dan permasalahan yang dihadapi. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan strategi multi kasus. Lokasi penelitian yaitu tiga sekolah menengah pertama di Kabupaten Tana Toraja, Sulawesi, Indonesia yang terletak di daerah pinggiran, semi kota dan kota. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan wawancara mendalam semi terstruktur kepada kepala sekolah dan guru. Trianggulasi teknik dengan observasi tidak terstruktur dan member checks dilakukan untuk keabsahan data. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ketiga sekolah berupaya meningkatkan mutu pendidikannya. Target mutu yang ingin ditingkatkan atau dicapai berbeda antarsekolah. Namun demikian, mereka menghadapi permasalahan dalam mencapai mutu yang ditargetkan. Permasalahan tersebut meliputi jumlah guru yang belum memadai dan komitmen kerja mereka yang rendah, sekolah pinggiran dan semi kota masih terkendala pada sarana dan prasarana yang belum memadai, dan pendanaan pendidikan yang belum mencukupi di tiap sekolah. Education plays an important role for the economic evolution and social development of a nation. This study aims to explore efforts to improve the quality of education in junior high schools and the problems they faced. This study applied a qualitative approach with a multi-case strategy. The research took place in three junior high schools in Tana Toraja Regency, Sulawesi, Indonesia. They were in different areas which are suburb, semi-city and city. Data collection was carried out by semi-structured in-depth interviews with school principals and teachers. Technical triangulation, which is unstructured observation and member checks, was used to validate the collected data. The results showed that the three schools were trying to improve the quality of their education. The quality targets to be improved or achieved were different between schools. However, they face problems in achieving the targeted quality. These problems include the inadequate number of teachers and their low work commitment, suburban and semi-urban schools that have inadequate facilities and infrastructure, and insufficient educational tests in schools.]]>
