Chapter 44 of Act No. 20/2003 on the National Education System and Chapter 13 of Act No. 14/2005 on Teachers and Lecturers enforce both the central government and local government to develop the academic qualification and competence of teachers (see
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Appendix 7). In a more decentralized context of educational management that Indonesia is currently embracing, more authorities and autonomy are relegated to policy authorities at the local level. This is evident in Chapter 10 of The Decree of Minister of National Education No. 15/2003 on Standard Minimum of Service of Primary Education at the District/Level that bequeaths such authorities and autonomy to the local policy authorities. Chapter 11 Article 1 and 2 of The Decree of Minister of National Education No. 15/2010 on Standard Minimum of Service of Primary Education at the District/Level suggests the facilitating roles of the central government. The central government is responsible for the improvement on the system in terms of professionalism, institution, and financial. The facilitation by the central government also includes provision on general orientation, technical assistance, technical supervision, training, and others.
The exertion of autonomy on local governments to develop professional development programs for teachers requires a linkage between the local governments and government- based training institutions such as The Center for Development and Empowerment of Language Teachers and Education Personnel (Pusat Pengembangan dan Pemberdayaan Pendidikan dan Tenaga Kependidikan Bahasa - henceforth P4TK Bahasa). The primary responsibility of a government-based training institution is improving the quality of teachers. The Decree of the Ministry of National Education Number 08/2007 on the Organization and Structure of The Center for Development and Empowerment of Language Teachers and Education Personnel stipulates the establishment of P4TK Bahasa which functions to provide training services to teachers who attend the certification program as well as those who fail certification program (Departemen, 2007b). Other activities in which P4TK Bahasa is also responsible are distance training programs, training for teachers in remote areas and Eastern Indonesia, assessment for language teachers, training for writing research papers, training for teachers in non-formal education, and training for education personnel. In order to carry out these activities, Coordinating Teams for Teacher Training have been set up both at the national and local levels (Center for Development, 2007).
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Unfortunately, a study conducted by Chodidjah (2007) demonstrated that poor coordination between government-based training institutions and the local governments is the most frequent issue jeopardizing the implementation of in-service teacher training programs in Indonesia. For instance, educational administrators often act as a project designer of a training program. They take over the role of formulating the contents and structure of the training program from P4TK, leaving the mere task of providing teacher educators to the latter. In spite of its authority in program design and development as stipulated in The Decree of the Ministry of National Education Number No 08/2007 on the Organization and Structure of The Center for Development and Empowerment of Language Teachers and Education Personnel, P4TK has not yet been able to fully carry out their mandate to formulate teacher training programs.
3.5 Concluding remarks
Chapter 2 highlighted the absence of a study on policy recommendations on teacher education for primary school English teachers and provided a rationale for the present study. This chapter has made the importance of the present study more considerable. It has been discussed in this chapter that teachers demonstrate unsatisfactory performance in carrying out the task of teaching English to primary school children. The limited pedagogical practices of English teaching professionals are evident in areas such as language proficiency, the creation of more student-centred lessons, lesson plan and materials development, classroom management, and knowledge related to young learners, to name a few. Lestari (2003), Suyanto, Rachmajanti, & Lestari (2003), and Zein (2009) argued that the introduction of English at primary level in Indonesia requires the preparation of proficient, competent, and qualified EYL teachers. This makes another rationale for the conduct of the present study that aims to offer policy recommendations on teacher education for primary school English teachers.
It has been demonstrated that the status of English as a local content subject disadvantages English teachers at primary level because they are unlikely to be promoted
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into civil servant status. They receive lower salary and are not prioritized to receive on- going professional development activities organized by the government. By the same token they also face numerous challenges. These include large-size classrooms consisting of more than 40 students, insufficient amount of exposure due to limited facilities and authentic materials, the implementation of content-oriented learning assessment, and the culturally inappropriate coursebooks that are also unsuitable to the level of the students. A much increasing gap between students from lower socio-economic background and upper socio-economic background as well as the lack of support provided for underprivileged schools are other factors exacerbating the pedagogical practices of teachers.
Other obstacles are related to recent developments of decentralization of education. Although policy directives such as MBS and the KTSP curriculum are solely aimed for empowering local actors at the educational system (e.g. school principals and teachers) to extend their autonomy and authority, the reality shows that environment for such transfer of authority to take place is absent. The centralization of power occurring at the district level is prone to political intervention as seen in the appointment of school superintendents. While teachers face constant peer pressure and debilitating working culture that inhibit them from amplifying their autonomy and authority, at the same time they are burdened by the overwhelming demands of the KTSP curriculum. Inadequate preparation in curriculum and syllabus making also adds to the bleak picture.
The discussion throughout the chapter has also demonstrated the absence of a policy directive that regulates a minimum qualification for primary school English teachers. The establishment of the policy on teachers’ competencies has influenced administrators at teaching colleges to introduce EYL to help prepare student teachers to teach English at primary level. It however remains unclear whether this particular unit is sufficient to prepare teachers to successfully teach English to children. Furthermore, teachers are victimized by the lack of coordination occurring between government-based training institutions and governments at local level. The much-heightened emphasis on the
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relegation of power has created confusion among policy agents at local level. A light of hope however exists with the presence of TEFLIN. The organization is expected to play much more central roles to fully empower English teaching professionals in terms of teacher education, advocacy, welfare, and community service.
It is within this understanding of contexts that a case study on the policy on teacher education of primary school English teachers could be adequately framed. The interplay of current government policies affecting teachers of English at primary level and teacher education forms an indispensable and useful contribution for the discussion that appears in the subsequent chapters. This is grounded in primary schooling English education realities that consist of numerous challenges that teachers face on a daily basis. Such understanding is a prerequisite for informed changes on the domain of policy recommendations on teacher education for English teachers in SD that becomes the heart of this present study. As Zein (2012, p. 85-86) argued, “the continuously increasing advocacy for a policy on educating primary school English teachers cannot be fully understood without an adequate framework of the various contexts in which the policy is situated.”
It is now necessary to turn to a chapter on research methodology. Aspects including participants involved in the study, the kinds of data collection techniques employed to gather data in the study, procedures for data analysis, and the structure of the study are discussed in the following chapter.
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