Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia:

What have we learned so far?

Dr. Iwan Syahril

Assistant Professor of Teacher Education and Education Policy 


Sampoerna University, Indonesia

Presented at the Workshop EFForTS (Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rain
Forest Transformation System): Land Use Change-Research and Its Potential for Indonesian Teacher
Education, Bogor, Indonesia, 15-16 October, 2018

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 AGENDA
• PART 1

Lessons learned from Teacher
Professional Development in
Indonesia

• PART 2

Lessons learned from the body of
knowledge of teacher education on
teacher professional development

• PART 3

Suggestions for EFForTS

Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !2
 4 Phases in Teacher Education
PRE-TRAINING
PHASE PRE-SERVICE INDUCTION IN-SERVICE
Evolutionary account PHASE PHASE PHASE 

Psychoanalytical account (Professional Development)
Socialization account

UNSEEN/FORGOTTEN MAINSTREAM VIEW MOSTLY IGNORED FRAGMENTED

Source: Feimen-Nemser, S. (2012). Teachers as learners. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

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Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018
My focus
 Teacher Professional
Development (TPD)
in Indonesia: General Notes
• Indonesia has had a strong tradition in TPD since the 1970s (Bachtiar, 2016).

• PD MODELS: Mostly top-down, removed from teachers’ practice and classroom contexts,
cascade system

• LACK OF EFFECTIVENESS
• One-off seminars and in-service short courses in cascade fashion are not effective modes
in Indonesia (Chang, 2014; Joni, 2000; Saito, Harun, Kuboki, & Tachibana, 2006; Van den
Berg & Wilardjo, as cited in Thair & Treagust, 2003).

• Teacher upgrading through teacher certification (2006-now). Teacher certification does

not improve student achievement (Chang, 2014) and has more likely become a symbol of
credential rather than the real competences of teachers (Suryadi et al., 2017)
Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !4
 Why lack of effectiveness?
• The problem of learning. Reform ideas are too complex for teachers. They never learned
those ideas before as a student and when attending preservice education. Yet, learning time
was too short (Thair & Treagust, 2003).

• The problem of teaching/instructors. PD Instructors did not have the (secondary)

classroom teaching experience (Thair & Treagust, 2003). 

Also: “the ivory tower and the swampy lowlands.”

• The problem of enactment (Kennedy, 1999, 2016). Teachers have weak content knowledge
(Rahman et al., 2015), weak pedagogical content knowledge (Harjanto et al., 2017)

• The problem of sensemaking. Indonesian teachers have a strong civil servant identity
and mindset* (Bjork, 2005; Syahril, 2016). (*obedience, loyalty, following orders religiously,
and devaluing expertise)

• The problem of coherence. A difference of the orientation between PD, curriculum, and
assessment (Thair & Treagust, 2003). The orientation of most schools and teachers in
Indonesia: having students pass national exams (especially for secondary schools), or
following a prescribed centralized curriculum.

• The problem of governance. Decentralization may have decreased teacher effort because
local authorities may have performed worse (or no better) than the central government (Leer,
2016).
Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !5
 Case 1: PKG — Pemantapan Kerja Guru
(Strengthening the work of teachers),
1980-1996
• During the 1980s and 1990s, the PKG project was
the single largest teacher professional development
program in the world (Monk & Dillon, as cited in
Thair & Treagust, 2003).

• What is PKG? 

Inducting teachers into the concept of using
student-centred learning that encouraged open
communication with students and their active
participation in classroom and laboratory activities.

• Approach: From teachers, for teachers, by

teachers.
Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !6
 In-service 1 In-service 2

On-service 1 On-service 2
• In-On Service Model

• Selected teachers were provided quality training overseas.

• These teachers develop training materials and induct teachers at the provincial level using “in-on” (in-
service & on-service) system for 16 weeks. There were usually 50 participants.

• 2 weeks prior to the start of the semester: the first in-service residential program

• 6 weeks during the semester: the first on-service program — pre- & post observation discussions,
observations, demonstration lessons by instructors, weekly Saturday meetings

• 2 weeks after: the second in-service residential program

• 6 weeks after: the second on-service program — pre- & post observation discussions, observations,
demonstration lessons by instructors, weekly Saturday meetings

• Twice-yearly national evaluation and preparation workshops held over three weeks. 

New instructors were trained.

• Effectiveness. Earlier model was successful, later model was not (Thair & Treagust, 2003).

• What happened towards the end? Funding from the World Bank got reduced and finally ended. 

PKG’s quality was compromised.
Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !7
 Case 2: • Lesson study is a form of PD in which teachers open
Lesson Study, their lessons to others for observation and reflection
(Saito et al., 2006). It has been gaining attention in
2000s-now Indonesia since early 2000s (Pereira, 2016).

• Collaborative approach. School teachers and

university faculty members: 1) jointly developed
lesson plans; 2) implemented these plans in the
classroom; and 3) reflected on the lessons afterwards
(3 stages)

• How?

‣ Trainings: principals, supervisors, facilitators.

‣ Lesson study: subject-based lesson study, school-

based lesson study

‣ Evaluation and dissemination

Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !8
 • Results (1): a stronger sense of ownership of PD and greater
sustainability from all stakeholders (Hendayana et al, 2012)

• Results (2) — Changes in three aspects (Saito et al., 2006):

1. a change in the academic basis of lessons by closely working with

university faculty members

2. a change in the structure of the lesson by the introduction of

experiments or manual activities and discussions

3. a change in the reactions of students during the lesson.

• Results (3) — Challenges in two aspects (Saito et al., 2006):

• A narrowed interest in probing the learning processes of the students, in

comparison with focusing on teaching methodologies more generally.

• The necessity to involve the entire school in lesson study.

Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !9
 Case 3: PMRI, 2000s-now

• A movement to reform mathematics education in
(Pendidikan Matematika Indonesia, with a bottom-up implementation approach
Realistik Indonesia — (Sembiring, Hadi, & Dolk, 2008)

Indonesian Realistic
Mathematics Education) • In the concept of RME students should be given
opportunity to develop their reasoning and logic
through exposure of real life or contextual problems.
(Hadi, 2002)

• Elements of its bottom-up strategy are: 


1) Capacity building of the PMRI team and
Dr. Sutarto Hadi
strengthening the ITEs by working closely together with
teachers in pre-service and in-service teacher training; 

2) Developing teaching materials based on classroom
experience and classroom research; 

3) Establishing an expanding network of local PMRI
resource centers at each participating ITE, as starting-
points for further dissemination.
Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !10
 • How PD is conducted in PMRI? The IndoMath model:

1. Two one-day workshops: participants were given opportunity

to learn RME

2. Two times classroom practice: participants worked in a

collaborative way with a school colleague (observing each
other lesson), and gained experiences of RME teaching using
RME exemplary lesson materials

3. Two half-days reflection meetings: participants shared their

experiences from lesson practice, discussed the results, and
received feedback from the trainer.

• According to Ekawati and Kohar (2016) PD in PMRI is successful

because:

1. Teachers are active learners;

2. PD facilitates teachers in designing and implementing PMRI

The IndoMath PD model lesson using their own product;

3. There are sustainable follow-up workshops to strengthen

mathematics teachers’ community in developing PMRI
materials.
Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !11
 Case 4: Online/Blended, 2010s-now

• The number of teachers in Indonesia is beyond the capacity of the PD providers (Sari, 2012;
Widodo, et al., 2011). One of alternative solutions to the current problems is using ICT to
support teachers PD.

• Advantages: 1) teachers do not have to leave classrooms; 2) flexibility to learn; 3) internet is

provided in many parts of Indonesia; 4) collaboration with other teachers and experts online.

• Effective blended learning depends on the cognitive, teaching and social presence:

• Cognitive presence is a process where participants construct, explore, resolve, and

confirm meanings through collaboration and reflection.

• Teaching presence: instructional design, facilitation

• Social presence is briefly defined as students’ participation.

Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !12
 Case 5: Kampus Guru Cikal, 

2016-now
• Kelompok Guru Belajar — KGB 

(Learning Teachers Communities)

• Enhancing through technology and social media

• A movement — a change of mindset! 


—> from, for, and by teachers

• Bottom-up approach, teachers’ empowerment

(intrinsic motivation). PD model:

• Discovery: finding relevant issues to study, online

and offline forums

• Dialectic: structured learning activities, offline and

online

• Do: implement learning supported by coach

• Dissemination: share and publish results with

others

• 2016-2018: 145 regions, almost 8,000 members

Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !13
 Desimone (2009)—Reviewing extensive TPD literature, she
proposes a conceptual framework with 5 critical features:
✓ Content focus — focus on subject matter content and how
students learn that content

Dr. Laura M. Desimone ✓ Active learning — Opportunities for teachers to engage in

active learning

✓ Coherence — consistent with teachers’ knowledge and

beliefs and with state reforms and policies

✓ Duration — No agreement about the “tipping point” for

duration, suggests for activities spread over a semester (or
intense summer institutes with follow-up during the semester)
and include 20 hours or more of contact time.

✓ Collective Participation — participation of teachers from the

same school, grade, or department, or professional learning
communities
Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !14
 Where are the Indonesian PD cases situated within the body of knowledge of teacher education?
Critical features of
Teacher Professional PKG Lesson Study PMRI Online/Dual Mode KGC
Development (1980s-1990s) (2000s-now) (2000s-now) (2010s-now) (2016-now)
(Desimone, 2009)

Content focus Yes Yes Yes Yes No

Active Learning Yes Yes Yes Depends Yes

Coherence No Yes No Depends Yes

Duration Yes Yes Depends Yes Depends

Collective
Yes Yes Yes Depends Yes
participation

from, for, by teachers; deep conceptual basis, a from, for, by teachers; a

focusing on active movement, difficulty in can reach remote movement, empowering
Special features collaboration, reflection
regions, cost reduction
learning (student- developing curricular teachers, intrinsic
centered learning) materials motivation
Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !15
 • Design features do not say much about Review of Educational Research,
March, 2016
PD’s underlying theories of action!

Dr. Mary M. Kennedy

• A PD’s theory of action includes two
elements:

a. A main idea that teachers should

learn

b. A strategy for helping teachers

enact that idea within their own
ongoing systems of practice.

Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !16
 PD Program Content — What do teachers need to learn?

1. Portraying curriculum content in a way that enables naive minds to comprehend it.

2. Containing student behavior.

3. Enlisting student participation.

4. Exposing students’ thinking.


PD Pedagogy — How does a PD facilitate the enactment of PD ideas into a

teacher’s system of practice?

1. Prescription: PD programs explicitly describe or demonstrate what they believe is

the best way for teachers to address a particular teaching problem.

2. Strategies: PD programs convey a specific goal that teachers should strive for
and then provide a collection of illustrative practices that will achieve that goal.
The practices themselves can be just as procedurally detailed as prescriptions, but
they differ in that they are accompanied by a rationale that helps teachers
understand when and why they should implement these strategies.

3. Insights. PD programs can foster new insights by raising provocative questions

that force teachers to reexamine familiar events and come to see them differently.

4. Body of knowledge. PD presents a body of knowledge that may not explicitly

imply any particular action.

Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !17
 Source: Kennedy, 2016

Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !18
 Source: Kennedy, 2016

Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !19
 How does professional development improve teaching?
Suggestions for EFForTS

• The key role of motivation. PD is more effective when participation is voluntary

and teachers are motivated to learn (choose to participate in PD). 

Avoid —> “Attendance is mandatory but learning is not.”

• For content feature — do not focus exclusively on content knowledge.

• Collective participation feature — pay attention to the the content and the
nature of the intellectual work

• Duration feature appears to be less effective when combined with prescriptive

messages, but more effective when messages provide strategies or insights.

• PD plans learning over time, basing on the slow and incremental way in which
teachers incorporate new ideas into their ongoing practices.

Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !20
 How does professional development improve teaching?
Suggestions for EFForTS

• Coaches. Coaches are effective depending on how they try to facilitate

enactment. Coaches in more effective programs collaborated with teachers on
lesson planning, providing a model of strategic planning.

• Facilitators. PD is more effective when PD is facilitated by providers with long

histories of working with teachers, are very familiar with teachers and with the
problems they face, and based their programs on their own personal experience
and expertise.

• PD is more effective when it is not competing with other PD programs.

• Impact research follows teachers at least one year after PD ends.

• “We need to ensure that PD promotes real learning rather than merely adding
more noise to their working environment” (Kennedy, 2016).
Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !21
 References
• Bactiar. (2016). Indonesian EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of the Influence and Role of Professional Development and Teacher Study Groups on Teachers’
Self-Efficacy: A Mixed Methods Study (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from http://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/apa-format/how-to-
cite-a-thesis-dissertation-apa/

• Bjork, C. (2005). Indonesian education: Teachers, schools, and central bureaucracy. New York, NY: Routledge.

• Chang, M. C., Shaeffer, S., Al-Sammarrai, S., Ragatz, A. B., de Ree, J., & Stevenson, R. (2014). Teacher reform in Indonesia: The role of politics and
evidence in policy making. Retrieved from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/16355/9780821398296.pdf?sequence=1

• Desimone, L. M. (2009). Improving impact studies of teachers’ professional development: Toward better conceptualizations and measures.
Educational Researcher, 38, 181-199.

• Ekawati, S., & Kohar, A. W. (2016). Innovative teacher professional development within PMRI in Indonesia. International Journal of Innovation in
Science and Mathematics Education, 24(5), 1-13.

• Feimen-Nemser, S. (2012). Teachers as learners. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

• Hadi, S. (2002). Effective teacher professional development for the implementation of realistic mathematics education in Indonesia (Doctoral
Dissertation). Retrieved from https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/effective-teacher-professional-development-for-the-implementation.

• Harjanto, I., Lie, A., Wihardini, D., Pryor, L., & Wilson, M. (2017). Community-based teacher professional development in remote areas in Indonesia.
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• Hendayana, S., Supriatna, A., & Imansyah, H. (2012). Continuing teacher professional development in Indonesia under SISTTEMS. Retrieved from
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• Joni R. T. (2000) Indonesia, in P. Morris & J. Williamson (Eds), Teacher education in the Asia–Pacific region, pp. 75–106. New York, NY: Falmer Press.

• Kennedy, M. M. (1999). The role of preservice teacher education. In L. Darling- Hammond & G. Sykes (Eds.), Teaching as the learning profession:
Handbook of policy and practice (pp. 54–85). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

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 References
• Kennedy, M. M. (2016). How does professional development improve teaching? Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 945–980.

• Leer, J. (2016). After the Big Bang: Estimating the effects of decentralization on educational outcomes in Indonesia through a difference-in-
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• Pereira, J. D. (2016). School improvement as localized policy: A review of the educational leadership and teacher development literature in
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• Rahman, B., Abdurrahman, A., Kadaryanto, B., & Rusminto, N. E. (2015). Teacher-based scaffolding as a teacher professional development
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• Sari, E. R. (2012). Teacher professional development in an online learning community: A case study in Indonesia (Doctoral Dissertation).
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• Sembiring, R. K., Hadi, S., & Dolk, M. (2008). Reforming mathematics learning in Indonesian classrooms through RME. ZDM Mathematics
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Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia: What have we learned so far? | Dr. Iwan Syahril | October 15, 2018 !23