Source: Teacher Development, Vol. 17, No. 3, 380–392, 2013
(Reviewed by the Portal Team)
This article is based on a two-year project. The purpose of this project was to develop a teacher professional development (TPD) model in Indonesia.
The participants were Indonesian science teachers.
Data were collected through a questionnaire, field notes, internet access records and interviews.
The findings show that most teachers prefer face-to-face participation as the mode of TPD. Even so, a number of teachers preferred online TPD. This research suggests that a dual-mode TPD combining complementary face-to-face and online sessions should be the best TPD model.
Furthermore, this study has identified the difficulty of sustaining teacher participation in TPD in Indonesia. The authors suggest that universities can introduce TPD to pre-service students through activities such as collaborative research with teachers.
In addition, the existing TPD programs in Indonesia focus mainly on improving teachers’ understanding of the content but neglect the teachers' motivation to learn.
As a result, teachers may perform well in the program, but they are not really empowered.
The teachers in this study perceived TPD as a government-owned project rather than as the facilitation of their professional development.
Hence, the authors suggest the existing Indonesian TPD system may contribute to the lack of sustainability in its TPD programs. Changing teachers’ habits can be difficult. Government policy can collaborate with universities and other training centres to set up dual-mode training programs that educate larger numbers more economically.