SCHOOL TEACHERS’ VOICE IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT A THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Magister Humaniora (M.Hum) Degree in English Language Studies

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the

Magister Humaniora (M.Hum)

Degree

in English Language Studies

by

A S H A D I

Student Number: 056332016

THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2007

This is to certify that all ideas, phrases, sentences, unless otherwise

stated, are the ideas, phrases, and sentences of the thesis writer. The writer

understands the full consequences including degree cancellation if he took

somebody else's ideas, phrases, or sentences without proper references.

Yogyakarta, 28 May 2007

A s h a d i

guided my faith and provided me with all his kindness. Without Him, it would be

impossible for me to finish this thesis and to obtain the degree. May He always be with

us who seek and share knowledge and spread the merit of science.

This degree is dedicated to my beloved family, friends and colleagues. To my

wife Kesi, my sons Iban and Ahsan, my parents and the whole extended family, I must

thank you all for your greatest support and love you have shown to this far. You are the

inspiration of my life, the angels of my heaven, and the stars of my simple world.

I feel much indebted to Dr. J. Bismoko, who spent time reviewing my work and

guided me throughout the graduate program of English language studies. He has always

been very ‘dynamic’ and inspiring for all his students including me. I benefited a lot

from his teachings and being under his guidance during this thesis writing in particular.

To F.X. Mukarto, PhD., I would like to say many thanks for his advices and

opinions from a different angle. My gratitude also goes to Dr. B.B Dwijatmoko, M.A.

who always asked my thesis progress, Prof. Dr. Soepomo Pudjosudarmo for his

collections of stories, Dr. Fr. B. Alip., M.A. for his jokes in every class, Dr. Novita

Dewi, M.S. and Dra. Sri Mulyani., M.A. who kept us busy with weekly tasks.

I am very grateful to all my classmates in Batch V and Mbak Lelly of English

Language Studies, who shared problems and joys during the program. Finally I must

thank all participants and contributors of this study for their availability and

involvement. May God bless you all for your kindness.

Yogyakarta, 28 May 2007

TITLE PAGE ………. i

APPROVAL PAGE ……… ii

THESIS DEFENSE APPROVAL PAGE ………. iii

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ……….. iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……… v

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……….. vi

LIST OF TABLES ……….……… ix

LIST OF FIGURES ……….………. x

LIST OF ABREVIATIONS ……… xi

ABSTRACT ……… xii

ABSTRAK ……….. xiii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background ………

1

B. Problem Identification ………...

4

C. Problem Limitation ………

5

D. Research Questions ………...

5

E. Research Goals and Objective ………

6

F. Research Benefits ………

7

G. Researcher’s Voice ……….

8

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Theoretical Description ………

10

1.

Teachers’ Voice ..………..

10

a. Teachers’ Roles …..……….………

14

b. Teachers’ Identity ………..

16

2. Competency Improvement ………..

18

Teacher Competency Standards ………

20

3

Teacher Professional Development ………

22

a. Are Teachers Professionals? ………

24

3) Environmental Support ……….

31

4) Categories of Development ………..

32

B.

Theoretical Framework ………

34

C.

Research Hypotheses ………

37

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

A. Research Design ………

39

B. Research Settings and Participants ...………....

41

C. Data Collection Techniques ………

44

D. Techniques of Data Analysis ……….

46

E. Trustworthiness of the Findings ……….

49

CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS

A. Data Analysis and Interpretation ………..

51

1. Initial Interview Data ………

52

2. Classroom Observation and Document Data ……….

57

3. In-depth Structured Interview ……….

59

a. Construction of In-depth Interview Questions ……….

59

b. Management of In-depth Interview Questions Data ……….

61

4. Account of Teacher’s Individual Voice ……….

63

5. Account of Teachers’ Collective Voice ………..

64

B. Findings ………...

66

1. Personal Voice of Individual High School English Teachers ……..

66

a. Ito’s Voice in Professional Development ……….

66

b. Gita’s Voice in Professional Development ………..

70

c. Rita’s Voice in Professional Development ………..

73

d. Hari’s Voice in Professional Development ………..

77

e. Ela’s Voice in Professional Development ………

81

2. Teacher’s Collective Voice in Professional Development ……….

85

b. Gita’s Personal Voice in Professional Development ………

92

c. Rita’s Personal Voice in Professional Development ………

94

d. Hari’s Personal Voice in Professional Development ………

97

e. Ela’s Personal Voice in Professional Development ……….

100

2. Teachers’ Collective Voice in Professional Development …………...

103

a. Control ………..

104

b. System ………

109

c. Program ……….

114

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION

A. Conclusions ….………...

119

B. Implications ……….………....

123

C. Suggestions ………..………

125

BIBLIOGRAPHY

……… 127

APPENDICES

Appendix

A

Initial

Interview

Transcriptions ………..

133

Appendix B Observation Notes ……….

148

Appendix C Copies of Relevant Documents ……….

159

Appendix D Structured Interview Questions ……….

163

Appendix E Structured Interview Transcriptions ………...

166

Appendix F Snowball Interview Transcriptions ………

186

Appendix G Participants’ individual accounts ………

202

Table 2.1 Theoretical Blueprint ………

37

Table 3.1 Research Settings and Participants ……….

43

Table 3.3 Research Strategic Steps ………..

48

Table 4.1 Initial Interview Sample ……….………. 54

Table 4.2 Initial Interview Coding ………. 55

Table 4.3 Observation Note Sample ………..……….. 58

Table 4.4 Piece of Structured Interview Questions List ……….………… 60

Table 4.5 Structured Interview Sample ……… 61

Table 4.6 Sample of Individual Account (Ito’s) ……… 63

Table 4.7 The Participants’ Collective Voice ……….……… 65

Table 4.8 Sample of Participants’ Personal Voice ……… 87

Figure 2.1. The contexts of Teachers’ Professional Life ………

16

Figure 3.2. Data Collection Techniques ………

46

Figure 5.1. Cycle of Professional Development

………

123

DP 3

: Daftar Penilaian Pelaksanan Pekerjaan

ESP

: English for Specific Purpose

ICT

: Information & Computer Technology

INSET

: In-service Training

JETA

: Jogjakarta English Teacher Association

KTSP

: Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan

LPMP

: Lembaga Penjaminan Mutu Pendidikan

LPTK

: Lembaga Pendidikan dan Tenaga Kependidikan

MGMP

: Musyawarah Guru Mata Pelajaran

PD

: Professional Development

PGRI

: Persatuan Guru Republik Indonesia

PPPG

: Pusat Pengembangan Penataran Guru

RELO

: Regional English Language Office

TEFLIN

: Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Indonesia

List of Codes

APPRSL :

Appraisal

MOTIVE

: Motivation

AUTNMY

:

Autonomy

OPPORTY

:

Opportunity

COLLEG

:

Collegiality

PUNISH

:

Punishment

COMMIT

:

Commitment

SYSTM :

System

CONTRL

:

Control

RECRUIT

:

Recruitment

CREAT :

Creativity

RFLCTN

:

Reflection

COMMIT

:

Commitment

REGLR :

Regularity

DVLPMT

:

Development

RELATE

:

Relation

EFFICY

: Efficacy

REWRD

: Reward

EXPRCE

:

Experience

RFLCTN

:

Reflection

INDPCE

: Independence

LEAD

:

Leadership

MAP

:

Mapping

Ashadi

. 2007. School teachers’ voice in professional development.

Yogyakarta:

The

Graduate Program, English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University.

The role of teacher is believed to be very significant in the success of students’

learning especially at the school level. Therefore, school teachers need to really be

aware of what is required from their profession if they want to be considered

professionals. In order to improve the competencies required in their profession, they

usually take part in professional development programs. However the effectiveness of

such programs is in question because of the lack of authenticity that is link and match

between what teachers learn and what they experience in the classrooms.

This study tried to reveal high school English teachers’ personal and collective

voice in professional development. It is necessary to scrutinize their factual problems to

have a deep understanding on their life, concerns and feeling. The underlying belief is

that they work in an inter-correlated system where their competency and

professionalism are in questions. They have also been long considered as ‘teaching

students’ who must learn from teacher trainers and researchers without being asked to

contribute or to share ideas in their own development.

The current study is progressive qualitative research and employs interviews as

the main data collection instruments. Relevant documents, written statements,

observations and other artifacts serve as support data. Participants of this study, five

high school English teachers around Yogyakarta and surrounding towns, were selected

purposively to represent maximum variation and adequacy of information. The data

were analyzed systematically through coding process and constantly compared during

the course of the study to form significant sub-categories.

The final interpretation of the categories led to full understanding of teacher’s

personal voice in professional development matters which varied in terms of

motivation, manner and results of improvements on individual teachers. As a group,

teachers voiced their concerns on three main areas namely, (1) control over this

profession which is in form of regular, integrated and fair performance appraisal to

ensure teacher autonomy, (2) supportive system to help teachers develop and learn best

from their students and colleagues with the help from the principal as leader, and (3)

harmonious programs and communication among the related parties need to be

developed so that the effectiveness of the program can be beneficial for teachers and

eventually students too.

Key words

: voice, professional development, progressive qualitative research,

interpretive approach.

Ashadi

. 2007. School Teachers’ voice in professional development.

Yogyakarta:

Program Pasca Sarjana, Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Peran guru diyakini sangat berarti dalam keberhasilan penguasaan bahasa

Inggris siswa khususnya di tingkat sekolah menengah atas. Oleh sebab itu guru perlu

menyadari apa yang di butuhkan dalam profesi mereka. Untuk meningkatkan

kompetensi tersebut mereka biasanya mengikuti program-program pengembangan

profesi. Namun ke efektifan program semacam itu masih di pertanyakan karena

kurangnya otentisitas yaitu hubungan kesesuaian antara yang dipelajari guru dan apa

yang mereka alami didalam kelas.

Penelitian ini berusaha mengungkap suara pribadi dan kelompok guru bahasa

Inggris sekolah menengah atas dalam pengembangan profesi. Sangat perlu untuk

memerikan permasalahan mereka yang sesungguhnya dalam rangka mendapatkan

pemahaman atas kehidupan, keprihatinan dan perasaan mereka. Keyakinan yang

mendasarinya adalah bahwa para guru bekerja dalam suatu sistem yang saling

berhubungan dimana kompetensi dan professionalisme mereka di pertanyakan. Mereka

juga telah lama dianggap sebagau pelajar ‘mengajar’ yang harus belajar dari

widyaiswara dan peneliti tanpa diminta untuk menyumbang dan berbagi gagasan dalam

pengembangan mereka sendiri.

Studi ini adalah penelitian progresif kwalitatif yang menggunakan wawancara

sebagai alat pengumpulan data yang utama. Dokumen, penyataan tertulis, observasi dan

materi yang relevan berguna sebagai data pendukung. Peserta penelitian ini, lima guru

bahasa Inggris sekolah menengah atas di Yogyakarta dan kota sekitarnya dipilih sesuai

tujuan untuk merefleksikan variasi maksimum dan kecukupan informasi. Data

dianalisa secara sistematis melalui proses pengkodean dan secara terus menerus di

perbandingkan selama proses penelitian untuk membentuk sub-kategori yang signifikan

Interpretasi akhir dari kategori yang diskusikan mengarah pada pemahaman

menyeluruh tentang suara pribadi dalam pengembangan profesi berhubungan dengan

motivasi, sikap dan hasil perkembangan yang berbeda pada masing-masing guru.

Secara kelompok, guru menyuarakan keprihatinan mereka dalam tiga bidang yaitu: (1)

kendali atas profesi mereka dalam bentuk penilaian kinerja yang teratur, menyeluruh

dan adil untuk memastikan otonomi guru, (2) system pendukung yang membantu guru

berkembang dan belajar dari siswa dan kolega dengan bantuan kepala sekolah sebagai

pimpinan, dan (3) programs dan komunikasi yang harmonis antara pihak-pihak yang

berhubungan perlu dikembangkan sehingga kefektifan program bisa menguntungkan

guru dan pada akhirnya siswa juga.

Kata kunci

: suara, pengembangan profesi, penelitian progresif kwalitatif, studi

interpertif

.

Professional competency has been a major demand in the world of education and

sooner or later all teachers have to cope with this issue. In attempts to raise

competency, teachers usually participate in professional development programs

provided by the authorities or they develop themselves independently. Unfortunately,

not all teachers are driven to enhance their competency for some different reasons. They

also respond differently to professional development programs despite the strong

professional demand to improve their performance in classrooms. This chapter

elaborates how the issue of professional development is perceived by teachers to have

deeper understanding in the world of high school English teachers.

A. Background

Professional development has been a major concern in the world of education

recently. It is a response to the school reform agenda which demands quality education.

Teachers as one of the school elements have also become important to consider because

of the impact they might have on education process and eventually students’

achievement. Moreover with the recognition of teachers as professionals, all

stakeholders of education need to pay more attention to this issue.

Our national education in general and English education in particular has

received various criticisms in the areas like curriculum design, teaching process,

teachers’ quality as well as funding. The recent issues of national education

standardization and teacher certification regulations are aimed to improve the criticized

aspects. Education standardization and teacher certification are aimed at competing in

global culture and free trade. The coverage of the standard itself as mentioned in the

decree of National Education System Act no. 20/2003 Chapter IX of National Education

Standards Article 35, involves: content, process, graduate competency, teacher,

instrument and facility, management, funding and educational assessment which should

be improved systematically and regularly. It is in line with UNICEF’s definition for the

quest of quality education which includes dimensions of learners, environments,

educational content, process and outcomes.

There is a growing perspective that teachers as main actors in the process of

education, according to the new regulations, need to be standardized and certified to

ensure their professional competency. Its underlying reason is to be competitive in the

tight competition of modern world so that every institution, including education units

need to be managed professionally. Yet, it is still disputable if the world of education

should follow Western standards if it will only breed globalization instead of

glocalization that we seek. With regards to the current postmodernism view which

proposes the dissemination of local values in the global competition, it is necessary to

question the colonial attitude entailing the view.

Followed by Government Regulation no. 19/2005 of National Education

Standard, the implementation of the regulation will, to a certain extent, influence high

school English teachers’ professional development. This study tries to discover the true

voice of high school English teachers in response to the issue of professional

development as a reaction to teacher standardization issue. It is in line with the

definition found in Article 1.1 of Law No. 14/2005 on Teachers and Lecturers which

guide, direct, train, and evaluate learners at the formal early childhood education,

basic education, and secondary education”

(translated). There is a growing assumption

that in order to improve the overall outcome of education, teacher competence becomes

the main priority. Professional development is in demand because the world of English

education needs professional teachers who can cope with teaching tasks competently.

Article 10 of the respective Law mentions further the competencies required of teachers

which consist of pedagogical competencies, personality competencies, social

competencies, and professional competencies.

However, Johnson and Golombek (2002: 1) states,

“For more than a hundred years, teacher education has been

based on the notion that knowledge about teaching and learning can be

“transmitted” to teachers by others. In the knowledge transmission model,

educational researches, positioned as outsiders to classroom life, seek to

quantify generalizable knowledge about what good teaching is and what

good teachers do. Teachers have been viewed as objects of study rather than

knowing professionals or agents of change. Researchers have been

privileged in that they create the knowledge, hold it, and bestow it upon

teachers. Teachers have been marginalized in that they are told what they

should know and how they should use that knowledge. Even though many

teachers personally reject this model, most of them continue to work and

learn under its powerful hold in teacher education programs in the schools

where they teach.”

It has been a real condition in teachers’ professional development in which they do not

have their own ‘voice’. They have been viewed as ‘teaching learners’ who should

follow what the researchers, policy makers and educational authorities have designed

for them. However, with the recent emergence of the concept of teacher autonomy in

the field of second language education, in my opinion, professional development would

be more valuable aiming at such autonomous behavior.

This study attempted to discover the true voice of school teachers in their

stories of professional experiences. In this description, lie the participants’ stories which

become sources of data to interpret the meaning of their professional development.

B. Problem Identification

The issue of professional development involves many aspects of teachers’ life in

the profession. They are not theory adopters or teaching learners who do not have voice

in their own realm. As individuals, teachers have their own voice based on personal

feelings, concerns and perspectives. Teachers as a professional group also have some

similar voice which is shared among the group members. It becomes the collective

voice of teachers because they might share the same feeling, perception, and concern

over their professional development. If empowered teachers are at the center of the

educational endeavor, their voice should be part of educational discussions. Teachers

with their interactive relation and classroom practices have the knowledge and

information about the responsibility of resolving day-to-day dilemmas that occur in

their profession.

Since this study focuses on teachers’ voice in their professional development,

experiences, facets of voices related to their experiences in professional development

would appear mostly. The problems in teachers’ professional development have always

been dealing with policies, system of education, theory and practice mismatch, and the

involvement of different institutions in the topic. With the facts that teachers have been

viewed as objects in the existing professional development programs, identification on

individual and collective voice among teachers can be interesting stories to understand

how they perceive the meaning of professional development. The base is their personal

C. Problem Limitation

With the identification of problem above, now it is quite obvious that in order to

find the meaning of professional development, this study tries to reveal the personal and

collective voice of the participant teachers. This study limits its enquiry on how high

school English teachers including those who teach in vocational schools make progress

in their teaching practices and learning process to become effective teachers. In order to

focus the enquiry, intense relation and communication with participants is necessary for

deep understanding on the individual and shared meanings and interpretation. Such

relation is expected to help the participants construct their experiences, concerns and

feelings which become a reflection of their professional lives.

With the limited number of participants, hopefully a deep and focused story of

teacher professional development can be elaborated. These participants vary across

gender, age, regency, kind of institution, and length of service experience which

hopefully may provide varied voices too. The variation is aimed at establishing wider

perspective so that a thick description in the issue of professional development can

contribute to teachers’ reflection. In addition, several contributors from related parties

also need to be listened to have a ‘thick description’ and unbiased voice in this issue.

D. Research Questions

As a consequence of progressive qualitative study, the research questions may

develop during the course of the study. In the context of qualitative study, Bogdan and

to support the complete exploration of this study. They are ordered in such a way that

the processes of the research are systematic and progressive, as follows:

(1) What is high school English teacher’s personal voice regarding their professional

development based on his/her own experience?

(2) What is high school English teachers’ collective voice concerning their professional

development derived from their professional experiences?

E. Research Goals and Objectives

In response to the research questions stated above in, therefore, the main goals

of this study are:

1.

To reveal the high school English teacher’s individual voice in professional

development.

2.

To discover the high school English teachers’ collective voice in professional

development.

The individual and collective voices of high school English teachers lead to

further detailed practical objectives to be addressed through this inquiry, they are:

1.

Identifying how individual high school English teachers assert themselves

individually in terms of competency required in their profession.

2.

Understanding the high school English teachers’ individual and collective voice of

concern in competency development of their profession.

3.

Exposing the factual concerns of the teachers’ professional development which is a

reflection of their personal and professional experiences.

4.

Revealing how the teachers improve competencies in different contexts to

5.

Bridging the gap between theories adopted in professional development programs

and the teachers’ real practices in the class room to be more reflective and effective.

F. Research Benefits

The world of English education in general and English education in Indonesia,

particularly, can take advantages from the result of this study.

1.

The result may provide empirical understanding of English school teacher’s voice

relevant to their professional experiences which is beneficial for school management

to provide required support for teachers’ professional development.

2.

This study also contributes to a more comprehensive understanding from

universities with teacher training department in the way they review their education

program and process to meet the needs of real classroom practices.

Participant teachers and other school English teachers can get the benefit of this

study in forms of:

1.

Sharing their individual and professional concerns to be self-empowered teachers.

2.

Developing their capacity for teaching debate in an academic framework.

3.

Increasing their self-awareness and sense of professional growth.

4.

Enhancing their self-efficacy to manage their recent knowledge, current skills and

potentials for the best of teaching English.

5.

Developing a critical input of educational policies at both local and national levels.

The authorities of National Education such as Education Quality Assurance

Body and Teachers Training and Education Institutions (

BSNP, LPTK, PPPG

and

1.

Better understanding of competency areas in which the English teachers really need

to increase for the sake of professional tasks.

2.

This study may help the mapping process of teachers’ competencies for further

professional development needs analysis.

3.

They can make use the findings of this study as considerations in the process of

further decision making related to English teachers’ education.

4.

Every education stake holder can further channel voices, policies, inputs and

criticisms to have a dynamic discourse on English teacher quality improvement.

5.

They can see how teacher participants view on them so that it becomes a feedback

for the authorities’ reflections.

G. Researcher’s Voice

Teacher professional development is a relevant topic for both of my positions as

an English teacher and a graduate program student. When I reflect on my position as an

English teacher, I always ask myself whether I am really a professional or just taking

my job for granted. To this point of time, I still feel doubtful about the future of

education condition which now is turning to ‘a profitable business’. As a teacher,

actually I am just an employee in this kind of business; therefore, I have to work in line

with the institution’s policy, vision and mission. It sometimes hurts me when a

condition or policy contradicts with my expectation and gets me low sometimes if the

employer does not give me adequate support.

I also feel that my professional identity is in question because often I think that

my knowledge is more than sufficient to teach my students and it gets me down in terms

in the issue of professional development which according to Freeman as quoted in

Freeman and Richards (1996: 351) is an ‘unstudied problem’. Hopefully, it is beneficial

for the sake of mutual understanding and teacher empowerment, prominent issues in

recent days. Thus, this study is not aimed to reject or to bolster the certification plan, but

to see how high school English teachers view themselves, respond and interpret the

meaning of professional development when competency is in demand. I believe that any

party involved in this study can take the advantage from the result.

As a student of graduate program in English language studies, I need to examine

my reflection and compare it with other teachers’ perspective from different schools and

status that might reveal different experiences as well. This study becomes a requisite in

the program to obtain a Master’s degree but I also want it contributive to my own

knowledge and the English education in general. Therefore, I honestly admit that I am a

novice writer for this thesis writing, moreover with the employment of progressive

qualitative approach which demands the writer to be a sophisticated author.

I consider the participants as counterparts in my reflection and they really

become ‘good friends of mine’ especially outside this thesis writing business. Frankly, I

learnt a lot from these teachers’ experiences in order to make them ‘understandable’

stories. It is not my right, however, to judge the quality of my writing but its readership

perceived by anyone who wishes to read it that matters. Therefore, let it be mine and the

This chapter attempts to locate this study in the context of teacher professional

development research at large. As stated in the research questions of the previous

chapter, some empirical information is provided to have a base for the inquiry. Relevant

arguments, key ideas, research results and theories from various literatures are presented

to strengthen and direct further investigation. The title of the study suggests three main

notions to be explored, namely: teachers’ voice, professional development and the

application of interpretive research.

A. Theoretical Description

1. Teachers’ Voice

Teachers work in classrooms to carry out policies relevant to education practice.

Thus, it is reasonable if they are included in the decision making process. Unfortunately,

despite the establishment of school-based decision-making and other channels through

which teachers can express their opinions, many of them view decisions as being forced

upon them from a higher authority structure that enforces and controls mandates in a

top-down model. It eventually encourages fear and submission rather than trust and

collaboration which are the core of participatory decision making. Linda

Darling-Hammond explains that when prescriptive policies are created without teacher input, a

school’s ability to meet the needs of students and parents is reduced

(Darling-Hammond, 1997). If teachers are expected to work in partnerships with parents as well

as promote collaboration among their students, then policymakers should collaborate

with teachers as partners in decision making.

disciplinary measures, have not involved teachers in the making. They become

educational workers and therefore should follow the rules set up by school supervisors,

curriculum designers, textbook writers and policy makers. With the current speed of

changes in the world of education, teachers demand for more essential roles in the

education policy. They and education pundits urge the policy makers to listen to their

voice for betterment and change in education.

It is both reasonable and undeniable as teachers witness themselves and know

very well what happens in the classroom and day to day education. Such phenomenon is

supported by the advice for teachers to conduct action research in their own classes as

an actualization of reflexive pedagogy. To some extent, the results of the action research

represent voices of their concern on the subject matter. In the educational literature we

often find that descriptions of teachers’ knowledge, ideas, questions, concerns, and

insights are validated and used in meaningful ways. Therefore, voicing the teachers’

knowledge became an important concept to exist in professional educator’s work.

Voicing, according to Pandian (2003: 41) refers to the act of engaging, validating and

communicating the understanding that teachers construct from their action. It also

implies the issue of who communicates what is being found out in the voice because

teachers need to study it themselves.

In her report, Navarro (as quoted from http://ncrtl.msu.edu/http/rreports/html/

pdf/rr925.pdf) mentions three perspective of teachers’ voice in the context of

professional development in education. The first is as personal/private development

which is described as the developmental process of teachers becoming empowered,

Here, voice is a symbol for finding existential freedom, something private and personal.

The second notion of voice serves as representative action to have a say in a

public process that may or may not lead to change. As representational action, the use of

voice is seen as the fulfillment of public responsibility. However, in the end decisions

for change and actions toward change are left in the hands of the elite and authorities. In

an educational setting using voice in this way would indicate that teachers would be

welcome to have discourse, write letters, or otherwise express their views, yet, the basic

hierarchical structure of decision making would remain the same. Teachers as members

of the educational units not traditionally part of the authorities would not ordinarily be

included in the actual decision-making process. In my opinion, this definition is close to

the first concept of personal voice which is important for professional development

because it may drive action of change.

Finally, collectively political voice is the development of a critical individual

voice that makes possible a collective critical voice, which makes structural

transformation possible. This final idea consists of three descriptors namely

‘collectively’, ‘political’ and ‘critical’. ‘Collective’ means that the voice should be

expressed in groups unlike the first notion of personal development. ‘Political’ signifies

the involvement of teacher interest in the voice. The term ‘critical’ shows the teacher’s

reflection and concern on the existing phenomena. It is in line with Featherstone,

Munby and Russel (1997: 1-2) who, in their introduction, state that voice is the

connection between reflection and action. In their opinion, it can also be seen as a

connection between experience and authority which directly leads to ‘professional

as individuals and a group to bridge the gaps when there are issues to solve.

Other researcher, Bailey in Freeman and Richards (1996: 263) argues that

voice

is a communal product and cannot be reduced solely to the characteristics and or

performance of individuals. In order for group members to have a voice in their groups,

there had to be a social system which supported their participation

. Teachers live in

different school systems with different regulations, structures and cultures and their

participation in the system also varies. The first requirement for the voice to occur is

gaining the floor as a medium of expression. This study can be a good floor for the

participants to establish their voice. Next, in order to have a voice in social setting,

Bailey (1996) suggests that the speaker must talk in a way that is both comprehensible

and demonstrates that s/he has something worth saying. It implies the necessity to

selectively consider the individuals to participate in this study and the trustworthiness of

the voice. The last quality of researching voice is the necessity for ‘listeners’ to hear the

voice of the participants. My role as a researcher also functions as the direct listener

followed by my counselors, board of examiners and readers of this thesis, definitely.

O’Hanlon argues in McBride (1996: 187) that

expression of professional

concerns and intentions, allows the professional’s voice to be heard in a mutually

supportive, yet appreciative and evaluative environment which is ‘critical’ because it

provides perceptive and constructive critique of the ideas and evidence presented in the

group context

. The teachers’ voice in this study, therefore, embraces all the three

concepts offered above and it can be meaningful to the teachers themselves as well as to

the ‘listeners’ and ‘readers’ who have the will to listen and to read their professional

because I consider the participants as both individual adults with professional

experiences bound to their own working contexts and a group of professionals who need

to articulate their collective concerns. It is a reflection of what they feel, need, want and

feel based on their many years of experience in the profession. To put this issue in a

Master’s thesis is also an attempt to express their concern through a professional

channel so that teachers become well appreciated as professionals. This thesis can be

one of their ‘vehicles’ to express personal and professional feelings so that they become

more autonomous and empowered particularly in the way they develop as professionals.

The growing importance of teacher-based research has emerged, based on the

fact that this kind of research process values inquiry, collaborative work, and teacher’s

voice. Teacher research uses inquiry as a means of reflection about, and to improve the

teaching and learning processes. Teachers as practitioners engage in the process of

critically examining their practice and classroom reality to transform them in ways that

are meaningful to their school context. Therefore, inquiry of voice in professional

development advances from teaching and continues the learning process of teachers

relevant with their roles and identity.

a. Teachers’ Roles

Teachers have different roles attached to the context where they are. They do not

only live in school, they live in neighborhood with their families to feed. With regard to

this condition and reality of their complex life, it takes a deeper understanding and

investigation to interpret their concerns in their life stories. Brown (2001: 200) notes the

multiple-role of teachers depending on the countries they live in. They can be seen as

evidence that supports the concept of teaching being an art.

At schools, they hold the responsibility as professional instructors who must

provide good samples of behaviors, demonstrate excellent teaching process and as

employees who must work up to standards and be obedient to rules. Still, at workplace

they are evaluators of students’ performance as well as facilitators in discussions and

other school activities. Their children wait at home and expect them to protect the

family’s economy and to be a caring-parent. Moreover when they actively organize

neighborhood activities, they actually share a social responsibility. Apart from those

roles, they are also friends, leaders and adult learners who learn the best teaching for

their development. Thus, it requires equal attention sharing for them to be seen as

normal people.

Professional development, of course, lies in their first two roles as professional

educators and as workers who need to improve performance and career. With this

regard, it is necessary to assume that a person's framework of thinking develops through

problem-solving action carried out in specific settings whose social structures have been

developed through historical, culturally-grounded actions. The framework is useful for

understanding the process of learning to teach, particularly in showing how teachers

choose conceptual and educational tools in their teaching. It leads our attention to the

principal value systems and shared practices that describe the setting in which learning

to teach occurs.

From a Vygotskian point of view, social structures provide the frameworks for

the ways in which people learn how to think, communicate, and act (Gawel, 1997).

Thus, teachers have to be good decision makers in the way they plan teaching, make

their students’ learning. It is not an easy task because teachers must take into account

many considerations for the best of their students with regard to their roles.

Effective instructors Adult learners

(Aim of PD) (Process of PD)

Professional workers

(Need for PD to meet standards)

Teachers

Figure 2.1 The Contexts of Teachers’ Professional Life

Burden and Byrd (1994: 8) notes that as decision makers, teachers make

decisions in various issues such as instruction planning, teaching presentation,

organization and management learners’ instructional needs, evaluative decisions,

professional decision: steps they take to improve their teaching. To improve their

effective decision making, teachers take a variety of means but reflection on their

decision making and instructional practice has proven to be helpful for them. Burden

and Byrd (1994) further add that reflection helps teachers reproduce their teaching

practices and help them reorganize or reconstruct for classroom practice transformation.

b. Teachers’ Identity

Teacher’s identity is a vital concern in teacher development; it is the basis for

meaning making and decision making. Teacher professional development would be

better, firstly, by exploring the teaching self. During the twentieth century, a huge

attract the widespread attention of researchers in the area of teaching and professional

development.

Brumfit (2001: 165) argues that understanding teachers means understanding

ideologies, as well as identities. It means understanding attitudes to literacy and to

literature as socially constructed entities in different cultures. Teacher education

requires that teacher themselves see the role of such constructs in society as well as

understanding language in its more obvious aspects. With the regard to the importance

of self-identity which shapes the performance education professional, it is relevant to

reveal the story of each individual participating in this study. Based on his experience,

Rogers (1971: 74) recommended that a person drop one after another of the defensive

masks with which s/he has faced life; that s/he experiences entirely the unseen aspects

of her/himself; that s/he discovers in these experiences the stranger who has been living

behind these masks, the stranger who is her/himself. Rogers believed that becoming a

person is a never-ending process of being open and sensitive to experience and learning

to trust feelings as indicators of one’s state of being. Teachers learn to become good,

experienced and excellent ones, thus, they need to use their experiences and feelings.

In agreement with Rogers, Britzman (1991: 4) described a teacher’s conflict

between visualization of self as teacher and the hard realities of teaching in terms of an

identity crisis. For those who enter teacher education, their first shock may well occur

with the realization of the great complexity of becoming a high school English teacher’s

work and the ways this complexity is covered and misunderstood. At first glance,

becoming a teacher may mean becoming someone s/he is not. It is this twofold struggle

balanced with a variety of social roles teachers have to play.

Teachers really have a responsibility to keep up to date in their profession. The

development of the individual teacher depends on continuous professional growth

experiences. As teachers are normally seen as the recipients of professional

development experiences, literature and research findings suggest teachers to be

actively involved in initiating, planning, and implementing staff development programs.

When teachers are involved in all aspects of the professional development program,

they become more empowered to develop the knowledge and skills obtained from the

program activities and more motivated to continue participation in professional

experiences.

The idea of professional identity actually refers to a set of approved attributes

used to separate one group from another. Hence, professional identity is a set of features

imposed upon the teaching profession either by outsiders or members of the teaching

society itself. From this angle, it is a restricted rather than inclusive ideal and it provides

a shared set of attributes, values that enable the differentiation of one group from

another. The following is Epstein’s definition of identity which is basically a concept of

synthesis, integration and action.

It represents the process by which the person seeks to

integrate his various statuses and roles, as well as his diverse experiences, into a

coherent image of self

(1978: 101). The implication in this study is that teachers should

be regarded as professionals who seek to develop for the sake of their task completion.

2. Competency Improvement

When to develop means to improve competencies, teachers, then, should seek to

increase all aspects of skills and knowledge to support their task completion

often been associated to the word ‘performance’. There are unclear definitions of these

two terms as it is always a difficult task to make the appropriate definitions for both.

However, the wide ranging available definitions in related literatures share a common

feature for these two concepts. Messick (1984) argues that competence (not

competency) mean ‘

what a person knows and can do under ideal circumstances, while

performance is what is actually done under existing circumstances’

. His view is that in

order to achieve a successful task performance, one must have the structure existing in

the task (competence) and the operating rules which allow them to process the

information from a task and produce a result or performance. Carr (1993) points out that

‘competence’ should be understood in the capacity sense. This entails the ‘

voluntary

and deliberate exercise of principled judgment in the light of rational knowledge and

understanding’.

This can only come about as the result of education. ‘Competencies’

on the other hand, should be understood in the dispositional sense which includes skills,

faculties, habits and are caused by innate ability or training. In other words,

‘competence’ is wider and more holistic and ‘competencies’ is narrower and could be

reduced to simply mean individual skill.

Hagger (1993: 3) states that according to the integrated concept, competence is

conceptualized in terms of knowledge, abilities, skills and attitudes displayed in the

context of a carefully chosen set of realistic professional tasks. Other experts, Wood and

Power (1987) attempt to define the meaning of competence in two versions;

The ability to use knowledge, product and process skills and as

a result, act effectively to achieve a purpose

and

The process and

development of sufficient skills, knowledge, appropriate attitudes and

experience for successful performance in life roles.

In these definitions, they suggest that competence could be used in two different

Their definitions work on the assumption that one can gain specific performance

externally and then monitor the extent to which it conforms to these prescriptions. The

notion of performance in their definitions raises methodological problems about how or

what a person can do to relate what s/he understands. We can assume, in this thesis, that

competency searched by teachers is closer to performance which is measurable through

observations.

Teacher Competency Standards

Teaching position is an education profession that demands professional

competency on teachers in forms of certification, experience and continuance of the

profession. Thus, teacher education is a necessary holistic system in the frame work of

national education system. Despite the existing teacher training departments, the main

problem in our education especially in English education is still the same that is teacher

competency. Drost (2002) noted that teacher competency is even more important than

other aspects in education. This statement shows how important the role of teachers in

shaping the formation of education excellence. Medley, as quoted in Peterson and

Walberg (1979: 11) suggests

two important ways to improve the effectiveness of

teachers. One is by improving the way teachers are evaluated, and the other is by

changing the way teachers are educated.

This suggestion is in line with the recent

demand for teachers’ competency improvement which would be the task of teacher

education program managers, the government, English teachers and all educational

stakeholders.

argues further that research in teacher competencies must take account not only of how

teachers behave, but when and why they behave as they do (p. 16). This feature tells us

that integration of competencies is required by professional teachers. Experience has

shown that when both of these are integrated to produce competency standards, the

results seem to cover the holistic richness of professional practice.

The issue raised in this study is triggered by the enactment Act No 25, 2000 of

National Development Program concerning the establishment of Teaching Accreditation

and Certification Body in attempt to increase education workforce nationally. To follow

up, The National Education Department, Directorate General of Elementary and Junior

Education try to set up a system of profession standardization for education workforce

implicitly involving teacher competency standards in every education unit (level)

including high schools. In a wider scope, this policy is also aimed to map the

competency of national teaching force.

Department of National Education (2004:11-13) outlines 30 general

pre-requirements that beginner English teachers should have before entering their service

appointment. They are classified into (1) mastery on English, (2) understanding on

students, (3) mastery on pedagogy, and (4) professional and personality development.

The general items are to be elaborated into operational aspects, especially to meet an

immediate need of teacher certification. In this regard, the above items could be

categorized into two main concerns which are applicable for all teachers, namely

knowledge and skill to do the tasks. In other words, English teachers are expected to

possess both knowledge of the language and teaching skill.

The definition of these competency standards will apparently determine how

performance, it is clear that performance will be vital for assessment. While evidence

from performance will be essential to assessment, it may be supplemented by other

kinds of evidence. This follows from the integrated nature of these competency

standards in which attributes emphasize performance. This means that the attributes

often figure in the performance criteria.

Standards of competency can be seen as the way how teachers’ performance is

benchmarked (Sachs, 2003: 177-178). When they do not pass certain criteria in the

benchmark, they will be considered as unqualified. For public accountability, the

standards can also be seen as quality assurance in service business (education) to

guarantee qualities of teachers to customers (students, parents) and other stakeholders.

In professional development view, teachers can be expected to improve their practice. In

order to contribute to the on-going professional learning of teachers, participation in

standards based professional development must be seen as an integral part of teachers’

work and time allocated for this to occur.

3. Teacher Professional Development

Teacher’s professional development is closely related to teachers’ tasks and their

professional roles. Glatthorn (1995: 41) defines it as

the professional growth a teacher

achieves as a result of gaining experiences and examining his or her teaching

systematically

. It is the growth that occurs as the teacher moves through the professional

career cycle. This definition notes the importance of experiences a teacher obtains

during his or her service period. It involves formal and informal experiences and they

impact on the subsequent process.

The difficulty of the defining process can be seen in the following definitions as

quoted from Reimers (2003) who reviews related literature in professional development.

It is: ‘

practicing educators continually learning to perform more effectively

’ Butler

(1996: 265); ‘

a healthy growth state sustained by a professional which leads to change

in practice and beliefs that improve education

’ Begg (1994: 9); ‘

improving the

professional knowledge, skills and performance of an individual teacher, extending the

experience of an individual teacher for career development or promotion purposes,

developing the professional knowledge and understanding of an individual teacher, and

extending the personal or general education of an individual teacher

’, Bolam (1988:

38)

;

‘

the sum of all the activities, both formal and informal, carried out by the

individual or system to promote staff growth and renewal’

Connors (1991: 54). Most of

the above definitions range from limiting it as process to activity conducted by teachers

for their own sake. Other definitions found in related literature also mention its purpose

of enhancing teacher’s efficacy and students’ learning outcome.

Though there are many definitions of professional development, from lifelong

education to in-service training to staff development, there is one shared aim found

within all: professional development is carried out to improve teacher performance and

student achievement. Research shows the type of professional development in which a

teacher participates does not only have impact on teacher quality, but it also has an

influence on a teacher’s motivation to grow professionally. When teachers are involved

in quality professional development experiences, their motivation to further their

involvement in such growth activities and continue to grow in their profession is

are met, s/he has a boost in efficacy and competency in his/her teaching abilities. Such

needs can be met through quality professional development opportunities.

For me, these definitions entail that professional development is an educative

process that motivates and encourages the ongoing learning of teachers with all the

related complexity. As a complex process of learning, it must contain various activities

and aspects that should be deeply scrutinized. This in-depth inquiry aims at interpreting

their stories on their experiences in professional development to understand the meaning

making process in it. However, I need to explain this concept more comprehensively in

the following sub-sections.

a. Are Teachers Professionals?

There have been debates whether teacher should be considered as professionals

like doctors, lawyers or engineers in terms of training length, feasibility to choose

clients, and salary determination.

Behind professionalism there is a drive for status to

get more control over their work, not just in terms of responsibility but more authority

as quoted from Boyan in Carver and Sergiovanni (1969: 214). Although teachers are

considered as lacking of the quality of a professional and of authority over their work

and clients, they do have professional code of ethics and supply social service through

their intellectual abilities. The other characteristic is that teachers as professional should

always be aware of changes in their profession and then, improve themselves

accordingly. Richards and Renandya (2002: 390) emphasize that “

the professional is,

first and foremost a bringer-about of real world change

.” The English teachers are

principally professionals engaged in bringing about change through teaching and

occurs in classrooms where teachers play their many roles, the quality of teachers is one

of the decisive variables in solving the problem of quality education. Thus, since the

promulgation of “Teachers as professionals” on December 2005 by President Susilo

Bambang Yudoyono, the Law No. 14/2005 on teachers and lecturers was declared

official. It is a very important demand for teachers as they are defined as professionals

and therefore they must be really competent and qualified in conducting their tasks to

meet the standards in their profession.

Regarding the changing in education paradigm in recent days which involves

multidimensional aspects of life, teacher’s role has undergone some changes in line with

the shifts in the global education paradigm as well. The shifts include impermanent to

long life education, discrete to holistic education, scholastic to values, confronting to

collaborative teaching, from literacy to technology. National Education Advisory Body

(BPPN) states that in order to meet qualities in demand and to conduct their professional

duties, teachers must notice these factors: (1) spirit to achieve ideal performance, (2)

manner to maintain the professional image, (3) attitude to run after all professionalism

opportunities, (4) mentality to reach the ideal quality profession, and (5) pride over the

profession (http://bppndik.tripod.com/guru21.htm). These five factors of mental attitude

enable English teacher’s professionalism to develop in line with the rapid changes and

demand in English education.

A paper on professional values written by Hall (1966) as seen in Bradley,

Kallick, Regan (1991: 317) holds insights about the attitudes and values of the teaching

profession that are useful for career development, they are: (1) The belief that the

profession is a significant reference group and a major source of ideas and judgments,

autonomy, (4) Preference for self-regulation, particularly for peer control and review,

and (5) The notion of the calling to the work in spite of a few extrinsic rewards.

The concept of professionalism covers the complex whole of views, skills and

values teachers have, which are used to perform their everyday work in a professional

and competent way. Teacher professional development refers to the way teachers

acquire and develop knowledge, skills and values the employ in the service of their

pupils. Consequently professional development can also refer to the individual

competency improvement processes or activities to meet the demand of high quality

performance in his/her job. Law No. 14/2005, Article 10 requires teachers to have

pedagogical, personality, social and professional competencies.

The values, insights, characteristics and factors mentioned above share common

features that underlie the notion of teachers as professionals. The first is the importance

of attitude or manner in embracing the teaching profession in the world of education to

maintain its professional image. Secondly, teachers’ success is in line with the learners’

expected learning outcome improvement. Next, the notion that teaching is calling brings

pride over the profession and a belief that they can have influential impact on their

students’ cognitive and affective abilities. In relation with the competency standards

discussed previously, a conclusion can be made that teachers need to develop in terms

of personal and professional competency to succeed in their profession.

b. Aspects of Professional Development

1). Motivational Factors

To seek for professional improvement, teachers must possess sorts of motivation

which underlie their efforts and performance. We often hear and talk about motivation,