11
teachers are supposedly ready to act autonomously given access to decision making is available for them.
The significant increase in the perceived importance of teachers‘ roles and function in education in Indonesia is further emphasized through Law No. 14,
2005 concerning the work of teachers and lecturers. In this regulation, the government acknowledges the importance of teachers in shaping and supporting
the development of future generations. With this law, the government emphasizes the importance of both empowering teachers and at the same time
improving the quality of teachers. This law is designed to support the improvement of access to education, educational quality, relevance and
accountability in the face of local, national and global demand MoNE, 2006. This regulation also promises a better salary package for teachers who are
successful in the certification programs.
1.2.5 Teacher Professional Development Programs in Indonesian Context
Generally speaking there are three types of professional development programs for teachers in Indonesia, the pre-service, in-service and on-service. Pre-service
programs are conducted in a college for teacher education or a university designed specifically to prepare teachers. These programs have experienced
significant changes in the past two decades. Up to the beginning of the 1990s, to become a secondary school teacher, one could take a two or three year teaching
diploma. Prior to this, a one-year teaching diploma was considered sufficient to
12
enter into the teaching profession. Since the beginning of 1990s to the beginning of 2000, a teacher has been required to have a four-year teaching
degree or a non-teaching degree accompanied by a one-year teaching degree called the
Acta
4. The
Acta
4 program was aimed at developing teaching skills based on a particular subject discipline. Furthermore, pre-service programs for
student teachers had already been grouped or streamed based on specific school subjects. For example, if one wants to be an English teacher, she should enter
the English Education Department in a teacher college or university.
The issue of the Teacher and Lecturer Regulation 2005 or
Undang-Undang Guru dan Dosen Tahun 2005
, however, has set a higher standard for teacher quality. In terms of academic preparation, the Law No. 142005, has required
that to become a teacher one should have a teaching degree or a four-year teaching diploma Undang-Undang Guru dan Dosen , 2005 and hold a
professional teaching certificate.
The second type of professional development available for teachers is professional training. This training might include areas such as curriculum,
teaching strategies and classroom management, assessment, leadership, and some other areas related to the school subject, for example, speaking and
writing skills for language teachers. Such training might also be conducted nationally, provincially, and even within an individual school. In terms of the
trainers, provincial and district offices of the Ministry of National Education
13
MoNE usually employ a number of teacher instructors. Trainers can also be from universities.
On-service training is also available for teachers. This type of training is normally done in a narrower scope like schools or group of teachers teaching
similar subjects. This training usually focuses more on the implementation of teaching andor assessment techniques.
1.3 Rationale for the study
