a. How the English Teachers in SMA N 1 Klaten Got the Certificates
In order to pass the teacher certification program, teachers have to submit their portfolio which covers: 1 academic qualification, 2 teacher training and
education, 3 teaching experience, 4 lesson plan, 5 evaluation from the headmaster and assessor, 6 academic achievement, 7 profession development
project, 8 participation in seminar or workshop, 9 organization experience in social and education field, and 10 certificates honor which are relevant with the
background of education. If the portfolio assessment has not reached the minimum passing grade, the LPTK will set some alternatives: 1 Doing activities related to the
teacher profession in order to complete the portfolio, 2 If in one month the teacher cannot complete the portfolio, he has to follow the PLPG which involves four teacher
competencies development and ends with a competency test. All of the English teachers in SMA N 1 Klaten have been certified. From six
English teachers in SMA N 1 Klaten, five of them were certified through portfolio assessment. Based on some interviews with the certified English teachers in SMA N
1 Klaten, it can be seen that only teacher S who passed the teacher certification program through attending PLPG. The teachers‟ portfolio covers some components:
1 academic qualification, 2 teacher training and education, 3 teaching experience, 4 lesson plan, 5 evaluation from the headmaster and assessor, 6
academic achievement, 7 profession development project, 8 participation in seminar or workshop, 9 organization experience in social and education field, and
10 certificates honor which are relevant with education While in the process of PLPG, teachers will
be given materials related to the four teachers‟ competencies development and tested by a competency test.
The head master of SMA N 1 Klaten said that attending PLPG gives more opportunies for teachers to develop their competency. In his interview, he said:
“
Secara otomatis, dengan mengikuti sertifikasi guru jelas banyak sekali tambahan pengetahuan. Terlebih yang ikut PLPG. Banyak metode-metode yang baru diketahui
dan baru terasa setelah mengikuti sertifikasi ini
”
.
Simiar opinion was given by teacher TY. Although he passes the teacher certification program through portfolio
assessment, he admitted that attending PLPG give teachers more information related to their profession development. He stated:
“…terutama mereka yang diklat ya, kita
juga melihat materi diklat seperti apa gitu. Sehingga memberi kita motivasi untuk
mengubah system pengajaran kita ya…mengubah tata…
atau pola berpikir
kita.menuju ke sesuatu yang lebih baik”. From teacher TY‟s statement, it can be
inferred that by attending PLPG, teachers will get more opportunities to learn about how to conduct a good teaching and learning process. The knowledge that the
teachers got from PLPG is then shared with other teachers who did not attend PLPG.
b. Teacher Certification and Its Effect on the Quality of English