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nonetheless appears to be important in the working life of teachers suggesting that it needs to be explored and examined in varying social and cultural
contexts.
1.2.2 Teaching profession in the Indonesian context
Traditionally, membership of the teaching profession has provided high social status in Indonesia, more particularly in parts of Indonesia like the Yogyakarta
province where Javanese culture is dominant. The high social status of teachers is recognized mainly due to their role model functions in the society. Being a
teacher in a society such as this does not only refer to the teaching role in the classroom and the school generally, but also to roles played in the wider
community. Javanese culture and society look upon teachers as a source of wisdom
– as wise members of the society. People, therefore, go to teachers to seek an answer to not only academic problems, but also other problems, such as
family and financial problems.
Although the teaching profession attracts high social respect, it does not provide teachers with high financial returns, with the result that teachers are forced to
take on additional jobs to support their families. The teaching profession has been rewarded with lower salaries when compared with other professions like
lawyers, doctors, nurses, and other government officers. Tomasevski 2002 has commented on the government of Indonesi
a‘s implicit policy on teachers saying that the official teachers
‘ salary, like that of other civil servants has been kept low, with minimum working hours that allow teachers to hold second and
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third job. She, however, fails to recognize that the work load of teachers remains very high. Apart from their teaching duties, teachers in Indonesia still
have to perform administrative work, marking and attend professional development programs.
Furthermore, the teaching profession does not provide high academic recognition for teachers. Although teachers are socially respected, they do not
have a privileged status, and are stereotyped as those who are humble, wise but not very smart, and live simply. Rarely do teachers get compliments when their
students are successful in their school exams. Instead, parents usually refer to the institution outside the school where their children go for additional tutoring.
On the other hand, when students experience low academic achievement, teachers are the first to be blamed. The image of the teaching profession is
neither attractive nor prestigious in the eyes of the younger generation. Not many top-ranked students choose to be teachers, so that the stereotype of
teachers not being very smart is reinforced. In addition, teachers usually come from low to middle socio-economic background and so look upon the work of
those in teaching as an opportunity to secure a professional career.
Based on the job status and tenure, there are three groups of teachers in Indonesia. The first group is the part-time teachers, which is usually an initial
position for most teachers in Indonesia. It is also a stepping stone toward a more secure work position as either a government employed or a full-time private
teacher. A teaching career usually, though not always, starts from this status,
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and teachers might stay for either a very short or a very long period before they get a fixed position either as civil servant or full-time private teachers. Some
part-time teachers might get their fixed position before they have completed five years of teaching in this position, but some other teachers might spend
more than twenty years in this position. Part-time teachers can work in either public or private schools. This group of teachers earns very little salary, but the
expectation of being recruited as government employed teachers prevents them from quitting teaching.
The second group of teachers consists of civil servant teachers who are recruited and paid by the government. Being a government employed teacher seems to be
the ultimate pursuit of teachers entering the career in Indonesia. A teacher, however, can only get the position as a government employed teacher after
passing the recruitment test conducted every year by the government. While some teachers pass this test on the first occasion they sit it, others might have to
sit the test several times before passing it. There are other teachers who, even after several attempts, do not pass the test and eventually due to an age
limitation, give up their expectation of getting the civil servant position. These unlucky teachers do not usually quit their teaching jobs, but stay on as either
part-time teachers or full-time private teachers.
The responsibility of civil servant teachers, according to Law No. 14, 2005, covers the main duty which consists of planning, executing and evaluating
teaching processes, giving academic consultancy and training, and additional
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duty that usually deals with administrative work. The item 34 1 of the law further requires that apart from administrative work, teachers should teach for a
minimum of 24 and a maximum of 40 hour teaching over the course of a working week Undang-Undang Guru dan Dosen , 2005. Although being a
civil servant teacher does not provide for high financial return when compared to other professions, it does to some extent provide for relatively high social
status, especially in non-urban areas and where there is a dominance of people with Javanese cultural background. Civil servant teaching offers a life-long
salary package as well as a retirement pension.
The third group of teachers is the full-time private teachers who are employed by a private school or education foundation and usually teach in private schools.
As mentioned previously, after spending some time as a part-time teacher or after being unsuccessful in several government teacher recruitment tests, a
teacher does not usually stop teaching, but rather continues in a part-time teaching job, or alternatively, works as a full-time teacher in a private school.
This however does not necessarily mean that being a full-time private teacher always comes as a final choice. Some teachers begin their teaching career and
are intent on teaching in private schools, especially in both academically well- reputed and financially secure private schools. Financially, some private
teachers are well-off while others are quite poor, depending on the schools in which they are employed.
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1.2.3 Recruitment, retention and engagement of teachers in Indonesia
