20 shape of research which succeeds in saying something qualified and original”
Alvesson and Skodberg, 2009:3. Representational consciousness can be produced from reflection Lyotard, 1988
. “A reflective interpretation of the text is needed to achieve a fuller, more meaningful understanding” Moustakas, 1994:11.
Furthermore, from a developmental perspective, individual learning needs to be shaped by factors such as length of experience Bolam McMohan, 2004. To
simply uncover teachers‟ lived experiences regarding their professional development, the researcher formulated which are teachers‟ understandings, teachers‟ beliefs,
teachers‟ feelings, teachers‟ intentions, and teachers‟ actions. These segments are used to make it easier for the researcher to reveal the participants‟ experiences and
guide them to come to a reflective process. Understanding means how one changes a representative object to become his or her own version Dufrene, 1973. Meanwhile,
belief relates with the value combined with the psychological construct to teacher education Pinrich, 1990. Feeling refers to adjectives expressed such as happy,
anxious, afraid, and so on Patton, 2002. Meanwhile, intention is linked to the result of thinking Willis, 2001, and action is usually taken with an intention Wilson,
2007. Through the use of those segments, the participants‟ accounts will be explored completely.
3. The “self”
Not all teachers understand the crucial motivators that affect them in making the preference for their own „self‟. The „Self‟ as an individual has become the „Self‟
21 of „Representation‟. The phenomenon that teachers should be, whether as living
beings in gaining better learning, better teaching, and better economy or as humans who need a better understanding, higher economy, struggle, and sacrifice, derives
particular problematic issues in their professional work. Specifically, it deals with how teachers maintain a positive sense of their professional competence, especially in
positioning themselves. A sense of professional competence refers to a “feeling teachers have
about the quality of their work” Ashton and Webb, 1986:66. Indeed, teachers need to construct their “self” to determine an appropriate
decision regarding their professional development. A positive sense of developing “self” like maintaining professional self-esteem can lead to motivation to do
something worthwhile. However, many teachers these days are still confused about professional self-esteem which is in line with self-respect; thus, the preference
occasionally falls into the development of just an individual as a living being which leads to a career. Basically, if teachers can maintain this well, it can lead to a positive
effect.
The central social psychological problem facing teaching teachers today is how they can maintain a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in a profession that offers no support
for, and myriad threats to, their sense of professional self-respect. Ashton and Webb, 1986:66.
Self-esteem is also strongly in line with how one can take an appropriate evaluation dimension. Hargreaves states “high self-esteem arises when the attitudes
taken to the self are positive, low self- esteem when they are negative” Hargraves,
1972:27. Great maintenance of self-esteem guides one to stand on what he believes.
22 In addition, this self-
esteem also includes maintaining the stability of the “self”. It is very important in determining good preference.
Furthermore, besides maintaining self-esteem, self-construction can also be connected with the development of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a part of self-esteem
in which it includes an individual hold toward themselves in relation to become the person they are capable of Brown, 1994. Self-efficacy also has its own role to help,
particularly in building self-determination dealing with professional work. Self- efficacy is people‟s judgment of their own self in determining their motivation or
behavior. According to Wortman and Lotfus 1985:377, self- efficacy means “a
person‟s belief that he or she is capable of dealing effectively with a situation”. Self-efficacy also includes how one evaluates himself toward the ability to
reach a particular goal Baron and Byne, 1997. In teacher development, some factors are identified as the internal background that affects their behavior. This internal
motivation sufficiently affects the decision. It is important to maintain self-efficacy thorough the development of awareness. “Awareness is the capacity to recognize and
monitor the attention one is giving or has given to something. Thus, one acts on or responds to the aspects of a situation of which one is aware” Freeman, 1989:33.
Through awareness, teachers will easily be able to monitor their acts, especially in improving their quality, as it helps to maintain their responsibility. Self-
awareness also drives teachers to focus on the specific goal that he or she has already determined. It is a kind of transitive consciousness to manage the attention well Leo
Van Lier, 1998. Furthermore, self-observation also plays an important role in
23 determining an appropriate construction of decision to improve oneself. Self-
observation helps one to choose the aspects that need to be improved, narrow the choice, develop an action plan and decide a time frame to achieve the goal Richards,
1990. Ideally, professional learning involves both intellectual and emotional processes. Thus, it will enhance their commitment to the quality of service. The
commitme nt is essential for teacher effectiveness. Teachers‟ commitment and
teachers‟ motivation can improve themselves Mulyasa, 2007. Motivation is also a core element in helping teachers to improve themselves. Motivation refers to a
physical or mental activity which entails effort, persistence, planning, rehearsing, organizing, monitoring, making decisions, solving problems, and assessing progress.
A motivational process helps one to face difficulties and sustain action, obtaining a good job Schunk, 2008. In order to improve themselves, teachers are expected to
develop their intrinsic motivation. “Most achievement motivation theorists consider intrinsically motivated achievement behavior more desirable than externally
motivated behavior primarily because exter nal reinforcement is not available”
Stipek, 1988:81. A teacher needs to consider that a circumstance that creates interest and enjoyment i.e., that fosters intrinsic motivation facilitates conceptual
learning 82. Dornyei states that it is “performing a behavior for its own sake in order to experience pleasure and satisfaction such as the joy of doing a particular
activity or satisfying one‟s curiosity.” Dornyei, 2001:47. Then “motivational control skills refer to self-regulatory efficacy in sustain
ing attention effort”. Thus, it encourages teachers to determine their priority well with motivated effort.
24 How teachers act or construct their actions regarding their responsibility as
teachers or the desire of improvement can be derived from their needs as individuals. Relevant to this point, according to Moslow, as quoted in Schultz 1977, there are
levels of needs that humans require to be fulfilled. There are psychological needs water, air, food, etc., safety needs to be secured and out of danger, love or
belonging needs friendship, sexual intimacy, support, and a communicative family, esteem needs achievement, strength, confidence, independence, and freedom, and
self-actualization becoming the most of their abilities and the best they can. It is included in the hierarchy of needs in which if the lowest level of needs is fulfilled, it
moves to a higher level. Self-actualization is one of the needs that humans require to strive for. It
includes the need to reach the fullest potential related to the utilization of potential and development.
4. Teachers’ Professional Development
