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75 by 2014 Latif, 2013. Indonesia Government has promoted to increase the number of preschool institution to enhance the opportunities of underserved children in preschool level.
After government gives a special attention, public understanding about the importance of early childhood education ECE began to increase. The total numbers of pre-school
institutions growing rapidly and also children who attend in pre-school education increased progressively. Unfortunately, the quality of Indonesian preschool educators gained attention
lately, the availability of human resources in this field is still limited. To meet the growing demand of preschool services, many pre-school institutions providing teachers who do not fit
both of qualification and competencies on early childhood education sector.
Ministry of National Education and Culture MONEC overcomes this issues by 1 established a national standard for qualification and competencies of early childhood
educator, and 2 providing gradually teacher training and course program 3 giving a permission to all private preschool institution in Indonesia to perform regulation system on
teacher professional development.
Even though the policy has been made by MONEC, but quality of preschool‘ teachers
are still not completely well due to the following reasons: 1 number of teachers supply from university are not meet the needed of fields demand 2 the limited number of teachers
supply from university resulting teachers with non appropriate qualification and competencies for early childhood education 3 MONEC has limited capabilities to serve training and
education for a huge numbers of preschool teachers around Indonesia. Even though the Indonesian Directorate General of Early Childhood Education has been held frequently the
formal course, seminars, workshop, conferences, subject training to improving the quality of preschool teachers, but the opportunity of teachers training and course program is not spread
evenly. In fact, preschool teachers facing a lot of obstacles on finding resources and best practices required for their professional development on the field. 4 Many preschools
institutions has limited resources to serve professional development program to improve teachers qualities 5 Teachers training generally designing slightly different of the real-
classroom context.
These conditions are challenges that must be solved in Indonesia preschool sector certainly, since in recent years the government has concerning on improvement the quality of
preschool service.
2. Teachers Profesional Development at GagasCeria Preschool
To meet the challenges based on Indonesia teachers‘ preschool condition above, each
preschool institution in the field has their own regulation system on teacher professional development in addition
to the government‘s teachers training program. GagasCeria preschool as a private preschool has own system on improving teachers
quality, because teachers must contend with competing demands that challenge their ability to provide quality instruction West-Olatunji et al: 2008. Since someone decided to entering the
early childhood educator profession, they will perform many task: to interaction with children, working with family, being part of team, and implementing curriculum, standards
and assessment Feeney et al, 2010. GagasCeria has realized that the significance of professional development is crucial for quality of early childhood education practices in terms
of developing a child‘s perspectives, understanding child‘s development stages, implementing play and learning contents into practices, designing better lesson plans, creating adequate
playlearning environments for children, establishing harmonious collegiality, and so on Kadota, 2012.
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There are three types of teacher professional development at GagasCeria Preschool: a.
Pre-service training Pre-service training serve for a new teacher that will joint at GagasCeria Preschool.
GagasCeria accept motivated teacher with various background of education in Bachelor degree. The differences of background subject study has been made GagasCeria to do
much more effort for teachers pre-service program. However strongly motivated a new teacher for entering teaching field, they will always ecounter some difficulties in achieving
all the teachers role Orenstein et al, 2011 without any preparation. In service training consist of several days of lectures, observing classroom, lesson reflecting session, teaching
practice, discussions, and workshop on teachers administration stuff.
b. In-service training
Serve for all teachers and staff at GagasCeria Preschool. In-service training consists of intern and extern training based on teachers need and stage of teachers developmental.
Intern training are conducting by GagasCeria Preschool with expert as a trainer. Extern training is sending teacher to attend seminartraining in other institutions. All training
based on teachers needed.
c. Regular of teachers activities
- Weekly meeting
There are several activities of teachers during a year. In every week teachers gather to discuss and share their experience in their own classroom, the relation with parents, and
other issues at school. Sometimes teacher conducted book review activity or small workshop on early childhood education or teachers issues.
- Classroom news paper
Regularly, teacher publish their own classroom paper that inform about classroom activities or special moment that happened at their classroom. Actually this activities
can help teachers to improve their writing skill.
- Lesson Study
Lesson Study is daily activity that conducts by teachers as learning and research process in order to improve the quality of lesson. Such learning and research process
improve the quality of professional during the planning, observing, and reflecting children activities collaboratively in teachers team.
3. Discussion about Lesson Study
