The Long Walk to Quality Teacher Education in Indonesia: Student Teachers’ Motives to become a Teacher and Policy Implications

Abstract

The purpose of this mixed methods study, within the altruistic, intrinsic, or extrinsic motives framework, was  conducted in order to document  the  motives of English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers  to become a teacher by choosing a teacher education program at one public university in Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia. A sample of 285 student teachers who were enrolled at EFL teacher education program at one public university in Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia was investigated. Data were collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The frequency of each statement was computed and expressed as percentage of its total score and all of the interview data were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and carefully analysed. The findings of this study revealed that the Indonesian EFL student teachers’ interpretations of their motives for embarking on a journey to become a teacher were unique. Altruistic motives seemed to be predominant; the kinds of motives on their career choice were likely to involve an interaction among altruistic, intrinsic, and extrinsic motives across participants quantitatively and qualitatively. Implications policies to create good standards of teacher education programs in order to attract and recruit quality student teachers should be made before, during, and after entering the program.

Kaynakça

1. Brown, M. M. (1992). Caribbean first-year teachers’ reasons for choosing teaching as a career. Journal of Education for Teaching, 18 (2), 185–195.
2. Bruinsma, M. F., & Canrinus, E. T. (2012). The factors influencing teaching (FIT)-choice scale in a Dutch teacher education program. Asian-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 40 (3), 249-269.
3. Chuene K., Lubben F., & Newson, G. (1999). The views of pre-service and novice teachers on mathematics teaching in South Africa related to their educational experience. Educational Research, 41 (1), 23-34.
4. Cozby, P. C., & Bates, S. C. (2012). Methods in behavioral research. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
5. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
6. Ellis, V. (2003). The love that dare not speak its name? The constitution of the English subject and beginning teachers’ motivations to teach it. English Teaching Practice and Critique, 2(1), 3-14.
7. Department of National Education. (2003). Law for education No.20/2003. Jakarta: Department of National Education.
8. Earley, P. M., Imig, D. G., & Michellin, N. M. (2011). Teacher education policy in the United Stated: Issues and tensions in an era of evolving expectations. New York: Routledge.

9. Grant, C.A., & Sleeter, C.E. (2007). Doing multicultural education for achievement and equity. New York: Routledge.
10. Hobson, A. J., Tracey, L., Kerr, Malderez, A., Pell, G., Simm, C., Johnson, F. (2004). Why people choose to become teachers and the factors influencing their choice of initial teacher training route: Early findings from the becoming a teacher (Bat) project.
11. Jalal, F., Samani, M ., Chang, M. C., Stevenson, R., Bagatz, A. B., Negara, S. D. (2009). Teacher Certification in Indonesia: A strategy for teacher quality improvement. Indonesia: Department Pendidikan Nasional Indonesia.
12. Johnson, B., & Christensen, L. B. (2008). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches (3rd ed.). Boston: Sage Publications, Inc.
13. Johnston, J., Mckeown, E., & Mcewen, A. (1999). Choosing primary teaching as a career: The perspectives of males and females in training. Journal of Education for Teaching, 25 (1), 55-64.
14. King, S. H. (1993). Why did we choose teaching careers and what will enable us to stay? : Insights from one cohort of the African American teaching pool. The Journal of Negro Education, 62 (4), 475-492.
15. Kilinc, A., Watt, H. M. G., & Richardson, P. W. (2012). Factors influencing teaching choice in Turkey. Asia-Journal of Teacher Education, 40 (3), 199-226.
16. Kyriacou, C., Hulthgren, A., & Stephens, P. (1999). Student teachers’ motivation to become a secondary school teacher in England and Norway. Teacher Development, 3 (3), 373-381.
17. Kyriacou, C., & Coulthard, M. (2000). Undergraduates’ views of teaching as a career choice. Journal of Education for Teaching, 26 (2), 117-126.
18. Kyriacou, C., Kunc, R., Stephens, P., & Hultgren, A. (2003).Student teachers’ expectations of teaching as a career in England and Norway. Educational Review, 55 (3), 255-263.
19. Kyriacou, C., & Kobori, M. (1998) Motivation to learn and teach English in Slovenia, Educational Studies, 24, pp. 345–351.
20. Lai, K., Chan, K., Ko, K., & So, K. (2005). Teaching as a career: A perspective from Hong Kong senior secondary students. Journal of Education for Teaching, 31 (3), 153-168.
21. Lin, E., Shi, Q., Wang, J., Zhang, S., & Hui, L. (2012). Initial motivations for teaching: Comparison between pre-service teachers in United States and China.Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 40 (3), 227-248.
22. Lincoln, S. Y., & Guba, G. E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. New York, NY: SAGE Publications.
23. Lortie, D. C. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. London: The University of Chicago Press.
24. Low, E. L., Lim, S. K., Ch’ng, A., & Goh, K. C. (2011). Pre-service teachers’ reasons for choosing teaching as a career in Singapore. Asian Pacific Journal of Education, 31 (2), 195-210.
25. Manuel, J., & Hughes, J. (2006). It has always been my dream: Exploring pre-service teachers’ motivations for choosing to teach. Teacher Development, 10 (1), 5-24.
26. Moran, A., Kilpatrick, R., Abbot, L., Dallat, J., & McClune, B. (2001). Training to teach: Motivating factors and implications for recruitment. Evaluation and Research in Education, 15, 17–32.
27. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2005). Teachers matter: Attracting, developing, retaining effective teachers. Paris: OECD Publishing.
28. Osborn, M. & Broadfoot, P. (1993). Becoming and being a teacher: The influence of the national context. European Journal of Education, 28 (1), 105-115.
29. Pop, M. M., & Turner, J. E. (2009). To be or not to be …. a teacher? Exploring levels of commitment related to perceptions of teaching among students enrolled in a teacher education program.Teacher and Teaching: theory and practice, 15 (6), 683-700.
30. Ramsay, G. (2000). Quality matters. Revitalising teaching: Critical times, critical choices. Report of the review of teacher education. Sydney: NSW Department of Education and Training.
31. Richardson, P. W., & Watt, H. M. G. (2006). Who choose teaching and why? Profiling characteristics and motivations across three Australian universities. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 34 (1), 27-56.
32. Schutz, P. A., Crowder, K. C., & White, V. E. (2001).The development of a goal to become a teacher. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93 (2), 299-308.
33. Serow, R. (1994). Called to teach: A study of highly motivated pre-service teachers. The Journal of Research and Development in Education, 27 (2), 65-71.
34. Snyder, J. F., Doer, A. S., & Pastor, M. A. (1995). Perceptions of pre-service teachers: The job market, why teaching, and alternatives to teaching.
35. Yong, B. C. S. (1995). Teacher trainees’ motive for entering into teaching career in Brunei Darussalam. Teaching and Teacher Education, 11 (3), 275-280.