Rabu, 09 Januari 2008

A Distance Training Model for Primary School Teachers

A Distance Training Model for Empowering Primary School Teachers Teaching English through Partnership*)
Drs. Sudirman Siahaan, MPd.
(an educational researcher) Information and Communication Technology Center for Education (Pustekkom) Indonesian Ministry of National Education
Jl. Cendrawasih Km. 15.5 Ciputat, Tromolpos 7/CPA Ciputat 15411 Phone: (62 21) 7401 851, 740 652 Ext. 212 Hand phone: 0812 100 7361 Fax.: (62 21) 740 1727 pakdirman@yahoo.com
AbstractIn implementing "1994 Curriculum", the Ministry of National Education (MONE) permitted Primary Schools (PS) to teach English starting in Grade 4. The same policy is also implemented in the current curriculum and furthermore English is treated as a local content. Does this policy mean that English lesson as a local content becomes "a compulsory" to be taught in PS? Some schools interpreted so and they tried their best to identify and recruit English teachers or teachers of English teaching experiences. The impacts of this policy have motivated headmasters of PS and management of school foundation to recruit part-time English or teachers with English teaching experiences to teach English. In some big cities, recruitment of part time English teachers is not a problem. But, what about the majority of PS located in villages or far from cities? The schools in cities will keep on developing more and more but the schools in villages will keep on being left behind. This policy is followed up jointly by Pustekkom (Center for Information and Communication Technology for Education) and PPPG Bahasa (the Language Teachers Training Development Center) by developing "A Distance Training Model for Empowering Primary School Teachers Teaching English" and implementing it in a small scale. The distance training model covers three levels, namely: basic, intermediate, and advance. Each level lasts for six months. A face-to-face tutorial is at least conducted once in a month close to participants. The management of the training including the provision of tutorials becomes the responsibility of the local government. Pustekkom and PPPG Bahasa are responsible for developing the system and learning materials (printed self-learning materials, audio cassettes, tutors' hands-out), select PS teachers to be participants, evaluate the participants' learning achievement, and provide certificate. It is also planned to develop a tele-conference tutorial.
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This paper is presented in the 21st AAOU Annual Conference, conducted on 29-31 October 2007 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


1. A Brief Information on Indonesian Primary School

The data published by the Ministry of National Education (MONE) in 2005 indicates that the number of Primary School teachers is 1,335,086 teachers teaching in 147,793 schools (137,396 public schools and 10,397 private schools). The number of students aging less than 7 years is 2,646,413 students, aging 7 to 12 years is 21,969,561 students, and aging above 13 years is 1,234,875 students (MONE, 2005). The number of Primary School teachers based on the gained highest educational certificates is 417,374 teachers holding certificates of Secondary Education (Secondary Teachers Training School), 17,049 teachers with Diploma-1 certificates (one year studying in university), 657,712 teachers having Diploma-2 certificates (two years studying in university), 39,545 teachers holding Diploma-3 certificates (three years studying in university), 201,863 teachers with S-1 certificates (graduate study), and 1,543 having S-2 certificates (post-graduate study). There was a policy that Primary School teachers should have Diploma-2 certificates. In this accordance, the Secondary School graduates, who are interested in becoming Primary School teachers, should go to universities for two years study in order to have Diploma-2 certificates. What about the existing Primary School teachers who had only had Secondary School certificates? They have to go to the universities to continue their education to at least could get Diploma-2 certificates. In term of time, the Primary School teachers living in cities, accessing the universities for their further studies is not a problem any more. They also can choose the universities they prefer to study at. The problem faced is the financial support during they are studying in the universities.

Then, what happen to the Primary School teachers living far from cities or living in the remote areas and far from universities? Their access even to the closest universities is a problem. This means that they have to choose either to keep on teaching or leaving their daily tasks as teachers for two years. If they choose to go to the University for Two years Study, they also have to leave their families. As a consequence, the Primary School will have to look for a temporary substitute if the school has only six classroom teachers and this is not an easy task. Another alternative is that the School Headmaster should replace the teaching position left by the assigned teacher. In implementing the policy that the Primary School teachers should have at least Diploma-2 certificates, the government provided scholarship so that the teachers do not need to pay themselves and they do not need to leave their daily teaching tasks because they are requested mostly to learn independently at their own place (distance learning mode). The learning materials are packaged in the printed self-learning materials (modules), audio-cassettes, video-cassettes, and radio broadcast. Face-to-face tutorials are also provided periodically so that the teachers would not get bored but they still had time for social gathering. Teachers' qualification and certification is a current policy implemented by the government. In order to be certified, the teachers should have Diploma-4 or S-1 (graduate study) certificates. In line with the development (globalization), the government encourages the Primary School management to initiatively teach English in the Primary Schools. Primary Schools in cities respond the government's appeal positively and recruit English teachers. Whereas the Primary Schools in villages face limited operational budget to recruit English teachers besides the English graduates prefer to look for a more prospective jobs in the cities. As a response to the above matter, the Information and Communication Technology Center for Education or ICT Center for Education (Pustekkom)-Ministry of National Education collaborates with the Center for Upgrading Language Teachers (PPPG Bahasa) to develop "A Distance Training Model for Empowering Primary School Teachers Teaching English through Partnership" in 2005. In implementing the distance training model, these two institutions work cooperatively with the Provincial as well as District Offices of Education and the Educational Quality Assurance Institutions (Lembaga Penjaminan Mutu Pendidikan, LPMP in short).

2. Introduction of Teaching English in the Primary School
The first characteristic of the Indonesian Primary School is the implementation of Classroom teachers. In this accordance, there should be at least seven teachers teaching in Primary School. Usually, the Primary School Headmaster was appointed from the existing teachers, either from the same school or from another Primary School. In big cities, a Primary School can be found to have more than seven teachers. Aside from the classroom teachers, the school has subject matter teachers for: religion, physical exercise and sports, music, or guidance and counseling. In remote or isolated areas, the Primary School might have only two or three teachers including the School Headmaster. The school also has limited number of classrooms. There are some schools having two or three classrooms only. In this kind of situation, each teacher has to teach more than one learning group of students. Students of Year five and six are mixed in one classroom and taught by one teacher. Another grouping of students can be done by mixing Year one and two in another classroom. Another classroom is accommodated by the students of Year three and four. English is formally taught as a compulsory subject to students, starting from Junior Secondary Schools. In Primary School, English is still an elective subject. It means that teaching English for Primary Schools is depending on the school itself. If a Primary School can afford to hire an English teacher to teach, then English is taught in the school. There is a tendency among private Primary Schools in cities to use the provision of teaching English to promote their schools. This means that teaching English is not an appeal anymore but it has become "a more or less compulsory subject". Surprisingly, more and more Primary Schools in cities teach English to their students since from the first year. If in fact, a Primary School, either in a village or a city, cannot afford to hire an English teacher to teach English, the school isn't obliged to teach English for her students. Instead of teaching English, the school can choose another local content to teach to the students, such as the local dialect, local cultural performance, handicraft, or any other specific vocational subject needed by the community.

In responding the government appeal about the teaching English in the Primary Schools and also realizing the constraints faced by the Primary Schools, particularly Primary Schools in villages or far from cities, Pustekkom and PPPG Bahasa designed a distance training model for empowering Primary School teachers to teach English in Primary Schools. The teachers, who are participating in this training, have to work harder because besides they are required to learn independently using most of their study time, they are also obligated to conduct their daily teaching. All the cost for conducting this distance training becomes the responsibility of the government, both the national and local (provincial and district) ones. This means that the distance training is free-of-charge for Primary School teachers.
3. Primary School Teachers Learn English by Distance Mode
Why should be Distance Training? Indonesia has already had experiences in upgrading teachers by distance mode since 1950s (Siahaan and Simanjuntak, 2004). At that time, radio was used as a main medium and accompanying printed media as a supporting medium. Most of the learning materials are presented by the radio. Why? Radio as a medium of communication was very much used by the community at large across the country. It is also a fast, flexible, and handy medium. Teachers and teachers-to be can listen to the radio programs wherever they are. This was the consideration to use radio as a main medium in upgrading Primary School teachers. The upgrading programs were broadcasted twice, firstly in the morning during the school break, and secondly when the teachers were at their homes. In the school break, the teachers listen to the broadcasted program in group. If some of the teachers missed the morning program, they can still have the chance to listen to the program in the afternoon (repetition program). In order to help teachers prepare themselves to listen to the radio, printed supplementary materials were also sent to the learning groups of teachers.
Should there be difficulties in comprehending the broadcasted programs, the teachers may send letters to the Provincial Office of Education. The difficulties or questions raised by the teachers will be answered through Feedback programs by the Provincial Team. After having completed a six-month package, the teachers were invited to gather in a certain place to sit for exams. For those who pass the exam are given certificates. The certificates can be used by teachers as a credit point in their career development. Supposing the teachers' upgrading was to be conducted with the face-to-face mode, we can imagine how much the time needed in order to be able to upgrade most teachers (in this case, the teachers had to leave their daily teaching), how many teachers can be affordably reached, and the cost have to be spent. The flexibility of learning, the participating teachers are still able to conduct their daily jobs, the larger number of teachers to be served, the problems and difficulties to be periodically answered, the benefits gained by teachers help them manage their teaching activities, the certificates awarded can be used by teachers as a credit point for their career development are among considerations in using distance training mode to upgrade teachers. The above experiences are of high-valued considerations in choosing distance training mode to empower the existing Primary School teachers to teach English. In this accordance, some additional considerations taken are: the difficulties to assign English graduates to teach English in the Primary Schools in villages, the high motivation of the existing teachers to be assigned to teach English after having completed the training, the available resources in the provinces and Districts, and the potentials of the existing technology to support the instruction. Why Should Empower the Existing Primary School Teachers?Working in cities for English graduates is much more promising than working in a place far from cities. Why? Some of their reasons are that the higher salaries they may earn, the faster promotion they may achieve, and the more advanced technology they may use to support their work. Furthermore, teaching profession for young and fresh university graduates, particularly those graduated from English Department is less attractive. To cope with this matter, the government provides some incentives to attract them to become teachers.
The existing Primary School teachers have lived and worked for more than 10 years. They prefer to stay in their current places even though far from cities. They have been united with the community and their living environment. They also feel entertained if they are given time to widen their knowledge or horizon of thinking by learning through more varied learning resources. This has been proven through their high participation in the teachers' upgrading program by radio. The participating teachers informed their colleagues and as a result, the number of teachers participating in this program increased. Another indicator showing the high and positive response of teachers toward an innovation was when the use of interactive audio-cassette programs for Primary School students introduced by the ICT Center for Education (Pustekkom). The Primary Schools chosen as "pilot schools" were those far from cities and relatively difficult to access at. In short, not only the students showed their happiness and eagerness to learn, but also the teachers were motivated to develop similar learning materials to their students. Through the interactive audio-cassette programs, the students experienced a new way of learning because they were motivated to be actively interacted with the programs and besides music were also inserted appropriately. During the piloting stage, the students felt entertained to learn the lesson, easier to master the lesson, and achieved better learning achievement. Even though in term of salary, the teachers teaching in villages far from cities receive less compared to their colleagues working in cities, but their dedication to their profession and for the better learning environment for their students is not in doubt. The high motivation and commitment of teachers to enably serve their students better in one side, and the difficulty to recruit English graduates to teach in villages in another side, are among factors taken into a consideration in empowering the existing Primary School teachers to teach English.

How is the Distance Training Program Conducted?The distance training program consists of 3 levels, namely: basic, intermediate, and advance. The intermediate level is divided into 2 categories, that is: lower and upper ones. The time allocated to complete the basic level is six months. Each category in the intermediate level takes six months to complete. The time for completing the advance level is also six months. The learning materials packaged in print, audio cassette, and VCD were distributed to all teachers participating in the distance training program with no charge. The development of learning materials into printed and non-printed is the responsibility of Pustekkom whereas the contents of all subjects are the responsibility of PPPG Bahasa. In order to enable utilize the non-printed learning materials, a television set, VCD players, and audio-cassette playback were provided to each District to be utilized by all participants for group learning. The procurement and distribution of equipment is responsibility of Pustekkom. Then, The District Office of Education is responsible for all activities dealing with the participants including the management of participants, provision of space for tutorials, and the conduct of tutorials. Participants are suggested to form small learning groups and each learning group is suggested to conduct group learning at least once in a week. So, there are four times for participants to meet together to learn in group before they attend the face-to-face tutorials. The Primary School teachers, who are interested in participating in the distance training program, have to take an English competency test. The objective of the test is for replacement of the participants. There are some criteria for taking the test. During the pilot, the number of teachers to participate in the program is limited to 20 participants. A feasibility study was conducted to determine the provinces and districts to be involved as pilot sites. Based on this study, there are 10 districts in 10 provinces selected as pilot sites. Identifying and inviting teachers to sit for an English competency test and other activities involving teachers is the responsibility of the District Office of Education.

The selected teachers are invited to attend an orientation stage. In this meeting, the concept of the distance training, all activities and proposed time frame was explained and discussed. Some adjustments were made and agreed to put into practice. The tutors are also present in the meeting. Tutors and participants discussed the schedule for face-to-face tutorials and identified the place for tutorials as well. Identifying and assigning tutors is the responsibility of the Provincial Educational Quality Assurance Institution (LPMP). Based on the design of the distance training program, there are at least six times of tutorials. It means that at the end of each month, all participants and tutors come to the agreed place for tutorials. Why should be at the end of each month? By conducting the tutorials at the end of each month, it is hoped that the difficulties and problems encountered by the participants during learning independently in their homes and in small groups can be discussed with the tutors. Before evaluating the learning achievement of participants, Pustekkom and PPPG Bahasa accompanied by the tutors and representatives of the Provincial as well as District Offices of Education visit the participants, discuss their problems, and explain the evaluation that will be carried out at the end of training program (six months after having learned). The evaluation of the participants' mastery of the content is done in the written and oral forms covering grammar and vocabulary, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and speaking ability. The tests construction for evaluating the participants' learning achievement is the responsibility of PPPG Bahasa. Whereas the evaluation of the distance training system is the responsibility of Pustekkom.

The responsibility of the Provincial Office of Education is dealt with the monitoring and supervision of the conduct of the training. If the sites and number of teachers for the distance training need to be expanded, then the Provincial and District Offices of Education are institutions to be responsible.

How do the Primary School Teachers Learn English?The participating teachers have to spend most of their time to learn independently after they have finished teaching in their schools. The participants learn the printed learning materials (modules) independently at their own available time. There is a self-evaluation in each module. During the independent learning, each participant is suggested to make notes on any parts of the learning materials they could not understand. All participants are also recommended to use other learning resources as a way to enrich their mastery of English. After having learned independently for a week, the participants, who live close by in a certain location (usually 5–10 teachers), gather together to conduct a group learning at the week-end. The group learning is usually conducted in the house of one of the participants. During the group learning, the participants
(1) share experiences in solving certain problems faced,
(2) practice some dialogues found in the audio-cassettes or VCD,
(3) discuss the difficulties or problems they found in independent learning, and
(4) practice what they have learned during a week, speaking and listening comprehension of particular. The learning group makes notes on the difficulties or problems that can not be solved during the group learning. After having learned for a month, all participants are requested to attend a monthly face-to-face tutorial. This tutorial can be conducted either in the District Office of Education, the Educational Quality Assurance Institution (LPMP), or in one of the participants' school. In assisting tutors to conduct the tutorial activities, the tutors are equipped with the tutorial's manuals and one copy of the participants' learning materials. LPMP is the institution responsible for assigning her tutors to visit the participants and conduct the tutorials. Aside from providing tutorials, the tutors are also responsible for preparing and supervising each participant conduct the English teaching practices. The tutors assist and guide each participant to develop his or her lesson plan. In this accordance, some learning materials for Primary School students are among the learning materials given to all training participants. The tutors can also help teachers find some references for developing the lesson plan. The participants' schools are used for practicing teaching English.

In conducting English teaching practices, the feedbacks or inputs for improving the teaching of English are not only given by the tutors but also by the peer teachers. The participants generally do not find difficulties in practicing teaching because they have done it for a relatively long time. They have also taught Indonesian language. Teaching experiences gained by the teachers is a valuably reference to conduct the English teaching practices. The emphasis in the practice of teaching English is on the creativity of teachers using teaching methods, teaching atmosphere created, and the classroom activities developed. At the end of each level of the distance training program, all participants are invited to sit for a two-day examination. On the first day, all participants are given written tests focusing on grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. The second day is for listening comprehension and speaking ability (oral test). Certificates are awarded to participants who have successfully passed the exam. The certificates can be used as a credit point for career development. For improving the conduct of the distance training, all participants are asked to provide their comments and feedbacks by filling in questionnaires. e. Lessons LearnedThe conduct of the first level (basic) of the Distance Training Mode for Primary School Teachers Teaching English was over. Out of 200 teachers participating in the training, about 80% (159 teachers) could have successfully completed the training. All graduates of the basic (first) level of the distance training mode were accepted as training participants for the second (upper basic) level of the distance training mode. Not all sites could fully run the face-to-face tutorials as scheduled. The requirement for face-to-face tutorials in each level is at least six times. The problem was the rotation of officials. The new appointed officials have not given full attention to support the conduct of the training. In facing the absence of tutors, the participants directly contacted the tutors and discussed what the problem is. Then, the tutors and training participants rescheduled the conduct of the face-to-face tutorials. In some sites, the Local Governments proposed to Pustekkom and PPPG Bahasa for the multiplication of sites and participants on their own costs. The proposal was accepted as far as the Local Governments agree to follow all the procedures or steps that have been determined.

Most participants expressed that the difficulties they encountered during their independent learning were brought to the group learning. They discussed the problems and sometimes they invited a nearby English teacher to be a resource person. If still the difficulties couldn't be solved, then they were brought to be discussed in the face-to-face tutorials. Realizing not all participants received a complete set of learning materials, the participants asked Pustekkom and PPPG Bahasa to be allowed to copy the non-printed learning materials whereas for the printed learning materials, all participants received them completely. The participants were allowed to copy the non-printed learning materials as far as for supporting the participants' learning progress.
4. Conclusions and Suggestions
Most Primary Schools are located in villages.
Primary Schools implement classroom teachers. Besides classroom teachers, Primary Schools in cities have subject matter teachers, teaching religion, sports and health, and music. This means that the Primary Schools in cities have more than six teachers but on the contrary, many Primary Schools in villages have less than six teachers. Recruiting teachers to teach in villages is not an easy task for the local government. Let alone to recruit and assign English graduates to teach in villages. Even though teaching English is not a compulsory subject yet in the Primary Schools, but many Primary Schools in cities of particular have already taught English, not only in the higher grades (Year four to six) but also from the first year students. Realizing the difficulty of recruiting English graduates to teach English in villages and the available financial support, the Information and Communication Technology Center for Education (Pustekkom) and the Language Teachers Training Development Center (PPPG Bahasa)-Ministry of National Education have collaboratively initiated the development of distance training mode for empowering Primary School Teachers to Teach English.

The implementation of the distance training mode involves the Provincial and District Offices of Education, and the Educational Quality Assurance Institutions (Lembaga Penjaminan Mutu Pendidikan, LPMP in short). The development of the distance training system, learning materials (printed and non-printed), tutors' manuals, conducting the training of tutors, procuring and distributing equipment needed for learning, and awarding certificates are the responsibility of the central institutions (Pustekkom and PPPG Bahasa). The Provincial and District Offices of Education are primarily responsible for monitoring and supervision, expansion of sites and participants, and procurement and distribution of additional equipment. The District Office of Education is also responsible for identifying teachers and providing tutorial's place. The Educational Quality Assurance Institution is responsible for identifying and assigning English instructors to be the tutors for the distance training participants. One of the suggestions from participants is to provide a tutor from the central level so that the participants get wider horizon of knowledge from varied resources. In responding to this suggestion, Pustekkom with its infrastructure and facilities will develop, record, and transmit the televised the tutorials and PPPG Bahasa with its expertise will identify the potential English instructors or university lecturers to become resources in providing televised tutorials. ReferencesDjuniarto, Eko and Sudirman Siahaan. (2005). Laporan Hasil Pelaksanaan Temu Karya Pendidikan dan Pelatihan Jarak Jauh (DJJ) Bahasa Inggris Guru Sekolah Dasar (Report of the Conduct of Workshop on the Distance Training for Primary School Teachers Teaching English). Unpublished. Jakarta: Pustekkom and PPPG Bahasa.
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