The impact of standards on novice teachers during mandated teaching induction: lessons from the Indonesian context

ABSTRACT

Standards-based induction is a nationally mandated support programme for newly appointed government-registered teachers in Indonesia. The Indonesian government continues to promote teacher standards in their teacher improvement scheme even though they have been criticised in the anglophone literature as a weak driver of teacher learning. This study investigated the impact of standards on novice-teacher learning during induction through the analytical lens of cultural-historical activity theory. Using a multiple case study approach, the data were collected from three elementary schools through interviews with novice teachers, mentors, and school principals as well as document analysis. The findings are that standards-based assessment has the potential to enable teachers to demonstrate the necessary competencies, but the learning process does not always work effectively in practice. This failure was due to the teachers’ lack of trust in the standards and the confusion created when they negotiated the different expectations placed upon them. The confusion stemmed from the clash between the standards and local community values, the fragmented strategy of introducing and implementing the specified measures, the top-down nature of the command structure and harmony-oriented working cultures.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher professional standards
• competencies
• novice teachers
• induction

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education for the financial support that enabled this research to be conducted.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics statement

This study was undertaken with ethical clearance from the University of New South Wales number #HC180254.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tatik Tatik

Tatik Tatik is a recent graduate of the University of New South Wales with a research focuses on induction, mentoring, and teacher professional learning experiences

Hoa Nguyen

Hoa Thi Mai Nguyen is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of New South Wales, specialising in teacher education/development, mentoring, TESOL and sociocultural theory

Tony Loughland

Tony loughland is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of New South Wales. His research interests lie in teacher professional learning across the continuum from graduate to lead teacher.