Exploring teachers' self-regulated learning in Aceh

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how teachers in Aceh self-regulate their learning. Realizing that teacher quality is one of the main factors of the quality of education, the Indonesian government is also concerned about this issue. One of the programmes that was initiated by the government is the teachers certification programme. The programme is expected to increase teacher quality and teachers' allowances. However, the results of a research revealed that teacher certification has no impact on student' achievement. In addition, certification is still at the level of increasing teachers' living standard rather than teachers' performance. Also, the requirement to have professional and pedagogical competencies is still far from the minimum average (55). The latest result of the national teacher competency test in 2015 was below the minimum average standard (53), and Aceh was in the three lowest positions out of 34 provinces in Indonesia. Besides the programmes, which were initiated by the government, the ability of teachers to self-regulate their learning is essential to help teachers develop their professionalism.

The present case study is a qualitative research conducted in the three districts of Aceh province from the beginning of October to the end of December 2016. The data were collected through face to face semi-structured interviews. 28 teachers from three private schools in Aceh that are under one foundation participated voluntarily in this study. The data were analyzed by firstly coding, based on the elements of self-regulated learning processes, grouping the coded sentences to each thematic phase (forethought, performance, and self-reflection), interpreting and discussing using the theoretical framework underlying self-regulated learning.

The results indicated that not all of the teachers in the three schools performed all the phases of self-regulated learning, which were linked to each other. In the forethought phase, the goals set by the teachers were to master the subjects they teach and to have students' understanding. Those who were indicated to set more goals strategically performed their learning and had high self-efficacy. Moreover, they also did reflection on their learning. As teachers' learning in the workplace context cannot be separated from their teaching practice, it is indicated that teachers were not completely self-regulated their learning, but externally self-regulated from the tasks assigned to them. We also found that teachers' experience and gender did not significantly show differences in the way teachers self-regulated their learning.