Thesis abstract:

«p»«p»«p»A teacher, as a human being, is also a lifelong learner, including through professional development. Teachers are also considered to be one of the most influential aspects on student achievement (Hattie, 2008; Rivkin et al., 2005). On the other hand, Bjork (2013) argues that in Indonesia, the teacher pre-service training provided is too theoretical, in-service training is uninspiring, mentors tend to repeat manuals and guidelines from the government. Meanwhile, evolutions in socio-economic, culture, and politics require nations to adopt relevant policies needed to produce quality human resources. Those challenges inspired the Indonesian government to reform its teacher continuing professional development (CPD), namely the Guru Penggerak programme. It aims to develop teacher capabilities on leadership, pedagogical experiences, collaborative work, student-centred learning, as well as demonstrating values (Kemendikbudristek, 2022). There are more than 90,000 (26%) teachers from kindergarten to 12th grade (K-12) level who participated the programme (Antara News, 2024). However, teachers tend to keep their old-fashioned pedagogical methods in classroom unsuit students’ needs and no evidence of increased socio-emotional competence among teachers (Khairina et al., 2023; Safrizal et al., 2022). Widayati et al. (2021) argue teachers merely view the programmes as mandated by the government and incorporated it with cultural and religious values. Furthermore, a need for further research on more districts, including remote and rural locations, to give broader perspectives and findings within Indonesia and local contexts (Khairina et al., 2023). The academic literature in Indonesia discussing comprehensive CPD is also limited. Meanwhile, Mayer et al. (2021) suggest that teacher education research provides opportunities to investigate the impact and influence on teachers and their teaching in schools. Thus, those insights inspire me both as a doctoral student and a policy analyst at the Ministry of Education to investigate: (RQ1) What do Indonesian primary school teachers understand about the programme?, (RQ2) What are the key factors influencing Indonesian primary school teachers to participate on the programme?, (RQ3) How do Indonesian primary school teachers’ understandings affect their classroom practices?«/p»«/p»«/p»