In the Spirit of Quality Student Teachers’ English Proficiency and Pedagogical Skills: Teacher Educators and School Principals’ Perception

Abstract

The aim of this research was to document information on English teacher education program at one state-owned university in Jambi, Indonesia in order to better prepare student teachers with sufficient knowledge and skills they need to teach. Information was gathered from school principals’ and teacher educators’ perceptions on beginner teachers’ English proficiency and pedagogical skills. This research employed qualitative method that used document analysis and interviews for data collection. Interviews with principals and teacher educators were used to obtain data and evidence about the beginner teachers’ language proficiency and preparedness to teach and document analysis was used to explore the content of the English teacher education curriculum that covers English proficiency and teaching skill related courses. The results showed that school principals did not always perceive the English proficiency and teaching skills of new teachers to be adequate for entering the teaching profession. In contrast, teacher educators gave a view that pre-service teachers who had completed an English teacher education program were equipped with adequate language knowledge, language proficiency, and language teaching skills. This research makes recommendations to improve the quality of this program, in particular, program curriculum content reform for developing language knowledge and language teaching skills.