Teaching in Rural Indonesian Schools: Teachers’ Challenges

Anggri Muhtia,Dewi Rochsantiningsih,Joko Nurkamto,Mia Febriana

doi:10.22437/ijolte.v2i2.5002

Anggri Muhtia, Dewi Rochsantiningsih + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.22437/ijolte.v2i2.5002

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Abstract

The Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education of Indonesia has prioritized education in the disadvantaged, outermost, and frontier regions (3T) by implementing a program called Sarjana Mendidik di daerah Terdepan, Terluar, dan Tertinggal (SM-3T), which is a year program for teacher education graduates to devote their lives teaching in the rural areas of Indonesia. The government sees the importance of promoting education in rural areas as a shared responsibility that must be done as a form of devotion to the nation. Every year the government sends thousands of teachers of various subjects as an effort to meet the needs of teachers in rural areas, which is still far from enough. Teachers who in fact come from urban areas certainly experience many challenges when they teach in rural areas with lack of facilities. This paper aims at finding out the challenges faced by teachers, especially English language teachers in carrying out teaching and learning activities in rural Indonesian schools. Framed by a humanistic perspective, questionnaires and in-depth interviews were employed as data collection techniques in this narrative case study. Furthermore, this study is expected to contribute to the teacher professional development in the rural areas.

Highlights

“Building Indonesia from the periphery by strengthening the regions and villages within the framework of a unitary state” is the third agenda of Nawacita (Nine priorities of national development agenda)
The SM-3T, which stands for Sarjana Mendidik di daerah Terdepan, Terluar, dan Tertinggal (Graduates Educating in the Disadvantaged, Outermost, and Frontier Regions), is a year program for teacher education graduates to teach in rural areas of Indonesia
The challenges facing teachers in remote rural areas were explored more deeply through the stories told by SM-3T teachers, especially English language teachers, who spent their lives teaching in rural Indonesian schools

Summary

Introduction

“Building Indonesia from the periphery by strengthening the regions and villages within the framework of a unitary state” is the third agenda of Nawacita (Nine priorities of national development agenda). Luschei & Zubaidah (2012) conducting a case study in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, claimed that the challenge for upgrading skills and knowledge of primary teachers was enormous and more acute in remote rural regions. In this current study, the challenges facing teachers in remote rural areas were explored more deeply through the stories told by SM-3T teachers, especially English language teachers, who spent their lives teaching in rural Indonesian schools

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Conclusion