Abstracts Category : Other

Teachers professionalism and continuing professional development: The perceptions of accounting teachers in vocational high schools in Yogyakarta Indonesia

by Ani Widayati

Teacher professional development is considered an important strategy in educationreform (e.g. Day & Sachs, 2004). Even though there is much written about professionaldevelopment, teacher professionalism and new conceptions of professionalism, little researchhas investigated teachers perceptions of these concepts. In Indonesia, the government isreforming national education in line with globalisation with a focus on teacher competenciesand teachers continuing professional development (CPD). I used Bronfenbrennersbioecological model to explore Indonesian vocational education teachers perceptions ofprofessionalism and continuing professional development and the environments in whichdevelopment occurs.The study employed a qualitative interpretive approach to better understand teachersperceptions of professionalism and CPD and factors they perceived to be related to their CPD.The participants were six accounting teachers in Yogyakarta province, Indonesia, includingthree certified teachers and three uncertified teachers. Data sources included face-to-faceinterviews and teaching artefacts the teachers brought to the interview and used to explain theirviews and experience. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.Teachers explanations revealed a range of perceptions of professionalism and CPD.While some teachers conceptions of professionalism were traditional, others were in theprocess of change towards a transformative conceptualisation. These accounting teachersperceived a range of factors affected their CPD, including person characteristics andenvironmental contexts such as students, family, colleagues at the microsystem level, principaland school level teacher forum at the mesosystem level, laws and provincial level teacher forumat the exosystem level, and national qualification framework, curriculum, ASEAN EconomicCommunity at the macrosystem level. I discuss the importance of these factors in developingstrategies to support teacher development to meet the demands of a changing society.Advisors/Committee Members: MacCallum, Judy, Woods-McConney, Amanda.