Selasa, 09 Desember 2008

Attracting and retaining teachers in rural Indonesian schools: The case of SMPN 2 Wera

By: Salahuddin

Introduction
It has been asserted that schools in rural communities play significant roles in improving rural life. A number of writers (eg. Barley & Beesley, 2007; Moriarty, Danaher, & Danaher, 2003 ; Halsey, 2006) contend that rural schools are essential for sustainability of rural communities. However, schools in rural communities keep facing one particular challenge which inhibits the process of achieving objectives in improving rural life. The challenge is to attract and retain teachers. Indeed, rural schools experience more difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified staff than schools in metropolitan (Gehrke & McCoy, 2007; Halsey, 2005 in White & Reid, 2008).

In Indonesian rural contexts this particular problem is paramount. One clear example is the case which is faced by my organisation SMPN 2 Wera, a rural junior secondary school. Within the periods between 1997 and 1999 the government appointed 18 teachers for the school. However, since 2003 the school has been facing teachers shortage as most of the teachers had moved. Such a case, indeed, illustrates the difficulties in attracting and retaining teachers in rural schools. The literatures surrounding rural education appear to give little attention on this particular issue. This is due to reason that there is only a few research conducted in the topic of attracting and retaining teachers in rural schools.

This paper will focus on exploring and analysing the case of attracting and retaining teachers in Indonesian rural school contexts. For this purpose, I explore the case in my organisation, SMPN 2 Wera. In particular, my own experiences will be used as the basis of analysis. The anecdotal evidence will be in form of ‘My Story’ which reveals my own journey of experiencing working and teaching in rural school. What factors contribute to teachers attrition and how the factors are supposed to tackle will be the guiding question of this paper.

(NB. For the complete article, please contact me)

Jumat, 05 Desember 2008

INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT DECISION ON STATE BUDGET FOR EDUCATION SECTOR: AN ETHICAL ISSUE

By: Salahuddin


The allocation of Indonesian state budget (APBN) for education sector has always become a controversial issue. This occurs due to reason that Indonesian government is still reluctant to fulfil the percentage of the budget as already mandated by the Constitution 1945, the highest law in Indonesia. The 1945 Indonesian Constitution (section 31 article 4) requires the government to allocate at least 20% of the APBN for education sector. This allocation is also written in The Act of National Education System No. 20 year 2003 (Section 49 article 1). However, until this year the government spends only 12%.

Many parties critique the government for making such a decision. The Indonesian Teachers Union (PGRI) claim the law contravened the Constitution by failing to allocate 20% of the state budget to national education. Many claim that the education budget has been slashed significantly, provoking an outcry from many educational experts as well as grassroots educators who say achieving high standard education is impossible here without having 20 percent of the government's budget. And for some, the government decision is seen as unethical decision. The fundamental question is wether or not the government decision is right needs to be analysed.

This essay is constructed to analyse the Indonesian government’s decision on the budget for education by using ethical strategies. In pursuit of this objective, framework from Jewell, Webster, Henderson, Dodd, Paterson, & McLaughin (2008) will be used. Jewell, et al., (2008) propose four strategies; they are: principles, consequences, agreements, and virtues. To provide the context of the topic, the discourse on the budget in education sector and ethical strategies are presented.

(NB. This article was written when Indonesian government had not decided to fulfill the 20% budget in education sector)

At least this artcle is good to undertand ethical strategies in making decision. For more information about this article, feel free to contact me.

Investigating Knowledge Sharing Practices

By: Salahuddin

Knowledge is seen as a very important asset of any organisation, including schools. To winning global competition, schools should be able to effectively manage their knowledge by leveraging effective knowledge sharing practices within organisations. This study aims to investigating knowledge sharing practice in a single Indonesian school organisation. The study has a significant contribution to the understanding of knowledge sharing practice in school so that necessary strategies to improve knowledge sharing practices can be undertaken.

A case study was conducted in SMP N 2 WERA, an Indonesian junior secondary school. Several data collections such as document analysis, archival records and artefacts were used to analyse knowledge sharing practice in the school. Those data collections were combined with the researcher’s experiences and observation during he taught at the school since 1997 to current time.
The study found and concluded that knowledge sharing practices in SMP N 2 WERA has conformed to the literature to a certain degree. Knowledge sharing between individuals and between units and the SECI processes can be found at SMP 2 WERA. However, there is a certain obstacle which inhibits the types of knowledge sharing to occur; that is individual trust. The study also found that organisational and individual factors become major barriers in knowledge sharing practices. The organisational culture and ICT systems in SMP N 2 WERA do not support the knowledge sharing practices. Moreover, due to lack of understanding about knowledge sharing issues school leadership seems to have no intention to motivate individuals in the school by provision of incentives and forming and supporting communities of practice.