Professional development for Indonesian elementary school teachers: Increased competency and sustainable teacher development programs

Background Various problems, such as a shortage of teachers, especially in certain outlying and underdeveloped provinces, unequal distribution of teachers, low teacher competency, and mismatch between educational qualifications and scientific fields, as well as the demands of increasingly dynamic developments in science and technology, resulting in the need for professional development for elementary school teachers to improve teacher professionalism in Indonesia. These background as a basis for the government to create teacher professional education program for elementary school teachers continuously. It is hoped that it will be able to answer the educational problems facing the Indonesian nation. This research explores the opinions of elementary school teachers who have participated in teacher professional development activities through the in-service teacher professional education program. Methods We collected data through a written survey of 24 elementary school teachers, as well as article documents relevant to the research topic. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Result The research produced two main themes: increasing teacher competencies and sustainable teacher development programs. Increasing teacher competency related to social competence, pedagogical competence and professional competence. The sustainable teacher development program is related to the guaranteeing the instructional quality of post-program and multi-sectoral collaboration. Conclusion Developing teacher professionalism through teacher professional education program in elementary schools in Indonesia positively impacts teachers’ becoming professional teachers. Teacher professional education program is an indication of improving teacher professionalism, especially in developing teaching skills, improving the quality of instruction, teacher motivation and individual development in dealing with various problems in instruction in the classroom, especially in elementary schools, so that the instructional objectives that have been set can be achieved. The professionalism of elementary school teachers will improve if there are sustainable programs such as mentoring programs from the government, universities and parties that focus on improving the quality of education in Indonesia.