From in-service training to action learning: teacher competency development in an Indonesian Islamic secondary school

This qualitative secondary analysis examines when in-service teacher training at an Indonesian Islamic secondary school moved toward, but did not consistently complete, action learning. It reanalysed a four-month 2025 field inquiry at MA As-Salafiyah using role-based interviews with school leaders, subject teachers, and students, together with observations and institutional documents. A Training-Embedded Action Learning Cycle (TEALC) traced six stages: authentic problem identification, collaborative planning, question-led peer dialogue, classroom experimentation, reflective evidence review, and follow-up with renewed action. To limit post-hoc fitting, the reanalysis applied stage criteria before episode comparison, included disconfirming evidence, calibrated claims through an evidence hierarchy, and treated missing documentation as 'not evidenced' rather than proof of absence. Training addressed curriculum change, lesson planning, laboratory use, digital media, and student engagement. Workshops and peer teaching supported classroom application, while reflection and supervision made selected changes visible. However, peer interaction was more often documented as demonstration and advice than disciplined questioning, and follow-up lacked a stable review protocol. TEALC is not proposed as a new universal learning cycle. Its contribution is a school-level diagnostic bridge identifying two transitions often obscured in training research: the dialogic conversion of peer sharing into inquiry, and the institutional renewal of reflection into a scheduled next action. The case shows that training becomes action learning only when an authentic problem is carried through questioning, action, evidence review, and renewed action.