Proceedings of The 6th World Conference on Teaching and Education
Year: 2023
DOI:
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A Study of Professional Connectedness and Isolation in The Learning Lives of Teachers in Remote and Peri-Urban Primary Schools in Indonesia
Imelda Dwi Rosita Sari
ABSTRACT:
This research will explore the under-researched question of how teachers in remote and peri-urban primary schools (RPUPSs) in Indonesia vary in their professional connectedness and isolation, challenges they face in terms of school conditions, access to professional learning (PL), quality of PL, qualifications of remote teachers compared to urban teachers, and pay. My research will draw on a number of theoretical resources related to teacher learning and knowledge, including socio-cultural theories of learning, and will consider the importance of individual and social aspects of learning. To enable me to undertake detailed and in-depth analyses of RPUPSs teachers in my study, I employ a qualitative case-study drawing on ethnographic approach. I conducted semi-structured interviews with 6 remote and 9 peri-urban teachers aiming at developing understandings of their professional learning. My research will develop new understandings of different processes, conditions and outcomes for teachers’ learning in different contexts of connection and isolation in Indonesia by: (a) focusing on relationships between teachers’ PL needs, their learning strategies and how classroom practices change; (b) bringing together detailed contextualised and critical perspectives of remote, rural teachers who are: (i) more and less experienced, (ii) more and less qualified and trained, and (iii) more and less connected; (c) informing improvements in the quality and quantity of PL support that will enable teachers to develop their classroom practice in ways that optimise access, participation and quality of learning opportunities in all their students (SDG 4).
keywords: professional-learning, social learning, community, professional isolation, professional connectedness