Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Education)

School

School of Education

Faculty

Faculty of Education and Arts

First Supervisor

Dr Jeremy Pagram

Second Supervisor

Associate Professor C. Paul Newhouse

Abstract

Over the past decade the rapid pace of technological innovation has changed the knowledge-based society and gradually changed the way teaching and learning are conducted (Hargreaves, 2003). Teachers are increasingly viewed as not only the knowledge providers, but also the facilitators of a learning process. These changes have been difficult for teachers to adapt to, requiring substantial amounts of professional development. In Indonesia, the government has continually developed a number of strategic education policies and implemented various pathways to improve the professionalism of teachers. Nonetheless, there are still a large number of teachers who struggle to access the professional development support provided by the Indonesian government for a variety of reasons. This is particularly the case for teachers who work in rural and remote areas, because many of the current Teacher Professional Development (TPD) practices still focus on teacher-centred approaches instead of collaborative approaches, and often only in the format of face-to-face interaction. Research has shown that an Online Learning Community (OLC) can support TPD and facilitate collaboration among teachers. As an open and voluntary form of gathering that involves education practitioners concerned with the general practice of teaching or specialist disciplines or areas of interest (Lloyd & Duncan-Howell, 2010), OLC promotes active and collaborative learning processes (Helleve, 2010) and gives an opportunity for teachers to engage in reflective practice that can lead to transformative professional development (Windschitl, 2002). This thesis presents the results of a study that set out to develop and implement an OLC to support the current TPD practices in Indonesia. This online learning community was called the Online Learning Community for Teacher Professional Development (OLC4TPD). The study investigated the facilitating and inhibiting factors of OLC4TPD implementation in Indonesia, and analysed how OLC4TPD supported TPD within the Indonesian context.

Download

Share

Paper Location

 
COinS