High-stakes testing and English teachers' role as materials developers: Insights from vocational high schools

The implementation of the National Examination (NE) in Indonesia in elementary to high schools is considered as high-stakes testing and affects the teachers’ practice particularly in vocational settings. As material developers, English teachers in Vocational High Schools (VHS) are demanded to develop appropriate and suitable materials to meet the students’ specific needs. The incompatibility of the NE materials prescribed by the government and the vocational students’ needs put the teachers in a dilemma. The teachers should deal with the pressure of the NE and their roles as materials developers. This article tries to reveal how high-stakes testing impacts their roles as material developers particularly in the absence of specifically prescribed materials for VHS students. A case study design was used in this research with 31 participants of English teachers from nine state VHS in Pontianak, Indonesia. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The result revealed that the role of teachers as materials developers somehow becomes diminishing because of the presence of the NE as high-stakes testing in the learning process, especially in VHS. This condition is detrimental to the teachers’ professional development since their roles as materials developers are limited and even under-developed. With the cancellation of NE by the end of this year, it is expected that the teachers are able to play their roles as materials developers and conduct evaluations based on the students’ specific expertise.

Download Full-text

The causes of the English teachers’ problems on professional competence at Vocational High School

International Journal of Humanities and Innovation (IJHI) ◽

10.33750/ijhi.v1i2.9 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

S Syamsinar ◽

K Khaeruddin

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

High Schools ◽

Professional Competence ◽

Teaching Method ◽

English Teachers ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Vocational High School ◽

Teaching English ◽

Vocational High Schools ◽

The Government

The objectives of this research aimed at (i) finding out the causes of the problems in teaching English at vocational high schools and (ii) finding out the possible solution toward the problems of the teachers in teaching English subject at vocational high schools. The researcher applied purposive sampling technique in selecting the participants. The participants consisted of two advanced teachers and two beginner teachers at vocational high schools in Somba Opu sub-district. The additional participants were two headmasters that focused on the possible solution dealing with the problem found by the English teachers at VHS. This research under applied descriptive approach and qualitative method. The data were collected by using two instruments namely semi-structured interview and observation checklist. The data were analyzed by using the framework of Miles and Huberman’s (2012) namely data reduction, data display, and drawing then verifying conclusion. The results of this research mentioned nine causes of the problems on the professional competence of English teachers in teaching at vocational high school and the possible solution toward the causes. The outline of the causes of the problems on professional competence are the less effort of the English teachers to improve the linguistic aspects, lack of English for Spesific Purpose knowledge, less of communicative competence, less preparation of teaching contents, less in using ICT as a teaching method and lack in managing the time and managing the class. The possible solution can draw in this research that the English teachers at VHS have to consider the students’ need, prepare the teaching planning and involved in the teaching training. Thus, this research might become a recommendation to the government and the Educational trainer for facilitating the English teachers at VHS with education training of ESP knowledge and supporting the teachers in developing their professional competence.

Download Full-text

Researching the promotion of fundamental British values in schools

Tea and the Queen? ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447351955.003.0004 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 51-68

Author(s):

Carol Vincent

Keyword(s):

National Policy ◽

High Stakes Testing ◽

Political Climate ◽

High Stakes ◽

Work Lives ◽

Affective Characteristics ◽

Straight Line ◽

Policy Enactment

Chapter 3 discusses the processes of ‘policy enactment’ (Ball, Maguire and Braun 2012). This term is used to emphasise that there is no simple straight line between what a policy text states and what happens on the ground. Enactment describes the processes by which teachers interpret and reinterpret national policy, translating it to fit their own contexts. In the discussion, I consider the importance of what has been called the affective policy ‘tone’, in shaping enactment, drawing on Ben Anderson’s work to describe the affective characteristics of the wider social and political climate. The chapter also outlines the current education policy context in England, emphasising the key role of high stakes testing in shaping teachers’ work lives and the emphasis on traditional academic subjects, leading to the marginalisation of citizenship education described in Chapter 2. The chapter finishes by introducing the schools involved in this research. They consist of nine case study schools and eight schools that were visited for a one-off interview.

Download Full-text

ENGLISH AS A MEASUREMENT STANDARD IN THE NATIONAL EXAMINATION: SOME GRASSROOTS' VOICE

TEFLIN Journal - A publication on the teaching and learning of English ◽

10.15639/teflinjournal.v20i1/1-24 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Gunadi Harry Sulistyo

Keyword(s):

English Teachers ◽

Point Of View ◽

Measurement Standard ◽

National Examination ◽

National Examinations ◽

The Government

The National Examinations, including English as one component, have always implored controversies. And the government has still been determined in its commitment to execute the national examinations backed up with several accompanying arguments as an attempt to 'smarten the life of the nation'. This has not, however, likely been well understood by all parties with a view to gaining communal supports from all. A small survey was conducted to analyze English teachers' point of view, as frontline agents in the field, concerning issues related with the national examinations. It turns out that in spite of their positive viewpoint in the role of tests, when challenged to accepting responsibility in the context of classroom-based assessment as a part of their autonomous roles, they demonstrate an impression of disinclination.

Download Full-text

MUHAMMADIYAH SCHOOL MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IN BANGKA BELITUNG

Berumpun International Journal of Social Politics and Humanities ◽

10.33019/berumpun.v3i1.24 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 13-22

Author(s):

Sri Sugiyarti ◽

Muhammad Iqbal Arrosyad

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

High Schools ◽

Management Strategy ◽

School Principals ◽

Public Confidence ◽

Education Management ◽

National Examination ◽

School Year ◽

Vocational High Schools ◽

New Facilities

The charitable endeavors of Muhammadiyah in the Bangka Belitung Region in the field of education from the levels of Elementary Schools, Junior High Schools, and High Schools and Vocational High Schools are spread to all districts/cities. However, the discussion about Muhammadiyah education in Bangka Belitung is very minimal. This research is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach. This study took the sample of the oldest and best senior high school as an illustration of Muhammadiyah education management in Bangka Belitung. The results showed that Muhammadiyah Education experienced various obstacles to the threat of closure, however, they were able to rise from adversity. Muhammadiyah Pangkalpinang High School as the oldest school departed from a school that boarded at Muhammadiyah Middle School and later became one of the most popular schools in the era of the 1990s to accommodate students up to 18 classes, but later it fell free and was almost closed due to the lack of students. Several times the change of school principals has not improved, a new hope is obtained when the management of this school is submitted to the STKIP Muhammadiyah Bangka Belitung to become its lab school. Now with new facilities and management, the number of students is increasing, slowly but surely this school is starting to improve itself. Meanwhile, Muhammadiyah Toboali High School, South Bangka Regency, which was established in 1994, almost lost public confidence, due to a large number of students who failed the National Examination for the 2006/2007 school year. The situation changed along with Supiandi's leadership, his persistence in managing the school, and finally, the trust in the community returned. Now the number of students has reached nearly 500 students

Download Full-text

Critical Factors in English Teachers’ Professional Development in China – A Case Study

European Journal of Language and Literature ◽

10.26417/ejls.v4i3.p6-16 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kathy O’Sullivan

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

English Teachers ◽

Critical Factors ◽

Teachers Professional Development

Download Full-text

Students' understanding through the use of ICT-based accounting multimedia (MAKSI) in vocational high schools

Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi ◽

10.21831/jpv.v8i2.19450 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 151

Author(s):

Vivi Pratiwi ◽

Siswandari Siswandari ◽

Djoko Santosa Th

Keyword(s):

High Schools ◽

Information And Communication Technology ◽

Communication Technology ◽

Case Study Method ◽

Descriptive Research ◽

Information And Communication ◽

Vocational High Schools ◽

Quantitative Descriptive ◽

Essay Tests

This study aims to describe the use of MAKSI: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based accounting multimedia in improving students' understanding on bank reconciliation material in Vocational High Schools (SMK). This research is a quantitative-descriptive research with case study method involving 40 students. Data collection techniques used are tests using essay tests, observations, and interviews. The result showed that the average understanding before using MAKSI is 52.18 with the less category, while after using MAKSI the average increases to 76.23 with good category. Before using MAKSI, 65% of students have less understanding, 27.5% have sufficient understanding, while 10% have good understanding. After using MAKSI, the percentage of the the students who have good understanding increases to 40%. In addition, there are 40% of students who have very good understanding. Those who have less understanding are only 7.5% while 12.5% of them have sufficient understanding. Thus, the use of MAKSI in learning in SMK can improve students' understanding.

Download Full-text

Case Study on the Efficiency of Recycling Companies’ Waste Paper Collection Stations in Japan

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su132011536 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (20) ◽

pp. 11536

Author(s):

Xiaoyue Liu ◽

Jeongsoo Yu ◽

Kazuaki Okubo ◽

Masahiro Sato ◽

Toshiaki Aoki

Keyword(s):

Collection Efficiency ◽

Waste Paper ◽

Current Status ◽

Collection System ◽

Trade Area ◽

Operational Characteristics ◽

The Government ◽

Families With Children

Each year, a large amount of waste paper (WP) is generated in Japan, and due to the change in lifestyle with the COVID-19 pandemic, the WP collection and recycling system in Japan faces new challenges. Although the government of Japan has installed WP collection systems, the efficiency of these traditional WP collection systems is too low, and this causes inconvenience to the governments, residents, and other stakeholders. On the other hand, some recycling companies in Japan are trying to establish a nontraditional WP collection system by setting their own WP collection stations in cooperative supermarkets. Yet, the efficiency of this new system has not been clarified. This research aims to investigate the current status, operational characteristics, and the role of recycling companies’ WP collection stations in the Japanese WP collection system. By performing trade area analysis and stepwise OLS regression, this research will evaluate WP collection stations’ efficiency. Moreover, this research will also discuss how the new WP collection system improves WP collection efficiency and residents’ convenience. The results show that WP collection stations efficiency is particularly high in large supermarkets with many parking spaces and long business hours, as well as in areas with many families with children. Recycling companies’ WP collection system could create a system, which can satisfy resident, government, and recycling company interests at the same time.

Download Full-text

Citizen Participation in Responding to Natural Disasters Through Twitter Messages

Journal of Information Technology and Computer Science ◽

10.25126/jitecs.202052179 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 123

Author(s):

Rizky Pamuji ◽

Ismiarta Aknuranda ◽

Fatwa Ramdani

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Natural Disasters ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Citizen Participation ◽

Disaster Relief ◽

Local Communities ◽

Citizen Involvement ◽

The Government

Citizen participation in collect and distribute information increase the role of the citizen involvement in local issues and increasing the benefits of society for the government and the environment. The contribution of citizens can be useful in helping to deal with environment problems and assist certain parties in meeting data needs, this is commonly referred to as citizen science. In its development, citizen science involvement in providing information began to involve social media as a platform for sharing information. In this study we try to explore citizen science of Indonesia, we conduct case study exploring how citizen in Indonesia used social media such as Twitter in response to one of the country’s worst disaster in 2018 namely Lombok Earthquake. By analyzing these user generate message we may know what the response of Indonesian citizen during event and understand more about citizen science in Indonesia through social media including its role and contribution. The information also may assist local communities in obtaining up-to-date information, providing assistance according to needs of the populace and use to manage and plan disaster relief both during and after the event.

Download Full-text