Submitted by sep_admin on Thu, 2017-02-16 22:15
The 2005 teacher law aimed to improve the quality of the Indonesian education system by addressing the weaknesses in teacher competencies, their low motivation and poor levels of pay. A central component of the law was the teacher certification program. The Government of Indonesia and the World Bank are in the process of evaluating the impact of the teacher certification program. This brief provides initial results of this evaluation exercise by analyzing the direct effects that certification may have by changing the motivation and behavior of teachers who become certified and receive the professional allowance. The findings show that certification has led to some positive changes in teacher behavior but these changes have not translated into improved student learning. This program was designed to certify teachers who demonstrated minimum levels of teaching competency. Strong incentives were also introduced which entitled certified teachers to a professional allowance equivalent to their basic pay. Indonesia's certification program has raised the income levels of teachers and made the teaching profession significantly more attractive. However, differences between the design and implementation of the program have limited the impact of certification on the much needed improvements in teacher quality. The policy brief shows that the academic criteria used to certify teachers have not guaranteed minimum teacher competency levels. Many teachers with university bachelor's degrees have difficulties with the competency tests that were administered for this study. This is particularly worrying given that the tests were designed to measure competencies in terms of subject knowledge considered necessary for effective teaching.