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For teachers, professional development is a lifelong journey and a complex and multi-dimensional process. Effective professional development requires practitioners to engage not only in training but also in habitual reflection. However, research on reflective learning within the context of Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching, at both secondary and tertiary levels, is limited. Using the-Self Study, Qualitative Inquiry this article explores my reflective practices in the Indonesian educational context. It is structured around a narration of my roles as an active EFL learner and instructor which have led me to become a reflective practitioner. The article starts with my first contact with English and then goes on to my later learning-teaching experiences. It highlights the process of my reflective learning experience and its influence on my practices as an EFL instructor. In doing so, it aims to encourage similar awareness and reflective professional development in Indonesian EFL teachers. My reflection reveals that learning from experience allows educational practitioners to improve professional competent.

Education is one of the fundamental priorities of nation building. For this reason, the Indonesian government continuously seeks to improve the quality of its education. Empowering education can be done using many strategies, such as reforming school curricula or school systems or both. This article approaches the improvement of Indonesian education from a different angle, by considering teachers and the teaching profession. Before proposing an agenda for improving teachers, the article considers two main problems of Indonesian teachers: the practice of teacher-centred classroom pedagogy; and the emphasis on rote learning in the classroom. In response to these phenomena, this article suggests two main factors responsible for the persistence of such teaching styles: institutional cultures and the nature of assessment systems in Indonesian schools. This article has three recommendations to help Indonesian teachers improve. However, the author is aware that the agendas for improvement are complex and institutional reforms are needed; for example, the reform of teacher recruitment; teacher evaluation and also the reform of assessment systems. This article includes a discussion of what makes for a good teacher, which will help Indonesian teachers to gain an insight to their profession, and a discussion of the changes that could be made to enable the quality of teaching to improve.

This study explored supports given by in-service teachers to student-teachers for professional identity development in Indonesia. In this qualitative study, sixteen student teachers taking the course of Curriculum Development at an Islamic higher education institution in Aceh were grouped into six and assigned to six schools (primary to senior high) in two districts in Aceh, Indonesia, to communicate with classroom teachers regarding lesson plan and teaching materials. We also expected them to observe classroom practices if possible. In this way, student teachers gain real experiences on how the teachers develop their lesson plans and implement them in actual lessons, as part of their professional identity development. We then interviewed all of them to delve into their experiences and perceptions of lesson preparation and teaching. The results showed that even though most schoolteachers provide spaces for student-teachers to practice designing lesson plans, most in-service teachers did not allow student teachers to observe classroom practices. This leaves a gap in the trajectory of student teacher identity development as there are few opportunities for support from the in-service teachers in this regard. However, some participants admitted that their teacher identity had been shaped by the good images of the school they visited, the courses on pedagogy they learned at university, and the instructional approaches former teachers used at schools. This study is significant because its findings can fill in the gap in the trajectory of teacher identity development by alerting in-service teachers, teacher trainers, and the government about the importance of providing school support to student teachers for developing their identity.

This study explored supports given by in-service teachers to student-teachers for professional identity development in Indonesia. In this qualitative study, sixteen student teachers taking the course of Curriculum Development at an Islamic higher education institution in Aceh were grouped into six and assigned to six schools (primary to senior high) in two districts in Aceh, Indonesia, to communicate with classroom teachers regarding lesson plan and teaching materials. We also expected them to observe classroom practices if possible. In this way, student teachers gain real experiences on how the teachers develop their lesson plans and implement them in actual lessons, as part of their professional identity development. We then interviewed all of them to delve into their experiences and perceptions of lesson preparation and teaching. The results showed that even though most schoolteachers provide spaces for student-teachers to practice designing lesson plans, most in-service teachers did not allow student teachers to observe classroom practices. This leaves a gap in the trajectory of student teacher identity development as there are few opportunities for support from the in-service teachers in this regard. However, some participants admitted that their teacher identity had been shaped by the good images of the school they visited, the courses on pedagogy they learned at university, and the instructional approaches former teachers used at schools. This study is significant because its findings can fill in the gap in the trajectory of teacher identity development by alerting in-service teachers, teacher trainers, and the government about the importance of providing school support to student teachers for developing their identity.

The Indonesian educational system should guarantee that educational institutions in all levels not only train their students' cognitive ability but also develop their affective domain. This important domain can be developed through various strategies, one of which is through shaping students' soft-skills. This study was conducted to identify strategies implemented by a particular bilingual school in developing students' soft-skills. Having interviewed four teachers and the school principal, observed classroom, and analyzed documents, we found that the teachers use various strategies in developing students' soft-skills, one of which is through inviting students to participate in learning process and to engage in outdoor activities; promoting democratic dialogues; showing empathy and appreciation, and also showing good examples.

The Indonesian educational system should guarantee that educational institutions in all levels not only train their students' cognitive ability but also develop their affective domain. This important domain can be developed through various strategies, one of which is through shaping students' soft-skills. This classroom research was conducted to identify strategies implemented by a particular bilingual school in Banda Aceh, in its attempt to develop students' soft-skills. Having interviewed four teachers and the school principal, observed classroom, and analyzed documents, such as learning module and syllabus, we found that the teachers use various strategies in developing students' soft-skills, one of which is through inviting students to participate in learning process and to engage in outdoor activities; promoting democratic dialogues; showing empathy and appreciation, and also presenting good examples are seen as important strategies to develop soft-skills.

Teaching is indeed a complex provision, which requires teachers being competent in many respects. They should be very knowledgeable in subjects they teach; they should also acquire skills in transferring their subject matters; they need to be skillful in classroom management, and are capable of designing and developing teaching materials. For that reasons, teachers should always engage in professional development to guarantee their best performance. Understanding teachers' ways of classroom practices is the first step for teachers' professional development. Therefore, it is timely to conduct a classroom research to explore teachers' performance, and thus this research explored teachers' classroom practices in six vocational schools in Aceh. The data was collected mainly through observation of the instructional process in the classroom and in the workshop. The research found several effective attributes of teachers, such as creative, interactive, democratic, intelligent, smart, and well-prepared teachers. The study also identified 'negative' teachers' attributes, such as authoritative, dominated, and withdrawn teachers.