Mobile Teacher Professional Development (MTPD): Delving into English Teachers’ Beliefs in Indonesia

Authors

  • Jepri Ali Saiful International Graduate Program of Education and Human Development, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v21i4.4754

Keywords:

teacher professional development, TPD, mobile learning, smartphone, teachers' beliefs, English teachers, Indonesia

Abstract

In recent years, mobile phones have been used for teacher professional development (TPD). However, the potential use of smartphones, a current-generation of mobile phones, to develop teachers’ pedagogical, social, personal, and professional competences remains underexplored. This mixed methods study, examining the potential use of smartphones for TPD by delving into English teachers’ beliefs, employed a sequential explanatory approach. A quantitative survey was completed by 81 participants, followed by qualitative interviews with 8 selected participants. All the respondents were English teachers in elementary, junior, and senior high schools in 11 provinces in Indonesia. The survey was tested for validity and reliability, and analysed using the descriptive statistics method, while the semi-structured interview was analysed using the content analysis method. Almost all teachers had very favourable and favourable beliefs about the use of smartphones for TPD, perceiving that a smartphone could facilitate the enhancement of their pedagogical knowledge, communication skills, positive characters and English proficiency. Very few teachers had unfavourable beliefs, but among those who did, they believed traditional face-to-face TPD was more beneficial and that smartphones would only lead to addiction. This study recommends that smartphones be optimally applied by English teachers for TPD activities and that governments facilitate such implementation by constructing smartphone TPD models and applications.

Author Biography

Jepri Ali Saiful, International Graduate Program of Education and Human Development, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan

Jepri Ali Saiful is an Assistant Professor in Muhammadiyah University of Surabaya, Indonesia. Also, they are now a PhD student in the International Graduate Program of Education and Human Development, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan (It is ranked #=416 in QS Global World Rankings 2021). Their research interests lie in the area of English language teacher cognition, English teacher professional learning and development, sustainable English education, and text mining. Jepri welcomes any research collaborations related to these research interests.

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Published

2020-06-24

How to Cite

Saiful, J. A. (2020). Mobile Teacher Professional Development (MTPD): Delving into English Teachers’ Beliefs in Indonesia. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 21(4), 143–160. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v21i4.4754

Issue

Section

Research Articles