Rethinking Lecturer Development Programmes in Indonesia

While awaiting the government’s latest review of regulations governing lecturer participation in professional development (PD) programmes as a requirement for certification allowance disbursement, the discourse on impactful faculty development programmes is important to highlight. Beyond concerning access to various available professional development programmes, the discourse on lecturer PD should be directed more towards the extent to which these programmes can encourage sustainable changes in lecturers’ practices in carrying out the tridharma of higher education (education and teaching, research, and community service). In this article, I want to specifically highlight the Lecturer PD programme related to the dharma of education and teaching. In Indonesia, we know that all lecturers are obliged to teach. Meanwhile, not all lecturers have received formal education regarding pedagogy and learning. Even if they have, this does not automatically guarantee that they are able to implement effective learning practices in the classroom. Therefore, various programmes such as PEKERTI (Basic Instructional Technique Skills Improvement Programme), AA (Applied Approach), learning workshops, and curriculum training have been presented as part of efforts to increase lecturers’ pedagogical capacity. The goal is clear: so that lecturers can carry out the learning process ‘properly’. In the world of education, the concept of ‘good learning’ is not always interpreted uniformly. However, one of the initial indicators often used to assess the quality of learning is whether a lecturer implements Research Based Instructional Strategies (RBIS) in classroom learning. Some examples of RBIS include peer instruction popularised by Eric Mazur at Harvard University, collaborative learning, inquiry-based learning, formative assessment, and many other examples. The implementation of RBIS in learning, as concluded by various research results, has proven capable of presenting more meaningful learning interactions, creating a more student-centred learning environment, and contributing significantly to improving learning outcomes and motivation. It is not surprising that lecturers are continuously encouraged to adopt and implement these strategies in their learning practices. In principle, the implementation of the Lecturer PD programmes that have been running so far, such as PEKERTI, AA, and various learning workshops, is basically intended to disseminate various learning innovations while persuading lecturers to adopt and implement these various learning innovations, including the various research-based instructional strategies (RBIS) mentioned above. In this regard, we are certainly interested in knowing how much impact the implementation of these programmes has on, say, lecturers’ interest in applying the learning innovations offered. According to the Diffusion of Innovations Theory popularised by Everett Rogers, a person’s decision to adopt an innovation is not an instantaneous process. There are at least five stages commonly passed through. A person first needs to know about the existence of an innovation (knowledge), then react/show interest in the innovation (persuasion), before finally deciding to accept or reject the innovation offered (decision). If the innovation is accepted, the next stage is the implementation stage of the innovation (implementation). The final stage is confirmation, which is the phase where a person affirms the decision to continue or stop using an innovation. Referring to the perspective of Diffusion of Innovations Theory, a Lecturer PD programme is said to be effective if the programme can enable lecturers to reach the confirmation stage; a stage where change no longer stops at knowledge or awareness, but is realised in consistently implemented practice. In other words, lecturers not only know or agree with a new idea, but also apply it sustainably in classroom learning. In this context, a number of studies in the United States regarding the dissemination of learning innovations among lecturers, in my opinion, are relevant to be raised and used as lessons. One of the important findings from these studies is that the dissemination of learning innovations (RBIS) carried out through workshops, journal articles, books, and websites is indeed quite effective for introducing an innovation to lecturers and building lecturers’ positive attitudes towards the innovation offered. However, these dissemination channels often fail to help lecturers pass the implementation and confirmation stages. This means that many lecturers know and even agree on the benefits of implementing a learning innovation, but do not go so far as to use it sustainably in learning practice (Dancy et al., 2016; Chasteen & Chattergoon, 2020). Other research shows that a top-down dissemination approach that pays little attention to the local context where lecturers work is also one of the barriers to innovation adoption (Hora & Ferrare, 2012). Interestingly, some study results actually found that informal conversations among lecturers, especially with colleagues, are one of the most influential communication channels in the process of adopting learning innovations (Dancy et al., 2016). Designing Lecturer PD Programmes Based on Empirical Data In Indonesia, the lecturer professional development (PD) programmes that have been running to support the dharma of education and teaching, such as PEKERTI and AA, still largely rely on the workshop format. On the other hand, we still have empirical data.