Integrating undergraduate research and inquiry in English language teacher education programs in Indonesia

: a case study

Abstract

This thesis is positioned against the context of the global changes sweeping the higher education system internationally. The reforms are motivated by a 21st century vision of higher education that is shared globally. The reforms and their underlying vision were also adopted by the Indonesian government and, somewhat broadly, by Indonesian universities. The integration of research and inquiry into undergraduate teaching is central to that vision. The study investigates the challenges of the new higher education reforms on the teaching and planning of English language teacher education (ELTE) undergraduate programs. In order to identify these challenges, the study adopted qualitative research methods as best suited for obtaining as many perspectives as possible from ELTE academics on the issue and to examine the concepts and methods that they apply when redesigning their teaching, as well as their own views on the subject matter. Diverse methods for data collection and data analysis were utilised in order to generate many points to provide a better understanding of the Indonesian ELTE context and the values and traditions from the perspective of which ELTE academics have responded to the new policies. The challenge, that the study identified as most critical to the integration of research and inquiry in teaching in ELTE is an overwhelming absence of explicit links between the lecturers’ personal research (i.e. what they research, how and why) and the manner in which they taught their subjects. This impacted on the pedagogy of their units, where the lectures, uncertain how to theorise investigation, did not know what investigative learning would entail and what needed to be investigated. On the basis of the study’s findings, a number of strategies were proposed to assist ELTE departments to build both a sustainable and empowering 21st century model of ELTE programs.

Date of Award	Feb 2020
Original language	English
Supervisor	Ania Lian (Supervisor) & Gregory Shaw (Supervisor)