Understanding the competency of teachers in Indonesia

_{Teachers should be role models. Image source}

A teacher must have competence. Competence can include the quality possessed by a teacher; skills that can be developed; understand the knowledge of the lesson he taught and the knowledge of the circumstances surrounding him; and the inherent qualifications of the teacher according to the level of requirement required by the government or educational institution.

Our country, Indonesia, has issued special regulations on teachers and lecturers (this regulation is in one package). Regulation that I mean the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers. So, in this article, the focus of my discussion just on this regulation.

What is competency in this law? Competence is a set of knowledge, skills, and behaviors that must be owned, experienced, and mastered by teachers or lecturers in performing professional duties. Teacher is a task that must be done by a professional. That is, the teacher is a professional job that must have knowledge, teaching skills, good behavior as a role model community. So it is not wrong if I say that the teacher is a perfect person.

Then, what are the competencies a teacher must have? The law states that teachers must have pedagogical competence, personal competence, social competence, and professional competence gained through professional education. Furthermore, our government also describes the competencies in the Minister of National Education Republic of Indonesia Number 16 of 2007 on Academic Qualification Standards and Teacher Competency.

_{Teachers must have the skills and competencies. Image source}

Let's look at the understanding of the four competencies. Pedagogical competence include teachers' understanding of the learners, the design and implementation of learning, evaluation of learning outcomes, and the development of students to actualize their potential. Personality competence is a personal ability that reflects a steady, stable, mature, wise, and authoritative personality, a role model for learners, and noble character. Social competence is the ability of teachers to communicate and get along effectively with learners, fellow educators, education personnel, parents / guardians of learners, and the surrounding community. And professional competence is a mastery of learning materials in a broad and deep, which includes the mastery of curriculum material subjects in schools and scientific substances that overshadow the material, and the mastery of the structure and methodology of science.

So, I can conclude that these four competencies are a unity attached to the person of a teacher. Teachers with pedagogical abilities aim to understand the conditions experienced by learners. In this case, teachers should be able to provide solutions to problems faced by students, such as student learning interests, constraints faced by students in learning, and others.

A teacher should have a good personality, because teachers in Indonesia are role models for society. Teachers should not be involved in criminality as this may undermine a teacher's authority. In the social sphere, teachers must have the ability to communicate with people who have different characters. Teachers must know how to face with people with a harsh character, and in this case, if there is a conflict within a group, the teacher can be a mediator.

Finally, teachers are also required to become professional individuals. Professional teachers are teachers who have a deep understanding of the subject matter taught, able to professionally develop a learner plan, able to evaluate learning outcomes, and able to develop learning methods in accordance with the character and condition of his students.

Unfortunately, I still struggle to acquire these competencies fourth. But I will continue to learn to become a competent teacher in accordance with the demands of this country's laws.

References I use:

<sub>1. The Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers
2. The Law Minister of National Education Republic of Indonesia Number 16 of 2007 on Academic Qualification Standards and Teacher Competency.
3. 4 Kompetensi yang Harus Dimiliki Guru Profesional</sub>