Unrecognised: Informal Professional Learning of Teachers in Remote and Peri-Urban Primary Schools in Indonesia

Building on my doctoral research, which highlights the reliance of teachers in remote and peri-urban areas of Indonesia on situated and community-based learning, this study explores how informal learning is experienced and applied in pedagogical practice and overall professional growth. Informal learning outside school contexts, such as learning in Islamic communities (Halaqa) and from/with members of their families, is under-researched. The proposed study aims to contribute to our understanding of teachers’ informal learning experiences and their classroom applications and inform policy frameworks that better support teachers from under-resourced settings.

Adopting a qualitative, two-case study approach, inspired by ethnography principles, and informed by interpretivist epistemology and sociocultural theories of learning, the project will involve semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and observations of informal learning experiences. Data will be analysed using thematic analysis, and findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed journal article, policy brief, and academic presentations in Indonesia and overseas.