Introducing realistic mathematics education to junior High School mathematics teachers in Indonesia

The study finds its basis on the emergent needs for improving mathematics education in Indonesia, that has for a long period experiencing many challenges. Since the time when the government changed the school subject from arithmetic to mathematics, many efforts to improve instruction have been done. Since 1977 the government has produced over 900 million copies of newly develop textbooks for the students and the teachers, carried out in-service training for most of the teachers, and provided teaching aids to schools. A diagnostic survey conducted by Ministry of Education and Culture in 1996 revealed that yet many mathematics teachers were still using the arithmetic based methods in their teaching. This present study is called IndoMath (In-service Education for Indonesia Mathematics Teachers) and focuses on the introduction of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) theory to the Junior High School (JHS) mathematics teachers. The RME theory is developed by some Dutch scholars. Its aim is to enhance the teachers’ knowledge of mathematical content and RME pedagogy by means of workshops, instructional practices, and reflections. This introduction has been conducted from 1999 to the present in an effort to improve the teachers’ competency. It involved 44 mathematics teachers. This paper examines the effect of this introduction on the teachers’ instructional practices in their respective mathematics class. The result indicated that a carefully planned program of professional development grounded in the principles of effective strategies can significantly impact teachers’ understanding of the principles and practice of RME.