Proceeding Departemen Pedagogik Prodi PGSD

Abstrak
This study aims at examining the effects of teacher professional certification mechanism on the improvement of teachers’ competencies, and the quality of student learning outcomes. This cross-sectional survey has randomly selected a number of primary schools from the West Java school population. Data are collected from the sixth grade students and teachers, and headmasters in the selected schools. The individual sixth-grade students are the unit of analysis. This study uses the production function model in which school leaving examination scores (UASBN) to be used as the criteria, and selected teachers’, students’, and schools’ variables as the predictors in the model. The analysis indicates that the teachers’ certification has hardly ever been able to promote certificate holders’ competencies. The certification has not even enabled the Ministry to map out teachers by competency levels, since a certificate of teachers is hardly determined by the real teachers’ competencies; they are nothing more than just a label of teachers’ seniority. As the certificate holders, teachers do not offer a guaranty to create a higher quality of teaching and improve quality of students’ learning. The study found out that the students’ learning achievement is determined more by the social economic status of students’ family rather than by the actual certification mechanism. This study has recommended the Government to start reviewing and well improve the effectiveness of certification system that will enable teachers to sustainably promote their own competencies and promote students’ learning.