Literacy among School Teachers:

The Case of Primary and Junior High School Teachers

in Semarang Municipality

 

 

Warsono

 

 

Teachers are expected to be highly literate because they have to make their students literate so that these young people can function effectively and efficiently in society. Teachers must have the level of reading and writing that allows them to follow their chosen career path and to do what society requires of them.

            The problem is whether Primary School teachers (A) and Junior High School teachers (B) in Semarang Municipality have the required level of reading and writing that allows them to carry out their teaching career. This study was intended to find out the literacy level of these teachers.

            The data were collected using a questionnaire from a sample of 65 teachers (32 from group A and 33 from group B), who were randomly chosen from different schools around Semarang. The data comprised the teachers’ reading and writing habits which involved the teachers’ familiarity with the computer, particularly the internet.

            The data showed that most primary school teachers in the sample (about 87%) almost never read materials that would enhance their teaching career; none of them had the experience of writing papers and one teacher (3%) used the internet only very rarely. Of the 33 Junior High School teachers in the sample, only about 37% did regular reading to enhance their teaching, and none had written a paper. About 14% of them made frequent use of the computer, but only 9% of them sometimes used the internet.

            It can be concluded that the literacy level of the Primary and Junior High school teachers in Semarang Municipality is still low. This suggests that they need to improve their reading habits and that they learn how to write so that their literacy level will enable them to carry out their jobs effectively and efficiently.

 

 

 ------- ---- -------

 

Warsono. (2005, September). Literacy among school teachers: The case of primary and junior high school teachers in Semarang municipality. Paper presented at 1st International Seminar on Literacy Education in Developing Countries, Semarang, Indonesia.

 

Website: www.geocities.com/eltindonesia

Email: eltindonesia@yahoo.com

 

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1