Australia and Indonesia are close in terms of proximity, but there are many differences between their education systems and methods of working. During 2006 to 2008, the presenter undertook various projects in Indonesia and Australia to collect and/or analyse national data on teachers. This paper details some of the findings from this work, including some personal reflections on working in Indonesia. The Australian work relates to the Staff in Australia’s Schools project. During 2006 and 2007, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) undertook this project, which was commissioned by the former Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). The project comprised the largest-ever survey of Australian school teachers as well as in-depth interviews with various stakeholders. One of the main purposes of the study was to support workforce planning by addressing key data gaps in characterising the Australian teaching profession. Data were collected from over 13 000 primary and secondary school teachers and leaders across the country. ACER wrote two major reports detailing the findings from this study, and these reports are available from both the ACER and DEST websites (details in reference list). The reports provide a wide range of comprehensive data and advice on aspects relating to teacher and school leader workforce issues, such as attraction and retention of teachers, staff shortages and professional learning. The Indonesian work was funded in 2005, under the Australia–Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AIPRD), which committed $1 billion Australian dollars to reconstruction and development in Indonesia over five years. The Australian and Indonesian Governments agreed to a broad framework for extensive assistance from Australia for basic education in Indonesia. This program aims to support and enable the implementation of key Government of Indonesia policy and strategic priorities as set out in Ministerial policy documents. The program also aims to contribute to the long-term goal of Indonesian education reform, increasing levels of educational attainment in disadvantaged areas, and longer-term employment and income generating prospects. ACER are working closely with the Ministry of National Education on Indonesia (MoNE) and various funding bodies to ensure good quality data are collected and used to aid policy development. The data provided in this paper relate to a national collection of survey data from 2.7 million Indonesian teachers, while personal reflections relate to the various studies the author has undertaken in Indonesia to date.

ACER has a Sampling Frame which provides data on all Australian schools and is updated annually. This Frame was used for the selection of schools in SiAS. SiAS was undertaken during 2006 and 2007. A two-stage cluster design was used, where schools were selected with probability proportional to estimated number of teachers, a fixed number of teachers was randomly selected within the school. The detailed survey was developed by ACER in consultation with an Advisory Committee. The survey was available on-line or in paper form. Presently, Indonesia does not have a sampling frame from which schools or teachers can be sampled. Most data collection activities are therefore conducted as a census or convenience sample. Since 2005, MoNE has documented and collected teacher data on three occasions. These collections included analysis of existing information and census surveys. The presenter has worked extensively with PMPTK to understand and improve this data.

This paper will detail differences and similarities between Australian and Indonesian school teachers. Information will be covered on numbers, age, gender, qualifications, ageing workforce, teaching experience, and attitudes. The presenter’s experience working in Indonesia will also be covered. Factors such as impact of gender, youth, religion, skin colour, marital and parental status, and work ethic will be detailed.