The Academic Supervision for Improving Teacher Professionalism Empirical Evidence from The Secondary School in East Borneo, Indonesia

This article reports on the findings of a research project examining the academic supervision of principals in improving teacher professionalism in secondary schools in East Borneo, Indonesia. Academic supervision carried out by the principal is one of the factors that influence the improvement of the quality of education in schools. To realize the improvement in the quality of education, principals need to develop a supervision program to improve teacher professionalism. This study seeks to explore how principals as teacher supervisors improve the professionalism of their teachers. To realize this objective, the study adopted a qualitative research design. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with principals and teachers at secondary schools in East Borneo. The research findings show that the supervision planning carried out by the principal has been running optimally, the principal is the one who makes the supervision plan. The technique of implementing academic supervision is carried out systematically and has a plan so that teachers feel the assistance of the principal in improving the quality of their learning. Follow-up on the results of supervision is carried out by recording deficiencies during class observations, calling the teacher concerned personally, and discussing the results through teacher council meetings. Academic supervision can help improve teacher professionalism which is beneficial for the school community. To find a balance between teacher professionalism and professional learning, the principal's academic supervision competence seems to need to be developed.