Education is one of the fundamental priorities of nation building. For this reason, the Indonesian government continuously seeks to improve the quality of its education. Empowering education can be done using many strategies, such as reforming school curricula or school systems or both. This article approaches the improvement of Indonesian education from a different angle, by considering teachers and the teaching profession. Before proposing an agenda for improving teachers, the article considers two main problems of Indonesian teachers: the practice of teacher-centred classroom pedagogy; and the emphasis on rote learning in the classroom. In response to these phenomena, this article suggests two main factors responsible for the persistence of such teaching styles: institutional cultures and the nature of assessment systems in Indonesian schools. This article has three recommendations to help Indonesian teachers improve. However, the author is aware that the agendas for improvement are complex and institutional reforms are needed; for example, the reform of teacher recruitment; teacher evaluation and also the reform of assessment systems. This article includes a discussion of what makes for a good teacher, which will help Indonesian teachers to gain an insight to their profession, and a discussion of the changes that could be made to enable the quality of teaching to improve.

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This article describes the effects of inquiry learning model on college students’ cognitive and critical thinking skills. The research aims at understanding the extent inquiry learning model improves the college students’ cognitive and critical thinking skills in the lessons of educational philosophy and exploring students’ responses to the model. This is a pre-experimental research design, using the one group pretest-posttest design. The samples of the study were an intact class, the experimental group and no control group is needed. The data was analysed using independent test samples t-test and Normalized Gain test. The Research found that the inquiry model is effective in improving college students’ cognitive and critical thinking ability in an educational philosophy class. Overall, the N-Gain indicator of cognitive ability increased by an average of 0.66, and the N-Gain indicator of critical thinking skills increased by an average of 0.63.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Keywords: Congnitive skill, Critical thinking, Inquiry learning, Educational Philosophy, College Student

The objective of this study was to investigate students’ perceptions towards oral corrective feedback from lecturers in their speaking classes. This survey involved 100 students of English Language Education Department, Ar-Raniry State Islamic University (UIN Ar-Raniry) Banda Aceh from 254 students. The participants of the survey were slected using a simple random sampling technique to represent all off the population.  A modified questionnaire from Calsiyao (2015, p. 397) and Elsaghayer (2014, p. 77) was used to collect the data. The percentages were used to analyse the data collected from the questionnaires. The results showed that the students perceived lecturers’ oral corrective feedback as an important part of language learning. Lecturers’ oral corrective feedback was very helpful in improving the students’ speaking abilities.  It can be concluded that oral corrective feedback gave positive results towards the students’ speaking performances. Therefore, this research was significant to highlight the students’ perceptions towards oral corrective feedback from their lecturers during the teaching and learning of speaking in their classes. Both lecturers and students would benefit from this research so that they can realize how important it is to give and accept oral corrective feedback.

The focus of this article's discussion is related to the integration of character education based on local culture at Madrasah Aliyah (Senior High School) in Aceh. The participants were determined purposively, and they were six Madrasah principals, and 50 teachers served at Madrasah Aliyah (Islamic secondary school ) throughout Aceh. The data were analyzed following the procedures of qualitative research. The results of the study suggest that the integration of character education based on local Acehnese culture was carried out through integration in learning, the preparation of a Characteristic Learning Implementation Plan (RPP) module, the role of the teacher as a role model, and the development of pesantren (boarding school) culture. The integration of character education based on local wisdom at Madrasah Aliyah in Aceh has implications for student character development, such as religion, integrity, critical thinking, independence, participating in social activities, and responsibility. Furthermore, the implementation of character education in the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic was carried out through a distance-learning system (online). However, the use of this system still faces technical problems, but as a whole, it can be implemented effectively. Keywords: Character building, Integration, Online Learning, Covid-19

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify skills and attributes that should be included in developing curricula, especially in the area of education. In this case, English Education Department of Ar-Raniry State Islamic University, Banda Aceh, is in charge of the preparation of English language teachers and English language professionals exceeding required standards and be competitive in the labour market. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative research involved 38 research participants consisting of government authorities, academics and students. Interviews and focus group discussions were employed to collect the data. Both interview and FGD results were analysed through thematic analysis. Findings The findings indicate that among the generic skills that need to be incorporated into the department curriculum in order to improve graduates’ quality and meet the requirements of the labour market are: information and communication technology (ICT), leadership, religious competencies, entrepreneurship and communication skills. Originality/value The paper has been developed through research conducted by the authors. Therefore, the authors confirm that the paper has been written according to the academic standard and is free from plagiarism.

Purpose of the study: This study aimed to analyze the use of social media, WhatsApp, among the UIN (Universitas Islam Negeri) Ar-Raniry's English Language Education Program undergraduate students for solving their thesis writing problems, focusing on the effects of the WhatsApp use and to inquire whether WhatsApp communication helps them solve their thesis writing problems. Methodology: The design of this study is descriptive qualitative in nature. The researchers selected 30 English Language Education Program undergraduate students comprising 9 male and 21 female students who were writing theses as participants. This study used the semi-structured interview to collect detailed information needed for this research. The researchers used note-taking and recording device using Galaxy Note 8. Main Findings: Findings revealed that the use of social media, WhatsApp, among the undergraduate students of the UIN Ar-Raniry' English Language Education Program, shows a positive impact on solving the problems they face regarding their thesis writing. The findings also indicated that the use of social media, WhatsApp, has put students at ease in solving their various problems regarding thesis writing constraints. Application of the study: This study can be very useful for the students writing theses, and thesis supervisors. The findings of this research give insights and provide information and theories related to thesis writing issues. Studies on this issue lack in the field of education in general and thesis related problem sharing and supervisee-supervisor relationships in particular. Novelty/Originality of the study: The findings justify how the use of WhatsApp brings about positive effects and partly solve students' thesis writing problems. The findings revealed that these research benefits readers enhance existing knowledge and contributes to the construction of new knowledge in the field of education. Therefore, researchers recommend further research on the effects and benefits or other aspects of social media usage.