The Career Path of an Indonesian EFL Teacher: A Professional Capital Perspective

Three components of teachers’ professional capital are human capital, social capital, and decisional capital according to Hargreaves and Fullan (2012). These three aspects of professional capital are meant to be part and parcel of developing the teaching profession. In this article, the author focusses on professional capital as a framework by putting the emphasis on the decisional aspect. In this study, the decisional capital is not only found at the micro level of education: the classroom and school level. Beyond that, a teacher also needs to make professional decisions that will affect her/his professional growth and trajectory. To illustrate this professional path through the lens of decisional capital, the author outlines the narrative of decision-making of an Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher. The findings of the study shed light on the Indonesian teacher’s journey to becoming an English teacher and how the journey has been marked by her decisions regarding her career and her engagement with the professional communities in Indonesia