In presenting this argument, the paper begins by outlining a conceptual framework for understanding teacher management policy and its implementation in Indonesia (Section 2). It then identifies the contending forces that have been involved in struggles over teacher management in Indonesia (Section 3) and provides a general overview of the way in which struggles between them have played out over time (Section 4). It then examines the political and social dynamics surrounding a range of specific teacher management issues over which contestation has occurred in the post New Order period (Section 5). The final section (Section 6) presents the paper’s conclusions, focusing on the policy implications of the analysis for proponents of reform.

# **2. Analytical and Methodological Matters**

## **2.1 Understanding Teacher Management in Indonesia**

Much work on teacher management policy and its implementation in developing countries has focused on three analytical tasks. The first has been to define and describe teacher management problems in these countries. In this respect, it has been concerned with questions such as the adequacy of teacher supply, utilization, and distribution; the adequacy of teachers’ skills and capabilities; the quality of in-service and pre-service teacher training; the effectiveness of systems for teacher recruitment, evaluation and management; and the adequacy of teacher pay. The second analytical task has been to prescribe technical policy solutions to these problems taking into account existing levels of development and budget constraints. The third analytical task has been to assess the effectiveness of proposed solutions through evaluations of the impact of projects and programs and consider the implications for project/program design. The central problematic of this work has been how to maximize educational benefit (as measured, for instance, by national performance in PISA and similar examinations) within the context of a given resource envelope, understood in terms of both government budget finances and human resources. Mulkeen’s (2010) detailed analysis of teacher supply, training and management issues in Anglophone Africa constitutes one key contribution in this vein. Others include Gaynor’s (1998) analysis of teacher management decentralization in developing countries and various recent reports on teacher management issues in the Indonesian context (see, for instance, Jalal _et al_ 2009; World Bank 2010a; 2010b; Chang _et al_ 2014; World Bank 2015).

This work has served to define a reform agenda in relation to teacher management consisting of measures to increase/decrease the number of teachers (depending on whether countries are considered to be in shortage/deficit); distribute teachers more efficiently throughout the school system; enhance the quality of teacher training; make teacher recruitment, evaluation processes more meritocratic; and ensure that teacher pay is sufficient to attract good candidates into the profession without being excessive. But because this work has focused largely on technical issues, it has not, in most cases, examined the political dynamics surrounding processes of teacher management reform even though some authors have acknowledged that such processes are inherently political in nature (see, for instance, Gaynor 1998). To the extent that they have explored the political dimensions of change, they have tended to see things in terms of individual teacher incentives and behavior. The challenge, it is presumed, is to ensure that teacher incentives align with broader goals such as improved education outcomes and fiscal sustainability. The way in which teacher management issues are embroiled in contestation between larger political and social groups is set aside in favor of making a case for a more 10