A Teacher’s Contribution in Society: an Interpretation of Community Perceptions and Attitudes

Abstract

Teachers are looked upon as catalysts and agents of change in society. For that reason, their role in social engineering is needed by society. The role of the teachers in social life is not only being a stand-alone unit, but also being influenced by the social conditions encircling the teacher either in the neighborhood or at the workplace. The roles and positions of teachers are getting their own place in the constellation structure of the Banjarese society. A set of rules and pre-requisites are arranged informally by the members of the society to create a certain criterion for teachers in Banjarese society. In this case, Banjar people acknowledge two categories of teachers; teachers in formal learning and teachers in non-formal learning. Teachers in formal education are defined by: possession of a bachelor’s degree in education or similar education, and working in line with their specialization. On the other hand, teachers in a non-formal education category are perceived as people who devote themselves to the welfare of thesociety.