Patterns of Continuous Professional Development for Vocational High School Teachers in Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-557-7_12How to use a DOI?

Keywords

sustainable professional development; teacher professionalism; vocational education; CPD; vocational high school teachers

Abstract

The success of vocational education is highly dependent on the professionalism of teachers in adapting to the rapid changes in science, technology, and the labor market. This study aims to explore the sustainable professional development patterns of Vocational High School teachers in Indonesia by emphasizing the framework of Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Employing a qualitative multi-site case study design, the research was conducted across three state vocational schools in North Sumatra. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with teachers, principals, and industry partners, as well as classroom observations and document analysis. The data were analyzed using Miles and Huberman’s interactive model, supported by triangulation to ensure validity. The findings reveal that the pattern of sustainable professional development among Vocational High School teachers comprises three major dimensions. First, pedagogical competence development, which includes in-service training, teacher learning communities, and academic supervision. Second, vocational competence enhancement through industry partnerships, professional certification, and upskilling-reskilling programs aligned with labor market demands. Third, digital competence development, including digital literacy, the use of learning management systems, and the integration of emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, and virtual reality in vocational teaching practices. The effectiveness of this developmental pattern is strongly influenced by school leadership, adaptive government policies, and active industry involvement. This study concludes that the sustainability of teacher professional development in vocational schools requires systematic management, industry alignment, and the promotion of lifelong learning. The implications of the research highlight the need for policymakers, school leaders, and stakeholders to design professional development programs that are not episodic, but continuous and responsive to the dynamics of the labor market and technological transformation.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Arif Rahman
AU  - Yuniarto Mudjisusatyo
AU  - Saut Purba
AU  - Dadang Mulyana
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/17
TI  - Patterns of Continuous Professional Development for Vocational High School Teachers in Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra
BT  - Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference of Engineering and implementation on vocational education (ACEIVE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 125
EP  - 139
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-557-7_12
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-557-7_12
ID  - Rahman2026
ER  -