Ordinary Sociologists

Ordinary Sociologists: The Teaching Assistants

(History of Sociology, RC 08)

Author: Kamanto Sunarto (University of Indonesia)

 

Until the 1990s  the sociology department of a public university in Indonesia strengthened their college teaching staff  by recruiting college seniors with good  academic achievements as part-time teaching assistants. After obtaining their bachelor’s degrees in sociology some of  these sociologists  would continue to teach on a part-time basis while  waiting for an opportunity to be recruited as a full-time faculty member. For most of them, however, the wait was in vain, among other things because there were very few vacancies available, and also because the eligibility standards for becoming a full-time faculty members were gradually raised.  After teaching part-time for a number of years – while, in some cases, working towards a masters’ degree  -- most of them finally sought and obtained full-time employment at other public or private higher education institutions, where they continue to teach sociology.

The practice of recruiting college students as teaching assistants was eventually discontinued, Factors such as centralization and bureaucratization within the university, the tightening of recruitment criteria for teaching staff at colleges in compliance with national standards, and the application of efficiency criteria forced the department to abandon its policy. 

This paper, a case study of sociology teaching, describes the biographies of a selected sample of former teaching assistants in sociology – their social backgrounds, present social statuses, academic performances and careers.   The life history data are based on depth interviews with informants who were part-time teaching assistants recruited in the 1990s, are still working as academics at institutions of higher education outside their alma mater, and are still teaching sociology. Data for this study are also based on interviews with on-campus resource persons, and on the examination of relevant documents.