A Collaborative-Reflective Management Model for MGMP: Enhancing Pedagogical Competence through Integrated Management Functions

Abstract

Teacher quality remains a central determinant of educational improvement, particularly in the context of junior high schools where pedagogical challenges are shaped by early adolescent developmental characteristics. Continuous professional development through Subject Teacher Deliberations (MGMP) has been institutionally designed to strengthen pedagogical competence; however, its effectiveness varies substantially across schools. Despite growing attention to MGMP outcomes, limited research has systematically examined its management through the lens of classical management functions. This study aims to analyze how the application of Henry Fayol’s management functions - planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling - in MGMP contributes to enhancing teachers’ pedagogical competencies. Employing a qualitative multiple case study design, the research was conducted in two public junior high schools in Karawang Regency. Data were collected through non-participant observation, semi-structured interviews with MGMP leaders, teachers, and school principals, and document analysis, and were analyzed using interactive thematic procedures and cross-case comparison. The findings reveal two contrasting management orientations: an administrative-procedural model characterized by top-down planning, limited role distribution, incidental coordination, and report-based evaluation; and a collaborative-reflective model grounded in needs-based planning, participatory organizing, routine institutional coordination, and classroom-based evaluative feedback. The study demonstrates that the mere presence of managerial structures does not ensure instructional impact; rather, the integration and quality of management function enactment determine MGMP effectiveness. Theoretically, this research offers a novel integrative framework that recontextualizes classical management theory within teacher professional communities by positioning management functions as mediating mechanisms between organizational design and pedagogical competency development. Practically, it provides a management-oriented model for strengthening MGMP as a sustainable instrument for instructional improvement.