JELE (Journal of English Language and Education) ISSN 2541-6421 Vol. 5, No. 2, December 2019, pp. 91-98 91 http://dx.doi.org/10.26486/jele.v5i2.958 jele@mercubuana-yogya.ac.id Activity Theory: An Analysis of Students’ Demotivation Factors due to Zoning Policy Implementation in Sleman, Bantul, and Yogyakarta Region Albertus Yordhana Arsanto 1,*, Markus Budiraharjo 2 1,2 Sanata Dharma University, Mrican, Jalan Affandi, Mrican, Caturtunggal, Depok, Sleman, DIY 55281 1 albertusya@gmail.com*; 2 mbudiraharjo1@gmail.com * corresponding author 1. Introduction Indonesian Government has the New regulation for state junior high school and senior high school in accepting the new students by selecting them based on the students’ home and final examination scores. The regulation is based on the Education and Culture Ministry no. 14/ 2018 which states the place of residence is the criteria for admission for the students to register at the school. Nevertheless, there is one of the rules which might be a problem for the students who live in school area. The rule is that the use of SKTM in which the parents can register their children to study in a favorite school according to their wishes. They will be passed, later they will study in the school. Since the rules have been implemented by the government to support zoning system, many of the students around the school area have experienced the new regulation, especially in Yogyakarta Province. The regulation has been implemented since New Students Admission (PPDB) in 2018, at the first implementation, some schools did not fully implement the regulation at New Students Admission, because the teachers were still confused of understanding the new regulation. Then, the school had fully implemented the new regulation for New Students Admission in 2019. The objectives of the zoning system are (a) Ensure learners have access to education facilities. (b) Eliminating exclusivity and discrimination in schools, particularly in public schools. (c) Assist in analyzing teacher requirements and calculating allocation. By implanting the new regulation, the A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Article history Received : July 22, 2019 Revised : August 27, 2019 Accepted : October 14, 2019 Zoning policy has become a new regulation in New Student Admission (PPBD) at Yogyakarta Province, such as Sleman, Yogyakarta, and Bantul district. The research focuses on students’ demotivation factors due to the new regulation implemented by the government about zoning system. The research uses the semi-structured interview for eighteen students from different cities and two students chosen and analyzed by Activity Theory and they are from different school and district. The result is that the students feel demotivated, since the factors are their favorite schools, classmates, teachers, and the regulation itself. The most affecting factor is their classroom environment owing to the diverse students in the classroom. However, the students try to adapt the environment in order to enhance their learning experience and motivation. This is an open access article under the CC–BY-SA license. Keywords Zoning Policy Demotivation Activity Theory Students http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ 92 JELE (Journal of English Language and Education) ISSN 2541-6421 Vol. 5, No. 2, December 2019, pp. 91-98 Albertus Yordhana Arsanto, et al (Activity Theory: An Analysis of Students’ Demotivation Factors…) parents are also happy because they can control their children easily, since the distance is not too far from their home (CNN, 22 June 2019). On the other hand, zoning system has, too, influenced the students’ motivation in the learning process at school. Students who are motivated in the classroom class will be more involved in following the teaching process and difficult assignments in order to have a favorable attitude towards the classroom. Masgoret & Gardner (2003) indicated that the motivated individual spends effort is persistent and attentive to the job at hand, has objectives, ambitions, loves the activity, experiences strengthening from achievement and appointment from failure attributes to success or failure, and makes use of methods to help achieve objectives (Colak, 2008). Unlike motivation, Dörnyei (2001a) describes demotivation as "particular internal forces that decrease the motivational foundation of a behavioral intent or continuous action". There are negatives factors which might influence the students’ motivation, such as the school setting, conditions of learning, techniques, behavior of students, and so on. The research aims to find why the students are demotivated because of the zoning policy. To achieve the purpose of this research, the research questions guide to the research: 1. What are the factors influencing student’s demotivation within the framework of AT? 2. How do the students overcome the demotivation factors appeared in the learning process? Demotivation Deci and Ryan (1985) used a comparable word, amotivation, which implies the comparative absence of motivation caused not by a lack of original concern but by the emotions of incompetence and helplessness experienced by the individual in the face of the exercise. They vary in that amount is linked to expectations of general results that are unrealistic for some purposes, while demotivation is linked to external causes. A demotivated student is someone who has once been motivated but has for some reason lost his / her commitment / interest. In this research, the term demotivation refers to the lack of interest in learning process at the school. According to a review by Vallerand (1997), four major types of amotivation can be found. Firstly, amotivation can result from a capacity-ability belief, meaning that the learners think that they do not have the ability to perform an action. Secondly, amotivation can result from strategy beliefs amotivation, meaning learners’ perceptions that the strategies used do not bring the chosen outcomes. The third type of amotivation, capacity-effort belief, refers to amotivation due to beliefs that the behavior is too demanding and requires too much effort. Lastly, the fourth type of amotivation, a weak belief, and results from a general perception that students’ efforts are inconsequential considering the enormity of the task to be accomplished. As mentioned in the background of study, Dörnyei (2001) proposes the notion of demotivation. He defines demotivation as “various negative influences that cancel out existing motivation” or “specific external forces that reduce or diminish the motivational basis of a behavioral intention or an ongoing action”. The negative influence and external forces can be the factors of demotivation. According to a research conducted by Baba (2018), he found that crowded classroom was the main factor of demotivation of the students. The one can be affected by others when he/ she learns at school. Dornyei (2001a) stated also about demotivation occurred because of external force. This external force reduces the motivational basis, such as situation of teaching, classroom atmosphere, and teachers’ behavior. Added by Jahedizadeh, Ghonsooly, Ghanizadeh, & Akbari, 2015, if the students see nature as steady, their motivation will be upgraded. Then again, if understudies see the study hall condition as obstructive or feel underestimated, their motivation will be dissolved. According to Tsuchiya’s study (2006), there are six demotivating factors: a sense of English uselessness, lack of skill, a little admiration, an inconsistent way of learning, disappointment, and a lack of acceptance. From these factors, there are two factors which can be included in the research, in consistent way of studying and a sense of disappointment. Ghadirzadeh (2012) who stated that demotivating factors are the factors which negatively influence the learners’ attitudes and behaviors leading to the undesired learning outcomes. He also investigated that six factors on demotivation based on previous studies on demotivation such are ISSN 2541-6421 JELE (Journal of English Language and Education) 93 Vol. 5, No. 1, June 2019, pp. 91-98 Albertus Yordhana Arsanto, et al (Activity Theory: An Analysis of Students’ Demotivation Factors…) teachers, characteristics of classes, experiences of failure, class environment, class materials, and lack of interest. Overcome the Demotivation Factors Oxford (1990) stated that there are six categories of students’ strategies to cope with demotivating factors. Those strategies are memory strategy, cognitive strategy, compensatory strategy, metacognitive strategy, affective strategy, and social strategy. From all the factors mentioned, the social strategies are suitable with the present research which help the learners to cooperate, communicate, collaborate, and understand with others to maximize learning out comes such as developing cultural understanding and cooperating with others. Through this strategy, the students will be more supportive to associate their classmates when learning in the classroom. 2. Method Participant There are eighteen participants who have been interviewed and two of them are taken for further interview for the research. The participants are taken from three school at Yogyakarta divided into three regions, Bantul, Yogyakarta, and Sleman. The schools were divided into favorite and non- favorite schools and it is based on the final examination’s schools which had been got from the previous new student admission before the zoning policy was implemented by the government. There are 12 schools which are chosen for the research and there are six students from each school. The students are divided into two categories, the active students whose final examination are great, and the non-active students whose final examination score are not too good. However, the research focuses on the active students whose final examination are good. They have been taken for the research due to the prediction that the students will register themselves in the favorite schools outside their region. The participants are taken by using purposive sampling. According to Palys (2008) based on book The Sage encyclopedia of qualitative research methods, the researcher chooses the participants that should be tied to the objectives. Besides, the researcher also chooses the participants based on the context that the researcher is working on. In this case, the researcher chooses the participant based on the performance and final examination score. Data Collection The data collected by semi-structured interview which is often the only data source for a qualitative research project (Adams, Mc Ilavain, Lacy, 2002). When doing semi-structured interview, the interview is organized around a set of determined open-ended questions, with other questions emerging from the dialogue between interviewer and interviewee ⁄ s. Data Analysis The data are analyzed by Activity Theory from Engestrom (1999), he explained six crucial elements of human activity: subjects, instruments, rules, objects, community, and division of labor. The subject refers to the individual who takes part in the activity (students), the instruments facilitate between subject and the object, the rules are clear and implied regulations and norms. The object is the goal which is achieved by the subjects from the activity, later it might be the achievement or outcome. The community is the group which the subject takes a part in it, such as school community, classroom community. The division of labor explains the shared tasks of community members involved in various ways of participating in an activity. 3. Findings and discussion There are eighteen participants involved in the research, two of them are taken to represent the main factor of demotivation because of zoning policy implementation. Furthermore, there are supporting factors which lead the students to demotivation. Due to the differences of the school grade, the participants are taken from different school grade which are favorite and non-favorite. 94 JELE (Journal of English Language and Education) ISSN 2541-6421 Vol. 5, No. 2, December 2019, pp. 91-98 Albertus Yordhana Arsanto, et al (Activity Theory: An Analysis of Students’ Demotivation Factors…) The Activity Theory is used to explain the factors which lead the students to demotivation in the learning at school. The result is 63% students are demotivated by the government regulation due to the school zoning policy. Furthermore, the factor also comes from the classroom situation which affects the students’ learning process. Demotivation case: Siwi The first participant comes from one of the favorite schools in Yogyakarta. Furthermore, she got an excellent score for the final examination when she was in junior high school. In the interview session, the participant stated that she would like to study in another school outside his district because the school placed near her home was not her favorite school. The zoning policy implemented by the government ended with dilemmas for her. As the result, she chose the best school near her home. In fact, she did not feel that the school was good for her. When she came to the school and studied, she found differences in studying, she compared her previous school (junior high school) to present school (senior high school). Her previous school was full of challenge and her classmates were so competitive in the learning process. Nevertheless, she found the present school was not competitive enough, since her classmates were too lazy and some of them cannot be controlled by the teacher. It made her feel demotivated to learn at the school. Previously, I wanted to be in another school. I chose this high school because it's better than the others. The challenge at the classroom is still low and also the students’ motivation is low because there is no competition. The learning process at school is not smooth because many students have no intention of learning. After the participant knew the problems that appeared in the learning process, the participant tried to understand the differences between the students. The participant tried to be consistent in the learning process, the participant did not want to be affected by the other students when learning at the school. Besides, the participant also helped other students to explain the material which his/ her friends did not understand. By doing this activity, the participant can repeat the material learned and deepen the understanding of the material. The learning process at school is not smooth because many students have no intention of learning. During the lesson, some friends there did not understand the lesson and I felt no objection in explaining because it could repeat the lessons received From the data, the first factor why the participant felt demotivated is the zoning policy. Moreover, the students in the classroom also affected the participant to feel demotivated. The ISSN 2541-6421 JELE (Journal of English Language and Education) 95 Vol. 5, No. 1, June 2019, pp. 91-98 Albertus Yordhana Arsanto, et al (Activity Theory: An Analysis of Students’ Demotivation Factors…) participant’s classmates did not seriously study in the classroom. In fact, the participant cannot study well, and it made the participant demotivate to learn and understand the lesson. Demotivation case: Dani The second participant was taken from non-favorite school and the participant’s final examination score was good but when the participant registered himself at the favorite school he wanted to go, he was not accepted and chose the school near his house because of zoning policy. The participant stated that the school was not one of his desire to study. He wanted to be in his favorite school in Yogyakarta city. After he knew about zoning policy, he tried to register but it was difficult to be in his favorite school because other students had better score than him. Finally, he decided to go the school even if that was not his desire to be in the school. I want to go to Delayota school in Yogyakarta, but my score was not enough to be accepted in the school. There are some students who had better score than me. After I knew that the score was not enough, I changed to another school which was this school. The school was close to my home that’s why I chose this school. Furthermore, the participant also felt demotivated because the learning process in the classroom was not effective. He found that his friends were not quick enough to understand the materials in the classroom. Some of his friends were too noisy and they were talking a lot in the classroom when the teacher was teaching in front of the classroom. He also said the students were naughty and difficult to be controlled. Due to this situation, he said the learning process did not go well. I felt there was differences between me and my friends. My friends were not quick enough to obtain and understand the material given by the teacher. They were also so noisy and naughty. The learning process did not go well due to this situation. Then, there was a teacher who cannot explain the material well and it made me not understand the material. From the data collected in the research, the second participant was felt demotivated because of the zoning policy and classroom community. It made him learn slowly and feel disrupted by his classmates. He wanted to have effective learning process, but the situation did not support him in the classroom. Overcome the Demotivation Factors The data collection above is the factors which affect the student’s demotivation. The factors mainly occur in the learning process is the community which is the classroom environment. The students feel the classroom is not what they expect before. The classroom is too crowded and not challenging, due to these factors, the students feel demotivated in the learning process. The supporting factors which affect demotivation are the rules which is the zoning policy and the learning experience as the object in the Activity Theory. The students who have been in the students try to cope and motivate themselves in the classroom. The interview has been done to understand how the students cope the demotivation factors appearing in the school. The students from the non-favorite school said that there were differences between the students, but the student tried to adapt the situation in the classroom and study by herself. At the first time, she felt weird in the classroom, but she understood what happened in the classroom. I feel that I should adapt the situation in the classroom. At the first time, I do not feel comfortable because the classroom seems weird. Time by time, I can understand what happens in the classroom. I feel the learning process also being better and they do not bother me when learning in the classroom. 96 JELE (Journal of English Language and Education) ISSN 2541-6421 Vol. 5, No. 2, December 2019, pp. 91-98 Albertus Yordhana Arsanto, et al (Activity Theory: An Analysis of Students’ Demotivation Factors…) The similar situation happens in the favorite school in Sleman. The student felf the same differences within the students, but she just accepted what happened in the classroom. She also adapted the situation happened in the classroom. Besides, she helped other students who did not understand the material in the classroom. She felt happy to help others because she can recall the understanding of the material given by the teacher in the classroom. The learning process is not encouraging, but I need to accept it because I need to adapt the situation and try to understand the differences in the classroom. Due to the differences, there are some friends who ask me about the material, and I will help th em to explain the material. I am also happy to help my friends who do not understand the material; besides, I can recall my understanding of the topic. These students cope the situation by adapting and understanding the situation happened in the classroom. Besides, the students also help her/ his friends to explain the material which has not been understood by their friends. By giving the explanation, the students feel happy and they can recall the material which has been given by the teacher in the classroom. Discussion As a result, the first and the second participant were demotivated by the school rules. Based on Engestrom (1999), rules which are the implied regulation in a community. The rules were implemented by the government and made the first participant register herself in the school near her home. Besides, she did not want to study in the school because the school was not her favorite school. Then, the classroom community also did not support her to be competitive in the learning process. According to Engestrom (1999), classroom community refers to community which is the group the subject takes a part in. Demotivation done by the participant is based on the school rules and classroom community. Based on Dornyei (2001a), demotivation as "particular internal forces that decrease the motivational foundation of a behavioral intent or continuous action". The first participant was in the situation where her action was decreased by the classroom community continuously. Besides, the second participant also had the same situation in the learning process, the class he has was too crowded and the students were slowly to understand the material given by the teacher. Furthermore, by the time the first participant graduated from the previous school (junior high school), she was motivated to study at her favorite school, but the regulation did not support her to study outside her district. When she learned in the classroom, she felt demotivated by her classmates because she found that the classroom was not challenging and competitive. It made her has less effort in learning in the classroom. As stated by Deci and Ryan (1985), a demotivated student is someone who has been motivated but has for some reason lost his/ her commitment / interest. The second participant also feels the same way as the first one, he felt demotivated because of the students were too noisy and naughty, he cannot concentrate in the classroom when studying the material given by the teachers. According to Tsuchiya’s study (2006), in consistent way of studying and a sense of disappointment can lead demotivation in the classroom. In consistent way of studying happened to the participant due to the classroom environment which was not similar to what the participants wanted. The first participant also said that there was no intention of learning, as well the participant felt disappointed of the classroom they had been. The main demotivation factor is the classroom environment which is the community in the AT- theory. Ghadirzadeh (2012) investigated that six factors on demotivation based on previous studies on demotivation such are teachers, characteristics of classes, experiences of failure, class environment, class materials, and lack of interest. The students found that they feel the differences within the students, the students found that the classroom has various students, there are good students, quick learner, and vice versa. It is clearly expected that the learning environment has affected the students to learn in the classroom. In the data explained above, the participant find that the students are not quick enough to understand the material, the classroom is not challenging, and the classroom is too crowded. According to Jahedizadeh, Ghonsooly, Ghanizadeh, & Akbari (2015), in the event that the students see nature as steady, their motivation will be upgraded. Then again, if ISSN 2541-6421 JELE (Journal of English Language and Education) 97 Vol. 5, No. 1, June 2019, pp. 91-98 Albertus Yordhana Arsanto, et al (Activity Theory: An Analysis of Students’ Demotivation Factors…) understudies see the study hall condition as obstructive or feel underestimated, their motivation will be dissolved. Added by Baba (2018), he said crowded classroom was the main factor of demotivation of the students. The one can be affected by others when he/ she learns at school. These demotivation factors lead the students to their learning outcomes in the classroom, the students cannot maintain their learning process which makes the students lose their interest of learning in the classroom. Stated by Ghadirzadeh (2012), demotivating factors are the factors which negatively influence the learners’ attitudes and behaviors leading to the undesired learning outcomes. Cope with Demotivation Factors From the data collection above, the students cope with the demotivation by understanding the class environment to help them learning in the classroom. The students use the social strategy to cope with demotivation factors. Oxford (1990) stated the social help the learners to cooperate, communicate, collaborate, and understand with others to maximize learning out comes such as developing cultural understanding and cooperating with others. Besides, the students also cooperate with their classmates by teaching other students who do not understand the material in the classroom. The first participant said that by helping their classmate to understand the material, they can repeat and understand the material deeply. 4. Conclusion Zoning policy becomes the concerned topic to analyze nowadays. This new government regulation is to facilitate the students to learn at school and eliminate exclusivity at school. Due to this regulation, the classroom has various students and learning process. However, the students feel demotivated because of the various students in the classroom. The research result is that the main factor of demotivation is classroom environment. According to Jahedizadeh, Ghonsooly, Ghanizadeh, & Akbari, 2015, if the students see nature as steady, their motivation will be upgraded. Then again, if understudies see the study hall condition as obstructive or feel underestimated, their motivation will be dissolved. The participants feel that the classroom is not challenging which makes the participant have less effort in studying in the classroom. Furthermore, the students are too crowded, and it makes the students cannot concentrate to study in the classroom. However, the students cope with the demotivation factors by helping other students to understand the material and try to adapt the situation in the learning process. By helping the other students, the participant can understand the material deeply. 5. Recommendation By conducting this research about zoning policy implemented by the government, the researcher has one recommendation to the government. The first one is the facilities should be equal, the government should improve the facilities especially in the rural areas or non-favorite schools at every district. The school facilities in every district are different and it might affect the students learning process and how they choose the school to study. The school facilities might be the consideration for the students to study in the school. Once it is done by the government, the students will not be confused and in doubt when choosing the right school for them. References Adams, W, L., et al. (2002). Primary care for elderly people: why do doctors find it so hard?. The Gerontologist 42.6. Colak, A.. (2008). Attitudes, motivation and study habits of English Language learners: the case of Başkent University second year students Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Middle East Technical University. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York . Dornyei, Zo, and Ema, U. (2001). Teaching and Researching Motivation, England. 98 JELE (Journal of English Language and Education) ISSN 2541-6421 Vol. 5, No. 2, December 2019, pp. 91-98 Albertus Yordhana Arsanto, et al (Activity Theory: An Analysis of Students’ Demotivation Factors…) Engeström, Y., Reijo, M, and Raija-Leena, P, eds. (1999). Perspectives on activity theory. Cambridge university press, Engeström, Yrjö. (1999)."Activity theory and individual and social transformation." Perspectives on activity theory 19.38 Ghadirzadeh, R, Fariba P, H, and Omid, S. (2012). Demotivating factors for English language learning among university students. Journal of Social Sciences 8.2 pp. 189. Jahedizadeh, Safoura, et al. (2015). A cross-contextual analysis of EFL learners’ perceptions of classroom activities. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research 2.4 pp. 322-336. Khouya, Youssef Baba. 2018. Students Demotivating Factors in the EFL Classroom: The Case of Morocco. Advances in Language and Literary Studies 9.2 pp.150-159. Masgoret, A, M., and Robert C. Gardner. (2003). Attitudes, motivation, and second language learning: A meta-analysis of studies conducted by Gardner and associates. Language learning 53.S1: 167-210. Oxford, Rebecca. 1990. Language learning strategies. New York 3 Given, Lisa M., ed. (2008). The Sage encyclopedia of qualitative research methods. Sage publications,. Robertson, P and Roger, N. (2011). The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly September 2011 Volume 13 Issue3. Asian EFL Journal 13. Tim - https://www.cnnindonesia.com/gaya-hidup/20190620202124-284-405114/curhat-orang-tua- soal-sistem-zonasi-ppdb Tsuchiya, M. (2006). Factors in demotivation of lower proficiency English learners at college.": 87-96.