World Cup Inspiration for the World of Education

Actually, I’m not a football enthusiast, but because of the World Cup, a global-level competition, I had to watch it. Recently, the World Cup has brought surprises that left me confused. My mind struggled to comprehend how Saudi Arabia’s team managed to defeat Argentina, led by Lionel Messi—a top world player known to every football fan. The shock intensified when Japan’s team beat Germany. Why was I shocked? Because, as far as I know, football champions come from European or Latin American countries.

What happened this time? Although I’m not an expert in football, I felt compelled to find out by asking my friends from the Faculty of Sports Science, who should know about such matters. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a satisfying answer. Instead, I got the usual joke, “The ball is round.” Finally, I tried to gather information from various sources, and the easiest way was through the internet. The first question that came to mind was whether a country could “import” players from other countries in the World Cup. This question arose because in football clubs, buying and selling players is common. Wealthy clubs can purchase top players to improve the quality of their teams. To investigate, I tried to trace the players of Saudi Arabia when they defeated Argentina. From their names, I was confident they were Saudis. A friend also explained that in the World Cup, only local citizens are allowed to represent their country.

If all the players of Saudi Arabia are local citizens, how could they defeat Argentina? To find the answer, I tried searching for videos or articles about how Saudi Arabia’s team trained. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything. Instead, I found videos about Ronaldo and Messi training. I was surprised by these videos. It turns out that top players like Ronaldo and Messi are willing to practice physical and technical skills, such as weaving through cones or poles and dribbling the ball. I had imagined such training would be for beginner players.

I asked a friend who understands football, and he gave a convincing answer. Professional football players like Ronaldo and Messi, like other professional athletes, always train hard because they don’t want their performance to decline. If their performance drops, they won’t be selected by their clubs, and this is what professional football players fear most. My friend also explained that World Cup coaches plan their training and game strategies long in advance, using local players. They brainstorm how to maximize the performance of these players to win the game. By studying the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents, the coaches innovate strategies they believe will make their team perform well. And it turns out, the innovations implemented by Saudi Arabia and Japan were successful.

Listening to my friend’s explanation made me reflect—could this mindset be adapted to the field of education? Isn’t it true, according to Abu Dohuo, that students’ learning outcomes are greatly influenced by teachers’ innovations in teaching? In innovation, don’t teachers need to utilize available resources and not demand additional resources that schools cannot possibly provide? However, teachers teach every day, so when do they have time to practice? Football players usually play once a month, or let’s say every two weeks, so they have ample time to practice. I was reminded of Allwright’s (1983) writing, which explains that Classroom Action Research (CAR) is an adaptation of Classroom Centered Research (CCR), whose initial purpose was not for academic papers but to improve the learning process in the classroom. Could CAR be “returned” to its original form, CCR, and used as a platform for learning innovation to replace the practice that teachers cannot afford to do? And could this be done continuously, because innovation must be ongoing? Let’s call it Sustainable Classroom Action Research (SCAR). Just like football players who constantly train and innovate to win matches.

Since it’s not intended for academic writing, the scientific research standards can be “loosened.” To make it easier to understand, let’s imitate how doctors work with their patients. Medical records are a doctor’s main tool when treating patients. From medical records, the doctor can know the patient’s medical history and previous treatments. If a patient is given a specific medicine but hasn’t recovered, the doctor will analyze what was wrong and what medicine might be more suitable. Could this be adapted to SCAR? Teachers have records of what they did, how students responded, and their learning outcomes. These records are documented into Classroom Notes (CN), which contain the history of teaching innovations in a particular class. By reviewing the CN, teachers can improve their teaching to achieve better student responses and learning outcomes. Could the data in the CN be used to write academic papers? Of course, it can. But it needs to be systematized to meet the standards of academic writing. However, it’s important to remember that the main goal of SCAR and CN is to improve the learning process. The academic paper produced is just a bonus, not the main objective. Hopefully.

Muchlas Samani