SCOPE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Keywords; Scope of Teacher Education,  The changing role of teacher, Scientific teachers, the competencies required for a teacher, Teacher as guide and counselor, Professional competencies of teacher, teacher as Evaluator

SCOPE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

·         Professional commitment and the development of overall competencies of teachers.

·         The quality of pre-service education has improved with recent developments in pedagogical science

·         Teacher education progranmmes consist mainly of pre-service teacher training with practically and systematic training programmes for in-service teachers

·         Seminars and workshops for the training of teachers

·         Refreshment courses for teachers from time to time

Objectives

Vision of teacher education: Teacher education has to become more sensitive to the emerging demands from the school system. For this, it has to prepare teachers for a dual role of;

Encouraging, supportive and humane facilitator in teaching learning situations who enables learners (students) to discover their talents, to realize their physical and intellectual potentialities to the fullest, to develop character and desirable social and human values to function as responsible citizens

 An active member of the group of persons who make conscious effort to contribute towards the process of renewal of school curriculum to maintain its relevance to the changing societal needs and personal needs of learners, keeping in view the experiences gained in the past and the vital concerns that have emerged in the light of changing national development goals and educational priorities.

Teacher Education has to comprise such features as would enable the student teachers to;

·         Care for children, and who love to be with them;

·         Understand children within social, cultural and political contexts;

·         View learning as a search for meaning out of personal experience;

·         Understand the way learning occurs, possible ways of creating conducive conditions for learning, Differentiate among students in respect of their pace and styles of learning.

·         View knowledge generation as a continuously evolving process of reflective learning.

·         Be receptive and constantly learning.

·         View learning as a search for meaning out of personal experience, and knowledge generation as a continuously evolving process of reflective learning.

·         View knowledge not as an external reality embedded in textbooks, but as constructed in the shared context of teaching-learning and personal experience.

·         Own responsibility towards society, and work to build a better world.

·         Appreciate the potential of productive work and hands-on experience as a pedagogic medium both inside and outside the classroom.

·         Analyze the curricular framework, policy implications and texts.

·         Have a sound knowledge base and basic proficiency in language.

·         The objectives of teacher education would therefore be to,

·         Provide opportunities to observe and engage with children, communicate with and relate to children

·         Provide opportunities for self-learning, reflection, assimilation and articulation of new ideas; developing capacities for self-directed learning and the ability to think, be self-critical and to work in groups.

·         Provide opportunities for understanding self and others (including one‘s beliefs, assumptions and emotions); developing the ability for self-analysis, self-evaluation, adaptability, flexibility, creativity and innovation.

·         Provide opportunities to enhance understanding, knowledge and examine disciplinary knowledge and social realities, relate subject matter with the social setting and develop critical thinking.

·         Provide opportunities to develop professional skills in pedagogy, observation, documentation, analysis, drama, craft, story-telling and reflective inquiry.

  The changing role of teacher

  Teaching has been subjected to constant, varied pressure, both within the world of education and in the broader context of society, and has undergone progressive changes that define various types of teaching.

The current system of schooling poses tremendous burden on children. Educationists are of the view that the burden arises from treating knowledge as a ‗given‘, an external reality existing outside the learner and embedded in textbooks. Knowledge is essentially a human construct, a continuously evolving process of reflective learning. The new era requires a teacher to be a facilitator of children‘s learning in a manner that the child is helped to construct his/her knowledge. Education is not a mechanical activity of information transmission and teachers are not information distributors. Teachers have to increasingly play the role of crucial mediating agents through whom curriculum is executed.

The first attempts to provide teacher training began to emerge in the 17^th century, the focus was on children and crime in major cities emphasized the need to educate the children of the working class and establish schools (Gauthier and Tardif 1996). However, the increased numbers of children requiring schooling created problems for teachers. The basic method in use, at least in small schools, was “tutoring”, where the teacher called each child in turn to the front of the class. This became impossible with an increase in class sizes, and a new method was needed. How could larger groups be taught? The teachers of the time came up with an original solution:

·         Teaching must be based on a method, and method is found in Nature. At the

·         time, though, Nature was seen as a supernatural entity, a perfectly ordered

·         Nature established by the Creator. We must follow Nature, said Comenius, but a

·         Nature as perfectly regulated as a clock

·         Teaching must be based on a method. It is important to mention two important facts. First, there was a growing awareness that knowledge of the subject taught did not necessarily make a good

·         Teacher, even if it remained a fundamental requirement, and that other types of knowledge were needed to teach well. Second, it became clear that this knowledge could be taught. At the time, the knowledge was mainly imparted through apprenticeship with an experienced master. This formalization of teaching gave rise to a specific professional model: traditional pedagogy.

This uniform way of teaching, which can still be seen today, spread throughout the Western world and even beyond, especially through the influence of various religious communities.

Scientific teachers

            In the late 19th century and early 20th century, traditional teaching, centered on teachers and total control over students and teaching content, began to be criticized. The new ideal was to establish a new type of professionalism, based on a new pedagogy. Two elements became determining factors: the growing importance of science in discussions about teaching, and the need to promote a child-centered form of pedagogy.

            The combined effect of these two factors, a focus on science and on children, allowed one subject to dominate the debate during the entire 20th century:

Psychology. Psychology was both a science and a way to study children, their needs and their development. The first university chairs of pedagogy began to appear in France in the early 20th century, with pedagogy defined as the science of education. The intention at the time was clear: to make pedagogy a science, and to make pedagogues scientists. Psychology, was subdivided into many different schools, a wide range of pedagogical models emerged. They can be roughly grouped into two categories, experimental and experiential, depending on whether the focus is on the scientific dimension or on meeting the needs of the child.

However, during the 1970s and 1980s, it became apparent that the notions taught in pedagogy were not actually being transferred to the classroom. Scientific utopianism had failed, just like the model of professionalism put forward to displace traditional pedagogy. This failure affected the way in which many people began to view teacher training. First, it helped reinforce the idea that teaching could only be learned through direct involvement and trial and error, rather than on the basis of university research.

Second, it provided support for the contention that the main requirement for teaching was knowledge of the subject taught, and that pedagogical concerns were of minor interest and could be reduced to experience, a passion for teaching or an individual gift. The urgent need for reform was recognized by all players, and the reform was intended to make the act of teaching a professional act. Teacher training needed to be rethought, and a new approach to training programs and approaches, and also to research objectives and methods, was required.

Competencies to match the new requirements

The new approach to education increases the need to professionalize the act of teaching. The reform of the education system introduces several elements that will affect the role of teachers and the nature and significance of the competencies required to teach. Briefly, these elements are: increased autonomy for schools, an approach to learning that places the student at the heart of the learning process, a competency-based approach to the design of teacher training programs, multi-year cycles in schools, and the policy of adapting schools to the needs of all students.

 Teacher effectiveness is the result of effective teaching. Aspects of effective teaching include:

·         Having a positive attitude

·         The development of a pleasant social / psychological climate in the classroom

·         Having high expectations of what pupils can achieve

·         Lesson clarity

·         Effective time management

·         Strong lesson structuring

·         The use of a variety of teaching methods

·         Using and incorporating pupil ideas

·         Using appropriate and varied questioning.

·         Competencies required for a teacher

As Manger:

·         To plan and deliver activities that meet students    requirements and interest

·         To develop skills of time management, classroom management, and material management

Facilitator:

·         To facilitates learning by being creative and organized in planning daily classes

·         To plan appropriate programme for exceptional students those who need extra help

AS Evaluator:

·         to continue to set and correct homework

·         To evaluate students’ progress and discuss results with students, parents and other teacher

·         To participate in staff meeting, workshops for continuing professional development

As guide and counselor:

·         to give guidance for the development

·         To act as role model

·         To prepares for secondary school

Competencies: the competencies required for a teacher;

·         Physically sound

·         Academically fit

·         Active and energetic

Self-awareness: How do others see you?

·         Socially warm and friendly

·         Intellectually love for teaching

·         Confident

·         Accept challenges

  Professional competencies of teacher:

·         To be specialist in subject

·         Having in-depth and update knowledge

·         Having appropriate teaching skills

·         Using  innovative methods of teaching

·         Diagnostic skills

·         Communication skills

·         Understand the need and Characteristics of students

·         Planning

Social:

·         To develop interpersonal and interactive skills

·         To have leadership quality

·         Inspired people

·         Love and kindness for other