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 17th 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
