Teacher Teaching and Teacher Education
Bewket Aschale Gashu
College of Education and Behavioural Science
Department of Science and Mathematics
Addis Ababa University, AddisAbaba, Ethiopia
[email protected] or
[email protected] December, 2021
Chapter 1: Teacher Education
1.1. Meaning, Scope and Need teacher education
How we define teacher education? Does it have a common agreed single meaning?
Teacher education has no unique definition and meaning instead we define and meaning
it regarding to the purposes and the desired objectives of the design, propose and plan
program package. Hence, any nation or institution can provide different definition and
meaning of teacher education with respect of their approach and scope.
Teacher education is a professional package program that students’ teachers are learning
to teach the future students. This program mainly focuses on an active engagement and
interaction of both teacher educators (trainers) and student teachers (trainees) including
other supplementary elements to run the program smoothly. Teacher education refers to
the policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge,
attitudes, behaviors and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the
classroom, school and wider community. [1] It is a seamless continuum that divided into
three stages: (i) initial teacher training / education; (2) induction; and (3) teacher
development or continuing professional development (Ibid).
Moreover, I argue that school functions should be also give equal weight of credit with
student teachers and teacher educators in the program of teacher education. That is
because practicum which one package in the teacher education program held in school
where the actual teaching-learning process run. In turn, school administrative organs,
students’ family and community’s involvement are crucial input factors for the school
action competence.
[1]
https://www.definitions.net/definition/teacher+education
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Finally, I deduce that teacher education program should be independent from any
governmental action interference because in our case Ethiopia, it mainly has been lead
emotionally and unconsciously by the dominant political power holders without any
professional backgrounds.
Why teacher education? What its role? What it encompasses? Any program designed,
developed and launched because of its either short-run or long-run merits; hence, it has
own general and specific aims or goals to be addressed. Therefore clearly, teacher
education program have a national, continental or international goals to be achieve,
particularly, to assure quality of education.
1.2. Admission Criteria and Need for Beginning Teachers, and Quality
Assurance in Teacher Education
1.2.1. Admission Criteria
One of the main important prerequisite actions in teacher education program is the selection
of candidates who recruitment. Hence, requirements for admitting student teachers should
have its national and/or international criteria to screen the right future teachers who
commuted and encouraged.
In my opinion to get an effective and competent teacher, not only the quality of teacher
education program but also the profile quality of student teachers plays a great role.
Additionally, affective domain of candidates’ which includes attitude, feel and beliefs in
teacher profession align with social and community values. Since teacher education is
structured and designed mainly in contextualized purposive merit, the same is true for
admission criteria. But the important question is what common criteria have employed for
admission?
Although there are different means of admission criteria, Grade point average (GPA), Written
profile, Interview, Letters of reference, Standardized tests, Courses in education, Courses in
subject area, Standardized admission tests, and Multiple criteria are frequently employed (C
E Casey and R A Childs, 2007). Hence, through these means of screening, host institutions
(colleges and universities) centers for training teacher education program can make need-
assessment who is well fitted for the program to get an effective future teacher. Additionally,
the face-to-face interview creates an opportunity to grasp the personal ideological,
philosophical and psychological background of a candidate about teaching profession.
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However, in our country Ethiopia I doughty that they used effectively the selection criteria
which described above. The reality is that most primary and high school student teachers are
students’ who fails to score the entrance exam for tertiary level education; consequently, most
of students who enrolled for training teacher education program have not strong and positive
attitude and poor competence in their academic background. Therefore, the trend Ethiopia
used to select student teacher is highly contradicted with the international standard screening
criteria and methods.
1.2.2. Need for Beginning Teachers
Beginning teachers are teachers who have completed a teacher education program and are in
their first year of teaching independently. That is, a new fresh graduate in teacher profession
who enrolled as a subject teacher to teach and joined new school environment. Hence, what
(basic) needs as a beginner teacher? Feiman-Nemser (2003) emphasizes that beginning
teachers are not “finished products” rather they need more time to achieve competence and to
reach proficiency. Addressing the learning needs of new teachers can improve both the rate
of teacher retention and the quality of the teaching profession (ibid). The expectation is that,
at completion of the program, the pre-service teachers will have the knowledge, skills, and
attitudes needed to be good beginning teachers. However, he/she need an intimate follow-up
and guidance to adapt the new school environment either from the school leadership staff or
senior teachers; consequently, he/she have the chance to share learning experience which
both method of teaching and assessment.
1.2.3. Quality Assurance in Teacher Education
The concept of quality encompasses wide scope. In other words, the notion of quality is
disputed and multi-dimensional (UNESCO, 2010). Hence, Barnett (1992) states that, quality
revolves around a few central ideas: quality as absolute, quality as relative, quality as a
process, and quality as a culture.
Teacher quality, teacher learning, and teacher improvement, therefore, are becoming the foci
of researchers, policy makers, program designers, implementers, and evaluators (Sushma
Jaiswal, 2016). Controlling the quality of education and comparing standards between
countries is now a major aspect of the globalisation of education (Hilton, 2016). The quality
assurance in higher education means quality of teaching staff, students and support services
and these results the quality of any country in aspect of higher education (Akhtar, 2020).
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Quality assurance involves the systematic review of educational provision to maintain and
improve its quality, equity and efficiency. [2] It encompasses school self-evaluation, external
evaluation (including inspection), the evaluation of teachers and school leaders, and student
assessments (ibid). Hence, teachers are professionalist who are major responsible for
acquiring quality education, controlling and managing quality and standards of teacher
education program is not only a national but international issue.
Hence, the concerned bodies utilize some mechanisms for assuring quality like Quality audit,
quality assessment and accreditation. Regarding to either national or international principles
or standards, these responsible organs make a decision from the collected data of evaluation
approaches. For example, Higher Education Relevance and Quality (HERQA) and Higher
Education Relevance and Quality Agency/HERQA and European Association for Quality
Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) are national and international assurance organs who
make a decision on some standards and guidance. European has using standards and
guidelines into two parts of assuring approaches, internal and external. Hence, they use for
internal quality assurance within higher education institutions: (1) Policy and procedures for
quality assurance; (2) Approval, monitoring and periodic review of programmes and awards;
(3) Assessment of students; (4) Quality assurance of teaching staff; (5) Learning resources
and student support; (6) Information systems; and (7) Public information (ENQA, 2009).
Additionally, the standards for external quality assurance agencies includes: (1) Use of
external quality assurance procedures for higher education; (2) Official status; (3) Activities;
(4) Resources; (5) Mission statement; (6) Independence; (7) External quality assurance
criteria and processes used by the agencies; and (8) Accountability procedures (ibid).
1.3. Models of Teacher Education and their Implication for Teacher Quality
Modeling is an instructional strategy in which the teacher demonstrates a new concept
or approach to learning and students learn by observing (Salisu & Ransom, 2014). But which
model is best fitted and compatible for teacher education? I argue that there is no a
single/unique group of model which is best in the world rather it flexibly chosen appropriate
approach regarding to the structure and design of teacher education program which align with
the national (international) curriculum implications.
[2]
https://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/school/quality-assurance_en
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An overview of the concepts, principles, and assumptions that underpin the design of teacher
education programs can contribute to the advancement of the field academically,
professionally, and politically (M. Robinson, 2019). Additionally such approaches also
provide tools for improving the quality of teacher education, through rethinking curriculum
and pedagogy and developing a shared knowledge base and a shared professional language
(ibid). According to M. J. Wallace (1991) commonly there are three models, (1) The applied
Science Model; (2) The craft Model; and (3) The reflective Model[3].
Inclusively models of M. J. Wallace, M. Robinson (2019) add more three approaches to
teacher education are classified broadly as a social justice approach, a master-apprentice
approach, an applied science approach, a teacher identity approach, a competence approach,
and a reflective approach.
The Applied Science Model is the traditional and perhaps still the most prevalent model
underlying most English as Second language (ESL) teacher education programmes.[3] It
assumes that teachers are said to be educated when they become proficient enough to apply
these theories in practice (ibid). The underlying assumption of the applied science approach is
that theory comes before practice, giving primacy to academic knowledge where theory is
first learned and then implemented in the practical setting of the school (M. Robinson, 2019).
The Craft Model is the oldest form of professional education and is still used today in ESL
teacher education, albeit rather limitedly.[3] It assumes that the practitioner is supposed to
learn by imitating all the teaching techniques used by the experienced teacher. (3) The
Reflective Model is based on the assumption that teachers develop professional competence
through reflecting on their own practice. It assumes that the practitioner is supposed to learn
by imitating all the teaching techniques used by the experienced teacher. The reflective
practice has become a dominant paradigm in language teacher education research and
programmes worldwide (ibid). Underpinning the reflective-practitioner model is the notion
that student-teachers can overcome the tendency to teach as they were taught and can develop
the capacity to improve their own practice through conscious self-reflection and action
(Reeves & Robinson, 2014, cited in M. Robinson, 2019).
[3]
https://tanvirdhaka.blogspot.com/2011/01/models-of-teacher-education.html
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Conclusion
The primary goal of teacher education is a program that producing effective teachers who are
professionally equipped and competent in different domains like knowledge/skills, attitudes,
pedagogy and other summative qualities. Teacher education is one of the lion share for
addressing either the national or international goals, like MDGs, EFA, SDGs, and others
which all are stand for assuring quality education. Therefore, the teacher education program
should give a great emphasis how it designed, structured and developed aligned with the
national/international curriculum and policy. Noted that there is no a unique best educational
program rather is designed contextually; but it does not mean that national educational
experts and developers refer standardized principles and guideline for this program.
References
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Maureen Robinson (2019). Conceptions and Models of Teacher Education.
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