PLG518 Teacher Education Studies
Topic:
Issues & Challenges in Teacher Education
Prepared By:
Lydia Choo Jui Yin (22203522)
Tan Meau Lin (22305405)
Issues & Challenges in Teacher Education
Reflection by: Lydia Choo (22203522) & Tan Meau Lin (22305405)
Teacher education provides a foundation for vast theoretical knowledge input, covering
crucial concepts such as student-centred learning, the integration of AI into the
classroom, and differentiated instruction. However, a significant gap often emerges
between this robust theoretical understanding and the practical realities teachers face
daily. This is because a lack of practical coping strategies can cause teachers to feel
overwhelmed by the complexities of the classroom environment, including severe time
constraints, a multitude of administrative and pastoral school responsibilities, and the
constant need to address the incredibly diverse learning needs of students.
Consequently, many educators find it challenging to effectively translate the sophisticated
pedagogical theories they've learned into actionable, impactful teaching practices within
the dynamic and often demanding real-world classroom setting.
Among the most urgent issues of studying and teaching at the same time is the
problem of time management, the number of obligations connected with the teaching job,
and family roles. The twofold responsibility to accomplish the professional requirements
which include planning lessons, teaching in classrooms in general, marking, co-curricular
activities and administration in particular and the high academic commitments due to the
regular lectures, research and other assignments, usually results in a high level of time
limitation. This is even more complicated by the fact that teachers also have to cope with
family needs of their own either parenting, households or caring for family members. This
repeated act of putting on and taking off these hats can lead to physical burn out,
emotional burn out and impaired academic performance or teaching quality. Most
teachers testified that they felt overworked particularly at the time of examinations or at
reporting time in school when both the professional and academic deadlines clashed.
Unless there is an efficient institutional system support or relaxed measures like study
leave or work load reduction, then all these teachers are left to their own devices to run
frantically through the demands.
Another key issue I've observed lies within professional development and the
execution of action research. This valuable approach is designed to empower teachers
to initiate change within their own practice. However, it often risks being perceived as
merely an academic assignment, rather than a dynamic tool for genuine problem-solving.
For action research to truly flourish, there needs to be a stronger emphasis on developing
practical research skills, guiding teachers to identify authentic classroom challenges, and
fostering a culture where research findings actively inform and improve teaching methods
beyond the confines of a course.
While cooperation among team members is essential for completing group
assignments in postgraduate teacher education, it often becomes a challenging
endeavour due to the diverse limitations faced by in-service teachers. Most team
members juggle multiple roles, such as full-time educators, students, and family
members, which complicates efforts to coordinate schedules, attend meetings, and
contribute equally to group tasks. These constraints frequently result in delayed
communication, uneven workload distribution, and unmet deadlines, leading to tension
among members. Rather than easing the academic burden, group work under such
conditions can inadvertently increase pressure, as committed members may be forced to
take on additional responsibilities to compensate for the lack of participation from others.
Lack of balance to commitment among participants in group projects is a structural barrier
to collaborative learning because such an imbalance causes emotional stress and fatigue
during the study. These problems are aggravated by the lack of a formally institutionalized
conflict management mechanism or regular workload monitoring process. Postgraduates
are expected to be able to manage these smartly, thus there is no place for them to refer
to, in order to solve these conflicts. This erodes the effectiveness of cooperative learning
which is based on positive interdependency and a feeling of mutual accountability. Thus,
teamwork can emerge to be a source of stress instead of a channel of shared learning in
the absence of suitable support, flexibility and understanding between team members.
Subject expertise is also underpinning successful teaching practice and
professional development of individuals who are following postgraduate studies in the
educational field. It refers to a thorough and broad understanding of content in a certain
field of study that is inclusive of both theoretical understanding and practice. For in-service
teachers, possessing strong subject expertise enhances their ability to design meaningful
lessons, address student misconceptions, and promote higher-order thinking in the
classroom. However, in Master of Education programmes, not all students come from
teaching backgrounds. Some are pre-service candidates with no prior classroom
experience, while others may transition from fields such as psychology, corporate
training, or curriculum design. For these individuals, the need to become knowledgeable
in the subject matter is typically coupled with the necessity to have a pedagogical content
knowledge - the understanding of the particularities involved in the educational setting.
Such a two-fold learning path may also create perceptions of inadequacy, increase
cognitive demands, and create uncertainty about how theory can be applied in practice.
What is more, among educators who are asked to teach some subject beyond their
specialization, or teaching out-of-field as it may often be called, the absence of the content
knowledge base may lead to the loss of confidence, require more time to prepare and
reduce the quality of the instructions. It is vital that the concept of pedagogical content
knowledge, subject expertise must be paired with the ability to transform that knowledge
into effective teaching practices. It is therefore, the duty of postgraduate programmes to
allow all learners regardless of which backgrounds to gain disciplinary depth and
pedagogical competence in a structured manner. Those methods guarantee that both
experienced and novice educators, such as fresh graduates, will be ready to pursue the
expectations of diverse instructional environments with certainty, versatility, and
knowledgeable judgment.
Ultimately, these challenges point to a broader need for teacher education
programs to strike a better balance. New approaches must go beyond theoretical learning
to incorporate specific and practical application, organisational support and share
professional significance and connections. This should include support with juggling their
multiple roles; support for the teacher as an empowered actor through genuine action
research; connections to equitable group interactions; and the development of their deep
understanding of both the subject matter and the pedagogical principles. By taking on
these interconnected challenges in a systematic way, teacher education can better equip
educators in the nuanced and unpredictable spaces of current classroom contexts with
knowledge, but also with the confidence and agility they need in order to create
meaningful impact and engagement in their teaching practice.
