Allama Iqbal Open University Allama Iqbal Open University IslamabadIslamabad

Workshop for M.Phil ( Teacher Education)Semester I Spring 2009

26 Oct 2009 to 31 Oct 2009Code : 3701 Trends and Issues in Education

Issues and ThemesFor the Region

By : Khaliq Naveed Roll No. AD816564 Senior Teacher Beaconhouse School System Bahawalpur

Reference to the SyllabusReference to the Syllabus

Code : 3701 Trends and Issues in Education

Chap 1:Topic 1.8 The Future of Education (study

guide)

Topic 1.10 Issues and Themes for the region (Allied Material)

Reference to the Reference to the ContextContext

“Issues and Themes for the region” from Future and Education,

by APIED- UNESCO

A Report of regional meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand 2- 8 November 1983, Unesco Regional Office for Education in Asia and Pacific, Bangkok, 1984.

{e-prints}

The Asia-Pacific Programme of The Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational Innovation for Development Educational Innovation for Development (APEID)(APEID)MissionMissionThe fundamental mission of APEID

and its Secretariat is to contribute to sustainable human development (underpinned by tolerance, human rights and a culture of peace) through the design and implementation of education programmes and projects, mainly at the post primary level of education, which stress 'educational innovation for development'.

The Establishment of APEID The Establishment of APEID A Brief HistoryA Brief History

The General Conference of UNESCO at its 17th session (Paris, 1972), approved the establishment of the Programme, and in Resolution 1,211 authorised the Director-General to create an Asian Centre of Educational Innovation for Development (ACEID) to facilitate its implementation. ACEID acted as a Secretariat for the Asian Programme of Educational Innovation for Development (APEID). The Director-General invited Member States to nominate one or more of their institutions for participation in a new network throughout the region.

APEID was officially established on 4 November 1973, and Mr Raja Roy Singh ensured that APEID was from the beginning a highly effective and influential innovation, working to facilitate partnership and sharing within the region at a range of levels.

APEIDAPEID - Major Strategies - Major Strategies To  fulfil UNESCO's  five main  functions -  laboratory of  ideas,

standard-setter, capacity-builder, catalyst  for international co-operation and educational change, and clearinghouse - APEID pays particular attention to the following activities:

Develop high-level commitment to system-wide education policy reforms;

Research, develop and generate innovative education policies, processes, practices, tools and resources;

Provide models of institutional collaboration on education innovations;

Promote partnerships between the public and private sectors; Network with APEID Member States, Associated Centres and

network members, APEID partners, other UN agencies, regional centres and national institutions;

Share and disseminate information about innovations in education; and

Build capacity of teachers, teacher educators and policy-makers.

Issues in which Education is Issues in which Education is a primary inputa primary inputEducation and CommunicationEducation and employment ,work

& leisureEducation and politicsEducation and technologyEducation and Co-operation and

competitionEducation and peaceEducation and Business interestEducation and ecosystem

Issues of Issues of ImplementationImplementationThe Role of the teacherThe teacher and technologyThe teacher and researchThe teacher and communityThe teacher in the schoolPolitical leaders & Policy makers

Issues Confronting Teacher Issues Confronting Teacher EducationEducation Shortage of teachers. There is a shortage of mathematics and

science teachers at the secondary level because science graduates tend to select professions other than teaching. After the accelerated expansion programme at the primary level, the government has been obliged to appoint untrained primary school teachers.

Conventional teacher education programmes. The training program me is still mostly based on the conventional lecture method. Modern technology and skills/methods are seldom used, because either educational technology is not avai lable at training institutions or teachers are not adequately trained to effectively use the education technology.

Inadequate training of teacher educators. No system exists for training teacher educators. The result is that those assigned to impart training to teachers can not do justice to their job, which further results in low quality courses and teaching.

Short training period All teacher training programmes are completed in about eight months, too short a period to adequately train teachers.

Shortage of schools for practice teaching. The present intake of trai ning institutes is between 200 and 300 teachers. Compared with the number of trai nee teachers, there is an acute shortage of schools for practice teaching, particularly in smaller towns. The result is that a large number of teachers are placed in single tea cher schools for practice, which creates supervision problems. Conti……….

Issues Confronting Teacher Issues Confronting Teacher EducationEducation

Inadequacy of in-service training. The in-service training programme is inadequately suited to impart the latest techniques to teachers. Although the National Education Policy envisaged that each teacher would be exposed to training at least once every five years, in practice this objective appears unlikely to be achieved.

Conventional curriculum. The existing curriculum for training teachers is based on conventional themes and has not succeeded in bringing about the desired behavioural changes in teachers.

Lack of commitment. There is a lack of commitment among many of the teachers and there exists no regular programme to motivate them or create a sense of professionalism among them.

Lack of research. Little research has been carried out to discover solu tions to the problems being faced in the field of education. As a result, planning is based on the principle of trial and error.

Evaluation of teacher education programmes. Teacher education pro grammes need to be evaluated along scientific lines so that an effective improvement, commensurate with the needs of the country, can be achieved. Because of the lack of suitable expertise, such an evaluation has yet to be carried out.

Lack of co-ordination among training institutes. There are 80 colleges of elementary education and 15 colleges of education operating in the country. Although all have about the same curriculum, there is no co-ordination mechanism available. As a result, they work almost in isolation, with no pooling or sharing of resources, which further results in uneven growth and deficiencies in physical facilities and manpower.

Issues Regarding Teacher Issues Regarding Teacher InductionInduction Status of teachers. The teaching profession is not as highly regarded as

some other professions/jobs (i.e. engineering, medicine and the civil service). Therefore, talented people are either not attracted to the profession or they leave it as soon as they find more lucrative jobs elsewhere. As a result, the profession is open to less able teachers, which adversely affects the whole system.

Structure of positions. The system provides for various categories of teachers, according to levels: matriculants are appointed as primary school teachers; those who have successfully completed higher secondary education are inducted as middle school teachers; graduates are appointed for secondary school education, and post-graduates for college education. Pay scales for each category are specified, and teachers cannot move (vertically) from one scale to another even if they improve their qualifications—they may receive additional annual increments, however, if they impro ve their qualifications. The teaching community is not satisfied with this situation, and it has caused considerable disappointment among teachers.

Political/social pressures. Because of the growth in population, job opportunities are becoming more scarce, particularly for the less talented members of the population. As a result, the Selection Committees/Appointment Authorities face a great deal of political pressure in the selection and appointment of teachers. In some cases, local community leaders appoint their chosen candidates, regardless of indivi dual capability, as teachers in their particular area.

Unavailability of trained teachers. In some areas, such as Baluchistan and the Federally administered northern areas, trained teachers are not available, so untrained teachers are appointed and then given on-the-job training. In some special subjects, such as science and mathematics, teachers are scarcely available in some regions, so the education department has appointed teachers from other provinces or relaxed qualifications and provided extra financial incentives. This arrangement has created jealousy and dissension among the teachers.

Some key educational issues in the Some key educational issues in the regionregion the provision of basic education services with particular

reference to the needs of marginalized and under-served groups, such as girls, women, minorities, refugees, the disadvantaged and learners with special needs;

• enhancement of community participation, including the ownership of schools and training institutions;

• development of effective education strategies and schemes for poverty reduction;

• improvement of education quality and learning achievements while at the same time expansion of access to education;

• promotion of greater attention to the pivotal role of teachers as agents for educational progress and social change;

• utilization and dissemination of the new information and communication technologies, including the production and use of indigenous software, and expanding access to the Internet;

• greater attention to the needs of youth with particular regard to meeting their educational needs in terms of providing a high quality, relevant and diverse secondary education, since this is a key factor for social and economic development;

• support for the moral curriculum including international and values education; and

• expansion of higher education, because although for many countries in the region the major challenge remains increasing access and participation in basic education, for more advanced countries continued productivity improvements and technological progress demand increasingly sophisticated education and training, including at the tertiary level.

Measures for Measures for ImprovementImprovement The government has implemented the following to improve teacher education. Revision of curricula. The Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration

with the Provincial Bureaux, has revised teacher training curricula and exerted efforts to match curriculum content with present national requirements. Some irrelevant sub jects have been excluded, while some new subjects have been introduced.

Strengthening of training institutions. All teacher training schools have been converted into colleges of elementary education, and efforts are being made to replace existing staff with well-qualified people. Also, training institutions have been provided better physical facilities, in terms of both equipment and buildings.

Establishment of specialized training institutions. Some colleges of science teacher education' have been established as a pilot project. In these colleges, people who have qualified in higher secondary education with science subjects are admitted and given three years of education. A special curriculum devised for these colleges contains general education plus teacher education. After completing the three years, students are awarded a B.Sc. in Science Education and inducted as science teachers. Similarly, separate institutions for agro-technical teachers have been esta blished to produce teachers for agro-technical institutions.

Utilization of existing high schools. In some provinces, teacher training units have been added to existing high schools, with skeleton staff for training being provided in these units. Teachers at these schools are also used as teacher educa tors. This arrangement seeks to accelerate the production of trained teachers on a 'crash course' basis.

Financial facilities during in-service training. The government pays a per diem and travelling expenses to teachers during in-service training, so that they do not face financial hardships during their training.

Future Directions in Teacher Future Directions in Teacher EducationEducation The following are needed to improve the quality of teacher

education. . The existing curriculum is not relevant to the actual

classroom situation, and the teacher is not adequately trained to apply the principles and techniques imparted during the course in the actual classroom situation.

. Students do not have sufficient opportunity to observe good les sons during their training. Because of a lack of proper practice tea ching facilities and supervision, they do not receive feedback or suggestions for improving their lessons as taught in the real class room situation.

. Student academic preparation in subject matter they intend to teach is poor.

. The practice of 100 per cent internal evaluation in C.T. and P.T.C. courses, for theory as well as practice, has lowered the standard in many cases.

. The training period is inadequate, and so ill-prepared teachers are produced.

. Arrangements for in-service training and continuing education are unsystematic and inadequate; while most have few incentives atta ched to them. Conti………….

Future Directions in Teacher Future Directions in Teacher EducationEducation The following directions are suggested for improving the present situation. Teaching posts should have better pay scales and a career structure, with scope to promote

effective teachers and a mechanism to weed out undesirable ones. There should be a regular and systematic provision of in-service trai ning, mostly through

modules, correspondence courses and supervi sion. Completion of a special in-service course should be a prerequisite for promotion to selection

grade. Three-month intensive courses should be a prerequisite for teachers and lecturers for

promotion to the position of headmaster and princi pal. Internal evaluation should have only a 25 per cent weight for C.T. and P.T.C., with examinations

being conducted in both theory and practi ce. Courses should be revised, and teachers at training institutions should be trained to teach and

apply principles and theory to actual class room situations. Teaching practice should be carried out in real classroom situations For this purpose, students

should learn theory for the first three months, during which time they should also have an opportunity to observe/discuss model lessons presented by their teachers. Good model lessons should also be recorded on video tape and made avai lable to all teacher training colleges. Each student should be linked to one trained teacher in any school, and with the help and supervision of this trained teacher, the student should prepare lessons and teach for two months. A detailed evaluation report by the supervising tea cher, countersigned by the head of the institution, should then be sent to the principal of the teacher training institution.

After two months of practical training, the student should attend a two-month theory course at the teacher training institution and discuss problems encountered during the teaching practice.

Another one-month teaching practice, preferably under the supervi sion of another trained teacher, should be followed by an evaluation of three lessons by a team of three examiners. The team of examiners should consist of a staff member of the training institution, the head of the institution where the pupil teacher is practising, and a person nominated by the DEO.

To produce the requisite number of teachers, each district should have one elementary teacher training college for boys and one for girls. The intake capacity of each institution should be regulated according to requirements for teachers in each district.

ReferencesReferences• : www.google.com.•http://teachereducation.net.pk/• www.unesco.org • www.unesco.org/APEID•http://unesco.org.pk/education/index.html•http://unesco.org.pk/education/index.html • AIOU Text book code: 3701 ( study guide and Allied Material)

Compiled By : Khaliq Naveed Roll No. AD816564 Senior Teacher Beaconhouse School System Bahawalpur.