It is often acknowledged that teacher competency, sensitivity, and motivation are the main factors that affect the caliber and scope of student accomplishment. Teacher education is a program of instruction, research, and training for individuals to teach at the pre-primary to higher education levels, according to the National Council for Teacher Education.
The development of teacher proficiency and competence is the focus of teacher education programs, which equip teachers to meet the demands of their profession and overcome its obstacles. As per the Goods Dictionary of Education, teacher education encompasses all the formal and informal experiences and actions that enable an individual to be qualified to take on the obligations of a member of the educational profession or to carry out his duties more efficiently.
It prepared teachers as mechanics or technicians. It had narrower goals, with its focus being only on skill training. The perspective of teacher education was therefore very narrow, and its scope was limited. Training is given to animals and circus performers, while education is to human beings. Teacher education encompasses teaching skills, sound pedagogical theory, and professional skills.
Teacher Education = Teaching Skills + Pedagogical theory + Professional skills.
Curriculum
The aim of the curriculum of teacher training institutes as well as colleges of education is to impart all-round comprehensive education to prospective teachers. Their function is to integrate general and professional courses with a base of subject matter as well as the art of teaching. In most of the institutions, the duration of teacher training courses is three to five years. Every teacher training program includes the following three basic constituents:
- General Education.
- Professional Education, and
- Specialization in a particular field.
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General Education
The majority of institutions provide general education courses to aspiring teachers for a minimum of two years To prepare students for a fitting position in modern society. The goal of this type of education for aspiring teachers should be to advance the development of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and interests that are essentially connected to the demands and responsibilities that are shared with peers who are destined for different professions. Similar recommendations have been made for national teacher professional standards.
It is divided into two parts: theory and practice teaching. The teacher is required to acquire adequate knowledge, skills, interests, and attitudes towards the teaching profession. The teacher‘s work has become more complicated and technical because of the new theories of psychology, philosophy, sociology, modern media, and materials. The teacher can be made proficient with well-planned, imaginative preservice and in-service training programs.
Professional Education
This type of instruction, sometimes referred to as practical teaching or student teaching, is typically taught in the latter stages of professional courses completed by student teachers in either ordinary public schools or the university campus library. Lesson observation, critique or discussion sessions, and, lastly, in-class instruction are all included, all of which are skilfully supervised by supervisors who are faculty members of the College of University. In the context of medical college internships, practice teaching is sometimes referred to as an internship in teaching. It calls for the student teachers to work eight or nine weeks straight while being supervised by one or more senior teachers from the partner school.
The entire work of the internship is planned and executed by the college lecturer (known as supervisor) in consultation with the senior school teacher (known as a tutor teacher) and the pupils’ teachers.
Subject Specialization
Education experts firmly believe that the most important thing is that students’ teachers have a thorough understanding of the subject they are teaching. Without this competence, one cannot teach his students accurate and comprehensive knowledge. As a result, the student instructors must become proficient in the subject or areas they have chosen. According to the school curriculum, the most recent tendency in many institutions is specialization in integrated sectors or courses like general science, languages, social sciences, etc.
The Proposed Template for Teacher Education
A systemic response is needed to address teacher education and teacher practice in Pakistan. The framework for addressing issues of teacher education comprehensively must have three concurrent dimensions:
1. Measures that address the teacher’s competence, motivation, and opportunity.
2. Policy and institutional provisions across schools, districts, provincial, and national levels.
3. Supporting shifts in curriculum and practice (both pre- and in-service) Competence, motivation, and opportunity in terms of what the teacher ‘can’ ‘want’ and ‘could’ do must be iteratively addressed and integrated with the policy and institutional as well as in the curriculum and practice dimensions.
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