Teacher Education India and abroad

Teacher education is evolving and developing into a profession in itself. It is an important area in which the trainer is getting trained. And it is important, as these are the people who will spend maximum time with the young generation during their formative years.

Teacher education could be synonymous with teacher training and teacher development, but there is also a marked difference between the two. Basically, teacher education is a program that trains graduates to work in schools as teachers. It is a process or a course that an aspiring teacher has to undergo before she can get into the profession. Here, she receives training and educational information that will tell her how to impart the knowledge she has to the students. The course is an essential prerequisite, and the would-be teacher will attend lessons and lectures, and learn theories and new developments in the profession. She will get comprehensive training in material preparation for classes, methodologies, evaluation processes and standards, curriculum development and management of classrooms.

Almost all major universities in the United States of America offer graduate programs in teacher education and training. These courses include comprehensive studies and research on not only the major subjects of the student, but also methods of imparting information to schoolchildren in the best possible way. Columbia University, for example, has one of the largest training colleges for teacher education in America. They focus not just on training teachers for schools, but also at evolving a new generation of leaders who understand education in the broadest possible sense of the word.

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education sets the standards for quality teacher education in the United States of America. This council is responsible for the accreditation of schools and colleges in the country, and ensures that only professionals with integrity and knowledge reach the students. Started in 1951, the council sees to it that the accredited schools maintain specific minimum standards in the quality of education as well as quality of teachers.

Teacher Education India

India has a large number of teachers and needs many more. All processes of teacher recruitment, training, motivation, incentives, retention and feedback therefore have to be planned on a large scale. Further the ultimate goal of in-service teacher development should be to ensure that optimal learning takes place in the classrooms.

• To enhance the institutional capacity available at present forensuring the adequate supply of trained teachers for all levels of school education.
• To utilize all possible kinds of institutions, including university departments of education and teacher training institutions in theprivate sector, for in-service training of the existing cadre at all levels, in addition to State institutions, including CTEs;
• To recognize teacher education (for all levels of school education,from pre-school to senior secondary) as a sector of higher education and to facilitate co-operation and collaboration between institutes of teacher training and colleges of general education or universities with a view to enabling interaction between different departments of a local college (or university) (e.g. sciences,languages, social sciences) and the institute of teacher training.
• To envision a comprehensive model of teacher education, utilizing the Chattopadhayay Commission Report and updating its perspective, and ensuring that progress towards a new,comprehensive model is paralleled by necessary modifications in policies of teacher recruitment, deployment and service conditions,including emoluments;
• To prepare a curriculum policy and framework for teacher education which is consistent with the vision of the NCF, 2005,and to translate it into imaginative syllabi and textbooks for preservice courses and sets of in-service training material suited to diverse conditions and needs; and
• To bring about synergy between institutional structures operating at different levels, e.g. NCERT and NCTE at national level, SCERTs and boards of education at State level, DIETs and undergraduate colleges at the district level and so on.