TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
 

NPE/POA stipulations

13.1.1 The NPE 1986, while discussing the various aspects of education has placed immense trust in the teaching community. Teacher competency, accountability, aptitude and favourable attitude to the profession are to be ensured before teacher training or recruitment takes place., The policy framework of NPE insists on recruitment of competent teachers and in-service training which could freshen them up once again. It has stated in clear terms the guidelines to be followed in teacher education, and in-service programmes.

13.1.2 The POA on teacher education discusses in detail, the operationalisation of the policy outlined. The role of the teacher in the educational context requires three aspects, namely training in academic inputs, training in psychological inputs and research and development. Teacher accountability, competence and innovativeness are insisted upon, and teachers should possess in themselves the vital personality traits of motivation and concern.

13.1.3 For school teachers, pre-service training for the profession is insisted. NPE has also suggested an overhaul of teacher-education as the first step towards educational reorganisation. Other measures for reorganising teacher education at the various levels are also suggested. SCERTs and NCERT will implement the several programmes of research and training at the State level and from the centre respectively. District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) will be established with the capability to organise pre-service and in-service courses for elementary school teacher and for the personnel working in nonformal and adult education. The National Council of Teacher Education will be provided the necessary resources and capability to accredit institutions of teacher education and provide guidance regarding curricula and methods.

Committee's perspective

13.1.4 There is need for revamping the existing teacher education programmes. The reasons are:

- The present teacher education programme is theory- oriented.

- It is isolated from school, colleges, universities and community.

301

- Practice teaching period allotted is not adequate in terms of duration and experience gained and what is done during this programme is often stereo-typed.

- Materials prepared during practice teaching have no relevance to the realistic conditions of the schools.

- Catering to all types of students during practice teaching is not taken care of.

- There is little or no scope for the development of the affective domain of the teacher, especially of essential quality of teachers such as empathy, respect for the individual student, attitude towards profession, children, society and development of values etc.

- Demonstration or model schools are not under control of Colleges of Education.

- There is no provision for organised and periodic in- service education of teachers.

- In-service programmes are not effectively done; poor co-ordination and monitoring of in-service education programmes. Absence of research base for making in- service education more effective.

- Inadequate infrastructures at the State and National levels.

- There is minimum of emphasis in developing professional skills in the form of techniques, approaches or methodologies for becoming a facilitator to promote group learning, and in general, learning to be an educator for human development, rather than for merely meeting examination needs.

- Evaluation system is not criterion-oriented.

The above mentioned points indicate directions along which teacher education could be modified. Suggestions listed below will give a guidance for overrhauling teacher education programme.

Removing Deficiencies

The NPE lays emphasis on Teacher Education as follows "Teacher Education is a continuous process and its pre-service and in- service components are inseparable. As the first step, the system of teacher education will be overhauled". If an important change in the education system is to be brought about by radical transformation of the present system of teacher

302

education, then the functions of teacher education would include the following suggestions in addition to the points outlined in NPE.

Recommendations

i) Selection of student should be regulated through stringent aptitude and attainment and not merely on University grade or mark.

ii) The training programme should be competence-based and there should be an integration of theory and practice for situational applications.

iii) Affective aspects to be taken care of so as to develop in students the qualities such as empathy, attituted towards profession, society and develop values.

iv) In-service and Refreshers courses are to be specific and they should be related to the specific needs of the 'teachers. In-service programmes should take due care of the future needs of teacher growth, evaluation and followup should be part of the scheme. Research should support better management including delivery system of the programme. Development of innovative strategies and pilot trial of significant activities should be encouraged to ensure the effectiveness of the programme. DIETs should have the major responsibility for organising in-service courisa3600 Hf ementary school teachers. A strong distance education system of in service education should be developed using TV, Radio and Print media. it can be strengthened by occasional contact programmes.

V) All should be strengthened with continuous supply of relevant learning material including journals. Provision should be made for every teacher to attend in- service programmes according to the specific needs and requirements.

vi) The first degree in teacher education should not be given through correspondence education.

Preparing Teachers for the New Thrusts

13.2.0 In the light of the new thrusts which the Committee is proposing for the education system, the teacher training would have to be totally revamped with a view to equip the teacher with the following attributes:

a) empathy and a school perception of the need profiles of children from different educationally backward sections

303

of society;

b) understanding of the status of women in society and the need to introduce a gender perspective in all dimensions of education;

c) capability of imparting education in all aspects of cognitive and affective domains as well as psychomotor skills;

d) aptitude for innovative and creative work;

e) perception of the interventionist role of education in a stratified society and the ability to give operational meaning to this role;

f) preparedness for vocationalisation of entire educational process and aptitude for integration work in academic learning;

g) ability in special areas such as pre-school education, education for the handicapped children, continuous and comprehensive evaluation, activity-based learning, scientific methods of acquiring knowledge etc.; and

h) a sensitive understanding of her/his role in a decentralised and participative 'mode of educational management.

13.3.0 In addition to the personal attributes enumerated above, the new thrusts towards UEE would require the teacher of the elementary stage to be trained in the following concepts, methods and skills:

- non formalisation of the school which would involve introduction of child-centred approach, ungraded classroom, diaggregated and continuous evaluation, and a sensitive understanding of child's behaviour;

- reaching out to the unserved habitations and those sections of children who have not so far responded to schooling by organising 'para-schools';

- linking up with ECCE and adopting its play-way and activity-based approach into the primary school;

- developing school into a community school where school becomes a nucleus of several social and cultural activities of the village besides becoming a centre through which developmental and social welfare services may be made available to the village;

304

- mobilising resources, both human and otherwise, for enrichment of the learning environment through introduction of signing, drawing, clay-modeling, folk- lore and folk singing in the class room;

- developing content on the basis of the minimum levels of learning;

- community empowerment by communicating the expected learning outcomes in simple forms and arranging opportunities where the community could directly evaluate what their children have gained from the school;

- capability to, guide vocationalisation of entire Elementary Education, alongwith mastery over at least one SUPW or vocational skills;

- understanding of how, to integrate different subjects into an organised whole.

Recommendations

Revamp the teacher-training programmes along the lines suggested above, particularly for the teachers at the elementary stage, with a view to meet the requirements of the new thrusts proposed for UEE.

Internship Model of Teacher Training

13.4.1 The challenge of UEE has posed the problem of training several lakhs of additional teachers within the next few years at the elementary stage. The conventional approach of institution based model of pre-service and/or in-service teacher training may not be adequate for the purpose for the following reasons:

i) Being isolated from the ground realities, this model is unable to provide for suitable mechanisms to integrate field problems in the training modules.

ii) The linkage between theory and practice is rather weak in this model.

iii) The infrastructural facilities available today for this model are just not adequate for meeting the UEE requirements.

305

13.4.2 It must be kept in mind that the problem of preparing teachers for UEE cannot be reduced to mere quantitative terms, notwithstanding the reauirement for rapidly preparing a large number of teachers. The need for quality and relevance in education is, of critical importance for UEE, as shown elsewhere. Any model of training would have to take these facts into consideration.

13.5.0 The Committee, therefore, proposes an alternative model, termed 'Internship Model' to meet the challenge. The model is particularly suited for preparing 'para-teachers' who would be recruited by the school Head Master/Head Mistress for organising 'para-schools', as envisaged elsewhere. However, the model is based upon sound educational principles which merit attention of teacher educators for all sorts of training situations.

13.6.1 Becoming an effective teacher is not a question of acquiring a bagful of tricks of the trade, but of growing into a human being skilled in the art of communication. It may be better to speak of developing a teacher than of training one. However, whatever the terminology used, training is an ongoing continuous process spread over time. From this point of view, a model of teacher training based on the concept of internship is proposed as an alternative to the conventional pre-service teacher training course. The characteristic of this model and its differences from the conventional model are summarised below:

        
        

                  Internship                            Conventional
        

        
             i)   Long duration                      Short duration
        
             ii)  In-service                         Pre-service
        
             iii) On-the-job, alongwith inter-       In-the-institution only,
                  mittant 'in-the-institution'       (including an adjunct of
                  training (i.e. sandwiching)        'practice teaching')
        
             iv)  Practical and theory through       Mainly theoretical
             practice
        
             v)   Reality-oriented                   Ideal-oriented
        
             vi)  Experience-based                   Instruction-based
        
             vii) Inductive Deductive
        
             viii) Low-cost                           High-cost
        
        

        
        

306

13.6.2 The internship model is firmly based on the primacy and value of actual field experience in a realistic situation, on the development of teaching skills by practice over a period of time, on supervised teaching under the guidance of more experienced and skilled persons, on role modelling as a time-tested pedagogical principle. It is "inductive" because it expects to draw theoretical insights after exposure to a range of personal experiences and observations; a deductive model first gives instruction in basic principles in an abstract manner, and expects the student to apply the principles to real life situations later on.

13.6.3 The relationship between the content of teacher training (what is to be learnt) and process (how is it to be learnt) is illustrated in the following diagram. All content can be grouped under the headings Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes, and all processes can be grouped under the headings Theoretical Instruction, Practical Work and Field Experience.

13.6.4 Knowledge required to be an effective teacher at the primary level is partly of subject matter content, but this is a small component, since the primary teacher, especially in the first three years, is expected mainly to teach literacy and numeracy skills, and 'life skills. The main knowledge required is from the field of child development of how children develop and how children learn, of the stages of development, of children's needs etc. This kind of knowledge can be given largely through the conventional modes of instruction lecturers, discussions, reading, audio-visual methods, etc. Group discussions based upon the observations and life experiences of the trainees themselves can be an excellent way of teaching this kind of. theory. This sort of instruction can be given in a short-term, hence it has

307

been placed in the first box.

13.6.5 Skills required by a teacher are of many types, ranging from ability to tell stories, sing, dance, play games and act, to skill in making and doing things, skills in various crafts and domestic activity and interactive skills like stimulating, guiding and encouraging children, handling groups at various levels etc. Skills need regular and constant practice and cannot be learnt 'by mere instruction, though initial demonstration may be useful or even necessary. So skills have been labelled as medium term and placed in the middle box.

13.6.6 Attitudes towards work, towards children of different ages, towards self, towards women, towards different cultures, towards society, and towards others are the hardest to build up. They can never be taught by direct instruction but are acquired through various processes such as exposure to role models, limitation of role models, peer attitudes and other socialisation modes. Attitudes like a 'Long time to be internalised, hence they have been labelled long-term and placed in the last box.

13.6.7 To make a success of the internship model of training the following are required:

- realistic field situation for teachers;

- long duration;

- supervised teaching in the field;

- good role models; and

- trainers who are themselves skilled and effective teachers.

13.6.8 All except the last two may be fairly easy to get by merely placing trainees in the field. Even the last two are available among experienced teachers in the field, though it may be hard to find among those conventionally labelled as trainers, that is, the staff of training schools and inspectors of schools. On the other hand, all the cost and paraphernalia of the conventional pre-service two-year training course can be saved, by placing trainees in the schools as intern-teachers, paying them for it, and expecting them to fulfill their regular duties.

13.6.9 A sandwich pattern is suggested, starting with a brief period of 'theoretical orientation', followed by long periods of supervised teaching in the schools, alternating with short institution-based sessions of discussion and clarification of theory and for learning and practice of skills. During the internship, each trainee should be attached as an intern to an experienced and skilled teacher who acts as a role model and, in addition, should receive guidance through demonstration in skills by skilled trainers. These periods should continue to

41-670 Deptt. of Edit, 90

308

alternate for several years. In the second and third year, supervision may become less frequent and the trainees left to function more and more independently. The trainee should be certified as a trained teacher only after three (or five) years. The final evaluation should be done on the basis of continuous evaluation by the supervisors and senior teachers of the trainee's abilities, skills and effectiveness as a theacher, by evidence of his practical skills in the form of objects made and events carried out (NOT by-demonstration lessons) and by a short written and oral test of knowledge. The actual division of time periods is flexible and varying patterns can be adopted.