Teacher Education Quarterly Popular Books

Teacher Education Quarterly Biography & Facts

Teacher education or teacher training refers to programs, policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, approaches, methodologies and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school, and wider community. The professionals who engage in training the prospective teachers are called teacher educators (or, in some contexts, teacher trainers). There is a longstanding and ongoing debate about the most appropriate term to describe these activities. The term 'teacher training' (which may give the impression that the activity involves training staff to undertake relatively routine tasks) seems to be losing ground, at least in the U.S., to 'teacher education' (with its connotation of preparing staff for a professional role as a reflective practitioner). The two major components of teacher education are in-service teacher education and pre-service teacher education. History Policy and related issues The process by which teachers are educated is the subject of political discussion in many countries, reflecting both the value attached by societies and cultures to the preparation of young people for life, and the fact that education systems consume significant financial resources. However, the degree of political control over Teacher Education varies. Where teacher education is entirely in the hands of universities, the state may have no direct control whatever over what or how new teachers are taught; this can lead to anomalies, such as teachers being taught using teaching methods that would be deemed inappropriate if they used the same methods in schools, or teachers being taught by persons with little or no hands-on experience of teaching in real classrooms. In other systems, teacher education may be the subject of detailed prescription (e.g. the state may specify the skills that all teachers must possess, or it may specify the content of teacher education courses). Policy cooperation in the European Union has led to a broad description of the kinds of attributes that teachers in European Union member states should possess: the Common European Principle for Teacher Competences and Qualifications. Continuum Although ideally it should be conceived of, and organised as, a seamless continuum, teacher education is often divided into these stages initial teacher training / education (a pre-service course before entering the classroom as a fully responsible teacher); induction (the process of providing training and support during the first few years of teaching or the first year in a particular school); teacher development or continuing professional development (an in-service process for practicing teachers). Initial Organization In many countries, Initial Teacher Education (also known as preservice teacher training) takes place largely or exclusively in institutions of higher education. In countries like Sri Lanka there are separate institutes called National colleges of Education to provide pre-service teacher training while Teacher Training Colleges provide in-service teacher education. Further institutes called Teacher Centers provide continuing professional development for teachers. It may be organized according to two basic models. In the 'consecutive' model, a teacher first obtains a qualification in one or more subjects (often a diploma in teaching or an undergraduate bachelor's degree), and then studies for a further period to gain an additional qualification in teaching (this may take the form of a post-baccalaureate credential or master's degree). In the alternative 'concurrent' model, a student simultaneously studies both one or more academic subjects, and the ways of teaching that subject, leading to a combined bachelor's degree and teaching credential to qualify as a teacher of that subject. Other pathways are also available. In some countries, it is possible for a person to receive training as a teacher by working in a school under the responsibility of an accredited experienced practitioner. In the United Kingdom there is a long tradition of partnerships between universities and schools in providing state supported teacher education. This tradition is not without tensions and controversies. In the United States, approximately one-third of new teachers come through alternative routes to teacher certification, according to testimony given by Emily Feistritzer, the President of National Center for Alternative Certification and the National Center for Education Information, to a congressional subcommittee on May 17, 2007. However, many alternative pathways are affiliated with schools of education, where candidates still enroll in university-based coursework. A supplemental component of university-based coursework is community-based teacher education, where teacher candidates immerse themselves in communities that will allow them to apply teaching theory to practice. Community-based teacher education also challenges teacher candidates' assumptions about the issues of gender, race, and multicultural diversity. This assists to make an attitudinal change in the teacher trainees in order to eliminate segregation within the school community. Curriculum The question of what knowledge, attitudes, behaviours, approaches, methodologies and skills teachers should possess is the subject of much debate in many cultures. This is understandable, as teachers are entrusted with the transmission to learners of society's beliefs, attitudes and deontology, as well as of information, advice and wisdom, and with facilitating learners' acquisition of the key knowledge, attitudes and behaviours that they will need to be active in society and the economy. Generally, Teacher Education curricula can be broken down into four major areas: foundational knowledge in education-related aspects of philosophy of education, history of education, educational psychology, and sociology of education. skills in assessing student learning, supporting English Language learners, using technology to improve teaching and learning, and supporting students with special needs. content-area and methods knowledge and skills—often also including ways of teaching and assessing a specific subject, in which case this area may overlap with the first ("foundational") area. There is increasing debate about this aspect; because it is no longer possible to know in advance what kinds of knowledge and skill pupils will need when they enter adult life, it becomes harder to know what kinds of knowledge and skill teachers should have. Increasingly, emphasis is placed upon 'transversal' or 'horizontal' skills (such as 'learning to learn' or 'social competences'), which cut across traditional subject boundaries, and therefore call into question traditional ways of designing the Teacher Education curriculum (and traditional school curricula and ways of working in the classroom). practice at classroom teaching or at some other for.... Discover the Teacher Education Quarterly popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Teacher Education Quarterly books.