Reform of Teacher Education in the Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium EDUCATION IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION: ISSUES, CONCERNS AND PROSPECTS
Volume 3
Series Editors-in-Chief:
Dr. Rupert Maclean, UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Education, Bonn; and Ryo Watanabe, National Institute for Educational Policy Research (NIER) of Japan, Tokyo
Editorial Board
Robyn Baker, New Zealand Council for Educational Research, Wellington, New Zealand Dr. Boediono, National Office for Research and Development, Ministry of National Education, Indonesia Professor Yin Cheong Cheng, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, China Dr. Wendy Duncan, Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines Professor John Keeves, Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia Dr. Zhou Mansheng, National Centre for Educational Development Research, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China Professor Colin Power, Graduate School of Education, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Professor J. S. Rajput, National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi, India Professor Konai Helu Thaman, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
Advisory Board
Professor Mark Bray, Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, China; Dr. Agnes Chang, National Institute of Education, Singapore; Dr. Nguyen Huu Chau, National Institute for Educational Sciences, Vietnam; Professor John Fien, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia; Professor Leticia Ho, University of the Philippines, Manila; Dr. Inoira Li- lamaniu Ginige, National Institute of Education, Sri Lanka; Professor Phillip Hughes, ANU Centre for UNESCO, Canberra, Australia; Dr. Inayatullah, Pakistan Association for Continuing and Adult Education, Karachi; Dr. Rung Kaewdang, Office of the National Education Commis- sion, Bangkok. Thailand; Dr. Chong-Jae Lee, Korean Educational Development Institute, Seoul; Dr. Molly Lee, School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang; Mausooma Jaleel, Maldives College of Higher Education, Male; Professor Geoff Masters, Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne; Dr. Victor Ordonez, Senior Education Fellow, East-West Center, Honolulu; Dr. Khamphay Sisavanh, National Research Institute of Educa- tional Sciences, Ministry of Education, Lao PDR; Dr. Max Walsh, AUSAid Basic Education Assistance Project, Mindanao, Philippines. Reform of Teacher Education in the Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium Trends and Challenges
Edited by
YIN CHEONG CHENG KING WAI CHOW and MAGDALENA MO CHING MOK
Centre for Research and International Collaboration, The Hong Kong Institute of Education
KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS DORDRECHT / BOSTON / LONDON A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
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Printed in the Netherlands. SERIES SCOPE
The purpose of this Book Series is to meet the needs of those interested in an in- depth analysis of current developments in education and schooling in the vast and diverse Asia-Pacific Region. The Series will be invaluable for educational researchers, policy makers and practitioners, who want to better understand the major issues, concerns and prospects regarding educational developments in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Series complements the Handbook of Educational Research in the Asia- Pacific Region, with the elaboration of specific topics, themes and case studies in greater breadth and depth than is possible in the Handbook.
Topics to be covered in the Series include: secondary education reform; reorientation of primary education to achieve education for all; re-engineering education for change; the arts in education; evaluation and assessment; the moral curriculum and values education; technical and vocational education for the world of work; teachers and teaching in society; organisation and management of education; education in rural and remote areas; and, education of the disadvantaged.
Although specifically focusing on major educational innovations for development in the Asia-Pacific region, the Series is directed at an international audience.
The Series Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues Concerns and Prospects, and the Handbook of Educational Research in the Asia-Pacific Region, are both publications of the Asia-Pacific Educational Research Association.
Those interested in obtaining more information about the Series, or who wish to explore the possibility of contributing a manuscript, should (in the first instance) contact the publishers.
Books Published to Date in the Series
1. Young People and the Environment: An Asia-Pacific Perspective (Editors): John Fien, David Yencken and Helen Sykes
2. Asian Migrants and Education: The Tensions of Education in Immigrant Societies and among Migrant Groups (Editors): Michael W. Charney, Brenda S.A. Yeoh and Tong Chee Kiong
Contents
Introduction by the Series Editors ix
PART I Introduction
1 Reform of Teacher Education Amid Paradigm Shift in School Education 3 Yin Cheong CHENG, King Wai CHOW and Magdalena Mo Ching MOK, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong
PART II Trends of Teacher Education Reform 2 The Contending Models of and Debate in Teacher Education in the 23 United States David G. IMIG, The American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, United States
3 Canadian Teacher Education in Transformation 35 F. Michael CONNELLY and D. Jean CLANDININ, University of Toronto, Canada
4 Current Trends in Canadian Teacher Education: The Ontario Experience 45 Clare KOSNIK and Clive BECK, University of Toronto, Canada
5 Patterns of Development of Chinese Teacher Education in a Reform 63 Context Ying Jie WANG, Beijing Normal University, China
6 Malaysian Teacher Education into the New Century 81 Molly N. N. LEE, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
7 Reform of Teacher Education in India: Trends and Challenges 93 Kiran WALIA, National Council of Educational Research and Training, India
vii viii
PART III Challenges in Teacher Education in the 21st Century 8 The Quest for Professional Teaching Standards: The NBPTS Model 109 Richard BEACH, University of Minnesota, United States
9 Challenges and Prospects of Teacher Education Colleges and 127 Institutions in Japan Masahiro ARIMOTO, National Institute for Educational Policy Research, Japan
10 Korean National Universities of Education: Reform and Further 145 Reform Hye Sook KIM, Yonsei University, Korea
11 Incorporating ICT in Practicum: An Australian Experience 163 Geoff ROGERS, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
12 An American Cluster Placement Model for Enriching Field 181 Experience Connie TITONE, Villanova University, United States Robert CUNNINGHAM, The College of New Jersey, United States
13 Professional Development of School Principals for Revitalizing 197 Schooling in Malaysia Ibrahim Ahmad BAJUNID, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia
14 Institutions of Teacher Education in Asia: Changes and Challenges 219 Yin Cheong CHENG and King Wai CHOW, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong INTRODUCTON BY THE SERIES EDITORS
The region of Asia and the Pacific, which is home to 63% of the world’s population, is outstanding for the vast range of diversities that encompass almost all aspects of life, whether geographical, socio-economic, cultural, political or developmental.
Some of the major education problems currently facing mankind are evident in the region. For instance, there are estimated to be 625 million illiterates in Asia: 71% of the world’s total, of whom 64% are women and girls.
Some of the disparities that exist in Asia are particularly disturbing. For example, in South Asia the literacy rate is 42% compared with 72% in East and South-East Asia; while in South Asia, life expectancy is ten years lower than for those living in East and South-East Asia.
In Asia, some 74 million of the world’s total 132 million children (or 56% of the school-age population, 6 to 11 years old) are not enrolled in primary education. Of those who enrol, at least one-third abandon or drop out before completing the primary cycle. Moreover, gender disparities make the picture look bleaker: of the out-of-school children in the region, some 46 million (62%) are girls, concentrated especially in South Asia.
In spite of such challenges and diversity there is a common thread in that all countries in Asia and the Pacific believe that improving education and schooling provides the essential key to achieving poverty eradication, sustainable human development, justice and equity in respects.
With regard to identifying most effective ways of improving education and schooling it is widely accepted that teachers are the cornerstone of educational development and that ‘good schools require good teachers’. Teachers are at the forefront of the process of educational reform, since the quality and effectiveness of any education system ultimately depends on the quality and nature of the interaction that occurs between learners and their teachers.
A major problem exists in many developing countries concerning attracting the most suitable, talented people into the occupation of teaching since those who have the educational background, qualifications and personal qualities to become school teachers are precisely the ones which are most in demand by other industries. To enable the quantitative expansion and qualitative improvement of schooling to occur, there is a demand for greater numbers of high quality recruits into the occupation of teaching. Much more therefore needs to be done to provide a reward structure and incentives package to attract (and keep) suitable individuals in school teaching.
ix x
In 2002-2003 UNESCO launched a project to develop teachers’ professional standards in Asia and the Pacific. It also established an intersectoral working group to examine the use of open and distance learning technologies to train teachers at scale and issued guidelines in this regard. The reason for these initiatives is that research and publications have raised the alarm about the growing shortage of teachers and the low salaries, poor working conditions and inadequate training that have contributed to a steady decline in the status of teachers.
Indicators suggest that a minimum of 18 million new teachers will be needed by 2015 although the ravages of HIV/AIDS on the teaching population may make this figure an underestimate. Available evidence points to the pressing need to strengthen national and regional policies to raise the professional standards and status of teachers and to involve them in social dialogue regarding achieving Education for All. This involves: measures to improve working conditions, status and professional standards (salaries, teacher-training, pupil-teacher ratio); the importance of increased national capacities for training teachers and for designing teacher-education materials; and the wider use of distance education teacher training courseware so that the number of teacher-educators benefiting from distance education substantially increases.
This publication, the third to be published in a Book Series devoted to examining Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, presents a range of viewpoints on trends and challenges concerning the reform of teacher education in the Twenty-first century. The research reported on in this book has much to say about teachers and teaching, and provides a wealth of ideas and evidence to show that the reform of teacher education is a pressing need that has much to contribute to the strengthening and upgrading of schooling in Asia-Pacific.
As the editors of the volume point out, ‘teachers are key actors in education development, and as such have to face up to numerous new changes, expectations, and uncertainties in the internal and external environments in which they discharge their professional duties …(and) … in addition to teaching, they are often required to take up expanded roles and responsibilities related to school management, curriculum planning and development, new teacher mentoring, staff development, school-based action projects, and working with parents and outside leaders and professionals ’ (p. 3).
Effective career-long teacher development programmes are of crucial importance in equipping teachers to meet these challenges.
Although most of the chapters in the volume refer to countries in Asia (China, Malaysia, Korea, India, amongst others) it is very helpful that other chapters refer to Pacific-Rim countries, namely the United States of America and Canada, since this establishes useful points of comparison between what is currently occurring in Asia and elsewhere. xi
The research and interesting ideas presented in this book have much to say to researchers, policy makers and practitioners regarding the most effective pathways to follow (and those to avoid), as they seem to reform their systems of teacher education to meet the current and emerging challenges facing education in the Twenty-first century.
Rupert Maclean, Director of the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre, Bonn, Germany; and
Ryo Watanabe, Director, Department for International Reasearch and Cooperation, National Institute for Educational Policy Research (NIER) of Japan, Tokyo Y. C. CHENG, K. W. CHOW, & MAGDALENA M. C. MOK
REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION AMID PARADIGM SHIFT IN SCHOOL EDUCATION
The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong
1. INTRODUCTION
The impacts of globalization, international competition, and local social-political demands have induced rapid changes in nearly every society in the Asia-Pacific region since the 1980s (Cheng & Townsend, 2000; Maclean, 1999). In such an era of fast transformation, education reforms have been become inevitable and paradigm shifts in school education have been initiated in many countries with a hope to meeting various challenges and pursue a new future in the new millennium (Cheng, 2002a, 2003b, in press a; Fullan, 1998; Lieberman, 1998). As key actors in education, teachers have to face up to numerous new changes, expectations, and uncertainties in the internal and external environments in which they discharge their professional duties (McGhan, 2002; Wheatley, 2002). In addition to teaching, they are often required to take up expanded roles and responsibilities related to school management, curriculum planning and development, new teacher mentoring, staff development, school-based action projects, and working with parents and outside leaders and professionals (Boles & Troven, 1996; Cheng, Tam, & Tsui, 2002; Murphy & Beck, 1995; Fessler & Ungaretti, 1994). How teachers can be prepared and empowered to take up new roles and effectively perform teaching to meet the challenges and expectations raised from education reforms and paradigm shifts in school education is a crucial concern in policy and implementation of teacher education in Asia-Pacific.
1.1 Challenges from Paradigm Shift in School Education
There are evident paradigm shifts required in ongoing education reforms in many parts of the Asia-Pacific region (Cheng, 2003b). In particular, school education should be reformed from a traditional site-bounded paradigm towards a new triplization paradigm with emphasis on development of students’ contextualized multiple intelligence (CMI) and on triplization - globalization, localization, and individualization in school education (Cheng, 2002a, 2003a). The aims, roles, and characteristics of schooling, as well as teaching and learning, are completely different between these two paradigms.
3 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 3—19. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 4 Y. C. CHENG, K. W. CHOW, & MAGDALENA M. C. MOK
In the new paradigm, learning should be individualized, localized, and globalized, of which is contrastingly different from the traditional learning, as shown in Table 1. Student is the center of education. Individualized and tailor-made programs (including targets, content, methods, and schedules) for different students are both necessary and feasible. Learning is a self-actualizing, discovering, experiencing, and reflecting process. The focus of learning is on learning how to learn, think, and create. In order to sustain learning lifelong, learning process should be facilitated as enjoyable and self-rewarding.
Table 1. Paradigm shift in learning
New Triplization Paradigm Traditional Site-Bounded Paradigm Individualized Learning: Reproduced Learning:
– Student is the Center of Education – Student is the Follower of Teacher – Individualized Programs – Standard Programs – Self-Learning – Absorbing Knowledge – Self-Actualizing Process – Receiving Process – Focus on How to Learn – Focus on How to Gain – Self-Rewarding – External Rewarding
Localized and Globalized Learning: Institution-Bounded Learning:
– Multiple Sources of Learning – Teacher-Based Learning – Networked Learning – Separated Learning – Lifelong and Everywhere – Fixed Period and Within Institution – Unlimited Opportunities – Limited Opportunities – World-Class Learning – Site-Bounded Learning – Local and International Outlook – Mainly Institution-based Experiences
Adapted from Cheng (2003a)
Local and global resources, support, and networks can be brought in to create unlimited opportunities for students’ learning and development. Students can learn from multiple sources inside and outside their education institutions, locally and globally, not limited to a small number of teachers in the schools. Participation in local and international learning programs can help them achieve the related community and global outlook and experiences beyond schools. They will be networked locally and internationally to experience world-class learning (Cheng, 2003a). In such a paradigm shift in education, the role of teacher and the nature of teaching inevitably have to change. What new professional competence and quality of teachers would be needed to play the new roles and support the paradigm shift in education? How should the provision and content of teacher education be reformed to meet the needs of new teachers amid paradigm shift in school education? In REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION AMID PARADIGM SHIFT IN SCHOOL EDUCATION 5 response to these challenges to teacher education, Cheng (2001a, b) urged that there should be corresponding paradigm shift in reforming and managing teacher education in the Asia-Pacific region and other parts of the world.
1.2 Challenges from Ongoing Education Reforms
Based on the findings and observations in the past five years, nine major trends of education reforms in the Asia-Pacific region have been identified at the macro, messo, site, and operational levels, as shown in Table 2 (Cheng, 2003b, c). How does the development of teacher education echo these trends and provide sufficient and appropriate support to facilitate changes in teaching and learning and enhance education effectiveness and relevance to the future? This becomes a core concern in policy formulation, practice and research in the Region. In response to each trend of education reform, the major challenges and implications for reform and development of teacher education are summarized in Table 2. At the operational level of school education, educators and policy-makers are seriously concerned with the following: (1) what new teacher quality and competence are needed to facilitate paradigm shift in teaching and learning and to enhance the relevance of education to the future (Cheng, 2001a); (2) what kind of teacher education and related measures are needed with which teachers can achieve such new professional quality and competence for new paradigm education (Cheng, 2001a); and (3) how teacher education can be changed to develop teachers’ competence in using IT and new technology for paradigm shift in education. The implications and challenges at the site-level to teacher education include (1) what kind of teacher education is needed to enhance the effectiveness of teachers in serving the diverse expectations in education and in implementing school-based management; and (2) how new school leadership can be developed to lead school- based management and education reforms to meet various challenges in a fast changing environment (Cheng, 2002b, in press b; Walker, Stott, & Cheng, in press). For the trend of reform at the messo level, how to develop school leaders’ capacity for managing the complexities and difficulties in parental participation and community partnership for school education is also key concern (Cheng, 2003d). Currently many policy-makers in Asia-Pacific are concerned with the implications and challenges at the macro-level to teacher education. In particular, they are making efforts to address the following two issues: a) How should teacher education systems and institutions be re-structured in response to new aims, paradigm shifts, and reforms in education? b) How should the provision of teacher education be planned, resourced, and managed to meet the changing and increasing demands in a more fair and efficient way? 6 Y. C. CHENG, K. W. CHOW, & MAGDALENA M. C. MOK
Table 2. Trends of education reform and challenges to teacher education in the Asia-Pacific Region
Levels Trends of Education Key Challenges and Issues for Chapters on Reform in the Region Teacher Education related Challenges Opera- – Towards paradigm – What are the new teacher – Directly tional shift in learning, quality and competence needed or level teaching, and to facilitate paradigm shift in indirectly assessment teaching and learning and addressed – Towards using enhance the relevance of by most information education to the future? chapters technology (IT) in – What kind of teacher education – Particular learning and and related measures are needed ly teaching and with which teachers can achieve Chapters applying new such new professional quality 8, 11, and technologies (such and competence for new 12 as development paradigm education? planning and – How can teacher education be strategic changed to develop teachers’ management) in competence in using IT and new management technology for paradigm shift in education?
Site- – Towards ensuring – What kind of teacher education – Directly level education quality, is needed to ensure or standards, and effectiveness of teachers in indirectly accountability serving the diverse expectations addressed – Towards in education and implementing by most decentralization and school-based management? chapters school-based – How can new school leadership – Particular management be developed to lead school- ly – Towards the based management and Chapters enhancement of education reforms to meet 8 and 13 teacher quality and various challenges in a fast continuous lifelong changing environment? professional development of teachers and principals Messo- – Towards parental – How can school leaders be – Chapter level and community developed to manage and 13 involvement in facilitate various kinds of education and parental participation and management community partnership for REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION AMID PARADIGM SHIFT IN SCHOOL EDUCATION 7
Levels Trends of Education Key Challenges and Issues for Chapters on Reform in the Region Teacher Education related Challenges school education? Macro- – Towards re- – How should teacher education – Chapters level establishing new systems and institutions be re- 2-7, 9-10, national vision and structured in response to new and 14 education aims aims, paradigm shifts, and – Towards reforms in education? restructuring – How should the provision of education system at teacher education be planned, different levels resourced, and managed to meet – Towards market- the changing and increasing driving, privatizing, demands in a more fair and and diversifying efficient way? education
1.3 Need for Deeper Understanding of Teacher Education Reform in the Region
In response to the various challenges, many countries in the Region have initiated measures to improve and develop teacher education since the 1990s (Cave, 2001; Chadbourne, 1997; Cheng, 2003b; Cheng, Chow, & Tsui, 2001; Cheng, Mok, & Tsui, 2001; Cheng & Townsend, 2000; Ratnavadivel, 1999). Unfortunately, many countries are still disappointed with the quality and performance of the teaching profession and the teacher education systems in view of the increasing challenges of the new century. In order to enhance the quality of teachers in meeting new education expectations, more and more reforms are now proposed to improve the practice and effectiveness of teacher education at different levels (see, e.g., Beynon, 2001; Chang, 1999; Cogan, 2002; Dewal, 2003; Ding, 2001; Gopinathan, Ho, & Tan, 1999; Hui, 2003; Kennedy, 1998; Lee, 2001; Maclean, 1999; Sikula, 2001; Taylor & Coll, 2002). From a regional perspective, stakeholders would like to know what lessons can be learnt and shared from these ongoing teacher education reforms in the Region such that they can avoid repeating failure and thus can successfully prepare for rational policy formulation and effective implementation of changes in teacher education in their own countries. Particularly for policy-makers, educators, and researchers, the following questions should receive due attention in considering reform of teacher education in the Region: a) What are the major trends and characteristics of the ongoing teacher education reforms in this Region? b) What are the major challenges that the policy-makers and educators are facing in the current teacher education reforms particularly in such a new era of globalization, IT, competition, and the knowledge-driven economy? 8 Y. C. CHENG, K. W. CHOW, & MAGDALENA M. C. MOK
Given the large scope of reform trends and the complexity of the aforementioned challenges and issues in teacher education in the current paradigmatic shift context, there is an urgent need to pursue a wide range of educational research for supporting the ongoing teacher education reform debate and practice in Asia-Pacific. The aim of this edited volume is to help address this need and in particular the above two questions.1 The position of the editors is that, while teacher education has received substantial worldwide policy and research attention since the 1980s, it nevertheless has been primarily examined from a static perspective: many educators and researchers have failed to diagnose the various problems in light of paradigm shift in education that has occurred since late 1990s, triggered by rapid globalization and IT intensification. This is particularly the case in the Asia-Pacific region in which one can find the richest countries, such as Japan and USA, and developing countries, such as China and Malaysia. The experiences in reforming teacher education amid paradigm shift in school education derived from a great variety of and diversity in efforts directed to the enhancement of competent teachers to provide quality school education in Asia-Pacific are valuable for global sharing. This book is therefore edited to facilitate the global sharing of those experiences. With a total of 14 chapters prepared by 18 scholars from nine educational systems – Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and United States - in the Asia-Pacific region, the book highlights the trends and challenges in the reform of teacher education in the Region generally and in eight educational systems in particular. As shown in Table 2, the chapters discuss and review what trends of national or regional efforts have been made on teacher education development and how the various issues and challenges raised from different trends of education reform have been addressed. To different extent, most chapters directly or indirectly address issues of teacher education and development at operational, site, and macro levels from a national or regional perspective. The various chapters as a whole examine the fundamental patterns of teacher education and development in different socio-economic and schooling contexts, as well as the interactive forces that present both constraints and opportunities for teacher education as a field of study and as a profession to meet the demands in society for quality teachers and outcome-based school education (Botha, 2002; Moore, 2002; Stecher & Borko, 2002). The target readers include teachers, teacher educators, researchers, policy-makers, and other stakeholders in all developed and developing countries. It is hopeful that the chapters edited in this book, as one of collective efforts to start the analysis and review of the various complex issues of teacher education reform in the Region, will help chart the trends in teacher education reform and clarify the various challenges that all educators and policy-makers need to pay due attention to.
1 The editors are in debt to the Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and Development (APJTED) for granting permission to the contributors to adapt materials from their articles published in APJTED for developing the chapters in this book. REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION AMID PARADIGM SHIFT IN SCHOOL EDUCATION 9
2. THE TRENDS IN TEACHER EDUCATION
Trends and challenges are often interrelated. To facilitate our analysis, it is helpful to first of all focus on some major trends in teacher education, using some important educational systems as examples. By doing so, we can more easily have a picture of teacher education in the reform era in different socio-economic contexts. The systems of the American, Canadian, Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian have been selected for discussion and analysis in Part II of the book.
2.1 Trends of Teacher Education in USA
In Chapter 2, David G. Imig of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education presents the policy and pragmatic issues involved in American teacher education. He uses the U.S. Secretary of Education Roderick Paige’s report on teacher quality as a beginning point for a reflection on the past decade’s work in American teacher education: witnessed are significant changes in teacher education curriculum and policy issues. Imig points out that the debates about what constitutes teacher quality, what preparation teachers should have before entering the classroom, and what is to be done to hold teachers accountable seem only to intensify with every passing year in the United States. Through an outline of the achievements and shortcomings of the past decade’s work in teacher education, Imig lays out a comprehensive picture that all stakeholders in teacher education must take into consideration as they develop their own positions for the future. Then, given the various challenges, as Imig noted, there are six possible developments. To Imig, gearing university-based preparation programs to connect in meaningful ways with the needs of local schools and school districts is a mission inevitable and, as such, transforming education schools to focus on local teachers, principals, parents, and students is the challenge in the new century.
2.2 Trends of Teacher Education in Canada
In Chapter 3, F. Michael Connelly and D. Jean Clandinin, both faculty members of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto, Canada, offer an overview of the context of Canadian teacher education, paying particular attention to the changing features of the educational landscape. Connelly and Clandinin begin their discussion by highlighting two features - changes in the population and changes in how professional education is thought about. In the first section of the chapter, changes in the population, the colonial history of Canada, the multicultural nature of the Canadian society, the shifting urban/rural trends, and supply and demand for teachers are addressed. In the second section, Connelly and Clandinin focus on the academization of teacher education, with its resulting shifts in how teacher education is thought about. With the understanding that teacher education as being on a continuum of a lifelong process of learning to teach, Connelly and Clandinin then consider in the final section of their chapter the issues of formal and informal professional development in Canada, that is, teacher 10 Y. C. CHENG, K. W. CHOW, & MAGDALENA M. C. MOK education that occurs after pre-service teacher education. Connelly and Clandinin conclude by noting the trend of professional lifelong learning: after all, “on the whole, there is more for most teachers to learn by coming, self-consciously, to grips with their own teacher knowledge.” In Chapter 4, Clare Kosnik and Clive Beck, professors of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto, Canada, begin the review of the developments of teacher education and trends in reform in Toronto with a discussion of a mighty important report, entitled Teacher Education in Ontario: Current Practice and Options for the Future (1989), prepared by Michael Fullan, F. Michael Connelly, and Nancy Watson. According to Kosnik and Beck, in Ontario, this report was widely regarded as the blueprint for teacher education. In the light of the three themes of the report - teacher education as a lifelong process; fuller integration of the practicum and the campus program; and a coherent vision for teaching and teacher education – the two authors provide in their chapter examples of the directions, achievements, and challenges from various faculties of education in Ontario. Kosnik and Beck then shift to a discussion of a specific program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, which, on the one hand, exemplifies many of the principles outlined in the Fullan, Connelly, and Watson report and, on the other hand, is indicative of directions in teacher education in Ontario. Finally, Kosnik and Beck examine a recent development in teacher education, the founding of the Ontario College of Teachers, which “… assumes responsibility for developing standards of teaching practice, regulating on-going teacher certification and professional development and accrediting teacher education programs.”
2.3 Trends of Teacher Education in China
In Chapter 5, Ying Jie Wang of the International and Comparative Education Research Institute Beijing Normal University, China, reviews the development of teacher education of China. Wang takes Beijing Normal University as a case for illustration, as the University has been the leading teacher education institution in China. Described in Wang’s chapter are the origins of modern teacher education in China, the movement of upgrading teachers colleges into universities, and the rapid development of teacher education after 1949. Noting that the various major changes that Chinese teacher education had experienced were caused by public policies made by the leadership of socialist China, Wang reports that there are currently financial crisis, quality crisis, and identity crisis, which, caused by rapid and sometimes drastic socio-economic developments in China since the 1980s, must be dealt with in the process of further developing teacher education in China. In these crisis contexts, Wang identifies various trends in teacher education reforms, particularly marketization of higher education and professionalization of teachers. To Wang, continuing teacher education should be considered a vital part of teacher education in the present Chinese teacher education system, as teachers have to learn continuously throughout their career if they are genuine professionals. REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION AMID PARADIGM SHIFT IN SCHOOL EDUCATION 11
2.4 Trends of Teacher Education in Malaysia
In Chapter 6, Molly N. N. Lee of the School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia, gives an overview of teacher education in Malaysia, highlighting some of the current problems and challenges relating to this area of educational development, which significantly impact on the quality of school education. Her overview is followed by a discussion on the recent reforms and policy initiatives in the domain of teacher education and then by a brief review of teacher education issues, including the training of different kinds of practitioners in the educational system, the recruitment, selection, and retention of practitioners, the provision of appropriate training, and the need for continual professional development. Her analysis furnishes a basis to appreciate the trends of reform in Malaysia, namely, professionalization of teachers, provision of tailor-made teacher education programs to suit the needs of teachers, and the pursuit of research for revitalizing teacher education programs.
2.5 Trends of Teacher Education in India
In Chapter 7, Kiran Walia of the National Council of Educational Research and Training examines the development and various issues of teacher education in India for servicing expanding school system, which aims at achieving universal elementary education. Walia points out that the growth and development of the system of teacher education are shaped by the forces of the context of socio-cultural, economic, and regional diversities in India. In particular, it has to meet the requirement to cater to the needs of specific groups in the country. In the chapter, concerns of curriculum development renewal and updating along with relevant researches are analyzed. Further, noted is a trend that more and more stakeholders are concerned with how to improve teaching and teacher education. Yet, major issues have to be addressed. In particular, Walia has highlighted for his readers the following issues: there is a considerable mismatch between policy initiatives and the corresponding changes at implementation level in teacher preparation; the continuity between initial and in-service training has not yet been achieved; considerable demotivation exists among teachers and teacher educators; and to be satisfied is the serious need to ensure acceptance of the criticality of teacher education not only by policy-makers but also by policy implementers at the grass-root level.
3. CHALLENGES IN TEACHER EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
As mentioned above, there are various challenges raised from the paradigm shifts in school education and the trends of education reform in the Asia-Pacific region in the 21st century. To countries with different contextual and historical backgrounds, the responses to these challenges may be different. Some countries may focus more on the challenges at the operational level or site level and develop related initiatives to deal with them. Some countries may be more concerned with those challenges at the macro-level and try to reform the systems of teacher 12 Y. C. CHENG, K. W. CHOW, & MAGDALENA M. C. MOK education. To highlight the challenges to countries in the Region and the efforts made to deal with them at different levels, various cases of teacher education development in Australia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and USA have been selected and analyzed in Part III of this book. Further, the challenges to institutions of teacher education in Asia, including China, Japan, and Korea, have been reviewed and discussed in the final chapter.
3.1 Quest for Professional Teaching Standards in USA
In Chapter 8, Richard Beach, a faculty member of the College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, USA, examines the challenges in recognizing the accomplishing teachers. Beach reports that the lack of recognition led in 1987 to the creation of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), which is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization with its operation funded by foundation contributions and the federal government. Beach reports that NBPTS provides certification for accomplished teachers in a wide range of subject areas, with standards formulated in each of these areas basing on current pedagogical knowledge, theory, and research. Teachers as applicants would have to complete portfolio tasks and take an examination designed basing on those specified standards; they would then be scored on their ability to demonstrate effective instruction consistent with the standards. Beach remarks that the completion of portfolio tasks and the shared reflection by teachers about their portfolio entries serve as one model for effective in-service professional development. This model is now receiving due attention from educators and policy- makers, and its popularity echoes the trend in the field to attain high professional standard and shed light on the ways that might very well effectively cope with the challenge in formulating standards in different subject areas for experienced teachers.
3.2 Challenges to Teacher Education Colleges and Institutions in Japan
In Chapter 9, Masahiro Arimoto of the National Institute for Educational Policy Research, Japan, provides a detailed review of the Japanese system of teacher education colleges and institutions. Arimoto’s review shows that the system has remained relatively unchanged over the past years. Arimoto then highlights the strengths and merits, as well as problems, of the teacher education institutions. Basing on the assessment, Arimoto analyzes some critical issues (such as reorganization and mergers, teacher commitment, program revitalization, and resourcing) and challenges (including the establishment of a special teaching curriculum, certification of instructors, teachers’ and schools’ involvement in teacher education, and rationalization of performance evaluation of teacher candidates) in the development of teacher education institutions. Arimoto concludes that from now on a kind of “new self-responsibility culture” is to be incorporated into the system of teacher education colleges and institutions, which is now functioning in an increasing competitive, market-driven context, and thus more REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION AMID PARADIGM SHIFT IN SCHOOL EDUCATION 13 indicators, criteria, and evaluative standards must be identified and selected to ensure rationalization of the system.
3.3 Challenges to National Universities of Education in Korea
In Chapter 10, Hye Sook Kim, a faculty member of the Department of Education, Yonsei University, Korea, reviews the historical developments and major characteristics of the national system of teacher education of Korean, which is composed of 12 national universities of education. This system had worked well in the past in that it had the general efficacy or needed capacity to generate moderate positive effects in achieving the policy intent of providing an adequate supply of competent teachers in the early 1990s. However, as Kim underscores, this concept of general efficacy needs to be re- examined, as there are ongoing debates about the vitality of the system. To meet this challenge in educational reform, Kim discusses the system’s strengths and weaknesses, related issues, and implications for reforming the system. Kim’s critical analysis shows that the national teacher education system as a public apparatus does work well to produce a balance between teacher demand and supply. However, the system has various quality related problems caused by rigid uniformity, lack of creativity, excessive burden of the government, and its efficacy as a balancing mechanism of teacher demand-supply. Kim then argues that, in the Korea’s case, it is necessary to re-examine the exclusive position of national universities of education: the national system of elementary teacher education needs to be modified so that private institutes are allowed to some degree to join in the professional training.
3.4 Issues in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Application in Practicum in Australia
In Chapter 11, Geoff Rogers of the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, notes that, while the effective use of ICT could positively impact on teaching and learning, it has not been clear if pre-service teachers have begun to deploy ICT during their practicum. In order to explore how the practicum experience may relate to the eventual mastery of ICT by teachers, Rogers therefore conducted a research involving pre-service teachers enrolled in the School of Education of the Charles Sturt University to shed light on their use of ICT across all key learning areas. Rogers reports that, whereas some pre-service teachers and their supervising teachers did make good use of ICT, a large percentage of the pre-service teachers surveyed did not. To Rogers, as ICT application is becoming a norm in schools in well developed educational systems, it is therefore reasonable to expect that pre- service teachers will eventually attempt to incorporate ICT into at least some of their lessons after their joining the profession. The very fact that a large percentage failed to use ICT during practicum compels teacher educators and frontline educators to consider how pre-service teachers would be encouraged to get prepared for the 14 Y. C. CHENG, K. W. CHOW, & MAGDALENA M. C. MOK challenge. Thus, Rogers draws some practical implications: for example, practicum handbooks need to include expectations that ICT will be incorporated into lessons taught by pre-service teachers during each of their practicum placements; all pre- service teachers need to be aware of the latest learning technologies, posses a positive attitude towards their potential to enhance learning and be willing to experiment with them during their practicum; the selection of practicum supervising teachers might need to take into account their willingness to utilize ICT; and teacher educators need to act as powerful ICT role models for their pre-service teachers.
3.5 Challenges in Enhancing Practicum Placement in USA
In Chapter 12, Connie Titone of the Department of Education and Human Services of Villanova University, USA, and Robert Cunningham of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of the College of New Jersey give a report on one experiment in practicum placement. Titone and Cunningham report that, traditionally, the student teaching or internship model which U.S. pre-service teacher education programs have used to place teacher candidates in the field has resulted in locating one or occasionally two secondary education majors in the same school for a semester. Such a model, however, has various limitations and deficiencies. How to improve the practicum model becomes a challenge. Thus, as Titone and Cunningham reported, the College of New Jersey has experimented with a new model – the cluster placement. In brief, it increased the number of pre-service teachers within a single high school and drew them all from the same teaching discipline – mathematics in the case reported by Titone and Cunningham. Various actions were then taken to effectuate the cluster placement. The practicum experience of the pre-service teachers in cluster placement turned out to be meaningful and educational. Titone and Cunningham, with reference to field data collected, found it more effective than the traditional model. More importantly, the involved parties, including teachers of the school and faculty members of the College, all benefited from the arrangement. Titone and Cunningham then offer specific recommendations to formalize high school faculty’s involvement in on-site seminars, to ensure that student teachers’ course loads reflect a variety of student realities, and to expand the collaborative experience to include pre-service teachers from a second teaching discipline.
3.6 Challenges in Creating a Critical Mass in School Leadership – the Development of School Principals in Malaysia
In Chapter 13, Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid, a member of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia, reviews the scope and momentum of recent educational development in Malaysia that poses great challenges to educational leadership, especially the school principalship. In brief, given the adopted policy of developing Malaysia as a centre of educational excellence, school principals are challenged to keep pace with the rapid national and global changes and to use educational knowledge relevantly and effectively in order REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION AMID PARADIGM SHIFT IN SCHOOL EDUCATION 15 to make the concept of “smart schools” a reality. The inevitable focus is on the training and professional development of school principals to make them prepared for the National Qualification for Headteachers. Bajunid reports that six groups of teacher educators are identified as the main contributors to the corpus of educational management knowledge, including the knowledge of school leadership in Malaysia. Tension, however, arises. According to Bajunid, two major tensions are about the balance between the academic content and the practical content and about the focus on the instructional leadership or administrative leadership core curriculum. How to address those tensions remains a challenge. Further, Bajunid argues that there should be special training programs for specific groups of school heads who work in different contexts like Chinese and Tamil schools, “under-enrolled” schools, and schools that cater for children from “new immigrants.” This suggestion echoes reformers’ need to be sensitive to the education context – in the case of Malaysia, it has cultural diversity and in turn schooling diversity which calls for a multicultural approach and multi-dimensional reform perspective to find ways to fulfill the reform needs.
3.7 Changes of and Challenges to Institutions of Teacher Education in Asia
In Chapter 14, Yin Cheong Cheng and King Wai Chow, staff members of the Centre for Research and International Collaboration of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, review the major types and forms of teacher education institutions to shed light on how well they are coping with demands and challenges from current educational reform in Asia. The analysis by Cheng and Chow indicates that the different types and forms of universities of teacher education in Asia have in many ways asserted various critical impacts upon teacher education and development and, in turn, on schooling, pedagogical advancement, and curriculum development of school education. Using the key features of the institutions of teacher education – the extent of management independence and the nature of orientation – Cheng and Chow articulate a typology of institutions that provide teacher education. They then examine the strengths of universities of teacher education, which include explicit national commitment to education and teacher education; systemic effort to upgrade the profession to graduate-level; a large platform for learning, teaching, research, and development; and a critical mass for area of excellence in educational development and teacher education. Noting that these universities have the needed edge to optimize contribution to teacher education as well as school education, nonetheless, Cheng and Chow also underscore that there are major challenges to the universities of teacher education creating by contending forces: for example, subject knowledge vs. professional knowledge; scholarship of discovery vs. scholarship of teaching and application; and exclusiveness vs. competitiveness in teacher education. Cheng and Chow conclude that universities of teacher education with clear vision and commitment to teacher education will continue their development and contribution to the teaching profession and school education for the future of 16 Y. C. CHENG, K. W. CHOW, & MAGDALENA M. C. MOK students in Asia as well as other parts of the world. Realization of this vision, however, needs be based on strategies and tactics that can reinforce reformers’ efforts to realize the potentials of universities of teacher education.
4. CONCLUDING REMARKS
From the above 13 chapters, we can see that there are various changes, developments, and challenges in teacher education reform in different countries in Asia-Pacific. The chapters as a whole can provide both national and regional perspectives to highlight the major trends and challenges in reforming teacher education for the future of school education in the 21st century. The authors together present a broad, rich knowledge base to readers for deepening their understanding the various issues in teacher education generally and teacher education reform in particular amid the paradigm shift in school education and the major trends of ongoing education reforms in Asia-Pacific. It is hopeful that readers in different socio-economic contexts would find this Asia-Pacific knowledge base useful to their finding strategies and tactics to revitalize their respective teacher education systems for facing up to various challenges in school education. With reference to the major trends of education reform (see Table 2) and to the trends and challenges in teacher education discussed in the 13 chapters, we could easily find that teacher education reform is generally reactive - in that reform initiatives are often imposed upon by external forces or are formulated by teacher education institutions and their members only as responses to the education reforms at different levels. This phenomenon of teacher education reform being reactive may be shaped by the various forces in the teacher education enterprise within which teachers, teacher educators, and other stakeholders (particularly policy-makers and school and university administrators) have different, and often conflicting, concerns and values, making the reaching of a consensus to proactively revitalize teacher education a difficult pursuit. Then, when changes in school education become mandatory, teachers have to change accordingly, thus compelling teacher education to change as well. How teacher education reform can become more proactive is really a major challenge to educators and policy-makers in the coming years in the Region as well as other parts of the world (Cheng, Chow, & Tsui, 2001; Tatto, 1998; Tabachnick, 1998; Young, 1998). Interestingly, authors of the chapters have in various ways show that individual teacher educators and/or teacher education institutions do proactively act to effectuate their teaching and programs. Those proactive measures as discussed in, for example, Chapter 4 by Kosnik and Beck and Chapter 12 by Titone and Cunningham are outcomes of a process in which teacher educators, university leaders, teachers, and school administrators are committed to make a real difference in the impact of their work and collegially work together for their common cause. Given the increasing complexity and significance of teacher education reforms in the Asia-Pacific region, there is an urgent need for more scholars and educators in the Region to build up various kinds of research and development networks and REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION AMID PARADIGM SHIFT IN SCHOOL EDUCATION 17 work together closely to explore emerging challenges and issues in education reforms and contribute to development of a new teacher education in 21st century (for similar propositions, see, e.g., Tabachnick, 1998; Yopp & Guillaume, 1999). This book is just a start of collective effort of 18 scholars from nine educational systems to contribute to a knowledge base that can inform policy formulation and implementation so as to optimize the contribution of teacher education for the future of education. It is hoped that the analysis and discussion of trends and challenges in teacher education in this book and individual chapters can benefit the efforts of education leaders, teacher educators, researchers, and policy-makers for developing their teachers to support ongoing education reforms and paradigm shift in school education in Asia-Pacific and various parts of the world.
5. REFERENCES
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Stecher, B., & Borko, H. (2002). Integrating findings from surveys and case studies: Examples from a study of standards-based education reform. Journal of Education Policy, 17(5), 547-69. Tabachnick, B. R. (1998). Useful educational research in a transforming society. Journal of Education for Teaching, 24(2), 101-108. Tatto, M. T. (1998). The influence of teacher education on teachers’ beliefs about purposes of education, roles, and practice. Journal of Teacher Education, 49(1), 66-77. Taylor, N., & Coll, R. (2002). Constructivist-informed pedagogy in teacher education: An overview of a year-long study in Fiji. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development, 5(1), 47-76. Walker, A., Stott, K., & Cheng, Y. C. (in press). Principal supply and quality demands in south and East Asia: A tale of two cities. Australia Journal of Education. Wheatley, K. F. (2002). The potential benefits of teacher efficacy doubts for educational reform. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(1), 5-22. Yopp, H. K., & Guillaume, A. M. (1999). Preparing preservice teachers for collaboration. Teacher Education Quarterly, 26(1), 5-19. Young, M. (1998). Rethinking teacher education for a global future: Lessons from the English. Journal of Education for Teaching, 24(1), 51-62. DAVID G. IMIG
THE CONTENDING MODELS OF AND DEBATE IN TEACHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES
The American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, United States
Traditional teacher education programs are being challenged everywhere. 1 Criticisms range from the low quality of candidates admitted to training programs to the lack of subject-matter preparation. Some reformers therefore propose ways to improve teacher education while there are others considering the necessity of a wholesale reform. This chapter reviews the contending models of and debate in teacher education in the United States, focusing on the essence of those models and debate to shed light on some critical issues that deserve serious attention from both policy-makers and teacher educators.
1. TEACHER EDUCATION UNDER CRITICISM
Teacher preparation is criticized for its failure to connect preparation programs to student and subject matter standards in K–12 schools. Programs are viewed as lacking academic rigor and disconnected from real-life school experiences. There is considerable uncertainty about what constitutes effective preparation and much debate about the efficacy of different models (four vs. five vs. fifth year programs) and approaches (child-centered vs. teacher-centered). Finally, programs appear fragmented and uncoordinated because different approval agencies and recognition bodies often impose conflicting standards and practices on teacher education. These criticisms are compounded by the fact that traditional programs have failed to produce sufficient numbers of beginning teachers to overcome a persistent demand for more and more high quality teachers to staff schools. Policy-makers, who today are riveted on the promise of high quality teaching, are often dismissive of traditional teacher education programs they believe are ineffectual. The fact that teacher education is often over-regulated and under- resourced is ignored. In many jurisdictions, policy-makers set admission criteria for programs and prescribe program standards and teacher candidate experiences. They often dictate the content to be learned, describe the programmatic outcomes, and impose the licensure examinations that candidates must pass before they can teach. They contend that candidate performance must be measured in multiple ways and
1 See, for example, the criticisms presented in Meeting the Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge. The Secretary’s Annual Report on Teacher Quality (Paige, 2002). For a review of the criticisms observable in various countries, see Cheng and Chow (2002).
23 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 23—33. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 24 DAVID G. IMIG now extend the responsibility for ensuring high quality performance beyond program completion. Policy-makers are investing in approaches to measure beginning teacher performance and intend to hold preparation programs responsible for candidate success in raising K–12 student performance on standardized tests. Policy-makers mandate the use of institutional report cards and set targets that institutions must meet with sanctions and other consequences for programs that fail to meet these standards. They insist that these measures be applied to all candidates and demand that all students perform well on exit examinations (set by the state) – insisting that programs ensure that different ethnic and racial groups and students from different language and social-economic backgrounds have comparable pass rates on these examinations. Policy-makers then criticize programs for their failure to attract sufficient numbers of highly qualified candidates who want to make a difference and invest in alternative models of preparation. Today these alternative preparation programs constitute a growing presence in the preparation of beginning teachers. Their proliferation has been sponsored by federal, state, and local investments and they cater to paraprofessionals and mid- career switchers, college graduates who decide after graduation they want to teach, and high quality graduates who choose to teach in high needs schools for a year or two. Programs are offered by for-profit providers, local school districts, community colleges, and traditional universities. Some estimates now put the number of alternatively prepared teachers as high as 25% of the beginning teacher pool. Today in California less than half of beginning teachers are graduates of traditional teacher education programs. The sad reality is that despite both the proliferation of alternative programs and the persistence of traditional models of preparation, almost 40% of practicing teachers lack any form of training and as many as a third may not have degrees in the subjects they teach. Despite these realities, policy-makers focus their attention on traditional programs and insist on a set of remedies that may exacerbate the quality and quantity dimensions of the situation and actually force some traditional programs to abandon their commitment to teacher education. While education schools often have multiple purposes and many clients, in the minds of the policy community their foremost purpose is to provide an adequate number of high quality teacher candidates. Typically, policy-makers under-invest in traditional programs believing that education schools have sufficient resources to fulfill their obligation and urge that they do so in a reasonable time and at a reasonable cost. They also believe that the current shortage of teachers is attributable to a failure of education schools to use their resources wisely to produce sufficient numbers of beginning teachers. They are often unwilling to accept the fact that the shortages are attributable to factors beyond their preparation programs. Thirty percent of beginning teachers leave teaching within the first three years for lack of support. Policy-makers need to address the matter of poor working conditions and invest in induction programs and supportive mentoring, in high quality professional development and learning technologies, in reduced teaching loads for beginning teachers, and in higher salaries and improved benefits. An emphasis on ending teacher isolation in the schools and promoting greater collaboration among teachers would also help reduce teacher attrition. This, in turn, could help reduce the need for more and more beginning teachers and enable schools and school districts to use the THE CONTENDING MODELS OF AND DEBATE IN TEACHER EDUCATION 25 dollars now budgeted for recruitment and orientation to improve the existing conditions of work.
2. POLICY DEBATE ABOUT TEACHER EDUCATION
While much of the policy debate about teacher education in the United States originated at the state level, the nationalization of teacher education policy has occurred over the past two decades. Today it finds its voice in policy proposals articulated by the Bush administration. While they represent a bold reach by the White House into a traditional state prerogative, namely the setting of policy for the approval of teacher education programs and the licensure of teachers, these policy proposals are being endorsed by policy-makers at the state level. Using funding authorized in Title II, Part A of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107- 110), federal lawmakers intend to see these proposals translated into state actions that will dramatically reshape teacher education. Nearly $3 billion in new monies would be awarded to states and local school districts to fashion new models of teacher education. These efforts are certain to be reinforced by other efforts that will be included in the both the forthcoming reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the next reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. If fully enacted, these policy proposals would redirect existing federal support from traditional teacher education to alternative providers, including local school districts, seriously impairing the capacity of education schools to prepare and support sufficient numbers of high quality beginning teachers. Those policy proposals were made in a report to the Congress by the U.S. Department of Education on the quality of teacher education programs, as mandated by Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-750). Entitled, Meeting the Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge: The Secretary’s Annual Report on Teacher Quality (Paige, 2002), the report offers four broad policy proposals that would affect education schools and traditional preparation programs: a) support the development of new models of “teacher training” that are “local,” “based on the best alternative route programs of today,” and “produce teachers with those skills that are in high demand” by local schools; b) support state initiatives to end the “exclusive franchise” of schools of education and to curtail the “shocking number of…mandated…education courses to qualify for certification” or assist state efforts to uncouple education school courses from state licensure and make “attendance at schools of education…optional” ; c) help states to “streamline” licensure requirements to place a premium on verbal ability and content knowledge, develop new and “challenging assessments” for teacher candidates, and require “content area majors for prospective teachers” ; and d) promote state efforts to shift authority for determining the qualifications of beginning teachers “from state certification officials…to local school principals.” 26 DAVID G. IMIG
These policy proposals are based on a set of claims that have been widely embraced and stated by conservative scholars, policy-makers, and news media. These claims, broadly stated, include, first, rigorous research indicates that verbal ability and content knowledge are the most important attributes of highly qualified teachers; second, there is little evidence that education school course work leads to improved student achievement; third, today’s certification system discourages some of the most talented candidates from entering the profession while allowing too many poorly qualified individuals to teach; and fourth, alternative routes to certification demonstrate that streamlined systems can boost the quantity of teachers while maintaining — or even improving — their quality. For an administration that has repeatedly pressed for research evidence to be “scientifically based,” little of such evidence is used to substantiate this set of claims (for a detailed account of the fallacies, flaws, and deficiencies of the Paige report, see, e.g., Darling-Hammond & Youngs [2002]). The reports and studies that are cited have a decidedly ideological bent, were primarily funded by a single source, and fail the requirement for being peer reviewed or relying on randomized experiments. The Paige report, which was ostensibly about the performance of education schools in meeting Title II, Sec.207 requirements of the Higher Education Act, gives little attention to the matter of candidate performance or the pass rates by candidates enrolled in education schools. It essentially dismisses the mandate to do so and asserts that while “the vast majority of teacher preparation program completers are passing the assessments required by their states for certification,” the reason for this is that the “rigor” of the state teacher tests “fall far short.” The report asserts that low cut scores and “10th-grade level” tests characterize the current system with the “academic standards for teachers, in far too many states” being “extremely low.” In a well-orchestrated companion piece, issued by The Education Trust at the same time, an additional claim is made that the favorable picture the data portray is due to the fact that institutions and states are issuing reports that, “if not technically dishonest, are surely misleading” (Huang, Yi, & Haycock, 2002; Paige, 2002). Still another claim that is buried in the Secretary’s report is that “schools of education and formal training programs are failing to produce the types of high quality teachers that the No Child Left Behind Act demands.” This is a serious assertion because it suggests that a major impediment to the implementation of this massive proposal for restructuring American education is the lack of teachers sufficiently grounded in standards, assessments, and the teaching of all students. While the legislation and the subsequent rule-making by the Education Department offer a definition of a highly qualified teacher with much detail, the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Grover Whitehurst (2002a, b), has offered a definition that appears to constitute the policy directions being pursued by the Bush administration. Whitehurst has stated that the success of the No Child Left Behind Act is dependent upon “good enough teachers” who are skilled at teaching a lesson, maintaining discipline, and ensuring that students do well on whatever performance measure is used. He suggests that the technician teacher is much different from the professional teacher, the former prepared at the school site and focused on implementing the specific curriculum of THE CONTENDING MODELS OF AND DEBATE IN TEACHER EDUCATION 27 that school while the professional teacher, prepared in traditional teacher education programs, often lack the skills to meet the expectation of the schools or the needs of its students. Whitehurst contends that professional teachers use little of what is provided in a professional preparation program and present a costly burden to high needs schools.
3. PROGRESS OF THE PAST TEN YEARS — AN ERA OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
In some sense it is ironic that this divergence between policy-makers and traditional providers would occur in the United States at this time. For the past decade, traditional programs have adopted a set of reform strategies intended to ensure that all teachers know their subjects, understand how children learn, make use of modern learning technologies effectively, and are able to collaborate with their peers to create rich learning environments for all students. It has been an era of enormous transformation of preparation programs, much of it guided by new scholarship and informed practice. The following are some of my observations of the changes that have taken place just in the more traditional teacher education programs in the United States. That is to say, traditional teacher education programs have: a) transformed the undergirding belief system of teacher education from behaviorism to constructivism and associationism; b) moved more and more of the professional preparation program into well designed and extensive clinical experiences in K–12 schools and away from the university — experimenting with Professional Development Schools designed to fully integrate academic and clinical preparation for beginning teachers — and other forms of partnerships; c) met the need for a new category of teachers to staff middle schools (grades 5- 6) — who possess greater mastery of content knowledge; d) transformed preparation to focus on standards-based schooling with greater emphasis on student learning and subject matter knowledge — aligning teacher education to local, state, and national standards for students; e) experimented with case methods and new forms of clinical practice, service learning, and comprehensive services; f) re-engaged academics who teach the academic disciplines in a dialogue about their responsibilities for teacher education and the need for stronger content knowledge for prospective teachers (and promoted conversations about the all- university responsibility for teacher education); g) put more and more emphases on new forms of accountability — measuring the performance of teacher candidates using tests of content knowledge — and recast the accreditation system to drive the movement; h) incorporated technology training as a part of the teacher education curriculum — making major purchases of both hardware and software — and mounted numerous experiments using new forms of technology to connect teacher 28 DAVID G. IMIG
candidates to teacher educators at various stages of their preparation and practice; i) experienced the politicization of the pedagogy surrounding mathematics, reading and bilingual education — resulting in profound changes in programs but also challenges to the prerogatives and academic freedom of professors who teach those subjects; j) focused greater attention on the learning needs of low income and ethnically diverse students by emphasizing clinical experiences for teacher candidates in high needs schools; k) aligned post-baccalaureate training to the design principles, expectations, and advanced standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS); l) raised admission requirements repeatedly seeking more highly qualified students and gained a cohort of able teacher candidates at the secondary level; m) invested enormous sums in the strengthening of special education programs and the preparation of all teachers to meet the needs of special needs children and youth; n) experimented with program diversification — adopted new program designs intended to cater to the needs of particular candidates (often those with prior degrees and working experiences) and emphasized preparation to teach particular student populations; and o) diversified the faculty and transformed the teacher candidate pool to give greater attention to the racial, linguistic, and ethnic diversity of K-12 schools.2
These changes have had a profound impact on the nation’s education schools. They certainly had a positive impact on the quality of the candidates produced and on their effectiveness in K–12 schools. By all the traditional measures they made a positive difference. School principal evaluations of beginning teachers were positive and beginning teachers felt more confident and prepared. Follow-up studies showed substantial majorities of teacher candidates assigning their preparation program a B+ or better. Unfortunately, in today’s highly charged political climate, this evidence was judged insufficient. The evidence that is being sought is the impact that beginning teachers have on the learning of K–12 students. The hundreds of small scale studies that suggest that teachers are well prepared to meet the challenges of today’s classroom have been dismissed as policy-makers seek evidence that beginning teachers are successful in raising the scores of K–12 learners. Unfortunately, few if any of current studies show impact on student learning — a situation only now being remedied — but as a consequence, the “value-added” of university-based preparation remains undetermined — particularly to policy-makers. We are only now making strides in developing new ways of assessing impact with new tools of measurement now available.
2 See, for example, the various works of Darling-Hammond (2000a, b, c), Darling-Hammond, Berry, and Thoreson (2001), and Wilson, Floden, and Ferrini-Mundy (2002) for further elaboration of these points. THE CONTENDING MODELS OF AND DEBATE IN TEACHER EDUCATION 29
4. THE DEVELOPMENT IN THE 1990s
The United States began the 1990s with the belief that high quality teachers held university degrees — often comparable to degrees held by other university students — but witnessed an escalation in the demands placed on beginning teacher and the definition of a highly successful teacher. Observable during the 1990s are the following: first, we added indicators of quality (candidate verbal ability and academic achievement being most prominent in the minds of policy-makers); second, we addressed the moral agenda and focused on necessary traits and characteristics — beliefs and values — of successful teachers and sought ways to measure them; third, we debated the merits of having teachers who possess the same racial, linguistic, and ethnic profile as their students and supported recruitment schemes (but without much effect); fourth, we measured success on the basis of candidate performance on a range of achievement tests and talked about extended preparation intended to lead to better teachers and teaching; and fifth, issued warranties or guarantees and agreed to recall and “fix” beginning teachers who were found insufficient. On hundreds of campuses faculty and administrators engaged in thousands of conversations about these changes. They boldly experimented with new designs and spent enormous amounts of time to change courses, modify syllabi, transform instruction, adapt new learning technologies, design clinical practices, and build partnerships. Most of this was done absent released time or the infusion of new monies and all of it resulted in strengthened teacher preparation. More importantly, we also did some things in the 1990s that have had adverse consequences. First, we increasingly focused on outcomes or performance expectations — and away from qualitative considerations (now called input measures) — with the result that we created a basis for competition with the array of alternative providers that emerged outside the universities. In the process, we failed to heed the warnings of many that we needed to emphasize the quality of the faculty and quantity of the library holdings, the philosophical underpinnings of the program and the purpose of the preparation program — the conditions typically afforded by university cultures and, instead, succumbed to the pressure to focus on performance outcomes. Traditional providers were the ones who established the definitions of performance and practice and created the condition for the current competition between alternative and traditional providers. Absent a commitment to providing the array of qualitative or contextual conditions (inputs) in their preparation programs, many of these alternative providers prepare teachers in a shorter period of time and at a lower cost who can meet the performance expectations we created. Second, we situated the bulk of teacher education in the schools and relied on practitioners, K–12 teachers, to do the bulk of the training. More than half of the preparation — as measured by clock hours — now takes place in schools in traditional programs. While the teachers we prepared in this way were highly skilled and ready to practice, the unintended consequence was that we seemed to validate the claim that the best form of preparation is to put teacher candidates in schools to let them learn from mentor teachers. However, candidate training in schools is only part of ones preparation. Our claim, though, was and has always been that teacher 30 DAVID G. IMIG candidates need university training in pedagogy, human development, and content before entering the classroom and that teaching internships are opportunities for the candidate to try out the skills learned at the university and to build on them based on their classroom experiences with mentor teachers helping candidates put their research and study into effective practice. Third, we pushed the social foundations out of the curriculum and allowed our historic social progressivism to be radicalized with the addition of courses on race and racism, gender, and radical feminism. Conservatives questioned why this was the content of teacher education and Diane Ravitch’s Left back (2000) intellectualized this challenge with claims that the absence of a focus on student learning by education schools led to the perceived failure of the public schools. These claims were repeated in conservative circles and often flew in the face of the political conservatives who came to dominate policy-making in many states. The center-left liberalism of teacher educators — with their advocacy for democratic institutions and the full inclusion of all students — rankled many conservatives. Their challenge was to emphasize content knowledge and to end the “massive number of education courses” and the “political indoctrination” of teacher candidates. This has not been resolved and there are often intense disagreements within education schools about the necessary prominence of the so-called social justice agenda versus an almost exclusive focus on student learning and pedagogical content knowledge. Fourth, in the name of professionalism we sought to emulate the preparation of physicians and lawyers through extended preparation — to create well educated professionals willing and able to diagnose learning needs and prescribe and administer remedies — through rich university-based programs that were to be five and six years in length. We attempted to do this at a time when the focus shifted from seat-time to performance expectations — when policy-makers were seeking cost economies and scaling back university programs. The result was often under- subscribed courses and challenges to the maintenance of such programs. And fifth, we allowed an untenable situation to occur — namely, that despite the fact that we produced almost two million new teachers in the 1990s we encouraged politicians to believe that a terrible and long-term shortage of teachers would occur and allowed it to dominate the policy discourse. We did so with the expectation that the policy-makers would respond with adjustments in the salaries and conditions of beginning teachers and with increased investments in traditional programs. We expected that the policy community would respond in classic ways to shortages and address the need for additional incentives and added training capacity. Instead, the policy community responded by sponsoring alternative preparation programs that focused on low cost training and expanded the number of waivers and emergency permits for teachers who most often were assigned to teach high need youngsters. These conditions have led us to a situation in the United States that is unprecedented. Describing traditional preparation programs in university-based education schools as “failing” and assigning them the blame for low quality teachers, the Bush administration has now signaled their intention to make major changes in the form and substance of teacher preparation. Their advocacy is for a new model of teacher preparation to prepare technician teachers, or as noted earlier THE CONTENDING MODELS OF AND DEBATE IN TEACHER EDUCATION 31 in this essay, teachers that are, in the words of Assistant Secretary of Education, Grover Whitehurst, “good enough” (Whitehurst, 2002a, b). Good enough in this case means that they are technically competent. We would counter with the query - “But are they professionals?” - in the sense the Board Certified teachers under the NBPTS process are. For the Bush administration, the answer is quite clear in that they have launched a series of policy directives that would force changes in state teacher education policies — the place where policy has traditionally been set for teacher education. These include the following. First, states are being encouraged to change their rules for licensure requiring no more than a university degree in the subject to be taught and some assurance that beginning teachers are “safe to practice.” Second, states are being encouraged to promote alternative preparation routes that are school based, of short duration and focused on the curriculum of a particular school or school district. Third, states are being encouraged to “investigate” university based preparation programs to ensure that their curriculum corresponds to scientifically based research evidence (and to close those that do not). And fourth, states are being encouraged — often with incentives — to refocus candidate performance expectations away from program completion and toward successful practice — using new value added assessment techniques to identify effective teachers. The Bush administration has also forced changes on the specialized accreditation agency agenda that sets professional standards for teacher education programs — NCATE — relegating all standards to a place of less importance than candidate performance on a test of subject matter knowledge — the so-called Title II test. The Education Department has supported the development of new teacher tests that would focus exclusively on subject matter knowledge and classroom management. The Bush administration has called for the elimination of several programs that have provided substantial grant monies to traditional programs and shifted these funds to professional development programs that are directed to local schools and school districts. Finally, the Bush administration has defined professional development in a way that would eliminate most traditional providers. These initiatives are all of great concern to those of us who view teaching as a profession, not just a vocation for which one can be trained to be “technically competent” or in the words of the administration, “good enough” teachers. In summary, university-based teacher education is faced with an unprecedented policy assault. Increasingly, teacher education policy is being set at the federal level. Universities are faced with the loss of the state guidelines that have governed program conduct. University faculties are faced with intense competition from a range of for-profit providers (now sanctioned by the states and supported by the federal government) and a demand to focus preparation on particular curricula or instructional materials (that emphasize phonics or traditional mathematics). 32 DAVID G. IMIG
5. LOOKING FORWARD
In this kind of policy environment, what is likely to occur? I believe the following are likely to follow from these policy challenges. First, education schools could be challenged to more closely align their programs and offerings to the needs of local schools and school districts resulting in a narrowing of mission and purpose (and programs). Second, faculties inside education schools, absent state frameworks for preparation programs, may have to agree on the components of their program and what is necessary to make it marketable. Outside or external endorsements of quality could become useful markers in the marketing of programs. Third, education schools will identify research agendas and scholarly activities and invest in those that are intended to benefit the image of the program and its marketability. Fourth, economies of scale and per candidate costs will become primary concerns as education schools must generate resources to pay for their infrastructure. Fifth, entrepreneurial characteristics of faculty will come to be valued as much as traditional values of teaching, research, and service. And some education schools will thrive while others will be diminished or even eliminated. We are in for very interesting and challenging times in the United States because this policy agenda is likely to prevail and with it fundamental change in the way we prepare teachers for K–12 schools — particularly in an era of content standards and high stakes testing. Gearing university-based preparation programs to connect in meaningful ways with the needs of local schools and school districts is our future — the needs of local schools (and their communities) are our mission. Transforming education schools to focus on local teachers, principals, parents, and students is the challenge.
6. REFERENCES
Cheng, Y. C., & Chow, K. W. (2002). Systems of teacher education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and Development, 5(2), 1-28. Darling-Hammond, L. (2000a, January). Teacher quality and student achievement: A review of state policy evidence. Education Policy Analysis Archives [on-line serial], 8(1). Available: http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v8n1/ Darling-Hammond, L. (2000b, February). Reforming teacher preparation and licensing: Debating the evidence. Teachers College Record, 102(1), 28-56. Darling-Hammond, L. (2000c). How teacher education matters. Journal of Teacher Education, 51(3), 166-173. Darling-Hammond, L., & Youngs, P. (2002). Defining “Highly qualified teachers”: What does “Scientifically-Based Research” actually tell us? Educational Researcher, 31(9), 13-25. (Available: http://www.aera.net/pubs/er/pdf/vol31_09/AERA310903.pdf.) Darling-Hammond, L., Berry, B., & Thoreson, A. (2001). Does teacher certification matter? Evaluating the evidence. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(1), 57-77. Huang, S., Yi, Y., & Haycock, K. (2002). Interpret with caution: The first state Title II reports on the quality of teacher preparation. Washington, DC: The Education Trust. Paige, R. (2002). Meeting the highly qualified teachers challenge: The secretary’s annual report on teacher quality (pp. 23-25). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Ravitch, D. (2000). Left back. New York: Simon & Schuster. Whitehurst, G. (2002a, June 6-9). Speech presented at the meeting of AACTE/CBE STEP, Washington, DC. THE CONTENDING MODELS OF AND DEBATE IN TEACHER EDUCATION 33
Whitehurst, G. (2002b, June 10-12). Speech presented at a research seminar held at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Palo Alto, CA. Wilson, S. M., Floden, R. E., & Ferrini-Mundy, J. (2002). Teacher preparation research: An insider's view from the outside. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(3), 190-204. F. MICHAEL CONNELLY & D. JEAN CLANDININ
CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION IN TRANSFORMATION
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada
Teacher education has been lived out on the Canadian landscape for more than a century as we write this. In some parts of Canada, teacher education has been situated in an uneasy space between the universities and the schools for more than 50 years. Now, in all parts of Canada, teachers require university degrees and certification from provincial and territorial supervisory bodies before they can teach. In Canada, teacher education is a provincial matter not under the jurisdiction of the Canadian federal government. This has led to a diverse landscape for teacher education with varying requirements and programs. However, despite this diversity in the matter of pre-service teacher education, some issues and concerns persist across time and across the landscape. We see these issues as emerging from the changing nature of the Canadian society over time. For purposes of this introduction, we see two sets of changes: changes in the population and changes in how to think about professional education. These issues and concerns are reflected in a number of research reports (see, e.g., Enns & Duncan, 2001; Kosnik & Beck, 2001; Laferrière, 2001; Samson, 2001) that follow and resonate with our own experiences as teachers and teacher educators. For readers unfamiliar with the Canadian educational landscape, it is important to note two things that make a difference to considerations of teacher education. One is that education is a provincial responsibility. Within provinces, geographic areas are organized into school boards and these are governed by a set of elected trustees and a local administration. Trustees, school board administrators, and teachers are not government officials. They are paid by and are responsible to the local school board. The second thing to note is that Canadian teachers are comparatively well organized into provincial and territorial teacher associations. These associations have two basic functions: a union function concerned with teachers’ working conditions and a professional development function. Teacher associations collect dues from their membership and are active both in negotiations with school boards over teachers’ working conditions and in policy negotiations with government.
35 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 35—43. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 36 F. MICHAEL CONNELLY & D. JEAN CLANDININ
1. CHANGES IN THE POPULATION
Canada has been relentlessly a colonial country since the arrival of the French and English in the 17th and 18th centuries with the subsequent subjugation of Canada’s First Nations people. The competition between these two colonial powers, so strong that it occasionally led to war, influenced the nature of the Canadian society. Subsequent waves of immigrants from Europe, Asia, and elsewhere were swept into the French and British colonial structures. The original colonial founding cultures have been overshadowed in terms of numbers but not in terms of influence. Related to the colonial history is the perennial issue of religious education in Canada, resulting from the recognition of the Catholic religion predominant in France and the Protestant religion predominant in England at the time of colonization. This has resulted in publicly funded Catholic and public school systems in some provinces. Until recently, multiple Christian religions were in charge of separate religious school boards in Newfoundland. Though there has been a move to secularize educational systems across the country, faculties of education still offer, in some locations, religious-oriented teacher education, for example, a Catholic teacher education option. The colonial influence has been mitigated by the presence of the United States, which shares a border with Canada from the east coast to the west coast and, in the North West, a border with Alaska. There was a wave of American settlement in the late 18th century as United Empire Loyalists moved to Canada in the wake of the American Revolution. Though the American influence has not been deliberately colonial in the sense of Britain’s and France’s influence, the intellectual influence has been much the same. Though the original Canadian educational institutions were designed on British and French models, large numbers of Canadians continue to receive post-graduate education in the United States. Many professors in faculties of education received their post-graduate education in the United States. Periodically, there are university debates and disputes over the adoption of an American teacher education literature and way of thinking about teacher education. Given the British and French colonial influence and the near-colonial impact of the United States, one of the perennial topics of debate in Canada has to do with Canadian identity and, by implication, with what constitutes a Canadian teacher education. Canada has an official multicultural policy that speaks to honoring and sustaining links with cultures of origin. The multicultural policy, laid along side Canada’s official bilingual policy (French and English), has created educational tensions and ambiguities. Local communities and their schools are faced with teaching English, French, and a variety of heritage languages. This creates an immediate and obvious dilemma and need for teacher education. Readers will see various responses to this dilemma, including the teaching of First Nations’ cultures and languages, in the papers of this symposium. Canada is composed of ten provinces and three northern territories (Yukon, North West Territories, and Nunavut). This geographic and political organization influences Canadian teacher education in the uneven distribution of the population in the East and West and in the North and South. In addition, urban populations CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION IN TRANSFORMATION 37 across Canada are increasing and rural areas are becoming less populated. As a result, many teacher education programs across the country offer various versions of extension programs to serve rural and Northern/First Nations communities. Sometimes these occur by offering special programs at a home university and, in other cases, programs are offered on-site through distance education. Computer technology is contributing to this trend. Nunavut, Canada’s most recently formed territory, is creating a northern teacher education program. Though perhaps not peculiar to Canada, Canadian teacher education has been heavily influenced over time by supply and demand. The cycles of supply and demand put pressure on universities and certification bodies regarding the number of teacher education students and the content of their education. Sometimes shortages are due to population age structure. Currently, for example, teachers are reaching eligible retirement age in Canada in large numbers and school boards, in some regions of the country, are having difficulty filling positions, a situation projected to continue through the decade. Other factors are at work as well. Following the world wars, particularly World War II, desperate teacher shortages led to six week post high school summer certification programs for teachers in many places. National/political/scholarly matters also influence the cycles of teacher supply and demand. For example, following what was known as the Sputnik era in the 1960s, when the Russian space effort threatened to exceed that of the United States, there were increased demands for science teachers. Another example results from Canada’s bilingual policy status that has led, in provinces other than Quebec, to an almost continual shortage of French language teachers. The ability of faculties of education to respond to these needs depends in part on specific policies within the universities where teacher education is offered and, in part, on government initiatives by way of altered certification standards and the allocation of resources.
2. CHANGES IN HOW TO THINK ABOUT PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
Schön (1983, 1987) has written on the history of the professions showing how the professions grew out of a world of practice and were eventually institutionalized within academic university settings. This fits the history of Canadian teacher education where non-degree-granting independent teacher education colleges have given way to faculties of education within universities. Schön argues that there have been losses as well as gains in this transition. The gains have come in the intellectual content and the losses in the diminishing of the role of practice in the education of teachers. Given the size of Canada, provincial responsibility for education, and the independence of universities, it is possible to find teacher education reform efforts at work somewhere in the country at any point in time. Almost inevitably, these reform efforts grow out of the academization of teacher education. There are continuing debates over the role of foundations fields (e.g., history of education) and curricular/teaching methodology fields (e.g., science teaching methods). There are ongoing debates over the extent and role of the practicum experience. Other debates 38 F. MICHAEL CONNELLY & D. JEAN CLANDININ occur around whether academic faculty or school practitioners ought to teach the practical aspects of teaching in pre-service programs. One of the consequences of the academization of the profession is the development of a tenuous link between government curriculum policy and teacher education content. Universities in Canada are academically autonomous and their education programs are not subject to control by government or other outside agencies. But teacher certification is essentially a government matter. Thus, while universities may offer whatever they wish in a bachelor of education program, teachers are certified either by a government or a government body, such as a college of teachers. In this way, governments maintain a measure of control over the content of teacher education programs, a matter that tends only to become significant when a government introduces new curriculum reforms and wants to have these reforms implemented. The move into the universities has been associated with discussions over professionalism in teaching. One of the unexpected developments for the professions as a whole, as Schön (1983), had perceptively noted, has been a loss of public confidence in the professions, particularly during the last two decades of the 20th century. In teacher education this is reflected, in Canada, by discussions on teacher quality which are expressed in different ways in different parts of the country. For example, in two provinces, British Columbia and Ontario, a college of teachers has been established. In these and other provinces, teacher testing and a process of recertification of teachers are being discussed. It is possible, though not yet practiced anywhere in Canada, that graduating potential teachers from faculties of education will be required to pass professional entrance examinations.
3. TEACHER EDUCATION ON LIFE’S CONTINUUM
When Canadian teacher education is discussed, frequently it is interpreted to mean pre-service teacher education. However, we view teacher education as education that begins long before the university experience of pre-service education and continues as long as a teacher teaches. We see teacher education as being on a continuum of a lifelong process of learning to teach. While the four papers in this symposium focus on pre-service teacher education, we turn our attention in this introductory essay to considerations of the continuum of teacher education after teachers complete their pre-service education. Though teacher education occurring after pre-service preparation is crucial to the quality of the teaching force, it is more varied and difficult to define than pre-service teacher education. There are both formal and informal forms of after pre-service teacher education. Formal forms are often called “in-service” or “professional development.”
3.1 Formal In-service Teacher Education
In-service teacher education in Canada dates back to the earliest teacher certification initiatives in Ontario in the mid-19th century when the most minimum of certification standards were set (Kass, 1985). Teachers so certified were CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION IN TRANSFORMATION 39 encouraged to raise their qualifications through specifically designed in-service activities. It has been said that “The licensing of teachers with very low qualifications had one good effect: it established the custom of inservice improvement” (Phillips, 1957, p. 592). Currently in Canada there are vast amounts of money and time spent on formal professional development in the form of in-service teacher education. Sometimes there are bursts of formal professional development sponsored by provincial and territorial governments, or by school boards, particularly when new curriculum reforms or policies are introduced and implemented. Government staff may offer train others to offer, or contract eligible organizations to offer information workshops and practical seminars on new curricula. Government initiatives are often referred to as implementation, awareness, or information sessions because, in general in Canada, governments do not become directly involved in teacher education at any level. A feature of government initiatives is that they tend to be multi-pronged. Information sessions may be held with deans of education, relevant university faculty members, superintendents/directors of school boards, teacher association officials, consultants, coordinators, teachers, and even parents. Other formal in-service programs are sponsored by teacher associations for their members. Sometimes these are targeted at specific areas judged to be particularly important to association members, such as the Safe and Caring Schools initiative in Alberta in the late 1990s. Teacher associations in most places in Canada also sponsor teachers’ conventions, conferences for which teachers are freed from teaching duties to attend an association-sponsored conference. As well, most teacher associations organize and sponsor subject matter conferences for associations of subject matter teachers (e.g., science teachers), and most have a publications program aimed at the improvement of practice. For instance, five recent resource books from the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation are Quality Assessment: Fitting the Pieces Together; Survival Strategies: Practical Tools for Educators; School Law 2000; Students At Risk (2000): Effective Strategies and Programs; and Coping with the New Curriculum (2000): Practical Strategies for Implementing the New Curriculum (containing subject-specific booklets for 17 subject areas). Sometimes formal professional development is undertaken by publishing companies and technology firms when they introduce new textbooks, curriculum materials, or computer technologies. Other formal professional development occurs when teachers return to universities to undertake graduate studies or further undergraduate studies in a discipline. Faculties of education in Canada offer more evening, weekend, and summer courses than do other university faculties. Sometimes faculties of education, or other groups, offer a form of advanced qualifications in a subject or topic area. These qualifications are recognized and approved by government. They do not count as courses for advanced degrees but do qualify people for positions and, often, for a salary increment. Sometimes teachers participate in formal professional development offered by universities in conjunction with various mentoring and supervising teacher activities and programs. Other professional development occurs as schools and school boards organize particular local forms of formal professional development. Most school boards in 40 F. MICHAEL CONNELLY & D. JEAN CLANDININ
Canada designate a number of non-instructional days for teachers each year. These non-instructional days are often called “professional development days.” These days are normally used for undertaking formal professional development around a particular school or school board goal. In summary, formal professional development is on a vast scale in Canada. Almost all faculties of education offer one or more of four post-graduate degrees, M.A., M.Ed., Ed.D., and Ph.D. These programs make it possible for faculties of education to hire research-oriented faculty holding research doctorates. Though common in some Canadian universities for many years, the number of faculties with joint pre-service and postgraduate (formal in-service) responsibility is increasing in Canadian universities. Purely pre-service teachers’ colleges and faculties of education, once the Canadian norm, are now all but gone. Some faculties hire school board people (teachers and others) to teach the practical aspects of their pre- service programs, arguing that this is a form of in-service education both for practitioners, who, by working in the university, learn about research, and for professors, who, by association with teacher practitioners, become attuned to changing school life. Thus, in Canada, the nature of university faculties of education owes its character to the formal professional development of teachers. The same may be said for the professional arms of teacher associations and much of the structure of local school boards. Formal in-service teacher education, therefore, is not only a huge enterprise with considerable impact on teachers, it is responsible for the nature of university faculties of education, teacher associations, and school boards and of the professional lives of many of these organizations’ members. Notwithstanding the scale of pre-service teacher education, we feel that the significance of both pre-service and in-service teacher education is overshadowed by the importance of informal, unplanned teacher education.
3.2 Informal Teacher Education
We have spent our academic lifetimes studying classroom life from a teacher’s point of view. We, and our students, have written extensively on what we call teacher knowledge (e.g., Connelly & Clandinin, 1999). We make a distinction between teacher knowledge and knowledge for teachers (Connelly & Clandinin, 2000). Though not sharply demarcated in actual practice, we mean to make a conceptual distinction between what teachers are formally taught (knowledge for teachers) and what teachers know about teaching from having taught (teacher knowledge). These are very different things. What people say teachers should know and what teachers say they know, though related, are not the same thing. There is, of course, a relationship. We say more, below, on our work and how the language of teacher knowledge differs from the language of knowledge for teachers. However, even from the point of view of formal teacher education, the boundary line may be seen to blur. For example, the Ontario College of Teachers recently produced a document with official approval from the College’s Governing Council, titled the Professional Learning Framework for the Teaching Profession. Though the document refers to the teaching profession, CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION IN TRANSFORMATION 41 it only applies to teachers in the province of Ontario. The document makes a distinction between professional learning required in legislation and other opportunities for professional growth and development. It is in the category of other opportunities where teachers are expected to show initiative and choice and where the boundary line between formal and informal in-service teacher education is blurred. Eight categories of other opportunities are listed: academic programs; research activities; professional networks; professional activities; mentoring and networking; professional contributions; learning through practice; and technology and learning. Some illustrations of the blurred areas listed are serve on a local school community committee or school council (professional networks), share ideas and resources with other colleagues (professional activities), become involved in a mentoring partnership (mentoring and networking), and join a listserve (technology and learning). Regarding knowledge for teachers and teacher knowledge, though we do not go into depth on the distinction between teacher knowledge and knowledge for teachers, we give a sense of what we mean by bringing forth some of the more common language uses. The topics of child development, teaching methods, content knowledge, foundations, and classroom management provide the basic structure of courses, programs, text materials and workshops commonly given to teachers. The recent surge in the teacher testing movement has led to terms such as basic knowledge and basic skills. Anyone who recently experienced a government educational initiative, particularly in curriculum, will be familiar with terms such as new strategies, new concepts, methods, structure, principles of curriculum, assumptions, beliefs, government curriculum objectives, purposes, and so on. This is a language designed by others for teachers, that is, a language to talk about knowledge for teachers. When we talk with teachers, as we have in our research for many years, about what made the most difference to them as teachers, rarely are we given answers closely related to the formal content of teacher education. Teachers rarely say that they do, or think, about teaching in ways that are influenced by their formal education. Teachers frequently name an influential person in their life, perhaps a teacher but often someone else. A teacher in one of our classes recently said that a turning point in her interest in second language teaching and learning came when she, as a primary grade child, was given a verbal phrase to translate for homework. An uncle, who knew the language, provided a response rather than a translation. The child diligently practiced the response over night and burst forth with the response in class. The teacher was overjoyed with the response as the child-now- graduate-student teacher tells it. She was, ever after, she said, excited by language teaching and learning. Here, as is almost always the case, the personal and the professional interweave in complex narratives of experience. Samson (2001) wrote a doctoral dissertation on the relationship of the personal to the professional (Samson, 1998). Her dissertation was a complex narrative over time of several women teachers and of how they came to learn, from life in and out of schools, how to think of themselves as professionals, and how to think of themselves in their private lives. She argued that young women teachers needed to enter the profession of teaching expecting, and cherishing, intense spillovers 42 F. MICHAEL CONNELLY & D. JEAN CLANDININ between their personal and professional lives. She showed how women teachers who tried to follow the commonly taught dictum “Keep your personal life and your teaching life separate” could lead disturbed, unrewarding lives in both spheres. In Classroom Practice: Teacher Images in Action (Clandinin, 1986), a teacher’s (Stephanie’s) professional development is traced showing how her teaching was intimately interwoven with the rhythms of the school year and how she moved back and forth between home and classroom, learning about the classroom from changes going on in her personal life, and learning about her home and personal life from changes in the classroom. In Teachers as Curriculum Planners: Narratives of Experience (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988), we outline a number of ways teachers can think about their own knowledge, that is, about their teacher knowledge. In so doing, we also outline a preliminary language of teacher knowledge: image, rule, practical principle, personal philosophy, metaphor, story unity, and rhythm. In life, many of the most important things are not directly under our control, or, if under our control, are so only in a broad general planning sense. Teacher education is something like that. The most important aspects of teacher education, aspects of informal teacher education, are often ephemeral, passionate, shadowy, poignant, and significant. For the most part, these aspects are outside of others’ control and reflect teachers’ lives as a whole. We do not mean to imply that pre- service teacher education and formal in-service teacher education be downplayed. They are, of course, important. But we do think that, on the whole, there is more for most teachers to learn by coming, self-consciously, to grips with their own teacher knowledge than with what may be learned from a knowledge or skills for teaching workshop provided by others. Teacher educators, including formal professional developers, must, of course, continue their work. This work should, we believe, be done in the context of an understanding of the significance of informal teacher education and, therefore, with a humble spirit and with modest expectations.
4. REFERENCES
Clandinin, D. J. (1986). Classroom practice: Teacher images in action. London: Falmer Press. Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (1988). Teachers as curriculum planners: Narratives of experience. New York: Teachers College Press. Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (1999). Shaping a professional identity: Stories of educational practice. New York: Teachers College Press. Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (2000). Teacher education: A question of teacher knowledge. In A. Scott & J. Freeman-Moir (Eds.), Tomorrow’s teachers: International and critical perspectives on teacher education (pp. 89-105). Christchurch, NZ: Canterbury University Press. Enns, R., & Duncan, H. (2001). Western Canadian teacher education and development: Context and focus. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and Development, 4(1), 37-53. Kass, H. (1985). Inservice teacher education. In F. M. Connelly, R. K. Crocker, & H. Kass (Eds.), Science education in Canada: Policies, practices, and perceptions (Vol. 1, pp. 247-272). Toronto: The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Kosnik, C., & Beck, C. (2001). Current trends in teacher education in Ontario. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and Development, 4(1), 55-76. Laferrière, T. (2001). Improving teacher education in Quebec: A state-of-the-art account. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and Development, 4(1), 13-35. Phillips, C. E. (1957). The development of education in Canada. Toronto: W.G. Gage. CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION IN TRANSFORMATION 43
Samson, F. (1998). The personal professional lives of women educators: Illusion and reality. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto, Toronto. Samson, F. (2001). Teacher education and development in Newfoundland and Labrador in a time of restructuring and reform. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and Development, 4(1), 77-99. Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books. Schön, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. CLARE KOSNIK & CLIVE BECK
CURRENT TRENDS IN CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION
The Ontario Experience
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada
In the last 20 years, many faculties of education in Ontario developed strong partnerships with school districts, involved classroom teachers in program delivery, redesigned programs to be more coherent and relevant, conducted research on pre- service programs, and increased opportunities for reflective practices. However, many of the problems long associated with teacher education remained: under- funding of programs, lack of recognition for professors working in teacher education, conflicting values and goals between the university and school boards, and poor integration of theory and practice. In addition to internal conflicts, wide fluctuations in demand for teachers caused huge swings in the number of applications to programs. In one decade, we will have faced both a surplus and shortage of teachers. Many of the problems and achievements experienced in Ontario are common to other North American teacher education programs. We should celebrate our accomplishments, yet look cautiously to the future. The current government in Ontario has already reduced funding to education by $500 million dollars and more reductions are likely to occur. It is difficult to discuss teacher education in Ontario as whole; yet, there are some trends common to many programs. In this paper, we begin with a discussion of the report entitled Teacher education in Ontario: Current practice and options for the future (1989), prepared by Michael Fullan, F. Michael Connelly, and Nancy Watson. This report has had significant impact on teacher education in the province. We then shift to a discussion of a specific program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (OISE/UT), which exemplifies many of the principles outlined in that report and is indicative of directions in teacher education in Ontario. Finally, we examine a recent development in education, the founding of the Ontario College of Teachers. Throughout the paper, we provide examples of directions, achievements, and challenges from various faculties of education in Ontario.
45 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 45—62. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 46 CLARE KOSNIK & CLIVE BECK
1. FROM TEACHERS’ COLLEGE TO UNIVERSITY
In 1966, the “Minister of Education announced that the government intended to transfer the major responsibility for preparing all elementary school teachers [kindergarten to eighth grade] from the Department of Education to the universities in an effort to improve both the quality and the range of programs” (Fullan et al., 1989, p. 12). The problems of shifting teacher education to the university are symbolic of the complexity of teacher education. Initially, universities were not overly enthusiastic about having to accept staff from teachers’ colleges, and it was not until 1986 that the last of the teachers’ colleges was closed. There are currently nine faculties of education in the province, each a division/faculty within a university. Each year, 10,000 new teachers enter Ontario’s elementary and secondary classrooms. 7,000 are graduates from Ontario’s faculties of education. 96 % of graduates get teaching jobs – and 80 % are in regular positions by the end of their second year. The majority of students enroll in a one-year B.Ed. degree, after completing a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree. A small number of students are enrolled in a concurrent program where the Bachelor of Arts and B.Ed. degrees are combined into a five-year program. The faculties of education in Ontario are Brock (concurrent and consecutive programs); Lakehead; Laurentian (French language only); Nipissing; Ottawa (French and English language programs); Queens; Toronto/OISE/UT; Western; Windsor; and York (concurrent and consecutive programs). In 2004, two new faculties of education will open at Trent University and the Ontario Institute for Technology. Both are specialty programs with the latter focused on mathematics, science, and technology in the intermediate/senior grades. In addition to these programs, the Ontario Ministry of Education has passed legislation to allow out-of- province universities the opportunity to establish teacher education programs in Ontario and grant an Ontario Teaching Certificate. Many universities have applied to the Post Secondary Education Quality Assurance Committee for approval to offer their programs in Ontario. Universities from as near as upper New York State and as far away as Australia are keen to participate in the highly lucrative market of teacher education. This decision by the government to broaden access to Ontario students and to allow programs not formally accredited by the Ontario College of Teachers to grant an Ontario Teaching Certificate has not been well received by the Ontario Deans of Education.
2. BLUEPRINT FOR TEACHER EDUCATION
In 1986, Fullan, Connelly, and Watson were asked by the Ontario Teacher Education Review Steering Committee to develop a position paper “to examine current policies and programs of teacher education in Ontario, and to set out options for the future” (Fullan et al., 1989, p. 2). After a thorough review of the literature and wide consultation with stakeholders in the province, the report Teacher education in Ontario: Current practice and options for the future was released in 1989. The breadth of topics addressed was staggering; however, the discussion was CURRENT TRENDS IN CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION 47 manageable, because it addressed issues within a coherent conceptual framework, that of teacher education as a lifelong learning process. In Ontario, this report was widely regarded as the blueprint for teacher education. Other influences, notably U.S. research findings, have also affected the development of teacher education in Ontario. Interestingly, as we revisit the Fullan et al. (1989) report just over a decade after its publication, we can see the enormous impact it has had on teacher education programs, but many problems identified by the authors remain unresolved. The topics discussed by Fullan et al. (1989), included admission into the B.Ed. program; length and staffing of programs; course content; credentials of teacher educators; schools as workplaces; and the need to increase research on teacher education. In the final chapter of the report, 70 specific recommendations were made. Although Fullan et al. (1989) were commissioned to look at teacher education, throughout the report kept returning to children: “Our central notion is that a vision of teacher education must continually be shaped by its purpose, which is the education of children” (p. 51). We have chosen three topics from the report to discuss in detail; others would choose different themes. Perhaps that was the richness of the report; there were many areas to explore.
2.1 Teacher Education as a Lifelong Process
One of the key themes in Teacher education in Ontario was teacher education as a lifelong learning process. Although it was common knowledge that new teachers had a great deal to learn, Fullan et al. (1989) placed teacher education in the middle of the continuum. “One of the assumptions we make about teacher education is that it is a matter of life-long learning. We extend the idea of teacher education backwards in time from the faculty of education to include teachers’ general education and social origins. As is well known, these origins are critical to the quality not only of the teaching profession but of teacher educators” (p. 57). This position was consistent with Lortie (1975), who argued that since “students have protracted and consequential face-to-face interaction with many teachers, and … some young people identify strongly with their teachers, it is likely that many are influenced in ways they do not even perceive” (p. 64). Most courses in faculties of education in Ontario now have student teachers reflect on their experiences as students: unpack them, analyze them, and look at them through a different lens. For example, in one course at OISE/UT, student teachers are asked to write a “mathography” which identifies key “mathematics” incidents in their lives and describe how they have affected their attitude towards mathematics. Brock University characterizes the ideal student teacher as one who is “continually learning to observe and reflect on the experiences of teaching and learning” and who has “an understanding of self as a person, learner and teacher” (www.edubrocku.ca). Through the “internship model and the counseling group approach” at Brock University, student teachers have an opportunity to discuss their current work, revisit past experiences, and understand themselves as teachers. Fullan et al. (1989) also extended the notion of lifelong learning “forward to include induction practices, apprenticeship years, and continuing professional 48 CLARE KOSNIK & CLIVE BECK development throughout a teacher’s career” (p. 57). Recognizing that faculties of education did not produce fully formed teachers meant that teacher educators and student teachers needed to look forward to on-going professional development. “No pre-service program, no matter how well designed, can produce the ready-made teacher. The pre-service program should be conceived as the first step - connected explicitly to the next step … There is too much to learn, and some of it, by definition, must be learned through substantial experience and reflection over a number of years” (p. 34). In line with this perspective, the Ontario College of Teachers in their 2000 report, Maintaining, ensuring and demonstrating competency in the teaching profession, recommended to the government that school districts “be required to provide a two-year induction program.” However in their Transition to teaching (Ontario College of Teachers. [2003b]) report released in May 2003 the College revealed that in 2002 fewer than 25% of Ontario’s new teachers had mentors. Again, they called upon the government to fund a mentoring program because teacher retention is reaching a critical stage. Approximately, 3,300 teachers leave teaching each year for reasons other than retirement and 18 % of second year teachers are at risk of leaving the profession altogether. More than 60% of school boards report that retaining teachers is a problem.
2.2 Fuller Integration of the Practicum and the Campus Program
A second theme that emerged from the Fullan et al. (1989) report was a reconceptualizing of the practicum component of teacher education. “The practicum is often seen as the key element in pre-service teacher education, yet much of the research suggests that, as it now operates, it is ineffective in helping students relate theory and practice in teaching” (p. 35). Similarly, Britzman (1986) noted that student teachers see the practicum as “the most important part” of the teacher education program and focus heavily on it as the place to learn. Zeichner (1992) has argued for a rethinking of the practicum to have the entire school staff taking responsibility for the student teachers; university faculty and teachers doing collaborative research; and teachers and student teachers engaging together in thoughtful inquiry. Fullan et al. (1989) suggested that developing partnerships between school boards/districts and universities would be one way to help resolve many of the problems inherent in field placements. In the past decade, there have been significant changes to practice teaching: experimentation with the number and length of practice teaching blocks (all Ontario faculties of education); joint responsibility for evaluating student teachers (York University); addition of an internship (Brock, Western, Queens, and OISE/UT); and opportunities for placements in non-school settings (Queens and OISE/UT). Queens University dramatically altered their approach to the practicum: The program begins with an orientation in August … Teacher candidates then join an Associate School, beginning on the first day of school in September. By starting an extended practicum of 14 weeks at the opening of the Fall Term, we are recognizing that people who are ready to become teachers are understandably eager to get in the classroom…. (Upitis, 1999, p. 12) CURRENT TRENDS IN CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION 49
Tom Russell notes: “Now that the pre-service program at Queen’s provides early extended teaching placements for all candidates, the opportunities to build on experience during education courses have increased dramatically” (Upitis, 2000, p. 228). For a variety of reasons the Queen’s program has had to reschedule the practicum to begin later in the term. As faculties reconceptualize the practicum, many see a strong relationship with associate teachers as critical. The University of Ottawa has a “pledge” to their teacher education partners which includes a detailed outline of the role of the associate teacher; a commitment to provide opportunities for on-going professional development through workshops and conferences; and a discount on registration fees for Additional Qualification Courses. School districts and faculties of education have developed some innovative programs to strengthen their partnerships. For example, The Toronto District School Board has members from York University and OISE/UT on its Faculty Liaison Partnership Committee for their Early Years Literacy Project (EYLP). Both school and university personnel feel it is important for student teachers to become familiar with school district initiatives and curriculum materials during their teacher education program. To achieve this end, school district Literacy Coordinators have taken a fairly active role in the teacher education programs by doing presentations on the EYLP, introducing students to school board resources, providing support during the practicum, and acting as mentors during the internship. In spite of these many efforts, the practice teaching component continues to present many challenges. We are now facing a new problem in Ontario. With the rapid rate of retirement of teachers, we are losing many of the associate teachers with whom we have established a partnership, and there is a shortage of experienced teachers to take their place.
2.3 A Coherent Vision for Teaching and Teacher Education
In terms of program development in teacher education, Fullan et al. (1989) adopted a novel approach. Rather than getting bogged down in details, course descriptions, and so on, they suggested teacher educators “establish a perspective which identifies certain preferred outlooks” (p. 52). Their perspective involved five assumptions. First, the tension between theory and practice should be reconceptualized so that practice supports theory and vice versa. “[T]heory and practice need to be interwoven in such a way that neither has absolute priority” (p. 53). Second, the single most important way to reform schools is through “the enhancement of the character of the teaching force and the conditions under which they work” (p. 55). Third, the knowledge required by teachers and developed by teachers is of a personal kind enhanced through reflection, access to “practices of other skilled teachers, and … involvement in and exposure to research and other forms of inquiry” (p. 56). Fourth, the starting point for all education should be “to determine the context in which the highest quality education for our children may occur” (p. 59). And fifth, the balance of power should be realigned to include teachers more fully. Teachers are “the key architects” of schooling and should have responsibility and autonomy to develop curriculum for all of their students. 50 CLARE KOSNIK & CLIVE BECK
In 2002 the present released the report Pre-service teacher education in Ontario: Trends and best practices in an era of curriculum reform (Kosnik, Beck, Diamond, Kooy, & Rowsell, 2002) presented the findings of a study of seven faculties of education in Ontario. All Language Arts/English and Mathematics instructors in these faculties of education were invited to complete a survey on their work as teacher educators, indicating their professional background, use of Ministry of Education curriculum, goals of their courses, approach to teacher education, challenges, and suggestions for improvement. In addition, eight teacher educators participated in an extensive interview on their work. The findings show the strong impact the Fullan et al. (1989) report has had on teacher education in the province. Of the 47 instructors who responded (overall response rate of 67%), 78% have a Master’s Degree, 43% have a doctorate, and 9% are pursuing a doctorate. When their strong educational background is combined with their school experience (80% have had classroom experience within the last 6 years), these teacher educators are ideally suited to actualize the assumption of Fullan et al. (1989) that theory and practice need to be interwoven. In our interviews, all faculty provided detailed examples of assignments or in-class activities they have created that require students to use theory to develop, inform, and support practice. From action research to literacy case studies, they provided outstanding examples of ways to naturally connect the two often separate elements of the program. In addition to enabling them to establish exemplary programs, the strong educational background of the faculty has enhanced the character of the teaching force because they have the skills and background to conduct research. Conducting research has the dual benefit of providing data for program development while giving faculty higher recognition and acceptance within the university. In the survey we asked the instructors to describe their approach to teacher education. Interestingly, most referred to sophisticated inquiry-based topics such as constructivism, critical pedagogy, Vygotskian theory, learning in context, linking to lived experience, meaningful learning, and inquiry or problem-solving approaches. Taken together these emphases are consistent with the belief of Fullan et al. (1989) that research and inquiry must be foundational to teacher education. In line with this approach, many faculties of education in Ontario have developed their programs based on a vision or set of assumptions. For example, York University has six values underlying its B.Ed. program: a) Self-knowledge, communication skills, knowledge of others and knowledge of group processes are basic to all effective teaching. b) Teaching is a problem-solving, decision-making activity rather than simply the implementation of a method or the transmission of information. c) The professional aspect of teacher education is as much a process of selecting and nurturing as it is of training. d) All teachers are teachers of language. e) All teachers must be competent to teach class-sized groups of students; they must also be able to recognize and to deal with individual differences. f) Experience is the raw material of learning, and practice and seminars should interact to allow candidates: – to broaden their experience; and CURRENT TRENDS IN CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION 51
– to reflect upon their experience. (www.edu.yorku.ca p.2)
Similarly, the University of Windsor has adopted an “approach” to teacher education: The description that follows reflects many of the assumptions outlined by Fullan et al. (1989): a) providing the knowledge and skills essential for career and personal success; b) integrating teaching, research and service in ways that enhance the learning experience; c) promoting in-school opportunities; d) providing a dynamic environment where innovation, openness, and creativity are fostered; e) using advanced technologies to meet changing educational needs and establish links with the global community; and f) forging partnerships with the University, community, and the surrounding elementary secondary schools. (http://webnotes1uwindsor.ca)
In addition to developing programs based on a set of assumptions, many faculties of education have created specific programs within their larger programs to prepare teachers for highly specialized work. At Queens University, the Artist in Community Education track “is intended to integrate a conventional teacher education program with preparation for employment as an arts educator within the traditional school environment or within the broader context of community arts education.” Further, it is intended for teacher education candidates “… who are graduates in the arts and who wish to develop an additional set of skills related to their interests in the arts which could be used to secure or create part-time commitments to the community” (http://educ.queensu.ca/~reg/program_options.html). Lakehead University has an Outdoor Experiential Education Program in which “the main focus of the course is on the inner journey through the wilderness of the soul that each student will follow” (http://www.lakeheadu.ca). Nipissing University has an Education of Native Canadians program: “An examination of the cultural and social aspects of Aboriginal Canadian life relevant to education; the legal, historical, and sociological aspects of the Aboriginal Canadian education; an introduction to teaching in Aboriginal Canadian schools; a practicum involving aboriginal student is encouraged” (http://www.unipissing.ca/department/ education/undergrad.htm). Each of these programs has a specific set of understandings consistent with the larger conceptual framework; a well developed academic program; and practicum placements in non-traditional settings. Fullan et al. (1989) astutely recognized that education is often pulled into the political arena. They cautioned us not to adopt bits and pieces of their recommendations. “The risk in this report is that one or another of our specific recommendations, for instance, those on induction, will be acted upon while the whole is ignored. If that happens, a great deal may be ‘seen’ to be changing, but teacher education will be improved little, if at all” (p. 65). It has been difficult for programs to implement a comprehensive approach, breaking the mould of discrete courses, a high school-like timetable, a disjointed curriculum, and a gap between the university and the schools. In the following section, we examine a program that has 52 CLARE KOSNIK & CLIVE BECK tried to achieve a broad, integrated set of reforms similar in many ways to those advocated by Fullan et al. (1989). While teacher educators in Ontario were seriously reconceptualizing and revising their programs, Fullan was working with Ken Leithwood and Nancy Watson on a project that addressed the fourth assumption of the 1989 report, the conditions for schooling. In May 2003, Leithwood, Fullan, and Watson released The schools we need: A new blueprint for Ontario, a scathing report on recent Ontario government actions. They concluded that “the future for public schools in Ontario is at risk because of either badly implemented or misconceived government policies, and the time for action has come. From research around the world, we know what improves student learning and what doesn't – the Common Sense Revolution is clearly over and people are anxious to support a system that works for all students." (http://schoolsweneed.oise.utoronto.ca) Leithwood et al. (2003) outlined five conditions to realize schools we need - vision, governance, evidence, support for teachers, and adequate funding - and they provided 17 recommendations for action by the government.
2.4 OISE/UT
In 1965, OISE was created by the government of Ontario. The teaching programs in this Institute, which was affiliated with the University of Toronto, were solely at the graduate level; the University’s Faculty of Education worked exclusively with pre-service students in the B.Ed. program. In 1996, the two institutions merged within the University of Toronto. In the “new” OISE/UT, the B.Ed. students are enrolled in one of four streams: primary/junior, junior/intermediate, intermediate/senior, or technological studies. Table 1 shows a profile of the 1,238 students enrolled in 2002-2003.
Table 1. A profile of OISE Students in 2002-2003
Students Enrolled in 2002 - 2003 No. of Students Average Age Female 872 Male 366 TOTAL 1,238 29.74
Students’ educational background Bachelor of Arts degree 697 Bachelor of Science 230 Bachelor of Music 40 Bachelor of Physical and Health Education 95 Business 63 Graduate Degrees 155 Other 3 CURRENT TRENDS IN CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION 53
As in teacher education programs throughout the province, there is substantial variation within the OISE/UT program. Students preparing to be high school teachers take a range of subjects, each delivered as a separate course. By contrast, the 580 students in elementary education (primary/junior or junior/intermediate) are divided into cohorts or “Options.” Each Option has approximately 65 students with a small team of faculty who design the academic program within university guidelines and organize and supervise practice teaching. The Mid-Town Option is the program with which the present authors are most closely involved and will be described at length to illustrate how we have attempted to implement the general principles discussed earlier. The Mid-Town Option developed as we did research on our program, reflected on our work, received feedback from students, worked with colleagues in other Options, and attended research conferences. We feel we are an Option in a continuous state of developing. Our partnership is with the Toronto District School Board, specifically with approximately 15 schools serving as practice teaching sites. The faculty team is composed of two coordinators (seconded from the local school districts), two tenured faculty working part-time in the Option, and occasional staff to deliver the arts component. As in many other universities in Ontario, a considerable number of contract or seconded staff are involved in delivering the B.Ed. Program.
2.5 An Approach to Teaching
Although the Mid-Town Option has been in existence for ten years, it has gone through a series of ups and downs. The first few years in the Option we each taught our “own” discrete courses with little knowledge of each other’s courses; practice teaching was dealt with as a separate element; and faculty were unfamiliar with each other on professional and personal levels. A turning point for the Option was the decision to have an Option-wide program as opposed to a collection of courses. We took a definite approach, quite similar to that advocated by Fullan et al. (1989), establishing “a perspective which identifies certain preferred outlooks” (p. 52). Our goal was to develop a program holistically; this required us to integrate courses, forge strong links with our practice teaching schools, and make a natural connection between theory and practice. Our holistic approach for the Option was somewhat similar to the redesign of the Queens University’s teacher education program, where they modified their program to link theory and practice seamlessly. In developing a holistic approach, we established overarching goals for the program. As Fullan et al. (1989) noted, we cannot produce “fully trained teachers” in a nine month program since we must attend to a wide range of tasks. By shifting our perspective from “fully formed” to “emerging,” our goal became to help student teachers develop an approach to teaching. We could not prepare beginning teachers to handle capably all the duties of a teacher, but we could help them acquire an initial repertoire of practical skills within a philosophical framework. “Instead of trying to ‘make’ a good teacher through teacher education, as one might make a sculpture, we need to do as John Dewey suggested, and think of teachers as 54 CLARE KOSNIK & CLIVE BECK learners” (p. 57). We want our student teachers to develop a philosophy of education which they would continue to modify after graduation. We chose to begin our program development with a description of the ideal teacher. Nancie Atwell, a leading authority on teaching writing to adolescents, began her book Side by side with a definition of teacher. She defined teachers as thoughtful practitioners: educators who question, observe, reflect, and make sense of their classrooms; change in light of their discoveries; and act as scholars (Atwell, 1991, p. 3). Atwell’s approach was especially helpful, because it was practical and theoretical, specific and broad, and professional and personal. As we worked with students and the Atwell definition, we were able to appreciate its sophistication yet identify some of its limitations. For example, students who wanted to teach physical education had difficulty resonating with Atwell, given her emphasis on language arts. We have started to include Schon’s (1983) description of reflective practitioner and to rely more heavily on his work. His analysis of reflection in terms of reflection-in-action, reflection-on-action, repertoire, and knowing-in-action are helpful for our students. With time and research on our program, we have become more specific about our approach to teaching, defining it with reference to the work by Kosnik and Beck (2000) as follows: a) developing and modifying curriculum and pedagogy; b) being a teacher-researcher, teacher-scholar; c) observing students closely; d) caring for the whole child; e) being a positive role model; f) empowering students; g) modeling and fostering collaboration and cooperative learning; h) using a range of assessment and evaluation techniques; and i) continued professional development.
2.6 Cohort as a Community
Although Fullan et al. (1989) mentioned only briefly the importance of establishing learning communities, their examination of schools as workplaces has direct bearing on this aspect of developing an approach to teaching. “The most effective action to improve the education of teachers is to reform the context in which they do their work. To start anywhere else is to tinker” (p. 59). We extended the term “context in which they do their work” to the context in which pre-service students teachers learn about teaching. There has been some experimentation with cohorts in pre-service programs (Bullough & Gitlin, 1995; Tom, 1997) yet, this approach is not widespread. If we want student teachers to begin to develop an approach to teaching, the setting is important; it shapes their attitudes and philosophy, gives them a model of a professional learning community, introduces them to an alternative method of learning, and lets them experience first-hand the benefits of a strong community. CURRENT TRENDS IN CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION 55
One of the key reasons for building community is directly linked to our first principle of helping student teachers develop an approach to teaching. We felt we must immerse them in a program that was so powerful it would lead them to think differently about teaching, which in turn would allow them to grow as thoughtful practitioners. As we began to develop the program holistically, we became more aware of the dialectical relationship between program and community. A relevant, inviting program would support development of the community and, as we became a safe, accepting community, we could create a more innovative program. A second reason for our commitment to community was based on the growing body of literature on learning communities, especially literacy communities. In the field of education, the need for genuine community in schools and classrooms is now widely stressed. According to Peterson (1992), bringing community into existence in the classroom is an essential aspect of the role of the teacher: “When community exists, learning is strengthened, everyone is smarter, more ambitious, and productive” (p. 2). Paley (1992) stresses the public nature of the school classroom and the need for structures and practices which make a class an inclusive, supportive community for all. In The Schoolhome, Martin (1992) talks of the need for the school to be like a home, where children feel secure and can learn and express a range of human emotions. Meier (1995), Wasley (1994), and Wasley, Hampel, and Clark. (1997), in line with Coalition of Essential Schools principles, stress the need to create smaller schools or schools-within-a-school, so teachers can work together and teachers and students can get to know each other and share a common school culture. Meier claims that fostering both intellectual and social values “requires joint membership in an attractive community” (p. 113). Wasley et al. (1997) found that in small schools, where classes were organized to ensure smaller groupings of students and an integrated curriculum, students and teachers felt “less rushed” and “able to work in greater depth” (p. 147), “developed the skills needed for civil discourse,” and “learned to take feedback from critical friends and analyze it thoughtfully” (p. 178). Wood (1992, 1998) has also written at length on the power of community in schools. Graves (1991) and Short & Pierce (1993) argue that community cannot be relegated to one part of the program and that it must be infused in all activities. From our experience, we knew that a community does not necessarily result from having a cohort structure; we had to be intentional about community building and clear about the type of community we wanted to develop. Our objectives for the cohort include creating a more coherent program and a strong link between theory and practice; achieving a closer relationship between faculty and student teachers; establishing conditions conducive to mutual support among student teachers; and modeling a communal, collaborative approach to teaching and learning that student teachers can apply in their practicum settings and in their school and classroom after graduation. As an Option team we have developed many community-building activities; however, we will focus the discussion here on the two-day Option “retreat” which occurs in the first month of the program. This event exemplifies our approach to community and community building. The renewal center we visit is a short distance from Toronto, and is set in a lovely park with a river running through it. We begin 56 CLARE KOSNIK & CLIVE BECK the retreat with all faculty and students working through a process to determine their learning styles. A highlight of the program is sharing the students’ All About Me books, prepared as a language arts activity in the weeks prior to the retreat. As Fullan et al. (1989) noted, “[e]veryone has a life story which makes them unique, and everyone has goals, aspirations and directions which are essential to an understanding of them as teachers. All of us, not only teachers, are what we are because of where we have been and where we are going” (p. 57). We suggest students include in their autobiographies as much information as they wish to share with the large group. Some go into great detail including excerpts from their diaries, while others present “highlights” of their life. As the students read the books they learn about their fellow classmates; acquire multiple examples of bookmaking; and experience first-hand Cambourne’s elements of effective language arts programs, for example, authentic task, audience, engagement, and demonstrations (Cambourne, 1988). Further, they have a book to use to introduce themselves to their practice teaching classes. The links between learning and community are brought to the forefront through this project. During the retreat some of activities focus on larger issues of well-being. Students design wellness kits for teachers which we “revisit” before they begin their intense six week practice teaching session. Recent graduates from the Option meet with the new group of student teachers to discuss some of the challenges of the pre- service program. The closing ceremony for the retreat tends to be quite emotional; often students “admit” that they dreaded the retreat, yet now feel they have made many friends and gained a sense of belonging. The retreat does not “end” when we leave the renewal center; rather, we try to carry forward the connections and community into the university program. Although we are mandating community building through participation in the retreat, this experience immerses students in a specific context, demonstrates the need for the teacher/professor to take the lead in community building, and shows the links between the academic program and the community. During the course of the year we use the language of community, draw on our knowledge of our personal learning style, have students teachers explore the possibilities of community in their practice teaching classes, identify practices that support a literate community, reflect on our community, and problem-solve together. In follow-up research on our graduates, they repeatedly talk about the strength they got from working collaboratively with others and how they are trying to follow the same model of community in their own classrooms.
2.7 An Inquiry Focus
Throughout their report, Fullan et al. (1989) represented teachers as professionals, knowledge producers, and key decision-makers. “Teacher education scenarios that are merely practical are routine, dull, and mind-stifling. Programs that are merely theoretical are abstract, irrelevant and meaningless. Lively interactions of theory and practice are needed.” (p. 54). The goals advocated by Fullan et al. (1989) CURRENT TRENDS IN CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION 57 are extremely challenging for teacher educators, because student teachers often enter the program expecting to be given all of the “tricks of the trade.” One student teacher, Grace, recalled that she thought the program would be vocational: “This is the way you teach language arts, this is the way you teach mathematics, and so on. We would systematically work through each subject.” Reconciling this tension of student teachers wanting a never-ending stream of practical ideas and the university’s focus on theory is challenging. The cohort structure provided us with an opportunity to develop a coherent program; we chose to use action research as the central focus for both programmatic and professional reasons. We wanted our teacher education program to be an inquiry cohort (Atwell, 1998; Graves, 1991; Short & Pierce, 1993). Rather than simply “talking about” teachers being reflective practitioners or teacher-researchers, we wanted to live these ideals (Short & Pierce, 1993, p. 155). The development of our teacher education program has been guided by the work of researchers who emphasize inquiry in teacher education (Borko, Michalec, Timmons, & Siddle, 1997; Bullough & Gitlin, 1995; Loughran, 1996; Lyons, 1998; Ross, 1990; Zeichner & Liston, 1996). Underlying our commitment to inquiry was our frustration with students who wanted us to provide them with all the answers (Britzman 1986; Lortie, 1975). Dorene Ross has noted that passivity is a common characteristic of many student teachers (Ross, 1987, p. 131). We wanted students to ask questions, find answers within themselves, and approach teaching with openness. Many faculties of education have inquiry projects in their program. For example, Queens, York, and Brock universities have students complete action research projects. Tom Russell from Queens has had his students present their action research projects at the Ontario Educational Research Council Conference. Within the OISE/UT program, there are a variety of inquiry activities: a year-long literacy case study; development of a technology-based integrated unit; and implementation of a school improvement project. We restructured our Mid-Town program around action research because it was both research and action, practical and theoretical, and individual and collaborative, we hoped it would make our program coherent, effective, challenging, and enjoyable. We attended to traditional topics, such as child development, lesson/unit planning, assessment, teaching strategies, Ministry of Education guidelines, and so on; some topics were integrated into the action research while others where appropriate were dealt with separately. We divided the action research process into six steps: identify a concern or need in your practice teaching classroom through observations and interviews; read relevant literature and write an essay on the area of concern or need; implement three program modifications; gather data on the changes; reflect on the process; and present your findings at the Action Research Conference. Some of the steps were carried out individually while others were done with a small group of students who were pursuing a similar question. Some assignments were ungraded and some were individual submissions, while others were group projects. Each group had a faculty supervisor who met with students at the university and in their practice teaching settings. 58 CLARE KOSNIK & CLIVE BECK
As a result of engaging in action research, our student teachers moved beyond simply replicating their associate teachers’ practices. There was a subtle shift in the focus of the practicum which increased their awareness of the dynamics in the classroom. As students worked through the steps of the action research cycle, they got to know their students well, interacted with them, observed them, and gathered data. Having to respond to the pupils’ needs helped our student teachers learn the skills of developing appropriate programs. As they modified the curriculum and met the needs of the pupils, they felt empowered and began to understand the complex role of the teacher (Kosnik & Beck, 2000). They learned to delve beneath outward behavior to understand the pupil’s perspective, needs, feelings, and strengths. Beyond the practical benefits of learning many skills for effective teaching - observation, program planning, and assessment - action research helped connect theory and practice. Students had a practical reason for engaging with the research literature: they used the literature to help them plan their program modifications, understand their students’ stages of development, and acquire other perspectives on learning/teaching. Many school districts in Ontario have adopted action research as a form of professional development. For example, Waterloo, Nipissing, Grand Erie, and York Region School Districts have many teachers involved in teacher-research projects. As student teachers become familiar with action research in their pre-service program, they are being prepared to join with other teachers in approaching teaching as a life-long learning process. While the Mid-Town Option has continued to develop its program, the approach used by the Mid-Town faculty has had a major impact on the entire pre-service program at OISE/UT. When one of the authors (Kosnik) assumed the Directorship of the elementary pre-service program in 2000, she had the opportunity to highlight for the other Coordinators some of the goals, processes, and practices she had developed in Mid-Town and share her research on teacher education, providing concrete examples of the Mid-Town innovations. Her goal was not to have the other Coordinators duplicate Mid-Town, but rather to encourage them to seriously consider development of their programs. Using a variety of strategies -- research seminars, joint research conducted on the entire elementary program, subcommittees examining specific aspects of the program, dissemination of research on teacher education – the Director has helped Coordinators make informed decisions for program development. Many are consistent with the Mid-Town approach. To make the overall approach to pre-service program clear and accessible, in January 2003 we wrote a statement Program principles for the preservice program at OISE/UT. Outlined were five principles underlying the program: cohort-based, coherent programs, small collaborative faculty teams, strong school-university partnerships, and research-based. This statement has been widely disseminated and well received, and has become a framework for policy decisions and program development at OISE/UT. CURRENT TRENDS IN CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION 59
3. ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
In Teacher education in Ontario, Fullan et al. (1989) called for the creation of the Ontario Council for Teacher Education. Some of its responsibilities would include “recommending on certification, cyclic reviews of teacher education programs … formulating positions on major policy issues, developing guidelines, some funding of institutional research and its dissemination, and networking” (p. 74). In 1996, the government of Ontario established the Ontario College of Teachers, an institution very similar to the one proposed by Fullan et al. (1989). “The College, established by legislation proclaimed in July 1996, assumes responsibility for developing standards of teaching practice, regulating on-going teacher certification and professional development, and accrediting teacher education programs” (Ontario College of Teachers, 1999, p. 1; 2003a). We have chosen to examine three aspects of the College which we feel will have a direct influence on pre-service teacher education in Ontario in the future.
4. STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
Through an extensive consultation process, the College developed the Standards of practice for the teaching profession which addresses the question “What does it mean to be a teacher?”. The Standards have five key elements: commitment to students and student learning; professional knowledge; teaching practice; leadership and community; and on-going professional learning. For each of the five elements, there are numerous subheadings that expand on the basic principle. And under each subheading there are additional points. In total, there are 106 statements to describe the work of a teacher. Teaching is conceptualized as a profession requiring highly skilled knowledge, a strong commitment to students, an understanding of diverse needs, an ability to communicate effectively, a willingness to think and act beyond the four walls of the classroom, and an extensive set of skills. The document sets a high “standard” for teachers and could be a source of pride for the profession. With their broad sweep, the Standards capture both the art and science of teaching.
4.1 Accreditation of Faculties of Education
A major aspect of the College’s mandate is the accreditation of pre-service programs at the faculties of education in Ontario’s universities. Since all Ontario- based faculties of education must undergo an extensive review every five years, with the executive summary of the report published in the College’s journal, Professionally Speaking, the accreditation is having an enormous impact. Each faculty must demonstrate in detail how the Standards of Practice are addressed. The Accreditation Committee conducts interviews with students, faculty, associate teachers, alumni, and university administration; examines course outlines and samples of student work; and so on. One of the offshoots of the accreditation 60 CLARE KOSNIK & CLIVE BECK process, which we do not wish to categorize as either an advantage or disadvantage, is the standardization of teacher education in the Province.
4.2 Certification Examination
Until 2002, Bachelor of Education students in Ontario completed their degree and the university recommended them for certification; unexpectedly, the Governing Council of the College recommended to the Ministry of Education that a certification examination be introduced. Student teachers must pass the examination before being granted an Ontario Teaching Certificate. The highly controversial certification exam was introduced in the Spring 2002. The test has two parts - multiple choice questions and case studies - with two broad areas of focus: professional knowledge (including Ontario Curriculum policies, planning and instruction, human development, and classroom management), and teaching practice (including assessment, motivation, diversity, and teaching strategies). Consistent with literature on the impact of standardized tests, the certification examination has altered our program. With our students preoccupied with “passing the test,” we are struggling to maintain our community focus, our aim to develop an approach to teaching, our emphasis on inquiry, and our links with our practice teaching schools. Will the Mid-Town Option and the many innovative teacher education programs in the province survive?
5. CONCLUSION
At the present time, many of the recommendations made by Fullan et al. (1989) have been realized: teacher educators with extensive experience as classroom teachers are part of faculty renewal; research on teacher education is becoming common in many faculties; strong partnerships with schools boards are being nurtured; a vision for teaching and teacher education permeates many faculty activities; and collaborations with classroom teachers are strengthening school- university partnerships. Yet, we still have a great deal of work to do and current political developments are complicating the situation. Fullan et al. (1989) collectively and individually have contributed to our thinking and understanding of teacher education. They have given us a framework and a language for discussing teacher education. Connelly in his recent writings with Jean Clandinin suggests two metaphors for teacher education: teacher education as injection and teacher education as reconstruction. The former “requires us to ask this basic question: What do pre-service teachers need to know and how shall we teach it to them? It requires teacher educators to give pre-service teachers things that they may possess and use to call themselves teachers.” The latter metaphor involves the basic question: “What do pre-service teachers already know and how can we encourage them to reflect on this knowledge as it is expressed in practice? We use this metaphor to express the idea that, as teacher knowledge grows, it does so by composing and recomposing the knowledge that is already there” (Connelly & Clandinin, 2000, p. 101). CURRENT TRENDS IN CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION 61
Teacher education must remain a priority, because the quality of education for children depends on the quality of our teachers (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Fullan et al., 1989). In addition to keeping our focus on the children, we must work hard to dispel the myths of teacher education: “good teachers are born, not made”; “few teachers can ever really master complex teaching practices”; “there are no worthwhile teacher education programs anyway”; “the whole process of preparing teachers should be abandoned” (Darling-Hammond, 2000, p. vi). We need strong, focused leadership, sharing of stories, collaborative efforts, and commitment to a vision for teacher education if we are to continue making progress. Through our joint efforts and combined voices, we must try to ensure that our vision of teacher education is not hijacked or dismissed. Teaching as a noble and enriching profession must be our vision. As a profession we must set the tone and keep the conversation going!
6. REFERENCES
Atwell, N. (1991). Side by side: Essays on teaching to learn. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Atwell, N. (1998). In the middle: Writing, reading, and learning with adolescents (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook. Borko, H., Michalec, P., Timmons, M., & Siddle, J. (1997). Student teaching portfolios: A tool for promoting reflective practice. Journal of Teacher Education, 48(5), 345-357. Britzman, D. (1986). Cultural myths in the making of a teacher: Biography and social structure in teacher education. Harvard Educational Review, 56(4), 442-456. Bullough, R., & Gitlin, A. (1995). Becoming a student of teaching: Methodologies for exploring self and school context. New York: Garland. Cambourne, B. (1988). The whole story: Natural learning and the acquisition of literacy in the classroom. Richmond Hill, Ontario: Ashton Scholastic. Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (2000). Teacher education – A question of teacher knowledge. In A. Scott, & J. Freeman-Moir (Eds.), Tomorrow’s teachers: International and critical perspectives on teacher education (pp. 89-105). Christchurch, New Zealand: Canterbury University Press. Darling-Hammond, L. (1997). The right to learn: A blueprint for creating schools that work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Reshaping teaching policy, preparation and practice: Influences of the national board for professional teaching standards. Washington: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Fullan, M., Connelly, F. M., & Watson, N. (1989). Teacher education in Ontario: Current practice and options for the future. Toronto: Ministry of Colleges and Universities/Ministry of Education. Graves, D. (1991). Build a literate classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Kosnik, C., & Beck, C. (2000). The action research process as a means of helping student teachers understand and fulfill the complex role of the teacher. Educational Action Research, 8(1), 117-138. Kosnik, C., Beck, C., Diamond, P., Kooy, M., & Rowsell, J. (2002). Pre-service teacher education in Ontario: Trends and best practices in an era of curriculum reform. Report to the Ontario Ministry of Education. Leithwood, K., Fullan, M., & Watson, N. (2003). The schools we need: A new blueprint for Ontario. Toronto: OISE/UT. Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Loughran, J. (1996). Developing reflective practice. Learning about teaching and learning through modelling. London: Falmer Press. Lyons, N. (1998). Reflection in teaching: Can it be developmental? A portfolio perspective. Teacher Education Quarterly, 25(1), 115-127. Martin, J. R. (1992). The schoolhome. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Meier, D. (1995). The power of their ideas. Boston: Beacon. Ontario College of Teachers. (1999). Standards of practice for the teaching profession. Toronto: Author. 62 CLARE KOSNIK & CLIVE BECK
Ontario College of Teachers. (2000). Maintaining, ensuring, and demonstrating competency in the teaching profession. Toronto: Author. Ontario College of Teachers. (2003a). New teacher induction: Growing into the profession. Toronto: Author. Ontario College of Teachers. (2003b). Transition to teaching. Toronto: Author. Paley, V. (1992). You can’t say you can’t play. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Peterson, R. (1992). Life in a crowded place: Making a learning community. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Ross, D. (1990). Programmatic structures for the preparation of reflective teachers. In R. Clift, W. R. Houston, & Pugach, M. (Eds.), Encouraging reflective practice in education: An analysis of issues and programs (pp. 97-118). New York: Teachers College Press. Ross, D. (1987) Action research for pre-service teachers: A description of why and now. Peabody Journal of Education, 64(3). 131-150. Schon, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner. New York: Basic Books. Short, K., & Pierce, K. (Eds.). (1993). Talking about books: Creating literate communities. Portsmouth: Heinemann. Tom, A. (1997). Redesigning teacher education. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Upitis, R. (1999). Teacher education reform: Putting experience first. Teacher Education Quarterly, 26(2), 11-19. Upitis, R. (Ed.) (2000). Who will teach? A case study of teacher education reform. San Francisco: Caddo Gap. Wasley, P. (1994). Stirring the chalkdust: Tales of teachers changing classroom practice. New York: Teachers College Press. Wasley, P., Hampel, R., & Clark, R. (1997). Kids and school reform. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Wood, G. (1992). Schools that work. New York: Penguin/Plume. Wood, G. (1998). A time to learn: Creating community in America’s high schools. New York: Penguin/Dutton. Zeichner, K. (1992). Rethinking the practicum in the professional development school partnership. Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 296-307. Zeichner, K., & Liston, D. (1996). Reflective teaching: An introduction. Yahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. YING JIE WANG
PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE TEACHER EDUCATION IN A REFORM CONTEXT
International and Comparative Education Research Institute, Beijing Normal University, China
China has been in rapid development since entering the era of reform in the 1980s. Given that education has both social and economic values, how to provide quality education in the most effective and efficient manner has therefore become a critical issue. In this context, teacher education has to be reformed in order to have the various problems and issues addressed. As recent research (see, e.g., Ding, 2001; Lin & Xun, 2001; Wang, 2001; Zhu & Zhu, 2001) has indicated, teacher education has been challenged at all fronts and has to change very frequently to adapt to environmental demands. Unfortunately, members from different sectors of the society do not always agree with each other about the directions of the changes. In such a context, teacher educators are not sure what they should do at what opportunity cost in order to achieve what goals amid the various socio-economic and political reforms that are in place in China. The position of this paper is that the teacher education institutions in China should never ever forget that the greatest contribution they could provide to the development of China’s school system is to enhance professionalization of teachers. A historical perspective can enlighten the future development course of professionalization of teachers in China, which is presented in this chapter. The focus of analysis is on the patterns of development, using Beijing Normal University as a case for illustration when appropriate, as Beijing Normal University is the oldest and the leading teacher education institution in China.
1. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
The establishment of Beijing Normal University in 1902 marked the beginning of teacher education in China1. The emperor, His Majesty Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, issued the “1902 School Law” on 15 August 1902. The law stipulated that a Shifanguan (division of teacher education) should be set up and attached to Jingshidaxuetang (the Imperial University, which Peking University, the nation’s best university, grew out from). Then, the Division of Teacher Education was
1 Nanyanggongxue (Nanyang Public School), established in 1897, was in fact the first school to provide teacher education in China. As it was closed in 1903, Beijing Normal University is recognized as the oldest teacher education institution in China.
63 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 63—79. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 64 YING JIE WANG established in the Imperial University in December 1902. The Division was the first teacher training institution at the higher education level in China. Beijing Normal University grew out from it. The Division enrolled 79 students in its first class in 1902. Later on, there were some additional students enrolled to the first class. The official learning period stipulated by the Law was three years. But the 1902 class stayed at the Division for five years. They were all required to take 14 courses, including ethics, Chinese classics, education, calligraphy, writing, mathematics, domestic and world history, domestic and world geography, science, physics, chemistry, a foreign language, painting, and physical education. The first 108 students graduated with Diploma in Teaching in 1907. The Division adopted a new name of Youjishifanke (Advanced Normal Department) in 1903. The establishment of the Division of Teacher Education was indeed the first serious step taken towards achieving professionalization of teachers. Before that, there had been no formal training for teaching and, in general opinion, there was no need for teachers to receive professional training in order to join the teaching vocation, for anybody with some knowledge in certain fields were qualified to teach. There were two rationales behind the establishment of the Division. Firstly, witnessed were a growing number of new schools (Xinxuetang). The so-called new schools were those schools that followed foreign models. In 1895, there were only 20 new schools in China. The Qing government ordered on 14 September 1901 the transformation of all traditional schools into new schools. After that, the new schools mushroomed in China. In 1903, there were 769 of them and 8,277 of them in 1905. With this growing number of new schools, there was certainly a great need of teachers suitable to teach in the new schools. And secondly, if the schools were operated in foreign models, there should be teacher education institutions that adopted foreign models in order to supply teachers to satisfy the special needs of those schools (Li & Wang, 2000, pp. 267-302). The emperor issued the “1904 School Law” on 13 January 1904. The Law prescribed the restructuring of teacher education institutions in China. The Law stipulated that the Advanced Normal Department be separated from the Imperial University and renamed Jingshi Youjishifanxuetang (Beijing 2 Advanced Normal School). The Law further stipulated all the provinces build an advanced normal school in their capital cities – the Law required the establishment of Chujishifanxuetang (normal school) in all counties; as a realistic arrangement, all provinces were ordered to first build a normal school in their capital cities. According to the Law, the advanced normal school was to prepare secondary school and normal school teachers, and the normal school was to prepare primary school teachers. Beijing Advanced Normal School became independent from the Imperial University in 1908. It admitted secondary school and normal school graduates. The enrollment of 1908 was 80. For the freshman year the students were all required to take a core curriculum consisted of ethics, Chinese classics, Chinese literature,
2 According to the old phonetic spelling, Beijing was spelt “Peking.” For the convenience of readers, the author uses Beijing all the time except Peking University as it has insisted in keeping that name. PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE TEACHER EDUCATION 65
Japanese, English, eloquence, mathematics, and physical education. The students went to class 36 hours per week. For the rest of the three years, the students took specialized studies in one of the four groups, namely, Chinese literature and foreign languages; geography and history; mathematics, physics and chemistry; botany, mineralogy, and physiology. For a major, the students had to take class 36 hours a week. There was an additional year for students who were willing to stay for additional study. But in fact the School was not able to offer the additional year of study then. All the costs of study were borne by the government, and the students were obligated to teach for at least six years after graduation. Along with Beijing Advanced Normal School located in the national capital, other advanced normal schools were built in different province capitals, namely, Zhili Advanced Normal School, Liangguang Advanced Normal School, Henan Advanced Normal School, Fujian Advanced Normal School, Hunan Advanced Normal School, and Shandong Advanced Normal School. In 1907, the Qing government issued an order to build a female normal school in each county. According to the order, the female normal school was to prepare teachers for female primary schools and kindergartens. It also aimed to prepare better housewives. It was to admit primary school graduates at age 15 or above. All the students were waived of tuition. The study period was three years. It offered moral character cultivation, education, Chinese, history, geography, mathematics, science, drawing, home economics, sewing, handicraft, music, and physical education. The male staff had to be moral and at the age of over 50, and their office had to be outside of the campus. In 1908, Jingshi Nuzishifanxuetang (Beijing Women's Advanced Normal School) was founded to set an example. This was a second serious step towards achieving professionalization of teachers - a complete structure of teacher education institutions was established, consisting of a group of advanced normal schools and a good number of normal schools. As a group, the teacher education institutions had stronger impact on various levels of education in China. The teachers with specialized knowledge acquired in their teacher education so received produced stronger voice in society (Li & Wang, 2000, pp. 343-345). Immediately after the imperial government was overturned and the new republic was established in 1911, the president issued a new school law and the Ministry of Education promulgated the Decree of Teacher Education following the law in 1912. The teacher education institutions were categorized into normal schools and teacher colleges. The former was to prepare primary school teachers and the latter was to prepare secondary school teachers. The former was supported financially by provincial governments and the latter by the national government. They all had to have “lab” schools. The tuition was waived for all the students in teacher training institutions. According to the decree, Beijing Advanced Normal School became the National Beijing Teacher College in May 1912. The College offered one year pre-college program, three year undergraduate program, and one or two year graduate program. The pre-college program enrolled graduates of normal schools and secondary schools and, when the students finished one year of study, they were admitted to the undergraduate program. In the pre-college period, the students were required to take 66 YING JIE WANG ethics, Chinese, English, mathematics, drawing, music, and physical education. At the undergraduate level, the students were streamed into different divisions. In 1913, there were Division of English, Division of Physics and Chemistry, Division of History and Geography, and Division of Integrated Science. In 1915, the Division of Chinese and Division of Mathematics and Physics were formed. Short specialized programs in education, Chinese, handicraft, and drawing were offered in the same year. A music program and a vocational education program were added in 1916. A short specialized program in physical education was offered in 1917. The graduate program in education first enrolled 32 students from the College’s undergraduate programs and from other colleges and universities. The graduate students took 24 courses in philosophy, psychology, education, biology, and sociology. Gradually, the other divisions provided graduate programs. In April 1922, 16 graduate students completed their study and were granted Bachelor of Education degree. This could be considered as a milestone achievement in the Chinese history of education, for it was the first time for Chinese colleges and universities to admit graduate students by examination and to grant degrees. Along with Beijing Teacher College, the national government founded four national teacher colleges in different district of teacher education and National Beijing Female Teacher College. With all these progress, the National Beijing Teacher College took a leading role in the enhancement of professionalization of teachers.
2. THE MOVEMENT OF UPGRADING TEACHER COLLEGES
China’s school structure had followed the Japanese model up to 1920; it was then more influenced by the American model in the 1920s. American scholars, such as John Dewey, Paul Monroe, G. R. Tuiss, and W. A. Mecall, all came to China to promote American concepts of education and school system in the early 1920s. The state president signed and issued “The Resolution on School System Reform” on 1 November 1922, which adopted American “6-3-3” school system (six years for primary school; three years for lower secondary school; and three years for upper secondary school) (Li & Wang, 2000, pp. 54-55). The new system meant that the new college entrants were going to have six years of secondary education instead of four years before they entered college. This progress laid a foundation to promote the teacher colleges into the university. But a question remained: whether teacher colleges should be upgraded to the independent normal university or it should be integrated into the comprehensive university. Some scholars and decision-makers were in support for the independent normal university model - even though others were against the idea - for the reason that if teacher training institutions remained independent, they could hardly produce qualified teachers with high level content knowledge in their teaching subjects, as secondary school graduates with high academic achievement would not be willing to apply to become members of the independent teacher training institution, and the existing independent teacher colleges were poorly equipped in facilities and teaching staff. The crux behind this debate was whether the teachers should be professionalized. PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE TEACHER EDUCATION 67
In view of the debate, the new school law issued in 1922 could be considered a compromise: as the National Beijing Teacher College “was established earlier and had graduate divisions,” it “should be first to be upgraded to a normal university” (Gu, 1990, p. 115). Beijing Teacher College formally became Beijing Normal University in 1923. Beijing Female Teacher College was upgraded to Beijing Female Normal University in 1924 and emerged to Beijing Normal University in 1931. The other five national teacher colleges located in different teacher education districts were either transformed into comprehensive universities or incorporated into comprehensive universities. This movement should have strengthened teacher education in China, but in fact it hurt it very much. Firstly, as the formal teacher education was just organized at that time, it needed some time to take root in the higher education system, to gain support from other sectors of the society, and to establish standards of the teaching profession. Secondly, when teacher education became an academic discipline in a comprehensive university, it tended to be looked down to, as it was not as mature as other disciplines. And thirdly, without a group of independent teacher education institutions to mass-produce qualified teachers, the need of trained teachers could hardly be satisfied. According to a survey, there were 651,633 primary and secondary school teachers in 27 provinces, but only 27.7% among them had received certain teacher professional training (Liu, 2001, p. 32). At this critical moment, Beijing Normal University upheld the banner of independent teacher colleges and universities, and continued its efforts in enhancing professionalization of teachers. While Beijing Normal University remained its independent position, it did everything towards a real university. It prolonged its pre-college program to two years and its undergraduate program to four years. The students were granted a bachelor degree after four years undergraduate study. It adopted in 1923 a modern university structure with academic departments at the bottom level. It had departments of education, Chinese, English, history and geography, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. The Department of History and the Department of Geography grew out of the Department of History and Geography in 1928. And a short program in physical education was upgraded to the Department of Physical Education in 1930. Its charter was revised in 1933. In the new charter, the mission of the University was to “mainly prepare secondary school and normal school teachers, meanwhile to train educational administrators and to do research in education and other related fields” (http://www.bnu.edu.cn/). This was the first time for a teacher education institution to have educational research as its mission. Educational research would lay foundations for professional knowledge of teachers. This clearly is an important step towards professionalization of teachers. Following the path of Beijing Normal University, more independent teacher colleges and universities were established. In 1949, there were 12 independent teacher colleges and universities, with an enrollment of 12,039 students (Department of Planning, Ministry of Education, 1984, pp. 50-55). In short, China had formed a mixed model of teacher education institutions before 1949, which was consisted of teacher colleges and universities, departments (or colleges of education) within comprehensive universities, and normal schools. 68 YING JIE WANG
3. THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS SINCE 1949
Since the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949, China had experienced dramatic changes in all aspects of the society. The Soviet Union provided models for almost all the directed changes. The higher education system was totally restructured, copying Russian model in 1952 and 1953. First of all, all private higher education institutions were taken over by the government. Second, all short-cycle colleges were rebuilt into specialized two or three year colleges. And third, all colleges and universities were turned into either single-subject ones, such as agriculture, industry, medicine or foreign language ones, or universities of social sciences and science (Li & Wang, 2000, pp. 95-98). For teacher education, there was one additional reason to have restructuring. As the government launched a major drive to popularize primary and secondary education, the country was in need of a good number of teachers. The first national congress of teacher education was held in 1951. The congress set five guiding principles for restructuring teacher education system: teacher colleges and universities independent from comprehensive universities should be consolidated and their academic departments strengthened; colleges of education of comprehensive universities should be turned into independent teacher colleges and departments of social sciences and science be added afterwards; departments of education of comprehensive universities should be integrated into independent teachers colleges and universities; a few colleges of arts of comprehensive universities should be turned into independent teacher colleges; and there should be at least one full-scale teacher college or university developed in each administrative region (covering several provinces), while all provinces and metropolises should have short-cycle teacher colleges or regular teacher colleges. After restructuring, China gained again an independent teacher education system consisted of normal schools, which admitted lower secondary school graduates, provided three or four year study programs, and prepared primary school teachers; short-cycle teacher colleges, which admitted upper secondary school graduates, provided two or three year study programs, and prepared lower secondary school teachers; teacher colleges and universities, which admitted upper secondary school graduates, provided four to five year study programs, and prepared upper secondary school teachers; and teacher in-service training institutions. This system lasted almost half a century in China. With this system, teacher education had developed very fast (except in the period of the Cultural Revolution) (see Table 1). PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE TEACHER EDUCATION 69
Table 1. Development of Teacher Education in Selected Years
No. of Teacher Teacher college No. of Normal Normal School Year Colleges and and University Schools Enrollment Universities Enrollment 1949 12 610 12,039 61,370 1952 33 916 31,551 93,007 1959 175 1,365 192,285 374,882 1965 59 394 94,268 151,789 1976 58 982 109,731 304,356 1980 172 1,017 338,197 482,108 1989 256 1,044 492,057 684,627 1999 227 815 845,354 922,956 Sources: Department of Planning, the Ministry of Education (1984, 1999)
After 1949, the central government paid a special attention to Beijing Normal University in order to make it a model for other teacher training institutions. In the movement of higher education restructuring in the early 1950s, Catholic University, Beijing Short-cycle College of Physical Education, the College of Science of University of China, the Department of Education of Yenching University, the Research Division of Education, and the Short Program of Education of the Renmin University of China were all incorporated into Beijing Normal University. After restructuring, the enrollment increased and reached to 2,300 students. A new campus was built. In 1955, it started to offer teacher in-service training programs. Following the Russian model, the undergraduate programs were prolonged to five years. Russian specialists were invited to the campus. The pedagogical theories of Kairov (a well-known Russian educator) were taught in the education courses. His ideas about education, such as stressing the relations between the communist moral education and intellectual development, stressing systematic mastering of basic knowledge and fundamental skills, stressing teachers’ central role in learning, and stressing order in the classroom were taught in the teacher training programs. His ideas may sound very traditional from today’s perspective, but at that time they at least made pedagogy an important part in the curriculum of teacher education. Therefore, the theories contributed towards enhancing the professionalization of teachers. In 1960, some new fields, such as atomic energy, radio, radiochemistry and biophysics, were introduced to the University and the Department of Astronomy was formed. Later on, nuclear physics and cell biology were introduced too. This progress marked the beginning of the serious effort of making the University a center of research. This progress certainly had a potential to make teachers more professionalized, but it opened a new round of debates on whether a teacher training institution should move towards a full comprehensive university and on whether a secondary school teacher need frontier knowledge in his or her teaching subjects and related fields. 70 YING JIE WANG
Just when teacher education institutions moved forward with their full force, the Cultural Revolution was launched in 1966, generating drastic and substantial negative impact upon China. Teacher education was one of the worst disastrous areas and Beijing Normal University was a center of turmoil.
4. DEVELOPMENTS AND REFORMS SINCE 1976
When the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, teacher education institutions entered into a new era for development. As Table 1 shows, the number of teacher colleges and universities jumped from 58 in 1976 to 172 in 1980, and the enrollment from 109,731 to 338,197 during the same four year period. After the Cultural Revolution, Beijing Normal University had a rapid development. The enrollment has grown from 5,000 in mid-1960s to 20,000 in 2001 (inclusive of the 10,000 correspondent or evening university students). It enrolled its first batch of master degree students in 1979. Now there are 1,800 master degree students and 600 doctoral degree students. It set a goal of “promoting Beijing Normal University to the nation’s top and world influential teacher university” in 1985. There is certainly an inner dilemma in the goal. The university tried to be a top university and a teacher university at the same time. It tried to remain as a teacher university in order to gain special support from the government; meanwhile it had a strong desire to become a full comprehensive university like Peking University.
4.1 Crises in Teacher Education
Education is now a hot topic and a central issue in China. The social or individual development depends on education. Education is a necessity for people to survive, to live with dignity, and to live with quality. Education is a lifelong learning process and is a way of living. Whether education can really perform the functions relies on quantity and quality of teacher supply. Therefore, people have a very high expectation on teacher education, but the status quo of teacher education is far from satisfying people’s expectation. It now faces serious crises.
4.1.1 Financial Crisis The size of higher education has been greatly enlarged in recent years in China, but the government’s ability to support higher education is very limited. If higher education in general is in critical financial situation, teacher education is surely the poorest among all the sectors of higher education system. Teacher education institutions are the last on the list of priority support for facility renovation or modernization. Yet, new teachers are expected to teach with information technologies. The principal administrators of teacher education institutions have to put almost all of their energy and time in fund-raising and the professors in teacher education sometimes can hardly concentrate on their teaching or scholarship as they have to earn additional income outside their institutions. With poorer living and PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE TEACHER EDUCATION 71 learning conditions, teacher education can hardly attract able students (Dang, Yang, Wang, & Fan, 2001, pp. 16-20).
4.1.2 Quality Crisis Teacher education institutions can hardly catch up with rapid changes of the outside world. Now most of the Chinese school children in towns and cities come from one-child families, and therefore their parents have terribly high expectations on their children’s schooling. The rural families take schooling as an important way to change their children’s social status and therefore they push their children too. The information and communication technology revolution has brought new ways of learning. The Western culture has greatly invaded China. The market-oriented values have gradually gained dominant influences on almost all aspects of the Chinese society. With all these changes outside the college walls, teacher education institutions are still preparing teachers more or less the same way as 20 years ago. The curriculum has not changed much for 50 years, and the course contents are mostly outdated. Students still cannot take a full responsibility for their learning. This institutional inertia, maybe, comes from their traditionally conservative attitude towards changes, but certainly the lack of financial support is also an important reason.
4.1.3 Identity Crisis As the quality of teacher education is challenged, a century old question has been asked again: do teachers really need a special professional training? Members of the profession and many policy-makers believe that teachers should be well grounded in the subject content they are going to teach and have a firm grasp of how to teach it effectively. But a good number of people, including some policy-makers and even a few members of the profession, have a strong different point of view. They think that teachers need only subject-matter knowledge in order to teach well. They argue for complete deregulation of entry to teach. They would like to see whosoever holds a “relevant” certificate could be allowed to enter the classroom. They claim that “how to teach” can be learned by experience. Now the teacher education institutions have to prove that the training they provide is a must for the entry to the profession. Even if the question is answered positively, there is still a question for many people to ask: whether it is necessary to maintain independent teacher education institutions separated from comprehensive universities. Independent teacher education institutions have to prove that they can provide subject-matter knowledge at least as well as comprehensive universities and professional knowledge and skills (such as knowledge of child and adolescent development, instructional strategies, assessment and evaluation strategies, classroom management, and so on) better than any other institutions. 72 YING JIE WANG
4.2 Current Reforms of Teacher Education
China has developed rapidly in the past 20 years. China is now making all its efforts to catch up with the fast development of the new economy and science and technology. But the education system could not provide enough well-trained workers and the school leavers lack sound character, creativity, initiative, or entrepreneurship. The school system is blamed to have organized examination- oriented education. The all-rounded education is promoted throughout the nation and has become the guiding principle for the whole education system since 1999 (People’s Daily, 17 June 1999). The principle challenges the traditional teacher education. China’s educational system has made great progress. The nine-year compulsory education has been basically universalized in 2000. The gross participation rate of post-secondary education has been raised to 11%. With the success of family planning, the primary school age cohort is shrinking. The market of teachers will be a market of buyers. The conditions for teacher education reforms are gradually getting ready.
4.2.1 Raising Qualification Standards The current teacher education system indicates in a way that teaching is not really regarded as a full profession like medicine, law, or engineering as it does not need a full college training. Besides, there is actually no requirement of professional training for entry into the teaching profession. According to the Law of Teacher, any person who had education at certain academic levels with or without professional training can be employed as teachers. There is no doubt that the qualifications for entry into the teaching profession have been low. The government sets the qualifications low to allow enough supply for China’s huge school system. The low qualifications for entry no longer serve China’s needs in the information age. Now, some major cities are taking the lead in the reform. Normal schools are being closed, as there is a surplus of primary school teachers. The entry qualification for primary school teaching is raised to two or three year college education. Some short-cycle teacher colleges in turn are either elevated to full teacher colleges or incorporated into normal universities or comprehensive universities. “The most significant event for teacher education is the establishment of Master of Education professional degree” (Gu, 2001, p. 4). This is indeed a milestone for the professionalization of teachers in China. Education at the graduate level had never had anything to do with the school teaching profession before the degree program was established in 1997. The program was set to train backbone teachers. Eventually, the degree will be one of the conditions for promotion to the position of senior teacher. The degree differs from the traditional academic Master degree in several aspects. First, the professional degree program is for experienced teachers to pursue further study on part-time basis. Second, the professional degree program stresses more on course study while the academic degree stresses on learning through research. The professional degree program includes 12 courses (about 36 credit PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE TEACHER EDUCATION 73 points) of which around half are education related ones, such as educational foundations, educational psychology, educational technology, subject-matter teaching methods (e.g., mathematics teaching methods), reform and research in subject-matter teaching, and history of subject-matter teaching. Third, case study and supervised and diagnostic teaching are emphasized in the professional program. And fourth, the thesis to be submitted by the teachers is to be problem-solving- based. Beijing Normal University is taking a leading role in providing the Master of Education professional degree program. It formed a special office to oversee the Master of Education professional degree programs throughout China with the authorization of the Ministry of Education. Its Department of Education grants a dozen such degrees each year cooperating with other departments.
4.2.2 Transforming the Closed Teacher Education System into an Open One The huge teacher education system, solely consisted of independent teacher education institutions, has prepared almost all the qualified teachers. This independent teacher education system in fact has monopolized teacher supply. Now comprehensive universities have started to prepare teachers. As there is no accreditation system of teacher education, any established higher education institution could offer a teacher education program if it chooses to do so. Peking University, the nation’s rated-best university, took the lead and has already established a school of education, and Tsinghua University, the second best, is said to follow the step. A government document encourages all higher education institutions to prepare teachers. The document in fact announced that a new era for teacher training has come. The government is going to hold teacher license tests open for the public. The monopoly of teacher education by independent teacher education institutions is going to be broken and a free market of teacher supply is going to be built. There are three reasons for this development. First, China’s economical system has been transformed from a planned one into a market one. Second, the social status of teachers has been improved in recent years. Now, teachers’ pay ranks about in the middle of all jobs. Therefore, the teaching profession is attracting graduates from comprehensive universities. And third, more and more people blame teacher colleges and normal universities for not producing teachers with new educational concepts and up-to-date subject knowledge. From the viewpoint of teacher colleges and normal universities, there is the need to accept the open market system, as competition cannot be avoided. Yet, teacher colleges and normal universities do feel strongly that they are forced to join an unfair competition: on the one hand, the government does not provide enough fund to improve the quality of their programs; on the other hand, comprehensive universities with better government funding and higher abilities to create new income sources are encouraged to prepare teachers. As teacher colleges and normal universities have to compete with comprehensive universities, they are trying to enlarge their living space by offering non-teacher training programs, such as 74 YING JIE WANG management or engineering. In a way, teacher colleges and normal universities are becoming comprehensive ones. Meeting the challenges from comprehensive universities, Beijing Normal University is now determined to move towards the status of a full comprehensive university. In 2001, it set a new aim of “promoting Beijing Normal University into a nation’s top, world well-known, and comprehensive research university” (http://www.bnu.edu.cn/). Among 45 undergraduate majors it offers now, only 20 are for teacher training. It has greatly expanded its graduate programs. Now, about one- third of its full-time students are graduate students. If we take the number of programs that are authorized to grant doctor degrees by the National Degree Council as a criterion to evaluate Chinese universities, Beijing Normal University ranks among top 10. Now, it has 28 research institutes and 46 research centers.
4.2.3 Integrating Pre- and In-service Teacher Education Teacher colleges and universities are mainly engaged in pre-service teacher education, as there is a separated system of in-service teacher education institutions. Therefore, the in- and pre-service teacher education are artificially separated. Teacher colleges and universities with better facility and faculty provide education to pre-service teachers, and the in-service teacher education institutions with worse facility and faculty provide continuous education for in-service teachers. This is certainly an absurd phenomenon that needs to be changed. Now some in-service teacher education colleges have already been incorporated into teacher colleges or universities. Some teacher colleges and universities have started their own in-service teacher training programs. This reform provides possibilities to design pre- and in-service teacher education programs on a basis of lifelong education concept and more effectively use teacher education resources. Beijing Normal University established a teacher in-service training college in 2001. It works together with the College of Continuous Education and the College of Educational Administration to provide in-service training for about 10,000 teachers and educational administrators each year.
4.2.4 Reforming Curriculum of Teacher Education Politicians, parents, and the general public challenge the quality of teacher education in China, and therefore the reform of the curriculum of teacher education is a very hot topic in teacher education institutions. In general, everybody agrees that the complex knowledge structure for teachers comprises subject-matter knowledge, conditional knowledge (knowledge about pupils’ development, knowledge about learning and teaching, knowledge about assessment and evaluation, etc.), practical knowledge, and cultural knowledge. But there is lack of common understanding what should be the proportion of those kinds of knowledge or where the emphasis should be put. There are some people believing that the subject-matter knowledge is the most important knowledge that teacher should master. Teacher colleges and universities are losing ground in the competition with comprehensive universities just because the former is not as good as the latter in specialization in academic PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE TEACHER EDUCATION 75 disciplines. But there are many teacher educators suggesting that teachers only need to possess subject-matter knowledge at a minimal level and what they should really know well is the pedagogical knowledge. Although the debate is still going on, this author considers the following principles being important to carry out in reforming curriculum of teacher education. First, the content of subject-matter courses should be renewed to keep up with the rapid advances of science and technology revolution. Second, the courses of conditional knowledge should be dramatically transformed. Now there are only three courses in education for prospective teachers to take, namely, educational foundations, psychology, and subject-matter teaching methods. These courses are too general to help students meet challenges in the real school classroom situation. The courses should be transformed to help the prospective teachers know well the psychological and physiological characteristics of children in this fast changing society and how to teach the subject-matter, classroom management, assessment and evaluation, and even action research methods. Third, the cultural knowledge should be widened to cover foreign languages and culture, computer literacy, environment awareness, professional ethics, etc. For the students specialized in science, courses in humanities and social sciences should have a place in the curriculum; likewise, for the students specialized in humanities or social sciences, courses in science should have a place. In summary, general education should be an important part in the curriculum. And fourth, the practical knowledge should be strengthened. At present, the prospective teachers have to spend only four to six weeks for internship, and they usually have to teach only four to six class periods. This is clearly not enough.
4.2.5 A Reconstruction Project of Beijing Normal University All teacher education institutions are debating on or experimenting with new curriculum throughout China. Beijing Normal University has developed a reconstruction project consisted of following three education modes: the mode of “4+0,” mode of “4+2,” and mode of “4+3” as depicted in Figure 1. (http://www.bnu.edu.cn/). Regarding the “4+0” mode, after three years of study, students can select courses of education and internship to lead to a B.A or B.S in teacher education, or select additional courses in their major fields to lead to the academic B.A or B.S. Regarding the “4+2” mode, four years of study, students, including those enrolled in programs leading to teaching profession or non-teaching professions, can apply for admission into Master of Education Professional Degree program of two year study. They can be admitted after being screened within the University without taking the national tests. Regarding the “4+3” mode, after four years of study in their fields, students can take the national tests to get into academic Master degree programs of three-year study. Those who fail the tests can still walk in the labor market with B.A or B.S equivalent to the same degree awarded in comprehensive universities. Three modes put together a flexible system in which students have the rights of selection, and have better preparation for their future career. 76 YING JIE WANG
As the new system is put into practice, a new admission policy is set for the academic year of 2003. The incoming new entrants in September 2003 will not be classified as teacher training or non-teacher training program students. All the new comers will be treated the same so that they can have their own choices in their future career planning. It is supposed that the new admission policy will attract more able students, and teacher education could be built on a solider foundation, and the University will be gradually transformed into a comprehensive and research university with the focus of teacher education.
Academic Master of Education Master Degree Professional Degree Employment (3 years) (2 years) Employment
Extended courses in Courses in education Academic in-depth major Field + Internship + Internship courses 4+0 mode 4+3 mode 4+2 mode Year 4
Year 3 Foundation courses in major field Year 2
Core courses/general education courses Year 1
Figure 1. The Three Education Modes of the Reconstruction Project
Along with this project, a curriculum reform will be carried out. The undergraduate programs will emphasize general education and foundations of major fields. The majors will be widened to cover inter-disciplinary or multi-disciplinary studies. Students will be encouraged to take a minor. The professional training for teaching will be strengthened (http://www.bnu.edu.cn/). Currently, playing the role as a model, Beijing Normal University is experimenting with the new project. Expectedly, three goals will be reached by carrying out the project. First, the identity crisis will be over. As the undergraduate period focuses on general education and academic preparation, Beijing Normal University will be able to compete with comprehensive universities. As teacher PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE TEACHER EDUCATION 77 education is moved to graduate level, Beijing Normal University will make teaching more professionalized. Second, as the project gives students more choices, better students should be attracted to the University. And third, as the project needs special supports from the administration and instructors, other reforms in management, resource allocation, and academic program restructuring will be initiated. It is hoped that the reform carried out in Beijing Normal University will have a positive influence on other teacher education institutions throughout the country.
5. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
The problems and challenges that teacher colleges and universities have to address in the years to come are plentiful, as discussed in the preceding sections. Even Beijing Normal University, being one of the top universities in China, still faces serious various challenges. For example, it can no longer enjoy the financial support guaranteed in the era of the planning economy, and it now has to compete with other higher education institutions, especially with those top comprehensive universities. The monopoly of teacher education by teacher colleges and universities is phasing out. The complaints have been that the graduates of teacher colleges and universities so produced cannot compete with graduates from comprehensive universities in subject-matter fields. In the case of Beijing Normal University, even it cannot claim that its graduates are better prepared in the teaching arts and craft than the graduates of other comprehensive universities joining the teaching profession. Teacher universities now have to take decisive steps in reform in order to compete with comprehensive universities, to keep the leading position among teacher education institutions, and to continue its efforts towards the enhancement of professionalization of teachers. China is now under dramatic changes. Teacher education has to be reformed to keep up with those changes. From the historical development of China’s teacher education introduced in this article, we can draw some key lessons for further professionalization of Chinese teachers. Firstly, the government’s proper support is absolutely important for the development of teacher education, as teacher education has been a public business and will be kept that way in the foreseeable future. China’s teacher education owed the government support in its establishment and development in its 100-year history. Now, to affirm this point is very significant. While China is moving from a planned economy to a market economy, the commercialism is dominating almost all aspects of the society. The teacher education institutions are forced to earn income in order to survive as the government’s support is far from enough to keep their vitality. But the teacher education institutions are not in favorable conditions in generating income, as compared with other higher education institutions, for their fields are mostly in humanities and sciences (due to historical reasons). Nowadays, all stakeholders in China can hardly deny that even teacher education institutions must diversify their funding sources, but the government’s support must be the main source, and the government must increase its support when the government collects 78 YING JIE WANG more revenue so that the teacher education institutions can concentrate on teacher education and development. Secondly, teacher education institutions must raise their standards and improve their quality of education to promote professionalization of teachers. Teachers are still not regarded as full professionals by many policy-makers or the general public in China. Teacher education institutions must continue its long expedition in making teaching fully professional. The first move is to gradually transform the three-layer teacher education system into a two-layer one. This means gradually closing down or upgrading normal schools at upper secondary school level. The second move is to produce teachers with Master of Education Professional Degree. The third move is to make professional courses in teacher education institutions more relevant to the real school classroom situations and to improve quality of general education and subject matter instruction in teacher education. And thirdly, an open teacher education system needs to be established to promote professionalization of teachers in China. To build an open system is to break the monopoly of teacher education by teacher colleges and universities and to include other higher education institutions to provide teacher education. An organic substance can grow better in a competitive environment. With the competition between teacher colleges and universities and other higher education institutions, the quality of teacher education can be improved, and teachers produced in such a system can be regarded as more professional than in a closed system. The continuing teacher education should be considered a vital part of teacher education in the open teacher education system, as teachers have to learn continuously during their career if they are professionals. When the pre- and in-service teacher education are provided by the same institutions, teachers with more professional attitude, skills, and knowledge can be produced. A historical analysis of the patterns of development can provide us enlightenment in preparing for future challenges. It is hopeful that the review conducted in this chapter help furnish a solid basis for facilitating the reform work undertaken by policy-makers and teacher educators in China as well as other developing countries, leading to the effective preparation of teachers and our younger generation for the challenges in the new century.
6. REFERENCES
Dang, Y. H., Yang, Z. B., Wang, Q. H., & Fan, H. Z.. (2001). Enrollment at teacher colleges and universities: Cold and hot. Teacher Education Research, 13(74), 16-20. Department of Planning, The Ministry of Education. (1984). Achievement of education in China (Statistics) (1949 - 1983). Beijing: People’s Education Press. Department of Planning, The Ministry of Education. (1999). Educational Statistics Yearbook of China. Beijing: People’s Education Press. Ding, G. (2001). The integration of pre-service and in-service teacher education: The cases of Shanghai and Jiangsu. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development, 4(2), 61-72. Gu, M. Y. (Ed.). (1990). Encyclopedia of education (Vols. 2-3). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Press. Gu, M. Y. (2001). On the nature of openness of teacher education. Teacher Education Research, 13(76), 1-5. PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE TEACHER EDUCATION 79
Li, G. J., & Wang, B. Z. (2000). General history of Chinese education system (Vols. 6-8). Shandong: Shandong Education Press. Lin, Q., & Xun, Y. (2001). The institutional and policy development of teacher education in China. Asia- Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development, 4(2), 5-23. Liu, J. (2001). The movement of upgrading teacher college to universities. Teacher Education Research, 13(75), 31-35. Wang, J. Y. (2001). The training of ethnic minority teachers: The NNU model. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development, 4(2), 73-88. Zhu, X., & Zhu, Ji. (2001). Reform in China's secondary teacher education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development, 4(2), 25-40. MOLLY N. N. LEE
MALAYSIAN TEACHER EDUCATION INTO THE NEW CENTURY
School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
1. INTRODUCTION
As in most centralized systems, the pattern of teacher education in Malaysia is closely related to the development of the national education system, which in turn is strongly influenced by the socio-economic and political changes of the country. The recruitment of trainee teachers, the length of training, and the content and methods of training tend to vary with the changing needs of the school system. In the early years of independence, when the school system underwent fast expansion during the 1960s and 1970s, there was an urgent need to recruit enough teachers to staff the newly built classrooms. To ease the acute shortage of teachers in primary schools, many untrained teachers with academic qualifications as low as Form 3 (which is equivalent to nine years of general education) were recruited and given part-time training during the weekends and school holidays in training colleges and regional training centers. To staff the secondary schools, many graduate teachers were imported from the United Kingdom and India. During those years, the number of teacher training colleges in the country was very limited: up to 1976, there were only three teacher colleges and ten training centers for the training of primary school teachers, and five other colleges for training secondary school teachers (Wong & Chang, 1975). After the initial quantitative expansion of schools to cater for all school-going age children, more attention were given to the quality of education which largely depends on the professionalism and commitment of the teachers. As from 1967, all trainee teachers must have the minimum academic qualification of a School Certificate, which is equivalent to an O-level obtained after 11 years of general education. The Ministry of Education also took step to restructure the teacher- training program by integrating the primary and secondary teacher colleges into one common institution providing a common core curriculum with electives to enable trainees to specialize in either primary or secondary teaching (Wong, 1977). The 1980s also witnessed an increase in the number of teacher training colleges. At the same time, more public universities were established and, in each of these universities, there is a faculty/school of education, which takes on the responsibilities of training graduate teachers for secondary schools.
81 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 81—91. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 82 MOLLY N. N. LEE
The goals of teacher education have changed over the years according to the pressing needs of the education system. Consequently, different types of teacher- education programs have been developed to cater for the following priorities at different points in time: a) to ensure that enough teachers of the various level needed by the schools are recruited and trained; b) to raise the quality of teachers; c) to train enough teachers in specialized subjects like English, science, and mathematics; d) to provide sufficient trained teachers for vocational and technical schools; e) to provide in-service training for upgrading, as well as the professional development of, practicing teachers; and f) to provide professional training for all kinds of practitioners in the education system, including school counselors, school principals, teacher educators, curriculum developers, and others. The aim of this chapter is to give an overview of the pattern of teacher education in Malaysia, highlighting some of the current problems and challenges relating to this area of educational development. The overview is followed by a discussion on recent teacher education reforms in terms of selection and recruitment, length of training, content and methods of training. The analysis on the approaches to teacher education shows that there is a shift from the technical-rational approach to a reflective practitioner approach.
2. OVERVIEW OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Malaysian teacher education for pre-service teachers takes place at two levels, with the training of non-graduate teachers in the teacher training colleges and the training of graduate teachers in the universities (Lee, 1996). There are 27 teacher training colleges preparing teachers for both the primary and lower secondary schools. The admission requirement to these training colleges was an equivalent O- level (that is, a Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia obtained after five years of secondary education), but now it is slowly being raised to an equivalent of A-level (that is, a Sijil Pelajaran Tinggi Malaysia after seven years of secondary education). Since 1996, the training period has been lengthened from two and a half years to three years, leading to a Diploma in Teaching instead of a Certificate of Teaching. The total student enrolment in these 27 colleges was 17,766 in 2001 (Ministry of Education, 2001). All the colleges follow a common curriculum, which adopts a generalist approach for primary school teachers and subject specialization for teachers at the lower secondary level (Ministry of Education, 1991). As Abdul Rafie (1999) reported, there are six components in the teacher-training curriculum as follows. a) Teacher Dynamics - language skills, thinking skills, Islamic education/Moral education, Islamic civilization, and environmental education. b) Knowledge and Professional Competence - education in Malaysia, psychology, pedagogy, and guidance and counseling. MALAYSIAN TEACHER EDUCATION INTO THE NEW CENTURY 83 c) Knowledge in Subject Option and Specialization - major subject, minor subject, and electives. d) Self-enrichment - art education and physical and health education/games. e) Co-curricular activities - management of co-curricular activities, games, athletics, uniformed units, and societies. f) Practicum. In sum, these initial teacher education programs are geared towards the professional, academic, and personal development of the students. Graduate teachers for the secondary schools are mostly trained in the public universities, which offer basically two types of initial training programs. One is the consecutive program where students are required to take a one-year post-graduate diploma in education after obtaining their first degree. This “add-on” teacher education program has both its advantages and disadvantages. This type of programs allows for quick responses to the changing demands of the labor market for teachers. Students who opt for the Diploma of Education program do not have to make their career choice until they have completed their undergraduate education. However, the down side of this program is that it is very difficult to attract high caliber candidates, especially during economic boom times when job openings in other fields are plentiful. Partly to overcome this problem, universities have innovated the concurrent program, which takes in student for teacher education at the beginning of their undergraduate study. The idea is to catch them young, for many students would not mind choosing a teacher education program just so that they can get admitted into a university. This is especially the case in Malaysian universities where competition for admission to other fields is very stiff. In the concurrent program, the students do their teacher training, while at the same time they do their academic studies and, on completion of the program, they obtain a Bachelor of Science (Education) [B.Sc. (Ed.)] or Bachelor of Arts (Education) [B.A. (Ed.)] degree. In addition to these two types of programs, the public universities also offer Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) programs, some of which are upgrading programs for college trained teachers and others are specialized training in areas like early childhood education, physical education, and special education. In-service training programs generally come in two forms: one form is mandatory, offered by the Ministry of Education and in line with particular curriculum reforms. For example, when both the New Primary School Curriculum and the Integrated Secondary School Curriculum was introduced in 1983 and 1989 respectively, massive in-service training were carried out for practicing teachers so that they would be familiar with the rationale, content, and teaching methods of the new curricula. Usually, the “cascading approach” is used so that information can be disseminated to all schools and teachers at the quickest possible time. The other kind of in-service training is through the teachers’ own initiatives in undertaking various kinds of upgrading courses so as to further their own careers. Non-graduate teachers can register themselves in various B.Ed. programs offered by many of the public universities as well as the “twinning programs” co-jointly offered by teacher training colleges and universities (Abdul Rafie, 1999). Post-graduate programs leading to Master degrees or Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees have become very popular among graduate teachers. To meet this increasing demand, many of the local 84 MOLLY N. N. LEE universities have begun to offer “off-shore” programs, which are usually part-time, in order to make these programs more accessible to practicing teachers who cannot leave their schools to study full-time.
3. PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES
One of the basic problems prevailing in Malaysia is that the teaching profession does not attract the most talented young people. This is particularly so when it comes to attracting male teachers. The ratio of male to female trainees in the teacher training colleges in Penang in 1995 is as low as 1:4 (Lee, 1995). Teaching is not very attractive, partly because of its low social status and partly because a teacher’s job is very complex and demanding. Therefore, it is imperative that better pay incentives be provided to attract talented young people to the teaching profession, the quality of teacher training be improved by paying attention not only to the intellectual qualifications of future teachers but also the characteristics of their personalities, and the working conditions for teachers be improved to include a better career structure with more promotion and professional development opportunities. The Ministry of Education has initiated several reforms towards this direction by increasing the basic monthly salary for college-trained teachers from RM582 to RM900 (from US$153 to US$236) in 1996, by lengthening the teacher training program from two and a half years to three years, by introducing Heads of Subject Departments and Master Teachers in the teaching career structure, and by offering scholarships to teachers to further their studies. Besides facing difficulties in attracting high caliber candidates, the teaching profession is also experiencing a high rate of turnover. Many trained teachers would not hesitate to quit their jobs when a more prestigious and lucrative job comes along. While there is a seemingly shortage of teachers, the real problem is one of uneven distribution. An unresolved problem is the shortage of qualified teachers in the rural areas. To tackle this problem, the Ministry of Education has introduced financial incentives like regional and housing allowances as well as building more teacher quarters to encourage teachers to serve in remote areas. To improve the quality of the teaching, the Ministry of Education aims to have a 100 percent graduate teaching force in all the secondary schools by 2005 and 50 percent graduates in primary schools by 2010. It was reported in 2003 that only 78,804 out of 288,541 teachers in Malaysia were graduates (“School heads”, 2003). To meet this challenge, the Ministry of Education has taken a drastic step by reducing the length of undergraduate study leading to a first degree from four years to three years in all the public universities in 1996. Indirectly, this reform has greatly affected the proficiency of teachers in their subject areas in disciplines like English, mathematics, and science. It is quite common to come across teachers who make grammatical mistakes and wrong pronunciations in their English lessons, teachers who do not know how to solve mathematical problems in their classes, and science teachers who themselves do not understand the scientific concepts that they are supposed to teach their students. A mere increase in the number years of teacher MALAYSIAN TEACHER EDUCATION INTO THE NEW CENTURY 85 training does not necessary result in an increase in the quality of training for the profession. The challenge is on the content and methods of training. The most significant problem lies in the important gulf between training and the actual demands of carrying out the teaching job in an efficient and innovative manner. Teacher training programs are usually remote from the actual problems encountered in the teaching of socially disadvantaged pupils, such as multi-level or multi-cultural classes, teaching in rural areas, teaching new immigrant children, and mixed ability classes. A recent study on the teaching and learning conditions in a rural district in Sarawak shows that most of the teachers have passed the survival state of their craft, but they have not moved beyond it (Mohd. Daud, et. al., 2000). They are able to control their classes, have a good rapport with their students, and can present their lessons systematically. These teaching competencies are very much related to what have been emphasized in their initial training programs, but these survival skills are not enough to make an effective and competent teacher. What most of these teachers lack are their abilities to ensure that their students can follow and understand their lessons. They are not able to cater for the different abilities of their students. They tend to teach the class as a whole and, as a result, the weak students are neglected and the good students are not mentally challenged or stimulated. Many of the teachers are weak in diagnostic and assessment skills. They are not able to identify the weaknesses among their students; they do not know how to correct their students’ mistakes and give them immediate feedback. In short, the teachers do not know how to cater to the diverse needs of their students. Now that the school is no longer reserved for a limited number of privileged children, the challenge for the teachers is to learn how to pay attention to a school population which is very varied intellectually, culturally, and socially. In many teacher education programs, the practicum is an essential and important component, which attempts to link theory and practice of teaching. The challenge faced by teacher educators is to design, develop, and implement a practicum that is effective and meaningful to the trainee teachers. During the practicum, the trainee teachers are usually placed in schools for a period of time to do their teaching practice. Because of the shortening of the first-degree program in all the public universities, the length of teaching practice has also been shortened thus affecting the amount of time that the trainees can practice their craft under close supervision. Furthermore, the number of trainees has increased tremendously over the past decade making it quite impossible for the college or university lecturers to observe their students teaching their own subject areas. More often than not, the trainees are not supervised by their subject specialists. In an attempt to overcome this problem, many teacher-training institutions recruit the help of practicing teachers to act as co- operative teachers in supervising the trainee teachers during their teaching practice. However, this approach has not been very successful, because practicing teachers are reluctant to take on this additional responsibility especially if they are not given any incentives and, very often, the co-operative teachers do not know how to provide effective supervision and guidance to the trainees under their care. Therefore, it is very essential that co-operative teachers be well prepared for their role before they are given the job. To move beyond the practicum, maybe it is timely 86 MOLLY N. N. LEE for teacher educators and policy makers in Malaysia to review their approaches to teacher education. It is interesting to note that many of the ideas, theories and approaches to teacher education in Malaysia have been greatly influenced by global trends in the field. A brief review of the literature on teacher education shows that there has been a shift from the technical-rational model to the reflective practitioner model (Lee, 2002a). The technical-rational model is a behavioral approach to teacher education that places great emphasis on the acquisition of teaching skills and competencies in order to become an effective teacher. On the other hand, the reflective practitioner model is a constructivist approach to teacher education that assumes that students cannot be told how to become an effective teacher. Instead of being told by “experts”, they have to build or construct their own knowledge base and their own professional skills. In Malaysia, most of the teacher education programs are based on the technical- rational model and a major part of the training is focused on the acquisition of generic teaching skills such as preparing lesson plans, classroom management skills, questioning techniques and methods of assessment. As for the teaching method courses, much of the content is based on the findings of process-product research on teacher effectiveness that identifies significant relationships between student gain (product) and teacher performance (process) (Fenstermacher, 1978). The emphasis is on the acquisition of general pedagogical skills such as drills, practices, praises, time-on-task, response time for questions and competence in subject matter. However, this competency-based approach to the teaching method courses has been heavily criticized for trivializing the teaching process. Instead of generic skills, Shulman (1987) advocates the development of a “content pedagogical knowledge” that aims at blending content and pedagogy into an understanding on how particular topics, problems, or issues are organized, represented, and adapted to the diverse interests and abilities of the learners. Currently, there are attempts to adopt Shulman’s ideas into some of the teacher education programs in Malaysia but so far these attempts have not been very successful as indicated in the next section.
4. RECENT REFORMS
To overcome some of these problems and challenges, the Ministry of Education has initiated in recent years several important reforms pertaining to teacher education. A major reform introduced in 1996 is the upgrading of the Malaysian Certificate of Teaching to that of Diploma level with the aims of giving greater recognition to college-trained teachers and to improve their teaching effectiveness. There are a number of aspects related to this reform. First and foremost, the starting salary of a college-trained teacher has been increased so as to attract high caliber people to the teaching profession. To ensure that capable people with the right aptitude are recruited, the Ministry of Education introduced a set of stringent procedures to select candidates for the teacher training colleges. These procedures comprise of a two-tier interview and a qualifying test which is an aptitude test (Abdul Rafie, 1999). In addition to the minimum academic qualifications, MALAYSIAN TEACHER EDUCATION INTO THE NEW CENTURY 87 candidates must fulfill such other criteria as having good communication skills, a healthy and constructive attitude towards teaching, and the like. Once selected, the successful candidate undergoes a three-year training program instead of two and a half year. The lengthening of the teacher education program is aimed at upgrading the trainee teachers’ knowledge in the school subjects that they are going to teach, at developing their personalities, and at increasing their cultural sensitivities while teaching in a multicultural environment. An analysis of the Malaysian Diploma in Teaching curriculum shows that 50 percent of the training time (62 credits out of a total of 124 credits) is devoted to learning the subject matter of the subject options and specialization (Abdul Rafie, 1999). Other than the formal curriculum, trainee teachers are also expected to develop their character and personality through co-curricular activities, which emphasize discipline, orderliness, responsibility, and accountability, as well as good citizenship and cultural sensitivity and tolerance (Ministry of Education, 1992). In a multicultural society, it is paramount that Malaysian teachers should “know something of the religious customs, culture and traditions of the various peoples in the country” (Ministry of Education, 1991, p. 73). Therefore, trainee teachers in the training colleges are required to take such core subjects as Islamic Religious Knowledge (for Muslim students only), Moral Education (for non-Muslim students), and Islamic Civilization, all of which are designed to sensitize them to the socio-cultural context of the Malaysian society. Malaysian teachers should be sensitive to the religious and cultural susceptibilities of all Malaysians and should help break down prejudices and ignorance among their pupils and foster an understanding and acceptance of different religious and cultural practices (Lee, 1996). As mentioned in the above section, the shortening of the undergraduate teacher education programs in the universities from four years to three years has affected the quality of the graduate teachers especially in their knowledge of the subject matter. Therefore, starting from 2001, the length of the undergraduate teacher education program has been reverted back to four years. To improve the quality of teacher education, there is a move to incorporate new techniques like clinical supervision and reflective practice in the teaching practicum. During teaching practice, supervisors are required to adopt the sequence of “pre-conference, observation, post- observation analysis, and post-conference critique”, a sequence recommended by advocates of clinical supervision (e.g., Acheson & Gall, 1987; Goldhammer, Anderson, & Krajewski, 1980). Furthermore, teacher educators have attempted to encourage trainee teachers to reflect on their teaching experiences through the use of method courses (Goodman, 1991), the use of classroom cases (Laboskey & Wilson, 1987), the use of action research (Kemmis, 1985), the use of journal writing (Holly, 1984), and the use of supervisory conferences (MacKinnon & Erickson, 1988). However, many of these innovative ideas were poorly implemented in many of the teacher education programs in Malaysia, partly because not all teacher educators have fully understood or shared the underlying values and beliefs of these ideas. A recent study by Lee (2002b) on the understandings of reflection held by teacher educators, co-operating teachers and trainee teachers in a teacher training college in Malaysia shows that there is a lack of conceptual clarity on the meaning of reflective practice in the Practicum Model that has been adopted for use in the 88 MOLLY N. N. LEE college. As a result, meanings of reflection that were developed and used by supervisors and trainee teachers were “layman views of reflective practice” (p. 210). These layman views of reflective practice were limited to the trainee teachers’ focus on technical concerns in their classroom teaching. This over-emphasis on teaching problems and issues prevented trainee teachers from deliberating on other aspects of teaching with their supervisors. As for in-service teacher education programs, many new initiatives have taken place over the past decade. Each time when a new subject is introduced into the school curriculum, in-service training is given to teachers who are involved in teaching this new subject. To prepare students for the information age, the Ministry of Education launched the Smart School project in 1997 (Lee, 1998). Under this project, 85 smart schools were set up in 1999, and all schools would be converted into smart schools by the year 2010. The concept of the smart school is one where learning is being enhanced by the use of extensive multimedia technology. The smart schools would continue to use the existing school curriculum but multimedia technology would be used to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. The Ministry has since taken steps to develop courseware for four subjects, namely, science, mathematics, Bahasa Malaysia, and English. A more recent curriculum reform is the implementation of the use of the English language to teach mathematics and science in all nation schools starting in 2003. A massive round of in-service training has started in 2002 for all the mathematics and science teachers to re-orientate them to teach in English instead of in Bahasa Malaysia. Each of these teachers has been provided with a notebook and a LCD projector to help them to teach these subjects and so they have to be trained to use these educational technologies. A total sum of RM5 billion for a period of seven years (2002 to 2008) has been allocated by the Ministry of Education to train teachers and equip schools with the necessary infrastructure to teach science and mathematics in English (“Big slice”, 2002). To meet the increasing demands of practicing teachers who wish to upgrade themselves, many teacher-training institutions have begun to offer innovative programs to suit their diverse needs. One of such programs is a three-year twinning program between a teacher training college and a local university, of which was launched in 1997 to upgrade non-graduate teachers to that of graduate teachers. In this program, the non-graduate teacher is required to undergo the first year of study in a designated teacher training college, and then proceed to another two years of study in an affiliated local university, specializing in secondary school subjects. On successful completion of the program, they are awarded the B.Ed. A total of 14 teacher training colleges and 7 local universities are currently involved in the running of this program (Abdul Rafie, 1999). Another kind of twinning program is between a teacher training college and a foreign university. From 1993-1996, several programs were organized for teacher educators to undertake post-graduate study overseas. An example of such a program is the “Malaysian Trainer Development Program” which was initiated and implemented specifically for upgrading the teaching and learning of the English language. Under this program, teachers, teacher educators who were Master degree holders in English Language Teaching were sent to undertake the “Training of the MALAYSIAN TEACHER EDUCATION INTO THE NEW CENTURY 89
Trainer” programs in universities in the United Kingdom to become “Master Trainers.” It was projected that by the end of 1999, the program would have produced a total of 80 “Master Trainers” (Abdul Rafie, 1999). At the local scene, the demand for post-graduate study by practicing teachers has resulted in a few newly developed teacher education programs. An extremely popular program is the Master of Education (M.Ed.) by course work, which is a one- year full-time or two-year part-time program. The program offered by USM consists of 32 units of course work (from 8 courses) and another 8 units from a research project (a mini dissertation). This program was introduced in 1995 and since then several hundreds of Master degree holders have been produced. In the year 2000, USM launched the Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) program which is a doctoral program by course work and the response has been very encouraging. Besides providing in-service training to primary and secondary school teachers, there are other programs which provide in-service training to other practitioners like pre-school teachers, school counselors, and school administrators. With the increasing importance of early childhood education and the proliferation of kindergartens throughout the country, more and more opportunities are available for pre-school teachers to obtain some kind of formal training at various government agencies, such as the Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of National Unity and Community Development, Social Welfare Department, and Islamic Religious Department (Lee, 1997). Starting from 1996, full-time school counselors were appointed in every secondary school but, unfortunately, many of them do not have any formal training and therefore there is an urgent need to provide them with professional training, and much of these responsibilities fall onto the shoulders of teacher training colleges and public universities. In the case of school administrators, the Ministry of Education has established the Institute of Aminuddin Baki (IAB) to provide all kinds of training programs for educational administrators, ranging from one week courses to a full blown Master’s degree course on educational management. One of the latest innovations from IAB is the one-year advanced diploma program for aspiring school heads. Stringent requirements have been introduced for the selection of future school heads, and these include intelligence and emotional quotient and physical and computer proficiency tests for teachers before they are selected for this program (“Smart principals”, 1999). After being selected, the candidates have to undergo a six-month theory course and another six months of practical attachment in a school for them to obtain some hands-on experience in school management. Another significant development is the changing role of the various institutions that are responsible for teacher education. In recent years, a number of teacher training colleges have begun to offer programs for the training of graduate teachers. This change has come about partly because an increasing number of college lecturers have pursued post-graduate studies and they are now in a position to take over some of the roles and responsibilities which were previously under the jurisdiction of the universities. In fact, starting from 2001, all faculties of education have stopped offering the Diploma of Education program. In line with this recent development, teacher educators in the universities are devoting more time, energy, and resources in offering post-graduate programs - like M.Ed., Ed.D., and Ph.D. - as 90 MOLLY N. N. LEE well as carrying out educational research. In an attempt to consolidate resources, the Ministry of Education has upgraded in 1997 a teacher training college to a university - that is, the Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI) - and closed down three other teacher-training colleges.
5. TRENDS AND PROSPECTS
The main challenge now is to develop programs to suit the specific needs of different practitioners in the Malaysian educational system. In developing these programs, teacher educators have to grapple with important questions: How to form a closer link between general education and professional education? How to reduce the gap between training and actual demand of the job? How to integrate theory and practice? What to draw from the various disciplines to form a knowledge base for sound practices? The content and methods of training will continue to be at the heart of concerns amongst teacher educators as they strive to improve the quality of teacher education in Malaysia. To enhance the quality of teacher education, there should be continual research on the governance, curriculum, and processes of teacher education, as well as the evaluation of existing teacher education programs. The perspectives of teacher education should be broadened to include other practitioners in the educational system and to take into account the widening role of the schoolteachers. There should be more collaborative research between universities, teacher colleges, and schools. Educational practitioners should be encouraged to carry out action research so as to broaden the knowledge base for their practices. The historical development of teacher education in Malaysia has resulted in a dual system of teacher training, involving two main types of teacher training institutions: one is administered by the Ministry of Education and the other by universities; the Ministry of Education is responsible for the training of non-graduate teachers, while the universities are responsible for the training of graduate teachers. Such an institutional arrangement has both its advantages and disadvantages. Because the Ministry is directly responsible for teacher training, this makes it easier to control the demand and supply of teachers to some extent. The weakness lies in the fact that, unlike other countries, its teacher training colleges are not affiliated to any university and the award of the Malaysian Diploma of Teaching is not validated by any professional body or university, but by the Ministry itself. Hence, as far as non-graduate teachers are concerned, the Ministry of Education not only registers and employs them, but also validates their awards. This practice is contrary to what is commonly found in other professions like doctors and engineers where there is a deliberate effort to make a distinctive separation between the awarding body, the licensing body, and the employing agency. Therefore, if Malaysia is considering a move towards the professionalization of teachers and to ensure that certain standards are maintained at the teacher training colleges, some radical changes will have to be made in this respect. MALAYSIAN TEACHER EDUCATION INTO THE NEW CENTURY 91
6. REFERENCES
Abdul Rafie, B. M. (1999, October 14-22). Improving teacher effectiveness through certification. Paper presented at the 1999 APEID International Seminar on Innovation and Reform in Teacher Education for the 21st Century in the Asia-Pacific Region, Higashi-Hiroshima City, Japan. Acheson, K. A., & Gall, M. D. (1987). Techniques in the clinical supervision of teachers (2nd ed.). New York: Longman. Big slice of budget goes to education. (2002, December 29) Sunday Star, Education, p. 16. Fenstermacher, G. D. (1978). A philosophical consideration of recent research on teacher effectiveness. Review of Research in Education, 6, 157-185. Goldhammer, R., Anderson, R. H., & Krajewski, R. J. (1980). Clinical supervision. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Goodman, J. (1991). Using a methods course to promote reflection and inquiry among preservice teachers. In B. R. Tabachnich & K. Zeichner (Eds.), Issues and practices in inquiry-oriented teacher education (pp. 56-76). London: Falmer Press. Holly, M. L. (1984). Keeping a personal-professional journal. Victoria: Deakin University. Kemmis, S. (1985). Action research and the politics of reflection. In R. Bould, R. Keogh, & D. Walker (Eds.), Reflection: Turning experience into learning (pp. 139-164). London: Croom Helm. Laboskey, V. K., & Wilson, S. M. (1987). Case writing as a method in preservice teacher education. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA. Lee, M. N. N. (1995). Women in education: Information bank on women (Vol. 1). Penang: Universiti Sains Malaysia. Lee, M. N. N. (1996). Unity in diversity: Teacher education, in multicultural Malaysia. In M. Craft (Ed.), Teacher education in plural societies: An international review (pp. 72-81). London: Falmer Press. Lee, M. N. N. (1997). Educational services in Penang: An overview. In P. L. Tan (Ed.), Establishing Penang as a centre of excellence for education (pp. 1-21). Penang: Penang State Executive Committee for Education, Economic Planning and Information. Lee, M. N. N. (1998). Malaysia: Review of educational events in 1997. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 18(2), 87-93. Lee, M. N. N. (2002a). Teacher education in Malaysia: Current issues and future prospects. In E. Thomas (Ed.), Teacher Education: Dilemmas and Prospects (pp. 57-67). London: Kogan Page. Lee, W. H. (2002b). Reflective practice in Malaysian teacher education: Assumptions, practices and challenges. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Universiti Sains Malaysia. MacKinnon, A. M., & Erickson, G. L. (1988). Taking Schon’s ideas to a science teaching practicum. In K. M. Grimmet & G. L. Erickson (Eds.), Reflection in teacher education (pp. 113-137). New York: Teachers College Press. Ministry of Education. (1991, November 18-20). Teacher education: Practices and prospects. Paper presented at the Regional Seminar on Teacher Education: Challenges in the 21st Century, Penang. Ministry of Education. (1992). Teacher education in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Teacher Education Division, Ministry of Education. Ministry of Education. (2001). Malaysian Educational Statistics, 2001. Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Education Malaysia. Mohd. Daud, H., Mustapha, K., Lee, M. N. N., Khadijah, Z., Ismial, J., Zulkifli Mohamed, R., & Chew, D. (2000). Education in Simunjan project. Kuching: Sarawak Development Institute. School heads with degrees can stay on. (2003, May 28). The Star, Nation, p. 6. Shulman, L. S. (1987) Knowledge and teaching: Foundations for a new reform, Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-22. Smart principals for smart schools. (1999, March 7). Sunday Star, p. 15. Wong, F. H. K. (1977). Teacher education. In F. H. K. Wong (Ed.), Readings in Malaysian education (pp. 77-107). Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit Universiti Malaya. Wong, F. H. K., & Chang, P. M. P. (1975). The changing pattern of teacher education in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Heinemann Educational Books (Asia). KIRAN WALIA
REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN INDIA
Trends and Challenges
National Council of Educational Research and Training, India
1. CONTEXT
India has a long tradition of teaching and learning. Its ancient scriptures are an outcome of sustained quest for understanding self, society, and nature and to establish their inter-relationships. Traditionally, the society entrusted young ones to the learned scholar known as guru with full confidence and faith: the guru looked after all the learning needs of the learner, including the total development of the personality. The system evolved and established itself over centuries. There were external influences which disturbed it and relegated it to the background. However, a sense of commitment to the learner and obligation to acquire, create, and disseminate knowledge continue to be the hallmark of Indian tradition of teaching and learning. The present system of teacher education is still expanding and extending its support to the expansion of school education, which is currently the uppermost priority in India. An overview of the numbers of schools, teachers, teacher educators, teacher education institutions, and enrolments in schools and in teacher education institutions would give an idea of the enormous expansion of the school education system and of the problems which the teacher education system needs to handle (see Table 1). While the percentage of trained teachers in schools is around 90%, the issue of providing in-service education to more than 4.5 million teachers at regular intervals imposes heavy demands on the system, which becomes all the more acute as capacities of teacher education institutions are limited and are suffering from lack of resources, infrastructure, training materials, and professional expertise. The system needs to recruit more teachers as a large number of children, still outside the fold of elementary education, have to be brought into schools or alternative learning centers. Additional enrolments during the 1996-2002 period will be approximately ten million children. This will not be adequate to ensure universal access as the estimated number of out of school children is still around 30 millions.
93 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 93—106. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 94 KIRAN WALIA
Table 1. Some Vital Statistics for Teacher Education
Trained Stage Male Female Total Teachers (%) Number of teachers (in millions) Primary 1.23 0.64 1.87 86 Middle (upper primary) 0.77 0.44 1.21 87 Secondary 0.56 0.31 0.87 89 Higher secondary 0.43 0.22 0.65 90 Total 2.99 1.61 4.60 88 Number of schools (in millions) Pre-primary 0.04 Primary 0.63 Middle (upper primary) 0.20 High schools 0.08 Higher secondary 0.03 Number of teacher training institutions Primary level 1283 Secondary level 848 Enrolment in teacher training institutions (in millions) Primary level 0.06 0.05 0.11 Secondary level 0.06 0.05 0.11 Source: Department of Education (DOE), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India (2002) (http://www.education.nic.in/)
One of the major initiatives has been the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) a centrally sponsored scheme providing special thrust to achieve Universalisation of Primary Education (UPE). The program takes a holistic view of primary education development and seeks to operationalize the strategy of UPE through district-specific planning. The main aims of the program are to provide access to primary education by all children, reduce primary dropout rates, increase learning achievement, and reduce the gap among gender and social groups. DPEP has covered 248 districts in 18 states. This and several other initiatives provide enriched inputs in policy formulations aiming at UEE. The most comprehensive outcomes were concretized in the shape of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) which was launched in 2001. It is a response to the demand for quality basic education to all children in the country. Innovations have been attempted in varying situations by different agencies across the country aiming at bringing younger children to schools and other learning centers and then ensuring their retention. Dropout rates in schools are still very high (Table 2), while teacher-pupil ratios remain high (Table 3). Causes of educational wastage and stagnation have been continuously studied and classified under different categories (Naik, 1941, 1975). A comprehensive analysis of primary education in India was made by Weiner (1991) in The Child and the State in India. He highlighted primary education not being compulsory in reality and child labor not being illegal as two critical factors leading to policy failures and non-achievement of the constitutional mandate. The main REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN INDIA: TRENDS AND CHALLENGES 95 causes of absenteeism, stagnation, and dropouts in schools are generally related to social, economic, and educational factors (Ananda, 1996). The major factors include lack of interest in education among certain sections of parents and children; lack of proper environment at home and habitation; no correlation among educational system and economic needs of the community; oppressive school environment; and inadequate teaching aids and equipment. Teachers therefore must be alert to these aspects.
Table 2. Dropout Rates for Primary and Upper Primary Classes
Classes (I-V) Classes (I-VIII) Year Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total 1990-1991 40.1 46.0 42.6 59.1 65.1 60.9 1992-1993 43.8 46.6 45.0 58.2 65.2 61.1 2000-2001 39.7 41.9 40.7 50.3 57.7 53.7 Source: DOE, MHRD (2002) (http://www.education.nic.in/)
Pluralities and diversities of the Indian society provide the context for implementation strategies of teacher preparation and teacher orientation. These have necessarily to be region-specific and culture-specific. Inadequacies of resources and institutional infrastructure have to be acknowledged and accepted. India has continued, and shall continue, to have a large number of schools with inadequate number of teachers. Single teacher schools, which should have been eliminated by implementation of the scheme of “Operation Blackboard,”1 continue to exist and grow in the country. Multi-grade teaching will remain a reality for many more years. The sensitivities of dialects, languages without written scripts, and widely differing cultural scenarios, social approaches, and aptitudes have to be responded to by teacher preparation systems more intensely. Teachers prepared in the metropolitan towns hardly get any opportunity to understand the specific requirements of rural, tribal, or desert areas. Malpractices of teacher absenteeism, non-availability of teachers for adequate time in schools, and irregular functioning of schools still persist visibly. There are also factors like non-availability of female teachers and lack of basic essential facilities in schools which contribute significantly to large scale school dropouts and non-enrolment. If teacher education programs prepare teachers with specific strategies to handle such situations, dropout
1 Recognizing the unattractive school environment, unsatisfactory condition of buildings, and insufficiency of instructional material in primary schools, a drive symbolically called “Operation Blackboard” was launched to achieve improvement in the quality of primary schools. The scheme commenced in 1987-1988 to bring all existing primary schools in the country up to a minimum standard by way of physical facilities by providing them with at least two reasonably large all weather rooms with separate toilet facilities for boys and girls; at least two teachers as far as possible, one of them a woman; and essential teaching and learning material including blackboards, maps, charts, a small library, toys and games, and some equipment for work experience. 96 KIRAN WALIA rates could be checked and girls’ participation in elementary education could be considerably enhanced.
Table 3. Teacher – Pupil Ratio
Teacher – Pupil Ratio Year Secondary / Primary Upper Primary Higher Secondary 1980-1981 1:38 1:33 1:27 1990-1991 1:43 1:37 1:31 1996-1997 1:45 1:38 1:33 2000-2001 1:43 1:38 1:32 Source: DOE, MHRD (2002) (http://www.education.nic.in/)
There is a serious imbalance of availability of trained teachers in the country (Table 4). In certain areas and regions, trained teachers are available in excess to the requirements of the system, while in others, untrained teachers have to be appointed due to non-availability of trained persons (Rajput & Walia, 1998). Educated persons, including newly appointed teachers, try to get posted in urban areas, which to many people represent future and hope. The rural, hilly, and distant areas are often the sufferers. While certain regions have excess of trained teachers, those in the north- eastern region of the country and several other rural and tribal areas are facing acute shortage of teachers. The distribution and establishment of teacher education institutions is also uneven and skewed. In some cases, prescribed entry qualifications for recruitment as regular teachers have been suspended and locally available young persons have been appointed as volunteer teachers. These volunteer teachers are generally untrained and begin their work in remote and far-flung areas after an induction training of couple of weeks. This approach is also a consequence of resource crunch being faced by state governments. Volunteer teachers belong to the same area, speak the same language or dialect, and are expected to ensure regular functioning of schools and greater participation of children. Expenditure on salaries of regular teachers exceeds 90 percent in most of the provinces. This is also one of the reasons for this new approach in teacher recruitment.
2. PROGRAM STRUCTURES AND INSTITUTIONAL NETWORKING
Education is on the concurrent list of the Constitution of India enabling both the union and provincial governments to legislate. School education primarily remains the responsibility of state governments/union territories. Teachers for primary and elementary schools (i.e., grades 1-8) are prepared in elementary teacher education institutions, and those for secondary and higher secondary stages are prepared at college/university level (see Table 5). Presently, the national recommendation is to have a two-year program for elementary and pre-school stages separately for preparing teachers for these stages after 12 years of schooling. For secondary and higher secondary teachers, programs currently being run are of one year duration, REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN INDIA: TRENDS AND CHALLENGES 97 leading to degree of Bachelor of Education from the affiliating university. It is followed by one year Master’s degree program, which generally prepares for teaching in college of education and also for conducting research in the field of education. Bachelor of Education and Master of Education courses are conducted either by colleges affiliated to the university or by departments of education of the concerned university. The first major initiative in teacher education was the introduction of four-year integrated courses in the mid-1960s to prepare teachers for secondary stage, which is still continuing in the four regional institutes of education, but has not been replicated on a wider scale. In 1999, an innovative two-year Bachelor of Education program has been introduced in five centers in the country on an experimental basis.
Table 4. Percentage of Untrained Teachers in Schools
Percentage of Untrained Teachers in Schools States/ Upper Higher Union Territories Primary Secondary Primary Secondary Andhra Pradesh 3 14 8 5 Arunachal Pradesh 66 66 55 39 Assam 31 66 70 50 Bihar 5 5 5 5 Goa 5 2 3 15 Gujarat 2 6 1 1 Haryana 10 8 4 2 Himachal Pradesh 0 0 0 0 Jammu and Kashmir 60 55 57 52 Karnataka 0 0 0 0 Kerala 2 4 0 2 Madhya Pradesh 35 33 32 25 Maharashtra 5 5 2 1 Manipur 60 73 72 53 Meghalaya 55 64 64 2 Mizoram 23 21 50 66 Nagaland 63 58 55 79 Orissa 1 1 0 0 Punjab 3 1 1 1 Rajasthan 14 9 11 5 Sikkim 50 58 56 49 Tamil Nadu 0 0 0 0 Tripura 70 71 68 51 Uttar Pradesh 2 5 3 3 West Bengal 33 16 15 16 A & N Islands 6 3 0 2 Chandigarh 0 0 0 0 D&N Haveli 0 0 1 0 98 KIRAN WALIA
Percentage of Untrained Teachers in Schools States/ Upper Higher Union Territories Primary Secondary Primary Secondary Daman & Diu 0 0 0 0 Delhi 0 0 0 0 Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0 Podicherry 4 9 5 0 Source: DOE, MHRD (2002) (http://www.education.nic.in/)
Management of teacher education institutions is either with the state governments, private bodies, or universities. Union government assists teacher education institutions both at elementary and secondary stage. In the last decade, it has provided financial and professional support to establish more than 450 District Institutes of Education and Training and more than 100 institutes of advanced studies in education and upgraded the colleges of teacher education.
Table 5. Pre-service Training of Teachers for Different Levels of Education
Level of Type of Admission Duration of Diploma / Degree Education Training Requirements the Course Awarded Pre-primary Private 12 years of One to two Certificate / Pre-school in education unaided schooling years Education Primary Government 10/12 years of One to two Certificate / Diploma in education private aided schooling years Elementary Education Private unaided Secondary Government Graduation One year Bachelor of Education education private aided Two years* Private unaided Four year Government 12 years 4 years Bachelor of Education integrated aided course Source: DOE (1995-1996) *In 1999 some institutions have initiated a two-year teacher education program for secondary teachers based upon the recommendations made by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
District Institutes of Education and Training were envisaged as resource institutions in elementary education at the district level, providing professional support, guidance, and training to elementary teachers in all aspects of school education. The comprehensive nature of these resource institutions would be evident from the seven major areas of activities identified as departments of the institutions: Pre-service Teacher Education; Work Experience; District Resource Unit; In-service Programs, Field Interactions and Innovation Co-ordination; Curriculum, Material Development and Evaluation; Educational Technology; and Planning and Management. REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN INDIA: TRENDS AND CHALLENGES 99
In addition to District Institutes of Education and Training, Institutes of Advanced Studies in Education have been assigned the task of providing professional guidance to colleges of education and teacher education institutions at secondary stage. These institutes of advanced studies in education are supposed to conduct research and surveys, develop materials, and provide in-service education to teachers and teacher educators. Valuable and useful experiences have been gained through the establishment of these institutions, which are meant for elementary as well as secondary stages of teacher education in all its aspects. Each of these institutions identifies its mission in terms of national and local realities and cultural and community context, and gives top priority to the development of commitment amongst teachers. These attempts to create a climate of mutual trust, dependability, and involvement within the institution and schools itself and to establish a close rapport amongst the management system and the academic faculty. District institutes of education and training, functioning as dynamic centers of professional activities, are making visible contribution to enhancing the quality of schooling. It has, however, emerged that teacher educators in such institutions need to be prepared specifically for the job and are regularly oriented and reoriented. It is now realized that institutions of teacher education have to be established or designated from amongst the existing teacher preparation colleges to cater exclusively to the preparation and continuing education of teacher educators. This has to become a very distinct category of institutions with capabilities to relate training and teaching in realistic situations. Some of the institutions for teacher educators need to be residential in character. The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) was established in 1961 as an apex national level organization to advise the government of India, other national level organizations, and state governments in all matters of school education. NCERT undertook the responsibility to develop and renew school curricula, prepare exemplar textbooks and other reading materials, and suggest changes in evaluation and assessment patterns. It orients key persons and resource persons in various professional areas, and conducts research studies and surveys in areas concerned with school education and teacher education. Immediately after the establishment of NCERT, the need was felt to establish its counterpart institutions in the states and, as a consequence of the same, a state council for educational research and training was established in every state. These councils look after all aspects of universalization of elementary education as well as attempt to transform secondary education to bring it in tune with the latest developments in professionalism and in socio-cultural context. State councils of educational research and training in close collaboration with NCERT provide training to teachers and teacher educators to act as key persons drawn from all over the state and organize and monitor in-service training program of other teachers. The functioning of state councils of educational research and training during the last couple of years has shown several encouraging trends. These are emerging as leading institutions capable of enhancing quality in school education. The last three decades have led to a visible decline in rigor, duration, and learning attainments in several teacher education programs, particularly at the Bachelor of Education level. The situation led to a nation-wide demand for 100 KIRAN WALIA regulating teacher education programs in professional as well as management aspects. The National Council for Teacher Education Act,2 passed by the Parliament of India in 1993, is an outcome of the nation’s concern for quality in teacher education. The Council so established has two-fold functions: first, to coordinate and regulate teacher education programs, ensuring that certain basic standards of professionalism are adhered to by every institution and each program; and second, to provide academic support to teacher educators and teachers to ensure that they acquire pedagogical skills and competencies at mastery level at the pre-service stage and get these renewed at regular intervals. NCTE, in its initial years, succeeded in regulating low quality programs leading to teacher education qualifications through correspondence courses. Among the regular institutional programs, it has succeeded in persuading these institutions to establish properly equipped laboratories, acquire adequate equipments, strengthen libraries etc.
3. TEACHERS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS GROUPS
Tribal population in India3 usually inhabits difficult terrains which are still not easily approachable and do not have easy connectivity with the more advanced areas, towns, and cities. To bring the children in these areas within the fold of schooling, ashram schools4 were established in large numbers in the states which have a higher percentage of tribal population. These are full-time boarding schools, which are fully supported by state government funds, and these schools are managed through their own established network. The major hurdle in smooth functioning of these schools is the unwillingness of trained teachers who normally come from urban areas to stay in these schools. Even those who agree unwillingly do not necessarily familiarize themselves with the context, tradition, and aspirations of the local communities. Further, their efficiency level remains only below average. Studies on the functioning of ashram schools provide insights in the type of teacher education curriculum that would enable teachers to handle problems in rural areas and urban slums. These studies also emphasize the need for understanding the specific context in which teaching takes place (Tripathy, 1991). The economic level of the community, illiteracy, ignorance, and lack of awareness could be major hurdles before a newly appointed teacher who himself or herself may not be fully
2 NCTE has been established by an act of Parliament in 1993 with a view to achieving planned and coordinated development of the teacher education system throughout the country, as well as the regulation and proper maintenance of norms and standards in the teacher education system and for matters connected therewith. 3 Certain socially and economically disadvantaged castes, races or tribes in India are officially designated as “Scheduled Castes” and “Scheduled Tribes.” According to the 1991 census, the population of Scheduled Castes was 16.33% and Scheduled Tribes was 8.01% of the country’s population. 4 Ashram schools are residential schools opened in remote and tribal areas for providing elementary education. The idea was to bring these children to the fold of education in their own environment and build a curriculum around it. For a related report, see, for example, Agarkar and Pradhan (1998). REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN INDIA: TRENDS AND CHALLENGES 101 competent to handle the situation. Teachers have to look into factors like low achievement of tribal children due to unfavorable attitude of parents towards education, educational backwardness, and lack of motivation (Lakhera, 1986). At present, no specific programs have been designed to prepare teachers for rural and tribal areas. Suggestions have been made for establishment of teacher education institutions on the pattern of ashram schools particularly for preparation of female teachers. In India, tradition puts less emphasis on education of girls, and early marriage is still one of the factors affecting their progress in education. Several attempts have been made to enhance the number of female teachers. It has been established by various surveys that dropout rate of girls is higher when there is lack of female teachers (Duggal, 1992). Dropout is also affected by the presence of young male teachers (Pandit, 1989; Ray, 1989). The percentage of male-female ratio of teachers at primary stage is 65:35 and that of upper primary and secondary stages are 64:36. One of the major initiatives in education in rural tribal context is the establishment of Navodaya Vidyalayas,5 schools that provide adequate opportunities for talented rural children. These schools are well equipped with all the necessary infrastructural and professional resources and provide ample opportunities for nurturing talent. The “products” of these schools, initiated in 1986, have now reached the university stages, and there are clear indications that the students have been doing very well at each stage. The National Policy on Education 1986/92 emphasized the need to educate the differently abled students alongwith other children in the common classroom so as to prepare the former for normal growth and enable them to face life with confidence. Keeping in view the recommendations of the Policy and international trends it necessitates the integration of these students in regular schools. At present the capacity of teacher education programs to take care of the differently abled students in an integrated setting is quite limited (Gopalan, 2003). Thus the preparation of teachers for the differently abled students requires enrichment in the objectives and content pedagogy in teacher education programs. Teachers need extra patience, warmth and empathy while dealing with these students. They need to understand the psychological, physiological and sociological conditions of these children and acquire knowledge and skills to cater to their diversity. Special focus needs to be given to diagnostic and remedial teaching for such children. Teachers have to play a conspicuous and greater role in guiding and counseling the differently abled students.
4. CURRICULUM ISSUES
It is widely acknowledged that teacher education has not yet acquired the requisite status as a profession like engineering, medicine, and business
5 Navodaya Vidyalayas were established in order to provide high quality education with a strong component of culture, inculcation of values, and physical education particularly to children from rural areas. For all Navodaya Vidyalayas, students’ boarding and lodging, uniforms, textbooks, etc. are provided free. 102 KIRAN WALIA management. The community and parents still do not give much credibility to the training aspect of teachers in schools. The reasons for this state of affairs are many and have been often discussed and analyzed. The foremost question is: how rigorous are the programs of teacher education? What substantial difference they make during the stay of the trainee in the institution in terms of skills acquired, commitment enhanced, and willingness to perform with a sense of dedication (NCTE, 1995) is another way to put the question. In teacher education institutions, teacher educators often do not practice approaches, strategies, and methodologies in their own curriculum transaction in which they train the student teachers and expect them to follow the same in schools. The entire teacher education is examination-oriented and total focus of training is on theory in paper and not on practical aspects, while practice teaching is relegated to a secondary position and often gets ignored. In the confusion of our times, teacher education is a nearly impossible endeavor, because what one is supposed to be doing as a teacher is vague, ambiguous, and fraught with uncertainties. In spite of this situation, much of the perceived failure of schooling is attributed to teachers who are thought to be ill-prepared for their task because teacher education is deficient. Teachers are torn between varied and sometimes conflicting external demands on the one hand, and their own internal tensions and needs on the other hand. This situation poses extremely difficult challenges for teacher education (Ben-Peretz, 2001). Majority of the universities and institutions adopted the curriculum framework brought out by NCERT in 1978 and later in 1988. The curriculum of teacher education was again reviewed during the period 1996-98 by NCTE which published curriculum framework for quality teacher education (1998). In doing so, it has taken note of the fact that the Indian society is plural and heterogeneous with an underlying current of uniformity. Consequently, the imposition of a homogenous and uniform teacher education curriculum may prove counter productive. The document has identified certain basic essentials and left the detailed development of specific curricula to educators working in different areas and situations. It highlights the need on the part of teachers to understand the context of the Indian situations at the national and regional levels. The multiplicities and pluralities in economic, religious, and other various areas need to be appreciated realistically. Crisis of values and morals on the one hand and need to ensure good quality school education on the other are essentially dependent upon the quality of teacher education. Emphasis is also laid down on the role of researches particularly of action research in teacher education institutions and its organic relationships with schools. For the first time, the issue of development of commitment amongst teachers has been the priority along with specific delineation of performance on their part. Commitment includes commitment to the learner, to the society, to the profession, to excellence, and to basic values. Performance areas include classroom performance, school level performance, performance in and out of school educational activities, parent related performance, and community related performance (NCTE, 1999). Teacher education system has been perceived as an integral part of educational and social system and its primary responsibility remains to respond to the requirements of school system. The comprehensive theoretical base and experiential acquisition to competencies and skills are essential components of curriculum framework. REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN INDIA: TRENDS AND CHALLENGES 103
The NCERT brought out the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (2000) in order to upgrade the school curriculum to meet the emerging needs and challenges. In pursuance of this school curriculum framework, in which many new issues and concerns have emerged, corresponding changes in teacher education are also needed. Accordingly an attempt has been made by NCERT to develop corresponding guidelines for teacher education program. Some of the thrust areas are preparing teachers to integrate indigenous knowledge in theory and practice; developing among them an understanding of the impact of globalization, privatization and information and communication technology; fostering among teachers as well as in the students the interest for life long learning; empowering teachers to inculcate at every stage values among students; enabling teachers to establish linkages with parents and the community; developing among teachers the competencies to deal with differently abled students; orienting teachers in modern techniques of evaluation; etc. These require their being interlinked, interwoven and integrated into the teacher education curricula. In implementation, it has been observed that, in majority of the cases, the focus shifts only to examination-oriented learning in theoretical areas while other aspects are rather neglected. One of the prime tasks before teacher education system is to motivate teachers to perform their traditional role as community leaders and guides and agents of social change. In a system which is already huge and is still expanding, this remains a complex task. It also highlights the need for research in the system. Research in teacher education was undertaken only in the post-independence period, and the first research study undertaken by an Indian University was in 1953. Five surveys of research in education have already been published in the country in the years 1974, 1979, 1987, 1991, and 1997. There has, however, been a growing concern over the quality of research. Some of the areas include choices of profession, qualifications and socio-economic background of teachers, demography critiques of teacher professional development and interests of teacher educators, field and laboratory experiences, use of information technology, and other personal relations during teacher preparation (Rajput & Walia, 1997). In a comprehensive study of the profile of teacher educators (Walia, 1999) involving a sample of 323 teacher educators drawn from 24 States in the country, some very interesting findings have been obtained. In this particular sample consisting of 100 elementary and 177 teacher educators, 53.4% were males and 46.6% were females. The percentage of urban teacher educators was 76 and those from rural area only 24; 83% of elementary and 63% secondary teacher educators did not have any published work to their credit. Out of the 150 elementary teacher educators, only 11 undertook research studies and out of 177 secondary teacher educators, only 22% undertook sponsored research. This presents a grim picture of professionalism and opportunities to develop the same. The suggestions offered for improvement in the quality of teacher education were expectedly related to their work situation and opportunities available to them. Broadly, these relate to the providing of adequate infrastructural facilities, materials, journals, opportunities for professional development, grants for research, institutional visits, encouragement to research, and improvement-oriented evaluation 104 KIRAN WALIA of teacher educators (besides self-evaluation). Teacher educators also were keen to participate in innovations and in other creative ventures. National standards for student teaching were also needed to be evolved. A closer relationship amongst the teacher educator, the student teacher and the school was also considered essential as was the need to take up action research by the educators. They were of the opinion that teacher education system needs to infuse much needed dynamism and creativity in teacher preparation at every stage (NCTE, 1995).
5. CRITIQUE
We are confronted by a situation in which changes in teaching are intensively sought. However, without relevant changes in teacher education programs these are going to be limited in scope and viability (Ben-Peretz, 2000, p. 216). A review of attempts to reform school education clearly reveals a considerable mismatch between policy initiatives and the corresponding changes at implementation level in teacher preparation. The foremost priority during the last five decades has been to achieve universal elementary education, which requires a very large number of trained and qualified teachers who could unhesitatingly commit themselves to serve in each and every part of the country. This has not yet been achieved. Teacher education is crucial for the achievement of universal access to effective primary education in developing countries (Coultas & Lewin, 2002). Demographic distribution of teacher education institutions is urban-biased; so is the ratio of the output which too is highly biased towards young persons from urban areas and middle class families. Once trained, they are unwilling to serve in distant and rural areas. Consequently, school education suffers in several aspects. Teacher education curricula invariably emphasize involvement of communities in school functioning. Policies have been formulated to implement the same but, in implementation, it remains an anathema in the system. While India has a very strong tradition of community-based education, the same was destroyed during the period of alien rulers and was not revived immediately after independence, which created the most appropriate opportunity to do so. Relationship between teachers and parents still remains distant specially in these uncertain times where parents are difficult and students are demanding (Hargreaves, 2000). The mutuality of teacher- community has not been effectively established. The community, which traditionally took upon itself the responsibilities to look after the teachers and school education, has now left it to governments and private entrepreneurs. On the part of teachers, particularly teacher educators, dependence still remains on the age-old established practices of teaching strategies and methodologies. Teacher educators continue to practice these, often oblivious of the fact that so much has changed in respect of conceptual perceptions and practical utilities, not only in the content but also in transactional strategies and techniques and technologies. The accepted practice of transacting only the prescribed curriculum without sensitivity to cultural-specific pedagogy still persist in spite of efforts to change the same. Change, if any, is only marginal. REFORM OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN INDIA: TRENDS AND CHALLENGES 105
Efforts to reform teacher education have been on traditional lines. Change of curricula, usually initiated at the central level followed by similar exercises at the state level, gets considerably diluted by the time it reaches the classrooms in teacher education institutions. There have been considerable delays in providing professional support for the change by way of awareness generation programs, training strategies, and supply of appropriate textual materials as well as inputs for utilizing new educational technology. Surprisingly, the teachers, who enjoyed the highest place in the social hierarchy in India, are still being trusted by the communities and the people. They are somehow also held responsible for the decline in educational quality. Teachers, on the other hand, severely complain of not being taken into confidence whenever policy formulation takes place. According to them, changes are only thrust upon them, and consequently their implementability suffers as these are not finalized by practitioners. Routinization has greatly hampered the outcomes of orientation programs for serving school teachers in the past. The continuity between initial and in-service training has not yet been achieved. There are a large number of teachers who may not have attended any orientation program for over decades. The non-availability of adequate teaching learning material is also experienced in most of the institutions and situations. Considerable demotivation exists among teachers and teacher educators, who are concerned with their own problems pertaining to career advancement, placement opportunities, professional development, and transparency in upward mobility scenario. Teachers have generally resisted evaluation of their performance in any manner. The system has not been able to evolve and provide professional feedback to the teachers and thereby contribute to their professional growth. The systems of management and administration have remained unchanged and efforts to convert it into a professional support system have not succeeded adequately. In view of the numbers involved, teachers are often considered a liability on the state budget. Though never explicitly acknowledged, efforts in the recent past to accept the appointment of under-qualified and untrained local youths even in those areas where qualified and trained teachers are available indicate this particular aspect. While as a one-time measure in the context of universalization of elementary education, there could be justification for para-teachers, the same logic cannot be applied to areas and regions where suitably trained manpower is available. India still has institutions which prepare a complete teacher: academically competent, professionally committed, and intrinsically willing to discharge his/her duties. Such cases, however, are very few. Recent years have seen an erosion of emphasis on residential teacher education institutions. Essentially, there is a serious need to ensure acceptance of the criticality of teacher education not only by the policy-makers but also by the implementers at the grass-root level. 106 KIRAN WALIA
6. REFERENCES
Agarkar, S. C., & Pradhan, H. C. (1998). In-service training of mathematics teachers in ashram schools. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and Development, 1(1), 65-72. Ananda, G. (1996). Absenteeism, stagnation and drop-outs in Tribal areas: A case study of ashram school in Andhra Pradesh. The Primary Teacher, 21(2), 11-19. Ben-Peretz, M. (2000). When teaching changes; can teacher education be far behind? Prospects XXX(2), 215-224. Ben-Pertez, M. (2001). The impossible role of teacher education in a changing world. Journal of Teacher Education, 52(1), 48-56. Coultas, J. C., & Lewin, K. M. (2002). Who becomes a teacher? The characteristics of student teachers in four countries. International Journal of Educational Development, 22(3&4), 243-260. DOE. (1995-1996). Development of education in India. New Delhi: Author. Duggal, J. (1992). Access of scheduled castes girls to elementary education in rural Haryana. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. Gopalan, K. (2003). Some quality issues in teacher education. University News, 41(7), 1-3. Hargreaves, A. (2000). Professionals and parents: Personal adversaries or public allies. Prospects, XXX(2), 202-213. Lakhera, S. K. (1986). Educational problems of the scheduled tribes people studying in junior and secondary schools of district Chamoli. Unpublished doctorial dissertation, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Uttar Pradesh, India. Naik, J. P. (1941). Report on wastage and stagnation in primary schools. Bombay: Provision Board of Primary Education. Naik, J. P. (1975). Equality, quality and quantity: The elusive triangle in Indian education. Bombay: Allied. NCERT. (1978). Teacher education curriculum: A framework. New Delhi: Author. NCERT. (1988). National curriculum for elementary and secondary education: A framework. New Delhi: Author. NCTE. (1995). Professional status of teachers. New Delhi: Author. NCTE. (1998). Curriculum framework for quality teacher education. New Delhi: Author. NCTE. (1999). Competency based and commitment oriented teacher education. New Delhi: Author. Pandit, R. V. (1989). Girl dropouts in school education: Causes and remedial measures. Pune, India: Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training. Rajput, J. S., & Walia, K. (1997). An agenda for research in teacher education. Journal of Higher Education, 20(1), 45-56. Rajput, J. S., & Walia, K. (1998). Assessing teacher effectiveness in India: Overview and critical appraisal. Prospects, XXVIII(1), 137-150. Ray, J. (1989). An intensive study into the problems which lead girls to dropout from high school classes V-X in Cuttack district. Unpublished master’s thesis, Indian institute of Education, Pune, India. Tripathy, P. K. (1991). Cognitive functioning. Affective adjustment and academic achievement: A study of the Tribal children in Orissa. Unpublished doctorial dissertation, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India. Weiner, M. (1991). The child and the state in India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Walia, K. (1999). Profile of teacher educators. New Delhi: NCTE. RICHARD BEACH
THE QUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS
The NBPTS Model
College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, United States
As a teacher educator for the past 30 years, I have worked with teachers who have taught for many years with little or no formal recognition for their success as professional teachers from members of their own profession. While members of other professions — doctors, lawyers, accountants, and even college professors — are often recognized as being outstanding members of their profession, there has been no formal mechanism for recognizing accomplished teachers, recognition based on teachers’ adherence to high standards for what it means to be an accomplished teacher. This lack of recognition for accomplished teachers led in 1987 to the creation of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).
1. THE NATIONAL BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS
NBPTS operates as an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization funded by foundation contributions and the federal government. The majority of its 63-member board of directors are classroom teachers. NBPTS seeks to accomplish its mission in three ways: through formulating subject matter standards based on what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do; through operating a certification system for National Board Certification (NBC); and through promoting ways of fostering professional development through NBC in schools. (For summaries, see Gordon, 2002; Harman, 2001; see also the web-site of NBPTS - http://www.nbpts.org.) NBPTS was created to not only recognize accomplished teachers, but to also address the public’s concern about the perceived lack of professionalism in teaching. NBPTS addressed this concern by sponsoring groups of teachers to formulate what it means to be a professional teacher based on standards within particular subject matter areas. It also addressed this concern by proposing reforms designed to enhance the professional status of teachers.
109 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 109—126. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 110 RICHARD BEACH
NBPTS also serves as an alternative model of professional development that focuses on teacher self-assessment through development of a teacher portfolio over an extended period of time. This model differs from other, alternative models of professional development, models that may not foster systematic self-reflection leading to change in teachers (Darling-Hammond & Synder, 2000). In some cases, teachers participate in workshops or in-service courses that may not necessarily involve long-term, systematic reflection about their teaching. In contrast to the workshop or in-service course professional development models, the NBPTS portfolio model requires teachers to collect and reflect on their teaching practices and student work as consistent with standards formulated by their colleagues. Moreover, in many cases, teachers work together on compiling their portfolios, providing feedback to each other about their work, with the collaborative sharing resulting in focused discussions about teaching (Pershey, 2001). Offered on a voluntary basis, NBC complements, but does not replace, state licensing of teachers. The standards as spelled out in NBPTS do not have any legal standing. While state-licensing systems set entry-level standards for novice teachers, NBC establishes advanced standards for experienced teachers. Although NBC has been under development for 15 years, only a small percentage of America’s teachers have elected to undergo the process. However, there has been a five-fold increase in the number of NBC teachers in the past five years (up to 2002) to approximately 25,000 NBC teachers in November 2002, with a projected target of 100,000 NBC teachers by 2006. Candidates must hold a baccalaureate degree, have a minimum of three years of teaching, and must have held a valid state teaching license for those three years. Candidates seek certification in areas organized by seven different grade level areas as recorded in Table 1 (certification areas approved as of 2002 are in italics; those in plain font are under development; a special education certification is also under development). For each of these certification areas, specific standards have been developed, constituting what accomplished teachers in these areas should know and be able to do. These standards also addresses the same five core propositions regarding what NBPTS believes about accomplished teaching — that teachers: a) are committed to students and their learning, b) know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students, c) are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning, d) think systematically about their practice and learn from experience, and e) are members of learning communities. The standards reflecting these propositions are written by standards boards comprised of teachers, many of whom were Board certified, teacher educators, and representatives of relevant professional organizations. It is assumed that the standards reflect current curriculum and instruction theory; standards are rewritten every ten years to maintain their currency. For example, I served on the first standards board for Early Adolescence Language Arts (EALA) certification in the early 1990s that was developed for use in 1993-94. That board formulated standards related to teachers’ ability to address development needs of early adolescents and to devise engaging, integrated instruction in reading, writing, literature, language, THE QUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS 111 speech, drama, and media for students ages 11–15 (largely the middle school/junior high level). I also served on a second EALA standards board in 1999/2000. In revising the earlier standards, we needed to address the changes in such areas as the diversity of language use, media literacy, issues of assessment, and cross- disciplinary middle-school curriculum integration (NBPTS, 2001c).
Table 1. NBPTS Certification Areas and Grade Levels
Age Range and Certification Areas 1. Early Childhood (Ages 3–8): Generalist 2. Early Childhood through Young Adulthood: Exceptional Needs (Ages 0–21+) Library Media (Ages 3–18+) 3. Middle Childhood (Ages 7–12): Generalist Mathematics, Science, Social Studies–History 4. Early Childhood & Middle Childhood (Ages 3–12): Art, English As A New Language, English Language Arts, Guidance and Counseling, Music, Physical Education, World Languages Other than English 5. Early Adolescence (Ages 11–15): English Language Arts, Generalist, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies–History 6. Adolescence & Young Adulthood (Ages 14–18+): English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies–History 7. Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood (Ages 11–18+): Art, Career and Technical Education, English as a New Language, Guidance and Counseling, Health, Music, Physical Education, World Languages Other than English
2. ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH STANDARDS-BASED REFORMS
Underlying the argument for the value of NBPTS is the assumption that standards serves to improve the quality of the teaching profession, as well as all areas of education (Avery, Beach, & Coler, 2002; Fuhrman, 2001). One issue has to do with the idea of teaching standards as representing the standardization of teaching that prescribes certain ways of teaching over unusual, deviant modes of teaching. As Serafini (2002) notes, this standardization is based on “identifying practices that are exemplary and then prescribing other teachers to implement these practices” (p. 325). He argues that this prescription emphasizes “technical rationality, where teachers are expected to diagnose students’ problems and apply the appropriate, externally devised prescriptions to said problems” (p. 325). This formulation of teaching standards as reflecting certain models of teacher effectiveness presupposes that it is possible to define effective teaching in terms of empirical evidence regarding instructional factors most likely to promote student learning. However, building a case for what constitutes effective teaching on an empirical basis can be difficult, because empirical evidence can be framed in ways that reflects particular ideological orientations (Cochran-Smith & Fries, 2001). For example, advocates for direct instruction may point to empirical evidence that direct 112 RICHARD BEACH instruction is most likely to lead to improved test scores, leading to the belief that effective teachers are those who employ direct instruction. Advocates for more constructivist, facilitative instruction may point to evidence indicating the efficacy of that approach, leading to the belief that effective teachers are those who employ a constructivist, facilitative approach. Thus, notions of effective teaching are often relative to larger philosophical or ideological notions of education, regardless of the existence of empirical evidence to support certain pedagogical methods over other methods. Thus, a set of teaching standards presupposes a particular philosophical or ideological perspective that may not be shared by all members of the teaching profession. The formulation of teaching standards therefore further presupposes that there is a presumed consensus or agreement in the profession as to what constitutes effective teaching (Tremmel, 2000). Achieving some consensus about what and how a subject matter area should be taught can be difficult given the wide diversity of teaching philosophies within and outside the profession. The lack of consensus related to standards spelled out by NBPTS is evident in critiques of NBPTS by conservative groups, such as the National Council on Teacher Quality (Poliakoff, 2001), which charge that the standards do not focus on the teaching of subject matter content and fail to link instruction to student achievement as measured on standardized tests. (The National Council on Teacher Quality, with support from the United States Department of Education, is creating its own alternative certification system based on students’ performance on standardized tests.) These critiques are countered by arguments that standardized tests are not valid measures of the complex learning that occur in classes taught by highly accomplished teachers (Darling-Hammond & Snyder, 2000). Despite these difficulties in formulating standards and the larger concept of the standardization of teaching, they do provide some barometer for evaluating the quality of professional practices, as is the case with the legal, medical, nursing, aviation, accounting, architecture, or real estate professions. Each of these professions has developed a certification process based on knowledge and competency associated with a set of standards. While there may be disagreements about what it means to be an effective lawyer, doctor, nurse, pilot, etc., there generally is enough of a consensus regarding accomplished practices in those professions to formulate professional standards underlying certification or licensure in those professions. In my own experience of formulating standards on the Early Adolescent Language Arts boards, teachers certainly have philosophical disagreements about what constitutes an “accomplished” language arts teacher, but they also share enough common beliefs based on their own experiences, shared theories, and research to agree on certain standards. For example, in formulating standards related to grammar instruction, some teachers on the board advocated the need for a standard based on direct instruction in traditional school grammar. However, most teachers, drawing on research as well as their own classroom experience indicating that such instruction has little impact on improving writing instruction, formulated the standard to read “accomplished teachers are aware that grammar and usage are most effectively taught in the context of writing for real THE QUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS 113 purposes and audiences” (NBPTS, 2001c, p. 42). In this instance, they were drawing on not only an empirical base related to writing instruction, but also their own shared experiences as professionals.
3. THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS
Each certification area has its own certification process based on standards for that area. The process includes completion of a portfolio and an examination. This process is currently administered by the Educational Testing Corporation, and must meet what is referred to as the APPLE criteria: that the certification must be administratively feasible, professionally credible, publicly acceptable, legally defensible, and economically affordable (Pearlman, 2002). To achieve a valid and reliable assessment that meets these criteria, NBPTS employs a series of portfolio tasks based on direct evidence of teachers’ work related to video tapes of their classroom instruction, their analysis of selected student work, and a record of their professional accomplishments/work with families and community. For example, for the Middle Childhood Generalist certification (for teachers teaching students ages 7-12), candidates provide examples of their assignment prompts and examples of two students’ writing in social studies, as well as their analysis of the students’ writing in terms of student performance and progress in learning, their own efforts to address individual differences in learning, and how the teacher might have provided alternative prompts or instruction. They also provide lesson plans for a science unit and examples of student work, along with reflection on how that unit served to foster students’ understanding of ideas related to science. And, they provide a 15-minute video-tape of their teaching that demonstrates their ability to pose a topic and engage students in small group discussions about that topic, along with reflection on ways in which their instruction served to foster a sense of a classroom community. Finally, they furnish a 20-minute video-tape in which they demonstrate their ability to teach a mathematics concept and engage students in an activity involving application of that concept. Candidates must also document their professional activity by providing a log of all of their engagements with school, district, community, state, or national professional meetings or organizations. Teachers document their work with families by providing logs of contacts and communications with students’ families. Beginning in the Fall of the year in which they are seeking certification, teachers receive a set of instructions regarding completion of their portfolios over a five- month period, along with a deadline for submitting the completed portfolio for scoring. Teachers often devote two-to-three hundred hours to collecting and analyzing their student work, documenting professional/community work, video- taping their teaching, and writing portfolio entries, often on weekend and vacation breaks, certainly a challenge for busy teachers. In completing the portfolio tasks, teachers reflect on the degree to which their instruction addresses the standards related to a specific task. Candidates learn to “write for the standards” by considering how their writing addressed particular standards. They are therefore comparing their own teacher practices with what is 114 RICHARD BEACH considered to be effective practices in their specific field. As one candidate, Carol Hines, noted in describing her writing experience: Sometimes I inserted my standards as I wrote; other times I annotated my standards after I finished the written commentary…I kept tally of the times I addressed each standard to see if I adequately demonstrated my teaching practice…This practice helped me to evaluate how clear, concise, and convincing my evidence was (Barone, 2002, p. 23). For example, for the Early Adolescent Language Arts certification, in reflecting on their feedback to students writing, teachers refer to the standards which state that “a teacher’s direct feedback about student work — tailored to the individual student’s piece of writing — helps students realize the impact that their words have on the reader and thus helps students think about how a specific composition might be changed to achieve communicative intent better” (NBPTS, 2001c, p. 43). Based on this standard, teachers then reflect on their own written comments on their students’ written drafts in terms of whether that feedback helped their students revise their drafts to more clearly communicate their intended meaning. These portfolio entries are then each scored by two NBC teachers who are certified in the same areas which they are scoring; the teachers work for three to four weeks in six different sites throughout the United States. To achieve high levels of reliability based on inter-rater agreement, these teacher teams only score one portfolio task as opposed to all of the tasks for an individual candidate. In one study, analysis of the reliability of scoring for the Early Childhood/Generalist certification indicated that there was a lack of redundancy across the different exercises and the ratings profiles were relatively consistent — that is, ratings were either consistently high or consistently low across different exercises (Myford & Engelhard, 2001). Assessors are trained for five days to insure that they are applying appropriate evaluation criteria for assessing entries on a four-point rating scale, with a “3” or “4” rating constituting a “pass.” Trainers randomly compare their scores with assessors’ scores to insure high levels of reliability. If two assessors disagree by more than 1.25 points, then a trainer also scores the entry — if the three scores are within two points on the scale, the scores are averaged, with the trainer’s score counting twice. If there is a wider disparity than two points, the trainer’s score prevails (Pearlman, 2002). During the spring and summer, candidates are also tested on their knowledge of current theories of teaching in their field at one of 300 testing centers located throughout the United States. They respond to six questions related to instructional issues requiring them to describe their application of their pedagogical knowledge. Prior to the examination, candidates are informed about the general nature of the questions and provided with some related materials so that they can prepare in advance by reading journal articles or planning possible answers beforehand. Candidates are then informed as to whether or not they “passed” the certification, and their scores on each task. Over the years, about half of candidates have achieved certification. Candidates who do not pass can bank the tasks on which they received passing ratings and have three years to redo portfolio entries on which they did not pass or to retake the entire assessment. It is estimated that about half of those candidates who did not initially pass do pass, so that, theoretically, about 75% of all candidates may eventually achieve certification (Podgursky, 2001) THE QUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS 115
4. THE ROLE OF PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT IN FOSTERING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
One of the primary justifications for NBC is that the portfolio assessment at the heart of the certification provides enough evidence to make a valid and reliable high-stakes decision regarding teaching ability (Darling-Hammond & Snyder, 2000). Previous research on uses of portfolios indicates that portfolios foster reflection on one’s teaching, encourage experimentation with new teaching methods, build confidence about one’s teaching ability, and foster an appreciation for the use of portfolios with their own students (Darling-Hammond & Snyder, 2000; Zeichner & Wray, 2001). Research specific to the influence of NBPTS portfolios on teaching indicates that teachers continue to employ their reflection and experiment with new methods, particularly in adopting performance assessment of students (Athanases, 1994). A number of studies indicate that NBC teachers perceive the portfolio tasks as having a strong, positive influence on their teaching (Athanases, 1994; Haynes, 1995; Heller & Gordon, 2002; Sato, 2000; Tracz et al., 1995). This research has larger implications for using portfolios in all forms of pre- and in-service professional development. A primary component of the NBPTS portfolio self-assessment is the process of applying the standards to one’s own teaching. In my own training experience with candidates, we describe this as “writing to the standards.” This requires teachers to have a clear understanding of the standards and to reflect on their teaching in terms of these standards. In studies on teacher perceptions of the certification process, some teachers report being overwhelmed by the standards as implying their own inadequacy or their need to make changes to address the standards. One Early Adolescent Science candidate in the Heller and Gordon (2002) study noted that: When you first apply … you already think that you’re pretty good. Then you read the standards and you realize, “Oh, maybe I’m not that good after all.” In the process…you basically rip yourself apart … and you feel like you’re a much better teacher after you’ve put yourself back together again … That’s when you realize that the process is really set up not to reward you for being a good teacher, but to improve you. (p. 6) Teachers note that in applying the standards to their teaching, they began to experiment with new instructional methods. One Early Childhood Generalist candidate in the Heller and Gordon (2002) study noted: Here I am with this portfolio entry which says, “emphasis on family partnerships,” and I start thinking, “Well, how could I get parents into the classroom?” … Well the unit that I built had to do with family history and photography, and I wrote a letter asking if people would be able to either bring in family photographs themselves and talk, or send them with their kids. I must say, I had the assumption that parents would send stuff in. Seventeen out of twenty families showed up in the classroom! (p. 8) In another study (Sato, 2000), an Adolescence and Young Adulthood English candidate noted: 116 RICHARD BEACH
I hadn’t done collaborative stuff, you know, small group work. I guess I did more small group work in trying to get a video of the small group work. I set up more lessons where my kids were doing more small group work than they had ever done before and, actually, that worked better than I thought. I might do more of that. (p. 6) The portfolio tasks requiring candidates to contrast case-study descriptions of their students’ performance encouraged them to attend to individual differences in their students. As a fifth grade teacher stated, “I learned that I need to take time to look at each student individually rather than in their group or in their whole class” (Sato, 2000, p. 8). Teachers also report on the value of observing videos of their own instruction, something they perceive as quite different from observing other teachers. One Adolescence and Young Adulthood Mathematics candidate noted: When I actually sat, I had to be alone, and watched the video the first couple of times, and saw what I was doing that I felt really good about, and saw what I was doing that I wished I hadn’t. It was really different, because I’ve seen so many people teach, to watch myself and be as critical as I want was really growth-inducing. (Sato, 2000, p. 14) And, teachers appreciated the fact that writing about reasons for their instructional decisions encouraged them to reflect on their tacit pedagogical knowledge and beliefs about teaching. As a high school social studies teacher noted, “The writing helped me clarify my own thinking about education, and it helped me clarify my own philosophy; it helped me refine it, and I think it will make me more effective with kids” (Sato, 2000, p. 10).
5. TEACHER PORTFOLIO REFLECTION: AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE
I would like to demonstrate the value of the act of documenting one’s teaching through written portfolio reflection. I would argue that the kind of detailed descriptions about individual student’s abilities, work, and instructional strategies addressing individual differences itself fosters a valued kind of pedagogical thinking (Bohen, 2001). I will illustrate this process by citing the example of one National-Board Certified teacher, Denise Rahne, writing about Nikki, one of her 10th grade student’s work as part of an entry for the “Analysis of Student Growth in Reading and Writing” task for the 2001/2002 Adolescence and Young Adulthood English Language Arts certification. To complete this entry, she had to describe Nikki’s writing and reading abilities reflected in an essay about the play, Antigone. She also had to address how the instruction sought to address individual differences in student work and abilities. Denise notes that Nikki “is typically a ‘B’ student, she is insecure about her abilities. She often visits me over her lunch period to make sure she did her homework right or to get extra help.” She describes Nikki as a fluent reader, she perceives evidence of her insecurity in the fact that “critical thinking and analysis elicits her insecurities; she looks to me for the answers and gets frustrated when I encourage her to take risks and make her own assessment of the text…more complex pieces of literature seem to mystify her when it comes to theme or authorial THE QUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS 117 intent.” Given Nikki’s insecurities, Denise sets an instructional goal that “she needs to independently analyze and evaluate texts, improving her abilities through multi- layered assignments that build on her comprehension of the text and gradually add critical analysis.” In analyzing Nikki’s essay on Antigone, Denise notes that while she provides supporting evidence for her interpretation of a theme, “she stops short of analysis by failing to articulate how Sophocles conveys that theme.” Based on this analysis, she notes how she provided feedback to her essay that focused on her need to “address the prompt designed to focus her analysis on Sophocles’s theme of loyalty.” She also conducted an individual conference with Nikki, because she is “an aural learner who benefits more from conversations than written feedback of examples.” Denise also identifies a similar lack of confidence in Nikki’s writing: “She instinctively brainstorms ideas, organizes her work, and has a strong knack for elaboration, but she often doubts her skills. Her ability to focus and organize her written work has grown considerably through our one-on-one conferences over lunch and during the study hall I offer my students every Tuesday night.” Based on this observation, she formulated instructional goals for Nikki as “maintaining a cohesive focus throughout each essay, clearly and fully addressing the writing prompt, and improving her command of language rules with an eye toward individual style.” She describes instructional methods designed to address these writing problems: reviews of student writing in terms of strengths and weaknesses: “I used one of Nikki’s essays for a class review, and she valued the feedback so much that she became a regular volunteer.” Given Nikki’s difficulty in formulating thesis statements in respond to prompts, she had her class practice writing of thesis statements in response to prompts. And, to encourage Nikki and other students to attend to problems with language, she employed a class newsletter for parents. She identities a range of editing revisions in Nikki’s article for this newsletter that reflected her use of an editing rubric. And, she notes improvements in her writing that demonstrate the value of her instruction. In reflecting on her overall growth, Denise notes that “Nikki demonstrates more independence and confidence with each essay she writes, and she consistently addresses the writing prompts.” She attributes her growth to the use of “interactive dialogue about student’s work. Students regularly convey their plans to me, share drafts with peers, reflect on their writing, respond to my comments, and use feedback as they make revisions.” At the same time, she perceives the need to continue improving her instruction through the use of “reflective dialogue”: Part of my mission is to empower my students to find their own voices and develop their independent ideas.” Denise’s reflections serve as a mirror of “personal practical knowledge” (Craig, 2003) about teaching based on her acquired teaching experience. She can define Nikki’s unique learning difficulties—her lack of self-confidence, need for reassurance, preference for aural modes of learning, and her difficulty in formulating organizing theses in her writing, and her language use—all of which reflects her ability to attend to individual differences in learning. Given her awareness of Nikki’s Zone of Proximal Development, she can then define instructional strategies 118 RICHARD BEACH for addressing these difficulties and identities changes in Nikki’s reading and writing skills resulting from use of these strategies. Engaging in this process helps an accomplished teacher such as Denise articulate her “personal practical knowledge” (Craig, 2003) by making explicit what is often tacit, unarticulated knowledge. In doing so, she recognizes what she has learned from her teaching experience and professional training, as well as areas in which she wants to continue to improve. Another aspect of Denise’s writing is that she is recounting teaching events or episodes in a narrative mode through setting the scene of her classroom and the norms operating in her classroom, introducing students, describing learning events, noting unusual deviations from norms, and reflecting on the meaning of the events. All of this represents the uses of narrative as a way of knowing that functions to foster teacher reflection (Clandinin & Connelly, 1999; Johnson & Golombek, 2002; Lyons & Laboskey, 2002; Ritchie & Wilson, 2002). As Bruner (2002) has argued, narrative provides a way of organizing experience; it is thus a way of knowing. Rather than stating opinions, generalizations, or “truths” in a search for what is, narratives directly portray settings, characters, and events in a search for what it is like to engage in a particular experience. Written narratives lend themselves well to reflection on teaching because they revolve around the relationships between classroom activities, plans, and goals. Narratives dramatize the fact that activities and plans may or may not fulfill one’s goals, leading to reflections as to reasons for the fact that goals were not fulfilled. A key element of this reflection involves justification for one’s uses of certain teaching strategies—formulating reasons why one employs certain techniques to foster student learning. Through the process of formulating reasons and justifications, teachers develop confidence in defining reasons for their practices (Lustick, 2002). The portfolio writing produced by candidates in a school can also be used to create a repository of teaching writing that can be used to develop what Cheryl Craig defines as a “school portfolio” (Craig, 2003). These “school portfolios” not only provide examples of effective teaching, but they also demonstrate the ways in which the larger school context supports this effective teaching. New teachers or Board candidates can refer to this school portfolio for examples of successful writing entries. Teachers and administrators in a school can review the writing to identity instances of successful instruction and factors in the school contributing to those successes. As Craig notes: In school portfolio development, the process publicly involves teachers and administrators working together in a collaborative manner to determine evidentiary material reflecting their notions of good teaching and good schools. Embedded in this idea is the presentation of student work and student stories that portray how the school- based educators’ theories become realized in their practical work with students. In short, the development of a school portfolio embodies not only the continuous life of a school, it demonstrates—in powerful and connected ways—the continuous growth of individuals—administrators, teachers, and students—within. (pp. 126-127). Having a written repository of materials can also lead to school-wide reflection based on inquiry questions that leads to further reflection on the documents, THE QUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS 119 questions such as, what has been the influence of professional development training on reports of teachers’ classroom practices, or, to what degree to teachers’ address differences in students’ cultural backgrounds in their lesson planning? A “school portfolio” can also be used to document a narrative history of a school’s development as reflected in the experiences of its exemplary teachers. Overall a period of time, teachers may describe increased evidence of support due to improvements in a school’s administration. And, this data can be used to provide information for external reviews of schools given the increased focus on performance assessment in accreditation reviews.
6. ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH USES OF TEACHER PORTFOLIOS
There are, however, several issues associated with the use of portfolios in the NBPTS certification. In my own experience, one limitation in using the specific certification tasks as a model for teacher portfolio reflection for professional development is that the NBPTS portfolio tasks are highly structured consistent with the need to establish validity and reliability in a high-stakes assessment process. In using portfolios with pre- and in-service teachers in other contexts, it is often useful to provide for more latitude about selecting their own evidence and formulating their own entries (Barton & Collins, 1993). Another issue has to do with how candidates rhetorically present themselves in their portfolios. In my own experience, some candidates are reluctant to criticize their own teaching or cite instances of problematic instruction, because they assume that they are not presenting themselves in a positive light. However, one of the strengths of the teaching portfolio is that it can foster critical self-reflection of one’s teaching, something that scorers do not necessarily perceive as a deficit. In using portfolios for teacher improvement in any context, what is more important is how a candidate frames and reflects on perceived deficiencies in terms of entertaining ways of improving their instruction. Another issue related to the use of portfolios is the degree to which differences in candidates’ writing ability becomes a factor in achieving certification. Research on the influence of candidates’ writing ability on their pass rate found that some teachers who were judged to be exemplary teachers did not achieve certification, because they experienced difficulty in articulating their work in writing (Burroughs, 2001; Burroughs, Schwartz, & Hendricks-Lee, 2000). The analysis also indicated that those teachers who did achieve certification had learned to adopt or mimic the language or discourse of the standards documents — to talk the talk of Board standards, even though that language or discourse may represent only one of many ways of describing effective teaching. Still another issue has been the difficulty of teachers of color in obtaining certification. In 2001, while 53% of white candidates obtained certification, only 22% of African-American candidates and 38% of Hispanic candidates obtained certification (Gordon, 2002). There have been a number of different explanations for these disparities. One study indicated that the certification process itself did not seem to influence differences in the pass rate of teachers of color (Bond, 1998). One 120 RICHARD BEACH possible explanation for the disparities is that teachers of color are more likely to be teaching in poor, urban districts which often (but not necessarily) lack institutional and professional development opportunities (Ladson-Billings & Darling-Hammond, 2000). Another explanation is that the cultural practices and differences operating in urban classrooms constituting teacher effectiveness in these contexts may not be captured in the portfolio assessment (Ladson-Billings & Darling-Hammond, 2000).
7. RESEARCH ON THE VALIDITY AND BENEFITS OF THE NBPTS
To insure the validity of what is a high-stakes assessment process, NBPTS has commissioned a number of studies (NBPTS, 2001a, 2001b). Surveys of teachers who completed the process in 2000/2001 indicated that these teachers perceived NBC as an excellent professional development experience; as having a strong effect on their teaching and on their students; and as leading to positive interaction with other teachers, administrators, and communities. Almost half of the 5,000 NBC teachers who achieved certification before 2000 agreed that NBC teachers are interested in doing more to help schools and districts improve teacher quality (NBPTS, 2001a, b). Virtually all of the NBC teachers were involved in at least one leadership activity to improve the quality of teaching or to boost student learning in their classrooms. Many had also contributed to the development of peer review evaluation programs of their colleagues or to teacher preparation programs. In a major validity study (Bond, Jaeger, Smith, & Hattie, 2000), researchers extracted 13 dimensions of good teaching from 200,000 studies, principles such as “experienced expert teachers adopt a problem-solving stance to their work” or “experienced expert teachers aim at creating an optimal classroom climate for learning.” They then analyzed the teaching of 65 teachers — 31 who were certified and 34 who failed the certification — using a three-hour observation of teaching, a survey of the teacher’s students, and samples of student work and writing. On 11 of the 13 dimensions, the NBC teachers had statistically higher ratings, particularly in the dimensions of having an extensive knowledge of subject matter, the ability to adapt and improvise instruction, the ability to integrate subjects and guide students in linking prior knowledge to the subject at hand, the ability to formulate lessons that are challenging and engaging, and the ability to promote academic achievement by emphasizing both personal accomplishment and intellectual engagement. Almost three in four of the NBC teachers’ student work samples reflected a high level of comprehension of the concepts being taught, contrasted with almost three in ten of the work samples of students taught by non-NBC teachers. A critique of this study by Podgursky (2001) noted that the study did not include evidence of gains in student test scores, even though the meta-analysis of the 13 measures of teacher effectiveness was based on achievement test scores. He also noted that, in examining student performance, there was no attempt to control for factors such as students’ SES or previous achievement levels. Because 44% of the NBC teachers reported that they were working with middle to upper-middle class students, compared with 21% for the unsuccessful candidates, it may be the case that the differences were due to differences in the socio-economic status of their students THE QUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS 121 as opposed to differences in their teaching ability. This again echoes the larger issue of assessing teaching effectiveness across widely disparate teaching contexts in which there are wide disparities in teachers’ opportunity to make their own professional decisions through assuming leadership roles in schools associated with scheduling, class placements, the use of specialists, hiring, and the preparation of budgets. Moreover, funding disparities result in wide variations in class sizes and technological resources. And, districts and states vary in the degree to which instruction is geared towards achieving gains in standardized test scores, often undermining teachers’ professional autonomy to formulate their own curriculum (Fuhrman, 2001). There is only limited research on the impact of NBC on enhancing teacher professionalism at the district or state level. In one study, California NBC teachers noted that the process serves to boost their self-confidence, to help them develop improved curriculum, articulate their goals, mentor and collaborate with other teachers, evaluate students, and draw on educational research (Belden, 2002). Fewer teachers perceived the process as helpful in treating students equitably, working with parents, or taking advantage of community resources. While teachers believed that they benefited themselves from the process, less than a third believed that their colleagues or school benefited. Moreover, while most of the NBC teachers in the study were already serving in leadership roles in their schools, they were not assuming some of the new leadership roles created by the state — such as work with the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program created by California to enhance professionalism. As NBPTS moves into its second decade of granting certifications, one of the major challenges is how to balance the costs associated with effective portfolio scoring of the increasing number of candidates with the principle of equal access and opportunity to perform. Considering how to simplify or reduce the amount of portfolio data that needs to be scored to make a single high-stakes decision leads to the question as to how much evidence candidates need to provide in order to make a valid and reliable decision about that candidate (Pearlman, 2002). One change that occurred in 2002 is that the portfolio tasks have been reduced to four — three classroom-based entries with two of them involving videotape reflections of classrooms and one involving analysis of student work, and the fourth involving documentation of work with families, the community, colleagues, and the profession.
8. ATTEMPTS TO ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION
The federal government, states, and school districts play an essential role in encouraging teachers to participate in NBC. Teachers need some incentives to invest time and money (the fee is $2,300.00) in completing the certification, particularly given the possibility that they may not be successful. Through the Candidate Subsidy Program, the U.S. federal government provides candidates with from $500 to $1,150 toward the candidate’s fee. To encourage participation, states have agreed 122 RICHARD BEACH to cover the costs and provide salary increases. Florida offers a 10% bonus for ten years plus an additional 10% if board-certified teachers agree to mentor other teachers. Ohio provides an annual bonus of $2,500 for ten years. North Carolina offers a 12% annual salary increase for the life of the certificate. Illinois teachers receive funds for assisting candidates who teach in academically-at risk schools or schools located in economically disadvantaged communities. Some states allow teachers to waive other recertification requirements or to automatically transfer their teaching license to other states. And, school districts have negotiated contracts that include incentives for NBC teachers. The Los Angeles Unified School District recently signed a contract with its American Federation of Teachers local that gives board-certified teachers a 15% bonus for the ten-year duration of a National Board certificate. There is also institutional support for training sessions and opportunities for candidates to assist each other in portfolio preparation (Browne, Auton, Freund, & Futrell, 1999; Pershey, 2001). In some cases, Master’s programs have been built around the development of teacher knowledge and reflection specifically tied to NBC (Blackwell & Diez, 1999) - for strategies on setting up a support program, see Barone (2002) and Steeves and Browne (2000). It as also useful for districts or schools to provide assistance in video-taping of classes, particularly by providing candidates with a high-quality microphone system to insure adequate sound on the video tapes. Support programs often begin with a “pre-candidacy” phase in the year prior to undergoing the actual portfolio preparation to help candidates become familiar with the standards and portfolio requirements and to begin to collect professional accomplishments, practice videotaping, and conduct a student case study (Horn, Sultzman, & Costello, 2000). Potential candidates may also participate in the same group with regular candidates, allowing them to observe the processes involved in completing the portfolio. In my experience of working with candidates over a ten-year period, one of the most valuable components of the experience involves candidates sharing of draft writing with each other. In these sharing sessions, teachers provide feedback to each other to foster revisions. Teachers note whether the writing addresses the standards related to a certain task and whether teachers provide adequate descriptive detail to capture their teaching. Through this sharing, teachers are acquiring ways of collaboratively formulating knowledge about teaching specific to their own students and school context. In sharing perceptions of issues and difficulties in student learning, teachers collaboratively reflect on ways of dealing with those issues and difficulties (Manouchehri, 2002). While it is useful to have a critical mass or candidates working together on the same certification area, it is not essential that there be more than one candidate in each area. While it is certainly useful to have candidates working together on the same tasks with candidates who have the same subject-matter background, candidates can often provide useful feedback to each other given the generic nature of tasks across different certifications. The need for support systems rests on the fact that professional development is most likely to occur through collaborative dialogue with colleagues who respond to portfolio entry drafts and who mutually reflect on beliefs and ideas about teaching THE QUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS 123
(Barnett & Ramirez, 1996). A major focus of support sessions is on candidates’ reading and responding to drafts of each other’s portfolio entries. Sharing one’s teaching reflections in public with peers can often be threatening. This suggests that teachers need to provide helpful, descriptive comments, including positive comments on specific aspects of drafts, as opposed to general, judgmental comments.
9. IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
The NBPTS implementation in the United States has a number of implications for Pacific Rim countries or school districts interested in professional development of accomplished teachers without necessarily engaging in the large-scale development of a national credential program on the scope of NBPTS. Let me close with four implications. First, the positive experiences of NBC teachers suggests the value of employing teacher portfolio reflection, as well as action research studies (see, e.g., Kalnin & Trevorrow, 2002), to foster systematic teacher reflection with others in relatively structured contexts afforded by the portfolio tasks. Sharing portfolio entries (or action research results) fosters serious collaborative talk about issues of teaching and learning. Through responding to each other’s descriptions of instruction, teachers are exposed to new teaching ideas. Less experienced teachers are exposed to the thinking processes of more experienced teachers grappling with individual differences in student learning and the challenge of evaluating student growth. Through this exchange, teachers acquire the capacity to articulate tacit pedagogical knowledge as expert professionals. Second, in these exchanges, teachers focus their portfolio analysis on specific teaching activities in specific contexts (Sato, 2000). In giving feedback to each other’s portfolios, as is the case with the “lesson study” approach in Japan, teachers ground their analyses in specific classroom contexts. Rather than adopt a one-size- fits-all approach to teaching, they recognize the need for flexible approaches that vary according to students’ needs and abilities across different contexts. They are therefore articulating what they have acquired from years of experience — an intuitive sense of how to adapt to different students and contexts. Third, to frame reflection of their instruction, teachers could formulate their own standards for effective teaching unique to their own school curriculum and discipline. They then have a set of criteria for making judgments based not on personal opinions but on shared assumptions or beliefs about what they value as teachers within a particular context. Teachers may disagree about these standards based on philosophical differences, but through such disagreements, they are learning to formulate a set of beliefs about teaching. They could also compare their standards with NBPTS standards, comparison that serves to clarify or challenge their beliefs about teaching. Formulating their own beliefs means that they will be reluctant to simply adopt methods or prescribed curricular materials without some understanding of how these methods or materials are consistent with their own beliefs. 124 RICHARD BEACH
And fourth, the growing number of NBC teachers means that more of these teachers can serve as mentors for new candidates, who perceive these teachers as having achieved a level of distinction. And, these NBC teachers continue to grow as they articulate their methods for new candidates. All of this suggests the value of a differentiated staffing model — an idea that has been around for a long time — as a means of bolstering the professional status of experienced teachers.
10. CONCLUSION
All in all, NBPTS provides certification for accomplished teachers in a range of different subject matter areas. In each of these areas, standards are formulated based on current pedagogical knowledge, theory, and research. Candidates complete portfolio tasks and an examination based on these standards; they are then scored on their ability to demonstrate effective instruction consistent with the standards. The completion of the portfolio tasks and the shared reflection by teachers about their portfolio entries serves as one model for effective in-service professional development. As an experiment that is only now getting off of the ground, only time will tell as to whether the NBTPS efforts will enhance the professionalism of all teachers.
11. REFERENCES
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Burroughs, R. (2001). Composing standards and composing teachers. Journal of Teacher Education, 52(2), 222–233. Burroughs, R., Schwartz, T., & Hendricks-Lee, M. (2000). Communities of practice and discourse communities: Negotiating boundaries in NBPTS Certification. Teachers College Record, 102(2) 344–374. Clandinin, J. & Connelly, M. (1999). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Cochran-Smith, M. & Fries, M. K. (2001). Sticks, stones, and ideology: The discourse of reform in teacher education. Educational Researcher, 30(8), 3–15. Craig, C. J. (2003). School portfolio development: A teacher knowledge approach. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(2), 122-134. Darling-Hammond, L., & Snyder, J. (2000). Authentic assessment of teaching in context. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16(5–6), 523–545. Fuhrman, S. H. (Ed.). (2001). From the capital to the classroom: Standards-based reform in the states, 100th Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Gordon, D. T. (2002, July 22). Putting National Board Certification to the test. Harvard Education Letter [On-line serial], 18(2), 1–5. Available: http://www.edletter.org/past/issues/2002- ma/abstracts.shtml#a1 Harman, A. E. (2001). National Board for professional teaching standards’ national teacher certification (Report No. EDO-SP-2001-6). Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 460126). [On-line]. Available: http://www.ericsp.org/pages/digests/01-06.pdf Haynes, D. (1995). One teacher’s experience with National Board assessment. Educational Leadership, 52(8), 58–60. Horn, C., Sultzman, C., & Costello, B. (2000). The introductory seminar. In K. A. Steeves & B. C. Browne (Eds.), Preparing teachers for National Board Certification (pp. 27–58). New York: Guilford Press. Heller, J. I., & Gordon, A. (2002). Impact of the National Board Certification process on teachers’ pedagogical perception and teaching practices. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans. Johnson, K. E., & Golombek, P. R. (Eds.). (2002). Teachers' narrative inquiry as professional development. New York: Cambridge University Press. Kalnin, J., & Trevorrow, L. (2002). A leaner among learners: Teacher induction in the Minneapolis public schools residency program. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development, 5(2), 297-314. Ladson-Billings, G., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). The validity of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBTPS)/Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) assessments for effective urban teachers: Findings and implications for assessments. Washington, DC: National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching. Lyons, N., & Laboskey V. K. (Eds.). (2002). Narrative inquiry in practice: Advancing the knowledge of teaching. New York: Teachers College Press. Lustick, D. (2002). National Board Certification as professional development: A study that identifies a framework and findings of teachers learning to manage complexity, uncertainty, and community. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 465 727). Manouchehri, A. (2002). Developing teaching knowledge through peer discourse. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(6), 715-737. Myford, C., & Engelhard, G. (2001). Examining the psychometric quality of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Early Childhood/Generalist assessment system. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 15(4), 253–285. NBPTS. (2001a). The impact of National Board Certification on teachers: A survey of National Board Certified teachers and assessors. Arlington, VA: Author. NBPTS. (2001b). The benefits of the National Board Certification process for teachers: A survey of teachers seeking National Board Certification. Arlington, VA: Author. NBPTS. (2001c). Early adolescence English language arts standards. Arlington, VA: Author. 126 RICHARD BEACH
Pearlman, M. (2002, January). The architecture of the NBPTS Certification assessments. Paper presented at the meeting of the NBPTS Invitational Research Conference, Chicago. Pershey, M. G. (2001). How to create a support network for National Board Certification candidates. Clearing House, 74(4), 201–206. Podgursky, M. (2001). Defrocking the National Board. Education Next [On-line serial], 1(2), 79–82. Available: http://www.educationnext.org/20012/79.html Pofiakoff, M. (2001). Mastering the basics. Philanthropy [On-line serial], 15(6), 22–25. Available: http://wwww.philanthropyroundtable.org/magazines/2001/october/poliakoff.html Ritchie, J. S., & Wilson, D. E. (2002). Teacher narrative as critical inquiry: Rewriting the script. New York: Teachers College Press. Sato, M. (2000, April). The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards: Teaching learning through the assessment process. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans. Serafini, F. (2002). Possibilities and challenges: the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(4), 316-327. Steeves, K. A., & Browne, B. C. (2000). Preparing teachers for National Board Certification. New York: Guilford Press. Tracz, S. M., Sienty, S., Todorov, K., Snyder, J., Takashima, B., & Pensabene, R., et al. (1995, April). Improvement in teaching skills: Perspectives from National Board for Professional Teaching Standards field test network candidates. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco. Tremmel, A. (2000). Still loading pig iron after all these years: Tribalism and English education in the global contact zone. English Education, 32(3), 195–224. Zeichner, K., & Wray, S. (2001). The teaching portfolio in U.S. teacher education programs: What we know and what we need to know. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(5), 613-621. MASAHIRO ARIMOTO
CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION COLLEGES AND INSTITUTIONS IN JAPAN
National Institute for Educational Policy Research, Japan
1. INTRODUCTION
School education in Japan is currently in disarray: bullying is rampant; students refuse to attend school; classroom discipline is in chaos; and children lack desire to learn (for a review of the problems, see Suzuki, 2000). In this context, some parents are vitally concerned with the new curriculum guidelines released by the government, of which reduce the content of school lessons by 30% (Asahi News Paper, 28 November 2001). In the guidelines for reforms at universities prepared by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (hereafter referred to as the Ministry), the emphasis is on consolidating and streamlining facilities (Asahi News Paper, 4 December 2001). And teacher education institutions are prime targets for the axe due to the current problem of teacher’s over-supply. Other schools are openly questioning the need for having specialized institutions to educate teachers, reflecting that there is now a concern that faculty members of those teacher education institutions are themselves the largest source of surplus labor that should be cut in order to save overall personnel costs (Asahi News Paper, 5 December 2001). What is to be done? Consolidation for efficiency is the response by the Ministry’s own council on national teacher education colleges and institutions. The council's proposals, if implemented, would result in the consolidation of the nation’s 48 such institutions into fewer regional institutions, drawing upon both students and faculty from neighboring prefectures (Asahi News Paper, 5 December 2001). This is a departure from the post-war tradition of having one school for teachers in every prefecture. In this context, described in this chapter are the historical context of universities of education for teacher education, as well as the major features and characteristics of these universities in academic programs, staffing and resourcing, and graduates. An attempt is made to address a question: “what are the major differences between these universities for teacher education with other comprehensive universities?” Moreover, the strengths, concerns, and future developments of these universities of education are reviewed. Furthermore, some implications for the international
127 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 127—143. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 128 MASAHIRO ARIMOTO audience interested in the reform of teacher education at the institution and system levels are drawn.
2. THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION
Japanese education did not suddenly reach its present high level. To appreciate it historical development, one needs to refer to its philosophical and theoretical basis.
2.1 Philosophical and Theoretical Basis
In the Meiji era, Japan had eight university blocks. The establishment of this orderly nationwide school system constituted the basis of centralized control of education by the Meiji government. The ancient cultural heritage and the absorption of elements of the advanced cultures of such close neighbors as China and Korea had been the sources of influences on Japanese education. Then, the national education system of Japan, featuring the educational principles, had also incorporated into it elements of the French public educational system (International Society for Educational Information [ISEI], 1986). In brief, Emil Durkheim (1958- 1917) was introduced in the 1900s by Japanese sociologists to some Japanese educationists, long before the works of Durkheim being shared by scholars in other parts of the world: for example, his educational writings did not become available in French until the 1920s; and not until the late 1950s and early 1960s did these works appear in English. To some scholars, the ideology of science was actually based on a new teaching method for science developed in Germany; such an education in Japan began to take clear form under the efforts to transplant a German educational theory into the school system (ISEI, 1986). Then, as the number of teacher education institutions expanded, courses of study modeled after the curricula in Germany, France, and the Netherlands were also introduced. The course of study and most of the textbooks adopted for use in schools mirrored those in use in Western nations. The ideas of both William James (ISEI, 1986) and John Dewey in the USA were introduced to Japanese as early as 1898. During the following 30 years, enthusiasm for pragmatic ideas developed on the part of some Japanese educators and philosophers. Dewey’s educational ideas were particularly popular during this period, and several of his books were translated into Japanese. His Outline of a Critical Theory of Ethics appeared in 1900 and School and Society in the following year. Democracy and Education was published in Japanese in 1918. In actual teaching situation, some educators proceeded during this period to apply both Dewey's ideas and progressive educational ideas from other sources. Notwithstanding, the Japanese educational system continued to function in ways that were more in keeping with the tenets of Confucianism and traditional Japanese culture than with those embedded in Western pedagogical thoughts. To optimize pedagogical benefits, some graduates of normal schools had tried to mix the Western approach and the Eastern culture. There was a movement toward democratization in the 1920s and for a time an upsurge in the activities of liberal CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION COLLEGES AND INSTITUTIONS 129 political elements set the stage for a temporary influx of progressive ideas into normal schools’ training programs. Nonetheless, many teachers had difficulties in comprehending the Western theories and in translating them into classroom practice. They did try anyway, and Herbart’s teaching theory of concepts and rules in five stages (preparation, presentation, comparison, summarization, and application) were rather popular. On top of this, there had been added a superficial overlay of various progressive educational reforms. In practice, children were expected to master knowledge through drill and repetition. In 1943, ordinary normal schools were legally upgraded to the same level of college. This arrangement had in effect resulted in the elevation of elementary teacher education to higher education status. In those days, one of the ignored proposals, which looked appealing even now, was about the status of teacher education institutions (Bethel, 1989). According to this proposal, the essence of normal schools would be turned out of its own accord if various value-creating works, such as discovery, invention, etc., were discriminated in the following six stages. At the first stage, normal schools work to produce value by considering lifeless thing as materials in a factory, from simple producing of daily furniture, to manufacturing complex, exquisite machine, material and immaterial art works, and a variety of life styles. At the second stage, normal schools work to create value by considering heartless life as objects, for example, industry that transforms and changes in quality freely, agriculture, forestry, gardening, the fishing industry, aquaculture, as long as it does not harm the objective life. At the third stage, a variety of domestic animals and fowls are a result of long experience and study, while expensive pets are both aspects of gain and beauty. At the fourth stage, the counterparts are entertainer, performer, laborers, and doctors. Unlike professionals in commercial or profit-making enterprises, the subject is human. At the fifth stage, normal schools work to train human resources with value-creating ability utilizing the function of reason or a logical mind. The subject of creation is human. At the sixth stage, normal schools work to become the highest class value-creating enterprise from a national point of view, playing a leading role in practice and presenting methods and means to guide learner learn and live a life and (Makiguchi, 1936).
2.2 Development of teacher education colleges and institutions
Regarding the development of teacher education colleges and institutions in Japan, Table 1 records the details tracing from 1886 all the way to the 1980s. The most important events that we need to take into account in appreciating the historical development of teacher education and its colleges and institutions in Japan are that in 1947 the Fundamental Principles of the Teachers Training System were laid down, and that in 1949 the Law for certification of education of educational personnel was enacted, with 249 institutions of higher education being consolidated into 68 national universities, each containing a faculty of education. Three decades 130 MASAHIRO ARIMOTO later, three institutions of teacher education were established by legislation: the Joetsu University of Teacher Education, the Hyogo University of Teacher Education, and Naruto University of Teacher Education. Since the developments in the late 1970s, the overall system of teacher education in Japan remains rather stable.
Table 1. Development of teacher education colleges and institutions in Japan
The Period of Introduction and Systematization of the Modern Educational System (1872-98) 1886 Mori promulgated four new ordinances: the 1871 Ministry of Imperial University Order, the Elementary Education School Order, the Middle School Order, and a 1877 University of new Normal School Order (along with several Tokyo related regulations). 1885 Mori Arinori 1890 The Local Self-Governing System was newly 1897 Kyoto University promulgated, in which teacher’s certificates Prefectural Local were divided into two classes: the certificate for Inspector the whole elementary course and that for the lower elementary course, each of which was subdivided into regular and assistant. The Period of Consolidation of the Modern Educational System (1899-1916) 1902 New teachers’ training schools were established 1903 National textbook in order to cope with the shortage of teachers in 1911 system those days. A state textbook Two-year courses for training secondary school on science was teachers were established, of which were prepared. attached to 15 universities, high normal school and professional colleges. It became necessary to permit certification by examination and to authorize the opening of provisional teacher education institutions. 1907 The elementary School Acts was revised and the period of the compulsory education was extended to six years. At that time, the rate of school attendance had reached more than 97%. 1913 The number of normal schools was almost doubled, from 47 in 1897 to 86. Its enrollments climbed from 4,177 to 7,383. The Period of Expansion of the Educational System (1917-39) 1918 A post-graduate course established at each of the 1917 A special budget Men’s Higher Normal Schools in Tokyo and toward improving Hiroshima. laboratory CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION COLLEGES AND INSTITUTIONS 131
1925 The Normal School Regulations were revised; facilities for the preparatory course was discontinued, regular students of physics course section I was changed to a 5-year course, and chemistry at while section II to a one-year course (but two- secondary and year course only for the graduates from the 4- teachers’ schools. year Girls’ High School). On top of the regular 1917 The core course, one-year post-graduate course was set experimental up. school was Seijo 1930 The regular course section II was extended to Elementary two years [higher normal schools being elevated School, a private in status to institutions of high education]. school established by Masataro Sawayanagi, a retired Education ministry official. 1919 John Dewey visited 1920 United Leagues 1922 Albert Einstein visited 1924 Helen Purkust visited The Period of Wartime Education (1940-45) 1943 The ordinary normal school was legally brought to the same level as the college. 1944 The prefectural institutions for the training of the youth school teachers were transformed to the national “Youth Normal School.” The Period of Implementation of the Post-War Education Reform (1946-52) 1947 The Fundamental Principles of the Teachers Training System were laid down. 1949 The Law for certification of education of educational personnel was enacted. A new National School Establishment consolidated 249 institutions of higher education into 68 national universities, each containing a faculty of education. The Period of Improvement of the Post-War Education Reform (1953-) 1974 Key recommendation, significantly higher 1962 The Law salaries for teachers became law with the concerning Free passage of the Human Resource Procurement Textbooks in Bill, which effectively raised teacher salaries Compulsory between 30% and 40%. Schools was 132 MASAHIRO ARIMOTO
1978 Legislation authorizing the establishment of promulgated. three institutions of teacher education: the Joetsu Under this law the University of Teacher Education, the Hyogo government University of Teacher Education, Naruto started to University of Teacher Education. distribute free textbooks among elementary and lower secondary school children. 1984 Establishment of a differentiated system of 1971 A report in which teaching certificates that one could secure a drastic education higher (therefore more valuable) teaching reforms and certificate by taking more graduate-level innovations at all courses. levels of education were recommended. 1979 Special education of physically or mentally handicapped children between the ages of 6 to 15 was made compulsory. 1982 Benjamin Bloom visited. Sources: Kamidera (1982), Kobayashi (1964), and Tokuyama (1993).
3. THE MAJOR FEATURES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION
In this section, we turn to a review of the major features and characteristics of the universities of education in academic programs, staffing and resourcing, and graduates.
3.1 Academic Programs
Regarding academic programs, of the 96 national universities in the country, 56 universities that carry the responsibility for teacher preparation support control 260 attached schools (48 kindergarten, 73 elementary schools, 78 junior high schools, 17 high schools, 42 schools for the mentally handicapped, and two for the blind and hearing-impaired) (King & Mizoue, 1993). Each prefecture has established at least one national new system university with a faculty of education for training teachers. The schools which are attached to teacher education universities play an important CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION COLLEGES AND INSTITUTIONS 133 part in in-service education by sponsoring workshops to deal with various problems of educational practice. Numerous publications are distributed to teachers so far to give them an understanding of new proposed teaching. Emphasis is laid upon the concrete practice rather than theory. Training involves visiting other schools and other education-related institutions and writing extensive lesson plans. Some of the trainees present lessons while others take the role of students and have to write lengthy critiques. At the elementary school level, there are 90 hours of training time, 60 of which are within their school. Teacher education programs require a practicum. Prospective elementary school teachers would have to spend at least four weeks in teaching practice, and prospective lower and upper secondary school teachers would spend at least two weeks. The practicum is usually preceded and followed by a total of 15 to 30 hours (one credit) of related instruction. The national teacher education universities have model schools attached to them for the purpose of teacher education. In other cases, the respective institution makes special arrangements with the prospective teacher's alma mater or other cooperating school. Beginners are to try to develop their own style of teaching and classroom management through repeated trial-and-error, which they call jissen (practice). Opportunities to learn in schools discourage interest in individual professional development that is characteristic of university-based degree program. Beginning teachers learn about teaching through practice about group learning, inductive reasoning, and the importance of hard work and of self-awareness in the learning of new skills. Shimarara (1992) calls this the intersubjective process, while they call it ethnopadagogy – that is, based on the teacher’s acquisition of cultural knowledge through their interpersonal relationships with students (see Shimahara, 1992; Shimahara & Sakai, 1995). Above all, the beginners' concentration on events in the classroom was believed to be critical for gaining competence as teachers. In short, the Japanese teachers' process of learning to teach concentrated on adapting experienced teachers' practices to their needs (Shimahara & Sakai, 1995). Students are encouraged to participate in some of a rich program of school-wide events, identified as gakko gyoji, an area stressed in the course of study and requiring teachers' continual cooperation and participation. Gakko gyoji include ceremonial events, sports and arts festivals, excursions and retreats, interschool contests in sports and music, nature-study programs, and the like. “Special activities,” of which gakko gyoji is part, include “classroom activities” designed to enhance classroom cooperation and life skills, programs organized by the student council (such as school-wide sports festivals), and club activities. Each school has a faculty study committee that articulates school-wide study goals and organizes study groups and series of demonstration lessons. Students are expected to observe their demonstration lessons as if the concept of learning in legitimate peripheral participation for how a member of a community of practice learns is put into practice. The tendency is especially strong in the laboratory schools (Lab Schools). Student teaching is organized in two phases. In the four-year course of training, the first phrase of activity (lasting for a week), which generally occurs in the third year, consists of orientation and observation. The second phase occurs in the fourth 134 MASAHIRO ARIMOTO year and consists of participation in school programs and practice teaching spread - as a general rule, over a period of three weeks. In the two-year course of training, as a general practice, the first phase lasts only for half a week and the second for a week and a half. “Lab Schools” are used for experimentation with new methods and procedures. They are used for conducting research and/or experimental studies. Besides the performance of the student teacher in the classroom, other factors such as the attendance and reports or articles submitted by him or her are also considered. The student teachers have to submit a report or a record of their activities in the area. Student teachers are required to make case studies of one or two children, and are formally assessed by president or dean and college supervisors, actually supervising teachers in the Lab School. Outstanding problems relating to the co-operating schools and co-operating teachers are insufficiency of classes in the lab schools as well as overload of teachers in the lab schools (Pires, 1967). Problems relating to the organization of the student teaching program are a lack of proper basis for determining the dates and the duration of student teaching (Pires, 1967). As of today, relatively little has changed.
3.2 Staffing and Resourcing
Regarding staffing and resourcing, in 1964, the Japan Scholarship Foundation created a special student loan program designed to help secure the future teachers for compulsory education schools. Under this program, a special loan is made available to students attending teacher education universities and faculties. They are not required to pay back the loan if after graduation they serve as teachers for a prescribed number of years. In regard to teaching methods and techniques, mention should be made of the “Educational Technology Centre.” The Council for Teacher Education proposed in 1972 recommendations for enhancing substantial improvement in the objectives, duration, and methods of student teaching practice. In particular, it emphasized the need for improvement of methods. While the traditional program was merely intended to give the student first-hand experience in teaching and class operation by placing him in schools attached to universities or in designated cooperating schools, attempts should be made to improve the method for teaching practice through, for instance, the use of modern educational equipment such as video-tape recorders. Microteaching programs were introduced (Centre for Educational Research and Innovation [CERI], 1975). Innovation in in-service education and training of teachers was learned from abroad (CERI, 1978). In order to carry out systematic research and development activities concerning educational content and method and to introduce research-based innovations into the content and method of teacher education, the government has created “Educational Technology Centre” at each national university of teacher education. At present, there is a plan to make the Center available for the retraining of in-service teachers by maintaining regular contact with classroom teachers and school counselors as CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION COLLEGES AND INSTITUTIONS 135 specialist. The theory of teaching, echoing “the teacher as a reflective practitioner” and “the teacher as action researcher,” is now being introduced.
3.3 Graduates
Regarding graduates, the Ministry plans to streamline university courses in teacher education due to a huge fall in the number of new openings for teachers resulting from the declining birthrate. The number of newly recruited teachers has been decreasing. About 20 years ago, nearly 80% of graduates emerging from national universities and colleges majoring in education became teachers, as compared with only 32% in fiscal year 1999.
4. MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EDUCATION UNIVERSITIES AND COMPREHENSIVE UNIVERSITIES
As mentioned, an attempt is made to address a question: “what are the major differences between these universities for teacher education with other comprehensive universities?” The details are presented in this section of the paper. The education faculties of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kyushu, and some other well- established state-run universities are not counted as teacher education institutions as they emphasize academic research. The issue is that there is the need for them to provide more fundamental views and knowledge of education rather than technical and practical matters (Tanaka et al., 1993). This reflects that a major difference between the universities of teacher education and other universities that also offer teacher education. Further, this major difference is to be even more obvious in the future. In brief, the Ministry announced the so-called Toyama Plan (after the name of its Minister), which has among its components an aim to raise the standards of Japan's top 30 “research” universities (i.e., universities with postgraduate programs; now university hierarchy dominates “COE” [Center of Excellence] program) to the world’s highest level so as to concentrate resources on them. Each of the aforementioned universities’ current concern is to become one of the Japan’s top 30 universities. Regarding the differences at the teacher education program level, legally, certification is still under the so-called “open system.” Thus, the only thing a prospective teacher must do is to satisfy the minimum requirement for college credits, be they offered by the universities of education or by other comprehensive universities. Teachers in upper secondary schools are usually graduates of Hiroshima University (like higher normal schools in the past) or of other departments of national, public, and private universities, such as the Waseda University and Keio University. Graduates from education faculties become teachers by passing an examination set by the prefectural board of education, as is the case with graduates from other faculties. All prospective teachers spend two to four weeks in a school as part of their college training. The school in which they do their practicum is usually the one from which they graduated from. 136 MASAHIRO ARIMOTO
Generally, it is not enough. From 1989, education authorities agreed to institute more extensive training for novice teachers (Kinney, 1998). By 1992, all new teachers in national and public elementary, junior high, and high schools and in special education schools were receiving the first-year training. Training takes place formally as directed and is provided by the city or prefectural board of education and also within individual schools. During their first year, all high school and junior high school teachers work a reduced teaching load of about ten hours of teaching a week and are expected to go to the Educational Center one day a week for training. This system ensures that there would be a mentor assigned to each new teacher and would have a group of colleagues with varying levels of experience. The system attempts to reinforce the sharing of information among teachers and the guidance of younger teachers by more experienced teachers. Interest in new approaches to pedagogy is uncommon among secondary teachers because the efforts that students exert ganbaru are seen as the primary determinant of learning. However, Japanese school choice implementation in secondary education has begun since 1997. There is a need to actually develop research on that. The future contents of training should be derived from the wisdom of practice. If a very rough generalization is made, faculties chiefly supply teachers for upper secondary schools and, not infrequently, lower secondary schools, which operate at the second stage of compulsory education.
5. THE STRENGTHS, CONCERNS, AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION
Teacher education institutions almost monopolize the training of primary school teachers. The reason is obviously that this requires more professional education and more work in method course, and has to cover a wide field of school subjects, which the facilities of former normal schools alone make it possible to accommodate the needs. The Ministry has recently approved the offering of professional doctorates in education by the national university of teacher education (Tokuyama, 1993). Changes in teacher certification regulations (sensyu menkyo-jyo) provide incentives for teachers to obtain master’s degrees. However, getting a master degree may not result in job promotion except in senior high school. So, it is popular only for senior high school teachers to pursue graduate studies. Recently, the University of the Air in Chiba established a school of graduate studies to provide such educational opportunities. At the moment, the universities do not take sufficient initiative in enhancing collaboration that could result in a larger role in professional development. Some teachers are given opportunities to enjoy university study for an extended period (usually for one year), without any change of job status and salary paid by the prefectural board of education. Otherwise, they would have to attend part-time course at night and weekends without salary suspension. CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION COLLEGES AND INSTITUTIONS 137
Nationally, among teachers older than 35, 1,200 are sent overseas for 30 days and 3,800 are sent for 16 days. Among teachers under 35 years of age, 180 teachers are sent abroad for 60 days (Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, 1995).
5.1 The Strengths
Regarding the strengths, teachers are chosen each year among those with at least about 15 years of experience to be “researchers” (kenkyuuiin). Most teachers have applied several times before being chosen, and an administrator's recommendation is required to be eligible to apply. This is called “in-country exchange study” (naichi ryugaku), and chosen teachers would get time-off from their school work to travel to a place of their choice within Japan for a few weeks of study during the year. Compulsory training is in part implemented for all teachers in their tenth year of active teaching. That would be in addition to the introductory courses for newly hired teachers to help teachers lift their skills. The Ministry has been taking measures to expand and improve the Japanese government’s scholarship system. The 1980 established system of teacher training students abroad from 26 developing countries has also been strengthened. All such opportunities could and should be more strongly linked with lab school of teacher education colleges and institutions
5.2 Concerns
Regarding the concerns of the universities, at the undergraduate level, a couple of million yen has been appropriated (earmarked) in the budget of each university for “Friendship project” for taiken sogo katsudo (integrated, experimental activities) with children in rural local community. Teacher education institutions are recipients as well. Participation in Kaigo taiken program (experiences that looks after patients and old persons like a care worker) was considered legitimate learning. Thus, pre-service teachers could get a certificate for participation in the program, of which documents the completion of required credits. Of course, student teachers also undertake volunteer activities in order to boost their civic responsibility and consideration for others. A newly required subject, Sogo-enshu (seminar on integrated study), has just been introduced. The addition coincides with the compilation of the revised courses of study in 1999, under which the so-called “integrated studies” (sogo-teki na gakushu no jikan) is taught two or three times a week. At the discretion of individual schools, the classes may now consist of activities in student-centered approach as well as English as a means of promoting international understanding. The Ministry is considering encouraging some universities to change their education faculties to give their students a good knowledge of a wide range of subjects including curriculum and assessment, rather than just training them in the craft of teaching. More reform of teacher education is expected – more and better education through training in teaching materials for different subjects, in the 138 MASAHIRO ARIMOTO knowledge of teaching methods, and in the nurturing of a personality suitable for the teaching of morals; and through the establishment of an apprentice teacher system in which teachers would learn by working with more experienced teaching staff. Universities and boards of education could establish discussion forums to consider teacher education, and dispatch instructors to local schools for special classes. University programs are to be more accessible through outreach programs, part-time enrollment (at night), and the use of telecommunications so as to provide teachers with specific tools for enhancing effective teaching practices derived from craft knowledge.
5.3 Future Development
Regarding future development, the Ministry plans to transform national universities into the so-called independent administrative agencies, independent corporations run like private organizations (The Asahi Shimbun, 27 March 2002). Tokyo and all prefectures, except the Niigata Prefecture, have one teacher training department or course. In all, there are 11 teachers colleges nationwide, including Tokyo Gakugei University and Kyoto University of Education, and 35 education faculties at comprehensive universities. The Niigata Prefecture has two such institutions: Joetsu University of Education and the education faculty of Niigata University (The Yomiuri Shimbun, 22 June 2000). The Ministry's decision comes after knowing that only 32% of new university graduates majoring in education had became teachers in the fiscal year 1999 (The Yomiuri Shimbun, 22 June 2000). The panel is expected to drastically review the current system with a view to integrating colleges of education and education faculties in each region into one “base” education college and a smaller number of education faculties. Although a large number of education faculties are likely to be absorbed into the base colleges, this is expected to lead to improved teacher education courses, according to the Ministry. The panel is expected to discuss changing education faculties, which train teachers in all subjects, into smaller faculties specializing in training teachers in arts or science subjects, depending on the unique strengths of the respective university. An Education, Science, and Technology Ministry panel of experts compiled a report (Yomiuri News Paper, 24 November 2001) recommending that the 48 national teachers' colleges and educational faculties – which are spread out evenly among the nation’s 47 prefectures – be restructured and integrated to make them more efficient and to improve the quality of teacher education. According to the report, it is necessary to revitalize teacher education at a time when both the number of students enrolling at such institutions and the rate of students who actually become teachers are declining (Yomiuri News Paper, 24 November 2001). The number of state-run education institutions will be cut in half. The move is seen as a first step toward a drastic restructuring of national universities; at least one educational institution in each prefecture and educational circles in areas that will lose such institutions are expected to oppose the program. The report (Yomiuri News Paper, 24 November 2001) points out that two-thirds of the institutions can CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION COLLEGES AND INSTITUTIONS 139 accommodate fewer than 200 students, and the rate of graduates who go on to work as teachers decreased to 34%, emphasizing that the restructuring and integration of the institutions are necessary to educate capable teachers. With these issues in mind, the panel (Yomiuri News Paper, 24 November 2001) recommended that courses for pre-service teachers offered by comprehensive national universities should be integrated into universities specializing in teacher education, maintaining the current student capacity, and that satellite facilities should be established to train in-service teachers in prefectures that will lose their current training courses. The report said that primary school teacher education courses could still be offered by comprehensive universities after universities themselves discuss the matter to work things out. But confusion has emerged among the universities, as teacher education is closely related to local education. Teacher education facilities will disappear from many prefectures. Japan is now facing a difficult choice to leave the primary and middle school teacher education program as it is. To the 11 teacher colleges, the situation is a matter of life or death. Improving the quality of teacher education is in essence a multi-stage process. It begins with university education and the adoption of a system that puts more emphasis on hiring people based on personality rather than academic merit. But the most effective means to that end is to have teachers engaged in more constructive competition on the job. The council anticipates a network of satellite courses, in which the merged teacher education institutions would offer programs to train teachers in prefectures that no longer have their own. It has also proposed creating a moderate-sized teacher training center in universities that lose their own schools of education. These ideas, while not that bad, are insufficient. For greater efficiency, surviving universities, for example, could run credit-exchange courses among all public and private institutions in a region, including those in prefectures that lose their own teacher education schools.
6. IMPLICATIONS FOR REFORM
One can easily identify the distinctive features of Japanese education: for example, schooling often occupies much of the time of children and youngsters; the pre- and post-compulsory education are privatized; preference for general education under the single-track system is in prevalence; automatic promotion of classmates by seniority in a system in place; low enrollment of non-Japanese and adults in schools are part of the reality; high educational achievement with little variation is often a norm; unique screening function of entrance examinations has had impact on students’ learning and turn teachers’ teaching; and autonomous school management is in effect.1
1 The Ministry is scheduled to hold a large-scale academic ability test on fifth- and sixth-graders in primary school and middle school students at randomly selected schools, regardless of the school category, starting to examine the average academic abilities of the students before implementing the new curriculum. The high-school version of the test will be held in 2003. The total number of students 140 MASAHIRO ARIMOTO
Japan is likely to experience certain difficulties in correcting the weaknesses and defects of its education system, or in adopting the virtues of foreign education systems - somehow, as a rule, foreign practices which are in harmony with Japanese culture, values, or ideas have been more successful in Japan than in their countries of origin (National Institute for Educational Policy Research of Japan [NIER], 1991). Colleges and universities that survive in the new wave of challenges should review their own organizations and operations. The Ministry's council has suggested the establishment of a special teaching curriculum, the requirement that instructors be certified, the invitation extended to teachers and their supervisors to lecture, and the solicitation of opinions of boards of education and schools in performance evaluations of teacher candidates. These proposals would go far in helping teacher education schools become the focal point of education reform (The Asahi Shimbun, 4 December 2001). In this rapidly changing society, it is appropriate to question a system in which a teaching certificate, once granted, is good for life. But it is not easy to set up the criteria to determine whether a teacher is really qualified, freshly graduated or with many years of teaching experience. School based criterion-referenced assessment for children in elementary and secondary education has just been introduced from 20022. Behind the call for certification reform is a deep-rooted public distrust of teachers, school, and education administrators. Changing this situation should be the first thing to do3.
to be tested is expected to be about 430,000. Reasons for the newly proposed across-the-board scholastic-ability test include the following: From the academic year 2002, the means to evaluate primary and middle school students will be changed from relative evaluations (under which individual students are ranked in terms of position in a group) to absolute evaluations, under which individual students are graded according to how well they have achieved pre-set goals. Therefore, a new evaluation system needs to be introduced to enable students to set their own goals and evaluate themselves in a fair and consistent way. Schools also need objective indicators to help students set their own goals and evaluate themselves. 2 From this academic year, many prefectural and city governments plan to reward public school teachers for qualities including leadership both in the classroom and extra curricular activities. It is important to introduce a personnel management method based on merit (instead of seniority) in the public education system. Although many local governments currently have the so-called meritocracy award systems for teachers in public schools, most are in fact still based on seniority and fail to take into consideration the calibre and performance of the teachers. The following are the main points to be included in the program appropriated for the fiscal 2002 budget: Implement screening by local governments and their educational boards, rather than rewarding people based on the number of years they have taught. Reform the system so that individuals nominally rewarded will also receive salary increases and special bonuses. Develop a new and fair screening method based not only on ratings by the teachers' superiors but also the teacher's students and their guardians. 3 The long history of the East Asian cultures testifies to the merits of collectivism. The general attitude of East Asian people is toward language and verbalization involving fewer words, supported by the aesthetics of vagueness. There is a greater emphasis of East Asian cultures on effort, rather than ability. One advantage of Japanese education is that it is fundamentally about building character in their students. The work group is the basic building block of an organization. We should unite the intuitive discoveries of Asian culture with the scientific discoveries of Western culture. The key is to integrate the Western strong points into the traditional dominant culture. CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION COLLEGES AND INSTITUTIONS 141
Obviously, it is time to consider whether the role that universities play in Japan needs to be changed. Of course, there is always the need to remember that individual teacher motivation and zeal to improve professional skills should come first. However, the key is to ask “What is a good school?” and “What is an effective school?” In that sense, nowadays, J-model (see Cummings, 1997) is not already effective and should not be applied in Asian countries. Empirical research on how variation in teaching strategies, curriculum, and school structure affect student learning is still very few. While the unique contributions that university education might make to teacher learning are uncertain, research on teaching and learning in schools as a whole should be undertaken by university scholars so as to transform the basic nature of pedagogy from academic research into real world research in school-based contexts. Japan is facing a dilemma between group model - endeavor (ganbaru), be patient (nintaisuru); what they are willing to do (yaruki) and their enthusiasm (iyoku) - and the Westernization and Americanization. Japanese current situations are struggling in two incompatible factors4. Like the assistance of international organizations (such as the United Nations Children's Fund and World Bank), the Official Development Assistance of Japan has helped increase the number of children enrolled in primary schools and improve the quality of primary education (Japan International Cooperation Agency Report, see http://www.jica.go.jp/). One of the strong points of Japan is technology – for instance, environmental protection system saving the Earth, a system of greening deserts, etc. In this context of underscoring the strengths of Japan, one official of the Ministry in charge of teacher education institutions has declared the considering of know-how of teacher education as one domain of advanced technology. As such, the various challenges confronted by the universities of education as mentioned in this paper can also considered as opportunities for them to advance the know-how so as to optimize their contributions to schooling and teacher education in Japan. All in all, this chapter provides a detailed review of the system of teacher education colleges and institutions in Japan. The review shows that the system has remained relatively unchanged over the past years. The chapter also highlights the teacher education institutions’ strong points as well as problems, and discusses some critical issues. The analysis shows that from now on a kind of “new self- responsibility culture” is expectedly to be incorporated into the system, which is now operating in a more competitive situation, and thus there are the needs to create more indicators, criteria, and evaluative standards to bridge a gap.
4 Regarding the outline of recent movement of teacher education in Japan, I am especially indebted to Hawley and Hawley (1997), Kinney (1998), and recent news papers. Refer to Beauchamp (1996), Kumura and Iwahashi (1967), Nakahara and Takahashi (1953), Tsuji (1968), regarding historical outline with comparative views. Refer to Japan Association of Universities of Education (1986), Kobayashi (1993), Sato and Asanuma (2000) regarding general and theoretical explanation. Refer to Attached Schools (Hayo, 1993; King & Mizoue, 1993), Special Education (Masawa et al., 1993), Student Teacher Voices (Morey, Nakazawa, & Colvin, 1997), Student Teachers View (Obara et al., 1993), Science Teaching, Mathematics Education (Whitman et al., 1997), Global Issues and Relations (Parker, Glenn, Mizoue, Meriwether, & Gardner, 1997), Vocational and technical teacher (NIER, 1987), Environmental education (NIER, 1993, 1996), and comparative study (Darling-Hammond & Cobb, 1995; Shimahara, 1995). 142 MASAHIRO ARIMOTO
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Parker, W., Glenn, A., Mizoue, Y., Meriwether, C., & Gardner, W. (1997). Japanese and American preservice teachers’ attitudes toward global issues and relations. Peabody Journal of Education, 72(1), 187-202. Pires, E. A. (1967). Student teaching practices in primary teacher training institutions in Asia. Bangkok: Regional Office for Education in Asia, UNESCO. Sato, M., & Asanuma, S. (2000). Japan. In P. Morris & J. Williamson (Eds.), Teacher education in the Asia-Pacific region: A comparative study (pp. 107-131). NY: Falmer Press. Shimahara, N. K. (1992). Teacher internship and the culture of teaching in Japan. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 13(2), 147-162. Shimahara, N. K., & Sakai, A. (1995). Learning to teach in two cultures: Japan and the United States. NY: Garland. Shimahara, N. K. (1995) Teacher education reform in Japan: Ideological and control issues. In Shimahara, N. K. & Holowinsky, I. Z. (Eds.), Teacher education in industrialized nations: Issues in changing social contexts (Garland Reference Library of Social Science: v. 917. Reference books in international education; v. 30, pp. 155-193). New York: Garland. Suzuki, S. (2000). Japanese education for the 21st century: Educational issues, policy choice, and perspectives. In T. Townsend & Y. C. Cheng (Eds.), Educational change and development in the Asia-Pacific region: Challenges for the future (pp. 57-82). Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger. Tanaka, M., et al. (1993). Teacher training in the research university: A survey of teachers’ opinions. Peabody Journal of Education, 68(4), 58-66. Tokuyama, A. (1993). The role of the university in the inservice education of teachers. Peabody Journal of Education, 68(3), 80-97. Tsuji, S. (1968). Teacher training and its problems in Japan. International Review of Education, 14(4), 479-488. Whitman, N. C., Nohda, N., Lai, M. K., Hashimoto, Y., Iijima, Y., Isoda, M., & Hofer, A. (1997). Mathematics education: A cross-cultural study. Peabody Journal of Education, 72(1), 215-32. HYE SOOK KIM
KOREAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION
Reform and Further Reform
Department of Education, Yonsei University, Korea
Stakeholders in many developing countries consider it the government’s responsibility to provide an adequate supply of competent teachers (see, e.g., MaClean, 1999). The fulfillment of this responsibility could be made relatively easy when the respective government establishes a national system of teacher education so that the government can pre-plan and control the supply of qualified teachers. A national system of teacher education would require the establishment of teacher training institutes, provision of financial supports in order to make the programs operational, and supervision and monitoring of the operations. The Korean elementary school teacher education programs, which operate in such a typical national system of teacher education, are illustrative. All the Korean elementary school teachers are primarily trained by institutions of the national system, which has incorporated into it 12 national universities that locate in 12 different regions. This national system, being a prominent feature of Korean teacher education, can be regarded as one that has the general efficacy or needed capacity to generate moderate positive effects in achieving the policy intent of providing an adequate supply of competent teachers in the early 1990s (Lee, Choi, & Huh, 1994). However, this concept of general efficacy needs to be re-examined, as there are currently debates about the vitality of the system (see, e.g., J. B. Kim, 1996; Presidents’ Association of National Universities of Education in Korea, 1997). Furthermore, a review of the Korean case of national teacher education system at the turn of the new century seems meaningful when considering the fact that other countries which are suffering from the discrepancies between teacher supply and demand are also considering the establishment of a national system of teacher education as a measure to solve the problems of teacher quality and balancing teacher supply and demand. The purpose of this chapter is to review the Korean national system of teacher education, using the national universities of education as example to elaborate on the advantages, disadvantages, issues, and future directions of such a system. It also intends to draw implications for reforming teacher education at the institution and system levels. As such, this chapter first reviews the historical development of the
145 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 145—162. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 146 HYE SOOK KIM national universities of education. Then, an examination of the major characteristics of national universities of education follows. Advantages, disadvantages, issues, and future directions of the national system are discussed. Finally, implications for reforming teacher education are drawn.
1. THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION
Korea has a history of more than 100 years of providing teacher pre-service training. The first teacher education institution, established in 1895, was a national institute, and it provided training to both elementary and secondary school teachers. Since then, Korea has witnessed enormous growth and development in teacher education. The development of Korean elementary school teacher training can be classified into the five stages: the initial development of the national system during the Lee Dynasty and colonial period (1895-1945); the expansion of the normal school system after independence (1945-the 1950s); the establishment of two-year colleges of education (1960s-1970s); the upgrading of colleges of education to a four-year program (1980s-1995); and the further upgrading via the establishment of graduate schools of education and institutional evaluation (1996-present).
1.1 The Initial Stage of Development of the National System (1895-1945)
The first Korean teacher training institute was the “Han-sung Normal School,” which was founded in 1895 under the Chosun dynasty. This School had had a two to four year standard curriculum as well as a six-month intensive training course for 20-35 year old males. During the first part of the Japanese colonial period (1905- 1945), more national schools were established, although normal schools had not necessarily focused only on elementary school teacher training. Since 1922, national normal schools were expanded: each province established its own national normal school in order to train school teachers. It is noteworthy that the tradition of the Korean national system has continued since the initial stage of development (Lee et al., 1994, pp. 22-26; Presidents’ Association of National Universities of Education in Korea, 1997, pp. 14-19).
1.2 The Expansion of the Normal School System after Independence (1945-the 1950s)
There was one men’s normal school for each of the 13 provinces and three women’s normal schools established by the government at the moment of independence in 1945. But, as the demand for teachers increased after independence due to the increased social need for education and to the limited supply of teachers (as a result of the withdrawal of Japanese teachers after liberation), the normal schools established intensive training courses as well as temporary elementary KOREAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION 147 school teacher training institutes as auxiliary short-term programs to train teachers (in one year). After the Korean government was set up in 1948, normal schools trained elementary school teachers, and colleges of education at comprehensive universities began to train secondary school teachers. At that time, an average of two normal schools per province was established for a total of 18 normal schools. After the Korean War (1950-1953), in order to meet the increasing demand for teachers, various short-term training courses were installed at normal schools. Then, Ewha Women University, a four-year comprehensive private university, established a specialized program of elementary education in 1958. 1 In the main, elementary school teacher training still remained the responsibility of three-year normal school at the high school or upper secondary school level (Cha, 2000; Lee et al., 1994, pp. 22-26; Presidents’ Association of National Universities of Education in Korea, 1997, pp. 14-19).
1.3 Establishment of Two-year Colleges of Education (1960s-1970s)
Following the proposal for the establishment of two-year colleges of education in 1960, the State Council passed a resolution in favor of a two-year program on top of the secondary school education for training of elementary school teachers. This reinforcement had intended to promote teacher proficiency. In accordance to “The National Education Institute Establishment Law” in 1962, every normal school was reorganized into two-year colleges of education. One college of education was established for each of the ten regions in Korea. Later, an increase in the demand for teachers had resulted in the establishment of six more regional institutions, totaling 16 (Cha, 2000; Lee et al., 1994, pp. 22-26). But the continuation of insufficient supply of elementary school teachers made the government decided to further expand the capacities of the education colleges. Thus, starting from 1966, temporary teacher training programs were again in place. Temporary elementary school teacher training institutes conferred regular “second level teaching certificates” after an 18-week program for junior college graduates. Increased manpower shortages due to high turnover rates of elementary school teachers, starting in 1969, forced to conferring of “assistant teacher certificates” to high school graduates who completed 18-week temporary training courses. These courses of action resulted in the lowering of the competence level of the teachers, opposite of what had been intended. Fortunately, after 1971, decreases in the turnover rates of elementary school teachers had resulted in having employment waiting lists for graduates of education colleges. The Ministry of Education responded by reducing the capacities of education colleges and, in 1977, by restructuring four regional education colleges of education into standard colleges (Cha, 2000; Lee et al., 1994, pp. 22-26).
1 Ewha Women University is the only exception of the national system for elementary school teacher training. 148 HYE SOOK KIM
1.4 Upgrading Colleges of Education to a Four-year Program (1980s-1995)
In the period of 1980s-1995, the transformation of elementary school teacher training system from a two-year junior college to a four-year college granting bachelor’s degree seems to be noticeable. Since the 1970s, the issue of upgrading elementary school teacher proficiency in relation to changing the program to a four- year one began to receive policy to attention. This was because in many other countries elementary school teachers were in possession of bachelor’s degree. Another reason was that the task performed by elementary school teachers was found to be essentially the same as secondary school teachers. On 30 August 1981, the military government’s “Emergency Education Reform Act” upgraded the programs of colleges of education to four-year programs. The upgraded colleges faced many problems at the initial stage, but later institutional and curricular arrangements were made to pave the way to facilitate the degree-conferring. From 1985, they began to offer evening and summer classes for in-service non-degreed teachers to complete coursework for a baccalaureate (Cha, 2000; Lee et al., 1994, pp. 22-26). In 1984, the Korea National University of Education was established, aiming at the training of both elementary and secondary school teachers and the pursuit of research in the education field. Totaling 11 national colleges of education in each region, exclusive of the Korea National University of Education, these universities constitute the national system, serving Korea till today. Another noteworthy aspect is the drastic changes in elementary teacher employment policies since 1990. Korean private universities that have been rapidly expanding since the 1980s attempted to enter teacher training, because of the relatively low marginal cost while it has been rather popular among university entrants due to long lasting teacher shortages (Lee et al., 1994). In view of their strong urge, the government allowed private institutes to train secondary school teachers while insisting on maintaining the national system for elementary school teacher training. At the same time, the government adopted a policy that gave various privileges, such as employment priority and tuition waivers, to graduates of the national universities of education. Low teacher turnover rates during the 1980s and the government’s failure to control supply were the main cause of private institutions’ contribution to the problem of excessive over-supply of teachers. The situation was extremely serious in the domain of secondary school teacher employment, in which only 20% of certificate holders could join the teaching profession (H. S. Kim, 1999, pp. 27-58; Pak & Kim, 1997). Put simply, the predicament is a result of an open system where private training sector constituted a larger portion (in comparison with the national sector) and a compromise between the government (that wanted to operate a national system) and the private universities (that were interested in teacher training).2
2 Training for secondary school teachers is offered by national and private universities and can follow four different avenues in Korea: colleges of education (both national and private), teacher certification programs, departments of education, and graduate schools of education. All of them are programs that belong to comprehensive universities. In the KOREAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION 149
Objections from private educational college graduates resulted in a ruling that it was unconstitutional for the government to give employment priority to graduates of national colleges of education. Following this ruling, the government had to give up the inequitable policy. This abandonment had to be extended to elementary school teacher employment policies as well.3 Consequently, all the previous privileges of national institutes’ graduates and obligatory public service periods were deleted according to presidential order 12846 issued on 23 November 1989. Since 1990, prospective teachers of both elementary and secondary schools compete for jobs through open competition of teacher selection examinations (Cha, 2000; Lee et al., 1994, pp. 22-26; Presidents’ Association of National Universities of Education in Korea, 1997, pp. 14-19).4 Apart from this policy change, the institutes’ names were also changed to “universities” by the presidential order 135859 in 1993: every national college of education renamed itself to “national university of education.” The headmaster was also renamed “president” from “dean” (Cha, 2000).5
1.5 The Further Upgrading Stage (1996-Present)
Opinions that national universities of education require graduate schools emerged during the late 1980s. The reasons were five: first, it would create more and better educational opportunities for current teachers to further develop; second, it would elevate specialization in elementary school teaching; third, it would increase the teacher’s efficiency of teaching and guidance provided to students; fourth, specialized, higher level training could be provided to school administrators and research personnel; and fifth, it would allow national universities of education to function as research centers.
beginning, during the 1960s and 1970s, private institutes contributed to the decreasing of great teacher shortage. Later, more private institutes wanted to establish the training departments and programs, but the government failed to control them. On the other hand, teacher demand became stable since the 1980s. Therefore, excessive over-supply took place during the 1980s and it continues today. 3 In the case of elementary school teacher training, the over-supply was not serious, but a little over-supply had happened because of low teacher turnover rate and the government’s failure of immediate response to the change. It should be considered that it is hard to forecast the exact number of teacher demand and there always is a time difference between demand and supply because of four-year teacher training. 4 Depending on the so-called closed (elementary) or open (secondary) system of teacher training, the possibility to pass the teacher selection examination is very high at the elementary teaching level (around 80-95%), but very low at the secondary teaching level (around 20%). 5 Changing the title to “national university of education” seems to be a result of the institutes’ strong desire and the government’s consideration after abolishing their privileges to graduates of the national institutes in 1990. Previously, using the name of “university” was a privilege granted to the comprehensive universities that consist of different kinds of several colleges. The new order adopted a looser standard. In Korea, the public conception was that universities were superior to colleges that exist as an independent institute. 150 HYE SOOK KIM
The government amended “The National School Establishment Law” to allow national universities of education to set up graduate schools. Consequently, since March 1996, the 12 national universities (except one) have graduate schools; later in 2000, all of them have graduate schools. But these graduate schools of education are special-purpose graduate schools that are different from standard graduate schools or professional graduate schools, and cannot award doctoral degrees (Cha, 2000; Lee et al., 1994, pp. 22-26). The operation of institutional evaluation in the recent period is another kind of effort to further upgrade teacher education. Based on the proposal of the Presidential Commission on Education Reform in 1996, the Ministry of Education decided to introduce an evaluation system for teacher training institutes. An institutional evaluation system was launched in 1998; in turn, 11 national universities of education were evaluated by the committee formed by the government in 2000, following the evaluation of 40 national and private colleges of education at comprehensive universities in 1998 and the evaluation of 69 graduate schools of education (both national and private) in 1999 (H. S. Kim, 1999). At present, elementary education for prospective teachers is provided by the national system consisting of 12 national universities of education and one private institute. Among the national universities, 11 that are located in major cities and provinces have together 4,955 in-takes; The Korea National University of Education that trains both elementary and secondary school teachers have 810 in-takes in elementary education program, totaling 5,765 elementary school teacher candidates. Entrants’ quotas for the national institutes increased rapidly during 2000~2002 (see Table 1). This increase has been called for due to the nation-wide shortage of elementary school teachers, observable since 1998 and caused by the lowering of the teacher retirement age 65 to 62 and the activation of an early retirement system.
2. M AJOR CHARACTERISTICS OF NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION
If one reviews the Korean system of national universities of education, some unique characteristics can be underscored. First, the government’s critical role and the exclusiveness of the system can be identified as an obvious characteristic. Korea has a teacher education system that is designed and closely controlled by the government: the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development and the 16 boards of education in each geographic region are responsible for balancing the teacher supply and demand. That is, the government plays a critical role in pre- service training, certification, and teacher selection. This kind of system was established with the assumption that the government is responsible for balancing the provision and quality of compulsory and secondary education, which are funded with public money. However, the underlying reason may be that the government has a vested interest in education, which is important to political stability and economic growth. The strong government influence is well witnessed in elementary school teacher training since elementary education is compulsory in Korea (Y. H. Kim, 2000; Lee et al., 1994). The government even KOREAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION 151 determines the entrants’ quota of every institute at an annual base (H. S. Kim, 2000, p. 56).
Table 1. Training Institutes and Entrants Quotas for Elementary School Teachers: 1999 – 2003
Classifi- Entrants Quota % Increase Institute Name No. Location cation 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1999-2003 Major cities University of National 11 and 4,285 4,735 4,735 4,955 4,995 116.6% Education Provinces Korea 100% National National 1 Choongbook 160 160 160 810 160 (’02: University of 506.3%) Education Sub-total - 12 - 4,445 4,895 4,895 5,765 5,045 108.3% Private Ewha 1 Seoul 50 50 50 50 50 100% Total - 13 - 4,495 4,945 4,945 5,815 5,205 115.8% Sources: MOE & KEDI (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002).
With regard to exclusiveness, it should be noted that basically there is no other way to become an elementary school teacher other than receiving education from the national universities of education (Cha, 2000, pp. 11-15). According to the Article 42 of “Higher Education Law,” only the central or provincial government can establish universities of education that intend to train elementary school teacher candidates. This means that all the universities of education are national of which have exclusive responsibility and authority to train elementary school teachers. The rationale of a national system is that, considering the importance of elementary education, the government carries the responsibility to provide an adequate number and quality of the teaching force (Cha, 2000, pp. 11-15). This is called an “objective-oriented system,” or “closed system” of teacher training in Korea (Y. H. Kim, 2000, p. 39). In this closed system, the government’s role to control teacher supply and training must be reinforced. The second characteristic is related to the first one. In such a national system in which the government plays a critical role, uniformity is inevitably a norm well observed in the operations among universities. For instance, uniformity of curriculum (including required courses), student admission policy, and scholarships are easily observed. With regard to curriculum, as dictated by “The Higher Education Law,” colleges and universities must provide general core curriculum, which is then further divided into elective and required courses. All teacher education institutions must follow this set of guidelines, which clearly outlines credit hours spent on each curricular area. Over a four-year period, every student in the national universities of education is required to take a total of 150-151 credit hours. The guidelines set up by the government help establish uniformity among national universities of education (Korean Ministry of Education and Korean Educational Development Institute [MOE & KEDI]), 1996. In fact, the curricula of the 12 152 HYE SOOK KIM national universities of education are all almost identical to the curriculum of the Seoul National University of Education as an example (Table 2). Student admission policies of the national universities of education generally follow those of the general universities and colleges in regards to methods and procedures for student selection. However, since 1991, national universities of education have adopted interviews and aptitude tests, which count for 5% to 10% of the applicant’s total evaluation considering the uniqueness and the professionalism of teaching. Each university is requested to develop their own strategy and method for the interview and aptitude test, but uniformity is observable not only in the adoption of the policy itself but as well in their strategies and methods so chosen (H. S. Kim, 2000, p. 60; Lee et al., 1994).
Table 2. Example of Curriculum: Seoul National University of Education, 2002
Classification: General Subject Offering Credits Required Philosophy 2 and 15 subjects 33 (35) 49 (51) Electives General logic 2 and 29 subjects 16 Classification: Subject Offering Credits Specialized Required Courses Foundation of elementary education 13 2 and 8 subjects Optional Courses Educational technology 2 and 2 2 subjects Specialized subject & Elementary school ethics education I 48 (59) Extracurricular activities 2 and 25 subjects 101 Art and Physical Practice in elementary school 5 (10) (117- Education physical education 127) 1 (20) and 6 subjects Specialized course 12 courses by specialization, each 20 (20- worth 20 credits 30) Teaching practice Observational practice [1 week] and 4 4 subjects Discretionary subject 2 courses 4 Total 150 (168- 178) Note: The numbers indicate credit hours; the numbers in parenthesis indicate class hours. Source: Seoul National University of Education (http://www.snue.ac.kr)
On matters regarding scholarship, uniformity also exists. To attract and retain competent students, the national universities of education provide scholarships of the same name for 40% of their students. In the past, students attending national universities of education were exempted from paying tuition. However, a court decision in 1989 abolished all such privileges. In response, a special scholarship, called the “Sado Scholarship,” was introduced in an effort to attract high quality candidates to national universities of education (H. S. Kim, 2000, pp. 60-61). KOREAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION 153
The third characteristic is the rapid upgrading and expansion. The national universities of education have continuously expanded and upgraded their programs from upper secondary level to four-year university level and then to the graduate school level. As reviewed in the previous section, elementary school teacher training began in 1895 as a normal school’s program at the upper secondary level. In 1962, normal schools were upgraded to two-year junior colleges, and they again upgraded to four-year colleges in 1981. They finally acquired the “university” title in 1993, and have had graduate schools of education added in 1996. Their expansion seems to be a successful example of teacher education institutes. But this rapid expansion has created some problems. Among them, the lack of compromise or openness among faculty members and students of national universities of education deserves attention here. When the shortage of elementary school teachers occurred in 2000 and 2001, the government proposed a measure to solve the problem, allowing secondary school teaching certificate holders to enter elementary schools as subject-based teachers in such fields as music, art, and physical education. Faculty members and students of national universities of education uniformly and strongly opposed to the proposal (Chosun Daily Newspaper, 15 October 2001). Their position even opposes the proposal that secondary teaching certificate holders may be admitted into the junior year of national universities of education. Notwithstanding, the government implements the proposal in 2002. The government could not activate its policy proposal for temporary teacher training programs due to strong opposition from the national universities of education. In any case, it seems to be obvious that at present the national universities of education work as a strong interest group in Korean teacher education (Chosun Daily Newspaper, 15 October 2001).6 And fourth, not all generally expected features of universities can be found in the national universities of education, because they are objective-oriented universities. The difference between national universities of education and other comprehensive universities is that the institutional scale of the national universities of education is very small, as compared with other comprehensive universities. Each of 11 national universities of education per each region is organized with one undergraduate school and one graduate school (http://www.snue.ac.kr). Not only the numbers of schools but also the student and professor population and these university’s facilities are too small to deserve a university title. For example, Inchon National University of Education has the largest student population – only 2,716 students (http://www.inchon-e.ac.kr) - and Jeju National University of Education has the smallest student population - 603 (http://www.jejue.ac.kr). The Korea National University of Education that trains both elementary and secondary school teachers has slightly larger size, but they do not have various fields of study except education. All national universities of education show features of an objective- oriented university (http://www.knue.ac.kr).
6 A total of 2,500 secondary teaching certificate holders are admitted into national universities in order to solve teacher shortage this year. Due to the universities’ lack of capacities, they are supposed to have classes during school vacation period. 154 HYE SOOK KIM
3. REFLECTIONS ON THE NATIONAL SYSTEM
In this section, strengths and weakness, issues, future directions of the national system as represented by the national universities of education are to be discussed. In addition, implications for reforming teacher education system are to be drawn.
3.1 Strengths and Weakness of the National System
The Korean national system of elementary teacher training has revealed some weaknesses as well as strengths. Its strengths can be summarized as the following. First, it is possible for the government to control the teacher supply to some degree, as intended. As mentioned earlier, the government has pre-calculated the number of necessary teachers and decided entrants’ quota of each of national universities of education at an annual base. Forecasting teacher demand for the next year and the years after is usually possible by the examination of usual teacher retirement rate and additional factors, such as class size policy, as long as the teacher labor market is under a predictable situation, although the calculation may not be accurate. In fact, Korea has achieved the balance between teacher supply and demand at the elementary school level, owing to the national system. It should be noted that Korea, at the same time, has experienced an excessive over-supply at the secondary school level that adopts an open system consisting of both national and private tertiary institutes (H. S. Kim, 2000; Jin, 1997). Therefore, the balancing of teacher supply and demand can be argued as the prominent advantage that the national system has. Second, the national system has advantages in quality control of the teaching force. As observed earlier, the government directs not only total credit hours but also subject names of the national universities of education (Hwang et al., 1995; J. B. Kim, 1996; Lee et al., 1994). The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development often send official documents to regulate the curriculum and other university operations. One of the reasons for this practice is that the government has founded and funded the national universities of education. Of course, there are criticisms on these practices. When the government prescribes and tightly supervises the curriculum and others features, it may positively influence the quality of teacher education because the control implies the standardization of curriculum and other educational conditions. One benefit of the national system is that the graduates from the 12 different institutes are pretty much the same in terms of their basic skills and proficiencies. Third, the national system has advantage in attracting high quality candidates into the teaching profession, because employment after graduation of national universities is guaranteed to a reasonable degree. In particular, when the economic condition is bad or uncertain, the merit of the national system of teacher training becomes obvious. In fact, when Korea experienced economic crisis under the International Monetary Fund’s supervision in 1997, elementary teaching became one of the most attractive alternative to college students because of the relative ease of getting employed. Further, the recent teacher shortage in the elementary schools since 2000 has reinforced the national system’s edge. In turn, the average KOREAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION 155 competition rate of the examination for admittance to the junior year of national universities of education was 13.5:1 (http://www.gosi-times.com). It is astonishing when considering the fact that the qualification requirements of the applicants were completion of program at a four-year comprehensive university and the holding of secondary teaching certificates. In this particular case though, it is questionable whether their quality is high enough comparable to ordinary students of national universities of education, because many housewives who had never taught also applied for the examination (http://www.gosi-times.com). In any case, nowadays, it is common sense that entrants to national universities of education are academically more capable as compared with former entrance groups before the economic crisis and comparable with other major groups excepting medicine or law.7 On the other hand, weaknesses of the national system of teacher training are also inevitable. First, there has been a criticism about the graduates from the national universities of education that they are not well grounded in liberal arts and humanities, and that they generally have a narrow perspective or limited mind. This is because they are trained just as the military officers under a rigid curriculum. In fact, students of the national universities of education actually take almost identical courses with little electives. Even though some courses are classified as electives, they are similar to requirements in terms of their operation. The classrooms in these universities look like high school classrooms as they divide every 40 students by class (Lee, 1998, pp. 146-149). Consequently, they are not familiar with co- existence or compromise among different people or different styles of thinking. This characteristic of the program is troublesome, because the society in the 21st century requires members who are more openness, flexibilities, and humanistic approaches. Second, the critical role of the government in the operation and emphasis on uniformity, including curriculum among national universities of education, may lead to the lack of creativity and operational flexibility, and thus resulting in inferior quality of the program (H. S. Kim, 2000, p. 61; 2001; Y. H. Kim, 2000, pp. 39-40). Uniformity created by the government would seriously limit creative thinking and voluntary efforts among faculty members and students. Further, uniform curriculum itself shows some limitations. The subject titles and actual contents of the curriculum are often selective and very narrow, because they follow the expertise of the faculty members. This is even more serious in advanced courses. This is a problem because elementary school teachers are expected to have integrated knowledge rather than narrow and partitioned knowledge. Additionally, lack of practical training in diverse teaching methods is another problem in the curriculum arena (Lee, 1998, 1999). Third, maintaining the national system is troublesome in terms of economies of scale. The government intends to maintain in such a way the national system that each region can produce sufficient numbers of teachers according to demand. Thus,
7 However, the general trend for last decade is that the quality of teacher candidates has fallen significantly, since many bright young people are being lured into other occupations and new industries. This trend is true for secondary school teacher training, but it is a little different in the case of national universities of education. 156 HYE SOOK KIM there are 12 national universities, one each in every major city or province. As a result, the sizes of national universities of education have become relatively small as compared with other comprehensive universities. There seems to be a strong relationship between small scale and poor educational conditions in terms of facilities and the quality of teaching staff (Kim & Lee, 1999; Lee, 1999, p. 85). These conditions may hinder quality control in teacher training. In addition, the government needs to accept great financial burden in order to operate the national system. The financial burden of the government for operation of this national system is great. As the government provides all financial support, the cost burden is inevitably very high. The government pays more than 80 million dollars for national universities of education every year (MOE & KEDI, 2001, p. 933). Therefore, it has been doubtful if the current system is cost-effective. Fundamentally, the key question is whether operation only by public money is necessary or inevitable for teacher training.
3.2 Related Issues
There are many issues about the national system and national universities of education. The first issue relates to the faith of teacher supply-demand balance of the national system. The issue is whether the national system really has the advantage in acquiring the balance of teacher demand and supply. Ironically, the national system could sometimes hinder balance because of its closed features. In Korea, when the emergency situation of great teacher shortages occurred in 2000 and 2001, it was witnessed that the national system did not work adequately to meet the new teacher demand. Let us examine this aspect in detail. The long-persistent situation of balance at the elementary level and over-supply at the secondary level was changed suddenly after the implementation of a policy of lowering teachers’ retirement ages from 65 to 62 and activating an early retirement system in 1998. Many aged teachers who were disappointed with the teacher policies had chosen to retire early (G. J. Kim, 1999; Pak, 2000). The simultaneous retirement of teachers of ages between 62 and 65 and the early retirement rush resulted in the teacher shortage. The situation was more serious at the elementary schools (Park, 2001). 8 In 1999, 8,789 out of 137,577 elementary school teachers (6.4%) and in 2000, 10,244 out of 140,000 (7.3%) left the teaching profession (http://www.nso.go.kr). These figures are quite different with turnover rates of previous years or the year 2001 and after (see Table 3).
Table 3. Turnover Rate Trend of Elementary School Teachers: The 1980s – 2001
Year The 1980s 1990-19971998 1999 2000 2001 Rate 1.9 1.9 1.2 6.4 7.3 1.9 Source: Korean National Statistics Organization (http://www.nso.go.kr)
8 In the case of secondary school teachers, meeting new demands does not seem hard because of the huge pool of teaching force. KOREAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION 157
The second issue relates to the debates on the objective-oriented system versus an open system for teacher training. The disagreements are becoming wider (Y. H. Kim, 2000). The national universities of education insist that teacher professionalism in elementary teaching and high commitment can be cultivated only through the objective-oriented system, because students are trained for the purpose from the very beginning of admission. In contrast, training institutes for secondary school teaching never agree with that argument. They contend that the open training system through comprehensive universities has more advantages in training creativity, openness, and flexibility that are essential for teachers in the changing society of the 21st century (Han, 1997; Song, 2000). The gap and disagreements between the two positions have become larger and deeper. Consequently, it leads to serious conflicts between them. The third one is about recruitment policies of the so-called “elementary school teachers with secondary certificates” and “admission into junior year at national universities of education recommended by superintendents.” These are currently hot issues in Korean teacher training. The issue about whether secondary teaching certificate holders can teach at elementary schools in effect raises more questions about the meaning of professionalism exclusive in elementary teaching. The outline of the policy on “elementary school teachers with secondary certificate” is that the government in 1999 employed 3,866 secondary teaching certificate holders who graduated from general comprehensive universities as subject teachers specializing in art, music, physical education, computers, and elementary English, after passing examinations and completing a pre-service training of 1,200 hours (Chosun Daily Newspaper, 15 October 2001). This policy might be considered an extension of the previous policy on subject teacher recruitment. In the 1990s, some elementary school teachers specialized in these areas were recruited or appointed as “subject teachers” to improve teaching in those subject areas in elementary schools. However, in the case of 1999, there was a possibility that those subject teachers might be transferred to the posts as regular teachers because of the serious teacher shortage. National universities of education strongly opposed this policy arguing that professionalism in elementary education would be compromised. Students and faculty members of national universities of education demonstrated and boycotted classes; thus, it became a social problem in which the process was reported in mass communications. The opposition and resistance against the new policy were strong enough to make the government to abort the policy after its implementation in 1999 (Chosun Daily Newspaper, 15 October 2001). The situation became worsen when the government proposed in 2001 another recruitment policy - “admission into junior year at national universities of education recommended by superintendents.” According to the presidential education reform policy of “class size reduction to 35 by the year 2003,” (Chosun Daily Newspaper, 30 July 2001) more elementary school teachers are needed, but there is no resource pool of elementary teachers. In this additional emergency situation, the government first proposed the establishment of temporary teacher training institutes. In light of the strong opposition from national universities of education, the government proposed an alternative policy that screens and employs 4,000 secondary teaching 158 HYE SOOK KIM certificate holders after completing in national universities of education one year pre-service training of 70 credit hours. Again, demonstrations and class-boycotts made the arrangement a social problem. At last, a compromised proposal has been announced and is in the process of implementation in 2002. According to the plan, the boards of education in the six rural regions where teacher shortages are more serious are to select a total of 2,500 secondary teaching certificate holders and admit them into the junior year of national universities of education by recommendation of superintendents (http://www.gosi-times.com; http://www.moe.go.kr). After graduation of a two-year study period, they are supposed to be employed at elementary schools within the region. Again, different criticism is emerging about this policy: the educational conditions of national universities of education may worsen because of the sudden increases of students even though the classes are scheduled during school vacation time.
3.3 Future Directions
The national system and the universities of education are likely to develop in the following directions in the future. First, reinforcement of the current objective- oriented or closed national system is anticipated in the near future. As witnessed in the cases of teacher recruitment policies, such as “elementary school teachers with secondary certificate” in 1999 and “admission into junior year at national universities of education recommended by superintendents” in 2001, there is no tendency of the objective-oriented or closed system to make attempt to coexist with different kinds of system or to have itself transformed into an open system. The national universities of education may contend their professionalism exclusive in elementary education more strongly and emphasize the advantages of their system. This means that the other universities, except the Ewha Women University, cannot get themselves involved in elementary teacher training. In turn, the current parallel systems of elementary and secondary education are to be continued in the foreseeable future in spite of long debates in society. Second, the national universities of education are expected to continue their continuous expansion and upgrading. Considering their energetic and continuous efforts, offering doctoral degrees in elementary education could come true someday in this decade. In addition, relatively poor educational conditions of the national universities of education are supposed to be upgraded by a recent funding plan. On 10 May 2002, the government announced a massive extra funding plan of more than 230 million dollars for national universities of education in the next five years (2002-2007) (Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, 2002). Third, the task recruiting male students to the universities would remain a constant problem. The rapid growth of the female teacher population appears to be negatively affecting the recruitment and retention of high quality male teachers - this KOREAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION 159 tendency has resulted in the lowering of the socio-economic status of the teaching profession.9 Therefore, attracting high quality male candidates into teaching seems to be a policy priority at this point. Scholarships and a waiver system for military service could be considered for this purpose. In the near future, however, teacher training policy will also have to focus on attracting bright female candidates, who may also choose other more prosperous careers that were previously closed to women (H. S. Kim, 2000). Fourth, once the current emergency situation of teacher shortage is dealt with by 2004 (http://home.ewha.ac.kr; http://pax.hoseo.ac.kr), the usual size of the entrants to the universities will appear again and continue in the future: although demand for elementary school teachers will decrease due to the decrease of student population at the elementary school level, the policy direction to reduce class size of elementary schools will create the need for more teachers. And fifth, restructuring the national system will once again become an issue in teacher education because of the economies of scale. Most national universities of education, except two or three universities, have very poor educational conditions mainly due to their small sizes. Many secondary level training institutes suffer from extreme over-supply of teaching certificate holders (H. S. Kim, 2000; Kwak, 1999). Therefore, the possibility of consolidation among teacher pre-service training institutes was intensively researched on, as the Presidential Commission on Education Reform had proposed in 1996 (Pak & Kim, 1997). Restructuring could be possible among national institutes in the region or between national and private institutes at different school levels. Restructuring will be an important issue, and its policy alternatives are already under policy discussion.
3.4 Implications for Reforming Teacher Education System
One might be interested in the national system when considering reforms of teacher education because of its advantage in balancing teacher supply and demand. Implications from the Korean experiences are three-fold. First, it does not seem to be a good idea to attempt to transform the pre-existing different systems to a national system. As discussed earlier, the national system in which the government takes all the responsibilities of establishing institutes, financing the program, and controlling the program obviously has efficacy in a sense. It can control teacher supply in order to meet teacher demand in terms of quantity and quality, and can pursue pre-planned programs as the government intends. But the uniformity and poor quality of the program may produce a teaching corps whose creativity and open spirit are relatively poor (Han, 1997). When considering both positive and negative effects, a closed or exclusive national system like the Korean case does not appear desirable.
9 As being observed in many developing and industrialized countries, approximately 62.7% of the elementary school teachers and some 72.8% of the students at teachers college in Korea are female in 1999 according to the Statistical Yearbook of Education (MOE & KEDI, 1999). Furthermore, these percentages are consistently growing. This trend indicates that teaching is a preferred category of employment for female college students, but not for male college students. 160 HYE SOOK KIM
An alternative is that the national universities play a certain role with private universities under the condition of no excessive over-supply. This means a shared responsibility between the national and private universities in the proportion of “half-half”; “70%-30%”; or “60%-40%” (depending on the situation). Second, if one is to redesign the teacher training system, the total capacity of teacher training institutes seems to be desirable when it is between 150% and 200%. The case of national universities of education in Korea tells that 110% - 120% supply of expected teacher demand is not enough and brings numerous problems when various factors such as classroom reduction policies affect. Then, excessive over-supply like 500% as observed at the secondary level in Korea reveals more serious problems (H. S. Kim, 2000; Kwak, 1999). Therefore, the capacity of training institutes should be bigger than the current number, while a little increase seems desirable. And third, success of teacher reform with the national system is much more difficult. Under the national system, most efforts to improve teacher education in Korea have been initiated by the government. This situation implicates that voluntary bottom-up reform in teacher training is hard to take place within the national system (H. S. Kim, 2001). As a result, the quality of teacher education becomes doubtful, and most reforms could not succeed in the real sense although the national universities of education have produced an adequate number of teachers and have expanded their programs. Balancing voluntary participation and planned push from initiators and balancing top-down and bottom-up reforms are important tasks to be well performed.
4. CONCLUSION
Reviewed in this article is the national system of teacher training, which is composed of 12 national universities of education. The foci of review include historical development, major characteristics, strengths and weaknesses, issues, and with future directions, and implications for reforming teacher education. Throughout the article, the author has tried to figure out whether the Korean national system has really had more advantages when it is in comparison to an open system in which national and private institutes constituting numerous tracks coexist. The answer to this question is that the national system where only national universities play an exclusive role, as observed in Korea, seems not to be the best choice because of its disadvantages, including a lack of creativity, uniformity, and excessive burden on the government. Therefore, the conclusion of this article is that it is necessary to re-examine the exclusive position of national universities of education even if the objective- orientation of the system is pursued. In other words, the national system of elementary teacher training needs to be modified so that private institutes are allowed to join in the training to some degree. The desired system could be characterized as “a modified national system” or “an open system based on the national institutes.” KOREAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION 161
Consequently, countries that intend to restructure their teacher training system in order to meet demand for teachers may adopt the national system idea, but it should not be an exclusive system. Even though the establishment of more national institutes is desirable, sharing responsibility between national and private institutes is more important and more desirable. All in all, this chapter reviews the historical developments and major characteristics of the system, and further discusses its strengths and weaknesses, related issues, and implications for reforming the teacher training system. The analysis shows that the national system is a wonderful mechanism to produce a balance between teacher demand and supply under usual circumstances. However, the system has various quality related problems caused by rigid uniformity, lack of creativity, excessive burden of the government, and its efficacy as a balancing mechanism of teacher demand-supply. As such, in the Korea’s case, it is necessary to re-examine the exclusive position of national universities of education and then search for reform strategies and tactics to help the Korean national universities of education enhance the much needed effectiveness in adapting to the challenges in the new century that stem from the changing educational, socio-economic, and global contexts.
5. REFERENCES
Cha, W. S. (2000). A study on the current status and improvement plans of evaluating national universities of education. Master’s degree thesis, Pusan, Korea: Pusan National University. Han, M. H. (1997). Ensuring professionalism of curriculum of secondary school teacher training. Paper presented at the annual conference of Korean Society for the Study of Education. Seoul, Korea. Hwang, J. G., et al. (1995). A comprehensive study on the teacher education reform. Seoul, Korea: Seoul National University. Jin, D. S. (1997). Distance teacher education in Korea: recent developments and prospects. Paper presented at the KNOU-UNESCO PROAP workshop '97: teacher training at a distance, Seoul, Korea. Kim, G. J. (1999). Issues and tasks for development of Korea's teacher policy. Paper presented at the Korea-OECD seminar on teacher policy: cases of selected OECD member countries, Seoul, Korea. Kim, H. S. (1999). Teacher policy issue I: evaluation of teacher training institutes and reform of teacher training system. In The Korean Educational Development Institute (Ed.), Comprehensive analysis of education reforms policies (pp. 27-58). Seoul, Korea: Moonumsa. Kim, H. S. (2000). Towards achieving high quality pre-service teacher training in Korea. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development, 3(1), 55-77. Kim, H. S. (2001). Korean vision of teacher reform: An attempt for quality control and empowerment. Paper presented at the first international forum on education reform: experiences of selected countries, Bangkok, Thailand. Kim, H. S., & Lee, M. H. (1999). A study on the evaluation standards and indicators for national universities of education and their graduate schools of education. Seoul, Korea: Korean Educational Development Institute. Kim, J. B. (1996). Improvement tasks of elementary school teacher training: Korean educational reform and elementary teacher education system. Inchon, Korea: Research Center for Elementary Education at Inchon National University of Education. Kim, Y. H. (2000). The 21st century’s vision of the Korean teaching profession: Issues and policy plans. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development, 3(1), 35-54. Kwak, B. S. (1999). Call for a reform in Korea's primary and secondary education and improvement of teacher policy. Paper presented at the Korea-OECD seminar on teacher policy: cases of selected OECD member countries. Seoul, Korea. 162 HYE SOOK KIM
MaClean, R. (1999). Developments in teacher education in Asia and the Pacific: Issues and prospects towards the 21st century. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development, 2(1), 87-94. Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (2002). Improvement Plan of National Universities of Education. Seoul, Korea: Author. MOE & KEDI. (1996). The Korean education system: background report to the OECD. Seoul, Korea: Author. MOE & KEDI. (1999). Statistical yearbook of education. Seoul, Korea: Author. MOE & KEDI. (2000). Statistical yearbook of education. Seoul, Korea: Author. MOE & KEDI. (2001). Statistical yearbook of education. Seoul, Korea: Author. MOE & KEDI. (2002). Statistical yearbook of education. Seoul, Korea: Author. Lee, Y. S. (1998). Teacher education in the Republic of Korea. In the Korean Educational Development Institute (Ed.), Educational development in Korea: An analysis of investment and development strategies (pp. 135-166). Seoul: Korea. Lee, Y. S. (1999). Teacher education. In the Korean Educational Development Institute (Ed.), Economic development and educational policies in Korea (pp. 75-97). Seoul, Korea: Korean Educational Development Institute Lee, Y. S., Choi, S. G., & Huh, B. G. (1994). A study on the improvement of teacher education systems in Korea. Seoul, Korea: Korean Educational Development Institute. Pak, D. K. (2000). Impact of retirement age cut for teachers. In The Korean Educational Development Institute (Ed.), Review of Korean education 2000 (pp. 35-49). Seoul, Korea: Moonumsa. Pak, D. G., & Kim, H. S. (1997). A study on the reform strategy of teacher education system. Seoul, Korea: Korean Educational Development Institute. Park, Y. S. (2001). Imbalance of teacher supply and demand. In The Korean Educational Development Institute (Ed.), Review of Korean education 2001 (pp. 87-103). Seoul, Korea: Moonumsa. Presidential Commission on Education Reform. (1996). Educational reform agenda to establish a new education system. Seoul, Korea: Author. Presidents’ Association of National Universities of Education in Korea (1997). Toward improving Korean national universities of education: Focusing on solving current issues. Seoul, Korea: Author. Song, K. Y. (2000). The improvement of teacher certification and employment. The third discussion material (pp. 23-42). Seoul, Korea: The Korean Society of Educational Administration. GEOFF ROGERS
INCORPORATING ICT IN PRACTICUM
An Australian Experience
Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
1. INTRODUCTION
When computers first began to appear in schools, their use was mainly confined to electives or to subjects such as Computer Studies, Computer Awareness, or Keyboarding as typewriters began to be phased out. Computers in schools today are no longer seen as necessarily a specialized subject, but rather the expectation is that computers will be used by all teachers and children across all of the Key Learning Areas (KLAs). The emphasis has moved from learning about computers to learning with computers. The focus has moved from the computer per se to pedagogical strategies using computers that enhance the teaching and learning process. As a result of this changed emphasis, teacher education students need to have well developed information and communications technology (ICT) literacy skills that will enable them to effectively locate, retrieve, evaluate, manipulate, save, and present data in a meaningful form (Smyth, 1997). ICT is more than just another teaching tool. It has the potential to significantly improve the quality of children’s education as well as supporting teachers. It is able to be used by teachers to reduce their administration load and assist in their continuing professional training and development (Leask & Meadows, 2000). Increasingly, teachers need to be able to use technology to effectively communicate, collaborate, and support critical thinking and problem-solving (Rosenthal & Poftak, 1999). The final report of the review of teacher education in New South Wales (NSW) (Ramsey, 2000) included an examination of the issue of integrating ICT into pedagogy. The inquiry found that generally the use of ICT was not being sufficiently exploited during initial teacher education. The review reported that the focus both in universities and schools must be on quality teaching, and it listed ways in which ICT can contribute to better learning outcomes for children. A national survey of ICT skills and attitudes of teacher education students was conducted in Scotland in the session 1996-1997 (Simpson, Payne, Munro, & Lynch, 1998). This survey found that the students had very positive attitudes and
163 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 163—180. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 164 GEOFF ROGERS enthusiasm for ICT use in education. Although these students expected ICT to permeate through all of their professional work, the survey found that their ICT experiences during their teacher education course fell considerably short of their expectations. Many of the students felt that their course experiences did not enable them to understand ways in which the pedagogical potential and capabilities of technology could be realized in the classroom. In fact, the authors even suggested that the variety of types of ICT equipment currently in use in teacher education and schools was also a contributing factor. In the United States, the Milken Exchange on Education Technology conducted a survey of more than 400 teacher education institutions to determine the status of technology training (Basinger, 1999; Wood, 2000). The results found that teacher training institutions generally did not adequately prepare future teachers to make effectively use of technology. It was found that most faculty staff did not model the use of technology in their teaching and, although technology was available in the student’s field experience sites, it was not routinely used by teachers. On a more positive note, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (2001) in the United States have reported on a number of case illustrations of ICT being used effectively with teacher education students. Each case provides examples of a wide range of ICT usage with student teachers both in schools and universities. Smithey and Hough (1999) found that many of the teacher education students at their College who were initially resistant to using ICT in classrooms became their strongest supporters after they had graduated. These authors believed that such a dramatic turn around was partly the result of providing the students with opportunities to simultaneously practice using technology in the classroom while learning to design multimedia units in a supportive university environment. Because the use of ICT by teachers is so important for children’s future lives in the new millennium, it is felt that an investigation of current ICT usage by initial primary teacher education students is warranted. Most of the recent studies which have examined pre-service teacher’s usage and attitudes towards ICT have focused on their university contexts; so it may therefore be useful to discover the extent of usage by initial student teachers during their practicum. This will help ascertain whether the ICT knowledge, skills, and attitudes taught at the university are transferred into practical application in primary school classrooms. Before describing the methods used to survey the initial student teachers, it is first necessary to outline their current exposure to ICT in their four year Bachelor of Education (BEd) primary course. The research questions generated to guide the study will then be stated before presenting some of the data obtained from the survey. These findings will then be discussed before providing some of the implications arising from the findings for teacher educators.
2. SOME SUBJECTS THAT INVOLVE ELEMENTS OF ICT
All teacher education students enrolling in the BEd primary course at Charles Sturt University – Wagga Wagga are required to pass four science and technology INCORPORATING ICT IN PRACTICUM: AN AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE 165 subjects during their four years of study. In their first semester, initial student teachers complete the subject Computers and Information Studies in Education (EMT104). For the following two semesters, students take the two subjects – Science and Technology 1 & 2 (EMS 104 and 206). Then in their final fourth year, they will also revisit ICT where the subject Technology Across the Curriculum (EMT408) will draw together their acquired knowledge and experiences from all subjects studied during their course and practicum. Issues to be explored include integrating ICT into all areas of the curriculum, developing multimedia presentations, looking at the research relating to classroom computing, and assessing a range of software. The first semester subject – Computers and Information Studies in Education (EMT104) – seeks to introduce the initial student teachers to a range of ICT skills and concepts that can form the basis for the utilization of modern information resources. Both the computing skills and information searching and retrieving skills are essential ingredients for the students’ success in their professional studies at the University and for their life-long journey of learning. These skills will also be necessary for teaching and learning when they eventually become primary classroom teachers. This EMT104 subject has been structured to ensure that initial student teachers gain proficiency in all five key computing competencies which have been mandated by the (NSW) Ministerial Advisory Council and the Quality of Teaching (Department of Education and Training, 1999). These key competencies required of beginning teachers, fall into the following five categories: a) Basic Operations; b) Information Technology; c) Evaluation of Software; d) Pedagogical Issues (classroom management / learning theories / learning styles); and e) Values and Ethics. The delivery of this subject to the initial student teachers is via a weekly one- hour lecture, a two-hour hands-on workshop in a Mac Computer laboratory and a one-hour tutorial. In the lectures, this researcher, acting as a role model, employed a variety of technological teaching aids – Power Point presentations, CD-ROMs and live World Wide Web (WWW) (using an LCD projector), OHP transparencies, and video clips. In the second semester, the first year initial student teachers study the first part of a two strand subject about primary science and technology (EMS104). Throughout the EMS104 subject, strong links with the first semester ICT subject (EMT104) are maintained. The theme for this subject is “children learning science and technology.” Included in the Subject Outline is mention of useful science and technology Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) and electronic journals. URL Hot sites are shared at each lecture. As part of fostering a collaborative learning community, students are encouraged to also share with both their lecturer and peers the good science and technology URLs which they may have discovered. They can do this by posting them on the subject Forum. Lecture notes, required readings, and some assignment scores (using student numbers) are also posted on this Forum. In 166 GEOFF ROGERS addition, students start to make their own electronic data bases of science and technology URLs as part of their Resources Folio which forms one part of their assessment requirements. In the second strand of the science and technology subject (EMS206), the theme is “teaching and learning science and technology in a diversity of social contexts.” EMS206 takes place in the third semester (second year of the BEd primary course). This second year subject builds on and seeks to consolidate the themes and main content knowledge from the first subject by focusing mainly on pedagogy. Once again an attempt is made to integrate ICT. All students are required to incorporate aspects of ICT into their workshop presentations. This has included the use of Power Point; video and audio tapes; digital and video cameras; use of the Internet, including Web Quests (see Abruscato, 2000); overhead transparencies; and (several students have even used) slides. At the annual Science Day in a local school, one pair of students used Web Quests with stage three children in the school’s computer laboratory. Each pair of students was also required to e-mail a one-page summary of their Science Day activities, which is collated into a document and then posted on the Subject Forum for their peers to download. In many of the other subjects that the initial student teachers study, ICT usage is also actively fostered and encouraged.
3. PRACTICUM COMPETENCIES
During the initial student teachers’ practicum, supervising teachers are asked to report on the following seven practicum competencies: a) planning and implementing the teaching and learning process; b) managing classroom interactions and behavior; c) communicating/interacting and working with students and others; d) monitoring and assessing student’s progress; e) reflecting, evaluating, and planning for continuous improvement; f) using and developing professional knowledge and values; and g) teaching and learning technologies. There is an expectation that, over the four practicum (one per year), students will develop increasing levels of achievement in all seven competencies (Table 1). Further, for each year, a list of indicators for each of the seven competencies is provided. Table 2 presents an example – the areas of competence covered in the fourth practicum (Internship) with indicators identified for student teachers.
4. THE STUDY
Each year the initial student teachers are required to complete a practicum placement in a local primary school as part of their course. Towards the end of their first year of study, initial student teachers spend the equivalent of three weeks in a class – five full days every fortnight, followed by a block of two full weeks. In the second year, they spend a three-week block in another class, while in the third year this increases to an extended block of five weeks in yet another school. For each of INCORPORATING ICT IN PRACTICUM: AN AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE 167 these three practicum, all of the students are full-time and their teaching load is progressively extended on each practicum such that, during their final weeks, they are teaching their classes for almost full-time. During their fourth year, they complete an internship in which they are required to teach a class full-time for the whole ten-week second term. The normal class teacher is released to conduct a special project and the intern is supported and supervised by mentors from the host school.
Table 1. Area of Competence Covered in the Practicum
FIRST SECOND THIRD INTERNSHIP PRACTICUM PRACTICUM PRACTICUM Exploring Developing Applying Consolidating Uses a variety of Integrates and Integrates and Integrates technology in the applies technology applies technology technology by planning and in the teaching and in a range of multi- structuring development of learning process media and programs and class activities interactive lessons to presentations to incorporate useful facilitate learning and appropriate computer activities
In order to survey the extent of ICT usage during practicum placements in local schools, it is helpful to consider the following three questions to help guide the investigation: Firstly, do initial student teachers make use of ICT, and in particular computers, during their practicum experiences in local schools? Secondly, what is the current extent of computer usage of supervising teachers in the primary schools where our initial student teachers complete their practicum? And thirdly, is there a noticeable confidence trend in computer usage by the third year initial student teachers as compared with the first and second year initial student teachers? An anonymous questionnaire (see Appendix) was administered to all of the initial student teachers following their practicum placements. The questionnaire contains a mixture of both closed and open questions. While administering the questionnaire, many of the university classes engaged in discussion about the topic of ICT usage during their practicum. Although it is realized that some of the information obtained may not be totally accurate (e.g., exact numbers of computers in laboratories), it was, nevertheless, felt that this was the most expedient method for obtaining it. It could be argued that the initial student teachers’ observations of their supervising teacher’s ICT usage are probably more accurate than had schools been asked to respond to such a survey. 168 GEOFF ROGERS
Table 2. Areas of Competence and Indicators
FOURTH PRACTICUM Consolidating Indicators – Integrates technology by – Evidence of increasing range of structuring programs and lessons to computer applications being used, e.g., incorporate useful and appropriate word processing, spread sheets, data computer activities. bases (including CD ROMS), software, – Uses increasingly sophisticated WWW, scanner, digital camera, learning technologies for graphics (paint/draw), multi-media, classroom and administrative and desktop publishing. purposes. – Explores the use of multi-media presentations for self and students. – Uses computer applications for record keeping and reporting. – Uses computer applications for administrative purposes. – Engages in small scale action research involving information technology (e.g., gender access to computers). – Able to monitor, evaluate and report student learning demonstrated in learning technologies based activities.
5. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
The survey data produced an interesting snap shot of the usage of ICT by initial student teachers and their supervising teachers during the practicum. The quantitative data obtained will first be presented in tabular form and this will then be followed by a discussion of some of the qualitative data.
5.1 Cohorts Surveyed
Table 3 contains general information about the 173 initial student teachers who completed the survey. Table 4 contains the number of initial student teachers who taught in single (or straight) year level classes and those who taught in composite (or multi-year level) classes. The majority of classes taught by the initial student teachers were multi-year level. Hatton (1999) has argued that the growth of these composite classes in NSW has largely been brought about as a result of drastic cuts in teacher employment. From Table 5, it would appear that marginally more initial student teachers taught in stage 1 classes (K-2) than in stages 2 (3/4) or 3 (5/6). Although there was an average of 2.5 computers in each classroom to use (see Table 6), the survey also found that a total of 12 classrooms used for practicum INCORPORATING ICT IN PRACTICUM: AN AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE 169 placements did not have any computers available for children to use. All but one of these classes had access to a computer laboratory elsewhere in the school. Further, Table 7 reveals that just over half of the classrooms with computers were networked. This number no doubt is expected to increase even more in the next few years.
Table 3. General Information about the Interns
Practicum Numbers of Males % Females % initial student teachers 1st Year 55 11 20 44 80 2nd Year 49 10 20 39 80 3rd Year 43 5 12 38 88 4th Year 26 4 15 22 85 Total 173 30 17 143 83
Table 4. Year Levels of Classes Taught
Interns Straight Year Level Classes Multi Year Level Classes 1st Year 33 22 2nd Year 16 33 3rd Year 18 25 4th Year 9 17 Total 76 97
Table 5. Number of Classes at Different Year Level Taught by Interns
Interns Year K 1 2 3 4 5 6 1st Year 19 16 12 6 8 11 8 2nd Year 11 12 16 17 17 13 10 3rd Year 17 16 20 10 12 12 13 4th Year 2 4 6 4 11 12 10 Total 49 48 54 37 48 48 41 170 GEOFF ROGERS
Table 6. Number of Stand Alone Computers in Each Classroom for Children to Use Reported by Interns
Total Average per Class 1st Year 102 2.0 2nd Year 110 2.2 3rd Year 116 2.7 4th Year 76 3.2 Total 404 2.5
Table 7. Classroom Computers Connected to the NET Reported by Interns
Interns Yes % No % Not Sure % 1st Year 23 44 28 54 1 2 2nd Year 31 63 18 37 / / 3rd Year 23 60.5 15 39.5 / / 4th Year 18 69 8 31 / / Total 95 58 69 41.5 1 0.5
Tables 8 and 9 reveal that nearly two thirds of schools surveyed had computer laboratories with an average size of nearly 18 computers. Tebbutt’s (1999) Australian science case study stressed the importance of adequate numbers of computers for the effective use of ICT in the curriculum. Other Australian research by Shearman (1997) reported an over 70% preference for having both computer laboratories and computers in classrooms.
Table 8. Networked Computer Laboratory in School Reported by Interns
Interns Yes % No % Not sure % 1st Year 37 67 17 31 1 2 2nd Year 21 43 28 57 / / 3rd Year 26 60 17 40 / / 4th Year 19 73 7 27 / / Total 103 60 69 39.5 1 0.5
Table 9. Number of Computers in Laboratories Reported by Interns
Interns Total Average 1st Year 710 19 2nd Year 406 19 3rd Year 385 14.8 4th Year 327 17.2 Total 1,828 17.5 INCORPORATING ICT IN PRACTICUM: AN AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE 171
The survey sought information about the type of computer platforms that were used in the practicum schools (Table 10). It was interesting that, in NSW, nearly half of the primary schools still use the Mac platform exclusively. The question arises as to whether this platform is being progressively changed over to IBM compatible PCs. Therefore, even though the vast majority of initial student teachers have PCs themselves (obtained from internal surveys of their home use of computers), it is still important at this stage to ensure that initial student teachers are taught at university to use both platforms in order for them to feel comfortable using Macs, should they have them in their future primary classrooms.
Table 10. Platforms Used Reported by Interns
Interns PCs % Macs % Both % 1st Year 18 33 23 42 14 25 2nd Year 19 39 28 57 2 4 3rd Year 15 38 20 51 4 11 4th Year 10 53 7 37 2 10 Total 62 38 78 48 22 14
The survey reveals (see Table 11) that a significant number of initial student teachers still appear reluctant to embrace current learning technologies in their pedagogical repertoire. A little over half of the initial student teachers surveyed actually used computers during their practicum. The survey shows (Table 12) that the computer usage did increase from the first year through to the fourth year students. Such a trend was pleasing to note although it was not all that unexpected.
Table 11. Use Made of Computer Usage by Students during their Practicum
Practicum Yes % No % 1st Year 19 35 36 65 2nd Year 21 43 28 57 3rd Year 32 74 11 26 4th Year 24 92 2 8 Total 96 55 77 45
Table 12. Number of Classes at Different Year Level without Computer Usage
Year Interns K 1 2 3 4 5 6 1st Year 11 9 9 5 4 7 6 2nd Year 9 8 11 9 9 5 4 3rd Year 5 5 8 2 / / / 4th Year / / / / 2 1 / Total 25 22 28 16 15 13 10 172 GEOFF ROGERS
Table 13 reveals that 22% of supervising teachers did not make use of computers at all. These findings seem to be consistent with results obtained from similar surveys conducted here in Australia and overseas. In a Victorian study of learning technologies in pre-service teacher education courses, Jones (1999) also found significant numbers of both supervising teachers and initial student teachers did not use computers during their practicum. Similar sentiments have been expressed by McKenzie (2001), who reports that teachers were not making full use of networks. Parkinson (1998) claims that 27% of pre-service students did not have the opportunity to use ICT during their practicum. A recent survey in the United States reveals that only 20% of teachers in public schools felt comfortable with using technology in their classrooms (Rosenthal & Poftak, 1999). The NSW Teacher Education Review (Ramsey, 2000) maintains that technology usage in classrooms is well below that which students need. And finally, in a study conducted in Scotland, Simpson et al. (1998) find that one-third of initial student teachers had not been exposed to a range of ICT during their practicum. The current survey failed to ascertain the precise nature of the supervising teacher’s use of computers in their classrooms. Nevertheless, it could be argued that in fact more supervising teachers than stated did not effectively use computers in their classrooms, as a number of initial student teachers reported in the survey that many supervising teachers simply allowed the children in their classes to play games in “free” time. This was the only way that they used computers. As such, it is questionable that these supervising teachers were using computers effectively in their classrooms. The data contained in Table 14 details the extent of computer usage made by children in school libraries. About half of the children taught by initial student teachers did not make any use of computers in the library. Some initial student teachers reported that their school library had no computers. It was also surprising that 14 initial student teachers were “not sure.” Some claimed that they were unable to comment, because they did not go to the library with the children as they had to be elsewhere. A number of initial student teachers reported that children used the catalogue and that the school’s computer laboratory was located in the library.
Table 13. Computer Usage by Supervising Teacher’s
Interns Yes % No % 1st Year 49 89 6 11 2nd Year 33 67 16 33 3rd Year 34 79 9 21 4th Year N/A N/A Total 116 78 31 22 INCORPORATING ICT IN PRACTICUM: AN AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE 173
Table 14. Computers in School Library Used by Children
Yes % No % Not Sure % 1st Year 25 45 27 49 3 6 2nd Year 23 47 22 45 4 8 3rd Year 12 28 27 63 4 9 4th Year 13 50 10 39 3 11 Total 73 42 86 50 14 8
6. QUALITATIVE RESPONSES
Perhaps some of the most interesting data to emerge from the survey was the individual comments made by the initial student teachers to the open-ended questions in the questionnaire. They commented quite openly about what they observed and provided a rich and “mixed” picture of the state of computer usage in schools: although all schools had access to computers, the amount and quality of their usage varied considerably. It was apparent from the qualitative responses that ICT was being used by the initial student teachers and their supervising teachers in the schools and classes for a wide variety of purposes. English (and to a lesser extent Mathematics) still appears to be the main KLA where it is being utilized and this was also found to be the case in England (Riggs & Gujral, 2000). Word processing and publishing stories and poems were the most popular computer usage mentioned by the initial student teachers. Other language usage included reading activities, spelling word research, touch typing, posters, headings, labels, and e- mates (e-mails). In mathematics, mention was made of graphing, tables, number concepts, games, and enrichment activities using CD-ROMS. For Human Society and its Environment, net searching was most frequently mentioned together with encyclopedias (Encarta) and publishing. For Science, some initial student teachers used computers for a range of activities: to research and prepare a pamphlet about caring for an animal; to develop a fact file on endangered species, lifecycles, or Space Unit; and to apply Design Technology involving designing fun parks. Some other different uses of computers included assisting to organize a sports carnival; preparing templates for future use by staff; using scanners and digital cameras; making slide shows; using computer task cards. Several students also mentioned that they used the computers for rewarding fast finishers and good behavior – to play games! Some of the software mentioned included Kidspic, Storybook Weaver, Typing and Claris Works. A number of supervising teachers made use of their computer for lesson preparation (worksheets etc.) and reports. Mention was also made of bookmarking URLs and using graphics. A special needs child in one of the classes made use of a computer. The use of rosters to ensure that children had equitable access was mentioned on a number of occasions. And finally, several students mentioned that the children in their classes had specially designated weekly computer studies lessons. This ensured that they had at least weekly exposure to computers. 174 GEOFF ROGERS
Perhaps the greatest concern was the fact that 11 third-year and two fourth-year initial student teachers did not make use of computers at all during their practicum. One would have thought that by the end of three or four years of their teacher education course, all initial student teachers would have been keen to attempt to explore the use of computers with children during their practicum. Finally, mention was made by some initial student teachers about technical problems encountered with computer usage, such as slow computers and frequent breakdowns of school network systems. Unfortunately, these are often common features and can be considered to be simply part of implementing emerging new technologies.
7. SURVEY OF URBAN STUDENTS
In the year following the survey reported in this chapter, the author administered a similar survey with initial primary student teachers attending a university in Brisbane. The undergraduate students were in their third year [of their 4 year course] while the graduate students were in the second semester of their final second year of their BEd (Primary) course. A total of 160 students reported their computer usage while on their recent practicum placements which were all in urban primary schools. The findings were found to be very similar to those rural and regional schools reported in this paper. A diverse picture also emerged in which initial student teachers usage of computers during their practicum varied from very little or no usage through to extensive usage. Likewise the supervising teacher’s usage of computers ranged from nil through to total integration within their classroom. An interesting trend emerged whereby for many classes, computer usage did not occur at all in the classroom but was limited to the weekly lesson in the laboratory, usually with another teacher. Once again a majority of classroom computers seemed to be largely used for games, “free” or “fill in” time and rewards. Only one student reported the use of Apple Macs in a school whereas all the rest used PCs.
8. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER EDUCATORS
From an analysis of the extent to which supervising teachers and initial student teachers made use of computers, there would seem to be four broad categories of computer usage: information-searching and -retrieving; publishing (word processing etc.); games; and communication (e-mails etc.). In some classes/schools, only one particular category of usage seemed to dominate. In those schools, it was usually the case that children were simply allowed in “free” time to play games. In those classes or schools which seemed to be most effectively using computers, all four categories were the norm with “free” time to play games less frequent. In these schools, computers were seen as powerful teaching and learning tools. Arising from an analysis of the data obtained, including qualitative comments made by initial student teachers, a number of issues appear to emerge that have direct implications for teacher educators. These implications include Internet usage; INCORPORATING ICT IN PRACTICUM: AN AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE 175 classroom management; contextual constraints; initial student teachers ICT usage at university; prevalence of computer laboratories; computer usage during “free” times; ICT usage in school libraries and software. Each of these implications will now be discussed. Firstly, the number of classrooms that have direct links to the Internet was higher than expected and, because this trend is likely to continue even further in the future, student teachers may therefore need more specific instruction on how to best utilize the Internet across all KLAs. Kumari (1998) contends that, although training teachers in the technical skills to use the Internet is important, it is equally important to challenge them to rethink and re-envision teaching and learning using the Internet. One student teacher made the comment about the difficulty of integrating computers into teaching when there was only one computer (or a few stand alones) in the classroom. Perhaps if the classroom teaching strategies were primarily whole class teaching, then effectively utilizing one or two stand-alones would be problematic. It has been my observation that in those classrooms where group and individual work is the norm, then computer integration occurs a lot more readily. The use of Web Quests (Abruscato, 2000) offers one option for initial student teachers to explore further. Computers can also be a means whereby children are able to use them to report their findings to others. One increasingly popular method is to have children create multi-media presentations. Although this strategy was not mentioned specifically in the survey, initial student teachers may need to be encouraged by teacher educators to explore such approaches. Do we as teacher educators fail to include mention of contextual constraints for computer usage that initial student teachers are likely to encounter in schools and classrooms? During the teaching of internal subjects, initial student teachers need to be provided with numerous opportunities to realize the pedagogical potential of using ICT and to explore how this might be realized in classroom settings, taking into account potential contextual constraints. Given that this study has revealed that a significant number of initial student teachers did not utilize ICT during their practicum, as teacher educators we need to re examine the extent to which students are exposed to ICT in all pre-service subjects taught at university. On many occasions the literature has stressed the need to integrate ICT instruction across all subjects (Basinger, 1999; Rosenthal & Poftak, 1999; Simpson, Payne, Munro, & Hughes, 1999; Wood, 2000). Initial student teachers need practice at preparing lesson plans and delivering micro-teaching sessions both of which need to include the use of ICT. Classrooms at universities therefore need to contain the very latest Learning Technologies. This survey has highlighted the prevalence of computer laboratories in many primary schools and therefore pedagogical strategies that include both computer laboratories and stand-alone computers in classrooms need to be taught to initial teacher education students. Student teachers need to be encouraged to explore using computers for a variety of uses across all KLAs. In this study computer usage was very broad and covered a wide range of uses. Such an eclectic use of computers needs to be fostered with initial student teachers. 176 GEOFF ROGERS
On many occasions initial student teachers reported that the only use of computers was for children to play games in “free” time such as before and after school and at lunch times. Such a limiting use of computers needs to be explored further and initial student teachers need to be encouraged to question whether this is the most effective use of computing resources. Arising from the data about library usage of computers, it appears that a number of initial student teachers were rather vague about this feature of primary schools. Perhaps as part of instruction in all curriculum subjects, there is a need to emphasize more the important use of ICT in school libraries to support and enhance teaching across all KLAs. Only a few students commented on software programs and this is an issue that needs to be covered to a greater extent. Initial student teachers need to be encouraged to observe and note useful software encountered during their practicum. These could form part of assessment requirements: for example, being included as part of curriculum resources folios.
9. FURTHER RESEARCH
Arising from the findings of this study, a number of additional issues have emerged that may warrant further investigation. These issues include reasons for non-use of ICT; using liaison lecturers; secondary practicum; extending ICT usage to include other learning technologies; gender; and teaching strategies for integrating ICT usage. Attempts could be made to discover, for example, why the 11 third-year and two fourth-year initial student teachers did not make use of ICT during their practicum. Have these students ever used computers during any other of their practicum? Did they use any other forms of learning technologies? Why have their peers acquired ICT skills and they have not, if that was the case? Are these students transferred students and have missed foundations studies in ICT? The findings could be helpful and may be related to aspects of their current university course and its subjects and preparation. Greater use could be made of liaison lecturers when they are visiting initial student teachers on practicum to collect data similar to that obtained in this survey. It could be argued that data obtained this way may be more reliable than that obtained from initial student teachers alone. An area of particular significance which arose from this study is the actual type and quality of computer usage made by the supervising teachers. Liaison lectures would be an ideal source to collect reliable data about this and other ICT aspects. The secondary initial teacher education cohort of students is another area worthy of further investigation? What is their amount of computer usage while they are on practicum and internship placements? To what extent do their supervising teachers make use of ICT? (These students could also be surveyed on their return to university after completing their practicum.) Although not surveyed in this study, it would be interesting to know the extent to which initial student teachers make use of other learning technologies during their INCORPORATING ICT IN PRACTICUM: AN AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE 177 practicum: for example, digital and video cameras, audio and video tapes, DVDs, OHPs, slides, TV, worksheets prepared using publishing software, multi-media (Power Point or Slide Shows), Hyper Studio, CD-ROMS, developing web pages, electronic teacher’s journals for program and lesson planning, etc. (On visits to local primary schools during practicum liaison, I have observed that most classrooms do have an OHP and screen, but unfortunately most are usually in a corner gathering dust. Once I even saw a listening post in a K/1 class I visited.) This survey did not attempt to explore the frequency of gender usage of classroom computers. This important issue needs to be raised with initial teacher education students so that they can have an awareness of the need for all children to have equity of access. Various special measures used by classroom teachers to address this important issue could be raised with initial student teachers. Finally, further research could be undertaken to determine the most effective models for integrating ICT into classrooms. With the increasing incidence of individual classrooms being connected to the internet (as revealed in this study), this is an area of increasing importance.
10. CONCLUSION
The results obtained from the survey used in the study have shown that in many schools, initial student teachers and their supervising teachers made good use of ICT. It has also highlighted the fact that a significant number of initial student teachers do not use ICT while teaching on their practicum. Because computers and other learning technologies have the potential to greatly enhance children’s learning, it is therefore reasonable to expect that all initial student teachers will attempt to incorporate ICT into at least some of their lessons during their practicum. Maybe practicum handbooks need to include expectations that ICT will be incorporated into lessons taught by initial student teachers during each of their practicum placements. All initial student teachers need to be aware of the latest learning technologies, posses a positive attitude towards their potential to enhance learning and be willing to experiment with them during their practicum. The question also arises as to what else can be done to ensure that those initial student teachers who did not use ICT during their practicum in fact do make use of it. As Jones (1999) has pointed out, supervising classroom teachers who do not use computers with children themselves will not encourage initial student teachers to use computers. In such a situation, the initial student teachers can be caught in a dilemma. One of the criteria for the selection of practicum supervising teachers could be a willingness to utilize ICT and so avoid such scenarios occurring in the future. Finally, as teacher educators, we need to act as powerful ICT role models for our students. The effective use of ICT in our pedagogical practices should be the norm. It should be possible to walk around schools of teacher education and see lecturers and students using a wide variety of teaching and learning technologies. The challenge for all teacher educators is to acknowledge that ICT can be a powerful pedagogical resource and to daily model its use for the benefit of all their students. 178 GEOFF ROGERS
Because we all live in a global knowledge-based age, today’s children in schools deserve teachers who are able to embrace the best that ICT can bring to enhance learning.
11. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to acknowledge and express thanks to my colleagues for their assistance in obtaining the survey data used in the study reported here: Tracey Smith, Ray Petts, Philippa Bostock, Dr. Kennece Coombe, and Dr. Barry Cocklin of the Charles Sturt University; Donna King, Christine McDonald, and Susan Peatey of the Queensland University of Technology.
12. REFERENCES
Abruscato, J. (2000). Teaching children science: A discovery approach (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Basinger, J. (1999). Colleges fail to show teachers how to use technology. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 45(27), 24. Department of Education and Training. (1999). NSW Ministerial Advisory Council and the quality of teaching. Sydney: Author. Hatton, E. (1999). Contemporary classroom practice in Australian primary classrooms. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 27(3), 1-21. Jones, T. (1999). Learning technologies in pre-service teacher education courses: Concerns of students [On-line]. Available: http://www.aare.edu.au/99pap/jon99246.htm Kumari, S. (1998). Teaching with the internet. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 7(3), 363-377. Leask, M., & Meadows, J. (2000). Teaching and learning with ICT in the primary school. London: Routledge Falmer. McKenzie, J. (2001). Head of the class: How teachers learn technology best. Electronic School [On-line]. Available: http://www.electronic-school.com/2001/01/0101f2.html National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. (2001). Special projects: Technology initiatives [On-line]. Available: http://www.ncate.org/accred/projects/ tech/ci12.htm Parkinson, J. (1998). The difficulties in developing information technology competencies with student science teachers. Research in Science and Technological Education, 16(1), 67-78. Ramsey, G. (2000). Review of teacher education in NSW [On-line]. Available: http://www.det.nsw.edu.au/teachrev/reports/letter.htm Riggs, A., & Gujral, A. (2000). The properties that matter: Children’s perceptions of student teachers in science. In H. Cooper, & R. Hyland (Eds.), Children’s perceptions of learning with trainee teachers, (pp. 67-76). London: Routledge Falmer. Rosenthal, I. G., & Poftak, A. (1999). New teachers and technology: Are they prepared? Technology and Learning, 19(8), 22-28. Shearman, A. L. (1997). How can the effective use of computing be promoted in classrooms. Compute-Ed [On- line], 3. Available: http://pandora.nla.gov.au/nph-arch/O1998-Dec- 3/http://www.education.uts.edu.au/projects/comped/Vol3/shearman.html Simpson, M., Payne, F., Munro, R., & Hughes, S. (1999). Using information and communications technology as a pedagogical tool: Who educates the educators? Journal of Education for Teaching, 25(3), 247-262. Simpson, M., Payne, F., Munro, R., & Lynch, E. (1998). Using information and communications technology as a pedagogical tool: A survey of initial teacher education in Scotland. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 7(3), 431-446. Smithey, M. W., & Hough, B. W. (1999). Creating technology advocates: Connecting preservice teachers with technology. T. H. E. Journal, 26(8), 78-79. Smyth, M. (1997). Teaching and learning with technology: A threat or a challenge? Teaching and Learning [On-line]. Available: http://www.unimelb.edu.au/tisp/ teaching/teachingms2.htm INCORPORATING ICT IN PRACTICUM: AN AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE 179
Tebbutt, M. (1999). Information and communications technology in the science curriculum: An Australian case study. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 8(1), 25-37. Wood, J. (2000). Will new teachers be prepared to teach in a digital age? A national survey on information technology in teacher education. Childhood Education, 76(2), 120. 180 GEOFF ROGERS
APPENDIX
Computer Usage Survey a) Your gender F / M [circle] b) Year level[s] of class______c) Number of stand alone computers [for student use] in classroom______d) What platform were these? PCs or Macs or both [circle] e) Were these classroom computers connected to the Net? Y / N [circle] f) Did the school have a networked computer lab? Y / N [circle] g) If so, approximately how many computers were in the Lab?______h) What platform was used in the lab? PCs or Macs or both [circle] i) Did you make use of computers during your practicum? Y / N
If you have made use of them, please briefly describe how they have been used in the classroom. [maybe dot points / names of programs etc.]
Never used Once per week Several times / wk Daily
a) How did your supervising classroom teacher make use of computers in their classroom during the period of your practicum? Briefly describe. [Note this question not applicable to Internship]
b) Did the children in your class use computers in the school library? Briefly describe if they did.
c) Are there any other general comments that you wish to make about computer usage in the school. e.g., Do you think that your classroom was “typical" of others in the school re computer usage / technical problems / computer literacy of children etc.
Thank you for completing this survey. CONNIE TITONE & ROBERT CUNNINGHAM
AN AMERICAN CLUSTER PLACEMENT MODEL FOR ENRICHING FIELD EXPERIENCE
Department of Education and Human Services, Villanova University, United States
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The College of New Jersey, United States
1. INTRODUCTION
Student teaching, the senior field experience, or internship is the culminating experience of a pre-service teacher’s educational program, and its importance in the preparation of new teachers has been well documented (Blanton, Berenson, & Norwood, 2001; Brimfield & Leonard, 1983; Campbell & Wheatley, 1983; Wilson, Banaszak, & McClelland, 1995). This experience provides teacher candidates with their first real opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of teaching and refine their skills in the classroom. For many, it is the only opportunity they will ever have to receive systematic feedback on their teaching from several experienced teaching colleagues over time. Traditionally, the student teaching or internship model that U.S. pre-service teacher education programs have used to place teacher candidates in the field has resulted in locating one or occasionally two secondary education majors in the same school for a semester. At The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), students have worked with one or two cooperating teachers, one college supervisor from the School of Education, and another college supervisor from the School of Arts and Sciences. With the more than 100 secondary majors per year at the college, across all teaching disciplines, faculty have worked with numerous schools in many communities and two states. Despite the complexity and inherent inefficiencies of this model, the college has maintained a reputation for producing well-prepared, high quality secondary teachers. With the desire to make the experience even more beneficial to the teacher candidates and also to redefine the relationships among the college faculty and the faculty at local schools, the School of Education at TCNJ has recently sought to reconceptualize the traditional senior field experience model. The School specifically wanted to address the isolation that students, teachers, and college faculty have said that they experience, and to improve the collaboration skills of its
181 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 181—196. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 182 CONNIE TITONE & ROBERT CUNNINGHAM teacher candidates.1 The context for the impetus to change came after the college established a network of Professional Development Schools (PDS) and began to discuss other possible configurations for placing teacher candidates. 2 The Department of Educational Administration and Secondary Education, along with colleagues in the Mathematics Department, considered many options to enhance the practice. Finally, focusing on the outcomes for exemplary professionals as described in two of the department’s guiding documents, faculty agreed to experiment with a new model – the cluster placement concept. The two documents – Creating Exemplary Professionals: The Conceptual Framework of Professional Education (The Framework) and the Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics (The Standards) – will be discussed in greater detail in the next section. The proposal the School piloted necessitated several structural changes. The School increased the number of teacher candidates within a single school and drew them all from the same teaching discipline – mathematics. A similar community of learners was created by Frykholm (1998), who used graduate students to mentor student teachers. In that study, student teachers were able to implement instruction resembling what The Standards described in the National Council for Teachers’ of Mathematics document. TCNJ’s method, however, included other components for engaging the student teachers. The Mathematics Department at a nearby high school had volunteered to serve as the cluster site and seven of their nine eligible mathematics faculty members became involved in the project. Because of the number of teacher candidates and the approximately 50 observations required, the two college supervisors committed to spend one full day each week together at the high school for a semester. Also, the number of students was sufficient to offer the student teaching seminar at the high school rather than at the college where it had traditionally met. While not referring to a cohort specifically, Stipek, Givvin, Salmon, and MacGyvers (2001) highlighted the critical importance of specifically focused inquiry and reflection during the student teaching experience and in the development of student teachers’ instructional practice.TCNJ’s weekly seminar, required of teacher candidates formalized inquiry and reflection. One of the authors of this report was scheduled at the conclusion of the school day and was team-taught by the two college supervisors. Cooperating teachers had a standing invitation to attend and participate. Overall, the aim of the cluster model was to reduce isolation and improve practice by developing a cohort of students, school faculty, and college faculty working in collaboration on the preparation of a new teacher.
1 Isolation among students and experienced teachers during the senior field experience was one of the concerns that propelled the reconceptualization of the field experience. The Principles and Standard for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000) argues that most teachers work in relative isolation with little support for innovation and few incentives to improve practice. 2 The PDS network is a partnership designed to strengthen the relationship between the college and a variety of local school districts for the purpose not only of improving teacher education as it exists in the college setting, but also of improving teaching and learning as they exist in the schools themselves. AN AMERICAN CLUSTER PLACEMENT MODEL 183
The primary focus of this chapter is to report on our understanding of the teacher candidates’ conception of how working in the cluster affected their professional development and to draw some conclusions based on our experience about the benefits and challenges of this particular placement model. In the next section, we offer a professional development framework and standards for mathematics teaching through which we have viewed our work and the cluster placement model.
2. THEORETICAL CONTEXT
The theoretical context for the analysis is defined by two documents: Creating Exemplary Professionals: The Conceptual Framework of Professional Education (TCNJ, School of Education, 1996) and Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 1991). It is easier to evaluate the effectiveness of the placement model when the ideal characteristics described in the documents are used as our end-in-view.
2.1 The Framework
The document, Creating Exemplary Professionals: The Conceptual Framework of Professional Education, was developed by the entire faculty at the School of Education at TCNJ. In the remainder of this chapter, we refer to this document as The Framework. The Framework is aligned with the standards of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (1995), and is based on current thinking, research, and practice regarding the nature of learning, teaching, and schooling. When conceptualizing The Framework, the Faculty chose five programmatic themes: Knowledge and Inquiry; Excellence in Practice; Multiculturalism, Diversity, and Inclusion; Multiple Contexts and Communities; and Leadership and Advocacy. In the conceptual framework document, each theme heading is followed by several phrases, called “dispositions,” that describe the exemplary professional’s characteristics or prevailing attitudes toward one aspect of knowledge and practice. Dispositions are then followed by associated learning outcomes that are expected to be attained by teacher candidates at the completion of their program of study. An abbreviated listing of selected dispositions representative of each of the five framework themes is recorded in Table 1.
2.2 The Standards
The second document, Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics (NCTM, 1991), will hereafter be referred to as The Standards. It offers essential guidance to U.S. colleges and universities engaged in the formal preparation and professional development of teachers of mathematics. 184 CONNIE TITONE & ROBERT CUNNINGHAM
Table 1. An Abbreviated Listing of Selected Dispositions
Themes Dispositions Knowledge and – Knowledge and inquiry are complex, dynamic, flexible, Inquiry generative, and interrelated – Learners are viewed as active constructors of knowledge – Reflection is practiced for professional development and program improvement Excellence in – Collaboration is practiced to enhance growth for all members Practice of the learning community – Perfect practice through ongoing inquiry and learning Multiculturalism, – Use knowledge about how human commonalties and Diversity, and differences affect teaching and learning Inclusion – Work successfully with and have knowledge of learners with diverse backgrounds Multiple Context – Demonstrate efficacy in multiple contexts that include urban, and Communities multilingual, diverse, and global settings – Collegiality and professionalism are descriptive of their interactions Leadership and – Provide service on behalf of students Advocacy – Develop leadership for the enhancement of practice and the profession – Promote individual development and social justice through education
As does The Framework, The Standards encourages the implementation of college-school collaborations for continued self-improvement among professionals. It recommends that college faculty spend significant time working with cooperating teachers and student teachers in schools to improve the chances that students gain a broad understanding of all aspects of the school environment. The Standards describes the ideal of highly effective mathematics teaching as including learning about mathematics and pedagogy, benefiting from interactions with students and colleagues, and engaging in ongoing professional development through self- reflection. An excerpt from The Standards is as follows:
2.2.1 Standard: Developing as a Teacher of Mathematics The pre-service and continuing education of teachers of mathematics should provide them with opportunities to: a) examine and revise their assumptions about the nature of mathematics, how it should be taught, and how students learn mathematics; b) observe and analyze a range of approaches to mathematics teaching and learning, focusing on the tasks, discourse, environment and assessment; AN AMERICAN CLUSTER PLACEMENT MODEL 185 c) work with a diverse range of students individually, in small groups, and in large settings with guidance from and in collaboration with mathematics education professionals; d) analyze and evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of their teaching; and e) develop dispositions toward teaching mathematics.
3. BACKGROUND
The high school that provided the setting for TCNJ’s experiment in using the cluster placement model is located in central New Jersey, and is a comprehensive four-year public high school in a very diverse community. With an enrollment of 1,200 students in 1999, its average Scholastic Aptitude Test scores were 517 (verbal achievement) and 541 (mathematics achievement). Also, about 90% of the 1999 graduates attended a college or university directly upon graduation.
3.1 Participants
The teacher candidates consisted of seven secondary mathematics education majors, five males and two females, six undergraduates and one graduate student. This senior field experience followed a rigorous preparation in mathematics. The undergraduates completed the same major requirements as other mathematics majors at the College: 48 credits of mathematics, and two courses in teaching mathematics. Coinciding with this content preparation was a strong education sequence including a course in foundations of education, Schools in American Culture, Teaching Reading at the Junior and Senior High School levels, Sophomore Professional Experience, and Junior Professional Experience. These teacher candidates earned the equivalent of a double major in mathematics and education. This breadth of preparation is recommended by The Standards and the Guidelines for Programs and Departments in Undergraduate Mathematical Sciences (Mathematical Association of America, 2000). The graduate student’s education was similarly comprehensive. Seven out of nine eligible faculty members in the Mathematics Department of the high school served as cooperating teachers for the cluster. Four were female and three had served as cooperating teachers for the College in prior years. Two experienced members of the college faculty, the authors, chose to serve as supervisors and seminar instructors for the cluster. Both had taught high school for approximately ten years before beginning their academic careers at the college level more than eight years ago.
3.2 Arrangements
The cluster placement model retained the same format for observation as the traditional model during the full-semester senior field experience. The college faculty observed students once every two weeks. They observed each student a 186 CONNIE TITONE & ROBERT CUNNINGHAM minimum of seven times during the semester; four observations were conducted by a supervisor from the Mathematics Department and three by the supervisor from the Secondary Education Department. Each observation consists of a pre- and post- conference between the supervisor and the student. A written observation report was submitted to the cooperating teachers, the teacher candidate, and the department head at the conclusion of the post-conference. Several forms of written documentation were collected during the semester for data. Field notes from seminar classes, from student conferences, and from interactions with cooperating teachers and school administrators were recorded and studied. In addition to these written observations, each week during the semester the teacher candidates were directed to keep a teaching journal and bring copies of entries to seminar meetings. Sometimes they addressed specific topics and, at other times, the focus was left open.
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
In this section of the chapter, we present data directly from the teacher candidates’ perspective. The Standards and The Framework are used to compare students’ perceptions of their own development against the ideal. Examples of students’ conceptions of their own learning in each area are provided and discussed below.
4.1 Knowledge and Inquiry
Regarding knowledge and inquiry, students talked most about their process of inquiring and gaining knowledge in four areas: the school as a work environment, the work that goes into fulfilling the role of “teacher,” knowledge of how students learn and, last but not least, knowledge of self. Clearly, teacher candidates began to see the complex nature of knowledge and how it is constructed by students. They were also in constant reflection on their teaching practice and their own professional identity development.
4.2 Work Environment
Regarding work environment, a statement of one student is revealing: The first thing that I felt I learned a lot about was the “background” of the school. How teachers communicate, the student discipline system, teachers’ procedures (attendance, parent teacher conferences, etc.) – all non-classroom parts of the education system that I previously had no experience with. (Chris) AN AMERICAN CLUSTER PLACEMENT MODEL 187
4.3 Role of the Teacher
Regarding the role of the teacher, a statement by the same student is reflective: I also felt that I learned a lot more of the roles of the teacher, as well as responsibilities for the school (study hall/commons duty). The biggest example of this was weekly planning. To have a clear idea of where to go next makes each day a little easier to handle. On the flipside, one thing that I still need improvement in is making a lesson MEAN SOMETHING! (Chris) Equally revealing is another statement by another student: I am becoming more and more aware of the amount of work that goes into teaching. You have to prepare all the materials, collect and grade work, fill out recommendation letters, stockpile copies of worksheets for all the forgetful and paper-losing students, keep 25 students all on the same course when some are absent or fall behind, constantly make decisions, maintain a comfortable classroom environment, respect any and all input while keeping the class moving and on track, be a fair, just, kind, patient (and the list goes on) individual. One of the most powerful things that I have learned is to live each day as if it were the first. By this I mean, never hold a grudge or be vengeful. If something goes wrong, I go home, think about it, and sleep it off. I always have the next day to try again. In fact that is what keeps me going on some of the harder days. Just knowing that I always have tomorrow to give something another try. (Ron)
4.4 Learning about Learning
Regarding learning about learning, the same student, Chris, had stated: I was most amazed at the effort that some of the students put into the class project. I think that what shocked me the most is that I planned the project and the students came up with ideas that I simply did not imagine! I felt that I was learning from the students, which I believe is a goal of an educator. (Chris) Another student reported the following: I had given a chapter test last week and was looking at my students work on it. The front page tested their knowledge of function evaluation and finding inverses. The backside was more thought provoking. It involved reasoning and communicating mathematics and was quite open-ended. For example, an old test question would have been “what is the domain of this function, f (x) = 1/(x-4)?” And, like little robots the students would set the denominator equal to 0 and solve. My question was open-ended. I gave the students the domain of the function and asked them to explain why 4 could not be in the domain. Out of the 16 students, I think only two of them got it correct. This … scared me a bit. It shows me that my students do not have a firm grasp on what the domain of a function really means. Also, they are taking State tests now which seem to require more writing and critical thinking skills than just calculation. It shows me that the vision of the NCTM is still a few years away from happening. These students today need to become more independent thinkers who are willing to explore, question, and verify mathematics. They should be able to understand and explain mathematics as well as see mathematics’ inherent role in the world. The English classroom should not be the only place they formulate logical arguments. (Tom) These quotes show students’ learning about learning in deep ways. They reveal multiple opportunities that the student teachers seized upon to observe and analyze different approaches to teaching mathematics, as well as assessment. We find it 188 CONNIE TITONE & ROBERT CUNNINGHAM remarkable to see student teachers’ appreciation of having a vision for problem- solving, reasoning, and communication in mathematics as advocated by the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000). Examples of such knowledge development during student teaching are impressive and very close to the ideal. If these candidates were thinking in this way, it is obvious that many are and we teacher educators must raise our expectations of all teacher candidates.
5. SELF-KNOWLEDGE
During seminar discussions, when we handled issues raised in the teaching journals, students attributed some of their “improvement and learning” to the fact that they were in a cluster. The teaching, the seminars, the journals, and the communication with school faculty all were more connected and focused because of the students’ placement as a cohort. The following statements are revealing: I think that having other student teachers [here] has also made me able to freely speak with other full-time teachers about different things, from planning and classroom management to administration. I feel that this helped me get a better “feel” for the school from every angle. (Mickey) Moreover, we were able to give them more consistent and connected attention and to help them see the connections between teaching and intellectual issues. The same student teacher said: I have spent some time thinking about how I want my classroom to run next year and I think one of the biggest challenges will be consistency. I need to set the rules and expectations for the classroom on day one and make sure the kids know what will happen if they break the rules. From there I think the key to my success will be whether or not I am consistent. If I treat the students equally and fairly, I think I’ll be all right, but I am sure these beliefs will be challenged as I begin my career. (Mickey) Faculty supervisors had more exposure to the students and were able to identify quickly their strengths and what they needed to focus on for improvement. It became more of a “teaching” relationship rather than remaining the customary “supervisory” one. The value of such types of discourse is showcased in The Standards and the empirical value for student teachers is supported by Blanton et al. (2001) in examining and shaping the emerging practice.
5.1 Excellence in Practice
With this theme our data focuses on two categories. The first is “instructional strategies reflecting best practice” and the second is “collaboration to enhance professional growth.” Two weeks into the experience, teacher candidates were directed to comment on their earliest perceptions of the cluster placement. Candidates reported that the cluster provided a positive and strong onsite support peer group for them during the overwhelming beginning of the internship experience. They openly express their feelings of being encouraged and comforted by having the opportunity to go through the experience with others in the same AN AMERICAN CLUSTER PLACEMENT MODEL 189 situation. At no time during the experience did any teacher candidate express any feelings of isolation. I feel I have a support group. It is also good to hear and observe others going through the same things you are. We are able to share ideas and to ask peers their opinions. (Kate)
There is a comfortable … exchange of information between student teachers …. We are all a resource for each other in the same fashion as our cooperating teachers. (Tom) The cluster also provided students with a structure within which they could practice collaboration – which would not be easily accomplished with the traditional placement model. Similarly, the cluster model provided opportunities to reflect on and refine instructional practices during class and outside of class, alone but more importantly – with others. Both collaboration and reflection are critical to the vision of effective teaching of mathematics advocated by The Standards, as well as in The Framework describing exemplary professional practice. The following statements echo: I think that sometimes good learning can occur when you’re not sure what to expect. Allowing the students some freedom to think and explore can really provide some great results. The tricky part is finding a way to motivate them to think and explore. (Mickey)
Throughout my stay here I have noticed how well the teachers get along with each other. They help each other out in so many ways. Whether it’s making copies for one another, covering classes, lending materials, I would expect to fit right into my school system as seamlessly as these teachers have. Even as seamlessly as I have fit in here as a student teacher. (Ron)
I really like being able to share my day, my triumphs, and my concerns with other student teachers throughout the day. Additionally, the fact that there are so many math student teachers, this is nice in that it allows us to bounce ideas off each other. I know that there are at least two other student teachers who are teaching Standard Algebra I, and that I can go to them to get ideas and suggestions on what works and what doesn’t. (Kim) As we can see in Kim’s thought, not only did the cluster model create a feeling of support and increase students’ understanding of the school but, because it was a single-discipline model, it also provided her the occasion to collaborate with her peers about the content itself. Opportunities to examine and revise their assumptions about the nature of mathematics, how it should be taught, and how students learn mathematics must be provided to teacher candidates. The collaboration that developed was representative of precisely that which is expected of high-level professional teachers (NCTM, 1991, 2000); and the collaboration was made all the more possible by the cluster model, because it provided a small group of similarly trained, openly enthusiastic, and highly motivated young professionals, to be mentored by two academics with consistency and with focus. 190 CONNIE TITONE & ROBERT CUNNINGHAM
5.2 Multiculturalism, Diversity, and Inclusion
Our professional unit – that is, the School of Education as well as our colleagues in Arts and Sciences who are involved in teacher education – is firmly committed to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice. Often, the first step of bringing prospective teachers to consciousness about these matters has already been addressed in their coursework. Extending theoretical understanding of Freire’s (1970/1993) problem-posing education to practice, however, is often a slow-going challenge. Working with the young learners who did not have a command of English was highly instructive for student teachers: In response to the chapter from Freire’s book Pedagogy of the Oppressed I agree with many of the points of the “attitudes and practices” of the oppressors. There are many stereotypical teacher ideas, which so seem to oppress students, which would curtail their thinking. The chapter made me realize that the stereotypical role of the banking teacher is not the most encouraging to learning. (Chris)
It is popular to say that mathematics is a universal language and it was proven to me by one of my ESL students the other day. I was allowing the students to work in groups to solve quadratic equations in three ways. One girl in the class had seen this work before in her home country but the problem is she only speaks Portuguese. Eventually with the help of another student who served as a translator we determined what she was talking about. She had answered all the questions I posed without speaking a word of English. But the real beauty of the scenario for me was when she and the “translator” were speaking to each other and not to me. I could see the two of them becoming so animated talking about mathematics and being so intent in explaining themselves to one another. The value of peers as teachers is not something that should be passed over. (Tom)
Today I started reviewing with my students for a test they are taking in two days. I had already done the same review in a class earlier in the day so I felt pretty confident about how the lesson would go. The lesson was going very smoothly until I hit a bit of a snag. I explained a problem in detail and there was one student who questioned where I obtained the letters for the equation. I explained that they come from the standard form of a quadratic. I went on and proceeded to plug into the formula and I saw the same student had their hand raised and this time asked how I got one of the numbers. Then, as if a beacon of light shone through the window, a fellow student says that he wants to try and explain. Of course with my luck, he says it all in Spanish and I don’t understand a word of it. But, the student understood. I asked how he explained it and he said he explained it the same way I did. It amazed me how just hearing an explanation from a peer can make such a world of difference. I am thinking about having students lead review sessions from now on and I will only intervene when necessary. (Tom) These quotes point to the experiences of supporting mathematical discourse: that is, to let go of the control of the class and allow students to help each other, to speak about mathematics in their first language while the teacher remains silent. While these opportunities were present in the cluster model, again, each individual teacher candidate did not experience them equally. Often, however, one student’s direct experience benefited all vicariously because of their close contact with each other and through thorough seminar discussions. AN AMERICAN CLUSTER PLACEMENT MODEL 191
5.3 Multiple Contexts and Communities
This particular high school is a multilingual, diverse setting – but ironically, and as is often the case in public schools, many individual classrooms do not reflect this diversity. Because of ability grouping-tracking, even teacher candidates in a diverse setting may have a very homogenous experience. The increased interaction among the student teachers provided them, almost immediately, with a much larger understanding of the school and what was actually occurring across classrooms. They learned about the great variety of students as well as the differences among cooperating teachers and the classroom environments that those teachers maintained. Again, the excerpt below was taken from a journal that was written just two weeks into student teaching: Before this semester began I think I had the impression that since there were six or seven of us going to the same high school to teach mathematics that we would all be walking into very similar experiences. However, once I got here I realized that we were all actually entering very different environments. Depending upon the grades and level of our classes our experiences were immediately made very different. However, what I hadn’t really thought about was that each teacher also promotes varying classroom environments and the students respond to it. (Mickey) Mickey’s discernment of the diversity within one school setting would probably not have happened if only one or two student teachers had been assigned to the school, because the isolation of the “solitary placement” would not have provided the context for this awareness to develop. Very early on, this comprehension of the range of classroom realities induced the student teachers to reflect not only upon the multiple experiences a student could have in the same school but also upon the connection between a teacher’s practices and his or her students’ academic outcomes. This reflection and its resulting understanding gave teacher candidates the incentive to experiment with their own strategies and to watch sometimes obviously concomitant student responses. The increased interaction among the student teachers resulted in awareness, but pointed to a deficiency in both the traditional and cluster placement models. Despite the increased awareness of the different classroom environments that the cluster promoted, the student teachers, like the full-time teachers themselves, did not have the opportunity to teach in a variety of different classroom environments. The student teachers were confined, for the most part, to the rosters of their cooperating teachers-rosters that often were limited to low or high achieving students, less or more diverse students, and elementary or high level mathematics courses. Unfortunately, such narrow experiences can reduce student teachers’ efficacy in differing environments and inhibit their development as teachers of mathematics. The cluster model promoted an increased awareness, but a modification might be advisable to enhance the teacher candidates’ experiences. 192 CONNIE TITONE & ROBERT CUNNINGHAM
5.4 Leadership and Advocacy
To develop leadership and advocacy in teacher candidates at the same time that they are engaged in their senior field placement is a high standard to achieve. There are some aspects of the concepts, however, that we believe teacher candidates can and do demonstrate. Practicing collegiality, for example, may be a prerequisite in the educational workplace for a teacher’s learning to lead colleagues and enhance a whole school’s practice. Also, at least one student began to understand that, in order to provide the best learning environment for a student or to advocate on behalf of students in general, teachers must first have important, appropriate, and relevant information about their students, their lives, and their needs. They must also learn to exercise good judgment as to how and when to use such information ethically. All of these are fundamental, baseline requirements for demonstrating leadership and advocacy as envisioned by The Framework. Regarding collegiality, teacher candidates found easy opportunities to interact with a number of teachers in the Mathematics Department of the high school, rather than working only with their own cooperating teacher. Because they were aware of the differences that multiple contexts within a school can produce, they began to understand the strengths of the various department members and could seek input with those strengths in mind. Above all, they saw collegiality modeled. Ideally the new teacher is not the only one who is learning. Wiseman and Nason (1995) in their two-year study of a school-university relationship also reported that a large cluster of pre-service teachers (n=25) provided “a contagious spirit of new enthusiasm” for the veteran teachers. A similar result is evidenced by the comment below from Kim on the words of Mr. P., the department chair: I just walked from the teachers’ room to my classroom, and happened to be joined by Mr. P, the head of the math department. He asked how things were going, and then started to tell me how happy he is that we are all here doing our student teaching. It was so nice to hear that! He said how we are all doing a great job and that it is a pleasure to have a whole “cluster” of us doing our teaching here. He also said that our enthusiasm is contagious and that it has kind of spread to the rest of the department …. It really made my day to know that not only my cooperating teacher appreciates my presence here! (Kim) The cooperating teachers valued the presence of the teacher candidates and recognized their contribution to the professional growth of the faculty of their school. Kim’s quote from Mr. P. and other informal comments he made to us confirm our belief that the student teachers, by virtue of their knowledge and motivation for teaching well, provided an impetus for development among the cooperating teachers in a manner that no peer, administrator, or supervisor might have been able to do. Mr. P. indicated that some of his experienced teachers were more willing to listen and learn form student teachers in the cluster, since the student teachers viewed them as experts and showed a great deal of respect for them. A collegial, reciprocal leadership emerged. Moreover, this subtle form of leadership extended beyond influencing their own cooperating teacher to other teachers in the Mathematics Department and thus contributed to professional growth of many faculty members at the school. AN AMERICAN CLUSTER PLACEMENT MODEL 193
6. DISCUSSION
The cluster placement model, which grouped teacher candidates in a single school and increased faculty presence, increased the interaction among the professionals involved. As a consequence, a superior level of collaboration developed that it would not have been possible to attain within the traditional placement model. For the teacher candidates, isolation was eliminated and collaboration between the candidates was promoted. For these students, the model allowed the students to form a kind of extremely positive “mini-math department” that not only supported, encouraged, and comforted them but was also of tremendous assistance in the development of their intellectual and professional skills. These findings are in line with Frykholm’s (1998) community based student teaching model that heightened collaboration and resulted in similar benefits. Besides collaborating with their fellow student teachers, and because the cluster involved a majority of Mathematics Department’s members as cooperating teachers, it created a unified experience among student teachers and their respective cooperating teachers. While the student teachers often report being supported by their cooperating teacher, the cluster model extended this level of support to the entire staff. Students attended weekly meetings of the Mathematics Department. They knew all of the cooperating teachers and their varying positions on a variety of classroom issues. They had the chance to see how the school faculty interacted with each other so that the lived experience of a teacher within a context became very real. In effect, they came closer to actually being a part of the faculty – able to appreciate and be appreciated at a professional level. Generally, students reported that they felt encouraged to seek assistance and feedback from many of the school faculty not only their own cooperating teacher. In addition, they were often consulted about creative uses of technology and other pedagogical matters. Students alluded to this partnership and how the exposure to the Department’s members as a whole added to student teachers’ understanding of the school’s environment and professional interactions. The structure of the cluster model allowed the supervisors to spend a full day on site to conduct observations and the weekly seminar. The full day permitted an enhanced collaboration not usually afforded by the traditional placement model. Throughout the semester, the supervisors were able to compare notes and formal observations on each of the teacher candidates. This helped confirm the degree of progress of each candidate and improved assessment reliability. Also, the seminar, required of teacher candidates, was scheduled at the conclusion of the school day and was team-taught by the two college supervisors. Because it was held at the end of the school day rather than in the evening, it allowed for a kind of immediacy not usually possible, and for efficient discussions often made more relevant by the commonality of mathematics. On the whole, since the seminar was team-taught, it encouraged a high level of cohesive learning that benefited the candidates, as well as the supervisors. Though members of a college faculty often attend committee meetings with each other in their setting, it is rare to do the intimate work of engaging with students with a colleague across schools. Our respect for each other as persons and as professionals increased dramatically during this experience, and 194 CONNIE TITONE & ROBERT CUNNINGHAM we are greatly encouraged by what the production of this piece of research and writing represents. In contrast to these encouraging results of the cluster, a weakness was also detected. An increased awareness of the different classroom environments present at the high school was made more apparent by the cluster. The teacher candidates commented on the variety of classroom environments created by their cooperating teachers as well as the vastly different levels of courses and students that they were teaching. As with the traditional model, the cluster did not provide opportunities for all of them to experience all ranges or even more than one ability level. Since a variety of teaching opportunities under the guidance of an experienced professional is called for by The Framework and The Standards, modifications of the cluster placement would assure a more balanced and a broader teaching experience. Our assessment of the single-discipline cluster placement is that it was successful in furthering many of the goals described in The Framework and The Standards. First and foremost, the placement model created an intentionally collaborative community. Unfortunately, however, the single-discipline model has not been repeated at TCNJ. We suggest two possible reasons. First, a belief exists that students should learn to collaborate across disciplines and so putting them in single- discipline placements discourages the development of this skill. While we agree that interdisciplinarity is important, we would argue that it is easier for a young professional to collaborate within his or her department and then, once confidence in that area has begun to develop, he or she can expand their collaboration with members of other departments. Another barrier to regularly creating this model is the very real problem of the high schools’ resistance to single-department overload with student teachers. Fear that curriculum might be compromised by slow-developing student teachers and that this and other problems might be magnified by the number of classes taught by student teachers could have caused the resistance. The high school in this study, however, was one whose administrators and faculty demonstrated great confidence and enthusiasm in strengthening the collaboration among members of the PDS network. They wanted to participate actively in the preparation of successful mathematics teachers and thus move the field in the direction of the ideal.
7. RECOMMENDATIONS
All in all, the purpose of this chapter is to report mathematics teacher candidates’ conceptions of how working in a cluster field placement affected their professional development and to draw some conclusions about such placements in teacher preparation. Moving towards an ideal of the successful Mathematics teacher candidate, three recommendations, deserve serious consideration based on the findings and discussion presented in the preceding pages, as well as the developments since the application of the model as follows. In brief, following the semester (i.e., Fall 2000) in which the cluster placement model was piloted, three of the seven participating student teachers accepted full- time positions at the high school used as the cluster site. As of this writing (Spring AN AMERICAN CLUSTER PLACEMENT MODEL 195
2003), all three of these beginning teachers have become valuable members of the mathematics faculty. Each will shortly receive tenure for three years of effective service. We thought it worthwhile to solicit the new teachers’ reflections on their cluster placement experience with a perspective gained after three years of teaching experience. A copy of the draft of this manuscript describing the model and a response form were mailed to each of these teachers. We asked them in the form to address how, in hindsight, the experience of cluster placement benefited them and what alterations to the model they would recommend. What is interesting, but not surprising, is that fruitful collaboration among the three cluster participants has continued and has expanded to include the rest of the department members. Other staff members and administrators have recognized and commented upon the exceptional collegiality of the members of the mathematics department even with its mixture of new and veteran teachers. The cluster model was identified as an exemplar of how to teach collaboration and, moreover, what the young teachers learned continues to support the professional development of these teachers and others three years later. In view of the above, three recommendations that deserve serious consideration are these. First, the teacher candidates’ teaching experiences would be structured in such a way as to ensure that their course loads reflect a variety of student realities. Candidates need to be students who are both academically advanced and academically challenged. They need to work in an inclusive classroom alongside a special education teacher. They need to teach students with varying levels of English proficiency. The student teachers’ appreciation of different classroom environments experienced by their peers could be enhanced if they were provided with opportunities to observe them in action. Second, the high school faculty’s involvement with all of the teacher candidates, the college supervisors, and with each other must be formalized. In order to inspire teachers to attend the once a week seminar sessions, the School of Education must find incentives. In subsequent trials, the School would first attempt to pay them a stipend and/or offer professional development credits as mandated by the state of New Jersey. The School also plans to structure the seminars in such a way that teacher candidates would be required to deliver presentations to the cooperating faculty on such topics as the uses of technology in the classroom or other areas the cooperating teachers might request. And third, in the next cluster site, the School of Education hopes to expand the collaborative experience to include teacher candidates and a college supervisor from a second teaching discipline. The School will target the History Department in hopes of giving candidates the opportunity to create and implement interdisciplinary curriculum. This would also give more college faculty members the opportunity to strengthen their professional connections. It should be noted that, regarding recommendation that the institution find ways to involve the high school faculty in the seminar meetings, one former student teacher made a viable suggestion - that the university supervisors meet with the cooperating teachers as a group to develop topics of study for the seminar meetings. This kind of advance planning, inviting the development of a collaborative 196 CONNIE TITONE & ROBERT CUNNINGHAM relationship between the teachers and the professors could go a long way in having teachers feel like real partners in the early professional experience of their student teachers.
8. CONCLUSION
In sum, to report on our understanding of the teacher candidates’ conception of how working in the cluster placement context affected their professional development, we are indeed pleased to confirm that the cluster placement model successfully supported the teachers of mathematics during their pre-service experience. More importantly, the positive effects generated by the model continue afterward, impacting on their professional development. These beginning teachers’ personal dispositions related to collaboration and leadership as measured against the documents of the Frameworks and of the Standards seem to approach the ideal and this outcome reflects well on the desirability of continuing the cluster placement model.
9. REFERENCES
Blanton, M. L., Berenson, S. B., & Norwood, K. S. (2001). Using classroom discourse to understand prospective mathematics teachers’ development in practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(2), 227-242. Brimfield, R., & Leonard, R. (1983). The student teaching experience: A time to consolidate one’s perceptions. College Student Journal, 17, 401-406. Campbell, P. F., & Wheatley, G. H. (1983). A model for helping student teachers. Mathematics Teacher, 76(1), 60-63. Freire, P. (1993). Pedagogy of the oppressed. (M. Bergman Ramos, Trans.). New York: Continuum. (Original work published 1970). Frykholm, J. A. (1998). Beyond supervision: Learning to teach mathematics in community. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14(3), 305-322. Mathematical Association of America. (2000). Guidelines for programs and departments in undergraduate mathematical sciences. Washington, D.C.: Author. National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. (1995). Standards, procedures and polices for accreditation of professional education units. Washington, D.C.: Author. NCTM. (1991). Professional standards for teaching mathematics. Reston, VA: Author. NCTM. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author. Stipek, D. J., Givvin, K. B., Salmon, J. M., & MacGyvers, V. L. (2001). Teachers’ beliefs and practices related to mathematics instruction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(2), 213-226. TCNJ, School of Education. (1996). Creating exemplary professionals: The conceptual framework of professional education. Ewing, NJ: Author. Wilson, E. K., Banaszak, R. A., & McClelland, S. M. (1995). Clinical master teachers: A different approach to supervision (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 382 615). Wiseman, D. L., & Nason, P. L. (1995). The nature of interactions in a field-based teacher education experience. Action in Teacher Education, 17(3), 1-12. IBRAHIM AHMAD BAJUNID
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS FOR REVITALIZING SCHOOLING IN MALAYSIA
Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia
1. INTRODUCTION
Formal schooling in Malaysia began in 1816 with the establishment of the Penang Free School. Other schools were soon established in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Singapore, and Malacca, the Federated and the Unfederated Malay States. With the opening up of schools, the Malay Teachers College was established in Singapore in 1876-95, in Malacca in 1900, and in Tanjung Malim in 1922. The Malay Women Teachers’ College was established in Malacca in 1935. In 1923, the Sultan Idris Teachers’ College (SITC), Tanjung Malim, established the Department of Letters, which later became the Language and Literary Agency in 1956. The Translation Bureau of the Language and Literary Agency became the National Institute of Translation in the 1990s. The SITC became the Sultan Idris Education University in 1997. In the 1960s, and the Brinsford and Kirkby Teachers Colleges were established in England to cater for the training needs of Malayan teachers. From the 1960s, other teachers colleges were established in the various states of Malaysia. In 1979, the Malaysian Education Staff Training Institute (MESTI) was established to provide training for educational administrators. The field of educational administration, management, and leadership is approximately 50 years old. In Malaysia itself, the field of study of the art and science of education management is approximately three decades (Awang Had Salleh, 1980).
2. DEVELOPMENT OF POST SECONDARY COLLEGES, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES
The development of education in Malaysia is directly interwoven with the planned national development agenda of the nation. Since independence in 1957, Malaysia has formulated eight development plans. During each five-year phase of the Malaysia Development Plan, many programs, projects, and activities were planned and implemented. In the education sector, most of the projects planned had to do with infra-structural development of schools, polytechnics, universities, and teachers training colleges. While most of the developments were funded by
197 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 197—217. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 198 IBRAHIM AHMAD BAJUNID allocation from the national budget, several large projects were undertaken by loans from such international agencies as the World Bank, of which include loans for development of buildings, the purchase and acquisition of equipment, and loans for training and staff development at Masters or Doctoral levels. The main institution in the country responsible for the Training of School Principals is Institut Aminuddin Baki (IAB) or, in English, the National Institute of Educational Management and Leadership (NIEML) (IAB, 1997b).1 In 1957-2000, 27 teachers training colleges were established. These colleges provide general pre-service training to beginning primary school teachers as well as in-service training for practicing teachers. While most of the teachers training colleges provide general training, several of them specialize in particular subject areas, such as mathematics and science, language education, Islamic studies, sports, and technical and vocational education. As the education system develops, the teachers training colleges continue to provide not just more but a wider range and variety of programs of in-service training for teachers. There are also plans to offer training programs for teachers from private educational institutions and for teachers from other countries (Bajunid, 1998b).2 Before the 1970s, there was only the University of Malaya catering for the higher education and higher level skill needs of the country. Then, very few Malaysians went abroad for higher education if they could not receive such funds from international agencies as the Colombo Plan Scholarship, Commonwealth Scholarship, or Ford Foundation Scholarship. In the 1980s, more and more Malaysians went abroad for higher education. There was a shift in the policy of higher education, moving away from the elitist British tradition towards the mass access to higher education of the American system. As there was an expansion of mass secondary education, the expansion of higher education followed. The second
1 IAB, initially called the MESTI, was established in 1979. The campus in Genting Highlands, Pahang, was built on a World Bank loan in 1979. Again in the late 1980s, a small sum of loan was allocated to the Institute for staff training programs, specifically to develop the corpus of relevant materials in the field of educational management and leadership. In the early 1990s, the Northern Branch of the institute was established and, in 1995, the Branch in Bintulu, Sarawak, was established. The City Campus or the Kuala Lumpur Branch of the Institute was established in 1998. Also, in the1999-2000 period, the Principal's Institute, affiliated to the Faculty of Education, was established in the University of Malaya. 2 In the year 2000, it is estimated that there are approximately 5.5 million school children in Malaysia. Because of the population growth, there has to be the creation on annual basis of approximately 500,000 new school places for the first year of schooling accordingly. There are approximately 1,600 secondary schools and 7,200 elementary schools with additional numbers of remote and under-enrolled schools. There are approximately 300,000 teachers and 50,000 education support workers and several hundreds of civil service personnel in the educational system. There are several thousand small religious schools and other private schools throughout the country. In all, there are over 590 private colleges, 11 public universities, and 6 private universities. The figures indicate trends which are relatively stable but are not accurate to the unit because of the speed and dynamism of development. There are plans to establish several more public universities and to invite the establishment of more private universities in the next decade. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 199 and third decades since Malaysia’s independence saw the founding of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The decades also saw the expansion of programs and intake of students in the Institut Teknologi Mara and the Tunku Abdul Rahman College. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was the founding of the Universiti Utara Malaysia, Universiti Sabah Malaysia, and Universiti Sarawak Malaysia. With the establishment of these public universities, there was also the founding of the departments of educational studies, which eventually became faculties, schools, or centers of educational studies. These educational schools provided pre-service education for specially selected candidates who were expected, upon graduation, to serve as graduate teachers mainly in government secondary schools. These schools of education also began to provide limited places for Masters and Doctoral level studies for educators (Bajunid, 1991).
3. THE EMERGENCE OF NEW EDUCATIONAL LEADERS
During the last 40 years, private colleges began to offer courses on secretarial studies, accountancy, and other business related programs not offered by academe but required by business organizations and industries. Some colleges also began to offer industrial and vocational courses. Among the early distance education programs were those external degrees offered by the University of London. Such organizations as the International Correspondence School offered programs and tutorials for a wide number of courses. Early institutions of private education included the Goon Institution, Stamford College, Maktab Adabi, Taylor's College, and Kolej Damansara Utama, all in the Klang Valley and in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs. Similar branches of these educational institutions were also established in other parts of the country, mainly in the major towns. As the demand for higher educational qualifications increased, these colleges began to embark on “twinning degree programs” jointly offered by several foreign universities and these private institutions themselves. Slowly but astutely, the paths of the democratization of higher education were charted out. There were several varieties of “twinning programs” which suited the needs of the students, parents, and the partner universities. The financial policies of these colleges had to ensure that the enterprise was viable and affordable. While these colleges were established under the existing regulations governing the provisions of education in both Malaysia and the partner educational institutions abroad, the programs they offered indicated the competitive and entrepreneurial nature of their leadership (Lee, 1999). Through such initiatives, the country was actually producing “world class” entrepreneurs and leaders in the education sector. In each of these colleges, there were the academic staff, the administrative staff and, of course, the Principals. While many of the academic staff, specifically, the principals, had worked in schools and universities before, most had not received training in the principalship. Nevertheless, they had developed themselves by taking management and other courses while actively acquiring knowledge and skills in the disciplines of education. The growth of private sector education had created an alternative model of educational provision with examples 200 IBRAHIM AHMAD BAJUNID of practical means of funding and management. Private sector education and public sector higher education had also produced a new type of educational leadership. These new educational leaders are Presidents, Rectors, Vice Chancellors, Deans and Department Heads, and Principals and their Deputies and Assistants in the private educational institutions. Principals of schools at all levels now have a new group of significant others who are educational leaders and managers in academic, teaching, and learning institutions. There are now a large number of practitioners who can talk the language of educational management and reflect on the similarities and differences of their functions and leadership at different levels and in different kinds of educational institutions (Bajunid, 1992b).3
4. EDUCATIONAL CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE AND THE EXPORT OF EDUCATION
In the 1990s, the country began to generate ideas and formulate policies regarding higher education in Malaysia. These ideas are primarily in response to events at the global and international level as well as in response to social demands and national entrepreneurship (Champy, 1995; Drucker, 1995; Naisbitt, 1994). The meeting of economic initiatives, market driven forces, science and technology driven changes all collectively acted as catalysts in the process of educational policy formulation. One of the most important national agenda was the founding of the Multi-Media Super Corridor (MSC), Malaysia's creation of its own “Silicon Valley.” This important mega project is the launching platform to ensure that the digital economy takes a leading role in the transformation of Malaysian economy and society into a modern knowledge society with a highly skilled work force literate in Information Communication Technology (ICT). To this end, the government has established a National Information Technology Council (NITC). Among other tasks of the NITC is that of advising the government on e-learning. With the establishment of the MSC itself, seven flagships of the project were identified, including Worldwide Manufacturing Webs, Telemedicine, R & D Clusters, Borderless Marketing Centres, Smart Schools, Electronic Government, and National Multi-purpose Card. The Smart School Project has inspired thinking in very futuristic terms and in forward leaps, quite unfamiliar to the large bureaucracy of the educational sector, although quite common to those involved in entrepreneurship, think-tank organizations, and those involved in futures studies (Ministry of Education, 1997). The growth of imagination in the public and private sectors have, in physical terms, shown the development of Putrajaya and its adjacent city, Cyberjaya, which are planned Malaysian cities of the future. The last decade of the last century has also, for instance, shown the development of the Malaysian Airline System (MAS)
3 In Malaysia, the term “headmasters” refer to heads of primary schools while the term “principals” refer to heads of secondary schools, polytechnics, and teachers colleges. In this paper, unless otherwise specified, the term “school leader” is used to refer to heads of educational institutions irrespective of levels of schooling or specializations. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 201 as an international airline, the development of the Malaysian car industry, the computer industry, and the air-conditioning industry. The country also saw the development of a sophisticated network of national highways and the building of the Penang Bridge, one of the longest bridges in the world, and of the Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world (Petroski, 1999). These physical artifacts were coupled with the achievements of many individual Malaysians in efforts such as sailing solo around the world, climbing the peak of Mount Everest, and braving the climate of Antarctica and the Arctic. Hosting the Commonwealth Games, the second largest sporting event in the world also became important to the national psyche (Bajunid, 1995b, 1997c; Mahathir, 1991).
5. THE SMART SCHOOLS OF MALAYSIA AND CHALLENGES FOR THE PRINCIPALSHIP
It is within these exciting development contexts of the plans and execution of such national achievements that the idea of the Smart School was conceived and developed. It is interesting to note that the idea is not developed just by Malaysian educators but also by entrepreneurs, politicians, and ICT leaders. Contributions of educators and ICT leaders from abroad were also sought after. The imagination of the mega project demanded of educational leaders not just to be proactive but to be futuristic and realistic and to at least be equal to other thought leaders in other fields of national and international human endeavors. In the wake of such changes, educational policy-makers supported by other national policy-makers, articulated the policy of developing Malaysia as a centre of educational excellence. Strategies for the “export” of education are explored. Ideas of educational accountability and quality and many related concepts, such as world class standards and the borderless world, have become everyday diction and parlance in educational circles (Peters & Austin, 1985). The national policy of “corporatization” has moved the leaders of public universities to establish a Consortium for Distance Education and the founding of an “Open” Distance Learning University. The policy of privatization has created opportunities for private education entrepreneurs to establish private universities. Between the mid- 1990s and the end of the 20th century, seven Acts related to education were passed by the Parliament (Government of Malaysia, 1996). Collectively, these Acts aim to establish conditions which foster educational development while sustaining the principles of eliminating poverty, fostering national unity, and creating opportunities for individual and societal development. In the closing years of the 20th century and as the nation enters the new millennium, six new private universities were established, including a multimedia university and a virtual university. The processes of the democratization of higher education have begun and are spreading. The idea of the democratization of higher education is being related to the idea of continuous lifelong learning. Throughout the country, especially in private sector organizations, the idea of the “learning organization” is well received and begins to be translated into the human resource development and training cultures of organizations. Leaders of these “learning organizations” - whether Principals or 202 IBRAHIM AHMAD BAJUNID
Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), currently designated Chief Information Officer (CIOs) - are challenged to keep pace with the rapid national and global changes and to use educational knowledge relevantly and effectively (Kanter, 1995; Senge, 1990). All the above changes discussed have significant influence and implications for the training of educational leaders, specifically, principals and other administrative personnel. With the implementation of the Smart School Project, beginning with 90 schools and eventually involving all schools in the country, new possibilities for education are opened up. If the philosophy of lifelong education is put in place and e-learning stretches from every home across all levels of schooling into various forms of virtual, multimedia, distance and traditional education, a new revolution in learning and lifestyle is setting in.
6. THE TRAINING OF TEACHER EDUCATORS SPECIALIZED IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
The early university teachers who taught educational administration were not academicians who pursued degrees or wrote their theses on educational administration phenomena. During the period of elitist higher education provisions, most of the academicians pursued programs in such basic disciplines as history of education, philosophy of education, educational psychology, sociology of education, and linguistics or in such other areas of education disciplines as measurement, curriculum development, comparative education, science education, and social studies education. Among these scholars, there were a few who followed courses on the history of higher education and educational administration. The early university scholars who taught educational administration in the various universities were those who specialized in the history of education or higher education. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, several officers from the Ministry of Education were sent abroad to pursue doctoral study programs. Most of them specialized in the areas of sociology, policy studies, and curriculum studies but not specifically educational management or school leadership. It is this group of early doctoral scholars who were looked upon as education specialists and leaders and whose contributions were sought after as consultants and experts in the whole spectrum of educational concerns. Often, these early scholars had to stretch their specializations and apply their knowledge and experiences relevantly to the various fields of education, including educational administration and school leadership. The second group of education officers who were sent to pursue master degree programs included those who pursued their degree programs in the United States, as different from those who conducted master level research in the University of Malaya or in other British or Commonwealth universities. From among these early scholars, there were those who took many of their courses from the schools of economics and management, rather than from schools of education. Not surprisingly, there are those educators who look at education phenomena from either public or business sector perspective and not from the perspective molded by the “core technology” of the education profession itself. The argument of the “core PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 203 technology” perspective is the argument of giving legitimate and professional credence to and addressing educational issues by taking into consideration insights from educational philosophy, educational foundations, curriculum, pedagogy and instruction, and evaluation. How these various perspectives color and influence thinking and decision-making in policy-making committees at various levels are subjects not fully documented. Nevertheless, experience and practice indicate that the disciplinary and personal knowledge orientations of these significant leaders do influence their preferences and positions on particular educational issues (Elbaz, 1983). Since the 1970s, there were at least six main groups of teacher educators who contributed to the development of programs of education administration. All the educators in the five groups had one experience in common, namely, they were once students and almost every one of them had pursued Teacher Certification Programs and had been schoolteachers. The first group was those who had worked as teachers briefly and then joined the faculties of education in the various universities. For the most part, they had not been leaders at the system level as District Education Officers, State Directors of Education, or as Directors of the Professional Divisions of Education of the Ministry of Education. Very few from this group were Superintendents or institutional leaders who were Heads or Principals of Polytechnics, Teachers College, or School Principals. As academicians in the universities, these scholars had contributed through academic perspectives, applying their educational disciplines to the educational administration and school leadership areas. Significant contributors from this group include Fatimah Hamid Don, Ishak Haron, Robiah Sidin, Awang Had Salleh, Rahimah Ahmad, A.l. Ramaiah. From this group, there are those who became school deans, vice chancellors, or leaders of professional organizations. They accumulated enough administrative experiences in later professional life to speak authoritatively on educational policy, administration, and leadership. The second group composed of practitioners from the Ministry of Education. They shared their experiences of management and leadership with generations of principals who followed training programs. Some of these practitioners wrote papers and recorded their experiences. Most, however, relied on the oral tradition and happily shared their experiences in interviews and as panelists in forum, but did not write academically or journalistically. The significant contributors in this group include Hamzah Salas, Talib Mohd Zain, Abdul Rahim Che Teh, Hussain Ahmad, Jumaat Mohd Noor, Rashid Mohd Noor, Ong Poh Kee, Kum Boo, Tan Boon Lin, D. S. B. Malayapillay, Goon Fatt Chee, and Nayagam. This was the group of reflective educational administration practitioners who, in the early 1970s, began offering weekend courses and short weekday in-service courses on educational administration. The early courses they offered focused on office management, General Orders, financial General Orders, professional circulars, and school discipline. The third group of scholars making contribution to the development of educational administration includes those who held some kind of leadership positions in the education system before they pursued higher education and/or joined the universities as teaching staff. These were the people who were inspectors of 204 IBRAHIM AHMAD BAJUNID schools, teacher education lecturers, directors, as well as deputy and assistant directors, of education, and principals of schools. The significant contributors from this group include Ee Tiang Hong, Francis Wong Hoy Kee, Paul Chang, Tengku Ismail Jiwa, Kamaruddin Kachar, Mohd Yaacob Mohd Nong, and Saad Yasin. The fourth group comprises those from the educational system itself. Included in this group are the Directors General of Education who were interested in the field of educational management and the Directors and Deputy Directors of and lecturers from IAB. Those who contributed to the corpus of educational management knowledge and related knowledge areas include Chew Tow Yow, Harcharan Singh Thandi, Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid, Leong Wing Fatt, Azmi Zakaria, Abdul Rahim Selamat, Maheswari Kandasamy, Abdul Wahab Ghani, Mohd. Hanafi Kamal,Hussein Haji Ahmad, and Hussein Mahmood. There are those from this group who contributed within and beyond the field of educational management and became educational leaders in the wider domains, across curriculum, instruction, and technology at the national and international levels (Bajunid, 1992b). The fifth group is a small but very interesting and important group with members contributing to the training of educational leaders. These are the knowledge leaders from the public and private sectors and from non-governmental organizations. In many training and development programs for school principals, experienced leaders from these other sectors are called upon to share their leadership experiences with school principals and other leaders. Their views are often refreshing, challenging, reinforcing and different, and providing wider frames of references pertaining to the phenomena of leadership. One other group of significant contributors, the sixth group, is composed of top educators from abroad who have influenced educational scholars and thinkers in Malaysia. While the major influences are from the United States of America, Britain, Canada and Australia, there are also educators from the Middle East, Indonesia, India, China, and Taiwan; they have influenced Malaysian educators, either through their writings and teachings or through personal contacts. The influences of these foreign thinkers are philosophical, theoretical, and empirical. Among these contributors are Jean Piaget, Benjamin Bloom, Jerome Bruner, John Goodlad, Howard Gardner, Hilda Taba, R. G. Walker, Eric Hoyle, Philip Hallinger, Thomas Greenfield, Peter Ribbins, Za’aba, and Hamka. Time-honored world thinkers and scholars, such as Socrates, Confucius, and Ibn Khaldun, have played important roles in this influence, particularly, in the realm of culture and education. The prophets from the major religions, particularly Islam, have continued to play fundamental roles in determining the philosophy and framework of educational thought in Malaysia. Over the last three decades, the collective contributions of these individuals and their various “groups” have helped build the corpus of educational management knowledge, including the knowledge of school leadership in Malaysia. It is this corpus of knowledge, at once individual and collective, at once personal and public, and at once nostalgic reminiscence and reflective, that is used as the content of managerial and leadership training of educational administrators and school principals. It is also the existing corpus of universal and indigenous knowledge on educational leadership and the school principalship that is being used by the PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 205 emerging generation of scholars in the field. Through their research and experiences, this new generation of scholars is beginning to contribute significantly to the growing corpus of “mature knowledge” in the educational management field (Bajunid, 1996, 1998a, 1998c, 1998d).
7. TENSIONS IN CURRICULAR CHOICES IN THE TRAINING OF SCHOOL HEADS
Since the establishment of MESTI, curriculum developers have struggled to understand and make decisions regarding the most appropriate curriculum for management training. Regarding the roles and responsibilities of principals and of training programs, there are various schools of thought, personal preferences, and misunderstandings or partial knowledge. Among these tensions of choices are the issues of academic or practical training, the mix of content, the curriculum of training programs, and philosophical perspectives, approaches, and emphases. All major tensions have embedded within them some assumptions, theoretical perspectives, personal preferences and philosophies regarding both the nature of desired knowledge, attitudes, and skills pertaining to institutional educational leadership and of the modalities of training. Two major tensions concerned the balance between the academic content and the practical content and the focus on the instructional leadership or administrative leadership core curriculum. The first tension of the balance of academic and practical content is a legitimate recurring area of discussion. This was not a divisive issue in IAB, because IAB was established as a training organization. Therefore, from the outset, IAB (formerly MESTI) attempted to provide a strong practical orientation to its programs. If its programs were to be criticized, it could be criticized for having its emphasis on training and practice rather than on the academic approach and on mastery of theories. If the organization was not able to provide as much practical content and practice experiences, it was not because of its curricular policy but because of shortage of funds, personnel, and time resources. The second recurring tension had its origins in the training of the curriculum developers themselves. The formulators of the head teachers' curriculum who were from the Teacher Education Division and the Curriculum Development Centre of the Ministry of Education and those others who were trained in schools of education for their Masters degrees favored the recognition of instructional leadership roles of principal. Those who obtained their degrees from management or economic schools and did not have teacher education or curriculum development work experiences favored the training to be focused on school finance, General Orders, and office management (IAB, 1990).4 From the long deliberated outcomes of such professional
4 There are two major schools of thought regarding the training of principals. These schools of thought are not theoretical or academic schools, but are positions held by main decision- makers at any point of time. Broadly, one school favors a broad based outward looking approach: specifically, an approach which searches for new ideas from any area of management, specifically from public service, private sector, or non-governmental management experiences which may be of value to educational management. The other 206 IBRAHIM AHMAD BAJUNID debates, IAB offered courses which provided a balance in its programs. The balance of the components for emphasis encompassed the following areas: Educational Foundations; Legal Foundations; Office Management; Financial Management; Curriculum, Instruction and Evaluation; Physical Plant Management; Student Services Management; Co-Curricular Activities Management; Hostel or Residential Management; and Community Relations.
8. QUALITY AGENDA IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR: ENRICHING EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING
The corpus of educational management knowledge in Malaysia is enriched from the corpus of management knowledge from the business and private sectors and from public service and non-governmental organizations. In the 1970s, the public sector introduced Quality Control Circles (QCC) with the aim of the provision of quality service to the public. By then, MESTI (IAB) had trained school leaders in QCC techniques and encouraged the formation of QCC in schools and educational organizations. Over the years, other ideas pertaining to the quality agenda were introduced and applied to education. Hence, the education system and educational institutions were familiarized with the ideas of Quality Control, Quality Assurance, Quality Management and, more recently, Total Quality Management (TQM) (Bogan & Bogan, 1994; Hand & Plowman, 1992). As applied to education, the ideas of TQM became Total Quality Management in Education (TQME). In the 1990s, the Malaysian Civil Service promoted the idea of standards and benchmarks, particularly, the ISO (Malaysian Administrative Modernisation & Management Planning Unit [MAMPU], 1992). By the early 1990s, IAB had begun training school leaders and principals regarding ISO documentation. The government also required that main governmental agencies implement the ISO and obtain certification. Initially, the education sector too was required to obtain the ISO as adapted to the education and training sector. On their own initiative and at their own speed, several Directors of Education and many principals began the arduous and painstaking process of obtaining ISO certification in order to ensure customer satisfaction and consistent quality in the provision of services and thus prevent non-conformity to benchmarks and standards set or established. Today, there are several primary and secondary schools, polytechnics, teachers colleges, and educational organizations which have achieved ISO certification. This achievement has given new confidence to principals and educational leaders that their organizations are comparable to “world class” institutions elsewhere. The introduction of Performance Evaluation Measures and Master Teachers and Principals of Excellence awards also enhanced professional self-confidence while making higher demands for educational standards and general accountability (MAMPU, 1993). Within the education sector too, there were other
school of thought favors an inward-looking profession specific approach: specifically, a classroom and school-view approach. This approach focuses, principally, on the core technology of schooling. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 207 ideas regarding quality accountability. Such ideas included the early ideas of the Quality Schools, the Good High School, the School Improvement Movement, and the Effective School Movement (Cornesky, 1993; McKay & Caldwell, 1991; Mortimore, 1993; Mortimore & Whitty, 1997). As the organization responsible for the training and development of principals, IAB had to formulate training curriculum to ensure the relevance and non-obsolescence of knowledge, skills, and attitudes acquired during training. Educational leaders in Malaysia argue that a rich and dynamic curriculum formulated for educational management training must take into consideration the existing school curriculum, both the pre-service and in-service curriculum of teacher education, and the management and leadership training curriculum in public service, business sector, and non-governmental organizations. In addition, the curriculum for the training of principals had to take into consideration national aspirations, technological, scientific, and vocational changes in society as well as the changes in societal values and governmental policies. Furthermore, principals have to understand in historical, contemporary, and professional perspectives, the nature of basic and advanced cultural and scientific literacy. Cultural and political ideologies aside, principals must master the strategies of character development, particularly in multicultural, multireligious, and multilingual contexts (Grossman, 1996; Jabnoun, 1994). It is clear that principals and educational leaders are involved in thought leadership as it pertains to management and educational leadership in universal, indigenous, and sector- or profession-specific contexts. There is the undisputed requirement that, as thought leaders and reflective practitioners, they have to develop broad and multiple frames of cognitive references (Gardner, 1989; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Trompenaars, 1993).
9. EARLY TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR PRINCIPALS AND HEADMASTERS
Even before the establishment of IAB, there have been mandatory short weekend courses for school heads. With the establishment of IAB in 1979, the training of school heads have been on-going and expanding in the range of courses offered and in the opportunities offered for almost every administrator and school leader. Deputy Principals/Senior Assistants and Subject Department Heads were also given specifically customized training programs. Typically, a school head receives training for at least three weeks. In addition to such mandatory training, school heads are also invited to attend other short training programs from a wide range of course offerings by the Institute throughout the year. The Teacher Education Division offers training in the area of instruction and pedagogy. The Curriculum Development Centre, the Technology Division, the Vocational and Technical Division, and the Islamic Religion Division, as well as the Examinations Syndicate and other Professional and Administrative Divisions of the Ministry of Education, also offer a wide range of in-service programs, seminars, workshops, briefing sessions, and courses related to their specialized areas. State Education Departments and federal and state government agencies also offer training and development opportunities in a wide range of areas for civil servants, including school heads. In 208 IBRAHIM AHMAD BAJUNID addition to the above, there are private consultancies and training organizations which offer training courses and seminars on personal development, organization development, peak performance, cross-cultural, and quality management programs. Whether these opportunities are taken or not depend on the initiative of individual heads and the support from funds made available from the government and the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), as well as leave granted by State Education Departments for the particular short term study program (Bajunid, 1992a). Professional development opportunities were provided for head teachers since the early years of independence of Malaysia. Most of the programs were, however, not award-bearing although principals received attendance certificates. Beginning in 1993, head teachers were awarded the Diploma in Management by IAB. The Diploma is awarded after candidates complete a program of study which provides educational management principles and practical experiences related to the work of principals. The First National Seminar on Educational Management was held in 1991. To date, nine such National Seminars were held. Since 1998, in addition to face-to-face sessions, IAB has begun a series of teleconferences throughout the country to create opportunities for educators to follow the keynote addresses and other important forum during national seminars and conferences. The National Seminars, together with the published papers of the seminars, have become a major mechanism to disseminate innovative practices and bring educators together to stimulate discussions on the roles, functions, and challenges of principalship (IAB, 1999).
10. SPECIAL TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR SPECIAL GROUPS
Members of one of the groups of principals who receive training and special programs are head teachers from the Chinese and Tamil Schools. There are many programs specifically designed and customized for Chinese and Tamil school principals because of the perceived differences of interventions required in Chinese and Tamil school management. The main concern in these schools is the acquisition of mother tongue competence simultaneously with the mastery of Malay (the national language) and English (the international language). Also, Chinese schools are relatively homogeneous and mono-cultural and are urban- based, while Tamil schools are also homogeneous and generally plantation- estate-based. Besides the special customized programs provided for the above groups, there are also specifically designed programs for those head teachers working in isolated and small schools, particularly, in Sabah, Sarawak, Pahang, and Perak. Small schools are those “under-enrolled” schools with less than 150 students. Isolated schools are those schools in remote areas, relatively not accessible by road. Such schools may be “under-enrolled” or may have more than 150 students. The status of such schools changes fast because of movement of parents, development brought to remote areas, the creation of cluster schools, and the building of residential facilities. Notwithstanding the changes, it is estimated that there are approximately 1,400 of such schools. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 209
In the larger cities, particularly in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, and Johor Bharu, there are several schools considered “difficult” to manage because of the “unsettled populace” and “new immigration” nature of the demography and the conditions in the living environment. Usually too, in such unsettled environments, many of the students come from parents who are in the lower economic strata of society. Often, students from culturally disadvantaged environments are exposed to various kinds of negative influences which affect their academic performance in schools. It is assumed that this kind of schools demands different kinds of management and leaders. Consequently, specially designed training programs are offered for school principals and other staff working and leading in such areas. These special programs are designed to address the specific needs of these specific institutions and environments. To this end, individuals working in or individuals to be deployed to work in such institutions and environments are given training in knowledge, skills, and attitudes deemed necessary for leadership therein. Notwithstanding the special programs, in Malaysia's centralized public educational system, the principle adhered to in training policy as in other policies and programs, is the principle of “inclusiveness.” In almost all instances, principals from all streams of education, from different ethnic and geographical backgrounds and, sometimes, even from different levels and generational experiences, are brought together for common training programs (IAB, 1995, 1997b).
11. THE NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION FOR HEADTEACHERS (NPQH)
The National Professional Qualification for Headteachers has been introduced as a professional qualification to be achieved before the school headship. The program for NPQH is seen as a further development of the program of training conducted by IAB during the last two decades. The planning for the NPQH program was undertaken in the early 1990s. However, the timing for the implementation of the program had to be postponed until several other government initiatives were formulated and implemented. Among these initiatives were the Master Teacher Program, the Excellent Principal Award, and the Time-Based Promotion initiative. These programs had to be implemented to ensure that there was no status incongruence and that the position of headship was not a position that everybody aspired for as it was the only route for promotion in the teaching service. These three major initiatives created other career routes and promotional opportunities for teachers in their areas of interest, hence, leaving the position of school heads for those interested in that area of specialization. In the early 1990s, IAB began plans to send its staff to acquire mastery in the philosophies, methods, contents, and strategies for implementing Principal Assessment programs. To this end, materials were gathered from many sources to develop NPQH. In order to plan and implement NPQH, the Malaysian Education Principal and Executive Development Centre (MEPADC) was established in IAB (IAB, 1997a). At the policy level, the MEPADC and NPQH received the support of 210 IBRAHIM AHMAD BAJUNID the Minister of Education and the former Director General of Education, Mohd Noor Daim. In terms of policy leadership, the present Director General (1997-), Abdul Shukor Abdullah, has been the prime mover for the establishment of the Principal's Institute at the University of Malaya. In order to assure acceptance and ensure success of NPQH, the widest range of participation of significant interests groups and individuals with expertise was encouraged. These included union and professional leaders and people from the civil service bureaucracy. IAB played a major role in curriculum development for NPQH, with the Director leading the processes of conceptualization and curriculum development. The main contributors were Noor Bakar as Head of the Task Force with the assistance of Kamaruddin P. Mohd, Mahinder Singh, Nor Hasimah Hashim, and Mazlan Shamsuddin, as well as adjunct professional help of ideas especially in comparative perspective from educators throughout the country. Foreign institutions and experts who contributed to the formulation of NPQH include Harry Tomlinson and other academicians in the field in the professional network of Malaysian educators (IAB, 1997a). There are six major areas of concepts and materials development for NPQH: Health, Fitness, and Wellness Measures; General Knowledge; Educational Management Knowledge; Human Relations Skills; Computer Skills and ICT skills; and Personal Knowledge and Self Knowledge. The 1999-2000 academic session is the first year of implementation of NPQH. It is still in its formative developmental stages. It was the aim of the program to develop a battery of assessment instruments which include general Intelligence Quotient (IQ), multiple intelligence frameworks, emotional IQ, leadership IQ, adversity IQ, executive IQ, and spiritual IQ measures. Other NPQH measures discussed but not implemented widely for various reasons include Thinking Skills Certification with the Cambridge University and Outdoor Leadership Training (Cooper & Sawaf, 1997; Goleman, 1995, 1998; Stoltz 1997).
12. CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES IN EDUCATION
NPQH is a bold attempt and necessary attempt to ensure that principals are trained to be masterful of the core technology of schooling and administration. The extent of the contemporary relevance and future effectiveness and usability of the knowledge and competencies acquired from the program should, however, be seen within the broader framework of societal concerns and new professional insights and discoveries. The framework of societal concerns is embedded in the controversial issues in education in Malaysia. Malaysian society continues to formulate and reformulate policies to address some of these issues (Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara, 1988). Controversial issues in education are those same controversial issues in the wider society. In many of these issues there are strong divisions. The laws of the country and the political culture which prefers the mode of “bargaining and consensus” among the political parties in racially “sensitive” areas of national interests do not allow for public debates on sensitive issues. Issues of race, language, and religion PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 211 often lead to unbridled anger and primordial passions and positions taken by extreme groups. To avoid wide spread racial clashes, there are safeguards in the Constitution regarding these sensitive issues. Like other people in the polity, educational leaders are subjects to the laws of the land. In order to serve effectively, school principals must therefore understand the history, politics, and cultural ramifications of these issues as they exercise thought leadership in their learning organizations (Quong, Walker, & Stott, 1998; Starratt, 1993; Waterman, 1987). Young people with different generational histories will want to ask questions and require intellectual justifications regarding all aspects of status quo positions in all domains of human activities - political, economic, social, spiritual, and recreational. According to the educational stakeholders in Malaysia, the preparation of school principals must therefore take into consideration the sweep of national and educational history which constitutes the great traditions of the nation and its communities. At the same time, the principal as leader is required to understand the contemporary popular culture which attracts young people in their times. It is within this context of the cultural continuity and the need for discontinuity that the principal has to operate in as a change master. How well the principal plays his or her role will influence in varying degrees the quality of values clarification, thought clarification, attitudes, motivation, and behaviors of the students, teachers, and even parents and the community. The leadership of principals in the new context is therefore one of thought leadership (Allee, 1997; Kouzes & Posner, 1995; Langer, 1989; Sergiovanni, 1984). In addition to the broader macro-level controversial issues in society are the issues in the profession of education itself. Principals more than their teachers are expected to understand the scope of these educational issues and make their professional decisions accordingly. As thought leaders, they are expected to be familiar with the terrain of educational philosophies and the state of the art knowledge of the disciplines of education. Because the school is the site for teaching and learning, all the educational knowledge which are “received wisdom” and all the “new leading edge findings” are expected to be evaluated, selected, implemented, and applied in the school contexts, not experimentally, but judiciously and effectively. In the realm of educational management and leadership, school leaders are expected to intellectually master and make sense of the various recurring questions, including as the following: the rights of the child; the rights of parents and of teachers; the debate on private or public education; school finance; educational reforms; politics and economics of education; teacher trade union movements and professional organizations; desegregation and diversity; and a host of other issues. In professional matters, principals are expected to understand such issues as teaching as a subversive activity, and to control the curriculum, the policies of assessment and measurement and the types of testing and measurements, educational standards and accountability, and educational research. Additionally, as principals exercise their leadership and train their staff while developing themselves, they have to provide leadership regarding such interesting emerging phenomena as neuro-linguistic programming, multiple intelligences, quantum learning, super learning, accelerated learning, power learning, or e-learning (Alder, 1994; Bajunid, 1997b; Crowther et al., 1994; Delors, 1996; Rylatt & Lohan, 1995). 212 IBRAHIM AHMAD BAJUNID
As the country enters the new millennium, the speed, scope, and momentum of its development unleash unparalleled experiences of its activities, often beyond the immediate comprehension of the various elite groups and even the top leadership from various sectors. There are no comparisons and no models of “perfect fit” of educational development available for the new change imperatives. Also, for such societal transformations, there are no comparisons of experiences in the living memories of educational policy-makers and educational leaders. Experienced educators, as well as younger educators with less training and experience, have to make sense of the changes, locate themselves in the sweep of educational development history, and contribute meaningfully and effectively (Ministry of Education, 1997). In the wake of this development are school principals. Within the influential framework of training and development of school principals are the policy analysts, curriculum developers, opinion leaders, ICT specialists, management and leadership experts, and change-masters of all persuasions. Variously and collectively, they are required to contribute to formulating relevant transitional and futuristic curriculum to enable school principals to exercise their leadership roles in the rapidly changing new environment of scientific, technological advances which are driving economic change and changes in the life styles. Such changes embrace the notions of knowledge management and intellectual and social capital, and create new meanings for access, equity, and efficiency. The changes to the principalship are both daunting and exciting. The models of school leadership expected in the new work environment call for in-depth clarifications of educational policies and values. The challenges also call for clear thinking regarding educational philosophies, curriculum, student assessment, learning contexts, relationship spaces (including cyberspaces), study materials, teaching methodologies, learning modes, school management, and school leadership. The challenges demand review of existing laws, rules, regulations, paradigms of thinking, and ways of “doing education.” The challenges demand for new definitions of formal, non-formal, and informal education and new reinforcing relationships among the various constituencies in the education sector (Vaill, 1996). Beyond the structural reviews, the challenges demand, hitherto, unexamined and unexplored adventures into the realms of meanings, of knowledge reorganizations, competence, and performance measures, and of mastery learning and certification (Phenix, 1964). The challenges also demand novel understandings of human potentialities, motivation, attitudes, and self-concept development, especially in the face of the emerging high-tech, high-touch world of education (Naisbitt, 1999). Besides intellect, experience, and will, the new challenges demand a grasp of the sense of history, wisdom regarding the realities of today, and imagination regarding the possibilities of the future in the processes of educating the young and educating adults as well. Again, clearly, the new challenges make strong non-traditional demands from the principals. How each individual principal and the community of principals in Malaysia respond to meet the challenges outlined will be significant in determining whether the education sector contributes coherently and in unison with other sectors in the polity in the exciting developments taking place (Fullan, 1991). The ultimate challenge for principals is to ensure that their students and staff become achievers and that everyone develops with dignity, strength, and positive PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 213 self-concept. More than ever before, there is the necessity to understand the roles of the reflective practitioner, not only in the learning organization, but through life’s journeys (Greenfield & Ribbins, 1993; Schon, 1983).
13. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REFORMS AND IMPROVEMENTS
In Malaysia, much has been done to improve administrator training and education during the last 20 years. As the country enters the 21st century, much more remains to be done. As the education system is funded mainly by the federal government, there is a tendency for frontline educators to become dependent on central policy leadership (Bajunid, 1995a, 1998a; Government of Malaysia, 1998). Educational leadership, however, is really local leadership, in the classroom, in the institution, and in the community. There is a need, therefore, to balance and synergize national policy leadership and real local leadership. In order to foster the healthy and dynamic growth of students in the contexts of rapid changes in life styles in the homes, work places, local communities, and global societies, educational systems and institutions must themselves initiate changes. To create positive conditions of growth of students, teachers, and the community, school leaders must create the conditions for learning and develop schools as institutions in the great traditions. More than ever, school principals have to understand the nature of organizations, specifically, school or educational organizations and human behaviors in such organizations. Deep understanding of the morphology and meanings of organizations need to be acquired by the mastery of concepts, theories, or metaphors pertaining to educational organizations. For instance, at one level of analysis, principals could see schools as “social systems” or apply Senge’s (1990) notion of “learning organizations,” and they could see student growth in terms of Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) “ecology of human development” as their frameworks of analyses of the purposes of their stewardship. In the Malaysian context, there are indeed almost everyday many local, national, and international seminars and workshops concerning education and education- related issues being organized. In many of these seminars, measures are often proposed for school improvement and for the improvement of school leadership. Among the actions that are proposed and regarded as important to be taken by all those concerned with management education, specifically pertaining to the principalship, are the following: a) a review of the philosophy of administrator education, addressing the breadth and depth of training programs in the context of technological changes, societal expectations, and knowledge development; b) the development of needs inventory for schools; c) customized professional development programs for principals; d) alternative and supplementary and complementary modes of training to be used as integrated elements of a holistic principal training delivery system; e) modular approaches to training which provide accreditation and transfer of credits for academic purposes or recognition for promotion purposes; 214 IBRAHIM AHMAD BAJUNID f) quality tools for use by principals and their deputies in order to enable them to provide school based training for their staff; g) extensive, intensive, and hands-on personalized training opportunities; h) affordable training; i) the development of a wide range of growth opportunities which meet multiple learning styles through such methods as forum, workshops, seminars, distance learning, publications, and networking; j) the development of tool kits and application of standards criteria, such as the ISO or other international standards criteria, to improve the performance of students, teachers, administrators, and organizations and community accountability; k) professional skills assessment inventory for all types of school principal/administrator experiences and all school leadership levels; l) the formulation and development of position statements regarding accountability, status of principals, and other concerns related to school leadership, schooling, education, and critical societal matters; m) the development of professionalism in educational management and leadership through professional organizations; n) the development and recognition of school leadership initiatives to visit and share exemplary programs and the fostering of national contests and activities which create and support educational excellence; o) the development of specific skills which enable school leaders to engage parents and the community in the education challenge; and p) the fostering of accountability of the education system and educational institutions by the creation of linkages with educational writers and other education interest groups.
14. CONCLUSION
The domain of educational management and leadership in Malaysia is exciting with vast opportunities to elicit deep structure knowledge and understanding, especially in research and training. As Malaysia is a multiracial and multicultural society with a tradition of drawing values and knowledge from world civilizations, the possibilities of creating knowledge, both “universal” and indigenous knowledge, are real. Likewise, the dissemination of such knowledge through various training curriculum and delivery modes are equally stimulating. As a new training program, NPQH is still in its formative stages. Content analysis of the documents pertaining to the program as well as evaluation of the pilot implementation of NPQH reveal that there are critical aspects of educational concerns which are not yet addressed by the program. Among the omissions are attention to the corpus of educational thought and development studies insights, particularly, the field of human development across the life-span. Other areas of neglect include the non-utilization of the very rich literature on knowledge creation, knowledge management, and dissemination, literature on motivation, and the inspirational works of mankind in the great traditions. Indeed, there is very little significant research done in education and PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 215 educational management in Malaysia (Bajunid, 1997a, 1998b, 1999). The debate whether the training of school principals should be narrowly focused only on the principalship and schooling or that it should take into consideration broader issues of “timeless leadership” have not even begun. Again, whether leadership training should be principally competency-based and technocratic or should be broadly intellectual and “dramatic” taking into consideration life’s complexities with all its passions, emotions and joys, and successes and tragedies have not emerged as prioritized issues on agenda for serious and sustained debates.
15. REFERENCES
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Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline. New York: Doubleday/Currency. Sergiovanni, T. J. (1984, February). Leadership and excellence in schooling. Educational Leadership. Starratt, R. J. (1993). Transforming life in schools. Hawthorn, Victoria: Australian Council for Educational Administration (ACEA). Stoltz, P. G. (1997). The adversity quotient. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Trompenaars, F. (1993). Riding the waves of culture. London: Nocholas Brealey. Vaill, P. B. (1996). Learning as a way of being. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Waterman, R. H., Jr. (1987). The renewal factor. Toronto: Bantam Books. YIN CHEONG CHENG & KING WAI CHOW
INSTITUTIONS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN ASIA
Changes and Challenges
Centre for Research and International Collaboration, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong
In the new millennium, one of the core issues in ongoing worldwide educational reform is the development of a highly qualified and committed teaching force (Cheng, Chow, & Tsui, 2001). In the reform process, whether or not we can enhance the needed teaching force depends very much on how effective are the institutions of teacher education in their provision of education to pre- and in-service teachers (Maclean, 2001). Areas in Asia like mainland China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan have adopted in the past decades models of teacher education and development that differ from those in English-speaking countries. Interestingly, a comprehensive search for international literature on these models shows that there are not that research work done on the topic. A plausible explanation is that, given that the overwhelmingly majority of the current literature on teacher education is published in English and that the model of university of teacher education is not in use in many English- speaking countries, the relevant literature would therefore be meager. This, however, is unfortunate. Global-sharing of educational research findings is essential to the field of study of teaching and teacher education (Zeichner, 1999). After all, the institutions of teacher education in some areas of Asia have in various ways asserted various critical impacts upon teacher education and development and, in turn, on schooling, pedagogical advancement, and curriculum development of school education in these areas. Thus, enhancing a better understanding of the institutions of teacher education at work in Asia is imperative.
1. VARIETIES OF TEACHER EDUCATION PROVIDERS
Hayhoe (2002) of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (OISE/UT) had conducted a comprehensive review of the various types of tertiary level institutions in six countries that shed light on the patterns of historical developments and characteristics of institutions that are involved in the professional work of teacher education and development. Basing on essence and features, the
219 Cheng, Y. C., Chow, K. W., and Mok, M. C. Magdalena (eds.), Reform of Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium: Trends and Challenges, 219—238. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 220 YIN CHEONG CHENG & KING WAI CHOW evolution of these institutions can be classified into four models, as Hayhoe (2002, pp. 16-17) summarized: Model A: Normal colleges absorbed into major comprehensive universities as faculties of education (USA, England, Japan);
Model B: Normal colleges upgraded to become universities of education, or local comprehensive universities in which faculties of education play a leading role and shape the ethos (Japan, England, USA);
Model C: Normal colleges merged into independent university level institutes which cooperate with universities in the training of teachers for primary and secondary schools, but with their own legal existence (France); and
Model D: Normal colleges upgraded to or integrated within normal universities which retain a strong profile as single purpose universities focused on the teaching profession (Taiwan, China). Basing on the Hayhoe’s review and classification and using the key features of the institutions of teacher education – the extent of management independence and the nature of orientation – we could draw a diagram (see Figure 1) that shows a typology of various types of historical development of normal schools and colleges into universities or university level institutions (hereafter institutions) that provide teacher education. This typology can be used to discuss and compare the possible developments of teacher education institutions in Asia. In brief, normal schools and colleges could become faculties or schools of education in comprehensive universities, and provide teacher education to pre- and in-service teachers as well as any other interested college students (as Type I). The normal schools and colleges could elevate to the university level and exclusively focus on teacher education (as Type II). They could acquire the status of independent university level institutes that may be housed within comprehensive universities but have a great degree of autonomy in determining ways and means to serve teachers and the school sector (as Type III). And they could become normal university serving primarily pre- and in-service teachers while offering tertiary education to other students with different majors (as Type IV). Illustrative examples of these types of providers of teacher education in Asia and other parts of the world can also be placed in Figure 1. For example, faculties or schools of education in comprehensive universities in USA or UK belong to Type I. Examples of Type II are institutions of teacher education in France, Japan, and Korea. Type III includes examples, such as OISE/UT (Canada), Institute of Education of University of London (UK), and National Institute of Education of Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). INSTITUTIONS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN ASIA 221
Independence Type II Type IV
University of Teacher Normal University: Education: France, Mainland China Japan and Korea and Taiwan
Orientation: Normal Schools/ Orientation: Single Multiple Normal Colleges Institute of Education: OISE/UT (Canada); Faculty or School of The Institute of Education: US and Education (University England of London, UK); National Institute of Education (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) Type III Type I
Dependence
Figure 1. Four Types of Institutional Arrangements in the Provision of Teacher Education
Normal universities in mainland China and Taiwan are typical examples of Type IV. The four quadrants in Figure 1 facilitate our conceptualization of the key differences among the types of providers of teacher education. Nonetheless, it should be noted that categorization of the teacher education institutions in different educational systems is made with reference to the main features of management independence and the nature of orientation, from a somewhat static view. In reality, the interactions between a teacher education institution and its environment may have caused the respective institution to transform from one type to another. The normal universities in mainland China moving from providing college education only to pre-service teachers to currently all qualified high school graduates (due to competition from other comprehensive universities and the bleak employment prospects for pre-service teachers) are prime examples of the transformation that providers of teacher education might go through when the educational and socio- economic contexts change (Wang, 2002; Xiong & Jiang, 2002). 222 YIN CHEONG CHENG & KING WAI CHOW
2. TRADITIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON TYPE I — FACULTIES OF EDUCATION IN COMPREHENSIVE UNIVERSITIES
While Hayhoe’s (2002) classification reflects that there can be different modes of operation in teacher education provision, in reality, teacher educators housed in comprehensive universities often find their road to excellence in teacher education rocky and winding in Asia and beyond. International literature (see, e.g., Ducharme & Ducharme, 1996; Goodlad, 1990) has shown that teacher educators tend to find it difficult to compete on equal footing for resources even though teacher educations programs are often the “cash cows” of their respective university. Other studies (see, e.g., Grimmett, 1998; Murphy, 1995) reveal that too often teacher educators have to be evaluated alongside with other faculty members in research performance assessment which tend to ignore teacher educators’ accomplishment in enhancing effectiveness of schools, which invariably need professional supports from university teachers and contribution to the teaching profession, both of which are inseparable parts of teacher education programs and which must be borne by teacher educators, whether or not they receive due credit for their hard work pursued. Still other research reports (see, e.g., Goodlad, 1990; Schnur & Golby, 1995) have revealed that teacher educators are sometimes stigmatized in major comprehensive universities for their limited scholastic achievement and scholarly publication record; in extreme cases, attrition in teacher education would even be considered “as evidence of a maturing campus” (Goodlad, 1990, p. 23). All these difficulties add together to create stress on teacher educators, negatively affecting their discharging academic and professional duties. Value conflict is typical in universities (Currie, 1998). In the case of tertiary programs for teacher education, according to Hayhoe (2002), the core differences and conflicts in values between normal colleges and comprehensive universities and, in turn, between teacher educators and other faculty members of comprehensive universities can often be understood by examining the institutional emphasis and ethos of university and of normal college (see Table 1). As recorded in Table 1, the differences in the nature and essence of teacher education and other tertiary education programs stem from, on the one hand, teacher educators’ craft-orientation and their value on professional practice advancement and, on the other hand, the uniqueness of professional teaching in schools as well as in teacher education programs. Given the craft-orientation and the value on the advancement of professional practice, teacher education differs from other programs in various ways and must be managed differently. Unfortunately, traditional faculties or schools of education housed in comprehensive universities often find that the management policy of the respective university could not readily accommodate their developmental needs. When policy-makers and educators in Asia are considering how to convert their institutions of teacher education as faculties of education in comprehensive universities, they need to take these traditional constraints into consideration and find some ways to handle them. INSTITUTIONS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN ASIA 223
Table 1. Institutional Emphasis and Ethos of University and of Normal College
University vs. Normal College Theory vs. Practice Specialized disciplines of knowledge vs. Integrated learning areas Morally directive approaches to Value neutral approaches to knowledge vs. knowledge A nurturing environment with strong A relatively impersonal environment vs. mentorship ties between teachers and students The liberal pursuit of all Action oriented and field-based vs. questions/intellectual curiosity knowledge State control and professional Academic freedom & autonomy vs. accountability An orientation to deep level A craft orientation towards vs. understanding and long-term change high standards of practice Note: Adopted from Hayhoe (2002)
3. THE RISE OF TERTIARY LEVEL INSTITUTIONS OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Responding to these constraints and conflicts on Type I and the comprehensive universities being not sufficiently responsive to the needs of the teaching profession, there was a move towards Type II in Japan and Korea, towards Type IV in mainland China and Taiwan, and Type III in Singapore. Indeed, not only in Asia, there are also an increasing number of institutions of teacher education established in Holland, Iceland, Denmark, Austria, and France, all of which are dedicated to teacher education. Some of them have only recently been established: for example, the Iceland University of Education was founded in 1997 and the Danish Pedagogic University in 2000 (visit, e.g., http://www.khi.is/index.php). Even though some schools of education, such as the Teachers College of the Columbia University, the Institute of Education of the University of London, and OISE/UT (see, e.g., Grimmett, 1998), have succeeded in gaining a relatively high degree of autonomy in self-management, others have to strive to operate outside the infrastructure of comprehensive universities in order to have the needed autonomy and discretionary power to fully perform their functions - see, for example, a report on the establishment of a chartered school of education in the California State University (Hafner & Slovacek, 2001) that shows how a school of education could acquire relative independence within the traditional unitary system of university governance in order to more efficiently and effectively achieve its missions. These institutes or schools of education, nonetheless, are still operating as Type III institutions (at the lower section in Figure 1): that is, they have had relatively less autonomy (or more dependence) than their counterparts (those of Type II or Type IV in the upper section of Figure 1; i.e., the universities of teacher education or the normal universities – which enjoy a greater degree of independence. 224 YIN CHEONG CHENG & KING WAI CHOW
While different universities of teacher education (Type II) or the normal universities (Type IV) operate in different socio-economic and political contexts, they share a common feature – having the needed autonomy to independently decide on how to shape and reshape their destiny in the provision of teacher education. Such a high degree of independence, in comparison with their counterparts in comprehensive universities, would allow them optimize their efforts in teacher education, scholarship and research, advancement of professional practices, and education reform consultancy. How well they perform would very much affect the teacher quality in their respective countries. More importantly, their success, as well as constraints, would also shed light on the reform of teacher education infrastructure in different countries. It is thus imperative to better understand the achievements and challenges of institutions of teacher education in the past decades in order to draw implications for future developments in practice, policy, and scholarship of teacher education institutions in the new century. Recently, Arimoto (2002) has analyzed the developments of teacher education in Japan while Yokosuka (2002) and Besso and Suzuki (2002) have examined in great details the case of Miyagi University of Education and of Hyogo University of Teacher Education respectively. Kim (2002) has reviewed the national system of teacher training, focusing on 12 national universities of teacher education in Korea. Wang (2002) and Xiong & Jiang (2002) have reviewed the system of normal universities in mainland China respectively with the developments of Beijing Normal University and East China Normal University respectively as important cases. These researchers’ findings together provide an important base for, on the one hand, further analyzing and understanding the developments, achievements, and the related issues of institutions of teacher education in some representative countries of Asia and, on the other hand, realizing that currently many of those institutions of teacher education are facing many challenges.
4. STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
In the past decades, universities of teacher education and normal universities in Asia have played an important role and made key contribution to teacher education and provision to meet the needs of country development in education, fulfilling the obligations of social functionalism (Finley, 1996). And at the same time, they are also facing various types of challenges during their developments and responding to the changing environment in their own cultural and social contexts. To deepen our understanding of these institutions and their further developments in Asia in the new century, a further review of the various issues, such as their strengths and challenges, is presented in the following pages. For convenience and simplifying the presentation in the following discussion, we will use “institution of teacher education” as a general term that represents both Type II (university of teacher education in Korea and Japan) and Type IV (normal university in mainland China and Taiwan) institutions, which enjoy great autonomy due to their institutional status and organizational structure. INSTITUTIONS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN ASIA 225
4.1 Strengths of Institutions of Teacher Education
4.1.1 Explicit National Commitment to Education and Teacher Education Education is often perceived as the key for national developments in different aspects of the society, such as economic development, political development, social development, and cultural development (Cheng, 1996). Particularly in the new century, when the modes of knowledge-based economy and society are strongly emphasized, education inevitably receives increasing serious attention from national leaders and the public and in turn being accorded top priority in national agendas. For example, even though Hong Kong is now in a very difficult situation because of the economic downturn and structural transformation, the government still keeps an increasing investment in education and believes education being the key for the future of Hong Kong that can facilitate economic transformation and growth in the new era of knowledge-based society and globalization (see, e.g., Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region [GHKSAR], 1997a, 1997b, 2001). The establishment of institutions of teacher education with clear mission on the development of teacher education in particular and school education in general can represent explicitly the national long-term commitment and effort to the national development through education, particularly in Asia and recently in Europe. Unlike those of Type I – faculties/schools of education in comprehensive universities - the independent status of institutions of teacher education can protect the resources and efforts for teacher education and education from the undue or inequitable competition with other faculties. In comprehensive universities, teacher educators would find it difficult to operate independently in discharging their duties in teacher education. After all, they have to deal with dilemmas of value conflicts (Bone, 1995) that stem from the paradigmatic approach to scholarship and research (Finley, 1996) and that often compel teacher educators to accept the values imposed while failing to concentrate on the preparation of research-sensitive education practitioners and on conducting professional practice-oriented research (Guthrie & Clifford, 1989). As in China, Japan, and Korea, many of the individual institutions of teacher education, as well as the system as a whole, have shown that they function well in facilitating the respective government to use these specialized institutions as an instrument to regulate and reinforce the supply side of the teaching workforce so as to meet the societal needs for teachers. With the explicit national commitment and support, these institutions of teacher education do serve to create an exclusive space for teacher educators to discharge their sacred duties; promote professionalism among and commitment of teachers; facilitate research and development projects to support development of school education in different aspects; and highlight for society the values and significance of teaching as a profession. Indeed, with this model of teacher education institutions in place, teacher educators may fare much better as compared with their counterparts in the field of, for example, arts and humanities. 226 YIN CHEONG CHENG & KING WAI CHOW
4.1.2 Systemic Effort to Upgrade the Profession to Graduate-Level The institutions of teacher education in Asia are playing an increasingly important role in the provision of graduate level training to both pre- and in-service teachers (see, e.g., Besso & Suzuki, 2002; Kim, 2002; Wang, 2002; Xiong & Jiang, 2002; Yokosuka, 2002). This trend reflects a converging national consensus that the provision of taught postgraduate degree courses in education – particularly the Master of Education programs, which are by nature professional development programs for developing in-service teachers’ professional values and capacity to lead their school and to advance professional practices - is vital to enhancing a cadet of top caliber school administrators and expert teachers, whose performance is a necessary condition for optimizing the benefits of schooling and education reform. Also, such a trend reflects that in order to have professional practice in a knowledge-based and technology-driven society, it should be more a norm than exception that school principals and senior teachers are in possession of postgraduate taught degrees. And institutions of teacher education in such countries as mainland China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan represent the national and systemic long-term effort to upgrading the teaching profession to graduate-level in a new century.
4.1.3 A Large Platform for Learning, Teaching, Research, and Development In the current higher education reviews and reforms in different parts of Asia in particular and the world in general, one of the crucial issues is this: how to pool up the related resources, facilities, equipment, and expertise to create the large platform for facilitating learning, teaching, research, and development such that every student, teacher, researcher, and developer in tertiary education would have the optimal opportunities and conditions to perform his or her job (Cheng, 2001a, 2002). Currently, many institutes of teacher education or education are in form of faculties or schools of education in comprehensive universities. While they can enjoy the sharing of expertise particularly in area of subject knowledge with other faculties within the comprehensive university, they also have to compete for resources with these faculties within the pool of the comprehensive universities. Since there are increasing competitions between comprehensive universities and their own institutional constraints, it is often very difficult, if not impossible, for faculties of education in different comprehensive universities to collaborate and form a large platform for pooling up resources and expertise to create much larger opportunities and better conditions for teaching and research in teacher education and school education. In other words, the model of faculties of education has the inherent institutional limitations to build up any substantial platform for national or systemic effort to education development. It is not a surprise that without such a platform their development and contribution to a wide range of comprehensive educational services and scholarly and professional endeavors may suffer from their limited economies of scale. Given the clear mission in teacher education and education development, no matter whether institutions of teacher education (Type II and IV) or institutes of education (Type III), they represent to a great extent a large platform including a INSTITUTIONS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN ASIA 227 wide range of expertise and a large and stable pool of resources, facilities, and equipment for learning, teaching, research, and development in education. Therefore, on the one hand, they can create more opportunity for, variety of, and better conditions for educational services and teacher education; and on the other hand, they have the economies of scale to provide the various educational services and teacher programs in a more efficient way. Not only the Asian experiences in China (Li, 1999) and Korea (Kim, 2001) but also the European experiences in France (see, e.g., Bonnet, 1996; Brisard & Hall, 2001), in the past decades have provided good evidence to support this observation. Particularly, the institutions of teacher education as independent institutions would have their own institutional autonomy to develop collaboration and partnership with other institutions and universities in extending their educational services and academic endeavors. In other words, they have no internal institutional limitations that faculties of education have to cope with, and thus could build up a large platform for teacher education and educational development. Like other institutions of teacher education, the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) is a good example of large platform for education. It has nearly 8,000 students enrolled in various types of teacher education programs and 400 academic staff with a wide range of educational and academic expertise in different areas. It is well equipped with the state-of-the-art information technology environment and the most up-to-date teaching and research facilities. Its purpose- built campus encourages a strong collaboration and coordinating among various schools, academic departments, and specialized units/centers. All these create a large enough platform that supports various scholarly and professional initiatives in teacher education and school education. HKIEd has its own institutional vision and autonomy to make strategic and wide scope collaborations with various local and international institutions in providing educational services and teacher education programs, without any internal institutional constraints placed by other faculties or schools. For example, in order to broaden the platform in various subject areas, HKIEd has wide collaborations with local tertiary institutions such as the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Art and Performance Academy. This kind of collaborations is often rare between competing comprehensive universities in the same local context. In sum, with this structural strength and potential, institutions of teacher education can create a platform where all the four main jobs of teacher education – the education in academic subject matters, in general pedagogy and content-related pedagogy, in field experience, and for student teachers’ personal growth and development as a full-fledged citizen and professional teacher (Tatto, 1998) – can be efficiently and effectively performed: a) by means of the application of theories and models from various disciplines and field of studies; b) by mobilizing the different talented educators to interactively foster an environment conducive to student teachers’ learning from multi-perspectives with multi-dimensional experiences enhanced; and c) by structuring and restructuring different educative processes through which the pedagogical objectives of the aforementioned main jobs can be achieved. 228 YIN CHEONG CHENG & KING WAI CHOW
4.1.4 A Critical Mass for Area of Excellence in Educational Development and Teacher Education Related to the above platform for educational services and teacher education is the formation of a critical mass for charting areas of excellence in education. In the ongoing review of higher education, how to develop areas of excellence in tertiary institutions is one of the key concerns as tertiary institutions should have the inherent responsibility and mission to generate new knowledge and frontier technology to lead the development of different aspects of society in a context of serious international competitions and globalization in the new century. An area of excellence often represents a group or a cluster of scholars, researchers, and developers whose academic and professional performance and output in a certain area are at the international frontier leading the future development of the respective area. It is generally agreed that individual and piecemeal efforts by even the very bright scholars cannot produce an area of excellence. It is important to have a critical mass of various high quality scholars and experts working together in a certain area with sufficient resources and facilities so as to produce the necessary scholarly culture, synergy, chain-reaction, multiplying effects, and mutual support in research and related scholarly activities. Therefore, if we want to build up an area of excellence in teacher education, we need to create a critical mass of educators, researchers, scholars, and developers working closely together for a certain area of education, supported by the availability of the necessary resources and facilities in a coherent education environment. In this sense, institutions of teacher education are preferable in creating critical mass for area of excellence because this model of institutions prescribes the clustering of educators, researchers, practitioners, and developers of various expertise and talent under one roof. As a critical mass, the clustering of various talents in teacher education can create a much larger impact than what individual scholars can achieve individually. With the critical mass of talents, the clustering of domain-specific knowledge also occurs. More importantly, when the critical mass of educators and researchers is formed and when the different sets of domain-specific knowledge are to interact in the same platform of institutions of teacher education, the scholarly culture, chain- reaction, and multiplying effect can be enhanced, and then more opportunities can be created for knowledge advancement in teacher education in particular or education in general. In view of all these, one would now realize why it is the case that some of the schools of education that locate in, for example, American comprehensive universities have had made arrangements to gain relative independence – that is, remaining in the respective university but acting with full discretion to discharge its professional and scholarly duties in teacher education (see, e.g., Hafner & Slovacek, 2001). After all, these independent schools of education can have a more effective interface with their clients – schools and school teachers – and a more fruitful interface with other academic units – universities and colleges – in their efforts to maximize collaboration and sharing, because with independence they could now be INSTITUTIONS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN ASIA 229 on equal footing with other faculties rather than in a somewhat inferior position due to the stigmatization of professional education programs in the eyes of other faculty members who place a premium on narrowly defined scholarship. Take it a step further, one may even argue that once institutions of teacher education succeed in optimizing their impact upon teacher education and in turn school education, they may acquire sufficient political resources in form of supports from frontline educators and the citizenry to the extent that they may have the edge in both the market-driven system of higher education and the public policy arena and, in turn, relative autonomy in deciding their destiny in the course of achieving excellence in their professional and scholarly work, which in turn reinforces their leadership in teacher education and schooling. Thus, the question that must be addressed is about how we can realize the potentials of institutions of teacher education. When the concepts of platform and critical mass are blended together, the structural values and the potential impacts of institutions of teacher education are impressive. Therefore, in the review of strengths and constraints of institutions of teacher education, we would need to explore how we can actualize the potential of an institution of teacher education as a large platform for effective teaching, research, and development and as a critical mass for area of excellence in education in such a fast changing environment. Indeed, a careful review of the challenges that institutions of teacher education are confronting (see below) shows that these challenges are inevitable due to the historical development in their own countries as well as the changing environment in the new century. How to address these challenges is an important issue in the process of refining the platform of the institutions of teacher education in various countries and in the efforts to generate greater benefits from the critical mass of teacher educators in those universities.
4.2 Major Challenges to Institutions of Teacher Education
Notwithstanding the unique strengths and potentials of institutions of teacher education to serve the knowledge-based society in optimal and important ways, there are several major challenges, including “subject knowledge vs. professional knowledge,” “scholarship of discovery vs. scholarship of teaching and application,” and “exclusiveness vs. competitiveness in teacher education.”
4.2.1 Subject Knowledge vs. Professional Knowledge As reported in Besso and Suzuki (2002), Kim (2002), Wang (2002), Xiong & Jiang (2002), and Yokosuka (2002), while institutions of teacher education in Asia have been striving to provide quality pre- and in-service teacher education, some critiques consider that many institutions of teacher education generally fail to provide adequate training to pre-service teachers in subject-matter knowledge. This problem could be considered inevitable: either the programs are organized in ways that much learning opportunities have been created for the learning of professional knowledge of teaching and learning, leaving relatively less room for students’ learning in content knowledge; or teacher educators themselves may not be as strong 230 YIN CHEONG CHENG & KING WAI CHOW as their counterparts in comprehensive universities in subject knowledge delivery. The former explanation is more plausible as research, as Andrew (1990) has revealed that pre-service teachers who were allowed more time to study in five-year programs excelled when in comparison with those who had less time to learn. This is a predictable outcome as teaching is a professional act basing on a variety of knowledge, craft, skill, experience, and value that require more students’ investment in time and effort. In other words, should they be expected to master subject-matter knowledge at the level as other college graduates do, more time should be allocated to the pre-service teachers, rather than blaming the teacher educators on their incompetence in subject teaching. Moreover, the critiques are misleading. As the meta-analysis conducted by a leading figure in the field, Prof. Linda Darling-Hammond (2000) of Stanford University, has shown, the marginal value of the teacher’s mastery of subject content knowledge is relatively great at the initial stage of professional development of the teacher, but diminishes as the teacher passes through the novice stage; in contrast, the significance of the teacher’s mastery of professional knowledge and enhancement of teaching skill has remained unchanged throughout the various stages. These empirically documented propositions indicate that the critiques have typically overlooked the fundamental significance of professional training in teacher education and over-emphasized the importance of delivery of subject knowledge in teacher education, particularly for teachers in primary education in the new century. Furthermore, as pointed out by frontier scholars and emphasized in current educational reforms in different parts of the world, there is paradigm shift in education from mainly the delivery of knowledge to the development of multiple intelligences and competence for learning how to learn or lifelong learning (see, e.g., Cheng, 2001b; Education Commission, 2000). According to Cheng (2001b), the education of traditional paradigm often aims to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills to survive in a local community or meet the manpower needs of a society in economic and social developments. In order to have effective delivery of subject knowledge to students, teachers should be equipped mainly with strong subject knowledge in certain specialization areas. The professional skills are just for facilitating the delivery. Therefore, traditional teacher education strongly emphasizes subject matter knowledge training for teachers. The new paradigm of education aims to develop students as lifelong learning citizens with contextualized multiple intelligences (CMI) to meet challenges and changes of the future in an era of globalization (Cheng, 2001b). The delivery of subject knowledge is not the major aim as before because the volume of new knowledge rapidly generated is too huge for any possible delivery to students during school years and also the subject knowledge often becomes outdated too fast and loses its values to students’ future. Therefore, teachers should be prepared to develop students’ CMI and ability for pursuing their own learning and development on a lifelong basis. Therefore, teacher education should emphasize the professional skills that can maximize development opportunities for students’ sustainable self- learning and ensure students’ learning as a self-actualizing, -discovering, - experiencing, -enjoyable, and -reflecting process, through which students would INSTITUTIONS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN ASIA 231 know how to learn and achieve new knowledge and skills by themselves continuously in a fast changing environment in the new century (Cheng, 2001b). In brief, following the paradigm shift in education, the role of subject knowledge should not be overemphasized as the major concern in institutions of teacher education or in any other organizational forms of teacher education providers. As mentioned above, institutions of teacher education can have partnership with other universities to provide support in higher-level subject knowledge for teacher education programs if necessary. Given the strong demands for new professional competences in the new paradigm of education, institutions of teacher education should be the key institutions with the mandate to develop these new professional competences and provide appropriate professional programs for teachers to enhance the capacity to play a new role shifted from delivering knowledge to facilitating lifelong learning and intelligence development.
4.2.2 Scholarship of Discovery vs. Scholarship of Teaching and Application A second major challenge has been that, while institutions of teacher education are expected to have educational research as a major component of their scholarly activities, teacher educators of these institutions are often perceived as those lacking the commitment to do it or having no time to do it as they have more teaching load when compared with their counterparts in other universities. As a result, some critiques have charged that most of these institutions have been unable to conduct sufficient educational research. Indeed, an effort to benchmark the academic research output in Australia leads to the documentation that faculty members in education have a rather low level of productivity as compared with their counterparts in other fields (Murphy, 1995). There are primarily two main reasons for inducing such these critiques. First, on the one hand, there has been the lacking of financial and administrative supports from governments to encourage educational research and scholarship even though institutions of teacher education are mostly government-funded to provide teacher education; and on the other hand, in the transition from government-funded normal schools or colleges of education to universities of teacher education in some countries, the remaining bureaucratic culture often hinders the pursuit of academic spirit and excellence in scholarship particularly at the initial developmental stage of these institutions of teacher education. These contextual and cultural factors account for a major problem that reduces teacher educators’ commitment and interest in research and disables them to do rigorous research. It means that institutions of teacher education need to pay attention to this contextual challenge as soon as they are established. The case of HKIEd may provide a good example to show how it seriously and strategically deals with the transition from a public bureaucratic culture to university-type academic culture since it was established from merging several colleges of education in 1994. And now, it has become academically competitive in the field of education and receives due local and international recognitions in these years. The Institute’s leadership and strategy have been effective in building up its research capacity and mobilizing all available resources for research activities. For 232 YIN CHEONG CHENG & KING WAI CHOW example, reflecting the staff’s capacity to pursue rigorous research and professional work, in 2000-2001 alone, there were over 200 various types of research and development projects and among them 20 teams won a total of US$4,052,472 from the external sources of funding (for further details, visit http://www.ied.edu.hk/ cric/new/hkied/pro-file2001/intro.html). Second, the major reason for the criticisms on the scholarship of institutions of teacher education, unfortunately, is often reflecting the general debate on the importance of scholarship across the four types: discovery, integration, teaching and application (Boyer, 1990). Traditionally, many scholars emphasize the scholarship of discovery that pursues basic research for theory-building and advancement of disciplinary knowledge. But teacher education, as professional development and training with very close relationship with educational practices and actions in the field, involves mainly scholarship of teaching and application that are often ignored by the traditional paradigm of research. Therefore, it is not a surprise that the critiques on institutions of teacher education have neglected the essence of teacher education and in turn the nature, scope, and ramifications of teacher educators’ research. This, however, is most unfortunate as teacher education has a direct bearing on youngsters’ personal growth and development and, particularly in developing countries in Asia, the enhancement of capacity to survive and to improve the quality of their lives (Daun, 1997; Kanu, 1996). Then, the professional teaching with the constructivist orientation is vital to helping students reject rote learning while creating meaningful learning (Cannella & Reiff, 1994; Tatto, 1997); yet, research on constructivist teaching may be rejected by scholars who place a premium on scholarship of discovery. The essence is best seen in the context of real world schooling in which teacher educators need to, on the one hand, help facilitate prospective teachers’ adaptation to the professional job of teaching at the initial stage and develop their adaptability in the stages of eventual professional growth and development and, on the other hand, support in-service teachers and school administrators, as well as other stakeholders, in coping with the various problems and challenges in schooling and education development. For example, while there is the worldwide need to create “schools that are organized for student and teacher success” (Bullough, Burbank, Gess-Newsome, Kauchak, & Kennedy, 1998, p. 11), frontline educators often lack the know-how and are in need of support from teacher educators (Chadbourne, 1997), who have out of habit helped serve frontline educators by investing an immense volume of time and effort, which can be better put to writing up academic journal papers. As such, most of teacher educators undertake applied research or action for improvement of schooling, pedagogy advancement, curriculum development, and teachers’ professional development. Moreover, teacher educators tend to emphasize the integration of research, professional practice, and community service and of the scholarship of teaching and application. Their research, blending teaching, problem- solving, and teacher development together, tend to generate scholarly and/or professional outputs that can be readily integrated into the improvement and enhancement of professional practices (see, e.g., HKIEd, which has put its vision and guiding values of scholarship and research in action along this direction of the INSTITUTIONS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN ASIA 233 integration [http://www.ied.edu.hk/geninfo]). Therefore, the outputs of this type of scholarship should also be recognized as research equivalences in research assessment exercises, rather than typically counting only the traditional outputs in form of research reports published in journals and books. From the above, we can see that institutions of teacher education should have the responsibility and right to build up their own framework of scholarship with emphasis on scholarship of teaching and application and with the direct relevance to the enhancement and innovation of educational practices at different levels of the education system. With this new framework, teacher educators can have a clear vision and the mandate to do the kind of research that can support the teaching profession as a knowledge-based endeavor.
4.2.3 Exclusiveness vs. Competitiveness in Teacher Education The understanding of inclusiveness and competitiveness in teacher education may be based on the vary nature of school education and teacher education as public goods. As funding for public goods is always an issue, accountability becomes paramount, setting a stage for the respective government to decide on the destiny of institutions of teacher education and the ways the institutions operate (inclusive of the domains of curriculum development, selection of students, and management of teacher educators) to achieve national target of providing education and teacher education in a balanced way that meet the respective national goals in development. This is the reason why inclusiveness in teacher education had been so important and provided to institutions of teacher education in some Asian countries like Korea. With the rise of using the market and competition to promote quality and efficiency in different parts of the world, competitiveness in the provision of teacher education has been induced in some areas, such as mainland China and Taiwan. As these areas have recently reformulated their policy of teacher education provision - exclusively provided by institutions of teacher education - the institutions therefore have to engage in an intensified competition with other universities for talented students, partnership with schools, and public funding (for a discussion on competitions faced by teacher education institutions, see, e.g., Sachs & Smith, 1999). And given their relatively small scale of operation (as in the cases of Japan and Korea) or given the intense competition from other universities in the market- driven context (as in China), institutions of teacher education have to expand their programs by either offering specialized teacher education courses that are more marketable or developing non-teacher education programs to sustain student-intake and thus the enrolment. The inevitable consequences are that the focused efforts of the respective institutions of teacher education may get expanded to provide more services or transform themselves into quasi-comprehensive universities with a core on teacher education. In such a context, how the quality of teacher education programs can be kept and ensured will be an important challenge to institutions of teacher education in coming years. In facing this challenge, there may be two scenarios for future development. First, given the competition and expanding more services, institutions of teacher 234 YIN CHEONG CHENG & KING WAI CHOW education are learning to become more competitive and acquire more resources for their development and enhancement of teacher education. And second, the efforts of institutions of teacher education will be diluted and blurred and then they will lose their own identity, vision, and unique strengths in the competition with other universities. Clearly, the first scenario should be the only choice if institutions of teacher education need to compete in an open market of teacher education. After all, as critiques (see, e.g., Welch, 1998) have noted, administrators of contemporary universities tend to run their universities as a business and are far more concerned with “selling products than with education” (Currie, 1998, p. 26). All in all, derived from the review of the various critical issues of the development of institutions of teacher education as presented in the preceding pages are a number of propositions about the strengths, merits, and potentials of the universities. These propositions are premises for reformers to reformulate strategies to optimize the contribution to effective schooling, advancement of pedagogy, curriculum development and, most importantly, the enhancement of teacher quality. In the review, fundamental problems and critical issues of faculties/schools of education of comprehensive universities are also highlighted. The analysis of the problems and issues identified here, nevertheless, is not to discredit the faculties or schools. Rather, it is to highlight an important point that teacher education is a different professional pursuit and must be recognized as such. With this crucial point in mind, members of the faculties or schools would be better prepared in appreciating the constraints placed by the value system and governance of comprehensive universities that in effect have created the submission of the faculties/schools of education on the values of and control by other faculties. Seemingly, if the faculties or schools are to optimize their contributions just as the institutions of teacher education can do, they at least need to focus on acquiring a greater degree of autonomy or management independence so that they can more independently define their missions and course of actions (for accomplishing their stated missions), as well as the incentive systems for reinforcing the commitment of their faculty members to the missions. Acquiring a high degree of independence in comprehensive universities can be difficult. Consider the case of the Teachers Colleges of the Columbia University: the College has played at the global level a leadership role in school education and teacher education for more than a century (Bu, 1997), and inevitably it would have the needed political resources to maintain its relatively independent status and in turn the destiny of the College. What this particular case shows are that establishing credibility is vital to enhancing relative autonomy and that members of the faculties or schools of education in comprehensive universities need to strive to excel in order to establish credibility. As such, whether or not the faculties/schools can become institutes of education with relatively independence, their primary foci need be on the ways and means for promoting excellence in school education and teacher education (in both the professional and scholarly domains). INSTITUTIONS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN ASIA 235
5. CONCLUSION
Using institutions of teacher education in Asia as examples, this chapter shows that, clearly, challenges in the new century are not generic only to institutions of teacher education but as well other universities that provide teacher education in an era of globalization and transformation. We hope, this chapter will facilitate our debate and understanding of future development of teacher education in general and institutions of teacher education in particular. Highlighted by Hayhoe (2002), institutions of teacher education have the orientation towards serving schools and teachers by means of providing quality teacher education (to enlarge the schools’ and the profession’s capacity to meet the new challenges in school education), conducting applied educational research (to inform schooling reform and policy reformulation), and professional consultancy (to engineer school reform, curriculum development, and teacher development). It is due to the unique orientation of these institutions that make them one of a kind that stresses more on professional knowledge and skills for facilitating intelligence development and lifelong learning than subject-knowledge-transfer. Moreover, in facing the various limitations, traditional faculties or schools of education in comprehensive universities often lack the needed autonomy to satisfy the needs from the school sector and from the teaching profession. In contrast, due to the organizational structure and management infrastructure, institutions of teacher education can more easily provide a more appropriate and focused platform and critical mass to develop the type of scholarship of teaching and of application that can serve the teaching profession and education development in the new century. It is with the formation of the needed platform and critical mass that the shifts in the aims, curriculum structure, curriculum content, pedagogy, and quality assurance of teacher education can be readily ensured. Furthermore, through globalization and localization in teacher education (Cheng, 2001b), institutions of teacher education would not be operating in isolation but can make use of all types of resources and expertise from different universities and institutions or from different parts of the world through various types of local and international collaboration. All these are feasible because of the merging trend of international and local partnership for sharing valuable expertise, knowledge, and practices within the globalization context and because of the advancing information and communication technologies that have created cyber-context for global sharing, particularly the valuable resources of human intelligence and cutting-edge knowledge and practices. Facing the various challenges in the new century, we believe, institutions of teacher education with clear vision and commitment to teacher education will continue their development and contribution to the teaching profession and school education for the future of students in different parts of the world. Realization of this vision, however, needs be based on strategies and tactics that can reinforce reformers’ efforts to optimize the potentials of institutions of teacher education. To inform policy-making and further reforms, those strategies and tactics have to be theory-driven and research-proven. Thus, there is the critical need to conduct more research on the various issues, particularly trends and challenges. One example 236 YIN CHEONG CHENG & KING WAI CHOW would be examining the course of development of the institutions of teacher education within the triplized context (see Cheng 2001b for details about triplization and paradigm shift in school education and teacher education). Another example would be the examination of the interactive relationship between the institutions and schools/faculties of education of comprehensive universities in the areas of collaboration and competition, of which is fundamentally shaped and reshaped by respective stakeholders’ policy preferences, which themselves are unstable. In sum, further research is a critical job awaiting.
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1. J. Fien, D. Yencken and H. Sykes (eds.): Young People and the Environment. An Asia-Pacific Perspective. 2003 ISBN 1-4020-0944-5 2. M.W. Charney, B.S.A. Yeoh and T.C. Kiong (eds.): Asian Migrants and Education. The Tensions of Education in Immigrant Societies and among Migrant Groups. 2003 ISBN 1-4020-1336-1 3. Y.C. Cheng, K.W. Chow and M. Mok (eds.): Reform of Teacher Education in the Pacific in the New Millennium. Trends and Challenges. 2004 ISBN 1-4020-2701-X
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