TEACHER EDUCATION POLICIES AND PROGRAMS IN PAKISTAN: THE GROWTH OF MARKET APPROACHES AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRADITIONAL TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS By Fida Hussain Chang A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education - Doctor of Philosophy 2014 ABSTRACT TEACHER EDUCATION POLICIES AND PROGRAMS IN PAKISTAN: THE GROWTH OF MARKET APPROACHES AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRADITIONAL TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS By Fida Hussain Chang Two significant effects of globalization around the world are the decentralization and liberalization of systems, including education services. In 2000, the Pakistani Government brought major higher education liberalization and expansion reforms by encouraging market approaches based on self-financed programs. These approaches have been particularly important in the area of teacher education and development. The Pakistani Government data reports (AEPAM Islamabad) on education show vast growth in market-model off-campus (open and distance) post-baccalaureate teacher education programs in the last fifteen years. Many academics and scholars have criticized traditional off-campus programs for their low quality; new policy reforms in 2009, with the support of USAID, initiated the four-year honors program, with the intention of phasing out all traditional programs by 2018. However, the new policy still allows traditional off-campus market-model programs to be offered. This important policy reform juncture warrants empirical research on the effectiveness of traditional programs to inform current and future policies. Thus, this study focused on assessing the worth of traditional and off-campus programs, and the effects of market approaches, on the implementation of traditional post-baccalaureate teacher education programs offered by public institutions in a southern province of Pakistan. This study included seven regular and three off-campus programs in eight public teacher education institutions. Following a mixed-methods approach, the researcher collected data from survey questionnaires administered to students and faculty, interviews of senior faculty and department chairs, and document analysis of program and policy documents. The analysis of the data yielded descriptive quantitative indicators of program implementation, and thematic qualitative descriptions of the effects of market approaches on teacher education. Findings show a disproportionately high enrollment in market-model off-campus teacher education programs in relation to a significantly small demand for new teachers in the system. Program implementation indicators of quality are low for both regular and off-campus programs. Participants’ composite average scores in six categories of opportunities to learn to teach indicate low levels of program performance in these areas. In addition, faculty viewed the market takeover of teacher education as detrimental to teacher education program quality, including a watering down of program requirements and a decrease in the credibility of teacher education certificates in the school system. In short, they concluded that teacher education is now viewed as a commodity, and it is indeed a profitable business for many opportunistic entities. Policy recommendations include a call for regulating teacher education markets, collecting and publishing evidence, strengthening professionalism, and conducting further research on policy effects for sustainable teacher education reforms in Pakistan. Copyright by FIDA HUSSAIN CHANG 2014 This work is dedicated to my family – my father, my mother, my sisters, my brothers, and my lovely children (Kainat, Aqsa, Sana, Mohsin, and Danish) – and all the peace-loving human beings around the world. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very thankful to my dissertation director and my dissertation committee, USAID (World Learning and EDC), the Department of Teacher Education, and the College of Education, and my family and friends, all of whom have been a constant support and inspiration from the initiation to the completion of my dissertation work. I am immensely grateful to my adviser and dissertation director, Maria Teresa Tatto, for insightful guidance and feedback at every stage of my dissertation research. She has been a huge inspiration in the low key times and a constant support in the high gear work times. While she encouraged independent learning, she also provided scholarly guidance when needed. I am also very thankful to the members of my dissertation guidance committee, Peter Youngs, Mary Kennedy, Robert Floden, and Douglas Campbell. Their guidance helped me in many ways, specifically to narrow down my research topic and carry out specific analyses. I offer my special gratitude to Douglas Campbell for his generous and constant help with editing and refining my work, from developing my proposal to putting together the final draft of my dissertation. I am also very thankful to the department of Teacher Education, the College of Education, and USAID (through EDC and World Learning) for funding support for my dissertation research. Without their support, it would not have been possible to conduct research in Pakistan, and to include a reasonably high number of participants and programs from all major demographics of Sindh, Pakistan. vi I am extremely thankful to my children, to my parents, and to my extended family, who have been supporting me unconditionally throughout my program. My special thanks to my brothers and sisters and my parents, who have patiently looked after my children. And thanks to my children for keeping my spirits high by skyping almost every day, and to my dad for calling several times a week. I am also thankful to my friends back in Pakistan, who have passionately given a helping hand, whenever needed, from connecting with research participants to helping in arranging many logistics. Thanks to my friends here is the US, and in other parts of the world, for their moral and social support. Finally, I extend many thanks to colleagues and supporting staff in the Teacher Education Department, in the College of Education, on the MSU campus, and in the communities in the East Lansing and Lansing area who have been great sources of learning. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. xii CHAPTER I ................................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................1 Over-arching Research Question………………………………………………….…………….3 Subsidiary research questions…………………………………….………………………….3 Significance of the Study .........................................................................................................4 Timeline of Preliminary Evidence and Problem Statement .......................................................5 Organization of the Dissertation ..............................................................................................9 CHAPTER II ............................................................................................................................ 11 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................................... 11 SECTION 1: GLOBALIZATION AND THE MARKETIZATION OF EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN .............................................................................................................................. 11 SECTION 2: RESEARCH ON TEACHER EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN ............................... 14 Identification of Issues in Teacher Education ......................................................................... 15 Policy Initiatives and Emphasis on In-service Professional Development............................... 18 Local Faculty-published Literature and Quality Issues ........................................................... 24 Open and Distance Learning Teacher Education .................................................................... 25 CHAPTER III ........................................................................................................................... 30 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................... 30 SECTION 1: OVERVIEW OF THE CREATION OF PAKISTAN AND ITS SYSTEMS ......... 30 A Brief Background of the Creation of Pakistan .................................................................... 30 Demographics of Pakistan ..................................................................................................... 31 The Government System of Pakistan ..................................................................................... 32 Economic Overview of Pakistan ............................................................................................ 33 SECTION 2: EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN ............................................................................. 34 Establishment of Modern Schooling in India ......................................................................... 34 A Glimpse of the History of Education Changes ...................................................................