Make a difference: Review the Sri Lankan teacher education

Dr. Nihal Wickramasinghe

Teaching has a long and proud tradition of service to children, young people and to society. Many can recall a teacher who changes their life for the better by broadening their horizons and giving them new understanding about their potentials as a human being.

Over the last three decades, people have chosen teaching as their life's work because they genuinely believed they could make a difference to the lives of children and adolescents. So it's now time for the majority of those who are teachers or are preparing themselves to be part of the teaching profession to ensure that they are really equipped to take on their future responsibilities.

It is primarily from teachers that a love of learning is acquired. The intellectual energy underpinning our society begins in the classroom where teachers develop the talents and capacities of their students.

In partnership with parents, teachers have an important role in shaping the values developing on respecting the rights of others, compassion for those who are less fortunate and a commitment to democracy and individual equality. Teachers have been at the forefront of creating a modern Sri Lanka by teaching and modelling these important values. The results or their work are everywhere to be seen.

We live in a society where to be well educated, is a necessity. Modern life demands that our citizens have the greatest possible range and depth of knowledge and skills. A basic education is no longer adequate as preparation for life.

The days are long past when it was possible for young people to leave school with only minimal learning and have expectations of success in adulthood. We are a learning society, increasingly alienate on the creation of knowledge, the acquisition of new skill and the communication of information.

The boundaries between learning, work and social participation are becoming more and more blurred. The work of teachers in such a society becomes more not less, important.

We acknowledged that the work of teachers is not easy. This is especially so in times characterised by uncertainly about what the future holds in terms of how society functions, the kind of employment available to people and the ways in which they will work.

Given that teaching is becoming more important, society needs to be sure that the work of teachers is of the highest possible quality. We need to be confident that our system of teacher education equips teachers with knowledge and skills relevant to the needs of young people prepararing of the transition to work and participation in an ever changing world. These are critical issues, and teachers must play a vital role in addressing them.

Teachers regard the work they do as important for the intellectual, moral and physical growth of individual students and for the well-being and cohesion of the broader society. They believe that their role should be recognised and valued for the many contributions which teachers make to individual students, families, communities, and the nation.

Teachers know that they are involved in an often complex, and demanding calling: they want to be well prepared and supported to be effective in their teaching. They want an account to be taken of their views and opinions on professional matters.

Many express the view, however, that the schools in which they work, particularly if part of the larger system, are so disconnected from their employers and the universities that as teachers they are precluded from exercising fully their professional responsibilities.

The challenges confronting teacher education and teaching will be best addressed by creating the circumstances in which teachers can focus strongly on the quality of their professional lives and can exercise the responsibilities of fully professional people.

Good teaching

Teachers really make a difference. research is now making clear what students, parents, employers and teachers themselves have always known: having a good teacher is the most important factor accounting for the quality of student learning.

Unless good teaching takes place, few students are likely to make worthwhile progress. The evidence is clear that we have not focused enough on how to improve and maintain teacher quality. It is more fundamental to student success than is the quality of the curriculum or class size.

Most of the students want their teachers to:

* Know and understand their subject
* Treat each student as an individual
* Put learning at the centre of what happens in the classroom
* Manage the distractions that frustrate learning

There are four factors that describe a good teacher. They stand as principles to guide how we should prepare young people to be teachers.

Furthermore, existing teachers need to concentrate on these four factors to make sure they continue to be effective in their work. Good teaching does not come about through 'trial and error'. It comes about through quality training and support, based on expectations of high standards where quality training systems are needed in which teachers can be well prepared and well supported throughout their careers.

The changes

We identified some immediate challenges confronting teachers and teacher educators.

* As the diversity of society has increased, teachers are expected to cope with the many different values which families and communities now hold:

* Parents, community, and others want to maintain good discipline, even though they know how difficult this can be

* Teachers are expected to keep up to date

* Parents now want to know much more about how their children are progressing at school. The report card providing only marks and rankings is no longer adequate.

* Most of the people now know that good teaching matters. They want their children taught by teachers who teach well. The quality of teaching is now in focus a way it has never been.

These expectations can be very daunting for both beginning teachers and existing teachers. Therefore, programmes of initial teacher education must be focused strongly on equipping future teachers with knowledge and skills relevant to the rapidly changing world of education.

Universities, the National Institute of Education, Colleges of Education and other teacher education institutes and schools must work closely together if beginning teachers are to meet the challenges of their chosen profession and go on to enjoy rewarding and stimulating careers.

The expectations facing experienced teachers are no less than those for beginning teachers. Many entered teaching at a time when the work of teachers appeared largely predictable, so that their training did not prepare them for the many social and educational changes of the past two decades.

The review indicated that many experienced teachers believed that the authority and respect they once enjoyed have declined.

Especially for some, this has resulted in a loss of confidence in their role and a sense of 'burn out'. Therefore, the system of continuing teacher education must be oriented strongly to ensuring the currency of teacher knowledge and skills and their sense of professional engagement.

Most of the teachers in the system believe that Ministry, NIE, and Universities need to refocus on what matters most to teachers; effective teaching to improve the quality of student learning.

(The writer is Director, Department of Teacher Empowerment, National Institute of Education, Maharagama)