Paper 4 Teacher Education

Unit 1 concept of pre-service teacher education

a) Meaning concept and scope of Pre-service Teacher Education

PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION, MEANING AND

SIGNIFICANCE
                  Pre-service education of teacher means, education of
teachers before they enter into service as teacher. During this period
of teacher education programmes, teaching practice goes side by side,
while they are getting knowledge about theory papers. 
A good deal of improvement in the teacher education programme is
needed. Pre-service education is carried on for preparing different
types of teachers. Pre-service teacher preparation is a collection of
unrelated courses and field experience. Research based curriculum
development of pre-service teacher education is yet to take roots.
These programmes are intended to support and enhance teacher
learning instill in them a greater degree of self confidence. The
beginning teachers in this case learn from their practice and from the
culture and norms of the unique school settings where in they have
been placed and interact with these cultures.
                It is important for teacher educators to learn the
methodology of how to get in touch with the core qualities of a good
teacher and how they can stimulate these qualities in student
teachers. This will lead to a deeper involvement in the learning process
of teacher educators as well as student teachers. The inclusion of
appropriate content knowledge about essential qualities of a good
teacher in relevant theory papers and practice of effective domain
related traits in school situation for a longer duration could help
promote these traits in student teachers. The teacher education
programme needs to allow the space where in a teacher’s personality
could be developed as someone who is reflective, introspective and
capable of analyzing his or her own life and the process of education at
school so that after becoming a teacher, he becomes an agent of
change.

A.                 PRE-PRIMARY TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME.

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  Here teachers are trained for teaching children of pre-primary
classes. This type of teacher training is generally called nursery
teacher training (N.T.T). Teacher training institute of this type are
existing in different states. At Mussorie, there is Montessori teacher
training programme in one institution. That type of training institutes
are affiliated to association Montessori international. There are pre-
basic teacher training schools which prepare teachers for pre-primary
schools. These institutes are recognized by Hindustani Falimi sangh,
Wardha. Some state governments also conduct this type of teacher
training programmes. The universities of Jabalpur and Baroda run pre-
primary teacher training course leading to certificate. At Chandigarh
education department U.T. Administration is running such a course
which is duly recognized by U.T Administration. In the state of
Haryana about two decades back Haryana government had given
affiliation for running this course of teacher training to Sohan
Lal  D.A.V college of education, Ambala city. But then it was closed
down by the government after the lapse of two-three years. At present
a few schools and colleges of education in the state of Haryana are
running one year N.T.T course meant for girls only who have qualified
+2 examination. The said course is recognized by D.A.V college
managing committee, New Delhi.
B.                 PRIMARY TEACHER TRAINING INSTITUTES
Primary teacher training institutes prepare teachers for teaching
to the children of primary courses. These institutes prepare the
students for junior basic training certificate (J.B.T). This training has
been very popular almost in all the states earlier       this training was
meant for male and female teachers who were matriculates. Recently
some modifications have been made for giving training of J.B.T. After
passing J.B.T the teacher is able to earn a teaching diploma. How the
minimum qualification for training has been raised to 10+2
examination. In the states of Punjab and Haryana, this type of teacher
training is sanctioned to government teacher training schools (or)
district institute of education and training (D.I.E.T) with the revision of
grades of all type of teachers, J.B.T training centers attract students of
higher calibers and they possess higher qualifications
                          The National Commission of Teachers has
recommended the introduction of integrated four year course for
matriculates which will enable the teachers to earn teaching diploma
for teaching primary classes
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C.                  LANGUAGES PROFICIENCY TEACHERS
This type of teacher training programme prepares teachers for
teaching Hindi, Punjabi and Sanskrit. This training is meant for those
who are 10+2. It helps them to earn a teaching certificate called O.T
(Hindi), O.T (Punjabi), O.T (Sanskrit)etc. This type of teacher training
programme has been popular in government as well as non
government institutes. At present, his course is being run in a very few
institutes. The government has almost withdrawn its sanction to
private recognized institutions.
D.                 COLLEGE OF EDUCATION FOR SECONDARY
TEACHERS
                   Teacher training for secondary schools is given in the
government as well as non-government colleges of education. These
colleges prepare teachers for middle, high (or) secondary classes.
Generally in these colleges it is one year course after B.A/B.Sc or
M.A/M.Sc.
                   With the revision of grades of teachers, the college of
education has started attracting students with good qualifications. In
some states like Punjab , Rajasthan, entrance test have been
introduced. In the state of Haryana, The minimum qualification for
competing in the admission to B.Ed is 50% marks in B.A/B.Sc or
M.A/M.Sc. Besides, entrance test is also held. Marks in both are added
up and then merit list is prepared.
E.                  REGIONAL COLLEGES OF EDUCATION
                    N.C.E.R.T started its own regional colleges of education
in four regions of the country to meet the shortage of teachers for
technical subjects such as agriculture, commerce, fine arts, home
science, etc. The different regional colleges of education are as under:-
(i)               REGIONAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, AJMER:-
It is meant for U.P, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh
and Jammu Kashmir. (Northern region)
(ii)            REGIONAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION. MYSORE:-
         It is meant for south region which includes Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Kerala.

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(iii)          REGIONAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, BHOPAL:-
        It is meant for western states such as Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh and Gujarat
(iv)          REGIONAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, BHUBNESWAR:-
       It is meant for eastern states such as Assam, Manipur, Bihar,
West Bengal and Tripura.
F.                  TRAINING INSTITUTIONS FOR SPECIAL SUBJECT
TEACHERS:-
The following training institutions prepare special subject
teachers such as music, drawing, painting, fine arts, home science,
etc.
(a) Viswa Bharathi University, Santhinikethan (W.Bengal)
(b) Institute of Art education, Jumia mitia, Delhi.
(c) Government school of art, Luck now
(d) Kala kshetra, Adayar, Madras
(e) One year diploma in physical education for graduates at Govt:
physical college of education, Patiala
G. INSTITUTE FOR POST GRADUATE TEACHER EDUCATION
A) ONE YEAR M.ED COURSE: - this course is meant for those who
have already passed B.Ed. It is carried in the universities in some
selected colleges of education.
B) M.A IN EDUCATION: - Like other M.A it is a two year course for
graduates. It is generally run by different universities. M.A in
education is considered equal to M.Ed.
Post graduate diploma in education, N.C.E.R.T, and some universities
are running post graduate diploma courses for greater efficiency of
teachers. A few such courses are in the field of research methodology,
educational and vocational guidance evaluation, audio-visual aids,
social education, distances education etc. These courses are mostly for
teachers who have passed B.Ed.

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 Special courses for teaching English are conducted by control
institute of English and foreign languages, Hyderabad and regional
institute of English.
H. CORRESPONDENCE COURSE:-        
Correspondence courses for teacher education have been started
by some universities and colleges. The four regional colleges of
education under N.C.E.R.T were the first to start this course. It is 14
month courses including four months training during two summer
vacation.
H.P University, Simla started B.Ed and M.Ed courses in 1972.
After one year, B.Ed courses through correspondence were stopped.
Jammu University, the B.Ed correspondence course by Jammu
University was meant     only for in-service teachers. In south,
Annamalai University is running B.Ed and M.Ed correspondence course.
Punjab University, Patiala also started B.Ed and M.Ed correspondence
courses. But new B.Ed by correspondence ion large scale is banned by
N.C.T.E
Objectives

• Provides pre-service training to teacher trainees, including all latest

trends in the field of education.
• Encourages research base activities like action research and case
studies of teacher trainees and teacher educators of the district.
• Organizes seminars on various subjects in which provision is given to
teacher trainees and teacher educators of other institutions.
• Provide training to Teacher Educators in tune with the changes take
place in the curriculum and instructional strategies of Teacher Training
The main objectives of pre-service training are:

(i) To provide they would be teacher with proper understanding

regarding the aims and objectives of education.

(ii) To promote in prospective teachers a proper understanding of the

basic principles of child growth, development and process by which
pupils learn.

(iii) To enable them to plan and present subject- matter in a manner

which will promote the interest, sense of purpose and an
understanding process of pupil's growth.

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(iv) To develop communication and psychomotor skills and abilities
conductive to human relations for interacting with children in order to
promote learning in them both inside and outside the classroom.

(v) To develop understanding, interests, attitudes and skills which

would enable him promote all-round development of children under
his/her care.

Need
Need of teacher education : The American Commission on Teacher
Education rightly observes, “The quality of a nation depends upon the
quality of its citizens. The quality of its citizens depends not
exclusively, but in critical measure upon the quality of their education,
the quality of their education depends more than upon any single
factor, upon the quality of their teacher.” In his Call for Action for
American Education in the 21st Century in 1996, Clinton indicated that
: ―Every community should have a talented and dedicated teacher in
every classroom. We have enormous opportunity for ensuring teacher
quality well into the 21st century if we recruit promising people into
teaching and give them the highest quality preparation and training”.
The need for teacher education is felt due to the following reasons;
1) It is common knowledge that the academic and professional
standards of teachers constitute a critical component of the essential
learning conditions for achieving the educational goals of a nation. The
focus of teacher preparation had to shift from training to education if it
had to make a positive influence on the quality of curriculum
transaction in classrooms and thereby pupil learning and the larger
social transformation. The aspects that need greater emphasis are; the
length of academic preparation, the level and quality of subject matter
knowledge, the repertoire of pedagogical skills that teachers possess
to meet the needs of diverse learning situations, the degree of
commitment to the profession, sensitivity to contemporary issues and
problems and the level of motivation. This is not possible if teacher
preparation focused only on training. Holistic teacher building is
necessary and therefore teacher education needed more emphasis
than mere training.
2) Educating all children well depends not only on ensuring that
teachers have the necessary knowledge and skills to carry out their

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work, but also that they take responsibility for seeing that all children
reach high levels of learning and that they act accordingly.
3) People come to teacher education with beliefs, values,
commitments, personalities and moral codes from their upbringing and
schooling which affect who they are as teachers and what they are
able to learn in teacher education and in teaching. Helping teacher
candidates examine critically their beliefs and values as they relate to
teaching, learning and subject matter and form a vision of good
teaching to guide and inspire their learning and their work is a central
task of teacher education (Fieman-Nemser, 2001).
4) The National Academy of Education Committee‘s Report (Darling-
Hammond and Bransford, 2005) wrote that : ―On a daily basis,
teachers confront complex decisions that rely on many different kinds
of knowledge and judgement and that can involve high stakes
outcomes for students‘ future. To make good decisions, teachers must
be aware of the many ways in which student learning can unfold in the
context of development, learning differences, language and cultural
influences, and individual temperaments, interests and approaches to
learning‖. In addition to foundational knowledge about the areas of
learning and performance listed in the above quotation, teachers need
to know how to take the steps necessary to gather additional
information that will allow them to make more grounded judgements
about what is going on and what strategies may be helpful. More
importantly, teachers need to keep what is best for the student at the
centre of their decision making.
5) Teacher education like any other educational intervention, can only
work on those professional commitments or dispositions that are
susceptible to modification. While we can‘t remake someone‘s
personality, we can reshape attitudes towards the other and develop a
professional rather than a personal role orientation towards teaching
as a practice. 6) The Ministry of Education document ―Challenge of
Education : A Policy Perspective‖ (1985) has mentioned, ―Teacher
performance is the most crucial input in the field of education.
Whatever policies may be laid down, in the
Whatever policies may be laid down, in the ultimate analysis these
have to be implemented by teachers as much through their personal
example as through teaching learning processes.‖ India has reached
the threshold of the development of new technologies which are likely

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to revolutionise the classroom teaching. Unless capable and committed
are teachers in service, the education system cannot become a
suitable and potential instrument of national development. The teacher
is required to acquire adequate knowledge, skills, interests and
attitudes towards the teaching profession. The teacher‘s work has
become more complicated and technical in view of the new theories of
psychology, philosophy, sociology, modern media and materials. The
teacher can be made proficient with well planned, imaginative pre-
service and in-service training programmes.
Scope of Teacher Education : The scope of teacher education can be
understood in the following ways;

 Teacher education at different levels of education

 Triangular basis of teacher education
 Aspects of teacher education

Teacher Education at different levels of Education : Teacher

education reaches teachers at all levels of education, namely
Preprimary, Primary, Elementary, Secondary, Higher Secondary and
the Tertiary. The needs and requirements of students and education
vary at each level. Hence level and stage-specific teacher preparation
is essential. Teacher education also helps in the development of
teaching skills in teachers of professional institutions. The teachers in
professional institutions have only the theoretical and practical
knowledge of their respective subjects. They require specialized
teacher training inputs to deal with students entering their professions.
Teacher education also reaches special education and physical
education. Thus where there are teachers, there would be teacher
education. The knowledge base is adequately specialized and
diversified across stages, in order to develop effective processes of
preparing entrant teachers for the functions which a teacher is
expected to perform at each stage.

Triangular Basis of Teacher education : Construction of the

relevant knowledge base for each stage of education requires a high
degree of academic and intellectual understanding of matter related to
teacher education at each stage. This involves selection of theoretical

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knowledge from disciplines cognate to education, namely, psychology,
sociology and philosophy, and converting it into forms suitable for
teacher education. Teacher education derives its content from the
disciplines of Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology. These disciplines
provide the base for better understanding and application of Teacher
education. The Philosophical basis provides insights to the student
teachers about the implications of- the various schools of philosophy,
ancient and modern philosophical thoughts, educational thoughts of
philosophical thinkers on education and its various aspects such as
curriculum construction and discipline. The Sociological basis helps the
student teachers to understand the role of society and its dynamics in
the educational system of a nation and the world at large. It
encompasses the ideals that influence national and international
scenes. The Psychological basis helps the student teachers develop
insights into students‘ psychological make-up. This enables the student
teachers to understand their self, their students and the learning
situations such that they are able to provide meaningful and relevant
learning experiences to their students.

Aspects of Teacher Education : Teacher education is concerned with

the aspects such as, who (Teacher Educator), whom (Student
teacher), what (Content) and how (Teaching Strategy). Teacher
education is dependent upon the quality of teacher educators. The
quality of pedagogical inputs in teacher education programmes and
their effective utilization for the purpose of preparing prospective
teachers depend largely on the professional competence of teacher
educators and the ways in which it is utilized for strengthening the
teacher education programme. Teacher education, thus, first deals
with the preparation of effective teacher educators. Teacher education
reaches out to the student teachers by providing the relevant
knowledge, attitude and skills to function effectively in their teaching
profession. It serves to equip the student teachers with the conceptual
and theoretical framework within which they can understand the
intricacies of the profession. It aims at creating the necessary attitude
in student teachers towards the stakeholders of the profession, so that
they approach the challenges posed by the environment in a very

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positive manner. It empowers the student teachers with the skills
(teaching and soft skills) that would enable them to carry on the
functions in the most efficient and effective manner. Teacher education
therefore pays attention to its content matter.

c) Understanding student-teacher as the adult

The term andragogy was originally formulated by a German teacher,

Alexander Kapp, in 1833 (Nottingham Andragogy Group 1983: v). He
used it to describe elements of Plato’s education theory. Andragogy
(andr– meaning ‘man’) could be contrasted with pedagogy (paid-
meaning ‘child’ and agogos  meaning ‘leading’) (see Davenport 1993:
114). Kapp’s use of andragogy had some currency but it was disputed,
and fell into disuse. It reappeared in 1921 in a report by Rosenstock in
which he argued that ‘adult education required special teachers,
methods and philosophy, and he used the term andragogy to refer
collectively to these special requirements’ (Nottingham Andragogy
Group 1983: v). Eduard Lindeman was the first writer in English to
pick up on Rosenstock’s use of the term. The he only used it on two
occasions. As Stewart, his biographer, comments, ‘the new term
seems to have impressed itself upon no one, not even its originators’.
That may have been the case in North America, but in France,
Yugoslavia and Holland the term was being used extensively ‘to refer
to the discipline which studies the adult education process or the
science of adult education’ (Nottingham Andragogy Group 1983: v).

In the minds of many around the adult education field, andragogy and
the name of Malcolm Knowles have become inextricably linked. For
Knowles, andragogy is premised on at least four crucial assumptions
about the characteristics of adult learners that are different from the

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assumptions about child learners on which traditional pedagogy is
premised. A fifth was added later.

1. Self-concept: As a person matures his self concept moves from one

of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed
human being

2. Experience: As a person matures he accumulates a growing

reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for
learning.

3. Readiness to learn. As a person matures his readiness to learn

becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of his social
roles.

4. Orientation to learning. As a person matures his time perspective

changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy
of application, and accordingly his orientation toward learning shifts
from one of subject-centeredness to one of problem centredness.

5. Motivation to learn: As a person matures the motivation to learn is

internal  (Knowles 1984:12).

Each of these assertions and the claims of difference between

andragogy and pedagogy are the subject of considerable debate.
Useful critiques of the notion can be found in Davenport (1993) Jarvis
(1977a) Tennant (1996) (see below). Here I want to make some
general comments about Knowles’ approach.

Some general issues with Knowles’ approach

First, as Merriam and Caffarella (1991: 249) have pointed out,

Knowles’ conception of andragogy is an attempt to build a
comprehensive theory (or model) of adult learning that is anchored in
the characteristics of adult learners. Cross (1981: 248) also uses
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such perceived characteristics in a more limited attempt to offer a
‘framework for thinking about what and how adults learn’. Such
approaches may be contrasted with those that focus on:
 an adult’s life situation (e.g. Knox 1986; Jarvis 1987a);

 changes in consciousness (e.g. Mezirow 1983; 1990 or Freire

1972) (Merriam and Caffarella 1991).

Second, Knowles makes extensive use of a model of relationships

derived from humanistic clinical psychology – and, in particular,
the qualities of good facilitation argued for by Carl Rogers. However,
Knowles adds in other elements which owe a great deal to scientific
curriculum making and behaviour modification (and are thus
somewhat at odds with Rogers). These encourage the learner to
identify needs, set objectives, enter learning contracts and so on. In
other words, he uses ideas from psychologists working in two quite
different and opposing therapeutic traditions (the humanist and
behavioural traditions). This means that there is a rather dodgy deficit
model lurking around this model.

Third, it is not clear whether this is a theory or set of assumptions

about learning, or a theory or model of teaching (Hartree 1984).
We can see something of this in relation to the way he has defined
andragogy as the art and science of helping adults learn as against
pedagogy as the art and science of teaching children. There is an
inconsistency here.

Hartree (1984) raises a further problem. Has Knowles provided us with

a theory or a set of guidelines for practice? The assumptions ‘can be
read as descriptions of the adult learner… or as prescriptive
statements about what the adult learner should be like’ (Hartree 1984

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quoted in Merriam and Caffarella 1991: 250). This links with the point
made by Tennant – there seems to be a failure to set and interrogate
these ideas within a coherent and consistent conceptual framework. As
Jarvis (1987b) comments, throughout his writings there is a propensity
to list characteristics of a phenomenon without interrogating the
literature of the arena (e.g. as in the case of andragogy) or looking
through the lens of a coherent conceptual system. Undoubtedly he had
a number of important insights, but because they are not tempered by
thorough analysis, they were a hostage to fortune – they could be
taken up in an ahistorical or atheoretical way.

The assumptions explored

With these things in mind we can look at the assumptions that

Knowles makes about adult learners:

1. Self-concept: As a person matures his self concept moves

from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being
a self-directed human being.The point at which a person becomes
an adult, according to Knowles, psychologically, ‘is that point at which
he perceives himself to be wholly self-directing. And at that point he
also experiences a deep need to be perceived by others as being self-
directing’ (Knowles 1983: 56). As Brookfield (1986) points out, there
is some confusion as to whether self-direction is meant here by
Knowles to be an empirically verifiable indicator of adulthood. He does
say explicitly that it is an assumption. However, there are some other
immediate problems:
 both Erikson and Piaget have argued that there are some
elements of self-directedness in children’s learning (Brookfield
1986: 93). Children are not dependent learners for much of the
time, ‘quite the contrary, learning for them is an activity which is

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 natural and spontaneous’ (Tennant 1988: 21). It may be that
Knowles was using ‘self-direction’ in a particular way here or
needed to ask a further question – ‘dependent or independent with
respect to what?’
 the concept is culturally bound – it arises out of a particular
(humanist) discourse about the self which is largely North American
in its expression. This was looked at last week – and will be
returned to in future weeks.

2. Experience: As a person matures he accumulates a growing

reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource
for learning. The next step is the belief that adults learn more
effectively through experiential techniques of education such as
discussion or problem solving (Knowles 1980: 43). The immediate
problem we have is the unqualified way in which the statement is
made. There may be times when experiential learning is not
appropriate – such as when substantial amounts of new information is
required. We have to ask the question, what is being learnt, before we
can make judgements.

A second aspect here is whether children’s and young people’s

experiences are any less real or less rich than those of adults. They
may not have the accumulation of so many years, but the experiences
they have are no less consuming, and still have to be returned to,
entertained, and made sense of. Does the fact that they have ‘less’
supposed experience make any significant difference to the process? A
reading of Dewey (1933) and the literature on reflection (e.g. Boud et
al 1985) would support the argument that age and amount of
experience makes no educational difference. If this is correct, then the
case for the distinctiveness of adult learning is seriously damaged. This
is of fundamental significance if, as Brookfield (1986: 98) suggests,

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this second assumption of andragogy ‘can arguably lay claim to be
viewed as a “given” in the literature of adult learning’.

3. Readiness to learn. As a person matures his readiness to

learn becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental
tasks of his social roles.  As Tennant (1988: 21-22) puts it, ‘it is
difficult to see how this assumption has any implication at all for the
process of learning, let alone how this process should be differentially
applied to adults and children’. Children also have to perform social
roles.

Knowles does, however, make some important points at this point

about ‘teachable’ moments. The relevance of study or education
becomes clear as it is needed to carry out a particular task. At this
point more ground can be made as the subject seems relevant.

However, there are other problems. These appear when he goes on to

discuss the implications of the assumption. ‘Adult education programs,
therefore, should be organised around ‘life application’ categories and
sequenced according to learners readiness to learn’ (1980: 44)

First, as Brookfield comments, these two assumptions can easily lead

to a technological interpretation of learning that is highly reductionist.
By this he means that things can become rather instrumental and
move in the direction of competencies. Language like ‘life application’
categories reeks of skill-based models – where learning is reduced to a
series of objectives and steps (a product orientation). We learn things
that are useful rather than interesting or intriguing or because

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something fills us with awe. It also thoroughly underestimates just
how much we learn for the pleasure it brings (see below).

Second, as Humphries (1988) has suggested, the way he treats social

roles – as worker, as mother, as friend, and so on, takes as given the
legitimacy of existing social relationships. In other words, there is a
deep danger of reproducing oppressive forms.

4. Orientation to learning. As a person matures his time

perspective changes from one of postponed application of
knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his
orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject-
centeredness to one of problem centredness. This is not
something that Knowles sees as ‘natural’ but rather it is conditioned
(1984: 11). It follows from this that if young children were not
conditioned to be subject-centred then they would be problem-centred
in their approach to learning. This has been very much the concern of
progressives such as Dewey. The question here does not relate to age
or maturity but to what may make for effective teaching. We also need
to note here the assumption that adults have a greater wish for
immediacy of application. Tennant (1988: 22) suggests that a reverse
argument can be made for adults being better able to tolerate the
postponed application of knowledge.

Last, Brookfield argues that the focus on competence and on ‘problem-

centredness’ in Assumptions 3 and 4 undervalues the large amount of
learning undertaken by adults for its innate fascination. ‘[M]uch of
adults’ most joyful and personally meaningful learning is undertaken
with no specific goal in mind. It is unrelated to life tasks and instead

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represents a means by which adults can define themselves’ (Brookfield
1986: 99).

5. Motivation to learn: As a person matures the motivation to

learn is internal  (Knowles 1984:12). Again, Knowles does not see
this as something ‘natural’ but as conditioned – in particular, through
schooling. This assumption sits awkwardly with the view that adults’
readiness to learn is ‘the result of the need to perform (externally
imposed) social roles and that adults have a problem-centred
(utilitarian) approach to learning’ (Tennant 1988: 23).

In sum it could be said that these assumptions tend to focus on age

and stage of development. As Ann Hanson (1996: 102) has argued,
this has been at the expense of questions of purpose, or of the
relationship between individual and society

Andragogy and pedagogy

As we compare Knowles’ versions of pedagogy and andragogy what we

can see is a mirroring of the difference between what is known as the
romantic and the classical curriculum (although this is confused by the
introduction of behaviourist elements such as the learning contract).
As Jarvis (1985) puts it, perhaps even more significantly is that for
Knowles ‘education from above’ is pedagogy, while ‘education of
equals’ is andragogy. As a result, the contrasts drawn are rather crude
and do not reflect debates within the literature of curriculum and
pedagogy.

A comparison of the assumptions of pedagogy and andragogy

following Knowles (Jarvis 1985: 51)

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 Pedagogy Andragogy

Dependent.Teacher Moves towards

directs what, independence.Self
when, how a -directing.Teacher
subject is learned encourages and
and tests that it nurtures this
The learner has been learned movement

A rich resource for

learning. Hence
Of little teaching methods
worth.Hence include discussion,
The learner’s teaching methods problem-solving
experience are didactic etc.

People learn what

they need to
People learn what know,so that
society expects learning
them to. So that programmes
Readiness to the curriculum is organised around
learn standardized. life application.

Orientation Acquisition of Learning

to learning subject experiences
matter.Curriculum should be based
organized by around
subjects. experiences, since

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 people are
performance
centred in their
learning

We need to be extremely cautious about claiming that there is

anything distinctive about andragogy. In his reference to romantic and
classic notions of curriculum Jarvis (1985) brings out that what lies
behind these formulations are competing conceptualizations of
education itself. Crucially, these are not directly related to the age or
social status of learners. There are various ways of categorizing
strands of educational thinking and practice – and they are somewhat
more complex than Knowles’ setting of pedagogy against andragogy.
In North American education debates, for example, four main forces
can be identified in the twentieth century: the liberal educators; the
scientific curriculum makers; the developmental/person-centred; and
the social meliorists (those that sought more radical social change)
(after Kliebart 1987). Another way of looking at these categories
(although not totally accurate) is as those who see curriculum as:
 the transmission of knowledge,
 product

 process, and
 praxis.

Viewed in this way – Knowles’ version of pedagogy looks more like

transmission; and andragogy, as represented in the chart, like
process. But as we have seen, he mixes in other elements – especially

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some rather mechanistic assumptions and ideas which can be
identified with scientific curriculum making.

Andragogy – the continuing debate

By 1984 Knowles had altered his position on the distinction between

pedagogy and andragogy. The child-adult dichotomy became less
marked. He claimed, as above, that pedagogy was a content model
and andragogy a process model but the same criticisms apply
concerning his introduction of behaviourist elements. He even added
the fifth assumption: As a person matures the motivation to learn is
internal (1984: 12). Yet while there have been these shifts, the tenor
of his work, as Jarvis (1987b) argues, still seems to suggest that
andragogy is related to adult learning and pedagogy to child learning.

There are those, like Davenport (1993) or the Nottingham Andragogy

Group (1983) who believe it is possible to breathe life into the notion
of andragogy – but they tend to founder on the same point. Kidd, in
his study of how adults learn said the following:

[W]hat we describe as adult learning is not a different kind or order

from child learning. Indeed our main point is that man must be seen
as a whole, in his lifelong development. Principles of learning will
apply, in ways that we shall suggest to all stages in life. The reason
why we specify adults throughout is obvious. This is the field that has
been neglected, not that of childhood. (Kidd 1978: 17)

If Kidd is correct then the search for andragogy is pointless. There is

no basis in the characteristics of adult learners upon which to construct
a comprehensive theory. Andragogy can be seen as an idea that
gained popularity in at a particular moment – and its popularity

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probably says more about the ideological times (Jarvis 1995: 93) than
it does about learning processes.

Unit 2 Teacher Education Curriculum

b) Transactional Approaches :

Expository

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Definition of Expository Instruction
Think about all of the videos you've watched here on Study.com. The
purpose of these videos is to provide an interesting way to learn the
information you need to pass your exam. They are designed to be
engaging, easy to follow, and bite-sized in order to optimize your
learning. All of the videos are examples of expository instruction. We
discussed expository instruction briefly in another lesson and defined it
as the use of an expert to explain a concept or give information to the
student. The expert could be an instructor, a textbook, or an
educational video, just to name a few. On Study.com, the videos
themselves could be considered experts, and the instructors that
create the lessons are also experts. In these videos and in any
expository instructional scenario, there is one-way communication as
the expert provides instruction with little to no interaction with the
students.
However, expository instruction goes beyond just presenting students
with the facts. It involves presenting clear and concise information in a
purposeful way that allows students to easily make connections from
one concept to the next. The structure of an expository lesson helps
students to stay focused on the topic at hand. Often times, when
students are discovering information on their own, they can get
distracted and confused by unnecessary information and have difficulty
determining what's important. This is why expository instruction is one
of the most common instructional strategies. Most educators believe
students learn new concepts and ideas better if all of the information
they need to know is laid out before them.

Characteristics of a Good Expository Approach

Think again about experts, such as teachers, textbooks, and
educational videos. They could all be considered an expert source, but
they also have something else in common. The instruction you receive
from all three is typically organized so that all the information is laid
out in a way that it is easily followed. For example, think again about
all of the videos you've watched here on Study.com. You receive
information from content experts. Most of the lessons provide an
introduction and overview before delving into specific information.
Transitions are provided to keep you focused and lead you through the
lesson. It's common for instructors to point out relationships between
the new material and information you may already know. Once all of

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the new information has been presented, a summary provides a quick
review and points out the most important facts to remember.
Clearly, these videos are great examples of expository instruction!
They have all of the features of great expository instruction: an expert,
an introduction, a connection to previously learned information, an
order that is easy to follow, and a summary. Let's look closer at some
of these features.
First, most videos begin with an introduction and overview of the topic
before providing more specific information and detail. This expository
strategy sets up the lesson and prepares the students for what's to
come. By moving from the general to the specific, it allows students to
understand the increasingly detailed explanations of the information
and link those explanations to information that was presented
previously as part of the general overview.
Collaborative

Effective professional development programs for science teachers

provide opportunities for active learning and teacher self-reflection
on beliefs about science teaching, learning, and practice. One model
that fosters active learning and promotes reflection is collaborative
curriculum development, in which teachers work together with
university facilitators to create curriculum materials. We used a
two-case study design to investigate how teacher collaborative
curriculum design (the first part of development, in which ideas for
curriculum are created) impacted participant professional learning
during a five-day summer institute. Interview or survey data were
collected from 41 secondary biology teacher participants in two
summer institutes. Results indicated that teachers experienced
shifts in their science knowledge, beliefs about science, beliefs
about science teaching and learning, and in their science teaching
practice. We concluded that the curriculum design process, which
can occur in a relatively short time period, can foster meaningful,

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task-oriented collaboration. The collaboration process provides the
vehicle for active learning, where teachers can reflect on their
beliefs while applying new knowledge to the classroom.
Recommendations for other professional development programs
along with a discussion of the program’s unique philosophy are
provided.
Collaboration with other teachers The data suggest that
collaborating with other teachers had the greatest impact on
teacher learning. Two aspects of teachers’ collaboration were most
important. First, engaging in meaningful discussions about science
content, science processes, and classroom application of the content
and processes with high-quality biology teachers from across the
country. Second, focusing on how to achieve student learning of
this science content. Teachers reported that being afforded
sufficient time to digest new science content together with other
teachers was key for their professional learning. During the MTSI,
teachers worked together in whole and small groups, and with staff
facilitators to distill the content from the preinstitute readings and
scientist lectures into big ideas, or learning goals and objectives.
Further, during the curriculum design phase, teachers’ primary
objective was to work collaboratively with other teachers to
translate this new content into lessons that would be effective for
student learning. The program, then, provided ample time for
teachers to understand the new science content and to begin
planning how they would bring it to their classrooms. As Karen
described, “The process makes you think in concrete and specific
terms about what you’re going to do with the information and how
you’re going to get students to the point where they are

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understanding the information.” Teachers attributed working with
teachers with similar expertise (biology) to fostering their learning.
Specifically, working with teachers of equal (high) caliber, equal
(high) background knowledge, and with similar values and attitudes
toward teaching (holding themselves and students to high
standards) contributed to their ability to collaborate productively.
Teachers described learning the most though exposure to other
people’s ideas and ways of doing things. Further, the discussions
gave teachers insight into how to present complex information to
students. Some teachers attributed teaching in more student-
centered ways to discussions with other teachers. For example, “To
hear other teachers share how they’ve presented information in the
past is really helpful…. The light bulb just goes off in your head…it
helps you to approach information and different ways to teaching
it… I incorporate more inquiry in my classroom as a result” (Karen).
Teachers found other teachers inspiring and creative. For example,
“Being surrounded by a group of creative thinkers who don’t rely on
the textbooks and are really willing and actually embrace the
opportunity to create. It challenges me to see content from multiple
perspectives and inspires me…which I know ultimately benefits my
students” (Valerie). Teachers indicated that collaborating fulfilled a
professional need. Some teachers reported that they had few
opportunities to collaborate at their home schools. Several teachers
indicated that the process contributed to building ongoing
relationships. New teachers appreciated the mentorship they
received from experienced teachers. Finally, many described
collaborating with new people as freeing, without the restraints and
restrictions imposed by school culture and context.

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Peer teaching

Peer teaching is not a new concept. It can be traced back to Aristotle’s

use of archons, or student leaders, and to the letters of Seneca the
Younger. It was first organized as a theory by Scotsman Andrew Bell in
1795, and later implemented into French and English schools in the
19thcentury. Over the past 30-40 years, peer teaching has become
increasingly popular in conjunction with mixed ability grouping in K-12

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 public schools and an interest in more financially efficient methods of
teaching.
Not to be confused with peer instruction—a relatively new concept
designed by Harvard professor Eric Mazur in the early 1990s— peer
teaching is a method by which one student instructs another student in
material on which the first is an expert and the second is a novice.

Goodlad and Hurst (1989) and Topping (1998) note that academic
peer tutoring at the college level takes many different forms.
Surrogate teaching, common at larger universities, involves giving
older students, often graduates or advanced undergraduates, some or
all of the teaching responsibility for undergraduate courses. Proctoring
programs involve one-on-one tutoring by students who are slightly
ahead of other students, or who have successfully demonstrated
proficiency with the material in the recent past. Cooperative learning
divides classmates into small groups, with each person in the group
responsible for teaching others, and each contributing a unique piece
to the group performance on a task. Reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT), a
more specific version of cooperative learning, groups classmates into
pairs to tutor each other.

The main benefits of peer teaching include, but are not limited to, the
following:

 Students receive more time for individualized learning.

 Direct interaction between students promotes active learning.
 Peer teachers reinforce their own learning by instructing others.
 Students feel more comfortable and open when interacting with a
peer.
 Peers and students share a similar discourse, allowing for greater
understanding.
 Peer teaching is a financially efficient alternative to hiring more
staff members.
 Teachers receive more time to focus on the next lesson.
Research also indicates that peer learning activities typically yield the
following results for both tutor and tutee: team-building spirit and
more supportive relationships; greater psychological well-being, social

27
competence, communication skills and self-esteem; and higher
achievement and greater productivity in terms of enhanced learning
outcomes.

The Evidence
Various peer teaching programs have cropped up at universities
around the world in the past few decades, promoting the notion
of peer-assisted learning. Nearly every institute of higher education in
the world provides peer tutoring opportunities for struggling students
and teaching assistant positions for advanced students.
Students in the Advanced Chinese Studies program, Intensive Chinese
Language program, and Summer Intensive Chinese Language program
at Peking University (PKU) in Beijing are required to meet for a
minimum of three hours per week for one-on-one sessions with their
Chinese language tutor. The Peer Language Tutor program at PKU is a
unique hallmark of these programs that help ensure its students’
linguistic and cultural fluency progresses throughout the program.
These tutorials provide students extra conversation practice in
Mandarin and guidance with homework assignments, while giving
students an opportunity to befriend and be a part of the lives of their
Chinese peers. Past students have stated that their peer tutors were
one of the favorite aspects of the program.
Tutors in Australia can gain a TAFE (Technical and Further Education)
certificate in the course Literacy Volunteer Tutoring (Schools) Theory
and Fieldwork. Senior students enroll with TAFE and are trained in
reading assistance by participating in set modules on theory. At
school, the tutors participate in fieldwork by supporting junior students
in the reading of the actual classroom texts from their various subjects
during Drop Everything and Read sessions on four days per week. The
program demonstrates significant success in the full range of
government schools including coeducational, girls, boys, central,
collegiate and primary schools. The success achieved by Aboriginal
students and by boys is particularly significant.

The Peer Tutoring Program at Duke University in North Carolina offers

up to twelve hours of free tutoring each semester to Duke
undergraduates who are in enrolled in select introductory-level

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courses. Students meet with a tutor weekly in a convenient public
location on campus such as an empty classroom, the library, or a dorm
common area. All peer tutors receive on-going training both in best
current tutoring practices and on tutoring strategies relevant to their
tutoring discipline.

Despite the continued popularity of college student peer tutoring, there

exists little comprehensive research on its effectiveness and benefits.
What research does exist, however, has found that peer tutoring is
highly cost-effective and usually results in substantial gains for
participants, both academically and socially.

A reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) program at California State University,

Fullerton has been evaluated extensively. The program requires
students in a large introductory psychology course to meet with
student partners periodically throughout the course to quiz each other
and discuss the main ideas for each unit of the course. Largely a
commuter college, the program seeks to increase academic success,
as well as to increase the social integration of the students. The
program has been highly successful in both respects: when compared
to control students who participated in other supplementary activities,
RPT participants showed higher academic achievement on unit tests,
rated themselves as more satisfied with the class, were better
adjusted psychosocially, and frequently used their RPT partner as a
supportive resource in the course.

Carsrud (1984) describes an example of a surrogate teaching method

in which doctoral students supervised undergraduate psychology
students in conducting research projects. One of the major goals of
this program was to encourage highly motivated and well-prepared
students to become interested in pursuing research through skill
development and exposure to first-hand experience. The
undergraduates worked closely with the graduate students in
designing and implementing the research, and were required to
produce a professional-style report at the end of the study. The
program was considered a success, based on participants’ self-reports.

In addition, it was noted that 20 of the 25 undergraduate students

entered graduate programs in psychology within one year of
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graduation. (However, the study lacked a control group of comparable
students without exposure to surrogate teaching and it is therefore
possible that those who entered graduate school were already
graduate school bound.)

A different type of surrogate teaching program was used in an

introductory psychology class at Washington State University.
Students were given the choice of attending weekly supplemental
discussion sessions led by senior undergraduates or participating as
subjects in various research projects within the department. Those
who opted for the supplemental discussion sessions were assigned to
either a maximal group (six students to one tutor) or a minimal group
(twenty students to one tutor). Students who were in the tutoring
groups performed significantly better on the class exams than did the
control subjects who merely served as research subjects.

In early learning institutions, the effectiveness—if not the widespread

use— of peer teaching is equally apparent. In one study conducted in
an Ohio school in 2011, four sixth grade students of the same reading
level engaged in reading passages from the Quality Reading Inventory
(QRI). The QRI is an informal assessment instrument containing
graded word lists and numerous passages designed to assess a
student’s oral reading, silent reading, and comprehension abilities
(Leslie & Caldwell, 2006).
One pair of students engaged in a peer tutoring activity as they read a
passage together, actively discussing and talking about the passage as
they read. The students then individually gave a retelling of the story
to the investigator. The second pair of students read the same passage
separately and individually gave a retelling of the story to the
investigator. Each pair of students engaged in this procedure twice a
week, resulting in a total of eight times, over the course of four weeks.

The students who had engaged in peer learning scored significantly

higher on the QRI (Quality Reading Inventory) test than the students
who had not, indicating the effectiveness peer tutoring can have on
academic achievement.
The accuracy of the retellings was examined using the QRI retelling
scoring procedure to determine whether there is a relationship

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between peer tutoring and higher retelling accuracy. The retelling data
was scored using the QRI retelling scoring sheet, and retellings were
assigned a numeral score. The scores over the four week period were
graphed and examined to determine whether there is any relationship
between the pair of students engaged in peer tutoring and individually-
working students.

The students who had engaged in peer learning scored significantly

higher on the QRI test than the students who had not, indicating the
effectiveness peer tutoring can have on academic achievement. This is
just one example; to name them all here would take far more time
than you or I have to spare.

Unit 3 Knowledge base, Reflexive teaching and models of teacher

education

a) Understanding knowledge base

Theory of the knowledge base for teaching Prior to considering the

knowledge base for teaching it is useful to explore what it means “to
know” something. Deng and Luke (2008) propose three conceptions of
knowledge based on their examination of several disciplinary and
epistemological knowledge classification schemes. First, the
disciplinary conception of knowledge describes canonical knowledge in
the established disciplines. Second, the practical conception of
knowledge represented by procedural knowledge derives from the
wisdom of practice. The third form of knowledge is the experiential
conception of knowledge based on Dewey’s (1916) notion that
knowledge is located in and based on human experience. While there
are other ways of knowing, for example, scientific or aesthetic ways of
knowing (Deng & Luke, 2008), these three different ways of knowing
provide a useful interpretive framework to conceptualise pre-service
primary SOSE teachers’ sources of knowledge. Deng and Luke’s
(2008) conceptions of knowledge and what it means for teachers “to
know” something raises broader questions of the purpose of this
knowledge and what kind of knowledge is important in terms of
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student engagement (McMahon & Portelli, 2004). While contemporary
curricular promote the mantra of “life-long learning” (QSCC, 2000;
QSA, 2006) the precise nature of that knowledge and its purpose is
worth exploring. Jurgen Habermas’ theory of ‘knowledge-constitutive
interests’ as the technical cognitive interest, the practical interest and
the emancipatory or critical cognitive interest (Habermas, 1968) is a
useful way to explore knowledge for teaching and its impact on
student engagement. The technical form of knowledge is descriptive,
predictive knowledge based on observable events (Habermas, 1968).
The practical interest (or hermeneutic knowledge) is interpretive
knowledge which is mediated and “derived from the interpreter’s initial
situation” (Habermas, 1968, p. 309). The critical or emancipatory
interest is one which seeks to transform the current condition, where,
through self-reflection, “frozen relations of dependence … can in
principle be transformed “ (Habermas, 1968, p. 310). The
emancipatory knowledge interest relates to McMahon and Portelli’s
(2004) conceptualization of critical-democratic student engagement
“which recognises existing inequities and believes in the possibilities of
rectifying them” (p. 73). While SOSE draws on all three knowledge
interests, it is the critical or emancipatory form of knowledge which
will encourage students to develop the knowledge and skills to
eventually transform the social condition. It is argued that
contextualising the knowledge base for teaching in the wider discourse
of the social purposes of schooling and the nature of student
engagement heightens the importance of the disciplinary basis of
knowledge for teaching in light of the move towards a national
curriculum in history (Media Release, 30/1/2008; Ferrari, 2008). The
complexity of teachers’ knowledge was identified by Shulman (1986,
1987) who challenged the excessive focus on skills at the expense of
subject knowledge inteacher education. Shulman’s theory of the
knowledge-base for teaching categorized the domains of content
knowledge as subject matter content knowledge, pedagogical content
knowledge and curricular knowledge. Subject content knowledge refers
to propositional knowledge and an understanding of the structure of
the discipline. Pedagogical content knowledge is a “second kind of

32
content knowledge” which refers to “the particular form of content
knowledge that embodies the aspects of content most germane to its
teachability” (Shulman, 1986, p. 9). Pedagogical content knowledge is
particularly important because it blends content and pedagogy in a
distinctive way that distinguishes content specialists from teachers
Curriculum knowledge is strategic knowledge of the full range of
“materials and programs that serve as ‘tools of the trade’ for teachers”
(Shulman, 1987, p. 8). Shulman’s conceptualizations of the knowledge
base of teaching, particularly pedagogical content knowledge, has
been very influential in studies of the knowledge base of secondary
teachers (Poulson, 2001). This raises an important question about the
role of pedagogical content knowledge for primary teachers as their
work integrates numerous subject areas. Shulman (1987) questioned
the applicability of subject content knowledge as the central basis of
knowledge for primary teachers, acknowledging that the relationship
between subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge was
far more complex for primary teachers who taught numerous subjects
(Grossman, Wilson & Shulman, 1989). Reflecting this concern, in her
analysis of UK studies of primary teachers, Poulson (2001, p. 47)
concluded there “seems to be little evidence of a clear relationship
between a well-developed formal academic knowledge of particular
subjects and effective teaching in the primary phase of schooling”,
despite the emphasis in both research and UK government initiatives
(such as Department of Education & Science Circular 14/93) on the
importance of subject matter knowledge for teachers (TurnerBisset,
1999). Perhaps the key is that primary teachers, in contrast to
secondary teachers, are teaching subject knowledge that draws on
disciplinary knowledge, but they are not teaching the discipline, per
se; rather, they are teaching “topics” or processes associated with
learning in mathematics, science or environmental education.
Shulman’s conceptualisation of the knowledge base for teaching is
supported by the doctrine of disciplinarity (Tanner & Tanner, 1995;
Davis, 1998) which holds that teachers must understand the content
of the disciplines that underpin school subjects such as SOSE, rather
the content of the school based subject (Deng, 2008). This approach

33
poses difficulties for teachers’ professional understanding of content
“which tends to overlook what is involved in knowing the content of a
school subject for teaching” (Deng, 2008, p. 94). Despite reservations
of the applicability of Shulman’s theory of the knowledge base for
primary teachers, the importance of subject knowledge cannot be
discounted.

B) Reflective teaching

Definition of Reflective Teaching

Reflective teaching is a process where teachers think over their
teaching practices, analyzing how something was taught and how the
practice might be improved or changed for better learning outcomes.
Some points of consideration in the reflection process might be what is
currently being done, why it's being done and how well students are
learning. You can use reflection as way to simply learn more about
your own practice, improve a certain practice (small groups and
cooperative learning, for example) or to focus on a problem students
are having. Let's discuss some methods of reflective teaching now.
Teaching is a complex and highly skilled activity, and teachers must
exercise judgement in deciding how to act to support learning most
effectively. Open-minded consideration of evidence, about one’s own
work or that of others, enriches the quality of such judgement so that
practice becomes ‘evidence-informed’. High-quality teaching, and thus
learner progress, is dependent on the existence of such professional
expertise.
Whether in early, school, further, vocational or higher education,
expertise is developed through successive levels. Reflective practice
enables the novice to progress, over time, towards expert leadership
in their field. Given the nature of teaching, professional development
and learning should never stop.
Reflective teaching should be personally fulfilling for teachers, but will
also lead to a steady increase in the quality of the education provided
for learners. It thus supports the improvement of outcomes and helps
to satisfy accountability requirements whether in early, school, further,
vocational or higher education.  At the same time, it draws particular
attention to the aims, values and social consequences of education,
and to its contribution to the future.

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