Abstract FUTURE TECHERS:

Comptency Approach in Preparing Teachers to Face Future Challenges

( Prof. Mohammad Fakry Gaffar of Indonesia University of Education , Bandung, Indonesia)

Philosohically the goals of eduction are directed to prepare students to be capable of facing the
future life neither the past nor the present. Understanding the future challenges with all their
implications upon various aspects of educational processes have never become major concerns in
many countries of the world.

Teachers have been cosidered strategic elements in the educational processes, yet strategies to
make teachers be apable of facing the future have been neglected in the preparation programs of
teahers conducted in many teacher education institutions. In order to perfecly understand in the
efforts of preparing the future teachers there are factors that should be considered. These factors
are first, what kinds of future trends that are essential to be cinsidered as basis for determining
the future oriented goals of education; second, what challenges that shoud be indentified as factors
considered essential in the the learning processes ; third, what educational implications that should
indentified and understood especially those related to the process of learning at schools and those
related to the teacher preparation programs; fourth, what strategies considered appropriate to
prepare the future teachers in order to make the teachers be acpable of facing these future
challenges and in directing in the future oreined process of learning at schools.

School curriuclum of many countries have been adopted competenccy approach, yet the
curriculum being adopted in the preparation of school teachers does not adopt the competeny
apprach on the gorund that the programs being impemented have been assumed of being capable
of meeting all learning needs of students and the needs to teach at schools regardless what ever
approaches the school curriclum being adopted

The future concepts of learning at schools are not considered important to be explisitly stated in
the crurirulum and in the learning process. It has been assumed that the content and the learning
processes inclusively covere matrers related to the future although that future is nost specifically
stated in both curriuclulum and learning processes.Trends of teacher education prapration
programs have indicated adopting similar vews in regard with the future. The future is not
considered an important element to be sepecifically clearly stated in the design and also in the
implementation of curriculum. Cosidering all these trends both at school s and at teacher education
initutuions there are dilemmas that appear in preparing future teachers. It is understood teachers
are not designed in their preparation programs to be equipped with all competencies required to
face the future callenges. To resolve these dilemmas at oth schoos and teacher education
isntitutions , there are two major appraches to be considered essential ,First, the concepts of the
future with all its implications should become general goals of eduation and hence, shoud be
inculded in the design and implemnation of school curriculum; second, the concept of the future
should also become an integral part of the the teacher preparation programs to make teachers to
be caable of facing the future challenges.
Third, teachers should be prepared applying competency based pappraoch in both the design and
the techer preapration programs and their implmentation in the process of teaching and learning at
teacher education institutions .The competeny approach is the best way to help teachers be capable
of coping with the future and implment the future oirented learning at schools in the most
appropriate ways.