The Importance of Teacher Training and Development in Low-Income Countries - Essay Example

? THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHER TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IN LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES This essay will focus on the emergence of learner-centred approach in education which links to theories, policies and practices and some issues in achieving quality in international education and development. The essay will enable learning on how pedagogical approaches in teaching helps bringing up development in low income countries, the approaches that have been used for achieving it and the final outcome of the initiatives. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 4 2. Emergence of Learner-Centred Approach in Education 4 3. Adopting Reflective Teaching Pedagogy 5 4. Feminist Pedagogy 6 5. Social Pedagogy 6 6. Critical Pedagogies 7 7. Achieving Quality in International Education and Development 7 8. Conclusion 9 9. References 10 1. Introduction Training and development are needed to achieve quality education. It is an activity leading to skilled behaviour. It also enables a person to think effectively. As Barlett and Burton (2007) mentions, the purpose of education is to develop minds, impart scientific knowledge and prepare young people for future employment. Its sole purpose is to educate all students and give everyone equal opportunity as means to succeed in life. This links with teachers’ training and development on how they teach the students to think intensively and critically. Teachers need to be knowledgeable on all of the major topics surrounding human life and they should be in a position to teach people with different characteristics, personality, culture, interests and learning abilities. Everything right from intelligibility and character of a person is preset. Additionally, pedagogical concepts are important for effectively implementing a learner centred education approach. Pedagogy in education is essentially an art as well as science, which pertains to the instructional theory during the educational process. There are a number of important pedagogy approaches and they enable the instructors in developing conceptual knowledge among the children, additionally pedagogy helps in better managing learning activity contents in pedagogical settings. 2. Emergence of Learner-Centred Approach in Education Most schools in some countries with low-income such as Africa, and Southeast Asia have been conducting several studies to improve their way of living, especially in the field of education. There has been a need to change the curriculum in many comprehensive schools. According to Schweisfurth’s article (2011), traditional learning has been replaced by another approach in education which is known as learner-centred. It has been known as more effective educational practice and widely-used in many educational policies. Understanding the nature of the problem of poor quality education to reduce poverty has been evident in the study made by Akyeampong, et. Al (2012). It has been argued that the initial teacher education is the main problem and the solution to the early dropout that affects persistent poverty. On the other hand, Sriprakash (2009) has analysed child-centred teaching in a rural primary school in India which has drawn on Basil Bernstein’s sociological theory of pedagogy to identify the principles and practice used by the teachers. This study was conducted through a number of classroom observations and reflections on the implications of teaching. Such approach reveals the implication on the learners through pedagogic interaction in achieving democratic learning environment. In the book Theory and Resistance in Education, Giroux (2001) has relied upon the theory of pedagogy to analyze power, resistance and knowledge of various cultural arenas including educational institutions like schools. There has been a rise in significant resistance to education methods which has given rise to changes. It helps us understand the importance of following a solid method and system in order to achieve progress out of a training process for education. Restructuring teacher education and training enhance the teachers’ capabilities to teach in more flexible approach, that is a learner-centred approach. This enables them to understand a child’s learning difficulties and think of ways on how to address these problems. Based on the review of the recent literature done by Barret et. al (2007), there was a lack of research evidence but the challenge is to reach groups who have historically been excluded from formal education. Responding to students’ needs implies the use of learner-centred and outcome-based pedagogies. These teaching methods may not seem to be enough for the teachers to practice but has to be supervised with the appropriate instructional materials to achieve quality education and development for the students. 3. Adopting Reflective Teaching Pedagogy Reflective teaching is a method where the person is aware as to what is done in classroom, why it is done and knows how it actually works. To sum up, it is self-evaluating and self-observing process and involves collecting, analyzing and evaluating the information collected in a classroom. Each region comes with its own set of prospects, constraints and characteristics. The complexities associated with such models can be identified by applying reflective teaching, which will pave way for improving the teaching approach. The concept of reflective teaching has achieved widespread attention on a global level. It is a form of training used for teaching where the learning party attains perfection by way of asking question to them. In this kind of teaching, the teacher relates the theory of teaching to that of teaching practice and it acts as an inspiration for teaching trainees. In order to achieve exceptional results, innovative teaching methods need to be taken into hands. Han (1995) came out in support of reflective teaching that processes reflection elements and signifies as to how the teachers are making decisions, the content instigates the substance which leads to thinking and reflecting inquiry that provides for a platform for learning as to how to become a good teacher and contribute productively for the society. 4. Feminist Pedagogy The Feminist Pedagogy teaches in a specific manner, it recognizes and encourages power relations which are established on race, sexual orientation, gender and class – which always pervade the classrooms. The feminist pedagogy is essentially inspired by the women’s liberation drive and the pedagogy emphasizes on a new trend teaching practice as well as curricula (Briskin, 1990). Feminist pedagogy attempts to validate the teaching process by highlighting the experiences of gender in the classrooms school or the greater human society. Feminist pedagogy also underlines the potential of feminism in the teaching process for children as well as the devaluation of the female gender. Connected learning is integrated in this pedagogy and tries to practically apply the feminist theory in the classrooms. The outdated institutional hierarchy in academia is challenged and an instruction method wherein students transform from passive to active learners is integrate din the feminist pedagogy, hence encouraging young students to be successful social change agents in the future (Briskin,1990). 5. Social Pedagogy Social pedagogy is the discipline which takes a leaf out of several disciplines such as sociology, education, philosophy and psychology. The basic goal of social pedagogy is learning, growth and well being of the students. It also emphasizes on the humanistic principles and values for making people resourceful and active contributors to the larger social community, moreover social pedagogy aims to tackle social inequality and problems (Cameron and Moss, 2011).  'Social' pedagogy has evolved over the years through the contributions of social thinkers, philosophers and practitioners who wanted to create a society which is more just. It hence interacts between the individual and the society. Social pedagogy also attempts to offer nurturing conditions for interdependence as well as independence. Social pedagogy stresses on respect, human values, mutual trust, equality and unconditional appreciation It also regards adults, children and young people as having equally rich potential and hence facilitates a teaching process which make children active agents and resourceful during their educational process. Some of the primary objectives of social pedagogy include promotion of holistic education such as developing physical and practical skills, cognitive knowledge, spiritual knowledge and emotional learning; promotion of holistic well being such as healthy living and space for people to enjoy feelings of happiness. Additionally, social pedagogy attempts to empower the children to be responsible for themselves and the society. Social pedagogy attempts to reduce social problems and encourage human welfare as well. Social pedagogy is actually a society function, which reflects the attitudes of the society in a number of ways (Cameron and Moss, 2011).  Through social pedagogy, the manner in which the society looks at the upbringing of children and the link between the society and the individual, and also how the society accommodates the marginalized society members, are addressed. There have been several meanings and interpretations of social pedagogy which has been developed in world cultures. Hence, there is not a single widely accepted social pedagogy definition. The definition of social pedagogy also changes over time and culture. Although there are many different contexts and cultural settings wherein social pedagogy works, they have several common features. Some of them include the common philosophy and Haltung (stance, attitude) through which diverse methods are used. Social pedagogy is all about the rationale and is thus an art as well as a science. 6. Critical Pedagogies According to critical pedagogy, the need of education is to offer the individuals tools for strengthening democracy and creating a society which is more egalitarian. Hence critical pedagogy attempts to bring about a social change particularly in the educational system, which is progressive. Critical pedagogy incorporates the relationship between learning and teaching. Thus, critical pedagogy is a continuous method encompassing learning, relearning, reflection, evaluation and the effect these aspects have on the students per se (Ennis, 1996).  One of the important aspects of critical pedagogy is the promotion of media literacy. Through media literacy, students can empower themselves to be more sensitive to the representation politics concerning sexuality, gender, race, class and various other cultural differences. Ultimately, media literacy aims to make readers and viewers discriminating producers and readers of texts (Ennis, 1996).  7. Achieving Quality in International Education and Development Low income countries are politically, economically and culturally weak and it requires a well developed educational system to improve the existing condition in such countries. By gaining an understanding as to what is expected for providing quality education, a better training module for teachers could be trained appropriately in low income countries. Despite the importance of teacher training in most schools, there is surprisingly little evidence on the effect of teacher training on student achievement. According to Schweisfurth’s article, there were four identified barriers to implement child-centred pedagogy. These are the reform and its implementation, physical barriers, divergent culture and power and agency. The nature of reform and its implementation includes the school culture and teachers’ understanding of learner-centred education. In addition, some teachers may lack the capacity to teach due to having less credentials and the unwillingness to pursue such profession. A comparison has been made in Coultas and Lewin’s (2002) of four countries which showed conflicts on cultural factors of committed teachers and availability of resources. The second barrier is the implementation of child-centred education in which most developing countries would struggle more on achieving this goal. Effective training may have limited outcomes due to lack of materials in classrooms. As Urwick and Junaidu (as cited in Schweisfurth, 2011) observed the relevance of teaching materials, class size, conducive classrooms, and teacher capacity. Another factor is that the implementation of learner-centred education affects some cultures in terms of socialization where respect is an issue. This refers back to teacher-centred pedagogy wherein teachers are in control of the students and they are expected to obey without questioning them. Such culture curbs the possibility for the students to come out with a different understanding or perspective on a subject matter. Lastly, for the probability of a specific outcome of the successful implementation of such approach depends on the power and agency. These combined forces influence the policies and practices in education system. As Paige et al (2008, as cited in Schweisfurth, 2011) explains that “In this era of globalisation, people will naturally look outside their own country for new ideas. This cultural borrowing, however, may be constrained by the international donor network…” This shows that in order to produce productive and competent individuals, people often update the necessary information through research and compare ideas with other countries. However, this may limit certain countries with low-income in supplying funds specifically for certain programmes used globally. 8. Conclusion Gaining knowledge through the teacher training and development may be applied distinctively as pedagogical content knowledge to construct more effective curriculum and materials needed for the students. It must be recognised as fundamentally different by changing the curriculum and approach of initial teacher education to bring all these elements together. However, low-income countries may require certain investments into teacher development to ensure the positive effects towards the children’s learning. In addition, having enough funds in low-income countries to succeed may not be enough to render such developments in teacher education. As Carnine (2000), mentions that the idea on natural-learning has closed the minds of many experts to actual research findings about effective approaches to educating children which is enormously appealing. There is still seemed a need to identify the potential effectiveness of teacher-training programmes to gather and allot more funds for education. 9. References Akyeampong, K., Lussier, K., Pryor, J. & Westbrook, J. (2012) Improving Teaching and Learning of Basic Maths and Reading in Africa: Does Teacher Preparation Count? In International Journal of Educational Development (forthcoming Special Issue on Delivering Education to the Poorest) Barlett, S. and Burton, D. (2007) Introduction to Education Studies, SAGE: London Barratt, A., Sajid, A., Clegg, J., Hinostroza, J., Lowe, J., Nikel, J., Novellis, M., Oduro, G., Pillay, M., Tikly, L., Yu, G. (2007) Initiatives to improve the quality of teaching and learning: A review of recent literature, Background Paper for the Global Monitoring Report 2008 EdQual Working Paper No. 11 Briskin, Linda. (1990). Feminist Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning Liberation. Ontario:CRIA/ICEF. Coutas, J., Lewin, K. (2002) Who becomes a teacher? The characteristics of students teachers in four countries. International Journal of Educational Development, 22, 243-260 Carnine D (2000). Why education experts resist effective practices (and what it would take to make education more like medicine). Available at http://www.edexcellence.net/doc/carnine.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2013 Cameron, C. and Moss, P. (eds.). (2011). Social Pedagogy and Working with Children and Young People: Where Care and Education Meet. London: Jessica Kingsley. Ennis, Robert H. (1996). Critical Thinking (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall). Giroux, Henry A. (2011). Theory and Resistance in Education: Towards a Pedagogy for the Opposition, Revised and Expanded Edition, Praeger: Santa Barbara Han (1995). Issues in education , Reflection is essential in teacher education, Childwood education , 71, 228-230. Horn, I (2009) ‘Learner-centredness: an analytical critique, South African Journal of Education, 29 Paige, K. Chartres, M., Kenyon, A., (2008) Using teacher stories to reveal quality educational practice: an Eastern Cape Experience. Internal Journal of Educational Development, 28, 524-533 Schweisfurth, M. (2011) Learner-centered education: from solution to problem? International Journal of Educational Development, 31, 425-432 Sriprakash, A. (2010) Child-centered education and the promise of democratic learning: Pedagogic messages in rural Indian primary schools. International Journal of Educational Development, 30, (3) 297-304. Read More