Developing a High-Quality System of Teacher Preparation - Essay Example

Most of early care and teachers are required to be well trained prior to working with children. Early childhood play an integral role in the provision of high-quality early care and education, there have been increasing calls for new policies with regard to the educational requirements for those who teach and care for young children. It is widely accepted that the process of education begins at birth and continues throughout life. Some believe that education begins even earlier than this, as evidenced by some parents playing music or reading to the baby in the hope it will influence the childs development. We are going to look into the constraints facing early care and education teachers in improving their credentials and the capacity of teacher preparation programs to support the policy and in turn help create a qualified and knowledgeable workforce. We will assert that through the process of observation, documentation, and interpretation of childrens goals, strategies, and theories, teachers gain insight into childrens thinking. As a result of this process, teachers are better able to engage children in conversations and investigations that have the potential to extend their learning in both depth and breadth. Utilizing brief video clips of both children and adults to support its premise. We will outline and discusses relevant aspects of observation for understanding and introduce the concept of the vindictive as a powerful resource for revisiting and analysing documented observations. Finally we will analyse and critically evaluate the multi-faceted role of the teacher and critically assess the importance of education on the life of a child. This is because teachers affect eternity and they never tell where their influence stop. Undergraduate Essay on Teaching and Education “Teachers affect eternity: they can never tell where their influence stops.” This means the teacher plays a significant role in the life of a student. This is because students get knowledge from the teachers and they view them as knowledgeable human beings. They believe in everything their teachers are saying thereby influencing their life. If for example a teacher introduces Mathematics to a student and that student dislike the subject, then it means there are possibilities that that student will always have a negative attitude toward Mathematics. A difficulty is encountered when one begins to consider how to include team-based projects into a course is how to pair students together into groups.  This stumbling block on how to group students has derailed many projects before they even begin or has led to difficulties during group projects if the groups are not formed well at the beginning.    Another difficulty for teachers today may reside in the emotional domain. It is possibly? more or less? painful to be expected to tolerate children’s expressions of emotions, such as cruelty, rage, and hatred, which, as adults, and particularly perhaps as early childhood teachers. We have long learned to stifle and repress. Wearing masks ourselves (of perpetual good humour and an encouraging smile), we may well be alarmed by children /without/ masks, speaking and acting from the heart. But the core of the matter is surely that all educators (and I include myself) prefer to focus on those characteristics of children that match our educational aspirations, our aims and ambitions, our pedagogical purposes. It is now widely recognized that qualified teachers are an essential component of preschool programs that result in improved outcomes for young children (Barnett, 2003; Whitebook, 2003). Children who are educated by teachers with both a bachelor’s degree and specialized. Formal Education Formal education occurs when society or a group or an individual sets up a curriculum to educate people, usually the young. Formal education can become systematic and thorough these systems, it can be used to promote doctrines or ideals as well as knowledge and this can sometimes lead to abuse of the system. Training in child development and early education have been found to be more sociable, exhibit a more developed use of language, and perform at a higher level on cognitive tasks than children who are cared for by less-qualified adults (Bowman, Donovan, & Burns, 2001; Dwyer, Chait, & McKee, 2000; Howes, 1997). This research base, along with the evidence attesting to the long-term impacts of high-quality preschool programs on children’s social and academic success (Barnett, 1998; Campbell, Pungello, Miller-Johnson, Burchinal, & Ramey, 2001), has contributed to an increased demand for qualified preschool teachers. Life-long or adult education has become widespread in many countries. However, education is still seen by many as something aimed at children, and adult education is often branded as adult learning or lifelong learning. Adult education takes on many forms from formal class-based learning to self-directed learning. Lending libraries provide inexpensive informal access to books and other self-instructional materials. Many adults have also taken advantage of the rise in computer ownership and internet access to further their informal education. Technology is an increasingly influential factor in education. Computers are being widely used in developed countries to both complement established education practices and develop new ways of learning such as online education (a type of distance education). This gives students discretion in what they are interested in learning. The proliferation of computers also means the increase of programming and bogging. Technology clearly offers powerful learning tools that can engage students, such as classroom management software. As one report states, “High quality ECE teachers are essential for addressing pervasive and persistent educational problems such as low reading and mathematics achievement, particularly of children from low socio-economic circumstances” (American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education Focus Council on Early Childhood Education, 2004, p. 3). Despite this demand, the wide variation in state regulations regarding the baseline of education needed to be a preschool teacher (Ackerman, 2004) has resulted in a potential shortage of such teachers. Nationally representative studies of the early childhood workforce (Saluja, Early, & Clifford, 2002) estimate that only 50% of the approximately 284,277 preschool teachers currently working in the United States have a bachelor’s degree of some kind, and many of them do not have a teaching credential. Moreover, even if teachers do have a teaching certificate, they may not have had the specialized training that is critical to being a knowledgeable early childhood professional (Saluja, Early, & Clifford, 2002). For example, it has been argued that most early childhood teacher preparation programs tend to convey outdated child development knowledge; therefore, early childhood teachers often underestimate the competence of young children (Bowman, Donovan, & Burns, 2001). Theories of best practice and current research findings support the need for early childhood educators to be actively involved and sensitive when interacting with young children. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) suggests that teachers should, “accept responsibility for actively supporting childrens development” , and that this active involvement should occur in the context of a solid understanding of childrens individual needs and interests (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). In addition, researchers have demonstrated that sensitive, involved care is related to positive outcomes for both children and classrooms. For instance, Howes and Smith (1995) found that frequency of adult involvement was positively related to childrens play with objects and their attachment to caregivers. In addition, Howes, Phillips and Whitebook (1992) found that type and amount of adult involvement was related to overall classroom quality. Although scholars in the field of early childhood education promote actively involved teaching behaviours, not all teachers hold personal beliefs about teaching that match this viewpoint. Kontos and Dunn (1993) point out that although some early childhood teachers believe that childrens play is enhanced when teachers interact with them in an involved, supportive manner, many others are hesitant to engage in "active" behaviours for fear of interrupting productive play. Therefore, it appears that there may be disparity between what scholars in the field would like teachers to do and what teachers actually do. Therefore, it is important to assess both the beliefs /and / behaviours of early childhood educators because teacher beliefs or theories may serve as a "contextual filter" through which teachers screen their classroom experiences, interpret them, and adapt their subsequent classroom practices (Clark & Peterson, 1986). Roles of a Teacher These are agreed in relation to the post and the tasks to be undertaken. Whilst these can be seen as part of that person’s job description there is clearly a difficulty in ensuring all staff are aware of a person’s individual responsibilities. I think that we should consider the work done by Brighouse and Woods (1999) in relation to job descriptions and responsibilities. “The wisest schools ensure that contracts for their teachers emphasise no more than two or three principal accountabilities – matters for which the teacher is the lead person in the school – and three or four (supporting) accountabilities – matters on which the teacher is a supporting person in the formulation of policy. These are the important matters: they will give the teacher the energy to contribute to whole school life and in doing so will offer the teacher fulfilment and satisfaction.” (Brighouse and Woods, 1999, p.29) When examining how teaching beliefs influence the way in which teachers interact with children, it may be potentially important to assess teaching intentions as well. Characteristics of the teacher may also be important to measure. As noted above, evidence indicates that teachers beliefs are influenced by education, specialized training, and experience with young children. The School Improvement Plan is the key document for sharing the vision both inside the school and to those who may need to monitor externally, however it is true when Brighouse and Woods (1999) state that head teachers tear their hair out trying to get everyone involved in the review of the school improvement plan. Brighouse and Woods encourage schools to keep the review simple. I believe that this research has provided evidence to show the importance of simple school reviews, which can be quickly tied into the school improvement plan. The collaboration of the whole staff is more likely to lead to a shared vision. In general, studies designed to assess components integral to early childhood teaching expertise say that education and specialized training are good predictors of beliefs and actions regarding appropriate care giving and classroom quality and that experience is not a good predictor. (Phillips, & Whitebook, 1992). Therefore, this study emphasizes the amount of training and education held by teachers, rather than experience. Throughout the collection of the evidence I have realised the importance of the different leadership roles.  Frost and Durrant (2003) have researched the role of the teacher leader and I believe that we need to develop this at Carpenters; the teachers need to have a far better sense of their own worth as leaders.  It is important at Carpenters that we change the suspicion that some people have about teacher leaders to recognising the benefits which have been recorded by Frost and Durrant (2003) of improved school effectiveness, effective democratic and educational values, teacher morale and retention.   Clearly, a good starting point for any state is to capitalize on the leadership and wisdom available within the early childhood community. The field of early childhood has had a long history of advocacy and leadership at local, state, and national levels as is evidenced by the influence of the National Association for the Education of Young Children on early childhood practice and policy. It would seem sensible for states to begin contacting and working with individuals within these organizations as a way to bring stakeholders into the debate and harness their expertise and commitment to the education of the teachers of young children. At the same time, it is important to go beyond the available expertise to ensure that programs meet the most current standards. Although some countries have a cohort of early childhood faculty members who were working together in this reform effort, the fact remains that many of the programs do not address all of the content deemed to be necessary for teaching young children. . One possible reason is that many faculty members currently working in institutions of higher education do not have the up-to-date knowledge needed for the state’s current social, political, and economic context. For example, special education and teaching English-language learners have traditionally been separate areas of education, and faculties were not expected to be able to incorporate these topics into their curriculum and child development classes. Therefore, policy makers will need to evaluate the expertise of current faculty in order to determine their professional development needs in these areas. Although such training cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach, some oversight across institutions will be necessary to ensure that no matter where students receive their training they will encounter the necessary content. Student Teacher Training In teaching professional, there is an emphasis on providing them with high-quality preparation and professional learning opportunities and on creating schools that function as professional learning communities and support teachers success. Teachers work used to be described as technical work, with the expectation that teachers would be successful if they mastered a prescribed set of skills and techniques. This view is fading as researchers carefully examine teacher education programs. Those that focus on methods courses and a short period of student teaching "failed to incorporate new understandings from research on teaching and learning and took little cognisance of emerging research-based conceptions of teaching as a many-faceted, intellectually-demanding enterprise". MacBeath, J. and Mortimore, P. (2001) The new role of the teacher in reform and in classrooms is as a learner. New interventions "have been invented" that focus more clearly on providing meaningful learning experiences for teachers (Cohen & Ball, 1999). Many of these interventions stress collegial relationships among teachers where teachers have opportunities to share ideas, discuss educational issues, and participate in collaborative planning, problem posing, and problem solving. There is, thus, an emergence of support for teacher study groups, book discussion groups, whole-faculty study, mentoring programs, induction programs, and numerous other teacher-directed, site-specific forms of professional development. Any nation embarking on this type of reform will need to provide financial resources to ensure that institutions of higher education can recruit faculty and increase their capacity to prepare qualified teachers. However, the results of this study would indicate that some consideration must be given to the form of the financial support that is provided to teacher preparation programs. Influence of the Teacher The teacher encourages and fosters parent-child relationship as well as relationships with peers and other adults by supporting the child in his or her efforts and later allowing the child to function independently. The teachers role is one of supporting, guiding, and facilitating development and learning. Children learn through play which provides opportunities for exploration, experimentation, and manipulation that are essential for constructing knowledge and contributes to the development of representational thought. During play, children examine and refine their learning in light of the feedback they receive from the environment and other people. It is through play that children develop their imaginations and creativity. During the primary grades, childrens play becomes more rule-oriented and promotes the development of autonomy and cooperation which contributes to social, emotional, and intellectual development. Childrens interests and "need to know" motivate learning. Children have a need to make sense of their experiences. In a developmentally appropriate classroom, teachers identify what intrigues their children and then allow the students to solve problems together. Activities that are based on childrens interests provide motivation for learning. This fosters a love of learning, curiosity, attention, and self-direction. Human development and learning and are characterized by individual variation. A wide range of individual variation is normal and to be expected. Each human being has an individual pattern and timing of growth development as well as individual styles of learning. Personal family experiences and cultural backgrounds also vary. As teachers, if we believe that child development, teaching, and learning share a reciprocal relationship, then a clear understanding of the general characteristics of child development and our role through social interaction can assist us in selecting books that reflect a childs current developmental needs while promoting progress toward literacy development and the "magic" of reading. Multifaceted Role of the Teacher The process of learning involves extrinsic motivation as well as intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation can be factors such as job opportunities or social status, while intrinsic are the physical conditions of a classroom, the method of teaching, and more importantly the teacher. If we takes into consideration the teaching of English language, one would realise that most students think that it is an inessential element placed in the path of their success. With the ever-burgeoning interest in professions dealing with computers, technical areas such as engineering, and to some extent medicine, the role of English is totally neglected. The need for English serves presently only for the purpose of qualification. The never-ending debate about the importance of the mother tongue over the English language has become the source of various kinds of impositions by the lawmakers on the hapless teaching and student community. These demonstrations have served to lower the significance of English among youngsters. A skilful teacher with some endeavour can make English Language Teaching stimulating and interesting. Before discussing the teachers role, it is to be realised that even aspects such as the classroom and teaching methods employed go a long way in sustaining interest. The classroom is an important aspect in the teaching process. Most classrooms are not well ventilated and added to this problem is overburdened with too many students. The teacher is the tutor who serves as a guide and resource person for the students. The students function well if they recognise the teacher as some one who will shoulder their responsibility. Students behaviour is also important if the teacher is aware of the importance of communicative teaching and decides to use student groupings in the classroom. Group work is an attractive solution to teaching in large classrooms but may be a little noisy. It can be effective in mixed classrooms for handling different types of tasks, from less challenging to highly challenging, depending upon the groups. If the teacher is well prepared, has a good command of language and is able to be authoritative, then students tend to listen rather than create problems. Teachers need to be supported by the institution, which would give them a fair hearing and settle a problem amicably. The teacher should also be aware of developing knowledge. This would involve keeping in touch with educational journals and magazines, participating in seminars, sharing classroom incidents with colleagues, discussing teaching methods with other teachers, and keeping in touch with educational organisations interested in language teaching. In conclusion, developing a high-quality system of teacher preparation requires the coordination of human and financial resources so that there is equity and quality in the programs offered by institutions within a state. This coordination is particularly critical in preschool education because the workforce is extraordinarily diverse in qualifications, knowledge, and experience, and the workforce is located in a range of settings that have historically been regulated differently. Most states probably have the leadership and much of the expertise needed to develop high-quality programs, but without coordination and support, it is unlikely that states will be able to transform the early childhood workforce in the way that research indicates is necessary. Education is often used to refer solely to formal education. However, it covers a range of experiences, from formal learning to the building of understanding through day to day experiences. Ultimately, all that we experience serves as a form of education. Ones individual development and the capacity to fulfil ones own purposes can depend upon an adequate preparation in childhood. Education thus can attempt to give a firm foundation for the achievement of personal fulfilment. The better the foundation that is built, the more successful the child will be. Simple basics in education can carry a child far. In short, the potential for creating a high-quality system is there. It is now up to teachers’ educators and policy makers to work together to make it happen. If we adopt these strategies, for sure we are going to achieve what we need in education. Teacher will be able to influence the students and they will never tell where their influence stops. Reference Arnot, M., McIntyre, D., Pedder, D. and Reay, D. (2004) Consultation in the Classroom: Developing Dialogue about Teaching and Learning, Cambridge: Pearson Publishing. Barnett, W. S. (2003, March). Better teachers, better preschools: Student achievement linked to teacher qualifications. /Preschool Policy Matters/, /2/. ED 480 818 Barnett, W. Steven. (1998). Long-term effects on cognitive development and school success. In W. Steven Barnett & Sarane Spence Boocock (Eds.),/Early care and education for children in poverty: Promises, programs, and long-term results /(pp. 11-44). Albany: State University of New York Press. ED 417 265 Bradley, H., Conner, C. and Southworth. G. (Eds.) 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