Teacher Education and Pedagogical Training

PREFACE

Education is an independent field of study, its theory is the philosophy and sociology. The practice of education depends on psychology, pedagogy and teaching technology. It is process of human, social and national development. The workshop or laboratory of education is the school classroom. Kothari Commission of education (1964-66) has very rightly stated that the destiny of India is being shaped in her school classroom. Education is also used for teacher-training. The effective teachers are prepared by teacher-education programmes. The teacher-education is the branch of education discipline which deals the process of preparing classroom teachers. The workshop of education (classroom teaching) is managed and organized by the effective teachers. Thus the teacher is the powerful agent for managing and organizing educational process of human development.

The basic assumption about effective teacher is that they are but birth and they can also be prepared by teacher-education. The teacher-education area is related to teaching, training and instruction which require pedagogical knowledge, practice and beliefs or professional ethics.

Teaching is a social task and activity. According to pedagogy, teaching is considered as an art, science and profession. Therefore teacher-education includes social, language and teaching skills, application of scientific rules and principles as well as professional ethics of teaching. The educational psychology, teaching technology and pedagogy are basic course content of teacher-education for practices aspects. The professional efficiency and ethics are developed by these courses.

The teaching technology course was included in teacher-education during 1960s by replacing the course of Teaching as an Art. The introduction of teaching technology has encouraged the use of media, machines and scientific principles in teaching process. The software and hardware approaches have been used to make teaching effective and purposive i.e. objective-centred after four decades it has been realized all over the world that the use of technology of teaching can not inclucate the moral values and professional ethics among teachers. which is most essential quality of a competent teacher. Without profession ethics, teacher-education is incomplete or it is merely a mechanical training. Therefore, course of pedagogy has been included in teacher education duration 1990s, which gives due weightage to professional ethics. The basic content of pedagogy deals with knowledge, practice and beliefs of teaching. Now the teacher-education institutes are termed as pedagogical institutes in most of the advanced countries of world. There is a very old pedagogical institute at Allahabad.

The curriculum of teacher-education includes the educational psychology, teaching technology and pedagogy. The function of technology is to bridge between art and science. Teaching is an art as well as science.