Journal of English Language Teaching

Professional Development for Tertiary Level Teachers in India: A Time to Rethink and Change?

S.C. Sood

Retd. Associate Professor of English, Delhi University

Keywords: Teacher development, tertiary level, professional development, reflective approach, CPD, self-directed, collaborative learning

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Abstract

The perception that entering teaching profession at tertiary level in India today does not require the prospective teachers to have any teacher training at all but only a research degree in the concerned subject is not wholly correct.  There is provision for pre-service preparation - howsoever unsatisfactory it might be – for aspiring teachers. However, those who have PhD degree under the new rules can also join the profession. There is also provision for compulsory in-service professional development programs organised by bodies such as Centre for Professional Development in Higher Education (CPDHE), Delhi University, and similar other bodies in other parts of the country. These existing provisions have, no doubt, many drawbacks and challenges and hence urge us to look for an alternative model. This article proposes this alternative model and describes why and how this model is better than the model of CPDHE and of similar other bodies.

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