Whither teacher development – stubborn continuity or winds of change?
Keywords:
Teacher development, Issues in teacher training, In-service trainingAbstract
After an in-service programme is over, the organizers try to judge the impact of the programme by trying to find out, generally through a questionnaire, whether the teacher participants are willing and able to use the ‘materials and methods’ ‘recommended’ to them on the programme. Some teachers may adopt the ‘new’ methods and materials for a while after they have had the ‘exposure’, but most of them, sooner or later, slide back into their ‘normal’, pre-programme practices. They return to their respective institutions only to develop feelings of confusion, insecurity, inadequacy, and often guilt. The purpose of this article is to examine the possible effects of teacher training programmes on the participants of such programmes and to emphasize the need to re-evaluate the assumptions that have traditionally guided teacher education, training and development efforts.
References
Cuban, L. (1979). Determinants of curriculum change and stability. In J. Schafferzick & G. Sykes (eds.), Value conflicts and curriculum issues. Berkeley: McCutchan.
Cuban, L. (1983). How did teachers teach, 1890–1980, Theory into Practice, 22(3): 159165.
Duffy, G. (1982). Fighting off the alligators: What research in real classrooms has to say about reading instruction. Journal of Reading Behavior, 14 (4) :357-374.
Duffy, G. & McIntyre, L. (1982). A naturalistic study of instructional assistance in primary grade reading. Elementary School Journal, 83(1):59-66.
Duffy, G. & Roehler, L. (1986). Constraints on teacher change. Journal of Teacher Education, 37(1):55–58.
Shanker, A. (1974). Interview with Albert Shanker. Principal, 1974:53; quoted in Cuban (1983).
Shavelson, R. (1976). Teachers’ decision– making. In N. Gage (Ed.), The psychology of teaching methods. (Seventy-fifth Year Book of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part I), Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp.372-414.
Shulman, L. and Carey, N. (1984).Psychology and the limitations of individual rationality: Implications for the study of reasoning and civility. Review of Educational Research, 54 (4), 501–524.
Xavier, L. SJ., Ramani, P. N. & Joseph, M. V. (1987). Innovations in ELT: the Loyola Experience. Madras: Loyola College.
