CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

The unprecedented explosion in the areas of knowledge, population,

aspiration and the phenomena of globalization, the rapid growth in science and
technology and the development of communication network have metamorphosed
the very character of education. The only way to bring about socio-economic
transformation in the society on the grand scale is to revolutionize our system of
education. Today‘s system of education is required to impart those skills that may
help for rapid and conscious adoption to changing world. To keep pace with the
changing trends, there is a need for a sound teacher education programme with
modern innovations. Innovations in teaching mean replacing old methods with new
practices. The dimensions of teacher education which can be dealt are (i) Innovations
in Admission & Selection (ii) Innovations in Curriculum (iii) Innovations in
Teaching Methods & Aids (iv) Innovations in In-Service Education (v) Innovations
in Practice Teaching and (vi) Innovations in Evaluation. The term innovation is
taken as essentially an ingredient of the process of educational change and as the
application of a novel element, a deviation from the traditional ways of doing things.
It is a practical novel idea to the situation or institution where it is held. Teacher
education includes all formal and informal activities and experiences that help to
qualify a person to assume the responsibility as a member of the educational
profession and to discharge his responsibility most effectively (Good, 1973). In
Encyclopedia of Educational Research (1941), Monroe qualifies teacher education
as, ―The total education experiences which contribute to the preparation of a person
but the term is completely employed to designate the programme for courses and
other experiences offered by an educational institute for the announced purposes of
preparing persons for teaching and other educational service and for contribution to
their growth in competency for such service. Such teacher education programmes are
offered in teacher colleges, normal schools and colleges and universities‖ (Chand,
2007).

1.1 Teacher Education in Free India

Teacher education being an important aspect of the entire educational system
represents the aspirations of the nation in all its aspects. Its curriculum should
1
represent the national values and social goals of our country and all the cultural,
social, traditional aspects of the Indian society, to be made known to the teacher.
Recent changes in science and technology, information and communication
technology inventions leading to knowledge explosion, several issues like population
explosion, environmental concerns, and human rights violation have brought in
different areas of interest into teacher education scenario. But time and again various
commissions and committees have expressed their dismay at not achieving this goal
of representing the social context in teacher education programmes and this is
affecting the quality of output. The Programme of Action (1992) has pointed out that
(a) Professional commitment and overall competencies of teachers leave much to be
desired. (b) The quality of pre-service education has not only unimproved with recent
developments in pedagogical science, but has actually shown signs of deterioration.
(c) Teacher education programmes consist mainly of pre-service teacher training,
with practically no systematic programmes of in-service training, facilities for which
are lacking. (d) There has been an increase in sub-standard institutions of teacher
education and there are numerous reports of gross malpractices and (e) the support
system provided by the State Councils of Educational Research & Training
(SCERTs) and the University Departments of Education have been insufficient and
there is no support system below the state level. "One of the major inputs towards
enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in schools as well as the teacher
education institutions would be the extent to which research outputs and the
outcomes of innovations are utilized by the system. Researches on teacher education
have been and are being conducted in universities, national level institutions and
other establishments but their utility for the teacher educator or the classroom teacher
remains rather low. Majority of the researches are undertaken to obtain a degree and
hence the focus on its possible utility and relevance gets misplaced. The situation is
compounded by non-availability of appropriate dissemination mechanisms like
journals, publication of findings in different forums and opportunities to the target
group to get an access to these. Institutional capabilities and resources need to be
augmented, enabling them to undertake relevant researches". To train up teachers
with a proper attitude towards social goals of education and to undertake research in
various aspects related to teacher education programmes, there is a need to train
teacher educator with a proper focus towards teacher education and its present needs.
Like other levels of teacher education programmes the teacher educator training
2
programme is also suffering from many issues of quality resulting in output that is
not catering to the present needs of teacher education programmes (Chandrashekhar,
2001).

India is engaged in overhauling its traditional curriculum and methods of

instruction to keep pace with the development in other areas of teaching which were
evolved long ago for traditional society that have become out modeled in the present
context of technological development. Our country is undergoing an educational
transformation in tune with the ongoing social change which is gaining momentum.
Educational change cannot be accomplished by educational means only. The socio-
economic changes are more basic and they will always have to provide the fertile
ground for educational changes which are compatible with the societal changes at
large (Hussen, 1971). In post independent era, thorough planned economic
development the process of socio-economic re-generation has set in well. The factors
like growth of population, explosion of knowledge, improved means of
communication, high health standards and advanced science and technology have
acted as catalytic agents and spurred a process of change in educational institutions
and teachers. A score of Commissions, Committees, Study Group and Experts Group
were set up to make surveys and suggest recommendations. All of them stressed on
change and recommended innovations to be adopted by teacher education institutions
in order to meet the present day requirements and to strengthen all aspects of teacher
education. The recommendations of various committees and commissions appointed
by the Govt. of India for the improvement of teacher education in free India are
presented below.

The University Education Commission observed that there was no difference

in the theory courses offered in various teacher training colleges, but much difference
was observed in the practices followed. The Commission also recommended the
following with teacher preparation: (i) Starting the training institutes of teachers and
diverting a large number of students into them (ii) Organizing refresher courses of
school and college teachers (iii) Improving lecture method of teaching and (iv)
Transforming the teacher training colleges into constituent colleges of universities.
There should be only two types of institutions according to the Secondary
Education Commission (1952-53) for teacher training:
3
(i) For those who have taken the School Leaving Certificate or Higher
Secondary School Leaving Certificate, for whom the period of training should
be of two years, the secondary grade training institutions should be under the
control of a separate board.
(ii) For graduates, for whom the training may, for the present, be one academic
year but extended as a long term programme to two academic years. The
graduate teacher training institutions should be recognised by the affiliated
universities which should award the degree.

The Kothari Commission‟s (1964-66) recommendations were for the

transformation of the educational service, emphasis on character formation, new
language policy and the common school system. It recommended various steps for
the expansion of educational facilities at different levels. The commission observed
that a sound programme of professional education for teachers was essential for the
qualitative improvement of education. The general recommendations of the Kothari
commission are as follows:

(i) The isolation of teachers‘ colleges from the universities, schools and the
teachers‘ colleges themselves should be removed;
(ii) It suggested ways to improve the quality of teacher educators;
(iii) It advised the State Governments to prepare a plan for the expansion of
training facilities.

The Commission made specific recommendations relating to primary teacher

preparation and they are presented below:

(i) The staff in institutions for training primary teachers should hold a Master‘s
Degree either in education or in an academic subject as well as B.Ed. and
should have undergone special induction courses in teacher education at the
primary level.
(ii) New appointments of primary teachers should be restricted to those who have
completed at least 10 years of general education, exceptions may be made for
women teachers in tribal areas.
(iii) Correspondence courses and liberal concessions for study leave should be
made available to unqualified teachers for improving their qualifications.
(iv) Special courses should be organized for graduates entering primary teaching.

4
(v) The duration of the training course for primary teachers should be uniformly
two years for those who have completed the secondary school course.

The National Policy on Education (1968) included the following

suggestions as far as education of teachers is concerned.

1. The emoluments and other service conditions should be adequate and

satisfactory having regard to their qualifications and responsibilities.
2. The academic freedom of teachers and researchers should be protected.
3. Teacher Education, particularly in service education should receive due
emphasis.

The National Policy on Education (1986) made the following

recommendations on Teacher Education:

(i) The New Knowledge, skills and favourable attitudes should be developed
among teachers to meet the present needs.
(ii) Orientation of teachers should be a continuous process of teacher education
(iii) Like SCERT at State level, the District level body may be established and it
may be called as the District Institute of Education & Training (DIET). Thus,
through successive committees and commissions teacher education has
undergone a number of changes.

On the basis of the recommendations of various committees and

commissions, many changes were effected in the system of education in general and
teacher education in particular. The Indian Govt. started the five year plans to
achieve sustained economic development by developing different sectors of the
economy in balanced manner. Education was regarded as one of the basic sectors of
the economy and thereby in all plans education was given due importance. During
the four decades since independence Indian education underwent phenomenal
expansion in institutional and quantitative terms. Between 1950-1951 and 1982-
1983, the number of the Colleges increased from 796 to 5246; the Universities from
27 to 140; the total students from 28 millions to 114 millions and the total teachers
from 7.5 lakhs to 32 lakhs. During this period, the educational context, processes,
inputs and outputs at various levels were characterized by problems relating to
equity, equality and quality in terms of the needs and aspirations of millions of
citizens for educational opportunities that were hitherto denied or unavailable to

5
them; the compulsions of equality among various groups, classes, communities and
regions and the need for internationally comparable academic standards which would
help mould the manpower required for the scientific, technological, social and
economic development of the country.

Table 1: Expansion of Indian Higher Education

1950-1951 1982-1983

Universities 796 5246

Colleges 27 140

Teachers 7.5 lakhs 32 lakhs

Students 28 millions 114 millons

The first conference of training colleges in India was held at Baroda in 1950
and it discussed programmes and functions of the training colleges. In 1951, the
Second All India Conference was held at Mysore. It discussed the teacher training
programme in a broader prospective and suggested substituting the term ―Education‖
for ―Training‖, and widened its scope. In the same year, a six week summer course in
education was organized for college teachers at Mysore. The syllabi in teacher
education were revised, new areas of specialization added, and practical work
enhanced. The enthusiasm for seminars, workshops etc led to the establishment of
extension centres. In 1955, the All India Council for Secondary Education was
established. The Council through its Extension Centres imparted in-service
education. In 1957, the All India Council for Elementary Education was formed. The
Second Five Year Plan launched in 1955-56, contemplated training of 68% of the
teachers by 1960 and an amount of Rs.17 crores was apportioned for increasing the
training facilities. The All India Council for Secondary Education established an
examination Reform Unit in 1957. The Directorate of Extension Programme for
Secondary Education was set up in 1959 to coordinate the extension programmes. In
the same year the Central Institute of English was established at Hyderabad to train
teachers in English and to provide research facilities in that field. The sixties started
on a note of new ventures and ideas. The first national seminar on the Education of
Primary Teachers was held in October, 1960. The findings of the seminar reflected a

6
sad state of affairs, for example, the supply of trained teachers was not correlated to
the requirements; the training institutions were not well planned; the small
institutions were poorly staffed and ill-equipped, etc. The seminar suggested that
every teacher should be trained, and that the State Govt. should plan a phased
programme to attain the targets. It recommended the selection of some training
institutions as models for developing primary teacher education on the right lines.
The seminar suggested that the optimum size of a training institution should be 200
trainees. It recommended that the primary school teachers should also be included in
the extension programmes. It advocated the setting up of State Institutes of
Education. During 1962-63, Extension Training Centres in Primary Teacher
Education Institutions started functioning. The State Institutes of Education were
established by 1965, and a Department of Teacher Education was established at the
National Institute of Education.
The setting up of the National Council of Educational Research &
Training (NCERT) on 1st September, 1961 is an outstanding land-mark in the
history of education in the post-independence period. Several institutes and bureaus
working under the Ministry of Education were merged into it. These were Central
Institute of Education, Central Bureau of Text-Book Research, Central Bureau of
Educational and Vocational Guidance and National Institute of Basic Education.
Presently it comprises the National Institute of Education, New Delhi, four Regional
Colleges of Education, one each at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Mysore, and
Field Advisors units in state capitals or main educational centres of various states.
NCERT works in close co-operation with the education departments in the states,
State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and the universities
and with all the institutions and agencies set up in the country for furthering the
objectives of school education. It also maintains close contacts with similar
international agencies. NCERT devoted to training, research and coordination. In
1964, at the Seventh Conference of All India Association of Teachers Colleges, it
was proposed that comprehensive colleges be set up to bridge the gulf between
primary and secondary teacher training institutions. The conference recommended
the setting up of State Councils of Teacher Education (SCERT). In 1961, four
Regional Colleges of Education specifically meant to integrate professional and
general programmes by running content-cum pedagogy courses of four year duration
were started. These colleges are experimenting with new programmes of teachers‘
7
education, new instructional materials and new ways of teaching with special
emphasis on skill development. A panel on teacher education has been set up by the
UGC to advise it on measures to be taken up for the improvement of standards of
teaching and research in education in universities, departments of education and
colleges of education. It recommended proposals for promotion and support of
studies/research which may draw special attention in relation to the educational and
developmental needs of the country and the community. It also has suggested that
the resources available to the department of education should be extended to the
community with special reference to surveys which may serve as a basis for
determining the learning needs of the community, preparation of curriculum and
teaching materials in functional literacy, organization of training for various
categories of functionaries and mid-term appraisal. The department of education
could also work with the secondary and elementary schools in the neighbourhood
and help them to improve their standards. The NCERT charter envisages a special
place for designing curriculum. It is expected to review school curriculum as a
regular activity ensuring the higher standards in education. The National Policy on
Education, (NPE) 1986, and the Programme of Action (POA) 1992 assign special
role to NCERT in preparing and promoting a National Curriculum Framework. The
NPE views such task as a means of establishing a national system of education,
characterised by certain core values and goals relevant to changing needs of children
and society and within the constitutional frame work of the country (NCTE, 2010).
The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has laid down guidelines to
initiate the processing of innovative programmes in teacher education, adjudging
their innovative character on a five-point criteria, namely: (a) Promoting Creative
Teaching Approach/ (b) Undertaking Action Research; (c) Using ICT for Innovative
Learning; (d) Learner - centered Paradigms – their designing and application; and
(e) Value-based involvement of and for the community (NCTE, 2004). Some of the
major functions of NCTE are laying down norms for various teacher education
courses, recognition of teacher education institutions, laying down guidelines in
respect of minimum qualifications for appointments of teachers, surveys and studies,
researches and innovations, prevention of commercialization of teacher education
etc. Four Regional Committees of the Council have been set up at Jaipur, Mysore,
Bhubaneswar and Bhopal for Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western regions
respectively. The NCTE has issued new norms and standards for various teacher
8
training programmes like C.Ed, D.Ed, B.Ed, DP. Ed and MP.Ed. The new norms
have been introduced to improve the quality of teacher programmes and to
strengthen the infrastructure and the facilities in teacher training institutions (NCTE,
2010).

1.2 The Teacher Education System in India

India has more than 3000 teacher education institutions. They support an
expanding school system which has 6, 38,738 primary (I to V) and 206,269 upper
primary (VI to VIII) schools, a teacher force of 32.2m and a student strength of
157m. The escalating demand for trained teachers has led to unprecedented
expansion of the teacher education system (GOI, 2003). Teacher education
institutions in India are government, government – aided or private, unaided
institutions. In addition, there are institutions run by universities. Teachers for
primary/elementary schools are trained in Teachers‘ Training Institutes (TTIs) and
DIETs. DIETs are the main supply institutions for elementary teachers in most
states. The administration of teacher education falls under the jurisdiction of the
respective state governments. The academic programmes and curriculum policies of
these institutions come under the authority of the State Boards / Directorates and
lead to award of a Certificate / Diploma. The State Councils of Educational Research
& Training (SCERTs) and the National Council of Educational Research & Training
(NCERT) at the centre function as the main support institutions. Centrally Sponsored
Scheme of Teacher Education was launched in 1987-88 with the following
components: (i) Establishment of District Institute of Education & Training (DIETs)
by up-gradation of existing Elementary Teacher Education Institutions (ETEIs) and
establishment of new DIET where necessary. (ii) Up-gradation of selected
Secondary Teacher Education Institutions (STEIs) into: (a) Colleges of Teacher
Education (CTEs) & (b) Institutes of Advanced Study in Education (IASEs) and (iii)
Strengthening of State Council of Educational Research & Training (SCERTs). The
Scheme was revised in 2003 and the revised guidelines were issued in January,
2004. The main objectives of the Teacher Education Scheme are as follows: (i)
Speedy completion of DIET/CTE/IASE/SCERT projects sanctioned (ii) Making
DIETs, IASEs sanctioned (and SCERTs strengthened) up to the IX Plan period,
optimally functional and operational. (iii) Sanction and implementation of fresh
DIET/CTE/IASE/SCERT projects to the extent necessary. (iv) Improvement in the
9
quality of programmes to be undertaken by DIETs, etc especially those of pre-
service and in-service training.
Teacher education is needed for kindling the initiative of the teacher,
keeping it alive and above all for making the optimum use of time and energy of the
teacher and the taught. The Education Commission (1964-66) said, ―A sound
programme of professional education of teachers is essential for the qualitative
improvement of education. Investment in teacher education can yield very rich
dividends because the financial resources required are small when measures against
the resulting improvements in the education of millions.‖

As stated by Walker (1967) in 'World Trends in Education', "The function of

teacher education is to produce good teachers. The good teacher is one who produces
good results in meeting the central, presenting needs of life in whatever social
context". Smith in 'Teachers for the Real Word' (1969) states, "If a student is to be
prepared for the evolving world, then an essential attribute of effective teacher is
awareness of the realities of the word". About the professional educational status of
teacher, the International Encyclopedia of Teaching and Teacher Education (1987)
has observed, "Enjoying the same social status and prestige as all those who
eminently serve society, today's or tomorrow's teacher must be a professional, whose
educational programme and level should be more and more comparable with the
physician's education". The main functions and objectives of teacher education are
the following: (a) Better understanding of the student, (b) Building confidence, (c)
Methodology of teaching, (d) Building a favourable attitude, (e) Familiarizing with
the latest in education, (f) Familiarizing with school organization, (g) Creating social
insight, (h) Improving standards and (i) Training for democracy. Education and
training of teacher educators has to focus its attention on the changing role
of teacher educators according to the emerging global trends in education
and the overall needs and aspirations of the people in India. It has also to
deal with specific problems confronting teacher education institutions and
make teacher education more responsible and responsive. It also has to
encourage teacher educators' continuing professional growth. The rationale
behind the education and professional training of teacher educators lies in
providing qualitative instruction through well-designed programmes of
professional education.
10
 Curriculum Framework for Quality Teacher Education (1996)
has set the following objectives for teacher educator training programme:
 To develop competencies and skills needed for preparation of
teachers and teacher educators
 To enable them to organize competency-based and commitment-
oriented professional programmes
 To enable them to develop pedagogy relevant to the education of
teacher educators
 To acquire an understanding of the needs and problems of teacher
educators and teacher education institutions
 To develop skills related to management of teacher education
institutions
 To develop competencies of curriculum development and
preparation of learning and evaluation materials
 To enable teacher educators to acquire capabilities to organize in-
service continuing education programmes
 To enable them to organize need based and commitment-oriented
on the job training
 To develop competencies for evaluating educational programmes
and teaching learning materials
 To develop the capacity of examination, analysis, interpretation,
elaboration and communication of educational ideas
 To relate education and the national needs and develop critical
awareness about Indian realities
 To enable them to understand the relationship between Indian ethos,
modern technology and education
 To promote the global perspective of educational development with
special reference to the developing countries
 To enable them to undertake meaningful educational research
 To develop the capacities to reinterpret Indian heritage, culture and
values to meet the requirements of the present-day Indian society
 To develop the capabilities for self directed and lifelong learning
 To enable them to appreciate and adopt emerging communication
technology and innovative practices in Indian context
11
 NCTE has suggested the following general objectives of teacher education:

 To develop critical awareness among the teachers and teacher educators

regarding the realities of Indian life
 To promote such capabilities in them as may be necessary for the realization
of national values and goals enshrined in the Constitution of India
 To enable them to act as agents of modernization, social change and
development and transmittance of the national and cultural heritage
 To cultivate rational thinking and scientific temper
 To promote among them the managerial and organizational skills as required
in the contemporary Indian educational contexts
 To develop among them the capabilities needed for performing their role in a
dynamic society in order to meet the challenges of continuity and change
 To make them aware of the environmental and ecological problems and
enable them to find out their suitable solutions
 To develop interest capacity for involvement in community life and draw its
resources for the welfare of the school for meaningful education
 To develop competencies and skills needed for becoming an effective teacher
 To enable them to impart knowledge and reconstruct experiences
 To inculcate positive attitude towards students
 To develop the capacities to organize supplementary educational activities
 To develop interest and skills for undertaking action research/research
 To inculcate among the teachers a sense of value judgement, value
commitment and value transmission
 To enable teachers to develop aesthetic sense among students
 To foster their interest in in-service education/life-long learning
 To sensitise pupil teachers towards the promotion of patriotic feelings,
national integration, world peace and protection of human rights
 To plan and organise for capacity building with a view to enabling them to
look into the students‘ needs in physical education and helping them in this
regard

The Specific Objectives of Secondary Teacher Education

 To develop among teachers a clear understanding of the psychology of their

students

12
 To enable them to understand the process of socialisation
 To develop in them an understanding of the principles of psychology
curriculum development, its transaction and evaluation
 To enable them to make pedagogical analysis of the subjects they are to teach
at the secondary stage
 To develop the skills for guidance and counselling
 To enable them to foster creative thinking among pupils for the
reconstruction of knowledge
 To acquaint them with the factors and forces (within the school and outside)
affecting educational system and class room situation
 To acquaint them with educational needs of special groups of pupils
 To enable them to utilise community resources as educational inputs
 To develop communication skills and to use the modern information
technology
 To enable them to undertake action research and use innovative practices
 To foster in them a desire for life-long learning (Chand, 2007)

1. 3 Twenty First Century Challenges in Teacher Education

During the past few decades a high priority has been gradually assigned to
teacher education in many nations of the world. The World Assembly of ICET held
in London in July 1972 discussed in great details the challenges and innovations in
teacher education. Many new developments have been launched in teacher education
in India in the past few decades. Most remarkable among these are:

(i) Inter-disciplinary approach in teacher education implemented by the four

Regional Colleges of Education at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Mysore
in 1963 under the control of NCERT
(ii) Summer-cum-Correspondence courses for Bachelor of Education Degree for
clearing the backlog for untrained teachers started in the four Regional
Colleges of Education in 1966
(iii) Establishment of University Grants Commission‘s Committee on Teacher
Education at New Delhi and state Boards of Teacher Education in several
states and finally NCTE in 1973.

13
(iv) Establishment of the Centre for Advanced Studies in Education at the faculty
of Psychology and Education, M.S University of Baroda under the guidance
of UGC.
(v) Establishment of State Institutes of Education in all states
Publication of Education Commission Report by Govt. of India in 1966
(vi) Increasing role of universities in school improvement (Chaurasia, 1977)

From time immemorial teachers have been revered as source of wisdom and
inspiration across countries and civilizations. Millions of youth have sat at the feet of
Gurus to imbibe knowledge, values and skills that have enabled them to navigate life
and work with success. But never before has the profession of teachers been subject
to the kind of challenges and difficulties that the current generation of teachers face,
particularly in developing countries. To overcome these we need to think ‗out of the
box‘ and come up with bold innovations and learn from practices and approaches
that are known to work well in similar situations.
Major challenges for initial teacher education in the twenty-first century include:
1. The raising of the status of the teaching profession to a level at which it
attracts the best qualified applicants
2. Harnessing rapidly developing technology to provide maximum learning
opportunities for student teachers, especially those in remote areas and those
in developing countries, where conventional resources such as libraries are
impossible to resource adequately
3. Discovering the optimum balance between theory and practice in the
curriculum of teacher education in the many and varying contexts in which it
is provided
4. Developing teacher education structures and curricula that provide optimal
balances among the academic, humanitarian, aesthetic, and moral domains of
human experience
5. Designing research that takes account of the many complex factors that
impinge upon the process of teacher education, so that a greater
understanding may be gained of the ways in which students learn to teach in
the myriad of contexts in which they live

14
 The professional preparation of teachers has been recognized to be crucial for
the qualitative improvement of education since the 1960s. Kothari Commission
(1964-66) noted the need for teacher education to be ―…brought into the mainstream
of the academic life of the Universities on the one hand and of school life and
educational developments on the other.‖ It is indeed a matter of concern that teacher
education institutes continue to exist as insular organizations even within the
University system where many are located. Recognising ‗quality‘ as the essence of a
programme of teacher education, the Commission recommended the introduction of
integrated courses of general and professional education in Universities with greater
scope for self-study and discussion and a comprehensive programme of internship.
Chattopadhyaya Committee Report of the National Commission on Teachers (1983-
85), envisioned the new teacher as one who communicates to pupils the importance
of and the feeling for national integrity and unity; the need for a scientific attitude; a
commitment to excellence in standards of work and action and a concern for society.
It recommended a four-year integrated course for the secondary as well as the
elementary teacher. The National Policy of Education (NPE 1986/92) recognized
that teachers should have the freedom to innovate, to devise appropriate methods of
communication and activities relevant to the needs of and capabilities of and the
concerns of the community. The policy further states that teacher education is a
continuous process, and its pre-service and in-service components are inseparable.
The Acharya Ramamurti Committee (1990) in its review of the NPE 1986 observed
that an internship model for teacher training should be adopted because the
internship model is firmly based on the primary value of actual field experience in a
realistic situation, on the development of teaching skills by practice over a period of
time. The Yashpal Committee Report (1993) on Learning without Burden noted that
inadequate programmes of teacher preparation lead to unsatisfactory quality of
learning in schools. The content of the programme should be restructured to ensure
its relevance to the changing needs of school education. The emphasis in these
programmes should be on enabling the trainees to acquire the ability for self-learning
and independent thinking. The National Curriculum Framework (NCF, 2005)
presents a fresh vision and a new discourse on key contemporary educational issues.
We now need to define the path that can be taken to empower individual teachers
who can then empower learners. The critical link that binds the curriculum and the
teaching learning environment together is the teacher. The NCF, 2005 has for the
15
first time linked the ongoing debate on curriculum to the pedagogic and professional
concerns of the child and the teacher. Teachers are being posed as crucial mediating
agents through which curriculum is transacted. The long held belief that textbooks
by themselves help develop conceptual understanding, an adequate knowledge-base,
secular values and social sensitivity has come into question. The close link between
curriculum design and the preparation of teachers has been repeatedly demonstrated
in successful educational innovations across the country within mainstream
education as well as experiments undertaken by several NGOs. The launch of the
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in 2002 and the recent financial commitment and the
educational cess to augment the mission of UEE, provides the context for the need to
focus on preparing teachers adequately to address the growing demand for quality
education. The education of teachers not only facilitates improvement of school
education by preparing professionally competent teachers, but also functions as a
bridge between schooling and higher education.
Reform in teacher education is driven by ideas, ideals, values, and
assumptions about the purposes of schooling, the social and economic future of a
nation, and the role of public education in a democratic society. Ideally, a curriculum
framework for teacher education should be expected to be in consonance with the
curriculum framework for school education. The teacher education curriculum
framework will need to engage with questions of the learner (in this case the
teacher), the learning process and the content and pedagogy of educating teachers.
The curriculum framework needs to lay down the contours of a trajectory that can
provide opportunities and processes to enable the agency of teachers in bringing
about social transformation, as is envisioned in the NPE 1986/92. Examples of
empowering the school teacher towards this goal exist in many innovations in school
education all over India. It would be worthwhile to learn from these in order to
create a mainstream system of teacher education that allows teachers to be partners
in the process of curriculum reform rather than mere implementers of a pre-designed
given framework. Several examples of educational innovations in India demonstrate
how teacher education programmes, pre-service and in-service, can be designed to
provide the opportunity to engage with theoretical concepts and frameworks for
appropriate intervention in the experiential and social realities that surround them.

16
 Since the last revision of the Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education in
1998, large scale and far reaching developments, debates as well as changes have
taken place in national and international spheres of social, political, economic,
cultural, scientific and technological fields. These developments have affected
education, including teacher education, necessitating review and reform towards the
larger constitutional goal of achieving universalisation of education, social change
and development.
NCTE, established as a statutory Council by an act of Parliament in 1993, is
committed to initiate suitable measures to make teacher education responsive to
various levels of development and change. The NCTE is committed not only to
facilitate improvement of school education by preparing competent, committed and
professionally qualified school teachers but is also committed to function as an
important bridge between schooling and higher education. The agenda before the
NCTE is thus twofold; to remove and minimize the existing deficiencies of teacher
education and to meet the demand of new challenges before it. The Council is
therefore committed to both, by highlighting the following functions of teacher
education institutions:

 To provide qualified faculty, adequate infrastructure and learning resources,

including print material, off-line IT material and computers as per prevalent
NCTE norms for quality transaction of its teacher education programme;
 To promote corporate institutional life based on values and ideals enshrined
in the Indian Constitution for all stakeholders in the institution, including
students, faculty and non-teaching staff;
 To create all necessary resources and use these for institutional planning with
mid-term appraisal for quality improvement of the teacher education
institution;
 To function as a nodal agency for networking community and its schools
with the teacher education institute and use their resources for improving and
enriching its teacher education programme;
 To promote and strengthen action research and faculty research projects;
 To organize on-campus and off-campus professional development activities
and programmes for its faculty and the faculty of other teacher education

17
 institutes and school teachers in the network of schools attached to the
institutes;
 To make its teacher education programmes school-based along with a
rigorous theoretical base; vibrant and collaborative between schools and the
teacher education institute (NCF, 2006).

The curriculum of teacher education is varied, and contested. In different

countries emphasis has recently been placed on the importance of education to help
countries compete in global markets, on social transformation, on technology, as
well as on developing individual capacity (Perraton, 2004). There is a widespread
view that some emphasis, and resources, should shift from initial to continuing
teacher education. Some authorities are beginning to revisit traditional and
indigenous educational institutions in order to learn from their strengths and explore
the possibility of integrating their work with a more modern curriculum. Teacher
education in many countries gives an impression of rethinking, and restructuring of
the curriculum. But it is not clear how far the rhetoric of reform has led to superficial
or substantial restructuring. The evidence here suggests the former. A recurrent
picture is the coexistence of traditional and newer curriculum models within one
programme. This takes the form of two competing attitudes of thinking - traditional
and progressive tendencies.
The traditional is teacher-centred. It has a transmission view of knowledge and
regards teacher as a technician. The progressive attitude includes more active and
participatory learning methods. The progressive agenda encourages the development
of reflective practice among teachers. The traditional model of master-
apprenticeship, of theory preceding practice, has become increasingly challenged
and the coherence between education theory and the actual practice of teaching
became an even more critical issue.
India has one of the largest systems of Teacher Education in the world.
Besides the University Departments and their affiliated colleges, government and
government-aided institutions, private and self-financing institutions and open
universities are also engaged in teacher education. There are several concerns and
needs that need to be addressed in redesigning the Curriculum Framework for
Teacher Education. Teacher education curricula have come under severe criticism.

18
They do not fully address the needs of contemporary Indian schools and society.
They do not prepare teachers who can impart quality education in schools. The
revamping of teacher education curricula has thus become the need of the hour.
There should be a visible shift from information-based to experience-based and from
traditional instruction domination to a constructivist orientation. The design and
practice of current teacher education programmes is based on certain assumptions,
which impede the progress of ideas and the professional and personal growth of the
teacher.
(a) It is assumed that disciplinary knowledge is ‗given‘, which the trainees
‗acquire‘ through general education and which is independent of professional
training in pedagogy.
(b) It is assumed that the language proficiency of the student teacher is
adequate and therefore need not be the concern of those who educate teachers.
Courses of language proficiency should form an integral part of pre-service
programmes.
(c) It is assumed that repeated ‗practice‘ in the ‗teaching of isolated lessons‘ is
a sufficient condition for professional development of a teacher.
(d) It is also assumed that links between theories of child development and
learning, instructional models and methods of teaching specific subjects are
automatically formed in the understanding developed by student-teachers. Both
national and international experiences challenge these contentions.
(e) It is assumed that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the school
curriculum as a whole or with the syllabi of different subjects. (NCERT: NCF,
2005).
A teacher education curriculum has the crucial responsibility of integrating
academic knowledge and professional skills into a meaningful whole like the
curricula of medical sciences and other professional courses.

Teacher education programmes should be redesigned to respond to the

school curriculum renewal process and in accordance with the state and
regional context in which they are situated.
The Curricula Areas presented should form the basic framework for
redesigning teacher education programmes at the pre-primary, elementary,
secondary and senior secondary stages of education across states and

19
 districts through a proposed linkage between SCERT/DIETs with
University-based institutions.
Teacher education programmes should ideally be of five years duration
after the completion of 10+2 level of school education. To begin with four
year integrated programmes could be instituted. Along with a four-year
model, other models should be encouraged, for instance two-year models
with six months to a year of school internship.
Integrated model for teacher education could comprise of core
components that would be common to all teacher education programmes
(pre-primary, elementary and secondary) followed by specialization of
professional development specific to the stage of education.
Mechanisms need to be evolved to promote the entry of talent in teacher
education programmes.
Vertical linkages for post-graduate studies in education, including research
programmes, for students from a variety of Science and Social Science
disciplines need to be provided.
A study to assess the dominant entry qualification of candidates for pre-
service programmes in elementary education to design state specific
strategies will need to be undertaken.
High-level consultative arrangements between NCERT and NCTE on
building linkages between teacher education and school curriculum design
and its processes of renewal, including the development of curriculum
materials would need to be developed.
A nation-wide review of teacher education curriculum in the light of the
school curriculum renewal exercise would need to be undertaken. This
could be initiated by NCERT in collaboration with NCTE.
Nation-wide seminars and workshops could be held to initiate discussions
and possible strategies for operationalising the institution of redesigned
teacher education and development.

In the present teacher education curricula a large number of activities –

theoretical and practical, have to be carried out and assiduously practiced by
prospective teachers for enhancing their professional expertise. This is done through

20
the meticulous planning of lessons in standardized formats; the ritual of fulfilling the
required number of lessons delivered and supervised; the ritual of organizing school
assemblies and other routine activities and the rituals of completing the required
number of written assignments and projects.

1.4 Education of Teacher Educators

Teacher Educator has a crucial role in quality assurance in teacher education.
A cursory job-analysis of a teacher educator reveals that he is required to teach
theory, to supervise student teaching, to facilitate exposure and adjustment to school
situations, to provide individual guidance, to counsel in personal and professional
problems. He is the philosopher, friend and guide to the prospective teacher. He is
expected to help them understand education in all its parameters, to attain skills of
classroom teaching and to build up professional attitudes. He should extend his
services to the school system and conduct and guide research. Considered as an
educationist and an expert on educational matters, he is often consulted and he
participates in policy-decisions and administration.

The present provision for continuing education of teacher educators

is inadequate in respect of both quality and content. Planning in respect of
in-service education of teacher educators needs to be evolved for different
stages and levels. The major thrusts in respect of programmes for teacher
educators among others may be as follows:

 Designing short-term programmes for those who are already placed

in these institutions.
 Specific short-term induction programmes for those who do not
have the experience for the stage they are supposed to be working
at.
 Identification of certain university departments of education and
institutions of Advanced Study in Education as institutions which
may work mainly for teacher educators. They may focus on
induction training, recurrent training, orientation programmes,
research studies and surveys, curriculum development, preparation
of training materials, evaluation strategies and techniques, use of

21
 educational technology, media and others.
 Establishment of institutions for preparation of teacher educators
for special education at different stages.
 Networking of various institutions and organizations for designing
and carrying out collaborative programmes by pooling and sharing
of resources.

With the policy focus changing to quality and relevance of

education; it is necessary that only those, who are professionally
competent, committed and willing, are charged with the responsibility of
preparing teachers for the nation.

A foremost step in addressing systemic challenges facing Indian education is

to reaffirm the faith in the agency of the teacher in bringing about a radical change in
the process of schooling. It is important to build the conviction that there can be no
substitute for quality pre-service education in reviving our public education system.
A long-standing need has been to provide opportunities and to promote the entry of
appropriate talent in the field of teacher education, through a series of structural and
process intervention. There is for example, the need to link the professional
qualification of teachers to post-graduate studies in different disciplines with the aim
to promote interdisciplinary enquiry in the theory and practice of education.

Currently, the link between the study of education and post-graduate studies
in different disciplines is provided through the B. Ed degree. This link currently
serves the exclusive aim of providing enhanced disciplinary knowledge in a given
school subject for teaching at higher levels (PGT) of school education. An
engagement with post-graduate studies in the social sciences in particular, is needed
to develop frameworks within which educational theory and practice can be enquired
into, analysed, interpreted and further developed. Mechanisms for this will need to
be created through various means such as (a) provision for integrated undergraduate
studies in teacher education, (b) provision for the study of education as an elective
subject at the undergraduate and post graduate levels (c) provision for entry into
research programmes of education other than through the route of teacher education
degrees alone. Such avenues would be especially required for graduates and

22
postgraduates in the disciplines of philosophy, sociology, economics, psychology
and political science, subjects that are not offered in schools until the stage of high
school, but form crucial foundations for meaningful teacher education.

One of the key problems with our elementary education system for example
is the complete lack of a system of building a cadre of teacher educators trained in
elementary education. The most popular programme for preparing teacher educators
is the M.Ed., though a few universities offer an M.A. in Education. The M.Ed.
programme by and large is of general nature and does not train specialists in
different areas. The standard of research in University Departments of Education
leaves much to be desired.

Developing structural mechanisms for creating a professional cadre of

teacher educators, especially for the elementary stage will also encourage
University-based research in education. One way in which knowledge generation can
be enhanced in education is by providing structural spaces for inter-disciplinary
enquiry within programmes of teacher education and postgraduate studies in
education. Currently, teacher-education programmes operate in an insular manner
even within a University system. Locating programmes of teacher education within
colleges of general education as suggested by the Chattopadhaya Commission and as
demonstrated by the four year integrated B.El.Ed model of Delhi University, is one
way of breaking this insularity. Other ways could include the design of post-graduate
programmes in education in a manner that allows students to choose course credits
across different disciplines of humanities and social sciences. This is likely to help
identify relevant questions for research and reflective inquiry in the theory and
practice of education and to promote talent into developing education as a discipline,
leading to knowledge generation in areas of curriculum and pedagogic studies.

Given the current status of teacher education programmes and the specific
issues and problem areas identified, a proposed framework within which teachers
could be trained differently is suggested below.

 engaging teachers with the larger socio-political context in which education

is situated and in which the learners are situated

23
  engage teachers with children in real contexts rather than teach them only
about children through theories and research-based studies
 bring into the teacher education curriculum and discourse teacher-trainees
own assumptions about children, beliefs about knowledge and processes of
learning
 help teachers to reflect upon their own positions in society vis-à-vis gender,
caste, class, poverty, linguistic and regional variation, community, equity and
justice
 such processes, unfolded within the frame of a teacher education discourse is
likely to promote habits of independent thinking, collaborative learning and
develop the capacity of teachers to adapt the process of education to the
changing learning needs of children and society
 focus on the psychological and other developmental aspects of children with
constant reference to socio-economic and cultural contexts from where
different children come
 an engagement with theory along with field experiences and field-based
assignments will help teacher-trainees to verify theory and not treat it as a
―given‖ to be applied in the classroom

A large number of training institutions cater to the Pre-service & In-service teacher
education programmes in the states.

(a) Pre-primary Schools or Nursery Teacher Institutions: Catering to the

needs of teachers for Kindergarten, Bal Vihars etc., Minimum qualifications for
admission to this course is secondary, higher secondary and the duration of the
course is one year. Many institutions impart training for two years.
(b) Training Schools for Elementary Teachers: In general the course lasts for
two years and the minimum qualification for entrance is Matriculation. The present
trend is to prescribe higher secondary as the minimum qualification for entrance.
(c) Secondary Training Schools: These schools provide teachers for the
middle and junior secondary schools.
(d) Training colleges or Colleges of Education: The minimum qualification
for entrance is graduation. The duration of the course is one year. Degrees awarded

24
are B.T. or L.T. or B.Ed. These colleges provide teachers for secondary and senior
secondary schools.
(e) Institutes of Advanced Studies in Education: These provide opportunities
to take up Master of Education and Ph.D. Courses.
(f) Training Colleges for Special Subjects: These are separate classes or
colleges for preparing teachers in certain subjects like physical education, home
science, craft, languages etc.
(g) Training Colleges for Special Education: These colleges prepare teachers
for teaching students with various types of handicaps - the deaf and the dumb etc.
(h) Regional Colleges of Education: Another important project for teacher
education in the diversified system of secondary education, relates to the setting up
of the Regional Colleges of Education and their attached demonstration
multipurpose schools at Ajmer, Bhubaneswar, Mysore and Bhopal. These colleges
are designed to represent a new enterprise in teacher education to train competent
teachers and teacher educators in certain critical areas like science, technology,
industrial crafts, commerce, agriculture etc.
(i) Comprehensive Colleges: A comprehensive college of education prepares
teachers for several stages of education and/or for a number of special fields.
Some institutions of this type already exist in Maharashtra and have shown good
results. The Education Commission recommends that a planned attempt should
be made to develop more institutions of this type and add sections for training
primary and/or pre-primary teachers to training colleges that now prepare
teachers for secondary schools only.
(j) Summer Schools-cum Correspondence Courses: Four Regional Colleges of
Education have been organising 'summer-cum correspondence courses for
teachers in-service who are untrained.
(k) More than 12 universities in India offer pre-services education at the B .Ed.
level.

In-Service Teacher Education Institutions such as (a) State Institutes of

Education, (b) District Institutes of Education & Training (DIET), (c) Secondary
Teacher Education Institutions (STEI's), Institutes of Advanced Studies in Education
(lASEs) and Colleges of Teacher Education (CTEs), (d) National Council of
Educational Research & Training (NCERT) and National University of Educational

25
Planning & Administration (NUEPA), New Delhi etc organise in-service education
for educational administration, planners, supervisors and teacher educators at
different levels.

Education Commission 1964-66, National Commission on Teachers 1983-

85, and Challenge of Education (1985), pointed out the following drawbacks in
teacher education.

(a) Faulty methods of selection because of political, social and personal

influences
(b) Inadequacy of one-year B.Ed. courses
(c) Lop-sided curriculum
(d) Obsolete and irrelevant methodology of teaching
(e) Neglect of study of education as a discipline
(f) Inadequate training in practical skills
(g) Insufficient time and attention paid to the actual practice teaching
(h) Isolation between the Colleges of Education and the schools
(i) Insufficient training in the art of communicating with the community
(j) Meagre training in the art of organising co-curricular activities
(k) Ineffective supervision of the teaching practice by the supervisors
(l) Faulty methods of assessment of trainees' work
(m) Under qualified teacher educators
(n) Lack of physical facilities
(o) Shorter working hours
(p) Dearth of new technology of teaching

In education, as in other fields of applied knowledge, we have to be very

sensitive to the many changes that are taking place in the knowledge and in its
understanding and application as also in our social philosophy. Our practices in
education are experimental and exploratory. As such they are subject to revision, re-
evaluation and re-interpretation (Lakshmi, 1989). This can be the application of a
new approach to questioning, the use of a new digital tool or a novel use of space –
that brings about some value by altering the social practice of teaching and learning.
One of the catchwords used to characterize current needs in the world of education
has been ―innovation‖ (Hussen, 1971). The concept of innovation has been
interpreted and used differently by different persons. In very simple words, it makes
the unfamiliar into familiar and grafts ‗new‘ on the ‗old‘. It is also, described as ―an
improvement which is measurable, deliberate, durable and unlikely to occur
frequently‖ (Philip and Judith, 1973).

26
 “Innovation, to describe it in simple terms, is the introduction of a new idea,
a process or technique and its adoption for wide-spread use to replace a change. It is
controlled and regulated by testing and experimentation. There is first invention of
research, then its testing out, evaluation and development, then diffusion and lastly
adoption for use. An innovative approach, therefore, implies an awareness of the in-
adequacy of an existing practice or technique, an attitude of searching for new ideas,
a willingness to test them out and put them to use‖ (UNESCO, 1971). The Oxford
Dictionary (2008) lays down the concept of innovation as the introduction of
novelties, the alternation of what is established, a novel practice and a change in
established methods. An innovation is an idea or practice perceived as new by an
individual.

1.5 Teacher Education and Innovation

―Any thought‖ behaviour or thing that is new because it is qualitatively

different from existing forms (Barnette, 1953). It seems helpful to consider
innovation (Miles, 1964) as being willed and planned for, rather than as occurring
haphazardly. The element of novelty, implying recombination of parts or qualitative
difference from existing forms, seems quite essential. Thus, innovation refers to new
ideas, new experiments, new performance, new actions, practices and devices in the
various fields of human endeavour. Richland (1965) pointed out that ―innovation is
the creative selection, organization and utilization of human and material resources
in new and unique ways which will result in the attainment of a higher level of
achievement for the defined goals and objectives‖. A review of the literature on
innovation yields multiple definitions, components, and processes that attempt to
distinguish a unique element. Characteristics to all definitions are proximal, distal,
and confluent properties of innovation. The proximal properties include definitions
that conjoin to individual or micro perceptions of innovation, versus distal properties
that ascribe a community, or macro, perception of innovation. Thus it can be argued
that if an individual learns or performs a task for the first time it may be considered
innovative. This also includes tasks that may have been available to the individual
yet unperformed. The distal element underscores the value of the perceived task
within a community or other external validating entity. The confluence of the
proximal and distal categories of innovation highlights a dynamic synergy for both
27
personal and public innovations. Foremost in any treatise of innovation is the
foundational lexicon or definition that anchors subsequent substantive discussions
(Malian & Nevin, 2005).
Rogers (1995) defines innovation in terms of its proximal, distal, and
interactive associations by stating that things, ideas, or practices are perceived to be
new or novel by an individual or other external entity. He suggests that
individualization of perception regarding ―newness‖ will determine the individual‘s
reaction. Hence, there is a dynamic interaction between the internal perception and
affirmation of the innovation, and the external validation and the consequent reaction
— thus setting into motion perhaps yet another innovation. This circular pattern of
perception, internalization, reaction, action, and perception seems to provide a
template for the process of initiating innovation. Clapham (2003) cites Smith (2003)
who postulates that a critical component of innovation is ―ideation‖. The notion of
ideation suggests credibility to best practice research that in fact is grounded not only
on ideation but also on data-based implementation. This resonates with Kostoff
(2003) who suggests that ―innovation reflects the metamorphosis from present
practice to some new, hopefully, ‗better‘ practice‖ . Consequently, teachers as action
researchers can discover innovative curricular, instructional, and management
strategies that will effectively benefit their respective classes and may be transported
to colleagues. The concept of newness has been superimposed on the definition of
innovation by Goldsmith and Foxall (2003) who posit three different qualities of
newness: recency, originality, and similarity. The concepts of originality and
similarity are meshed with the various approaches of positive peer culture,
cooperative learning groups, and classroom communities.
Generalizing this definition to teacher education, an innovative practice in
teacher education would remain an innovation until at least half of the industry has
adopted the innovation. In other words, if we make a distinction between teacher
education researchers‘ standard practices and teacher education implementers‘
standard practices, half of the researchers in teacher education would need to adopt
the innovation and half of the implementers would have to adopt it before it would
enter the next phase of accepted or standard practice where the majority of the
industry has adopted the method. For public school innovations, similarly: half of the
schools must adopt it. Within a specific school, half of the faculty and staff would
have to adopt it. There are many examples of innovation in teacher education that
28
have yet to achieve the 50% market penetration standard: professional development
schools, teaching with educational technology, use of self-study, inquiry, service-
learning, socio-cultural pedagogical approaches. A reformed organization structure
can emerge for schools and colleges of teacher education to address the status of
classroom practitioners as highly qualified teachers.
The literature is replete with components, types, and elements of innovation.
Sternberg, Pretz & Kaufman (2003) suggest eight types of innovations based on
Sternberg‘s propulsion model of creative innovations. The eight types of innovations
include ―replication, redefinition, forward incrimination, advance forward
incrimination, redirection, reconstruction, re-initiation and integration‖ Teacher
education innovations also reflect this taxonomy. For example, innovation through
integration can be seen in Teemant‘s application of socio-cultural theory to a
bilingual distance education programme. The innovation of reconstruction is
highlighted by Whittaker, McDonald, and Markowitz, who reconstruct multicultural
pedagogy to create new ways of providing instruction. In contrast, Robertson (1971)
suggests three types of innovation: (i) Continuous Innovation, (ii) Dynamic
Innovation, and (iii) Discontinuous Innovation. The taxonomy of innovations in
teacher education include collaborative partnerships (Sindelar et al; Teemant; Wong
& Glass; McClintock et al.); professional development schools (Wong & Glass);
integration of technology (Karayan & Gathercoal; Teemant); standards-based
teacher education (Hall, Nowinski, & Smith); data-based professional development
(Teemant; Wong & Glass; Whittaker et al.); alternative certification (Sindelar et al.);
graduate follow-up programmes (Whittaker et al.); teacher recruitment and induction
(Wong & Glass). Thus, Innovation is the deviation from institutional norms while
accepting the culturally prescribed goals which can be introduced in any system as
solution to the perceived problems and also to achieve better results either in quality
or in quantity or in both particularly with a minimum cost (Kuppusamy, 1982).

Goldsmith and Foxall (2003) refer to the ―innovative process by which new
things, ideas and practices are created‖. Caravannis, Gonzalez, and Wetter (2003)
proposed four dimensions in innovation — process, content, context, and impact.
Such a continuum of innovation would support a singular and additive approach to
assessment. An example of process assessment in teacher education could involve
the assessment of cooperative learning strategies utilized in k-12 settings. This is a
29
singular, targeted assessment. The four dimensions come under programmatic
scrutiny in terms of accreditation assessment or programme review (as suggested in
the comprehensive framework for assessment of innovation described by Hall,
Nowinski, and Smith). Marinova & Phillimore (2003) relate innovation as a creative
process engaging a variety of activities, participants, and interactions. They suggest
an evolutionary flow where innovation can be conceptualized as emerging from a
black box model in which only the input and output are of concern to a linear
progression of development where the process is precious. The interactive approach
suggests a synthesis position where both process and product are valued.

Implications for Teacher Educators includes in Innovations such as

professional development schools, voluntary school field experiences, and service
learning are represented in the work by Wong and Glass, McClintock, O‘Brien, and
Jiang, and Karayan and Gathercoal, respectively. Olafson, Quinn, and Hall, also
utilized a concerns-theory framework for assessment that provides feedback to the
organization and therefore can lead to organizational changes, while Donnell and
Harper conducted an inquiry into the competing tensions within the multiple
organizations of teacher education. Many researchers provide evidence that there is a
healthy and thriving connection between practitioners who implement research-
based insights to improve their practice. Karayan and Gathercoal describe an
assessment practice that utilizes a technology-based system to monitor and evaluate
service-learning outcomes. Teemant assesses the impact of socio-cultural
components embedded in distance learning activities. Sandholtz; Donnell and
Harper; and Whittaker, McDonald, and Markowitz describe how critical analyses of
student work can serve as a tool for analyzing the effectiveness of university
pedagogy as well as teacher candidates.

1.6 Innovations Planned and Introduced

The innovations introduced without proper planning, taking stock of the
physical, human and economic resources is bound to fail. The ultimate objective of
any educational innovation should be social and national in its importance.
Innovations introduced without considering these aspects may lead to wastage of
scarce resources which a country like ours cannot afford. In the field of education,
according to Morrish (1976) innovations are usually concerned with increased
30
learning or at least with more individualized learning, with broad attempts to
improve the quality of teaching and its professionalization and the more developed
relevant and refined curriculum. In education, we are, however, less concerned with
the actual innovation of devices and methods than with their use and dissemination
throughout the schools. Planned change in the education depends to a very large
extent upon the process of institutionalization. But generally in education it is a long
term process. Havelock (1970) in his important study on ‗Planning for Innovation‘
suggests six types of changes which may lead to an innovation. They are:
(i) Substitution: Depending on the need, this may range from replacement of one
teacher by another to the substitution of anything like a hardware or a software, so
that the substitution of what appears to be a figure head may well prove to be the
substitution of even new organization.

(ii) Alteration: Miles (1966) has collected a big compendium of studies to

exemplify the effects of this particular type of change. Here he considers alteration
in existing structure instead of introducing totally new, for instance using 16 mm
film in the place of 8 mm film.

(iii) Addition: This category is just adding without changing old elements, for
instance using a diagnostic test to identify the pupils‘ problems without changing the
style of teaching or such other factors.

(iv) Restructuring: A fourth category suggested by Havelock is restructuring which

may be a question of material re-arrangement of work-space so that teaching to
smaller groups is made possible or it may be a thorough revision of interpersonal
relations within the school by the development of an increased number of staff
seminar groups to discuss and ventilate educational problems.

(v) Elimination of old behaviour patterns: An example for this type could be
something like total elimination of a lecture method in the class and resorting to
small group seminar method.

(vi) Reinforcing of old behaviour: Most of the refresher courses for teachers are
basically of this type and such courses possess sufficient basic ‗known‘ materials to
reinforce what the teacher feels he already knows.

31
 In 1920 Gijubhai Bhadeka established a set of innovative pre-primary
schools at Bhavnagar in Gujarat. He started pre-school called Bal Mandir in 1920
wherein he introduced an environment for learning that is friendly and full of love.
This movement had a radical impact on the stage of pre-primary education as a
whole. In 1921 Rabindranath Tagore established Shantiniketan in West Bengal. He
regarded freedom and play basic to all learning. Co-education was introduced at
Shantiniketan. Art had a definite place in Shantiniketan. The kernel of his
educational concept is the spiritual union between man and nature. In 1937
Mahatama Gandhi launched the scheme of Basic Education for the primary stage of
education, in Wardha, Maharashtra. To him education means drawing out of the best
in child‘s body, mind and spirit. He was convinced that social, moral, political and
economic regeneration of India is dependent on right type of education. It is only
education, which can help in achieving peaceful, non- violent, society which is also
based on truth and justice.

In Post-Independence Era witnessed seven prominent innovations such as (i)

The Four Year Integrated Programme introduced during the 1960s in NCERT‘s
four Regional Colleges of Education in Ajmer, Bhubaneswar, Mysore and Bhopal
was designed to prepare secondary school teachers in the Sciences and Humanities.
Over the thirty-five years of its existence, the scheme of studies of the programme
has been modified several times which is its most significant innovation. (ii) One
Year Programme of Secondary Teacher Education started in 1968 at Gandhi
Vidyapeeth in Gujarat. Based on Gandhian philosophy, student life on the campus is
based on principles of self-help and self-reliance. (iii) Hoshangabad Science
Teaching Programme (HSTP) Eklavya, Madhya Pradesh (1972 to 2002)
introduced residential training for every teacher for three weeks during summer for
three years. (iv) Mirambika, Elementary Teacher Education Programme,
Aurobindo Educational Society – New Delhi (1983) emphasized mainly on
participative processes but with some lectures and prescriptive type of exercises. (v)
The Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) is a four year integrated
professional degree programme of Elementary Teacher Education offered after the
senior secondary (Class XII) stage of school. (vi) The “Anveshna Experience”
made an attempt at the Faculty of Education, Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan during
the year 1997-98 to create a differently designed TEP called The ―Anveshna
32
Experience‖ – A Participating Teacher Education Programme: B.Ed (Enriched). (vii)
Integrated B.Ed. Degree Programme for Secondary School Teachers was offered
by Gandhi Shikshan Bhawan, an affiliated College of Education of Bombay
University since 2000.

For the purpose of the present study, the term innovation is taken as
essentially an ingredient of the process of educational change and as the application
of a novel element, a deviation from the traditional ways of doing things. It is a
practice novel to the situation or institution where it is held. Each innovation is
related to some problem area considered important by the innovator. Thus, it is the
immediate aspect of change that makes the situation different from what it was
before. Innovation in the present context does not necessarily mean something which
is entirely novel. It connotes rather something which is ‗fresh‘ and ‗new‘ from the
point of view of those people using it. In his ‗Technology and Change‘, Schon
(1967) is of the view that an act is innovative only if it adds to the sum of known
innovations. Some innovations require simply the adoption of an innovation by an
individual member of staff within the limits of his own class room. He is free to use
any new aid or method himself in his class and therefore he is ‗unencumbered‘ in his
acceptance of this type of innovations. If on the other hand, the innovation is in the
form of a project involving more people, the innovating teacher is at the mercy and
co-operation of others. Thus the involved innovative capacity is encumbered by a
variety of contingencies related to more human relationships. Things and
information are more easily handled and introduced than changes in human attitudes,
practices and values. It is, in this light that the write-ups regarding innovative
practices received from various teacher education institutions have been analysed
and highlighted in this thesis.

There are several factors that facilitate adoption of innovations. Nicholls H.

(1970) in his Consideration for Creative Teaching gives the following factors that
are conducive to innovation:
(i) Teachers being favourably disposed towards the innovation
(ii) Teachers‘ clear understanding of the innovations
(iii) Innovation being within teacher capabilities
(iv) Provision for necessary resources for innovations
33
(v) Making necessary administration and organizational arrangements
(vi) Ability of carrying out the correct diagnosis of the pupil
(vii) Channels of communication being used for (a) giving information (b)
seeking co-operation (c) removing fears and (d) changing attitudes
(Arulsamy, 2010).
Adequate time is given for the development of factors listed above.
Conditions for the Emergence of Innovation are (i) Individual, (ii)
Institutional and (iii) Social. With respect to the appropriate institutional framework
for political and public support to investment in innovation, factors to be taken into
accounts are: whether innovation is incremental in nature or takes the form of
discrete, fundamental breakthroughs, the extent to which patents or other
mechanisms allow innovators to appropriate a sufficient share of the profits that
result from successful innovation, the degree of product-market rivalry, the
importance of learning-by-doing. The strong political and public action is essential
for emergence of innovation (Arulsamy, 2010).

1.7 Resistant Factors in the Spread of Innovation (Barriers to Innovations)

There have been a number of attempts to understand the barriers and resistant
factors to change in educational practice. A number of authors refer to ‗first order‘
and ‗second order‘ barriers to change. ‗First order‘ barriers (or external barriers) are
the challenges to adoption of new practices that come about due to the environment
in which the innovation is introduced, such as lack of access to resources; lack of
time; lack of effective training; or technical problems. These barriers are separated
from ‗second order‘ barriers (or internal barriers) which are based more upon the
perceptions and attitudes of the people involved. The second order barriers include
resistances borne from a lack of confidence; of negative attitudes to the change; a
lack of perceived benefits of the innovation. These ‗orders‘ of barriers are highly
interrelated with (for example) confidence in using new tools being dependent upon
having access to use them; similarly taking advantage of that access is dependent
upon being confident in its application (Ertmer, 1999).

First order barriers (such as access to technology, poorly designed courses,

curricula and assessment systems) are more obvious as barriers to change and

34
historically have largely been the focus of national initiatives aiming to foster
change. The implementation of e- Learning Credits and national targets for
computer: pupil ratios are examples of these approaches. There have been more
limited attempts to tackle the second order barriers. However, research (Dawes 2000;
Jones 2004; Cox et al 1999 etc) suggests that both types of barriers need to be
addressed at the same time, with a stress upon second order barriers (Mumtaz 2000;
Ertmer 1999) if changes to practice are to be enabled. Innovation and the
necessitated changes to social practices are subject to second order barriers that are
deep rooted in the psychology of teachers. Teachers‘ folk pedagogies, their
perceptions of their roles within schooling, and their identities as teachers and as
learners are borne from their own personal developments over long periods of time.

Hajimanolis (2003), identified barriers to innovation from external, internal,

and structural forces. External barriers may include a lack of immediate interest in
topic or shifting priorities. The National Science Foundation and Office of Special
Education, for example, have shifted priorities for funding innovative responses to
national significance areas. Internal barriers can include competing organizational
needs or lack of alignment with the mission of the organization. Structural forces
may create barriers through bureaucratic quagmires (Malian & Nevin, 2005). The
most valuable asset for any innovator is his network. Advice, complaints, mentoring
and ―war stories‖ can all become a basis for strengthening social bonds and building
relationships. Working together to solve common problems is an effective way to
establish or revitalize these essential networks. Effectively, working on barriers with
your network does more than solve problems. It creates new opportunities and can
help you to fully realize the potential of your idea (Arulsamy, 2010).
Havelock (1974) highlights three major types of factors which inhibit
innovations. They are Input Factors, Output Factors and Throughput Factors. Input
Factors which inhibit change entering the school system are: Resistance to change
from the environment, Incompetence of outside agents, Over centralization, Teacher
defensiveness, absence of change agent, Incomplete linkage between theory and
practice, underdeveloped scientific base, Conservatism and Professional invisibility.

Output Factors which prevent the very genesis of change from within are:
Confused goals, New rewards for innovating, Uniformity of approach, Monopoly in
35
school, Low knowledge component, Low investment in research and development,
Low technological and financial investment, Difficulty in diagnosing weaknesses,
Product measurement problems, Focus on present commitments like accountability,
Low personnel development investment, Lack of entrepreneurial models and
Passivity. Throughput Factors which limit the speed of new ideas and practices
through the school system: Separation of members and units, Hierarchy and
differential units and Lack of procedure and training for change (Arulsamy, 2010).
This is not the full set of barriers innovations and organizations face. Lack of
leadership, lack of physical facilities or infrastructure limits, property rights, lack of
funds, lack of support and services, lack of expertise on the staff training institutions,
lack of research orientation in training institutions, interpersonal relationship crisis,
decision making by external agencies, rigid framework and many others can get in
the way of organization‘s great ideas.

In his compendium of case studies, Miles has described the innovative person
as strong, benevolent, high in intelligence and verbal ability, less bound by local
group norms, more individualistic and creative, revealing authenticity and
enthusiasm when attempting to persuade others, frequently rebellious, alienated
excessively, always idealistic and prone to resentment, resistance and defiance in the
face of adversity and disillusionment. Kats (1971), has categorized the innovator as
one with a ‗modern‘ orientation willing to take risks, one who has a belief in
scientific knowledge, in the scientific approach and in objective, impersonal sources
of information, besides a sense of personal competence and faith in his own capacity
to control the environment in contrast to one with a ‗traditionalist‘ orientation which
places more trust in friends and family opinions than in scientific evidence and is
prone to fatalism and conservatism. Rogers & Shoemaker, in their book
‗Communication of Innovations‘ (1971) present the following generalizations
concerning innovators; Innovators are generally young, Innovators have relatively
high social status, Impersonal and Cosmopolite Sources of information, Innovators
are Cosmopolite Innovators exercise opinion leadership Innovators are likely to be
viewed as deviants by peers and by themselves.

The innovative teacher is one who thinks unconventionally, open minded,

sympathetic, always curious to know, to enrich, to evaluate, to try on the
36
experimental base the new ideas and thereby to execute and diffuse them to one‘s
utmost capabilities for the purposeful growth of his profession (Rogers, Shoemaker
1971). The teacher plays a multiple role in the society. According to Ottaway (1968)
the teacher is (i) a character trainer; (ii) a methodologist or pedagogue; (iii) an
academic specialist; (iv) a member of school staff and (v) a member of the society.
He is the backbone of the entire educational system. It is he who contributes much
for any reform in education. He must kindle an awakening in the learner that leads to
the opening of the flood gates of knowledge, inventions and discoveries. The task of
the teacher is that of a transformer. He can never transform others unless he himself
is transformed first. Every teacher should bring in positive changes in all aspects of
the system of education, academic as well as administrative. Hence, it is imperative
that the teacher is innovative so that he may not be out of tune with the changing
time.

Educational innovation is the introduction or promotion of new ideas and

methods that are devised in education and/or school practices which have a
substantial effect on changing the existing patterns of behaviour of the group or
groups involved. Innovative strategies imply the development of new ideas which
are disseminated and utilized. They usually occur in response to particular problems
that exist in the education systems. The interpretation given to 'innovation' at the
1986 Ministerial Conference in Singapore was 'innovation for development,' in
which the process of development was seen as a means of bringing about certain
fundamental and pervasive transformations in motivations, attitudes, habits and
modes of thought and work. If education is not to be relegated to the role of
bystander in the development process, it should become an active participant in the
necessary social changes.

APEID (1990) states that an innovation has several characteristics, such as

(a) introducing a new or novel element which deviates from existing
structures/procedures and is oriented towards the values of the society, (b) objectives
being relevant to the needs of the community and related to national development
(c) having a potential for diffusion on large scale and being renewable from time to
time based on appropriate feedback and the context for adoption and adaptation, (d)
involving a scientific approach before being either accepted or discarded, (e)
37
permitting flexibility at experimental stage on the basis of monitoring and evaluation
and (f) being both cost and time effective, and communicable to and able to be
implemented in other parallel situations. Reliability, with or without adaptation,
should be a criterion for innovativeness. Thus, the salient features or characteristics
of an innovation can be listed as follows:

1.8 Adoption and Implementation of Innovation

There are various stages of adoption of innovation. According to Rogers
(1992) the steps are (i) awareness, (ii) interest, (iii) evaluation, (iv) trial and (v)
adoption. Innovation may take form out of a creative idea Lewin (1968), mentioned
three periods in the process of implementation of an innovation. These are (i)
unfreezing, (ii) changing, (iii) refreezing. At unfreezing stage, practices are reviewed
and is stabilised and wherever necessary discarded. At changing stage, the concerned
innovation is put into practice and at freezing stage, it is stabilized. Holmes (1981),
suggested nine stages for implementing innovation which are (i) evaluating on-going
programme, (ii) determining objectives, (iii) reviewing literature, (iv) deciding
method of implementation, (v) deciding operational plans, (vi) understanding of the
plan by all concerned, (vii) material, moral, organizational and administrative
support, (viii) motivation and in-service training, and (ix) advertently change of
social structure of organization. The last stage is in fact the basis for future
innovations.

Implementation of innovation ―Requires a lot of hard work and sharp

awareness of the wide range of tasks and details that need to be attended over an
extended period of time‖ (Kamos & Jacko 1997). Innovations require sustained
effort. They also require willingness of various personnel concerned in the process of
implementation. They mostly appear because of voluntary actions. They get
invented, planned, initiated, and implemented because of the initiatives of
individuals or groups to make educational practice geared to changing objectives and
standards (Hussen, 1975).

To cite a few, the Third Indian Year Book on Education (1968), Report of
Education Commission (1966)), Surveys of Research in Education (1974, 1979,
1987, 1981 and 1993), Teacher Education Curriculum – A Framework (1978),
38
National Policy on Education (1986), Programme of Action (1990 and 1992),
Yashpal Committee (1993) and the International Commission on Education for
Twenty First Century (UNESCO, 1996). Similarly, the National Council for Teacher
Education (1978) in this regard observed, ―Although nomenclatures have changed
such as education instead of training, the system in practice has, by and large,
remained unchanged. The existing system appears to be static and rigid to cope up
with new national goals. Set patterns of lesson planning and rigid techniques of
teaching are followed in practice teaching regardless of the nature of the subject
matter and objectives to be achieved in terms of behavioural changes. Evaluation
procedures, especially those followed for assigning competencies of would be
teachers are, by and large, subjective and unscientific seeking to find out mainly how
successfully factual knowledge has been memorized‖. Probably, because of these
reasons the National Policy on Education (1986) and subsequently the Programme of
Action (1990 & 1992) felt that the programmes of teacher education for various
stages need to be overhauled, re-structured and modernized in its input, process and
output to make the system quality oriented. It appears that the quality of our teacher
education is deteriorating day by day and there is a need for drastic changes in all
aspects of teacher education programmes so as to enable teachers to face the
challenges of the dynamic world. To meet the challenges revitalization of education
must take place both at the national and state levels.

There are three conditions which impel us to introduce changes and

innovations in our educational system. The first condition which necessitates the
introduction of change and innovation is the continuous scientific studies of
behaviour of learners, having great impact on the curricula at different levels. The
second condition which necessitates the introduction of innovations is the
application of research findings in the area of structure and organized activities in the
actual class room settings. The third condition is that now all over the world
educationists and psychologists are engaged in creating materials for instruction that
are superior as compared to what we had in the past. Teachers, as leaders, do
function as change agents in the school environment. Teachers are generally
regarded as independently practicing professionals (Dexter, Anderson & Becker,
1999) who make decisions about specific instruction and assessments to use in their
classrooms. Teachers should be framed as agents of change but they need a
39
supportive context to draw upon their own knowledge and expertise of what works
in the classroom. Bowman (1999) adds that if teachers are to function as change
agents they will need to commit themselves to the big-picture mentality of systemic
reform.
In an information age teacher education must be based on the modern
competencies, to work effectively and cater to the needs of information society. A lot
of challenges are on the way of teacher and the new millennium is providing a large
number of innovations but how to use excellence for using the innovations is
important. For this the teacher education programme should be designed and
structured taking into consideration the changes in the technology, tool and the
medium through which the process of learning is to be launched. Innovations in the
field of Information Technology (IT) continue to increase at an ever spiraling rate;
advances in operating systems, software, communication devices and methodologies
are renovating the inventory of IT products on a near daily basis. Businesses are
embracing many of these technologies and are anticipating that university graduates
will have the skills to quickly adapt to their business environment and choices of
technologies. The IT educator plays a significant role in preparing students in IT
fields of study to enter the IT-permeated business environment. The role is, in part,
influenced by the educator‘s attitudes and choices regarding adoption of innovations.
Educators in every discipline help to prepare their graduates for the world beyond
the classroom. Every discipline has those educators who are considered innovators -
those who are first to adopt new technologies. It is expected that a higher percentage
of IT educators would be early adopters of IT innovations.

1.9 Teacher Education and the Promotion of Innovation

Teacher education programmes are well situated to promote innovation.

When students enter into teacher education programmes they embark on a journey of
transition from being learners to teachers. During this transformation, individuals
begin to establish professional identities that will have a significant influence on
their teaching careers. Teacher preparation is a time when individuals are able to
collaboratively reflect upon education and develop professional skills without the
pressures of immediate performance. This enables prospective teachers to reflexively
analyze teaching practices, unconstrained by paradigmatic norms associated with
40
particular teaching contexts. For teacher education programmes to promote
innovation, they must adopt approaches that promote conceptual change and
encourage continual growth. However, teacher education programmes have been
strongly influenced by traditional practices (Freeman, 1996) in the form of the ‗tell,
show, guide‘ model of education (Myers, 2002).

Teacher Education by virtue of its nature ought to be innovative. There are a

variety of innovative programmes such as, Integrated Teacher Education,
Personalized Teacher Education and Specialized Teacher Education. There have also
been various innovative approaches in Teacher Education, such as, Constructivist
Approach, Participatory Approach, Collaborative and Co-operative Approach,
Critical Pedagogical Approach and Holistic Approach. The major innovation in
teacher education was a shift from teacher training to teacher education. This may be
viewed as a major innovation to revamp the complete system of both pre-service and
in-service teacher education. Many innovations continued with and without the
support of external organizations. There is no dearth of innovations. Post-
independent India witnessed rapid expansion in education but the need of the hour is
providing quality education for all. (Venkataiah, 2009).

1.10 Innovations in various Dimensions of Teacher Education

Today, the field of education has witnessed tremendous changes. The

emphasis is now on innovations and best practices that can bring about the desired
positive changes in qualitative education. These innovations are in the areas of
admission and selection, curriculum planning and curriculum implementation,
instructional methods and strategies, production and utilization of instructional
materials and strategies for effective evaluation of curriculum and instructional
objectives. Innovations in teaching are replacing old methods or are supplements to
old practices.

a) Innovations in Admission and Selection

In India, reviewed studies reported that the admission procedure is adopted

by the teacher education institutions. The objective of the admission process is to
ensure that the best candidates are admitted to the teacher training programmes.

41
Admission to teacher education institutions is determined at present by a variety of
factors. The single most important factor has been previous academic success in the
Degree Exams. Other selection criteria such as previous experience, personal
interviews and determination of attitudes towards young people should also play an
important part in the process of determining which applicants would make
successful teachers. All students must satisfy appropriate course work or degree
requirements before applying to a teacher education institution. During the pursuit of
this work, students should be encouraged to take courses which would enhance their
professional development as well as their general education. Initially those students
who do select these courses will be at an advantage in the selection process.
Therefore, in order to equalize every applicant‘s opportunities, it will be necessary to
establish a set of pre- and co-requisites for undertaking a Bachelor of Education
Degree. Academic competence is of great importance when selecting candidates, but
importance should be attached to other relevant qualities as well. To try to assess
special talents, aptitudes and abilities requires that the whole candidate be
considered. Information on experience with children or young people should
continue to be considered as one of the criteria and teacher education institutions
should have a standard way to consider this kind of information to use as part of
their selection procedures. The possibility of developing a standardized aptitude test
for entry into the profession should be explored. It is recognized that special
circumstances dictated by the supply and demand for teachers of specific subjects
must be taken into consideration in the admission process. Consistent and accurate
information sources for determining supply and demand should be given importance.
The regular gathering and sharing with various teacher education institutions of this
information is a key recommendation. Admission processes must also be flexible in
response to changing supply and demand, both in numbers of students and in subject
matter to be taught. The NCERT working Group for preparing a scheme for
Revitalization and Modernization of pre-service Education (1986) recommended that
admission to the teacher training institutions in the state should be made on the basis
of results of a common entrance test given by state agency. The entrance test should
be quite comprehensive.

b) Innovations in Curriculum

The reviewed literature revealed the various dimensions of Curriculum of

42
teacher education programmes for effective teaching. The student teachers need an
understanding of the historical, philosophical, social, religious, legal and
professional perspectives of education in the state/region. NCERT, 2006)
Knowledge of human growth and development and the nature of teaching and
learning are essential. Some knowledge of research techniques and an acquaintance
with education research in areas such as teacher effectiveness and school
improvement, children with special needs, multi-culturalism and native education is
also important. Therefore, the present exercise of curriculum renewal, seeks to
prepare teachers differently to address questions of equity and social transformation.
Identifying the need to view the teacher as central to the process of change in school
education, the Chattopadhyaya Commission notes, ―If school teachers are expected
to bring about a revolution in their approach to teaching…that same revolution must
precede and find a place in the Colleges of Education.‖ (GOI, 1983-1995).

A thorough knowledge of the curricula in the appropriate divisions is

required. An understanding of theories and models of curriculum is essential so that
appropriate classroom application of curriculum materials and resources can take
place (NCERT, 2005). Secondary Education Commission or Mudaliar Commission
(1952-53) has presented a through scheme for the improvement of the curriculum at
the secondary education. It has made the following recommendations in this regard.
(a) The curriculum should touch the life of the students at all points and should help
in the evolution and development of balanced personality. (b) It should have enough
of variety and elasticity. Such qualities would enable the individual itself, to find
suitable adaptation. Individual needs and interests shall also be properly
accommodated. (c) It should be related to the community life. (d) It should also
train the students to work for leisure. (e) The curriculum should not be split up into
a number of isolated, un-coordinated watertight subjects, but all the subjects should
be inter-related.

c) Innovations in Teaching Methods and Aids

Conducted studies reviews suggested that the method of teaching should be

dynamic and thoroughly rationalised. In this regard the Commission has made the
following recommendations: (a) The method of teaching should not merely aim at
imparting knowledge in an efficient manner but also at inculcating desirable values

43
and aim, attitude and habit of work in the student. (b) It should try to create in the
students a real attachment to work and a desire to do it as efficiently as possible. (c)
In teaching, the emphasis should shift from verbalism and memorization to learning
through purposeful, creative, realistic situation, and for this purpose, the principle of
‗Activity Method‘ and ‗Project Method‘ should be used in school work. (d) The
method should provide opportunities for students to learn activity and apply
mechanically the knowledge acquired in the class room. (e) Clear thinking and
expression, both in writing and speech, should be stressed upon in all subjects. The
method should aim more on teaching the student in the method of acquiring
knowledge through personal efforts. It should not aim at imparting knowledge to
them in such a way that they may only be passive listeners. (f) The students should
be trained to acquire the qualities of group-life and co-operative work. They should
be given adequate opportunities to work in groups and to carry out group projects
and activities. This should be an essential part of the method of teaching. National
Policy on Education (1986, modified 1992), envisaged major reforms in textbooks-
cum-workbooks and other teaching-learning aids, promoting activity-based and
joyful learning, introduction of self learning and group learning activities besides
teacher directed learning, offering non-formal and alternative education systems,
initiatives like Operation Blackboard, Special Orientation Programme for Teachers,
Promoting Primary and Elementary Education and a host of other developments. In
present circumstances, where teachers as well as students have to work under many
complications, there is an urge to use team-teaching. The innovation of team-
teaching is widely spreading to improve teaching-learning process in the class-room.
Generally, team-teaching is successfully implemented in Britain and America. So
far as the India is concerned, it is proved totally unsuccessful. A successful
contribution to team-teaching was made by Leyod Trump in India. In spite of its
effectiveness, educationists do not believe in implementing it in schools and
colleges. (Sharma & Sharma, 2002). System approach is taken as a rational problem-
solving method of analyzing the educational process and making it more impressive.
It incorporates all aspects and parts of educational programme namely pupils,
teachers, curriculum content, instructional materials, instructional strategies,
physical environment and evaluation of instructional objectives. According to
Keshav and Michean (1959) ―System approach is one of the techniques which aims
at finding the most efficient and economically intelligent methods for solving the
44
problem of education scientifically‖. Prtrov & Marina (2006), considered Collective
Method of Teaching (CMT) as one of the highly effective innovative educational
systems and methods. Patil (2008) referred to role playing as an innovative method
of teaching in education. One of the innovations and best practices in the teaching
and learning in schools is Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI). Applications of
computer in education are numerous. They include: (i) Instruction (ii) Admission
Processes (iii) Evaluation (iv) Test Standardization (v) Storage of Information (vi)
Retrieval of Records (vii) Library Services (viii) Computerization of
Teachers/Workers Salaries and Allowances at all levels. CAI as a supplement to the
traditional, teacher-centred instruction produces achievement effects that are superior
to those obtained with traditional method of instruction alone (Dagali, 2003).

d) Innovations in In-Service Education

In-service Teacher Education refers to the education a teacher receives after he

has entered the teaching profession and after he has had his education in a teachers‘
college. It includes all the programmes, educational, social or others, in which a
teacher take vital part: all the extra education which he receives at different
institution by way of refresher and other courses. Rabindra Nath Tagore has very
beautifully stated; a teacher can never teach unless he is still learning himself. A
lamp cannot light another lamp unless it continues to burn its own flame. In-service
education plays a very significant role in the professional growth of teachers and as
agents for change in school related practices. It helps teachers gain confidence by
engaging with their practices and reaffirming their experiences. It provides ample
opportunities to engage with other teachers professionally and to update knowledge.
Programmes for in-service teacher education are (i] Seminars, (ii) Extension
lectures, (iii) Refresher course, (iv) Workshops & Summer Institutes, (v) Study
Groups, (vi) Conference, (vii) Experimenting, (viii) Professional Writing, (ix)
Discussion & Debates, and (x) Educational Tours.

In-service teacher education is needed on account of the following: (i) It

broadens teacher outlook on educational matters. (ii) It brings into touch with expert
and other colleges. (ii) It equips them to face classroom situation effective. (iv) It
enables them to use new teaching technology. (v) It enables them to prepare simple,
but effective teaching aids. Keeping in mind the aims of in-service programmes for
professional development, there is a need to recognise the variety of types of in-

45
service programme and experiences that can contribute towards and sustain
professional development. This is especially so in the context in which 20-days of
‗training‘ for all teachers is being mandatory by government. A variety of activities
and interactions like Short and Long Term Courses, the Use of Distance Media,
Sabbatical for Study & Research, Professional Conferences and Meetings,
Professional Forum, Resource Rooms and Materials, Faculty Exchange Visits and
Fellowships Transaction of In-service Programmes etc could also contribute towards
this.

The transaction of training for teacher educators should also focus on teacher/
audio/ video demonstration of skills/ competencies/ interventions/ strategies
followed by group discussion/ group reflection; seminar reading/ panel discussion;
Brain storming group session/ reflective, discussion on operationalisation of
interventions/ strategies; practical work on development of evaluation tools/
diagnostic tools; development of materials/ guidelines, activity sheets, interventions,
teaching aids through participatory/ activity based group work; undertaking case
studies; dissemination of success stories/ innovations; library work cum self-study
methodologies of individualized instruction, working in small groups, cooperative
learning , teaching large sized classes, multi-level teaching, and visits to schools and
analysis of problems following section research approach. There is a need for social
sensitivity training to develop sensitivity to socio-cultural, economic and political
issues confronting the emerging Indian society.

e) Innovations in Practice Teaching Programmes

Teaching practice is undoubtedly the most significant component in the

Teacher Education programmes as it attempts to link theory with practice and to
develop the essential teaching competencies needed by a teacher. A variety of
teaching methodologies need to be explored and understood. Classroom
management techniques, different instructional modalities, communication skills and
evaluation procedures are only some of the pedagogical skills which must be
mastered during Practice Teaching Programmes (NCERT, 2005). A practicum of
sufficient length is required to enable the students to integrate theory and practice. 30
days of student teaching should meet this objective. A considerable time of practice
teaching will give student-teachers more opportunities to be with children and young

46
people and to engage in the activities of teaching. This also will provide student
teachers more opportunities for reflective practice and for involvement in school life.
(NCERT, 2005). Indian Education Commission (1948-49) recommended that the
courses of training colleges should be re-modeled. It has recommended that more
time should be given to school practice. It has also laid down that more weight
should be given to practice in evaluating the performance of the students. It
suggested that suitable schools should be used for practical training. The
Commission was of the opinion that the staff of the training colleges should be
recruited from people who have first-hand experience of school teaching.
The existing concept of internship of teaching/ practice teaching needs to be
reformulated. Field experiences/ Internship / school attachment observations and
practicals need to be organized in a way that these are useful in evaluating teachers
ability, support socialization within the profession, stimulates development of
teaching skills, provide a protected field for experimentation, allow insights into new
perspectives and enhances motivation to continue learning. Internship should focus
methodology of school improvement instead of 40 or 50 lessons. There is a need for
longer duration school attachment programme (for example 5/6 months) in one year
B. Ed programme. In four year/ five years integrated courses the period of internship
needs to be spread over a period of 4/5 years instead of organizing it either in 3rd or
4th year.
While planning internship programme in Teacher Education Institutions, the
internship practices/practicals practiced in medical, legal, engineering and
management profession needs to be studied. In organization of field activities in the
areas of fieldwork with the community, work experience, arts and craft, health and
physical education, the focus should be on development of managerial skills,
organizational efficiency, leadership abilities, democratic attitudes and creative
abilities. During school attachment / internship of teaching the student teachers will
try to find relationship between theory and practice by practicing lessons and
participation in other activities such as action research, rapport building with the
society, maintaining school records participation in cultural programme, sports and
athletics, observation, understanding a child, understanding how the child learns and
a study of school management. The internship programme would start with a
systematic schedule of observing and reflecting on existing classroom practices and
building rapport with regular teachers of the school. This would be followed by a
47
schedule of four days a week of regular teaching in a chosen class. Interns would be
expected to teach all subjects in a given primary class and one or two chosen
subjects for teaching at the middle, secondary and higher secondary school level.
Developing unit plans of teaching rather than lesson plans, using web-charts and
resources other than school textbooks would be the essential focus of training and
evaluation. The intern would be expected to develop resources for teaching-learning
and collate these in a resource centre in the school where he works as an intern. The
intern would maintain records of planned units of study and a regular daily
diary/journal of his reflections.

f) Innovations in Evaluation

Many researches reviewed suggest several important recommendations on

various practices of Evaluation in teacher education institutions. Examination
reforms have always offered a prolific field for innovations. In the post
independence period several commissions and committees were set up to suggest
improvement in the evaluation system. The University Education Commission
(1948-49) for the first time observed that credit for class work in course should be
given along with the final examinations. The Secondary Education Commission
(1952-53) made some important recommendations such as (a) to have only one
public examination to indicate the completion of school courses, the introduction of
objective type questions in the examinations and the symbolic rather than numerical
marking, (b) maintenance of school records indicating the progress of each pupil
from time to time, (c) for the final evaluation of the pupil, due credit should be given
to internal tests and progress records. All the states have two levels of Public
examinations i.e., one at the end of grade 10 and the second at the end of grade 12.

The National Curriculum Framework for School Education (2000) also

suggested that self-evaluation by students and peer evaluation should be part of the
total evaluation procedure at upper primary level. The portfolios of individual
students should also contain their self appraisal and peer evaluation besides their
cumulative record cards at secondary stage. At higher secondary stage the courses to
be organized in four semesters but will have to be based on credit system. The first
three semester examination will be the responsibility of the school while the fourth

48
semester examination will be conducted by the board. The system so designed will
provide for flexibility and thus enable the students to earn credits at their own pace.

NCFSE (2005) views that well designed Multiple Choice Questions should
form part of the question paper. NCFSE (2005) views that the industrial, assembly-
line model of assessment needs to be replaced by a more humanistic and
differentiated one. Similarly, it made a suggestion that Boards should consider, as a
long term measure, making Class X examination optional, thus permitting, students
continuing in the same school (and who do not need a board certificate) to take an
internal school exam instead. NCFSE (2005) focuses on the issues and views that
the purpose of assessment is necessarily to improve the teaching-learning process
and materials, and be able to review the objectives that have been identified for
different school stages, by gauging the extent to which capabilities of the learners
have been developed. Assessment would need to encompass attitudes to learning,
interest and ability to learn independently.

1.11 NCERT on Innovative Practices

The National Council of Educational Research & Training, New Delhi
organizes an ‗All India Competition on Innovative Practices and Experiments in
Education‘, one for Teacher educators and other for School teachers every year. The
chief objectives of the schemes/practices are: (i) Creation of awareness in teacher
educators and school teachers to improve teacher and school education through using
educational innovations, experiments and practices with all motivation and skills. (ii)
Providing encouragement and incentives to the teacher educators and the school
teachers to try out the ‗Innovative Ideas and Practices‘ and to undertake research and
experimentation directed towards improvement of different dimension/areas of
teacher and school education (iii)Encouraging teacher educators and the school
teachers to apply scientific approaches for identifying educational problems and
seeking their solutions, (iv) Offering a joint forum to the teacher educators and the
teachers to discuss their innovations and the practices they have searched
out/evolved. NCERT introduced a programme of ―Seminar Readings‖ to encourage
innovations and experimentation in teacher education institutions. This programme
continues to encourage teacher educators to try innovations in their institutions.
Generally speaking, it seems useful to define innovation as a deliberate, novel,
49
specific change which brings more efficacy into the system in order to achieve the
goals of the system. In other words, an innovation can refer to a creative selection,
organization and utilization of human and material resources in new and unique
ways, which will result in the attainment of higher level of achievement for the
defined goals and objectives. NCERT‘s attempt to introduce micro teaching in
teacher education colleges did not receive much success in the beginning but now
this technique is universally used in India as a preparation for internship in teaching.
NCERT has also attempted to introduce two other innovations: Models of Teaching
and Value Clarification. NCERT also organized in-service training programmes to
orient teacher educators. These later innovations have not yet become part and parcel
of the teacher education programmes.

1.12 Innovations in Elementary Teacher Education and Adult Education

Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) and Adult Education (AE)
have been two of the most important national goals of educational development in
the post-Independence India. Since Independence, India has made considerable
progress in the field of elementary education and eradication of illiteracy. The
literacy percentage improved from 16.7% in 1951 to 36.2% in 1981 and 52.22 in
1991. Various commissions and committees appointed after independence have taken
initiative in restoring the Indian education, its indigenous and universal coverage.
The Education Commission (1964-66) strongly pleaded for internal transformation of
education of the nation, qualitative improvements in education so that the standards
achieved were adequate and kept continually rising and became internationally
comparable in a few sectors and the expansions of educational opportunities
(Education Commission 1964 -66). The NPE and Programme of Action (1986)
envisaged an important innovation in the shape of District Institutes of Education and
Training (DIET) for providing quantitatively wider coverage as well as qualitatively
better support and facilities (Mohanty, 2008). The Department of Education -
MHRD, Government of India has prepared a centrally sponsored scheme of teacher
education with five objectives: (i) Large Scale Orientation of Teachers, (ii)
Establishment of District Institute of Education and Training, (iii) Strengthening
Colleges of Teacher Education and upgrading of the Institute for Advanced Study in
Education, (iv) Strengthening of SCERTs, and (v) Strengthening of University
Departments of Educational Studies.
50
 One of the outstanding quality assurance innovations in elementary teacher
education has been the establishment of DIETs under the centrally sponsored scheme
of teacher education. The DIET is designed to improve and enrich the academic
background of elementary school teachers, non formal and adult education
functionaries and other personnel at the lowest level of the educational system. It is a
step towards the decentralization of opportunities of professional preparation and
extension of excellence from ‗urban‘ to ‗rural‘ areas, from the ‗elite‘ to the ‗general‘,
population of teachers, from ‗higher‘ to ‗lower‘ levels of education, and from
‗academic‘ to the ‗teacher‘. The DIET concept is based on the premise that the
teacher education is a continuous process and its pre-service and in-service
components are inseparable. It will have the capability of organising pre-service and
in-service courses not only for elementary school teachers but also for personnel
working in non-formal and adult education sectors. It would therefore break the
isolation of the non-formal system from the formal system and integrate them to
mutual advantage to improve efficiency.
DIETs were established primarily to lift primary teacher education from its
low status and impart professionalization to the undertaking. DIETs are upgraded
Teacher Training Institutions (TTIs) set up as pace setting institutions. They are
established to promote Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) in the
district through quality programmes in initial and incumbent teacher training,
educational planning and management, research and extension, curriculum and
materials development. DIETs are expected to bring in innovation and infuse new
life to initial training through content up-gradation, curriculum renewal and adoption
of newer methods of teaching and training. They serve the training and resource
support needs of elementary teachers, non-formal and adult education workers,
youth and community leaders and education officers.

DIETs have 3 main functions; viz. (i) Training and Orientation (both of
induction and continuing varieties) (ii) Resource support (Extension, guidance,
development of materials, tools aids evaluation tools etc) and (iii) Action research.
To effectively perform their major functions, the DIETs have the following seven
academic branches: (i) Pre-service Teacher Education Branch (PSTE) consisting of
faculty members in the ―Foundations of Education and Pedagogy‖ as well as various
school subjects (excluding work experience) (ii) In-service Training Programmes,

51
Field Interaction and Innovation Coordination Branch (iii) District Resource Unit for
Adult and Non-Formal Education (iv) Work Experience Branch (v) Curriculum
Material Development and Evaluation Branch (vi) Educational Technology Branch
(vii) Planning and Management Branch. DIETs have been hailed as a major
intervention in teacher education reform and are envisioned to usher in a sea of
change in the primary education scene in the district through their training, extension
and research activities. Since its inception in 1986, practically all districts in the
country have been covered by the DIET scheme. The establishment of DIETs has
made in-service education widely available for teachers and ensured their regular
participation in the programmes. The earlier provision for in-service education was
too meager and limited to secondary school teachers. Now, the DIETs provide in-
service education for primary / elementary teachers on a continual basis so that every
teacher gets a chance to undergo refresher training at least once in five years. There
are programmes designed for variety of purposes: content enrichment, orientation
and refresher courses, skill training and material development workshops. The
programmes are matched to the training needs of teachers.

The establishment of DIETs succeeded in bringing training down to the

district level. This was in itself a major advance. With the setting up of Block and
Cluster Resource Centres (BRC and CRC) under the District Primary Education
Programme (DPEP), a massive national programme of primary education reform
implemented in 149 districts across 14 states, the training scene has changed
drastically. Training arrangements are now decentralized, in the case of primary
education, down to the school cluster level to make training school-based and on-
site. Now training and other support services are made available to teachers on a
continual basis at or near their own work places. Elementary Education has been
envisaged as ―child-centred‘ and by making Elementary education child-centred we
would be introducing a long-awaited reform in the system. The most important
aspect of this reform will be to make education joyful, innovative and satisfying
learning activity, rather than a system of rote and cheerless, authoritarian instruction.
Adult Education Programme also would be productive and functional, related to the
life and needs of the people. Adults would be imparted functional literacy in a
participative, learner-active mode. There are Districts in the country and a total
number of 498 DIETs had been set up by 2005.

52
1.13 Growth of Teacher Education in Meghalaya
In Meghalaya, Teacher Education has a long history. In 1867, Normal school
to train teachers was established in Nongsawlia, a village near Cherrapunjee by the
pioneer missionaries. But the ratio between trained and untrained teachers did not
show marked improvement. As in 1997-98, out of 10637 primary teachers, 4025
were trained and 6612 were untrained. At the upper primary level, out of 4441
teachers, 1000 were trained and 3441 were untrained. At the Higher and Higher
Secondary level, out of 5320 teachers 2191 were trained, 3129 were untrained.
College of Teacher Education (P.G.T) Shillong and College of Teacher Education,
Tura, were started in March 1964 and June 1993 respectively. St. Mary‘s College,
Shillong was founded in 1937. The professional B.T course was changed to B. Ed in
1976. St. Mary‘s College was bifurcated in 1999. The B. Ed section is hence forth
known as the St. Mary‘s College of Teacher Education. Don Bosco College of
Teacher Education, Tura, is a teacher training institution established in 2005 and is
managed by the Don Bosco Educational Society. NCTE has granted recognition to
these four Colleges of Teacher Education. It is believed that, the system of teacher
education in this state has by and large proved inadequate to ensure modification in
programme duration, transactional strategies, preparation of teacher education
curriculum, selection of student teachers and overall approaches to teacher
preparation. The system still prepares teachers who do not necessarily become
professionally competent and committed. The knowledge, skill and methodologies
propagated by the system remain alien and never get assimilated into the school
system. In fact, teacher education system has suffered due to its inability to keep
pace with the times and to ensure necessary modifications in conceptual based
theory and practice. The present study will give a picture of some of the possible
innovative practices adopted in the twelve Teacher Education Institutions of
Meghalaya. One way to improve the situation is to absorb the innovations in the
field of teacher education because modernisation of education depends to an extent
on the modernisation of the teachers. Some significant developments occurred after
the state of Meghalaya came into existence in 1972. The establishment of SCERT in
1968, the Regional Centre of IGNOU, Regional Office of National Council for
Teacher Education (NCTE) at Bhubaneswar and Regional Institute of Education
(RIE) at Shillong provide a boost to regulate the establishment, functioning and
monitoring of the teacher education programme in the state. However, the teacher
53
education institutions at different levels in Meghalaya, by 2012, are 7 DIETs, 1
DERT and 4 Colleges of Teacher Education and 2 University Departments of
Education at Tura and Shillong. The structure of teacher education in Meghalaya has
five major sections - Pre-primary, Primary, Middle, Secondary and Higher
Education. Pre-Primary includes one year training after high school, prepared by
Pre-Primary Training Centre, Primary includes one year training after High School,
prepared by Basic Training Centres (BTCs) and DIETs, Middle level includes one
year training after 10 + 2, prepared by Normal Schools for grades V to VII;
Secondary (Secondary Teacher Education Programme popularly known as B.Ed)
includes one year training after Graduation, prepared by CTEs, and University
Department; and Higher (M.Ed) includes one year training after B.Ed., prepared by
University Department.
The organization of teacher education in Meghalaya is planned and
coordinated by different institutions at various levels. The prime institutions involved
in the organization and development of teacher education in the state are Pre-Primary
Teacher Training Centre and Basic Training Centre (Primary Level: I-IV). Pre-
primary classes are attached to some primary schools in the state. The centre offers
one year in-service course at the primary level. DERT, Meghalaya is the examining
body of pre-primary certificate course and the examining body of the Junior Basic
Training Certificate (JBTC). Teachers serving in Primary Schools are deputed to this
course. This is also a pre-service sort of training imparted to working teachers and
prospective teachers for DLEd. certificate. DIETs have enhanced the profile of
elementary teacher education and given it its much needed status with its
infrastructure and resources, mandate covering multiple functions and a wide range
of users and its strategic position in the implementation of UEE in the district. The
starting of DIETs has also triggered the establishment of sub-district supportive
structures thereby completing the network of teacher education institutions in the
country. The DIET has been conceived as a vibrant instrument for bringing about
qualitative change in the quality of life of the community through education. It aims
at energizing the educational climate of the district by providing rich training and
resources and improving the professional competence of teachers and other
educational functionaries. During recent decades, a number of
institutions/agencies/organizations have carried out activities related to the
improvement of school education. In order to streamline, integrate and coordinate the
54
academic and professional activities, besides administrative convenience, the new
organization called the Directorate of Educational Research & Training (DERT) was
created in 2009 as the state counterpart of the NCERT at the national level.
The roles of DERT are to integrate, coordinate and liaise academic-cum –
professional activities of the state and national level organizations. Since its inception
in 2009, the DERT has organized in service programmes for the up-gradation of
pedagogic skills of teachers and teacher educators at all stages of education in the
state. It has also developed textual and supplementary instructional materials of
quality and initiated projects for qualitative improvement of school education. The
establishment of DERT made it possible to take up professional activities in a
planned and coordinated manner in the state. The teacher education institutions
previously, under the State Council for Research & Training (SCERT) has been
transferred to the DERT with effect from the academic year 2009-2010. Likewise,
DIETs which were under SCERT has also been transferred to DERT. The DERT
now has the academic control over all of them and is the Head of the Department.
The various departments/units of the DERT are (i) Department of Teacher Education,
Extension and In-service Education (ii) Department of Educational Technology (iii)
Department of Vocational Guidance and (iv) Department of Counselling and
Guidance.
There are 4 Colleges of Teacher Education (CTEs) in Meghalaya affiliated to
NEHU, Shillong. These CTEs are imparting one year B. Ed course. The Eastern
Regional Committee of the NCTE, Bhubaneswar is the monitoring body
maintaining the norms and standards of these institutions while NEHU, Shillong is
the examining body for academic matters of the course. There are two University
Departments of Education at Tura and Shillong. M. Ed. programme is conducted at
Shillong with only an intake of 24. M.A. in Education is considered as a
professional qualification for teacher educators as per NCTE regulations and is
running in education departments of Tura and Shillong of NEHU. The duration of
the programme is of 2 years with semester pattern of examination.
1.14 The Concept of Attitude
The term ―attitude‖ has been derived from the Latin word ―aptus‖ which
means fitness. An attitude is primarily an inner state rather than an overt expression.
It is basically a tendency to act/ a mental ‗set‘ or readiness to act. ―Attitude‖ is a
familiar word and is used freely to express one‘s way of thinking, feeling or
55
behaving. According to Allport (1929) attitude is ―A mental or neural state of
readiness, organised through experiences exerting a directive or dynamic influence
upon the individual response to all the objects and situations with which it is related‖.
The Webster‘s New International Dictionary of English Language defines attitude as
―A position or bearing or indicting action, feeling or mood‖. According to Lundberg
(1929) an attitude denotes the general set of organism as a whole toward an object or
situation which calls for adjustment. In the words of Bogardus (1931) ―Attitude is the
tendency to act toward or against something in the environment which becomes
thereby, a positive or a negative value‖. According to Morgan (1936) attitudes are
literally mental postures, guides for conduct which each new experience is referred
before a response is made. In the opinion of Guilford (1954), attitude is a personal
disposition common to individuals but possessed in different degrees which impels to
react to object situations or positions in ways that can be called favourable or
unfavourable. According to Freeman (1968) an attitude is a dispositional readiness to
respond to certain situations, persons, or objects in constant manner which has been
learned and has become one‘s typical mode of response.

All the definitions cited above give importance to the degree of liking or
disliking towards a psychological object and in line with above. Thurstone (1944)
defined attitude as the degree of positive or negative affect associated with some
psychological object. By psychological object, Thurstone means any symbol, phrase,
slogan, person, institution, ideal, or idea toward which people can differ with respect
to positive and negative affect. A particular job, for example, may be a psychological
object. A political party, the title of a book, a minority group, a nation, labour unions,
a religion, a teacher, a subject, a laboratory and a particular food are still examples of
psychological objects. In the literature of psychology, the terms ―Affect‖ and
―Feeling‖ are used interchangeably. An individual who has associated positive affect
or feeling with some psychological object is said to like that subject or to have a
favourable attitude toward the object. An individual who has associated negative
affect with the same psychological object would be said to dislike that object or to
have an unfavourable attitude toward the object. (Chandrasekhar, 2001). Though
attitude and opinion are allied terms they are not synonyms. Attitude denotes the
inner feelings or belief of a person towards a psychological phenomenon. Opinion is
therefore a verbal expression of attitude. People have attitude towards social objects
56
because (i) they help them to organize, simplify and understand the world around
them (ii) protect their self esteem by avoiding unpleasant truth about themselves (iii)
allow them to express their fundamental value (iv) they help them to confirm to
groups and thus maximise reward from the groups. Thus attitude helps to adjust to
environment. Attitudes are revealed in the behaviour of an individual. So attitudes
can be measured by direct observation of overt behaviour of the individual. The
reluctance of many individuals to give public expression to their feeling is an obvious
disadvantage of the method of direct questioning. It is also true that sometimes our
feelings about a psychological object are so mixed and confused that it is difficult to
evaluate how we feel by introspective methods. We may, for example, have both
positive and negative affect associated with the same psychological object. How,
then, are we to weigh and evaluate the strength or intensity of the two opposed
affects and to decide whether we like or dislike the object? Such evaluations may
demand more objectivity and insight than some individuals are capable of giving, and
certainly upon the spur of the moment and in response to a direct question. Similarly,
the method of direct observation of behaviour cannot profitably applied, if one has to
determine attitudes of a large number of people toward some object as the researcher
may not have the opportunity to observe in detail the behaviour of all the individuals
in whom he is interested. There is no necessary one-to one correspondence between
over behaviour and attitudes. Attitudes as factors influencing or determining
behaviour, may be one of many such, and not necessarily the most proponent. If we
expect to predict behaviour from feelings or attitudes, then these other factors must
be taken into account. Similarly, if we expect to infer attitudes or feelings from direct
observations of behaviour, we must always consider the possibility that our inference
will be incorrect simply because the behaviour may be determined by factors other
than the individual‘s feelings. Projective techniques can also be used to assess an
individual‘s attitude. The basis for the use of projective techniques to measure
attitude is that attitude can be inferred by one‘s unconscious response to certain
stimuli like photographs, cartoons, etc. The most common method of estimating a
person‘s attitude is through a scale where, the individual express his opinion on
several controversial statements on some psychological object. The logic behind the
use of opinion to measure attitude is that the positive correlation between what
people say about a subject and what they will do about it. To the extent people‘s
actions correlates with their expressed opinion we can predict the former from the
57
latter. Any single action however will be extremely unreliable from the point of view
of treatment. A person‘s particular actions cannot be predicted with a high degree of
accuracy yet one‘s position of an attitude scale can be assessed. The most convenient
and widely used technique of measuring attitude is the use of a ―SCALE‖. An
attitude scale measures both, the direction of affect, and its magnitude. It can also be
administered to large groups of individuals (Chandrasekhar, 2001).
1.15 Emergence of the Problem

It is believed that, the system of teacher education in Meghalaya has by and

large proved inadequate to ensure modification in programme duration, transactional
strategies, preparation of teacher education curriculum, selection of student teachers
and overall approaches to teacher preparation. The system still prepares teachers
who are not necessarily professionally competent and committed. And so, the
knowledge, skill and methodologies propagated by the system remain alien to keep
pace with the times that ensure necessary modifications in conceptual based theory
and practice. Strategically, innovative practices can be the most important challenge
for teacher education in the 21st century. The change of attitudes of the teacher
educators towards innovative practices can lead to a drastic change in the scenario of
teacher education. This seems to be the need of the hour in the state of Meghalaya.

1.16 Need and Significance

After independence, three Commissions, viz. the University Education
Commission (1948-49), the Secondary Education Commission (1952-53), the
Education Commission (1964-66), and the National Policy on Education -1986,
Programme of Action – 1992, and several Committees were set up to make surveys
and suggest recommendations on different aspects of education all of them stressed
on change. The Education Commission was more vocal and specific about the role of
education as an instrument of change. In the post independence era, education has to
meet the purposes of a modernizing democracy and socialistic society. To reconstruct
the society, changes in education have to be contemplated in terms of objectives,
syllabi, teaching methods, programmes, in the selection and professional preparation
of teachers, and in research and evaluation of teacher education. Changes in teacher
education can be brought forth with adoption of new ways and innovative practices.
It cannot be brought about without innovations because innovation is a species of
genus change. This investigation is, therefore, an attempt to find out the innovations

58
that have been designed in elementary and secondary teacher education institutions to
bring about desirable changes for the realization of social and educational goals in
the state of Meghalaya. The study, from the investigator‘s point of view, is
significant for the reason that we have pinned our faith on education which is
regarded as a potent instrument of change and a source of energy that will generate
our economy, transform the society and meet the aspirations of our people. Presently,
our teacher education programmes give indications of resistance. As a matter of fact
the elementary and the secondary teacher education institutions fail to physically and
humanly improve the conditions of teacher education institutions so as to become
institutions of innovation and change. This study would be helpful in the preparation
of a teacher education model. Thus, it provides the much needed research based data
for planning the qualitative development of secondary teacher education at the state
level. In the state of Meghalaya, one finds a variety of teacher education institutions,
such as Government, Aided and Private. But the situation appears to be almost
identical everywhere. Therefore, a study on innovations in teacher education
institutions of the state proves to be of immense theoretical and practical value.
Theoretically, it opens a new horizon in an area neglected so far and enriches the
discipline of teacher education. Practically, it helps to remove the bottlenecks that
come in the way, and to improve the quality of teacher education in the state.

1.17 Statement of the Problem

In the light of the above stated background, need and significance, the title of
the study is stated as: “A Study of the Attitude of Teacher Educators towards
Innovative Practices in Teacher Education Institutions in Meghalaya”.

1.18 Operational Definitions of Key Terms

The present study involves the following key terms which are operationally
defined as below:

(a)Attitude
Attitude is the opinion of teacher educators about innovative practices.

59
(b)Teacher Educators
Teachers teaching the student teachers in teacher education institutions in
Meghalaya.

(c) Innovative Practice

Innovative practice refers to new/novel idea the acceptance of which is
expected to overcome the existing limitations of teacher education programme and
improve the same to achieve the desired end.

(d) Teacher Education Institutions

Teacher Education Institutions mean the institutions which train students to
become teachers.

1.19 Delimitation of the Study

The study is delimited to Secondary Teacher Education Institutions, District
Institutes of Education & Training (D.I.E.Ts) and Directorate of Educational
Research & Training (D.E.R.T) in Meghalaya. Further it is delimited to innovative
practices in the areas of admission and selection, curriculum, methods of teaching,
in-service education, practice teaching, and evaluation.

60
 Figure 1: Teacher Education Institutions in
Meghalaya

8
6
4
2
0
CTEs DIETs DERT

TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

IN MEGHALAYA

DIET

DBCTE
CT
DIET E

DIET DIET
DIET DERT CTE

DIET

CTE
DIET

Map 1: Teacher Education Institutions in Meghalaya

61
1.20 Objectives of the Study

1. To study the Innovative Practices of teacher education institutions in the following

areas: (i) Admission and Selection (ii) Curriculum (iii) Methods of Teaching and
Aids (iv) In-service Education (v) Practice Teaching, and (vi) Evaluation.
2. To study the attitude towards innovative practices on the whole and dimension
wise of teacher educators.

3. To compare mean scores of Attitude towards Innovative Practices on the whole

and dimension-wise of teacher educators of Secondary and Elementary levels.
4. To compare mean scores of Attitude towards Innovative Practices on the whole
and dimension-wise of male and female teacher educators.
5. To compare mean scores of Attitude towards Innovative Practices on the whole
and dimension-wise of private and government teacher educators.

6. To compare mean scores of Attitude towards Innovative Practices on the whole

and dimension-wise of teacher educators having Teaching Experience up to 5
years and more than 5 years.
7. To study factors responsible for the successful implementation of Innovative
Practices in teacher education institutions.
8. To study factors of resistance in adoption of Innovative Practices in teacher
education institutions.
9. To suggest remedies to overcome the resisting factors in the process of
innovations in teacher education institutions.
10. To suggest guidelines for the qualitative improvements of teacher education
institutions.
1.21 Null Hypotheses
1. There is no significant difference in mean scores of Attitude towards
Innovative Practices on the whole and dimension-wise of teacher educators
of Secondary and Elementary levels.
2. There is no significant difference in mean scores of Attitude towards
Innovative Practices on the whole and dimension-wise of male and female
teacher educators.
3. There is no significant difference in mean scores of Attitude towards
Innovative Practices on the whole and dimension-wise of private and
government teacher educators.

62
4. There is no significant difference in mean scores of Attitude towards
Innovative Practices on the whole and dimension-wise of teacher educators
having Teaching Experience up to 5 years and more than 5 years.

63