Azim Premji Foundation: Teacher Preparation Dileep Ranjekar November 12, 2010 1.

Azim Premji Foundation: Teacher Preparation

Dileep RanjekarNovember 12, 2010

1

India Education: Reality - Illustrative

1 out of 3 children in class 5 cannot read

and write

Schools- 1.3 Mln- 220 Mln children- 6 Mln teachers- 75 % unplanned

multigrade teaching

• Literacy Levels: - 65% (M – 76%, F – 54%)- Global literacy – 80%

• Girls and socially disadvantaged backgrounds are 20% behind on literacy and drop out ratios

Only 10% schools have children

learning as per expectations

Only 39% children reach 10th standard;of these 40% pass

Quality of education: A serious concern!

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100 ChildrenEnroll in 1st Standard

52 ChildrenReach 8th Std

39 ChildrenReach 10th Std

19 Pass10th

12 Children pursue higher

education

12% Efficiency

of Education

Funnel

The Inefficient Funnel

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Foundation Vision & Approach

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Vision: Facilitate a just, equitable, humane and sustainable

society

Purpose

Bring about a “societal change”

Education as a key enabler, supported

by related development areas,

with both direct impact and a large positive multiplier

Enablers

Strive for a deep, at-scale and

institutionalized impact on the

quality of education in India

Mission

The Approach

5

•5

Network of partnerships and stakeholders

Operational processes, including knowledge management

People processes, structure and culture

Stable and sustained funding/ resourcing

Three-pronged approach to change

University:

▪ Degrees▪ Research▪ In-service training

1Field

Resource Centres

(state and district level)

2Schools

(own and affiliated)

3Communi-cation &

Engagement

5

“Talent and thought”:

Creating new talent and

thought, and transforming

existing talent

“Direct impact and

institutions”:Creating scaled-up institutional

structures to facilitate change

on the field

“Voice”:Creating

demonstrable models, for

replication and to act as pressure

points for system change

Five core initiatives or verticals

Five robust cross-cutting enablers

Deep, at-scale, institutionalized impact on the quality of education in India

A

Assessment &

Develop-ment

Centre (largely housed in University)

4

A Focus on allied development areas

BCDE

6

Overview of 5-year ramp-up plan

University Degree Programs

▪ Intake of 2500 students ▪ 350 faculty

University Research Centre

▪ Nationally reputed for research in first 3 thrust areas▪ Some international acknowledgement

University Resource Centre

▪ 500,000 functionaries (incl through DRC)

Field Resource Centres

▪ 8-10 State Resource Centers▪ 50 District Resource Centers▪ 8-10 districts with “holistic improvement” in progress; 75% coverage of these districts

Schools▪ 100+ own/adopted schools + 1500

affiliated schools across 8-10 districts

Advocacy ▪ Channels for communication identified and operational

Accreditation Centre▪ 2-3 state systems▪ 70-100 significant institutions (in 8-10 districts with depth)▪ 1000-2000 schools▪ Framework in place

Our Hypothesis on Teacher Preparation 

1. The teacher is at the heart of the education process

2. Vision, capability and motivation of the teacher will significantly impact teaching-learning processes/outcomes

3. Professionalization of teaching is a must

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Change we would like to see 

1. New teachers enter the profession with vision, competence & motivation – conducive to achieving the aims of education

2. Practising teachers find meaning in professional dev. programs

3. Paradigm shift in teacher preparation, development and support

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A good and effective teacher 

1. Knowledge and understanding of the subject

2. Pedagogical skills specific to the subject / kind of learners

3. Access/develop learner appropriate teaching learning resources

4. Sensitivity to and respect for learners

5. Vision and understanding of society, education and children

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Issues with current teacher preparation 

1. Absence of defined competencies for a good teacher

2. Outdated teacher education curriculum

3. Outdated / Ineffective teacher educators

4. Huge gap in the subject matter knowledge

5. Teacher education processes – antithetical to what educators preach

6. Lack of understanding of child and society

7. Absence of adequate combination of theory and practice

8. Rote memory based assessment 10

Systemic change in teacher education 

1. Introduce teacher competency framework at policy level. To change

a. Updation of theory (currently stop at Thorndike)

b. Curriculum

c. Teaching learning process for teacher education

d. Significant component of practice, observation, socio-cultural contexts

e. Assessment process

f. Subject based pedagogy

2. Teacher selection process to assess competencies

3. Pre-empt corrupt practices in teacher selection owing to subjectivity

4. Competency based development and career practices 11

Fundamental challenges

1. Non-availability of teacher education faculty

2. Readiness of evaluation system to deal with new approaches

3. Readiness of Government and school system to receive “different teachers”

4. Availability of appropriate reading and reference material in Indian languages (14 languages, 400 sub languages, 1600 dialects)

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A Dream of a Just, Equitable, Humane and Sustainable Society

13Thank You