Teacher Education Policy
The process by which teachers are educated is the subject of political discussion in many countries, reflecting both the value attached by societies and cultures to the preparation of young people for life, and the fact that education systems consume significant financial resources (of which teacher salaries is often the largest single element).
However, the degree of political control over Teacher Education varies. Where TE is entirely in the hands of universities, the state may have no direct control whatever over what or how new teachers are taught; this can lead to anomalies, such as teachers being taught using teaching methods that would be deemed inappropriate if they used the same methods in schools, or teachers being taught by persons with little or no hands-on experience of teaching in real classrooms.
In other systems, TE may be the subject of detailed prescription (e.g. the state may specify the skills that all teachers must possess, or it may specify the content of TE courses).
In many states, the process of acquiring the relevant knowledge and skills to be a teacher (qualification) is separate from the process of acquiring the official permission to teach in public schools (registration or licensing).
Policy cooperation in the European Union has led to a broad description of the kinds of attributes that teachers in EU Member States should possess: the .
Read more about this topic: Teacher Education
Famous quotes containing the words teacher, education and/or policy:
“At the utmost, the active-minded young man should ask of his teacher only mastery of his tools. The young man himself, the subject of education, is a certain form of energy; the object to be gained is economy of his force; the training is partly the clearing away of obstacles, partly the direct application of effort. Once acquired, the tools and models may be thrown away.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“It’s fairly obvious that American education is a cultural flop. Americans are not a well-educated people culturally, and their vocational education often has to be learned all over again after they leave school and college. On the other hand, they have open quick minds and if their education has little sharp positive value, it has not the stultifying effects of a more rigid training.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)
“’Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.”
—George Washington (1732–1799)