Diploma in Elementary Teacher Education (D.El.Ed.) Programme: In India, the system of Teacher education comprises teacher education programmes meant for preparing teachers for different stages of school education or for different curricular areas across stages. The teacher education programme leading to the Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) aims at preparing teachers for the elementary stage of education, that is, classes I-VIII. This stage covers children of 6-14 years for whom education became a fundamental right as per the 86th amendment of Indian Constitution in 2002, which incorporated Article 21A in the constitution guaranteeing right of compulsory and free education to all children of 6-14 years. In order to implement the constitutional amendment, ‘Right of Children of 6-14 years to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE Act)’ was enacted as a Central Act in 2009. The Act highlights the need and importance of having well qualified and professionally trained teachers to facilitate realisation of the goals of RTE. The Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) programme, which is an initial teacher preparation programme for elementary education, has the potential to realise the RTE goals if it is conceived and designed on sound professional imperatives.
What are professional imperatives for designing the Elementary Teacher Education Programme? The educational background of the entrants to the programme shall obviously be one of the important considerations for designing the curriculum of the programme. The tasks to be performed by elementary school teachers and the understandings, competencies, skills and attitudes required to perform the expected tasks shall have to be the major bases for the designing of curriculum. The elementary teacher is called upon to engage with children of 6-14 years in a variety of socio-cultural contexts. The purpose of engagement is to facilitate children’s learning and development, for which the teacher must have thorough understanding of the child and his process of learning and development and also of problems and rights of children. Needless to say that the teacher is expected to develop the requisite understandings through his/her own observation, experimentation and reflection. Every child grows in a particular sociocultural context, which impacts his/her acquisition of knowledge skills, attitudes, etc. This makes it imperative for the teacher to understand the social set up in which the child is placed and the demands it puts on the child as well as on the teacher.
In addition to developing understanding of the child’s development in various contexts, the teacher is also expected to facilitate acquisition of knowledge and skills by the students in different curricular areas, for which he/she must have the competence to use appropriate pedagogies, which may be subject-specific or general pedagogy relevant and appropriate for different areas of school curriculum. For instance, the utility of ICT, Arts and Crafts and Community resources and folk arts as pedagogical tools is well established for different areas of school curriculum. This implies that the inclusion of all these pedagogical tools in the curriculum of a teacher education programme will enhance the effectiveness and quality of teacher preparation.
The school knowledge at the elementary stage is organised in the form of subjects like mathematics, Science, Social Studies, environmental Studies, etc. A teacher is required to organise activities and experiences around the content of these subjects. But the teacher’s task is not restricted to the teaching or transmission of the content of a few subjects. The goal of any teacher education programme ought to be preparation of Reflective Practitioner, that is, the teachers who are capable of reflecting on the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of the educational policies, programmes and practices. As a result of his participation in the teacher education programme, the teacher should develop the competence to generate new knowledge and insights about children’ development and learning on the basis of his own engagement with them. The teacher is expected to undertake classroom research leading to new insights and innovative approaches and practices.
A reflective teacher should have the inclination to question the current premises about different educational matters and should develop the ability to evolve his/her own vision about various issues of educational theory and pedagogy such as justification for the removal or inclusion of certain areas in school curriculum or for the use of some pedagogical approaches or tools. However to develop such abilities among prospective teacher, the teacher education institutions shall have to make planned efforts through appropriate curricular interventions.
The present curriculum of Elementary Teacher Education Programme makes an attempt to address the above mentioned concerns and imperatives by incorporating appropriate curricular areas, which have been organised under four broad areas, namely,
(i) Child Studies
(ii) Educational and Contemporary Studies,
(iii) Curriculum and Pedagogic Studies(including Teaching Practice and school Internship) and
(iv)Other Value Added Courses for Holistic Development.
The courses included in the category of ‘Child Studies’ aim at developing understanding about the ‘child’ i.e. rights, problems, difficulties, process of development and learning. The study of courses included in the category of Educational and Contemporary studies shall equip the prospective teachers to understand the contemporary Indian Society and the type of education needed to meet the emerging needs and aspirations of the Society. This shall also prepare the teachers to work for bringing about social change through the instrumentality of education. Recognising the importance of linkages between Early Childhood Education and Primary Education, and suitability of the Early Childhood Education methodology for the early years of Primary Schooling, a course on Early Childhood care and Education has been included in the curriculum. The Study of the course title as ‘Towards Self understanding and Evolving Vision’, shall equip the prospective teachers to understand themselves, that is, their strengths and weaknesses and shall enable them to develop their viewpoint regarding various issues and challenges of contemporary Indian education.
The present day Indian Society is a technology driven Society and is on the way of becoming a learning society. The increasing use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has brought about a sea change in the generation and transmission of knowledge. This has empowered the learners for self learning. The programme envisages the use of ICT as a pedagogical tool for all areas of school curriculum at the elementary stage. Besides ICT, fine arts, music, dance, theatre and crafts have immense potential for being used as a medium for the teaching of various areas of school curriculum like Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, Environmental Studies, etc. The inclusion of Arts and Crafts in the curriculum shall not only equip the prospective teachers to appreciate our rich cultural heritage in the field of Arts, but will also prepare them to exploit their potential as pedagogical tools for the education of different areas of school curriculum.
The Contemporary Indian Society is a multi-lingual Society. The official policy regarding teaching languages in schools envisages the study of three languages by every child in the school. Earlier, the study of English was introduced in upper Primary classes in most of the States but with the increasing use and importance of English, its study now starts from class I itself. Every teacher in Primary Classes is required to teach two or three languages, therefore, courses in the pedagogy of English and Regional language have been assigned an important place in the curriculum of the Elementary Teacher Education Programme.
NCTE -2009 emphasized that we need teachers who:
1. Care for children and love to be with them, understand children within social, cultural and political contexts, develop sensitivity to their needs and problems, and treat all children equally.
2. Perceive children not as passive receivers of knowledge, augment their natural propensity to construct meaning, discourage rote learning, make learning a joyful, participatory and meaningful activity.
3. Critically examine curriculum and textbooks, contextualize curriculum to suit local needs.
Do not treat knowledge as a ‘given’, embedded in the curriculum and accepted without question.
4. Organize learner-centered, activity-based, participatory learning experiences – play, projects, discussion, dialogue, observation, visits and learn to reflect on their own practice.
5. Integrate academic learning with social and personal realities of learners, responding to diversities in the classroom.
6. Promote values of peace, democratic way of life, equality, justice, liberty, fraternity, secularism and zeal for social reconstruction.
This can only be achieved if teacher education curriculum provides appropriate and critical opportunities for student teachers to: Observe and engage with children, communicate with and relate to children. Understand the self and others, one’s beliefs, assumptions, emotions and aspirations; develop the capacity for self-analysis, self-evaluation, adaptability, flexibility, creativity and innovation.
Develop habits and the capacity for self-directed learning, have time to think, reflect, assimilate and articulate new ideas; be self-critical and to work collaboratively in groups. Engage with subject content, examine disciplinary knowledge and social realities, relate subject matter with the social milieu of learners and develop critical thinking. Develop professional skills in pedagogy, observation, documentation, analysis and interpretation, drama, craft, story-telling and reflective inquiry.
Each of the above stated opportunities can be provided through a carefully crafted curriculum design that draws upon theoretical and empirical knowledge as well as student teachers’ experiential knowledge. (NCFTE-2009)
The D.El.Ed. Programme aims to prepare teachers who are able to continuously assess and improve their professional practice as teachers by critically reflecting on it, who can understand that teaching is embedded in the social context of the learners and who can engage with context and subject matter that they will be teaching. The student-teachers will also be acquainted with the modes of inquiry and epistemological frameworks of their subjects, familiarized with how children learn so that they can develop and use teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning needs of all their learners in diverse and plural settings of elementary classrooms.
