Education is regarded as a "process of self-expression." An individual expresses himself through education. These innate powers and potentialities are developed and drawn out through education. It is a "means of adjustment of an individual to society." It is a process by which he or she is brought into proper relationship with the ideas, means, customs, and traditions of society. It makes the person civilised, refined, cultured, and educated. For a civilised and socialised society, education is the only means that makes a person perfect. It is a systematic process through which a child acquires knowledge, experience, skills, and a sound attitude. Every society gives importance to education because it is a panacea for all evils. It is the key to solving all the problems of life.
Training is essential for every teacher. Trained teachers can do much more than untrained teachers. There may be many reasons why they do not perform their work effectively. The demands of the job, the objectives, and the expectations from a teacher highlight the importance of teacher training. Mastery over subject matter and the ability to communicate it to students are quite different. Many skills are needed to communicate information effectively, such as the skills of questioning, illustrating, demonstrating, and explaining. Other necessary skills include the ability to arrange and logically sequence the subject matter.
Teaching is not just about imparting knowledge but, in a broader sense, aims at the all-round development of a child's personality. However, there are things that must be taught to teachers, such as their responsibilities and duties. These skills and attitudes can only be developed through systematic training. Hence, a structured knowledge base is required to achieve these skills and attitudes, making training essential. It is not just the knowledge that is important for a teacher, but also having a positive attitude towards students and their job. Attitudes are learned through experience. Training programs provide many positive experiences that help student teachers develop a favourable attitude towards themselves, their job, and their students.
Over the last half-century, and particularly in the current scenario, the teaching-learning process is shifting. Classrooms are now student-centred, and teachers act more as facilitators than dictatorial figures. This change has made the teacher's role tougher. Gone are the days when teachers simply transferred content to passive students. teachers experiment with methods like learning by doing, activity-based learning, project-based learning, and developing core skills such as thinking and cognition. Teachers now face many challenges, which they must address effectively. A few of these are:
- Reorientation of subject knowledge
- Vitalising of professional studies
- Improving methods of teaching and evaluation
- Improving of student-teaching relationship
- Development of special programmes and courses
- Revision and improvement of curriculum
- Acquaintance with the technology
- Imparting knowledge based on learning by doing
- Child-centred education
At present, the Indian education system is in an alarming state. Knowledge and learning methods are evolving rapidly, but our inadequate teacher education system prevents us from producing teachers who can adapt to these changes. To provide quality education to future generations, we must address these challenges. Teacher education should empower teachers to tackle practical teaching and learning problems and find effective solutions.
There is no significant difference in teaching effectiveness between male and female teachers at teacher training colleges. This may be due to equal opportunities, good facilities, sufficient time for lesson preparation, and a supportive teaching environment. There is a significant relationship between teacher effectiveness and academic achievement of students, as teachers are more aware of their responsibilities and dedicated to the profession. They understand students' psychology and teach accordingly, integrating personal experiences to clarify concepts. As a result, teacher training college teachers are effective, which contributes to better academic achievement. Clear communication, simple statements, and positive student relationships help enhance understanding and academic performance. A teacher’s personality also impacts student achievement, as supported by Wangoo (1984), who found that personality adjustment, democratic leadership, intelligence, and emotional control are main to teacher effectiveness. Studies on teacher effectiveness and academic achievement include investigations of teacher effectiveness in higher teacher training colleges, senior secondary schools, rural teacher training college teachers in Patna, and studies using experimental methods to explore the relationship between teacher effectiveness and academic achievement. Additionally, studies have explored the relationship between personality traits and teacher effectiveness, the effect of creativity on teaching competencies, and the relationship between motivation and teacher effectiveness among teacher training college teachers.
(All views and opinions expressed are author's own)
