What are the issues of teacher education in new millennium?

Teacher and New Millennium:

1. Plite Conditions of Teachers:

Developed countries around the world have set a new millennium plan to meet the educational needs of the new generation. They have already decided that how to raise the educational standards of the teachers. How to make them mentally ready to accept the new and modern technologies. How to solve teachers’ financial conditions and other issues if teachers. How to solve the financial situation and problems of teachers. Developing countries, especially Pakistan, are far behind in this matter. Previous governments have created many programs in the name of education vision but failed to achieve their goals within the stipulated time. In the society, the teacher is such a section of our society that should be given first priority at the government and state level to solve the problems because the teacher grooms the new generation for the future in terms of education, building their morals and character. But seeing the plight of teachers, it feels as if this class is being neglected the most.

Whereas, if we keep in mind the Islamic principles, after Allah Almighty, Rasool Kareem (PBUH) and parents, the status of teacher has been given preference, but on some occasions, teacher has been given priority over parents. Considering the situation of the teacher in the background of the current decade, he is facing many pressures from the school and the society. Teachers are being demanded at the international level to raise their educational standards so that they can deliver good results to students. The problem of teacher's own educational quality is more or less found in different regions of the world. Then the experienced teachers are retiring and their number is decreasing day by day while new teachers take a long time to gain experience.

2. Whole World is One Classroom:

The solution to the problems of teacher shortage and attaining educational standards is to turn the whole world into a classroom. Using modern technology, Internet, Skype and other similar apps, YouTube Live etc., students and teachers from different regions have moved towards a classroom and are continuously increasing. The concept of a classroom is very similar to distance learning with the help of modern technology and resources. In a global classroom, experienced teachers, whether retired or in-service, teach students from different regions with different traditions, values, languages, races, colors and cultures. A global classroom has solved many problems such as the lack of experienced teachers. Research by international organizations shows that in some parts of the world there is a shortage of teachers, especially experienced teachers, to fill which experienced teachers migrate from one region and country to another country or region. This also gives them financial benefit and fills the shortage of teachers in the country to some extent.

3. Students ill Progress:

The problem is that the society, educational institutions and the government put all the blame on the teachers for the poor performance of the students. This attitude is very wrong and equal to disrespecting the teachers. Because other sections of the society such as politicians, parents, government, state and other disciplines and institutions do not accept the responsibility of providing full resources to the teachers themselves. According to the global research collected from all over the world most of the problems faced by teachers is lack of financial and other educational resources.

Research on educational globalization suggests that teachers' major issues include adjusting to changing circumstances, participating in pre-service programs to achieve higher standards, better training of teacher in teaching staff, involve in education system by providing a cooperative environment, grooming through teaching and enhance performance.

4. Taking Advantage of New Technology:

Educationists say that teachers are facing two major problems in the field of teaching. These include teachers' commitment to consistent and reflective teaching, utilizing modern technology, increasing their financial resources and increasing their educational quality. For example, with the help of ICT and other technologies, the educational quality of students can be significantly enhanced. These technologies have helped to improve the educational quality of students in a more and better way. The West is considering reducing the expenditure incurred on student education. Maximum educational quality should be achieved with minimum resources. The only result of this will be that the financial conditions of teachers will be weaker, and better quality of education will not be achieved. At the same time, Western countries expect school administration, teachers and teaching assistants to provide more and better services in difficult situations. Governments expect every classroom to have a highly qualified and well-trained teacher. With such expectations, the lack of resources is beyond comprehension.

Major Problems of Teacher Education:

The ruling class of the society, the community and the parents believe that the reason for the drop in the educational standard of the students is the low educational quality and poor performance of the teachers. They have been blaming the teachers on daily basis for the decline in educational standards on electronic, print and social media. The major problems faced in teacher education are as follows.

1. Globalization and Diversity:

Increasing globalization has also had a profound impact on teacher education. Now they have to teach students from different regions, different races, different languages, different cultures, values, traditions and resources under the whole world as one classroom concept. This task is not so easy as teachers need to understand all their trends and individual differences while teaching. Due to the advancement of technology and the availability of numerous resources, there are classrooms in many regions of the world that have been created under the One World Classroom concept. It is obvious that when students from all over the world come together in a classroom, their culture, traditions, values, religions, colors, races, languages, civilizations and resources will be very different. Due to which the teachers have to face significant difficulties in understanding the mood of the students and teaching according to their mood. In all this background, the duties and assigned tasks of teachers have diversified and the educational and training programs and curricula of universities have changed to raise their educational standards. In addition to this, due to the global economic crisis, there have been negative effects on the lives of teachers, due to which the difficulties in their lives have increased and perhaps the it has become impossible for teachers to provide quality education for which they are trained.

The educationist SMITH and SHECKLOCK write in their research that;

“Due to the increasing economic pressures in the conduct and functions of education, dramatic changes have been brought about by modern instrumentation and technology free educational concept is busy in survival of sustainess. In this period the words which are being used as terms include technical education, skills development, Privatization and management likings.”

Against all this background, populations in different parts of the world have made teaching and teacher education more difficult than ever and teachers are expected to understand and teach the different cultures of the world. Similarly, those who teach in a particular geographic region will either stop teaching or teach students of different cultures and languages.

2- Standard and accountability:

The movement for quality education and accountability has started in western countries only a decade and a half ago and now this movement has moved to the next stage. We can say that there are many factors and elements due to which emphasis is being placed on monitoring and improving teacher education. Educator Ruth says that;

Globally, there is growing concern and mistrust regarding the quality of teacher education. This is due to the authority to make decisions under the local environment, taking national policy on teacher training, appointment, transfer, salary as a dominant factor, issuing teaching permits by the government, granting authority to teach reorganization and new concepts for standards, performance and results.”

On the other hand, in contrast to education, other terms of education, such as curriculum, education and the development and welfare of students, depend largely on the teacher and the administration tries to improve the quality of the teacher's education so that he can perform his daily duties successfully.

3. Teacher Preparation:

Demands for globalization, focus on quality and accountability in the present era have emerged when Western nations face a shortage of skilled and experienced teachers. Therefore, the demand for appointment of highly qualified teachers in educational institutions is increasing globally. It is important to ensure that teachers have expertise in the field of teaching as far as experience is concerned, it is gradually acquired over time. It is not only the placement and presence of the teacher in the classroom that is important, but for that the teacher's qualifications and skills are essential. Therefore, recruiting teachers for teaching is also an important issue.

4. Teacher Induction:

There is a need for new teachers to be mentally prepared for recruitment through the support of the education system and government-run education programs. Educator Huling says that teachers' motivation is due to three reasons.

Nations are facing a severe shortage of good teachers, which has led to the globalization of teaching and alternative certificate programs around the world under the one-world-one-classroom doctrine. He further says that we must have to remove the shortage of teacher especially in the school. The crisis of shortage of good teachers is also due to the fact that a large number of experienced teachers retire every year. While most new teachers leave the teaching profession in the first or second year due to low pay or difficult classes at the beginning. If the teacher shortage crisis is to be tackled, school management and the government will have to reverse the trend of new teachers leaving the profession and gradually eliminate this trend. This can be done by raising the aspirations of the teachers, creating a friendly and supportive atmosphere in the educational institution for the new teachers, not giving them difficult classes at the beginning of their educational career and addressing the difficulties and problems they face.

Educationist Ingersoll says that a recent research report shows that the need for teachers in educational institutions is not just because there are few highly educated and trained teachers, but also because a large number of teachers are either migrate from rural schools to the city school or say goodbye to the profession forever. In his two research studies, School and Staff Review and Teacher Follow-up Survey, Ingersoll has stated that one-third of teachers leave school in the first three years and half in the second year. This trend is found globally. He explains that the main reason for this is that they are assigned difficult classes early in their career. Whereas the already experienced and expert teachers in the institution should keep the difficult classes to themselves and the new teachers should be given easy classes in the beginning.

5. Continuous Development of a Teacher:

The question arises as to what is meant by continuous improvement of the teacher. Continuous improvement of the teacher, continuous increase in his knowledge according to modern requirements, strengthening of state condition , improvement in professional work can be said continues improvement. Educators Spark and Hirsh say teachers should continue to increase their professionalism.

The characteristics of teachers mentioned by Lieberman in relation to the professional performance of the teacher include research and curiosity, transfer of knowledge from teachers to students, to engage the fellow teachers in experiences and the performance of teachers in research. The teacher's teaching performance has become a powerful movement in the world which is changing the school environment. In addition, it is worth noting that educational reforms can be effective and better when teachers in schools are exposed to the latest teaching technology.

The benefit of using technology is no longer limited to the local level but has recently become international in nature. So it is true to say that technology by its very nature is very flexible, transcending borders, creating an innovative, supportive, cooperative environment and providing an agenda that drives its participants towards growth and improvement. The interaction of teachers has changed due to technology. Technology has made it easier than ever for teachers to connect with each other, communicate, get support, collaborate and access the classroom.