Does practice make perfect? Teacher training in Trinidad and Tobago

How appropriate is the curriculum in teacher training courses in Trinidad and Tobago? Can the experience of teaching practice be improved? A two-part study by the University of the West Indies investigates how primary school teachers are trained. It examines the curriculum in the country’s two government teacher training colleges and looks in particular at teaching practice.

The two-year teacher training programme combines educational, professional and academic studies with twelve weeks of school-based teaching practice. From their exposure to the programme, trainees gain an understanding of the theoretical foundations for good teaching practice. However some elements of the curriculum cause concern among trainers and student teachers alike, such as the limited timeframe in which a large amount of course content has to be delivered.

Other findings relating to the curriculum are:

• The courses help trainees develop strategies for dealing with diverse students' needs and teaches them approaches to designing units for effective instruction.
• Some curriculum content is perceived by trainees to be irrelevant to the demands of actual classrooms.
• There is no overarching philosophy to establish coherence among curriculum components.
• Trainees enter the programme with widely varying levels of academic achievement so curriculum content is often pitched above or below the pre-existing knowledge of many trainees.

How effective are the arrangements for teaching practice and is it a positive experience for trainees and their host schools? Each trainee is assigned a tutor and receives supervisory visits, assessments and support from college lecturers. After just over a year in the college programme, trainees generally demonstrate more confidence in their knowledge of subject areas. They also use a growing number of strategies to enhance pupil learning and have an increasingly pupil-centred approach.

Further research findings regarding teaching practice include:

• Trainees, supervisors and staff in host schools report that as teaching practice session progress, trainees feel better prepared for teaching and are better able to deal with the classroom situations.
• Assessment practices and criteria differ among supervisors.
• Teachers and schools feel that their roles and responsibilities are unclear.
• The level of support from tutors and schools varies enormously and has a significant impact on trainees’ experiences.
• Trainees feel that more time should be spent on methodology and teaching skills such as lesson planning or coping with different age groups.

Trainee teachers and college staff consider teaching practice to be the most important and useful part of the college experience in Trinidad and Tobago. However, if it is to achieve its full potential, important issues must be addressed such as ensuring that trainers, trainees and teachers at host schools understand what is required of them.

Additional policy recommendations include:

• developing a flexible curriculum that takes account of trainees’ varying academic backgrounds
• providing continuous professional development for lecturers and formal recognition, training and support of tutors
• revising assessment practices to meet objectives such as clear criteria and consistent grading
• restructuring teaching practice so that trainees spend longer periods in schools.

Source(s):
‘Becoming a Primary School Teacher in Trinidad and Tobago, Part 1: The Curriculum in the Teachers' Colleges’, MUSTER Discussion Paper 20, Centre for International Education, University of Sussex Institute of Education, by J. George, et al, 2000 Full document.
‘Becoming a Primary School Teacher in Trinidad & Tobago, Part 2: Teaching Practice Experience of Trainees’, MUSTER Discussion Paper 21, Centre for International Education, University of Sussex Institute of Education, by J. George, at al, 2000 Full document.

Funded by: DFID (Education)

id21 Research Highlight: 20 June 2002

Further Information:
June George
School of Education
The University of the West Indies
St Augustine Campus
Trinidad and Tobago
West Indies

Tel: +1 (868) 662 2002 x2211
Fax: +1 (868) 662 6615
Contact the contributor: junemgeorge@yahoo.com

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'Costing teacher education in Ghana: micro realities and macro contexts'

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SD Dimensions reports on education and teacher training