Abstract:
In 1993 the National Project on the Quality of Teaching and Learning developed a set of National Competency Standards for beginning teachers. Other similar sets of standards have been developed in Australia and overseas for school teachers and for similar professions. This paper analyses a number of sets of standards in terms of their applicability to initial professional education.
In particular, the paper discusses: similarities and differences between sets of standards; whether particular types of standards (or units within standards) are more or less useful for initial professional courses-in developing curriculum, assessment procedures and criteria, pedagogy; whether the standards show up significant gaps in the courses-in the formal content, in the ways different content areas are integrated, in assessment procedures and criteria, in pedagogy, in the work with practitioners in practical/clinical studies; whether the initial professional courses show up gaps or other inadequacies in the standards; how the development and application of standards have affected the relationships between the university-based teachers of the profession and practitioners; the development and application of any guidelines or protocols for the application of standards to initial professional education courses.
The paper provides background for a project being carried out by the authors on the application of the National Competency Standards for beginning teachers to initial teacher education courses in Australia, which is reported on and discussed in a separate paper at this conference.
In particular, the paper discusses: similarities and differences between sets of standards; whether particular types of standards (or units within standards) are more or less useful for initial professional courses-in developing curriculum, assessment procedures and criteria, pedagogy; whether the standards show up significant gaps in the courses-in the formal content, in the ways different content areas are integrated, in assessment procedures and criteria, in pedagogy, in the work with practitioners in practical/clinical studies; whether the initial professional courses show up gaps or other inadequacies in the standards; how the development and application of standards have affected the relationships between the university-based teachers of the profession and practitioners; the development and application of any guidelines or protocols for the application of standards to initial professional education courses.
The paper provides background for a project being carried out by the authors on the application of the National Competency Standards for beginning teachers to initial teacher education courses in Australia, which is reported on and discussed in a separate paper at this conference.