Pre-Service Teacher
Education
in ECCE in India
– A Study
Acknowledgement : CECED
Team
Sponsored by AUD & NCTE
Technical Partners: IWSER &
ICF International
State partners : Andhra Mahila
Venita Kaul and Swati Bawa
Sabha, Vidya Bhawan Society
& Learning Imprints
Background

ECCE in India is in the private and NGO sectors and is part of
the 6 services of ICDS. Unregulated sector.

National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) is a statutory body
for regulation of Pre service Teacher Education in India

NCTE includes a two year integrated diploma course in ECCE
covering pre primary and grade I and II.

NCTE lays down specifications for :
Infrastructure
Batch size
Teacher educators qualifications
Curriculum etc.




Rationale
On the one hand

Globally ECCE
is emerging as significant stage of
education.

Recent government initiatives in ECCE in India - RTE &
Article 45 – have implications for significant expansion of
ECCE & demand for teachers.
On the other hand

No information available from field on coverage or quality.

Sector
completely
unregulated
leading
to
anecdotal
evidence of developmentally inappropriate curricula and
practices both at teacher preparation & ECE center levels
Objectives of the study
Review availability, coverage &
nature of pre- service teacher
education in ECCE
Inform policy level reforms in the
area of Teacher Education in
ECCE
Methodology
Step 2
• Secondary
data review
Step 1
• Compilation of
list of pre service
TE institutions in
ECCE from
NCTE, Web
search & Contact
mode
Step 4
• Posting of
Detailed
Questionnaires
• Posting of Fact
Sheets
Step 3
• Field Visits to
sub sample for
detailed
observation
Sample of the Study
Total no. of Identified
Institutions – 367
Detailed Questionnaires - 27
Fact sheets – 65
Field Visits - 39
CATEGORY WISE SAMPLE FOR FIELD OBSERVATIONS
STATE
HIGHER
DELHI/NCR
1
UP
1
AP
2
GOVT
1
GUJARAT
3
RAJ
1
9
DISTANCE
1
1
2
2
6
1
2
1
1
1
1
MP
TOTAL
NGO
1
TAMIL NADU
ORISSA
PVT
2
1
2
3
1
2
1
15
10
3
Components of the study
TE institutions
Review of
literature, policies
and regulations
TE
survey
Experts’ perspective
Market demand
Scope of the Study of a TTI
Range of respondents covered:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Teacher educators
Academic heads
Trainees
Alumni
School heads where alumni work
Observation of classroom teaching
Study center coordinators (for distance courses)
MAIN
RESULTS
Inequitable Access Across states
Inequitable access to ECCE
Teacher Education
Maximum
Institutions in Delhi
/ NCR and AP (10+)
Negligible
no. in the North
East, Haryana, Punjab &
Himachal Pradesh
No.
of Institutions declining in
Gujarat, Maharashtra due to
low demand in absence of
regulation
Dominance of Private sector
 Majority institutions in private
sector (over 50 %) & are
‘stand alone’ institutions
11
8
8
21
 Negligible involvement of
higher learning institutions
(8/95)
Important for professional
up-gradation and preparation
of teacher educators,
supervisors etc.
Very little investment by govt.
sector in this area
47
Higher Learning Institutes
Government Institutes
Private Institutes
NGOs
Distance Education Institutes
No. of Teacher Education
Institutes as per 'Management
Types' (n= 95)
Need for stronger regulation
Recognized (n=34)
 More than 63 % institutions
operating without NCTE recognition
Unrecognized (n= 59)
30
26 26
25
 Over 50 % of private institutions
sampled were unrecognized
23
20
15
10
6
 Significant variations from norms
even among recognized institutions
in terms of structure, duration,
certification,
physical
facilities,
curriculum & profile of teacher
educators E.g. Duration varies from
3 months to 2 years!!
Eligibility varies from class 10 to
graduation
5
2
4 4
2
0
Higher Government Private
Learning Institutes Institutes
Institutes
NGOs
Status of Recognition of
Teacher Education Courses
(n= 93)
Varied Profile of Teacher Educators
 Positive finding - 60 % had work experience with children
(not an NCTE requirement)
 Concern: 40 % TEs do not meet required academic &
professional qualifications; including 27 % even from recognized
institutions
 58% TEs were unaware of the process of designing the
curriculum & none had involvement in developing curriculum
 No induction training for TEs
Professional status of TEs
• Majority Teacher Educators (53/78) showed no
engagement in any research in ECE/ publishing
any paper
• Professional
development
support were hardly reported
opportunities
and
Curriculum
How do they develop it ?
•35 % institutions reported using National Curriculum framework
(NCF) and National Curriculum framework for Teacher
Education (NCFTE) guidelines and theoretical frameworks
•Two thirds reported group consultations as the preferred
method
•40 % teacher educators said that they organized workshops,
seminars, talks etc. to supplement given curriculum & reduce
curricular gaps
•A few reported using innovative methods in teaching to
overcome curricular gaps, if prescribed
Varied understanding of Curriculum
•There is no uniform understanding
across institutions about the age
range of ECCE for which teacher
education is provided
•Overall content is centered on child
devp. but confused often with
academic instruction
•Only 1 Academic Head reported
receiving periodic orientation about
the curriculum from the prescribing
organization
•Heads of all recognized institutions
shared that NCTE rarely sought
feedback about the curriculum or its
transaction
6.5 4.3
13.04
Not 0 to 3
mentioned 0 to 8 years
3 to 8 years19.5
54.3
2 to 6 years
4.3
3 to 12
0 to 3 years
0 to 8 years
3 to 8 years
3 to 12 years
2 to 6 years
Methods of transaction
• Lecture method & small / large group exercises most
common practices across all categories
• Alumni report equal usage of all methods (such as lecture
method, group discussion, role play and tutorials)
However, not supported by observations!!
•
Minimal use of case studies, field observations & multi media
Practical Experience

Practice teaching varied from 10% to 50 % of the curriculum

Trainees shared that they did not get enough experience of
different ECCE contexts in their practical experience

Practical experience limited to ‘lab schools’ in many cases.
Notion of ‘lab school’ a concern

Practice teaching only; no internship
WHAT DOES MARKET DEMAND?
10+2/Untrained,
3
10+2 and NTT, 5
• 56% ads specified some
academic and professional
qualifications
Others, 6
Graduate/Post
graduate, 8
Not mentioned
any qualification,
32
Graduation/ Post
Graduate +NTT,
27
• Only 32 % of these specified
nursery training.
• In Orissa and Tamil Nadu all ads
asked for graduation as academic
qualif. not Class XII.
• 35% demanded English fluency
Training in
progressive
methodology, 1
Graduate
and B.Ed,
4
• Concern : 44% did not specify
any qualification!
6 asked for English, Computer,
pleasant personality etc.
Major Concerns
• Inequitable access across states
• Need for stronger regulatory methods and norms
• Higher learning institutions not engaged in teacher education
• No course for teacher educators nor any induction training,
curriculum involvement nor professional development
• Curriculum varied since many do not conform to NCTE
Recommendations
Enhancing quality of TE
• Higher learning institutions to set up more programs at post
graduate level to (a) prepare teacher educators
(b) provide refresher trainings for practicing teacher educators &
ECCE leaders
• Need for Integrating pedagogical priorities for pre school & early
primary grades in respective TE courses to ensure common
understanding & smooth transition
• Flexible & innovative models including multi mode and modular
programs to be encouraged with assurance of parity and outcomes
Strengthening Teacher Educators’ capacity
• A system of accreditation for TE institutions to be instituted
as incentive to improve & need to identify some well
performing ones in different geographies as a chain of
Resource institutions to support the system.
• Curriculum development to involve teacher educators
• Provisions be made for initial &
refresher trainings
• Reference /resource material to be
prepared to support teacher
educators & student teachers
• NCTE to proactively organize periodic
orientation programs
Upgrading Curriculum
• Ensure curriculum is consistent with developmentally
appropriate practice and covers continuum from birth to eight
years
• Ensure focus on enabling student teachers to work in different
settings & social milieu.
• Should include updated insights from international research &
contemporary policy scenarios in India, of relevance to teachers
• Should include opportunities for individual growth & self
development of student teachers
Improving Practice Teaching
• Each institution to adopt 20 -25 ECCE centers as a lab area
for practice teaching and in the process upgrade these as
demonstration centers
• Practice – theory ratio to be 50:50 for student teachers to
get a more balanced understanding
• A phased approach to be adopted with initial period of
observation, followed by practice teaching & then internship
Strengthening Regulatory Norms & Mechanisms
• Wider consultation with Teacher Educators & experts to review the
current norms & prioritize those norms that should be non negotiable for
ensuring quality.
• Experience of working with children should be included as a desirable
qualification for teacher educators.
• Teacher educators should receive orientation from the prescribing
organization in the content & transaction of the curriculum
• TE institutions should expand their “lab school” concept into lab areas by
working directly with a range of preschools within a defined geography,
with the dual aim of informing & influencing their practices, while also
providing opportunity to trainees to experience diverse contexts
Recommendations for Distance Education
• Innovative use of technology for ensuring quality in instruction as well as
practice teaching and internship.
• Study material to be updated regularly, made attractive within approved
norms.
• Review/ Assessment of the study centers to be conducted on regular basis
• Placements should be facilitated by the headquarters.
• Norms and specifications for Distance Education to be laid down by NCTE