LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Importance of Practicum in Teacher Training Programme -
A Need of the Hour

Aijaz Ahmed Gujjar, Ph.D. Scholar, Naeem Ullah Bajwa, Ph.D.,
Ghazala Shaheen, Ph.D., and Saifulla Saifi Ph.D.

Abstract

Teacher education course, both its theoretical and the practical components, is designed to achieve the required targets. This paper aims to unearth the differences pertaining to the theory and practice of pre-occupational teacher training being imparted in Pakistani teacher training institutions.

The experiment for the present study is made up of 120 student teachers of 12 diverse teacher training institutions of Pakistan. They had ended the academic part of the training and were now slotted in practice teaching.

This study represented all the Federating units. Observation was employed as a modus operandi to collect data. Visits were made to the class rooms during the period starting from February 2007 to May 2007.

Information was composed through 34 sets of surveillance. The observation checklist was prepared to achieve the purpose of this study while acknowledging the broad gaps between theory and practice and by exploiting means and techniques, the use of computer applications for teaching, experimentation and the use of diagnosis evaluation techniques. However, it was observed that novelty and innovation were absolutely missing and the trainees feel themselves satisfied with the identical obsolete techniques and methods through which they were taught.

It is, therefore, proposed that the teacher trainers consistently stay at the classes during the practice teaching. Furthermore, increasing the duration of practice teaching will guarantee the success of the programme.

Introduction

The importance of practicum in any course of studies is a given thing and teacher education is no exception to this (McIntyre, Byrd, & Fox, 1996). Practicum is a vital component in many educational courses at all levels. Practicum is included in many disciplines and provide the student with the opportunity to put the theory they have learned into practice. The practice can be overwhelmed by the theory but it cannot negate the existence and importance of practicum. Blunden (2000) puts it in these words:

Theory involves the development of understanding and insight and it is what universities often do well. Of course, both of these worlds, practice and theory, are communities of practice, but they are nonetheless very different worlds (p. 8).

However, it is an admitted fact that a theory dies without practice and the aim of a course should always be to give importance to both theory and practice. This will help practitioner and researcher to fill the gaps between theory and practice. Understanding the nature of a theory and knowing its evaluation help us to locate these gaps. The present study is an effort in the same direction.

Theory of the Practicum

Practicum is needed if the reflective and moral work of teachers is to underpin the actual practice and promote knowledge construction in ways that are equitable and just for our young people. Practicum is, in fact, a blend of a variety of diverse aspects, e.g., the performance of the student teachers, the teacher educators, the school and the availability of resources. However, it is more important to have a relationship of all these factors (Ellsworth and Albers, 1995).

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