Indian Streams

Research Journal

Volume 2, Issue. 6, July

2012

ISSN:-2230-7850

Available online at www.isrj.net

ORIGINAL
ARTICLE

National Curriculum Framework

(NCF) For Teacher
E
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CMJ UNIVERSITY,
SHILONG
(MEGHALYA)
Email :
girdharsharma07@gma
il.com
A
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The Right to Education Act has come into being making it
mandatory for the state to provide free and compulsory
education to almost 20 crore children in the 6-14 age group
till class 8. The Right to Education Act mandates a schedule
for the functioning of schools, which includes a teacher:
student ratio of 1:30 till a student population of 200 students
at the Primary Stage. This would increase the demand for
qualified elementary school teachers many times. The
country has to address the need of supplying well qualified
and professionally trained teachers in larger numbers in the
coming years. The NCF 2005 places different demands and
expectations on the teacher, which need to be addressed by
both initial and continuing teacher education.

Teacher quality is a function of several factors: teacher's status, remuneration

and conditions of work, teacher's academic and professional education. The
teacher education system through its initial and continuing professional
development program expects to ensure adequate supply of professionally
competent teachers to run the nation's schools.

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India has made considerable progress in school education since independence
with reference to overall literacy, infrastructure and universal access and
enrolment in schools. Two major developments in the recent years form the
background to the present reform in teacher education - the political
recognition of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) as a legitimate
demand and the state commitment towards UEE in the form of 86
Amendment, 2002 which has led to the Right to Education Bill, 2008 and the
National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for School Education, 2005. The Bill
has since been passed by the Parliament and the Right to Education Act has
come into being making it mandatory for the state to provide free and
compulsory education to almost 20 crore children in the 6-14 age group till
class 8. The Right to Education Act mandates a schedule for the functioning of
schools, which includes a teacher: student ratio of
1:30 till a student population of 200 students at the Primary Stage. This would
increase the demand for qualified elementary school teachers many times. The
country has to address the need of supplying well qualified and professionally
trained teachers in larger numbers in the coming years. The NCF 2005 places
Please cite this Article as : Girdhar lal Sharma , National Curriculum Framework (NCF) For Teacher
Education : Indian
Streams Research Journal (June ; 2012)

National Curriculum Framework (NCF) For Teacher Education

2
different demands and expectations on the teacher, which
need to be addressed by both initial and continuing teacher
education. Teacher quality is a function of several factors:
teacher's status, remuneration and conditions of work,
teacher's academic and professional education. The teacher
education system through its initial and continuing
professional development program is expected to ensure
adequate supply of professionally competent teachers to run
the nation's schools.
OBJECTIVES / SALIENT FEATURES OF NATIONAL
CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHER
EDUCATION, 2009.
NCTE undertook a major exercise of developing a new
National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education,
which is both contextual, and in tune with the emerging
concerns and imperatives of the fast changing canvas of
education both nationally and globally.
Teacher education is not a prescriptive endeavor. It should
be open and flexible. It highlights an integrative and eclectic
approach to teacher education. There is an emphasis on
changing context.
The concern is to make teacher education liberal, humanistic
and responsive to the demands of inclusive education.
It acknowledges the diversity of learning spaces
and curriculum sites apart from the classroom.
It also appreciates diversity in learning styles that children
exhibit and the learning contexts in which teachers have to
function.
Pedagogical knowledge has to constantly undergo adaptation
to meet the needs of diverse contexts through critical
reflection by the teacher on his/her practice
Teacher education is a continuum - Pre-service teacher
education, in-service teacher education and continuing
professional development of the teachers are inseparable part
of this continuum.
A
shift
towards
constructivist insights
as well as critical
pedagogy.
Concerned with integrating theory with practice by providing
appropriate weightage for theory and practice.

Need
for
enhancing
language
competence
and
communication skills language cuts across the entire
curriculum. The role of language as a medium and tool of
communication assumes great importance.
Highlights the processes of education and training such as
observation, story telling, analysis, critical enquiry, selflearning, reflection on practices, linking practices to concepts,
etc.
Emp
hasis
on
teach
er as
a
refle
ctive
pract
ition
er.
Identified broad areas of evaluation/ assessment
indicator of each area and criteria for each indicator.
Both qualitative and quantitative evaluation
and assessment procedures are highlighted.
Collaborative evaluation as one of the evaluation
mechanisms may be conceptualized by making student
teacher an important partner in the process of evaluation.
Needs to make functional all laboratories related to teacher
preparation such as IT laboratory, educational technology,
educational testing and language learning laboratories.
Move towards a longer duration course (4/5 years after +2
schooling or 2 years after a bachelor's degree. Adequate
rationale worked out for suggested duration of the program by
taking into consideration time matrix/time on task details.
Four modern teaching approaches such as constructivism,
comprehensive learning, contextual pedagogy and ICT
integration needs to be highlighted.
T
H
E
O
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E
S
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X
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E
D
A road map has been identified
highlighting
how
curriculum
framework will be
implemented for teacher education program at various levels.
As a follow-up, NCTE has already initiated a status study on
existing syllabi of teacher education programs at various
levels. Based on the exercises NCTE intends to develop
model curricula, syllabi and textual materials for teacher
education programs at different levels.
Stakeholders
will be oriented
with
new
demands
of
NCFTE.
University
Education
Departments,
SCERT,
IASE/CTE/DIET, etc. would recognize their teacher
education programs by reformulating their curriculum and
syllabus.
Faculty of teacher training institutions will acquire new skills
in pedagogy and evaluation in order to address the demands of
new NCFTE.
Teaching-learning
materials and the learning
sites will be redesigned.
Teacher educators and teachers will
look for continuous professional
development.

~j . JP

National Curriculum Framework (NCF) For Teacher Education

3
Mass orientation of teachers and teacher educators
on various aspects of NCFTE(2009) such as :
o Evaluation of developing teachers
o Formulation of innovative teacher education programs
o Study on impact of new curriculum/syllabus at state-level.
C
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Copies of model syllabus and textual materials will be sent to
universities; SCERTs; State Governments with a request to
initiate the process of revision of textual materials in their
universities/SCERT/States following adaptation of NCFTE
(2009), UGC will also be requested to send directions to
universities in this regard.
States and universities have to come
forward to initiate reformulation of
curriculum.
Universities/States
have to switch over to
long
duration
programs.


D
e
a
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o
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r
e
d
u
c
a
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o
r
s
.
Need to formulate a policy for programs of continuous
professional development of teachers linked to their career
advancement.
Problems of transaction of curriculum/syllabus of English
Language in different types of school such as (i) English
medium private/government aided elite schools (ii) new
English medium private schools where both English and other
Indian languages are used (iii) government aided regional
medium schools and (iv) government owned regional medium
schools including schools run by district municipal education
authorities.

m
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M
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o
f
N
C
F
T
E
.
HOW TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES THE ROLE OF TEACHER EDUCATORS
The profile and role of teacher educator are to be conceived
primarily with reference to the philosophy and principles that
govern the various aspects of school education aims of
education, curriculum, methods and materials and the sociocultural context in which the school functions and the role of
the teacher- educators in translating educational intents into
practical action. The teacher educator should share the
underlying educational philosophy and possess the needed
understanding and professional competencies to develop
desired behaviors in his/ her charges (trainees).
1.Engage teachers with children in real contexts
than teach them about children through theories
2.Bring into the TE curriculum and discourse trainees' own
assumptions about children and beliefs about knowledge and
processes of learning
3.Help teachers to reflect upon their own positions in society
gender, caste, class, poverty, linguistic and regional
variation, community, equity and justice
4.Focus on the developmental aspects of children with
constant reference to the socio-economic and cultural
contexts of children
5.Engage with theory along with field experiences to help
trainees to view knowledge not as external to the learner but
as something that is actively constructed during learning
6.Provide opportunity for trainees for reflection and
independent study without packing the training schedule
with teacher directed activities
7.Integrate academic knowledge and
professional learning into a meaningful
whole
8.View learning as a search for meaning out of personal
experiences and knowledge generation as a continuously
evolving process of reflective learning
9. View knowledge not as an external reality embedded in
textbooks but as constructed in the shared context of teaching
- learning and personal experience
10.Provide opportunities to the student teacher to
critically examine curriculum, syllabi and textbooks
11.Change perception of child as a receiver of knowledge
and encourage its capacity to construct knowledge
C
O

N
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N
The locus of the functions of teacher educators lies in the
role perceptions of teachers with regard to educational
objectives, practices and processes of the school.

~j . JP