UNICEF

UNICEF has been working closely with Government of India for the last 70 years, helping children realize their dreams and give them best start in life. UNICEF is fully committed to working with Government to ensure that each child born in this country gets the best start in life, thrives and develops to his or her full potential. UNICEF’s strong relationships and access to diverse stakeholders from Government of Odisha, civil society, private and international sectors, also make it uniquely positioned to facilitate opportunities for greater collaboration between these diverse sectors and to bring together efforts to promote innovation in Teacher Education. The Directorate of TE and SCERT, in active and willing partnership with UNICEF State Office, initiated a series of academic exercises directed towards strengthening Teacher Education system of the state.

Vision for Teacher Education

UNICEF’s overarching goal for Teacher Education (TE) is to strengthen Government systems that enhance the capacity of teachers to deliver quality education – with equity. Specifically, the following changes are planned:

  1. Professionalization of the teaching profession by establishing stronger linkages with the higher education sector along with continuous in-service professional development opportunities that nurture teachers through a process of personal transformation and growth.
  2. A strong cadre of teacher educators who have a clear vision and understanding of NCF 05 and RTE, practical experience in applying these in classrooms with strong facilitation and mentoring skills.
  3. Training that use constructivist methodologies that enable teachers to reflect on their beliefs, attitudes, classroom experiences, innovations they want to bring into their own classrooms.
  4. A culture of continuous collaboration with Teacher Resource Centers having a variety of reading materials and resources used by Trainers, Teachers, and Teacher Mentors who offer regular on-site support to teachers.
  5. Teachers are empowered to become reflective practitioners, equipped with vision, attitudes, knowledge and skills required to design effective classroom strategies to meet diverse learners’ needs, along with freedom and support needed to implement these.

Goals

  1. To offer hands-on support to help states develop and successfully implement comprehensive roadmaps for Teacher Education reform under the new TE Scheme/ Mission.
  2. To work towards strengthening District Institute of Education and Training (DIETs) and capacity-building of DIET Teacher Educators in selected states, through partnerships with other Resource Organizations.
  3. To generate resources to strengthen TE programmes and methodologies, to translate the vision of NCF 2005/ NCF TE 2009 into a reality in classrooms.
  4. To explore quality options for Training Untrained Teachers, and help states implement these solutions for meeting RTE goals without compromising quality.
  5. To partner with states and selected universities to become Centers of Excellence in Teacher Education, conducting innovative TE programmes (B.El.Ed, M.Ed.) as well as interdisciplinary research on elementary education.