Read the following text to learn more about the organization of teacher education

Teacher education, as it exists today, can be divided into two stages, preservice and in-service. Preservice education includes all the stages of education and training that precede the teacher's entry to paid employment in a school. In-service training is the education and training that the teacher receives after the beginning of his career.

In Great Britain teacher education is provided by university schools, departments or faculties of education, polytechnic departments of education, and colleges of higher education.

From 1980 onwards the most usual route to a teaching qualification in England and Wales for non-graduates is by way of a three or four-year course leading to the Bachelor of Education Degree, for graduates it is by way of two terms (six months) of professional and theoretical studies and a further three-month period of school experience.

A teacher training course contains three main elements. The first element is the study of one or more academic, cultural, or aesthetic subjects for the purpose both of continuing the student's own education and of providing him with knowledge to use in his teaching career. A second element is the study of educational principles. A third element consists of professional courses and school experience.

General education. Students in many colleges of education in England study only one principal subject, to which they devote about one-third of their total time, and teachers who graduate from universities have often pursued three-year courses for single-subject honours degrees. In the United States and elsewhere the academic element is broader, and the first two years of college or university work may include a wide range of elective subjects from diverse disciplinary fields. Both patterns have their critics, the first because it produces narrow intellectual specialists, the second because it encourages dilettantism and inadequate depth.

The study of educational principles. In recent years there has been a revival of interest in the social sciences as an integral feature of teacher-education programs. This is partly a recognition of the popularity of studies of this kind among students, partly a reflection of their importance in a time of rapid social and educational change, and partly a function of the larger supply of qualified social scientists available to teach them.

Practical training. Professional and practical studies constitute the third major element in the teacher-preparation program. "Teaching practice" has always been important, initially carried out in the model or demonstration school attached to the normal school or college, later in the schools of the neighbourhood, and more recently in a variety of school, college, and community settings. The model and demonstration school was frequently criticized for the unreality of its teaching settings; some model schools attached to universities tended to become academically oriented and ceased to play an experimental role.

Efforts have been made to reduce the separation between school and college; these include the transfer of college staff to periods of classroom teaching and of experienced teachers to college work, dual appointment to a college and to a school where the "teacher-tutor" assumes responsibility for supervision of the student's school-based work, the involvement of teachers' organizations in the determination of national policy on teacher education, the involvement of individual teachers in the government and committee work of teacher-preparing institutions, and the use of periods of school-based teacher education in which a tutor and group of student teachers are attached to a school or a number of schools for an extended period of observation, practical teaching, and theoretical study. Courses are also being devised in which periods of education, training, and paid employment in schools alternate with one another to make up a four- or five-year program.

Generally speaking, in federal countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, each state or province sets its own requirements for certification, which inevitably determines the content and organization of the teacher-education programs. The variety of such regulations often means that teachers who have received their education and training in one province or state are not qualified to teach in schools elsewhere without satisfying additional requirements. In England requirements are determined on a national basis. Responsibility for recommending the granting of qualified teacher status may, however, be delegated. In England this responsibility is exercised by regional consortia of colleges, local educational authorities, universities, and teacher interests known as area training organizations that were established after 1944.

In-service training. Training on the job involves courses, conferences, and other organized study programs. There are general and specialist educational journals and newspapers; educational bodies of various kinds issue their own newsletters, broadsheets, and bulletins. The volume of material published in this form has increased enormously.

Teachers' centres in Britain help to spread a wide range of new educational practices and ideas.

There are courses for teachers available through broadcast television, radio, and correspondence tuition.

More attention is paid to school-based in-service education. A new idea or principle may find more ready acceptance within a group of like-minded people than when it must make its way against the organizational conservatism of a particular school. Department discussions, staff working parties, and other forms of school-based meetings enable matters of curriculum and organization to be discussed in depth, facilitate the induction of younger members of the profession, and help to limit the isolation of the teacher within the classroom.

Future developments in teacher education. Coming decades are likely to see continuing development and change in teacher education. The teacher must adjust to new developments in educational technology, the growth of human knowledge, and the problem of creating a relevant and appropriate curriculum from the enormous range of material available. There will be new understanding of how children develop and learn. The patterns of authority in society will continue to change, and it is likely that there will be a greater recognition of the importance of moral and personal education in a world of pluralistic values and goals. All these factors will affect the ways in which teachers are educated and trained. But it is unlikely that coming decades will see the introduction of any comprehensive pedagogical system resembling those of the 19th century. No single theory of learning or teaching is likely to satisfy the diversity of individual needs and societal arrangements.

Explain what these terms mean:

pre-service education

in-service training

graduate

non-graduate

general education

the study of educational principles

practical training

Answer the following questions:

What stages does teacher education fall into?

Where are teachers trained in Great Britain?

What are the most usual routes to a teaching qualification for graduates and non-graduates in England and Wales?

What are the main elements of a teacher training course?

What is the basic difference between general education patterns in England and the USA?

What is the role of social studies in teacher preparation programs?

What changes have taken place in teachers practical training?

What steps are taken to reduce separation between school and college?

How are requirements to a teaching qualification determined in England and the USA?

What is the aim of in-service training? In what forms is it provided?

How may teacher education develop in future?

Compare the structure of teacher education in Great Britain with that in Ukraine. What do they have in common? What are the main differences?

Does teacher education in Ukraine include the same three basic components? How is in-service training realized in Ukraine? What educational establishments provide teacher training?How is qualified teacher status obtained?

Have there been any innovations in teacher education in Ukraine in recent years? Try to formulate the main problems which in your opinion exist today in teacher education in Ukraine.