Escola Básica e Secundária Padre Manuel Álvares

Madeira Islands, Portugal

INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION IN PORTUGAL

Liseth Cristina Andrade Ferreira

Physics and Chemistry Teacher

Initial Teacher Education in Portugal

Teaching Career in Constant Evolution

Being a teacher of the 21st century:  Work goes beyond the classroom;  Must address issues relating to the emergence of new citizenships and identities, technologies and economies;  Prepare students develop skills and knowledge for the economy and for lifelong learning;  Involves ongoing professional learning in the form of further study, participation in professional development programs, and engagement in professional school-based learning communities.

Initial Teacher Education in Portugal

Teacher Training Program 1 st year

Academic studies Pedagogical education Didactics Classroom psychology School organization and administration

2 nd year

School-based teaching practice (Internship) A better adequacy of the program depends largely on increasing the quality of teacher’s training pedagogical methods:    Focus on general teaching practice (and in particular to the program itself) Observation, analysis and accountability of trainee’s teaching activities Evaluation of capabilities, attitudes and adequacy levels of intent

Initial Teacher Education in Portugal

Teacher Training Program - Importance

 Creates conditions for autonomy Development of skills for the practice Acquisition of experience in the field of didactics and interpersonal relationships Review and critical evaluation of educational strategies adopted  Allows the construction of the professional identity of the future teacher Integration of theoretical knowledge and procedures and its necessary approach to situations arising the professional practice  The personal and relational dimension, as well as the institutional and organizational are appreciated

Initial Teacher Education in Portugal

Teacher Training Program - Disadvantages

 The relevance and quality of the course work provided by universities (‘theory’) as distinct from the component of practical experience in schools (‘practice’)  The lack of preparedness by many trainees to handle the multiple and diverse relationships in and out of a classroom

Initial Teacher Education in Portugal

Teacher Training Program - Disadvantages

 The trainees supervision is done more directly by school supervisors in which, by the condition of everyday practice, tend to put more emphasis on finding solutions to immediate problems than the theoretical reflection on educational issues;  The lack of institutional recognition for the training coordination tasks developed by university professors, which are probably better prepared to foster pedagogical reflection

Initial Teacher Education in Portugal

Macro-structural conditions of the school-based teaching training (internship)

 Inadequacy of law regarding the human resources at schools Ambiguity of the status of the trainee teacher Inexistence of a single model for teachers education for all universities  Need for a deeper reflection about “numeri clausi” of university courses offering teacher education No real association to the labor market with the number of vacancies offered by universities for educational courses

Initial Teacher Education in Portugal

Macro-structural conditions of the school-based teaching training (internship)

 Conditions for recruitment and respective profile of the local supervisor and scientific coordinator Local Supervisor Scientific Coordinator Teacher specialty from the same scientific Nominated by the Regional Education Directorate Have an important role since none professor accompanies the students (future teachers) so closely or even have as much as a direct intervention on their training PhD professors from Universities Nominated by university’s pedagogical council Their tasks are not clearly defined by law and that they vary greatly from institution to institution Attend trainee’s classes and observe their pedagogical and scientific performance closely Instruct of local supervisors

Initial Teacher Education in Portugal

Articulation between Universities and Schools

 Is important since “force” universities to relate with other levels of education Since before legally take the initial teacher’s education, relationships were almost nonexistent  The observation and evaluation of trainee’s activities “in loco” by scientific coordinator provides a unique opportunity where some of the deficiencies in the scientific and pedagogical skills previously acquired can be shown Opportunity to analyze, evaluate and reconstruct the university curriculum.

Initial Teacher Education in Portugal

Articulation between Universities and Schools

Schools are vital communities of learning and drivers of change that universities should have to take into consideration!!

Initial Teacher Education in Portugal

Final Note…

 Teacher’s education must be in the position to prepare teachers to work in emerging, and yet to be known contexts, and to select entrants most likely to develop as much quality teachers with the ability to work effectively within the rapidly changing societal and schooling context of teacher’s work  The teacher training program provides conditions for trainees to practice in a school the roles of teacher, being closely monitored by local supervisors and scientific coordinators  Due to the challenges of rapid transformation of society, new technologies, new work places, new citizenships and the need for pedagogical and curriculum innovation universities must have to work in partnerships with schools and redefine the work of university and school-based teacher education