Community Teacher Education In Papua New Guinea

The authors present a comprehensive examination of the historical origins and development of schooling and teacher preparation in Papua New Guinea, from indigenous education in villages, the influence of European colonization and the role of missionaries in providing education, and the implications for education policies and practices.

First Published in 1995. This collection of papers was shaped by a variety of colleagues who attended the panel sessions on this topic, organized at the annual meetings of the American Educational Studies Association (1992), the Comparative and International Education Society (1993), and the American Educational Research Association (1994). The inspiration for this volume are the many policy makers, teacher educators and teacher education students around the world who have struggled and continue to struggle about and in programs to prepare teachers formally. Reading this volume will benefit the individual in that they will not only understand better the challenges they face but also be encouraged and empowered to pursue their ‘political’ goals, particularly those aimed at creating a world in which power and resources are distributed in a just and equitable manner.

Progressive Education, derived mainly from Anglo-American culture, has been the primary frame of reference for student-centered classroom change in developing countries for over 50 years. Yet in many developing countries, strong evidence shows that progressivism has not replaced teacher-centered formalistic classroom practice. Classroom Change in Developing Countries: From Progressive Cage to Formalistic Frame presents a robust case for why formalism should be the primary frame of reference for upgrading classroom teaching in developing countries. Theoretically rich yet grounded in practice, the book draws on case studies from Africa, China and Papua New Guinea to show how culturally intuitive formalistic teaching styles can induce positive classroom change. Synthesising research and evaluation literature on classroom change in developing countries, Guthrie examines some of the methodological flaws in the literature. The book considers the progressive cage, and looks at Confucian influences on teaching in China, progressive reform failures in both Sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, as well as offering a critical take on some failings in comparative education. It examines the formalistic frame, addresses methodological issues in culturally grounded research and offers a model of teaching styles for basic classroom research. The book concludes by returning the focus back to teachers and considers the so-called teacher resistance to change. The book will be an essential purchase for academics and research students engaged in the fields of classroom teaching, teacher education and curriculum and will also be of interest to academics, aid officials, and decision-makers in developing countries.

This book provides a provocative but carefully argued addition to the theory and practice of education in developing countries. The book provides an ethical and empirical justification for support of formalistic teaching in primary and secondary schools in developing countries. It also refutes the application of progressive education principles to curriculum and pre- and in-service teacher education in such contexts. The central focus of this book is the formalistic teaching prevalent in the classrooms of many developing countries. Formalistic (‘teacher-centred’, ‘traditional’, ‘didactic’, ‘pedagogic’) teaching is appropriate in the many countries with revelatory epistemologies, unpopular and old-fashioned though these methods may seem in some western, especially Anglophone, ones. Formalism has been the object of many failed progressive curriculum and teacher education reforms in developing countries for some 50 years.

UNESCO pub. Critical issues in teacher training and continuing education for community development in developing countries - presents a new profile of teachers' tasks in rural communitys, their expected leadership in personal and community problems, the role of schools and educational systems, adult education, etc.; includes case studies. References.