UNESCO

State-level Consultations on Teacher Development: Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhandspan>

CORD is partnering the first phase of a series of State-level consultations on Teacher Development, organised jointly by the MHRD, UNESCO and UNICEF, along with relevant state education departments.

The first phase covers the states of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Jharkhand, with the MP consultation scheduled for the 11-13 of January 2013 in Bhopal. Pre-consultations in Jharkhand shall begin soon after this.

These State-level consultations are an attempt to take forward the international conferences on teacher development – pre-service and in-service training in particular - that were held in Udaipur, Delhi and Bhubaneshwar between 2009 and 2013.

It was felt that the demands on preparation of teachers and teacher educators, curriculum renewal and the need to address systemic challenges in the context of the Right to Education Act, the National Curriculum Framework and the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education are vast. To be able to create a meaningful dialogue and plan of action to implement these frameworks, state-level consultations are needed.

These consultations attempt to bring together representatives from various teacher training institutes – DIETs, RIEs, IASEs, CTEs, board of secondary education, teacher unions and private training institutes along with representatives from civil society to create a state-specific dialogue, spearheaded by the state education authorities themselves. The consultations shall culminate in the formation of a comprehensive decadal perspective plan for the state.

The process involves conducting pre-consultations in each state with the government and civil society to provide the basis for the 3 day intensive consultation, with teacher educators and TEIs. A core group from among the members of the consultation shall then draw up a perspective plan from the key issues that emerge.

CORD has been commissioned to provide academic support for this process.

Feminization of the teaching profession

“Feminisation of the Teaching Profession” has been an area of educational analytical research in recent decades. However, there are few studies which explore the extent of feminization of the teaching profession within the Commonwealth and the correlating arguments in terms of cause and effect. In this context, a study has been commissioned on this topic. The study is led by a researcher in the UK. The scope of the study includes one country from each region of the Commonwealth. India is one of the selected countries and CORD has been commissioned to do a case study with particular focus on the states of Kerala and Rajasthan. Varied quantitative and qualitative data is being used at all tiers of research. The intended audience comprises policy makers and other officials of the ministries of education, teachers, teacher educators and heads of teacher training institutions, national and international agencies involved in gender issues etc. The lead consultant is responsible for collating and synthesizing the data produced by the in-country researchers into the final report. The project will be in operation from October 2013 to February 2011.
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