Abstract:
Preparation of teachers for the profession i s a matter
of profound s o c i a l concern. The progress, development and
q u a l i t y of a nation greatly depends on the teachers who give
shape to the personality of the m i l l i o n s i n the country. This
c a l l s for systematic and better thought out programmes for the
accomplishment of t h e i r tasks expected of the teachers by the
s o c i e t y . Over the past few years, the e f f i c i e n c y bar imposed
on graduate teachers that they should acquire a post graduate
q u a l i f i c a t i o n bore d i r e c t l y on t h e i r economy and created an
upsurge i n the numbers who sought to get a post graduate q u a l i f
i c a t i o n . The post graduate Diploma i n Education correspondence
course was launched to cater to t h i s urgent need. It i s evident
that the conduct of t h i s course has not been as systematic as
planned and that d i s s a t s i f a c t i o n and f r u s t r a t i o n prevailed among
the graduates who sought redress through t h i s course. Moreover
the drop out rate at i t s commencement too had averaged about
100 per intake of 450. It i s c l e a r l y known that the success
of a course depends l a r g e l y on i t s successful implementation.
I t should be able to meet the diverse needs of i t s c l i e n t e l e .
The f u l f i l m e n t of diverse needs and expected goals c a l l s for
changes i n the d i r e c t i o n , methods and content of the program
as and when needed. In such a context, a comprehensive survey
of the conduct of course i s v i t a l for i t s improvement and reorganization
q u a l i t a t i v e l y . Hence a needs assessment of the
graduate teachers who formed the c l i e n t e l e of t h i s correspondence
course can be considered important and timely.
In t h i s study an attempt i s made to gather data from
graduate teachers on the conduct of the course regionwise.
The areas that were touched upon as regards t h i s were i t s
duration, system of i s s u i n g learning material, organization
and adequate of seminars, methods of study, forms of face to
face contact, subject a l l o c a t i o n and f i e l d t r a i n i n g . The focus
of t h i s study was on the problems they encountered, the usefulness
of the course and t h e i r suggestions f o r improvement
and re-organizationc
Five hundred graduate teachers from two batches-1976/78 &. 1978/79
randomly selected from Colombo, Kandy and G a l l e regions who were the
c l i e n t e l e of t h i s course formed the sample of t h i s study. It
was i n c l u s i v e of male and female, married and unmarried, r u r al
and urban candidates who possessed a teaching experience of
I
over 11 years»
Data was obtained by a mailed questionnaire administered
to the e n t i r e sample,out of which 200 responded and by interviews
with a selected sample of 32 f o r an indepth study from Kandy
and Galle regions. Part I of the questionnaire s o l i c i t e d
respondents' biographical data» Part I I of the questionnaire
included 42 items covering the 10 main areas or aspects investigated
to cover the s i x objectives of t h i s study,as detailed
i n the Chapter on Methodology. The questionnaire was an a t t i t u de
scale of the L i k e r t type. Examination of each aspect ended with
an open-ended question to draw out suggestions from the
c l i e n t e l e.
V I II
The second technique used i n the study,which i s the
interview method,formed the basis f o r the indepth study. The
items i n the mailed questionnaire guided i n drawing up the
interview schedule. Interview data i s presented i n the in-depth
study analysis and also where appropriate i n the summary and
conclusion of t h i s study. C o r r e l a t i o n a l analysis of data
between regions (regionwise) too was possible by t h i s method.
This helped to cross check data of the two regions, Kandy and
Galle i n the main sample where the response to the mailed
questionnaire was l e s s and also with that of Colombo. The
interview with M i n i s t r y o f f i c i a l s who conducted this course
and the U n i v e r s i t y l e c t u r e r s who were involved i n course
a c t i v i t i e s supplied valuable data for the f i n a l analysis
«. «r n
which i s presented i n summary form i n the conclusion of
t h i s study.
The findings of t h i s study revealed the absence of
a preplanned program of work and the unsystematic nature of
course conduct. Though i t was designed for two years, i n
actual p r a c t i c e , i t had l a s t e d nearly four years. This dragging
on had affected the personal l i v e s and family o b l i g a t i o n s of
the c l i e n t e l e resulting?discouragement and drop-outs. Stagnat
i o n at the e f f i c i e n c y bar due to delay i n f i n i s h i n g the course,
with no s p e c i a l increments i n s a l a r y after completion, has l ed
to f r u s t r a t i o n further.
This study examined the extent to which t h i s course
s a t i s f i e s the p r o f e s s i o n a l needs of these teachers. I t h i g h l i g h ts
IX.
the lack of opportunity for face to face contact, inadequate
guidance and corruption i n the f i e l d t r a i n i n g aspect and the
necessity of a learning resource centre. The study reveals
that private seminars have been organised by the c l i e n t e le
themselves to supplement the inadequacies and drawbacks of
seminars organised by the department. This r e f l e c t s that
students have not got the optimum benefits from f a c i l i t i es
provided i n the course.
The indepth study interview revealed the d i f f i c u l t i es
the graduate teachers encountered and underwent on a personal
l e v e l o Findings i n d i c a t e that f a c i l i t i e s a v a i l a b l e , the
co-operation extended by the P r i n c i p a l and the s t a f f to conduct
teaching practice d i f f e r from school to school. Evaluation of
teaching practice was very subjective, unfair and the negative
factors had adversely affected t h e i r performance. The
d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n and f r u s t r a t i o n expressed by the c l i e n t e le
highlights the extent to which the expected outcomes of
correspondence education are not r e a l i s e d i n t h i s course.
Preparation of teachers for the profession i s a
matter of profound s o c i a l concern. The progress, development
and quality of a nation greatly depends on the teachers who
give shape to the personality of the m i l l i o n s of students in
the country. This c a l l s for systematic and better thought
out programmes for the accomplishment of the tasks expected
of teachers by society. The standard of student learning could be
X
raised by upgrading the standard of our teaching profession.
Teachers should be made a contented l o t i f they are to perform
their duties s a t i s f a c t o r i l y . The course should reach expected
targets and ensure teachers job s a t i s f a c t i o n with the l i k e l i h o od
of achieving t h e i r numerous a s p i r a t i o n s.
In t h i s study the a n a l y s i s indicates that the major
problems the c l i e n t e l e encountered were not so much i n the
printed material but were i n the conduct and management of the
course. Therefore i t i s important and timely that a needs
assessment of the c l i e n t e l e be made f o r i n v e s t i g a t i o n into the
structure and . conduct of the Diploma i n Education correspondence
course with suggestions for remedial measures. .
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