william pitcher college Department Of Education

william pitcher college Department Of Education

About the department
The Professional Studies/ Education Department is the king pin around which the institution revolves. The Department has a key responsibility to offer all teaching professional courses. Its role is to make sure that graduates of the college are ready to be engaged in Swaziland’s classrooms as efficient and effective teachers. Since we are in the vanguard of teacher education we aspire to provide the requisite milieu for students’ acquisition of the necessary pedagogical skills and professional values and attitudes that will complement their content knowledge to provide quality teachers for basic education in the nation. We seek to be one of the major contributors to Swaziland’s declared aspirations to meet the Millennium Development Goals, the Jomtien Declaration and the Dakar Framework of Action for Education For All by 2015.


Vision
Collaborate with all stakeholders to attain the nation’s goal of quality education for all by 2015.


Mission
In collaboration and cooperation with other departments in the college as well as institutions outside the college, instill in students the desire and ability to provide the environment for learners to reach their full potential using appropriate and innovative approaches based on best practice and cutting-edge research.


Sections/Units in the Department
According to the National Education Review Commission of February 1985 there is a concern of falling standards in teacher education thus there is a need to address this concern. In an effort to address this concern of the quality in teacher education the National Education Policy Statement (October 1998), articulates that pre-service institutions should be flexible to address and integrate relevant education innovations as they come. Our review of the curriculum as a department reveals that there is a need to introduce the additional following courses: Education for Sustainable Development, Special and inclusive Education, Guidance Counselling, Psychosocial, HIV and Aids Education.


PROFESSIONAL STUDIES/EDUCATION CURRICULUM
Aim and Objectives of the Education Courses
The general aim of the course in education is to contribute to the development of professional skills and attitudes of secondary and primary school teachers by providing opportunities to develop through academic study and practice, an understanding of educational theory and practices which will help students to function successfully and with self fulfillment in teaching and in school supervision with reference to Swaziland


Objectives

At the end of their training students teachers should be able to demonstrate the following:

A basic understanding of foundation and practices in education

An understanding of child development

An understanding of theories of learning and teaching

An understanding of the theory and practice of school administration and supervision

The ability to organize and manage classroom activities

The ability to involve all learners irrespective of their challenges

A basic understanding of the theory and practice of counseling and guidance as well as mental health problems

The ability to conduct a research and write a research report

An Overview of the Courses Offered
History and Philosophy of Education: This course deals with the history of educational ideas. It aims at introducing students to the nature, purpose and process of education.
Development Psychology: This course deals with the meaning of the concepts of growth and development; the different stages in life span of an individual and the theories of human development. It is intended to increase the student teacher’s understanding of children and of their learners in particular.
Learning and Educational Psychology: This section deals with the varieties of learning, learning theories, forms of learning and factors affection learning. It is intended to help students understand the process of learning, and to be able to facilitate learning by providing the learners with a variety of effective approaches to learning.
Methods of Teaching: This course deals with the skills necessary for teaching and how to plan for effective teaching and use teaching resources. It helps student teachers to be more efficient, flexible and innovative in their approach to teaching
Principles of Teaching: This course deals with the practical skills a teacher needs for everyday work in the classroom. It is intended to equip the teacher with knowledge and skills of handling daily routine in the school.

Curriculum Planning: To provide students with a general introduction to the basic theory and practice of Curriculum planning, construction and evaluation.

Sociology of Education: The aim of the course is to present a brief but comprehensive introduction to the sociological foundations of Education.
Comparative Education: The aim of the course is to introduce students to the different systems of Education as practiced in selected states in the world.
School and Administration: The aim of the course in to provide students with general understanding organizations and principles of administration. It also equip student teachers with supervision skills.

Methods of Research: This course aims at equipping students with the skills of understanding simple research projects. Students will be able to carry out simple research projects.
Educational Technology: This course is designed to make teachers familiar with the use of some of the resources they are likely to find available in the schools.
Measurements and Evaluation: This course is designed to enable students to measure the outcome of teaching and to interpret the results of measurement exercise.
Inclusive and Special Education: This course aims at equipping teachers with the skills to identify and support learners with special educational needs in the mainstream classroom.

Micro Teaching and Teaching Practice: This exercise is aimed and availing opportunities to students have classroom experience. It is the most important part of a student teacher’

Activities in the department:

Teaching Practice Coordination and Assessment

Lecturing

Induction of New Students

Counselling

Conducting Research

Participation in Subject Panels

Authors

On and off site teachers further professional development

Involvement in many professional association e.g. SERA, SOTESCO, HECSO, OSSERA, ASCD, and EESA amongst others

And many other educational activities.