Session Information
16 SES 08 B, Teacher Development
Paper Session
Time:
2009-09-30
08:30-10:00
Room:
NIG, HS 3E
Chair:
Johan van Braak
Contribution
In 2003, the Romanian Government set up at national level a program for improving the teaching quality and learning activities of teachers from rural areas, having a part of financial support from the World Bank. It can be assessed as one of the biggest educational development program for rural area. Our research is about a concrete Romanian experience developed, since 2005, as a higher education program for improving quality education of preschool and primary school teachers from rural area. This program, free of charge, for the unskilled teachers from rural areas, was structured on distance learning and e-learning principles. One of the major component of this program is regarding the opportunities for professional development of those teachers involved into rural school. The objective of this aspect is supporting teachers from rural compulsory education system to gain a professional qualification through following a learning distance program. For this, there were followed a few directions: conceiving a new educational program as distance learning which was will built up on teachers’ demands, interests, experience and expectations; setting up a lawful and academic framework necessary to acknowledge the B.A. diploma gained through this professional program; ensuring access of rural students to basic teaching-learning materials; training of more than 3.060 qualified and not-qualified teachers from rural areas for taking a B.A. diploma; development of cooperation between pre-university and university system. Did this program succeed to change the teaching quality and learning activities of teachers from rural areas? This research is focused on 146 students, with ages between 19 to 50 years old, from Faculty of Pedagogy of Kindergarten and Primary School Teachers (Al. I. Cuza University of Iasi, Romania). The main goal of this research is to reveal the students’ perception regarding the impact of ICT in learning, and represented into attitudes on teaching quality process, integration of technology into learning, teaching process using technology and access to technological resources.
Method
The first variable, attitudes regarding on their teaching quality process, was investigated through a questionnaire (Likert scale) that was given yearly, at every beginning and ending of educational practicum in kindergartens and primary schools.
The second and third variables, integration of technology into learning and teaching process using technology, was investigated through a questionnaire regarding their perception above the training on using technology (they were trained on the second year of studies) and difficulties in using ICT in classes.
The access to technological resources is questioned through the number of elements conceived for the educational practicum portfolio from second and third year of studies, and through a SWOT analyze on impact of ICT in learning process.
Expected Outcomes
The expected outcomes regard on the impact of ICT in learning process. There were followed four aspects: attitudes on teaching quality process, integration of technology into learning, teaching process using technology and access to technological resources.
There were meaningful differences for the quality regarding their teaching process. The integration of technology into learning and teaching process using technology were investigated through a questionnaire regarding students’ perception on training that used ICT into learning process, developed through the activities from second and last year of university studies. Looking at the results, it’s obvious their reticence demonstrated in the second year, because they were tributary to classical system, where the teacher has to be in front of the class and to be seen.
They gained into a short time different types of abilities and competences and this might be an explanation to high values from the last year of study.
References
[1] Romania – Incidence and Nature of Child Labor, [online]; available at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/romania.htm. [2] World Bank, Rural Education Project, [online] May 7, 2004; available at http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=104231&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P073967. [3] Romanian National Education Database, [online]; available at http://www.epractice.eu/cases/NED. [4] Project for Rural Education , the best from Europe and Central Asia, [online]; available at http://rural.edu.ro/index.php/articles/180.
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