Understanding how Practices of Teacher Education in Pakistan Compare with the Popular Theories and Narrative of Reforms of Teacher Education in International Context
Takbir Ali

Abstract
Movements to reform teacher education are underway in many parts of the world, including Europe, Australia, North America and many other developing countries. The directions of and the approaches to these reforms vary in each country. Invariably changing educational policies across countries, innovations, research, and ongoing discourse in the field have contributed to new ways of understanding teacher education in different societies. This reflective paper examines the critical gaps in understanding the main causes underlying core issues facing teacher education and professional development in Pakistan; how the efforts and perspectives about reforming teacher education in Pakistan compare with the practices and the popular narratives shaping the discourse on teacher education in international/global context. The prevalent discourse around teacher education in Pakistan clearly reflects a narrow focus in that the literature produced in Pakistan tends to over emphasize the structural and organizational issues, and there is a clear tendency to over look the philosophical, conceptual and pedagogical underpinnings to teacher education practices, which have received greater attention in the international context. The Pakistani perspective on teachers’ learning and development stresses upon the technical aspect of teaching profession, which involves subject knowledge and a fixed set of skills required to transfer that knowledge to students. Teachers’ leaning in other critical domains such as personal, social and ethical, immensely emphasized in the international literature, have received little or no attention in Pakistani context. The narratives of reform, particularly approaches to teachers’ continued professional development including reflective practice, action/collaborative research and ICT and many other informal way of learning have gained wide popularity in the literature in the international context.

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