CHAPTER 2
STANDARDS
2.1 Standards
and their importance in accreditation
Standards
form the basis on which accreditation works.
They specify the requirements for a system: they state what is required
to produce and assure high quality programs.
They are based on the best thinking of experts, on research, and on best
practice. In a system designed to
accredit teacher education programs, the standards specify the elements which
are required in order for a program to be judged acceptable.
They answer this question: what
are the characteristics of an educational program which produces teachers who
are well qualified to teach children in Turkish schools?
In
the Turkish system of accrediting teacher education, there are three kinds of
standards. They are input standards, process
standards, and output standards.
All three contain the seven domains below.
·
Curriculum:
assuring students have the opportunity to learn the knowledge
and skills required
·
Personnel: for example, satisfactory numbers of qualified academic staff
·
Students:
satisfactory numbers of qualified students
·
Relationships:
good arrangements with, and teaching opportunities in, partner schools
·
Physical
facilities:
satisfactory classrooms, libraries, specialist rooms, computer
resources; and necessary equipment utilised effectively
·
Management:
an effective system of managing the faculty
·
Quality
assurance: a
system which provides for ongoing review and improvement of the teacher
education program.
Input standards show the resource requirements necessary for producing well-qualified
teachers. Without satisfactory
resources in place, without input standards being met, one cannot expect that
teachers will be prepared to meet the output standards.
Some of the responsibility for meeting the input standards rests with the
agencies responsible for policies relating to teacher education (for example,
satisfactory numbers of qualified staff and satisfactory facilities and
equipment). Some rest at least
partly with the Ministry of National Education
(for example, satisfactory arrangements with partner schools).
Some of the input standards, particularly the establishment of a
satisfactory management and quality assurance system, are the responsibility of
the faculty.
Process standards represent actions which people, usually the academic staff, must take in order to ensure the satisfactory education and training of teachers. For example, the required curriculum is an input standard. However, providing the curriculum – teaching the curriculum and making sure that students have sufficient opportunities to acquire the knowledge and skills of beginning teacher – is a process standard. In general, assuring that process standards are met is the job of the faculties, assuming that they have satisfactory levels of inputs or resources.
Output standards are the performances required as a result of the appropriate use of
satisfactory inputs through a satisfactory process. The most important output is, of course, graduates who meet
the national standards, enter teaching, and are successful in their work.
This output is the goal of the teacher education system.
Its importance is reflected in the framework for teacher education
accreditation standards.
From standards to assessment. In
order for standards to be applied by faculties of education and through an
accreditation process, each standard needs to be further developed.
This is done in three ways.
·
Indicators: Indicators are examples of
what people might do to meet the standard.
Usually there are several indicators for each standard.
·
Evidence: Evidence refers to things
that faculty staff might show in documents to demonstrate that a standard has
been met. Evidence also refers to
things that teams do during their visit, such as observing classes and
interviewing people.
·
Grading: Grading provides a guide to
help determine what levels of performance are satisfactory and what level is
unsatisfactory. The grading can be
used to determine if a program
meets a particular standard.
Teacher competencies: The competencies required of beginning teachers in Turkey are given in Appendix 3.