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Task 1

Read the article and write T (for True) or F (for False) to each of the statements.

1. In the Middle Ages there were enough institutions offering instruction in the principles and practices of teaching.

2. Unfortunately during the 17^th and 18^th centuries teacher training was given little attention.

3. The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is known to be one of the earliest institutions to offer a program of teacher training.

4. The basic doctrine of all educational theory in the 18^th century was to first and foremost concern with subject matter.

5. Jean Jacques Rousseau and Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi greatly influenced the development of the pedagogical theories in the 18^th century.

6. The idea to study the psychological processes of learning led to an important advance in teacher-training theories.

7. The study of methods of teaching has been recognized as a science only because the standards for the certification of teachers were raised.

8. In the USA it was required to complete a college-degree course to teach in high school.

9. Today teacher training includes courses in the psychology of children or adolescents, the principles and techniques of teaching, and the historical foundations of education.

10. Teaching being no prestigious any longer, departments of education at American universities are few.

Teacher training

Ancient and medieval societies lacked institutions offering instruction in the principles and practices of teaching. Persons intending to become teachers were required only to demonstrate knowledge of those subjects they desired to teach. During the Renaissance, some teachers such as Vittorino da Feltre in Italy, Johannes Sturm in Germany, and John Colet in England gained wide recognition for their learning and ability to teach, but the training of teachers was given little attention. It was not until the rise of democratic principles during the 17th and 18th centuries, with their assertion that the political, social, and economic development of nations could best be achieved through the education of the individual citizen, that measures were taken to establish institutions to provide teacher training.

The earliest-known educational institution to offer a systematic program of teacher training was the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, which was established in 1685 at Reims, France, by the French priest Saint John Baptist de la Salle. In the 18th century other such institutions were begun in France and Germany. A government-sponsored school established in France in 1794 was the first to follow the principles of the philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau.

Rousseau believed that educators should concern themselves primarily with the mental and physical development of their pupils and only secondarily with subject matter. This principle was later adopted by teacher-training schools throughout the world and became a basic doctrine of all educational theory. The most important of the many educators who applied and developed the pedagogical theories of Rousseau was the late 18th-century Swiss educational reformer Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi.

An important advance in teacher-training theories and methods was made in Prussia early in the 19th century with the application of the views of the educator Johann Friedrich Herbart. He stressed the study of the psychological processes of learning as a means of devising educational programs based on the aptitudes, abilities, and interests of students. The success of Herbart's methods led to their adoption in the teacher-training systems of numerous countries.

In the 20th century many new trends and problems in relation to the growth of the profession have arisen. Largely because of the teaching of the American philosopher and educator John Dewey, the study of methods of teaching has been recognized as a science. Standards for the certification of teachers were raised in all states. Elementary-school teachers were required to complete a college-degree course before being given a permanent teaching certificate, while study beyond a bachelor's degree has become necessary to teach on a permanent basis in high school. In addition to a thorough command of at least one academic subject, a qualified teacher is expected to have a broad background of general education, as well as professional preparation that includes the psychology of children or adolescents, the principles and techniques of teaching, and the historical foundations of education.

There are several hundred teachers colleges in the U.S., as well as private schools that train teachers of kindergarten and preschool education. With teaching now accorded full professional status, most colleges and universities have established departments of education. The work of these institutions has been responsible for much improvement in the standards of the teaching profession.

G RAMMAR REFERENCE SECTION