Postgraduate teaching degrees no cure-all
Published:Tuesday | August 6, 2013 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
An advanced degree serves as no guarantee that a teacher will be effective in the classrooms of Jamaica's public schools, or any other place for that matter.
In recent times, colleges and universities have been encouraging graduates to matriculate in postgraduate education programmes, but many of those who have completed the studies successfully and have returned to full-time classroom teaching jobs have been identified as the lowest-performing teachers in Jamaica's public schools.
In the absence of data, one can only judge from 'academic outcome' - based on student achievement in terms of results from the GSAT and CXC examinations. The results are discouraging.
This 'outcome' serves to inform the public that an advanced degree is a good investment that 'pays off' through higher earnings and job security, but does not always serve the interest of the students.
It is necessary, therefore, that the Ministry of Education pay close attention to prospective employees by ensuring that the following two steps are followed. First, the applicant must prepare and submit lesson plans.
And second, the applicant is given the opportunity to demonstrate the lesson in a classroom setting with students.
G. GEORGE WILSON
Springfield PO