The Curriculum of Education and 21st Century Learnings: An analysis

Abstract

Education is matter of life and death for us” preached Quaid-e-Azam. Quality Teacher Education is key towards quality education especially K-12 education. The document analysis was done to investigate the National Professional Standards for Teachers in Pakistan to four-year Teacher Education Curriculum in Pakistan. The findings reveal that the teacher education curriculum inculcates all important areas of a teachers should have mastery to teach in class, for example subject matter knowledge, learning environment, basic understanding of foundations of education and child psychology, dispositions (attitude, behavior and values), and performance skills (teaching methods, assessment strategies). The Curriculum seems comprehensive and balanced with respect to 21st century skills and has high frequency of learning and innovation skills. These set of skills are very important to create creative critical-thinkers who can collaborate and communicate. However, a few important areas like global citizenship, community involvement and partnership are to be enriched in the curriculum. NPSTP seems more focused on Learning environment, Islamic and social skills as compared to Collaboration, Partnership, Human Growth and Development, and ICT. The study suggests critical need for enriching teacher education curriculum for preparing pre-service teachers in creating a lifelong learning environment for K-12 students. This study seeks to foster a cadre of professional teachers equipped with national and international professional standards for teachers to create sustainable inclusive learning environments.