Teacher growth key to reach higher standards

EXPAND the roles of teacher preparation programmes so that continual innovative improvements will develop a new generation of teachers who have the ability to promote complex learning in students, the Ministry of Education (MoE) permanent secretary (Higher Education) said yesterday.

During the opening of the 15th International Conference on Education (ICE 2010) at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), Hj Mohd Daud Hj Mahmud said that teachers' continued learning and professional development are key areas for developing the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to teach all students to reach higher standards.

"Building a high-quality system relevant to 21st century social and economic realities has become a top priority for Brunei."

The permanent secretary said, "I am very pleased that UBD has taken the bold initiative in upgrading the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education (SHBIE) as a graduate school. This development is central to the Ministry of Education's call for UBD to produce quality teachers in line with SPN21."

Hj Mohd Daud urged SHBIE to establish strong partnerships with MoE in the practical teaching phase of teacher education to include life-long learning and development of teachers.

"With the engagement of experts from UBD, schools and other stakeholders in the design, development, delivery and evaluation of teacher development programmes, it will provide opportunities for teachers to acquire content mastery and pedagogical skills, develop interpersonal and communication skills and enhance empathy," he said.

He stressed that effective professional development strategies "must lead to changes" in knowledge and skills for teachers to respond more effectively to the problem of practice. "(These strategies) should seek (teachers') active involvement in the development process and acknowledge that schools are valuable sites for learning."

The permanent secretary also lauded UBD for its collaboration with the ministry in undertaking the "School Leadership Programme", where it will eventually provide MoE with a pool of "transformational and winning school leaders" in the near future.

"(This programme) augurs well with our aspiration of developing a world class education system for Brunei Darussalam. It has been shown that great leadership at the school level is one of the building blocks of world class education," the permanent secretary said.

Chairperson of the ICE2010 Commitee Dr Hj Romaizah Hj Md Salleh said that there was an overwhelming response to this year's four-day conference, where 136 conference papers will be presented.

"I am delighted that 94 papers will be presented by our overseas colleagues from 22 countries and 42 papers by our local presenters," she said, adding that 42 papers will be conducted in Malay language.

Delegates from Australia, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Germany, Ghana are participating in the conference.

The Brunei Times