ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS: PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Quality enhancement of teacher education programs has been a debatable issue all over the world. The present study was aimed to assess the quality of teacher education programs being offered in a public sector university in Pakistan. Three programs were randomly selected and prospective teachers studying in the final semester were selected as sample of the study. Prospective teachers studying in last semester of teacher training programs were the respondents. Questionnaire, containing 55 statements divided into six factors, was used as data collection tool. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics showed that the respondents were more satisfied about the selection criteria, effectiveness of teaching strategies used by teachers, behavior modification practices, appropriateness of courses, timely feedback, and teachers’ content knowledge but they were less satisfied with the statements related to availability of multimedia in the classes, sharing of faculty offices, no distortion of external factors, space to conduct activities, cleanliness and neatness of classrooms, and environment helpful for learning. The results of inferential statistics revealed significant difference in mean score of respondents from different programs on the factors of admission criteria, use of technology, assessment procedure, and quality of paper development and marking. It is recommended in the light of results that the university should allocate special budget to improve the quality of infrastructure. Furthermore, availability of technology and its proper use should be ensured by the university administratio