Evaluative Study Of M.A. Education Programmes Of Teacher Education At Higher Education Level In Pakistan

Abstract

The study was aimed at evaluating the MA Education Programme of teacher education in Pakistan. Post-graduate teacher’s training institutes in Pakistan grant the Master of Education (MA/M.Ed.), Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph D) post-graduate degrees in the field of education to enhance the careers and accelerate the professional development of educators. The population of the study was all heads and teachers of education departments of public sector universities and government colleges of education and prospective teachers enrolled in public sector universities and government colleges where the Master degree of Education (MA Education) programme was offered. The sample of 20 heads of public sector universities and government colleges of education, 56 teacher educators of 10 public sector universities and 10 government colleges of education, and 200 prospective teachers enrolled in public sector universities and government colleges of education departments, where the Master degree of Education (M.A./M.Ed.) was offered in Pakistan, was selected through cluster random sampling. For the collection of data, three questionnaires - one each for heads of institutions, teacher educators and prospective teachers - were developed. For analysis, chi-square as the contingency test, was applied for identifying the trends from the frequency of responses of each questionnaire item. It was concluded that the teaching faculty of the MA education programme was using a variety of teaching methods according to the nature of objectives, content and students. Evaluation systems for students of the MA education programme were found satisfactory. It is recommended that required changes be introduced in admission criteria, curriculum, duration of degree programme, teaching-practice, research work, rewards and incentives of existing MA Education Programme in Pakistan.