International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
institutions that research is an important or even integral component of instruction which means that the two are
complementary. Other behaviors of a teacher as a researcher include creating knowledge, making a connection
between teaching and research, getting research ideas based on students’ performance, and doing extra reading
and other learning activities. This indicates for a preference to do doing extra academic undertakings like
research that could inform or further learning in the classroom.
PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS FOR TEIS
This section presents suggested development program for pre-service and in-service teachers based on the
findings of the study to get closer to bridging the gap between theory and practice and provide the students
across levels with teachers whose qualities match with their expectations. The development programs are
described in terms of scope and design.
Scope. Training of pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and even teacher educators should be holistic to
include development programs for the improvement of their personality as well as their psychosocial and
professional image. The personality development training should expose them to techniques in projecting the
following images of a teacher: smart, well-mannered, open-minded, confident, responsible, fair, encouraging,
god-fearing, and patient. As explained by Magno & Sembrano (2006), personal characteristics have an effect on
teaching efficacy as they lead to better teaching performance and effectiveness. This then suggests that a good
training package for teachers should cover both personal and professional. Hence, teachers need also to be
trained on the professional and psychosocial aspects as well. For the training on teachers’ psychosocial skills,
this should cover: how to deal with learners in a multicultural, competitive, or diverse classroom; how to
cooperate to school rules and regulations and to external evaluations and accreditation; how to behave as a
member of a school, organization, or society; and how to express oneself and respond to the academic concerns
of the school and society. In terms of professional development, all the teachers at different career stages
starting from pre-service level to being a teacher educator should undergo continuous training for their
professional development to be better planner, organizer, communicator, facilitator, expert, motivator, classroom
manger, assessor/evaluator, problem solver, decision maker, reflective practitioner, leader, adviser and action
researcher.
Design. The training of teachers at all levels to develop their desirable images should be in a developmental
manner where their preparation begins while they are still students in the basic education level. Teachers could
develop among their students the same traits the students want of their teacher. As the saying goes, “the earlier
the better.” This means that the potential of students to become future teachers could be nurtured as early as they
enter the school for formal training. Actual exposure to the teachers they want and their formation into
individuals who possess these traits they want may serve as a good foundation for the creation of model teachers
in the future. Likewise, kindergarten teachers should continue monitoring their pupils who are inclined to be like
them and sustain this liking through role modelling. Considering that pupils may be handled by different
teachers of different personalities in the same school, there must be articulation of students’ preferred
professions between the present and the former teachers to provide them with the right guidance to the
profession where they will likely succeed in the future including that of becoming a teacher. These pupils who
have initial aptitude to teaching detected as early as when they were in kindergarten should be continuously
monitored in their basic education so that they really go into teaching and become the great teachers they
envision themselves to be.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The foregoing data have provided significant information on the image of the 21 st century teacher that could
provide lessons particularly to TEIs in the Philippines. First, regardless of the sector they represent, the
stakeholders of TEIs perceive the 21 st century teacher as smart, well-mannered, open-minded, confident,
responsible, fair, encouraging, God-fearing, and patient. Second, in terms of psychosocial traits, the 21st century
teacher is viewed as a professional who demonstrates a strong moral character, strong sense of moral obligation,
and positive sense of the world. S/he is open-minded, highly motivated, just, thorough, obedient, humane, but is
challenged to manage the requirements of diverse and multicultural classroom. S/he advocates equality,
fairness, and compassion among the people and deems it his/her moral obligation and social responsibility to
keep them morality sound. S/he also believes in peaceful and diplomatic way of resolving conflicts. Further, as a
858