TRAINING TEACHERS

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 118, 12 February 1926, Page 10

TRAINING TEACHERS

DELIBERATIONS OF CONFERENCE DECISIONS ARRIVED AT The questions submitted by the Minister 'it Education (Hon. Sir James Tarr) to the recent conference on the training of teachers were as follow: — (1) Is the present method of control of training colleges by. education boards satisfactory, or should there be a local board representative of education boards, university, and the Department, or some broader control ? (2) What should be the relation between ie Professor of Education and the Training College ? (3) Should there be one special training college for secondary school students; if not, what provision in this behalf does the conference recommend? (4). What steps should be taken to bring the principal or vice-principal into actual touch with the teaching in the field of liis students after the students have received appointments, and, correspondingly, what steps should be taken to bring the senior inspector and the inspectorate body generally into closer acquaintanceship with the work of the college? (5) What should be the policy of the Government in future development and extension—(a) Should the numbers exceed 300 in each college? (b) Is the practical work, at present done sufficient ? (c) Should there be a rural training college attached, if possible, or placed close to the agricultural college ? Views of Delegates.

The resolutions passed by the conference were:—

“That, in order to provide the greatest unity and co-ordination of effort between the Training College and that University, it is desirable there should be one professional head, and that until arrangements can be made in each centre to give effect to this ideal, the Education Department should afford facilities to the professors of education for visiting all types of schools in their districts and carrying our educational investigations and experiments, and that the professor of education and the principal of the college be encouraged to co-operate in all matters in the best interests of the students.

“That in the opinion of the conference ft is not advisable to establish a separate training college for secondary teachers: that it be recommended that further facilities should be given for training college students who contemplate engaging in secondary work to obtain practice in post-primary schools; a further year of training be provided for students selected for this work, with a view to a special training and a more complete course in the methods of teaching in secondary schools. . “That the professors of education be given full facility '.in relation to the training colleges and post-primary schools to train secondary teachers along with other specialist teachers, in accordance with the University diploma in education.

“That inspectors be required to forward to the principals of training colleges special reports on the work of training college students for the two years immediately following their leaving the training college; that all inspectors, as far as practicable, visit the training college at least once in each year, and facilities be afforded the principal or vice-principal of the training college to inspect the work of training college students for two years immediately following their leaving the training college. “That if a training college be established away from a university centre, arrangements should be made for the extension of university work to its students. ... “That there be established an additional training college in some centre of the North Island other than a present university centre, and that it should specialise in some important feature of the work of women teachers.

“That in general the number of students in attendance at any training college be not greater than 300. “That the Conference considers that the amount of time spent by training college students in practice is sufficient, taking account of the present facilities for supervision. “That in order to secure a desirable result in teacher-training, it is necessary that provision should be made for hostel accommodation under college control for all students who are not able to live at home.”