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Teacher and Society

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Course Type Course Code No. Of Credits
Discipline Elective SES101406 2

Course Coordinator and Team:                   SES Faculty

Email of course coordinator:                       pcbabed@aud.ac.in 

Pre-requisites:                                                No

Course Description: This course designed for future teachers, aims to explore the idea(s) context, status and work of a teacher in the Indian context. The course will critically engage the students with the ideas, changing concepts and roles of a teacher in society. It will introduce the students to select diverse imaginations about/notions of a teacher in different times and contexts, and the shifts in the concept of a teacher especially focusing on the policy discourses and socio-cultural changes in society. These discussions will be interfaced with understanding of a teacher as an agent of change or the agentic role of a teacher, and how it is both influenced by/located in, and influences/changes the education system and society.

Course Objectives:

  • To reflect on the idea of the idea of teacher and their roles
  • To understand the relationship between teachers (their lives, work, socio-historical-cultural context) and society
  • To understand the narrow and broader imaginations of teachers, teaching and education
  • To reflect on teacher agency, its individual, contextual, and structural dimensions and how it gets impacted and in turn shapes education

Course Outcomes:

  • Discuss the idea of teacher and their roles
  • Examine the relationship between teachers (their lives, work, socio-historical-cultural context) and society
  • Differentiate between the narrow and broader imaginations of teachers, teaching and education
  • Critically appreciate teacher agency, its individual, contextual, and structural dimensions and how it gets impacted and in turn shapes education.

Brief description of the modules:

Module 1: Understanding the teacher: Exploring the personal and professional teacher: This module will explore the notions/ideas of teachers and teaching in the Indian context. The idea of a reflective teacher and practitioner will be anchored in this background.

Module 2: Nurturing the teacher: A dialogue beyond the curricular goals: This module will discuss the link between the educational aims and the image of the teacher. Drawing from different policy documents, the broader aims of education and the narrower goals will be discussed to explore the distinctive images/imaginations of teachers and their work associated with these.

Module 3: Understanding teacher agency: Role in shaping education systems of tomorrow This module will focus on the concept of teacher agency and engage with the question – why does teacher agency matter? What are the different concepts of teacher agency? In this context, the image of an agentic teacher will be examined and situated in the status and voices of teachers in India.

Module 4: Teacher as an architect of the new India: Shaping the society of tomorrow This module will discuss teachers' work especially in relation to the social context of children and education. The aim is to reflect on the critical role of teachers in students’ lives and in shaping the society keeping in view the goals of critical and democratic education

Assessment Plan

Assignment type

Weightage

Interview with a teacher/film review

50%

End term

50%

Readings:

  • TISS. (2024). State of teachers, teaching and teacher education for India: The right teacher for every child. TISS. (pp. 1-6).
  • Bhatt, H. (2008). The diary of a school teacher. Azim Premji University. (5 page selection).
  • Kumar, K. (2014). Meek dictator: The paradox of teachers' personality. In Politics of education in Colonial India. Routledge.
  • Excerpts from: National Education Policies, Kothari Commission, Justice Verma Commission on Teacher Education, NCERT. (2023). National Curriculum Framework for School Education, 2023. NCERT. (Part E, pp. 559-565); NCERT. (2022). NCF for Foundational Stage. NCERT. (Chapter 10, pp. 209-2014). NCTE. (2009). National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education. NCTE. (Chapter 1: Context, concerns and vision of teacher education, pp. 1-13).  and NPST. International documents: OECD (2005), TALIS, etc.
  • Gupta, L. (2008). Making of a teacher. Seminar, 592. http://www.india seminar.com/2008/592/592_latika_gupta.htm
  • Fuller, F. & Bown, O. (1975). Becoming a teacher. In K. Ryan (ed.), Teacher education: 74th Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education,  Part 2 (pp. 25-52). University of Chicago Press
  • Darling-Hammond, L. (2021). Defining teaching quality around the world. European Journal of Teacher Education, 44(3), 295-308. DOI: 10.1080/02619768.2021.1919080
  • Batra, P. (2009). Teacher empowerment: The education entitlement: Social transformation traverse. Contemporary Education Dialogue, 6(2), 121-156. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973184913411184
  • Fullan, M. (1993). Why teachers must become change agents. Educational Leadership, 50(6). https://michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/13396031680.pdf
  • Global Education Magazine. (2018). A critical interview with Henry Giroux. https://globaleducationmagazine.com/critical-interview-henry-giroux/ 
  • Freire, P. (2005). Teachers as cultural workers: Letters to those who dare teach. Routledge. (Sixth Letter: On the relationship between the educator and the learners, 14 pages)
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