Saturday, April 12, 2008 Bernardez: Sustaining teachers' competencies By Dr. Roque Q. Bernardez Light That Transforms
THE College of Education (CoE) of Saint Louis University (SLU) holds the distinction of having been recognized as a "Center of Excellence in Teacher Education" by the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), becoming one of the few such centers nationwide. Based on the results of the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), SLU's CoE belongs to the top 2.5 percent high performing teacher education institutions in the country.
Aside from graduate programs in the doctoral and master's levels, SLU-CoE offers Bachelor of Elementary Education which prepares one to teach any of the elementary school subjects or to handle either special or pre-school education. It also offers Bachelor of Secondary Education, major in any of the following: English, Filipino, Mathematics, Biological Science, Physical Science, Social Studies, and Music Arts, Physical Education and Health (MAPEH).
A unique feature of the CoE's curriculum is its emphasis on Inclusive Education. This is at the heart of the SLU President's goal of "Mission to Transform" and is also the vision-mission of the RP-CICM Philippine Province which states: "Inspired and compelled by the attitude of Jesus, the CICM educational institution gives special attention to the oppressed, the disadvantaged, and the handicapped."
Inclusive Education believes that every child has the right to education in the regular school including the child with special needs. A child with special needs does not have to be segregated and enrolled in special schools. His needs can be served in a natural setting -- the regular school. Thus, the goal of every teacher in an inclusive classroom is to make learning meaningful for every learner in his/her class.
After all, this is the goal of "Education for All (EFA)", a global movement spearheaded by the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (Unesco) and to which the Philippines has pledged its commitment. It is for this reason that the Department of Education (DepEd) has instituted Inclusive Education in 1997.
The requirement that a teacher should have the competence to make learning meaningful to a diversity of learners -- a concept that includes children with special needs -- is now an established domain in the National Competency-Based Teacher Standards (NCBTS). The NCBTS is a set of competencies that every teacher should possess in order to be an effective teacher.
The "Mission to Transform" inspires the SLU-CoE to promote inclusive education and provide in-service training for teachers in the field. Eight teacher education institutions in Northern Luzon have now integrated inclusive education into their curricula. Teachers from these eight institutions are trained at CoE through scholarships offered by the SLU Institute for Inclusive Education (SLU-IIE).
This summer, the CoE and the SLU Regional Science Teaching Center (RSTC) will train about 300 public secondary school teachers in Filipino, MAPEH and Araling Panlipunan through scholarships provided by the DepEd. They are just some of the teachers in the country who are teaching subjects for which they have no formal training. The units they will earn at SLU will, at least, make them minor in these subjects.
For more information about the College of Education, visit www.slu.edu.ph or communicate with the author at (074) 447-0664 or email coedean@slu.edu.ph.
Mabuhay ang mga guro! Until next Friday, God bless.
