Unit Introduction
Origins
In response to the trend of education reform and the diversification of teacher education, in September 1998, the University submitted an application to the Ministry of Education for the establishment of the Teacher Education Program for Secondary Schools, and the University was permitted to start enrollment in the 2000 academic year. In the 2001 academic year, the University was approved by the Ministry of Education to establish the Teacher Education Program for Kindergarten Teachers, which aims to equip secondary school and kindergarten teachers with proficient educational professional knowledge and provide channels for in-service teachers at all levels to enhance their professional knowledge. The goal of the University is to fulfill its social responsibility as an educator in cultivating outstanding talents for Taiwan.
Organization Overview
The Center for Teacher Education has a minimum of six full-time teachers, whose expertise matches the subjects they teach, and several staff members, who may be redeployed from within the school's total staff as needed. The Center has a director and four work planning teams for teaching, practice, promotion, and research. The Director of the Center is a full-time teacher with the title of associate professor or above and is responsible for the management of the Center for Teacher Education. The work planning teams are responsible for the planning and implementation of related operations, as described below:
1. Teaching and Learning Team: Responsible for planning the education professional curriculum and evaluating the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
2. Internship and Career Team: Responsible for counseling students enrolled in education programs at educational internship institutions and assisting students to establish a good relationship with the educational internship institutions.
3. Promotion Team: Responsible for the promotion of local educational counseling and assisting relevant schools in the implementation of educational counseling.
4. Research Team: Responsible for the planning and implementation of academic research, and integrating faculty and students' expertise for the promotion of various research projects.
Educational Objectives
(1) To equip students with adequate professional knowledge and competency in teacher education for secondary schools and kindergartens.
(2) To be proficient in the professional practices of teacher education for secondary schools and kindergartens.
(3) To help students develop reflective and creative thinking, and problem-solving skills.
(4) To possess and practice professional ethics of teacher education for secondary schools and kindergartens.
Teaching Features
The Center for Teacher Education aims to cultivate high-quality teachers for secondary schools and kindergartens with strong educational expertise, high moral character, outstanding leadership skills, and creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Currently, the Center is training teachers for 19 subjects, including home economics for secondary schools (junior high schools, senior high schools, and vocational high schools) and kindergarten teachers. The planned education programs have the following characteristics:
1. Training secondary school and kindergarten teachers with expertise in arts and culture:
With special emphasis on the arts and humanities, Tainan University of Technology currently has five colleges: College of Living Technology, College of Management, College of Design, College of Arts, and College of Tourism, and is capable of training secondary school teachers and kindergarten teachers in terms of faculty, facilities, and academic research capabilities.
2. Focus on the selection mechanism of teacher education students to select students with good moral character to pursue their career in education:
The selection and training mechanism for teacher education students is complete. First, students with good moral character and excellent academic performance are selected to take the preliminary examination (written test) followed by rigorous retesting (interview), in order to select students suitable for a career in education with sound personality, caring, patience, leadership, good expression, and subject expertise for pre-service teacher education.
3. Focus on the professional ability of curriculum planning and curriculum integration:
In the secondary school program, the Center for Teacher Education prepares students with the ability to teach the integrated and specialized curriculum of junior high schools, as well as the common subjects and vocational subject groups of senior/vocational high schools, in order that they can meet the needs of being junior high and senior/vocational high school teachers. In terms of the kindergarten program, in addition to the curriculum design and teaching skills of all schools, the students are also trained to integrate the art, life science, and design expertise of Tainan University of Technology to meet the actual needs of the future kindergartens after the integration of child care.
4. Emphasis on the character and humanistic education of service learning:
Since its establishment, Tainan University of Technology has had good academic culture and has attached great importance to the cultivation of moral and humanistic education. During the education program, teacher education students are required to spend at least 64 hours on service-learning activities with social welfare organizations, disadvantaged groups, elderly care centers, and educational institutions. This is an indispensable requirement for the completion of the education program to ensure that students have a high level of enthusiasm for service, which is the best guarantee for becoming good teachers in the future.
5. Emphasis on professional competence in education:
In order to meet the needs of a modern society and schooling system, education should be a job that is autonomous, unique, professional, and artistic. The Center for Teacher Education aims to develop the professional competency of secondary school teachers in the secondary school program. It is expected that students can grasp the basic teaching principles, be familiar with the teaching methods and materials of various subjects in secondary school, and be able to handle individual and group counseling, classroom management, and school administration. The aim of the kindergarten program is to develop the professional competence of the students, where students are expected to be able to grasp the basic principles of teaching and learning and to be familiar with kindergarten teaching materials and methods. Moreover, they should be familiar with the physical and mental development and counseling of young children, classroom management, gender education, science education, life education, environmental education, parenting education, and kindergarten administration.
6. Cultivating “all-round teachers” with sound personality traits:
Education is different from general counseling or training as it focuses on cultivating secondary school and kindergarten teachers who have “educational love, professionalism, and execution”. Teachers have great responsibilities and are expected to guide student values.
The Center for Teacher Education of Tainan University of Technology is committed to “good teachers for a better nation”, advocates the tradition of teacher education, and guides practitioners to understand the profound meaning of being a teacher.
Future Development
Based on the Tainan University of Technology 2018-2020 Academic Year School Affairs Development Plan, the University formulated the following development goals for the Center:
1. Short-term
(1) Training professional pre-service teachers in secondary schools and professional pre-service teachers in kindergartens
(2) Improving the passing rate of teacher qualification examinations and teacher selection tests for teacher education students
(3) Implementing teaching internships and educational internships
(4) Organizing competitions for creative teaching programs, creative teaching media, and teaching aids
2. Medium-term
(1) Increasing the number of project grants for teachers' research programs
(2) Emphasizing the service-learning ethics, humanistic education, and creative thinking skills of teacher education students
(3) Having a high level of enthusiasm for service and practical experience to develop the ability to practice theory
3. Long-term
(1) Planning a healthy and creative life
(2) Integrating design and creativity into cultural industries
(3) Incorporating ICT with cultural creativity and management theories and practices
(4) Applying artistic ability and knowledge in life and thinking
Expected Results
1. Short-term
(1) Cultivating excellent professional teachers for attaining formal teaching positions and successfully passing teacher certification and teacher evaluation examinations.
(2) Enhancing the students’ ability to pass teacher certification and teacher evaluation examinations by cultivating their professional competence, providing educational internships, and improving the problem-solving abilities of teacher education students during the internship process.
(3) Understanding the employment status of teacher education students to facilitate analysis of the current situation of the teaching profession.
2. Medium-term
(1) Submitting research projects to various ministries and agencies in line with education policies, seeking research funds, completing ideal teacher images, and purchasing professional equipment for the Center for Teacher Education.
(2) Enhancing the professional ability of creativity to increase the competitiveness of teachers in the market.
3. Long-term
(1) Cooperating with partner schools to carry out joint programs, connecting with educational resources nationwide, and establishing and improving teacher training resource networks to facilitate the cultivation of professional quality teachers.