INTERPRETIVE ANALYSIS OF NEW TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM
REFORM INTRODUCED IN PAKISTAN
By
Afshan Huma

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education – Doctor of Philosophy
2013

ABSTRACT
INTERPRETIVE ANALYSIS OF NEW TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM
REFORM INTRODUCED IN PAKISTAN
By
Afshan Huma
Pakistan is among those South Asian countries that are still striving for a successful
education policy to be in place for achieving the goals of quantity and quality. For more than 66
years there have been many interventions and initiatives to reform current practices in public
educational institutions. In 2009 a similar initiative was taken by the Higher Education
Commission with huge funding from USAID. Under this initiative a new program plan for fouryear undergraduate B.Ed Honors Elementary was developed to be offered at the universities; and
course guides were developed for the courses to be offered at colleges of education in a two to
three-year program titled Associate Degree in Education. Teacher education policy under this
curriculum reformed was reviewed and the old undergraduate certificate and diploma programs
were closed. Teacher educators at universities and colleges of education were provided short
professional development trainings.
I conducted an interpretive policy analysis at six institutions in three provinces of
Pakistan including four colleges of education and two universities. The major goal was to
explore the enacted curriculum at institutional level. I studied the institutional realities such as
physical infrastructures, availability and accessibility to resources and teacher educators’ roles in
implementing the new reform using observation, document reviews, interviews and pictorial data
analysis. The study helped in bringing those voices to the foreground that were not evident or
were ignored during the planning and implementation process. The study helped in identifying
those challenges and issues that were faced by the teacher educators during the first two years of

the program implementation at university and colleges of education. The teacher educators at
universities and at colleges of education work under much different circumstances and the
teacher educators at colleges of education have to face authoritative hierarchical pressures from
multiple directions. One major finding was that for a reform to be successful in education in
Pakistan, a more inclusive and participatory policy making and implementation approach like
Michael Fullan’s (1993) framework is needed. Specifically, neither absolute top-down nor
bottom-up policy initiatives work; everybody’s voice should count and a balance between
centralized and decentralized procedure should be adopted.

Copyright by
AFSHAN HUMA
2013

This work is dedicated to my mother Bushra Hafeez who worked as a passionate teacher
in Pakistan and when got retirement she said that she had given her daughter that is me, to her
profession.

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would never have been able to finish my dissertation without the support and
encouragement of my family, friends and teachers.
I first of all wish to thank The College of Education and the MSU Graduate School as
well as Education Development Center for providing me the funds and helping me in many other
ways to make it possible to travel in three provinces of Pakistan during my two research visits.
This definitely helped me have a rich experience and collect firsthand information to conduct a
thorough and detailed analysis.
I want to pay deepest gratitude to my advisor Lynn Fendler who guided me well and
made sure that this whole research and analysis experience may become a source of independent
learning for me under her supervision. I want to thank my committee members Steven Weiland,
Jeff Bale and Anne-Lise Halvorsen who helped me see and locate where I actually wanted to go.
I also want to thank all the faculty members at the College of Education in MSU who developed
my analytical skills and helped me understand the philosophies of education as well as the
challenges of policy planning in certain circumstances.
I also want to thank the individuals and institutions in Pakistan who participated directly
or indirectly in this study; and the department heads as well as project team in USAID- Teacher
Education Project for providing me all available information and making this research work as
easier for me as they could.
At the end I wish to thank some of my friends who even provided me accommodation in
their homes in the regions where security issues were more severe than I had thought. I am
thankful to all those who helped me complete this task successfully.
vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................x
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. xi
Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................................................1
Introduction ................................................................................................................................1
Context ....................................................................................................................................3
Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................5
Analytical Framework .............................................................................................................9
Research Problem and Protocol .............................................................................................10
What is in the Coming Chapters? ...........................................................................................12
Chapter 2 ..................................................................................................................................15
The Big Picture .........................................................................................................................15
Administrative Set-up in the Education Sector .......................................................................16
Organizational Structures for Teacher Education ...................................................................18
Bureaucratic Models and Issues in Policy Implementation .....................................................22
Past Trends of Teacher Education Policy and Practices in Pakistan ........................................25
The new TE Curriculum Reform of 2010 ...............................................................................32
Major Changes in the TE Curriculum ....................................................................................37
A Personal Perspective ..........................................................................................................39
Chapter 3 ..................................................................................................................................43
Methodology.............................................................................................................................43
Methodological Decisions .....................................................................................................45
Summer Visit to Pakistan.......................................................................................................49
Second Visit to Pakistan ........................................................................................................52
Selection of Participants ........................................................................................................53
Traveling and Site Visits ........................................................................................................56
Getting Permissions and Informed Consent ...........................................................................58
Observations and Taking Photographs ...................................................................................60
Conversations ........................................................................................................................61
Analysis and Presentation of Information ..............................................................................63
Review of Documents and Institutional Records ....................................................................64
Introduction of the Institutions ...............................................................................................67
A university in Punjab. .......................................................................................................68
An affiliated college in Punjab. ..........................................................................................70
A university in Sindh. ........................................................................................................71
An affiliated college in Sindh. ............................................................................................73
Chapter 4 ..................................................................................................................................75
Role Perceptions and Perspectives .............................................................................................75
vii

Role Perceptions and Perspectives of the Two Local Experts in NCRC .................................77
Role Perceptions and Perspectives of Heads of Colleges of Education ...................................81
Role Perceptions and Perspectives of Teacher Educators at Colleges of Education ................ 85
Two colleges of education in KPK. ....................................................................................86
A college of education in Sindh. .........................................................................................90
A college of education in Punjab. .......................................................................................93
Role Perceptions and Perspectives of University Teachers. ....................................................95
A university in Sindh. ........................................................................................................95
A university in Punjab. .......................................................................................................99
Distinction of Perceptions of Roles between University and College Teacher Educators ...... 102
Summary Points .................................................................................................................. 104
Chapter 5 ................................................................................................................................ 108
Hopes and Fears ...................................................................................................................... 108
The Two Local Experts in NCRC ........................................................................................ 111
Readiness of teacher educators. ........................................................................................ 113
Having no textbook as an issue. ....................................................................................... 114
Challenging conditions at colleges of education and public schools. ................................. 115
Distance education. .......................................................................................................... 117
Teacher Educators and Heads of Institutions at Colleges of Education ................................. 117
College of education in Sindh. ......................................................................................... 118
College of education in Punjab. ........................................................................................ 124
Two colleges of education in KPK. .................................................................................. 129
University Teachers’ Perspectives ....................................................................................... 135
At the university in Sindh. ................................................................................................ 136
At a university in Punjab. ................................................................................................. 141
Summary Points .................................................................................................................. 147
Chapter 6 ................................................................................................................................ 151
Resources and Practices at Two Colleges of Education ........................................................... 151
Section I: College of Education in Sindh.............................................................................. 153
Poorly maintained and limited use of physical infrastructure. ........................................... 155
Planning is an isolated practice for teacher educators. ...................................................... 157
Resources available at the college cannot be used for lesson planning. ............................. 161
Teachers do not demand anymore and use their own resources. ........................................ 170
Classroom teaching and learning practices. ...................................................................... 178
Section II: A College of Education in Punjab ....................................................................... 187
Well-maintained and better utilized physical spaces and resources. .................................. 188
Planning is an isolated activity for teacher educators. ....................................................... 198
Teachers’ own efforts and institutional support. ............................................................... 202
Classroom teaching and learning practices. ...................................................................... 206
Summary Points .................................................................................................................. 213

viii

Chapter 7 ................................................................................................................................ 216
Resources and Practices at twoUiversities ............................................................................... 216
Section I. At a University in Sindh....................................................................................... 217
Poorly maintained and limited use of physical infrastructure. ........................................... 219
Use of resources at the University for Lesson planning..................................................... 226
Planning is an isolated activity for teacher educators. ....................................................... 230
Classroom practices. ........................................................................................................ 234
Section II. At a University in Punjab.................................................................................... 238
Well-maintained physical infrastructure. .......................................................................... 239
Planning is partially collaborative within departments ...................................................... 251
Classrooms practices. ....................................................................................................... 253
Summary Points .................................................................................................................. 259
Chapter 8 ................................................................................................................................ 261
Research and Policy Implications ............................................................................................ 261
Major Findings .................................................................................................................... 261
Security issues. ................................................................................................................ 261
Energy crisis. ................................................................................................................... 263
Struggle between control and autonomy. .......................................................................... 264
Curriculum uniformity. .................................................................................................... 266
Physical spaces and resources. ......................................................................................... 269
Teacher educators’ enthusiasm. ........................................................................................ 271
Policy Implications .............................................................................................................. 272
Regional and institutional variations................................................................................. 272
Involving local and institutional leadership and practitioners. ........................................... 273
Decrease the differences between university and college teachers. ................................... 274
Program evaluation and accreditation instead of curriculum uniformity. ........................... 274
Regular curriculum review. .............................................................................................. 275
Directions for Future Research ............................................................................................ 276
Institutional needs assessment. ......................................................................................... 276
Curriculum review studies. ............................................................................................... 277
Impact studies. ................................................................................................................. 277
What have I learned so far?.................................................................................................. 278
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................ 281
Appendix A............................................................................................................................. 282
Appendix B ............................................................................................................................. 283
Appendix C ............................................................................................................................. 284
Appendix D............................................................................................................................. 286
Appendix E ............................................................................................................................. 288
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 290

ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1.Statistics Showing Spread of the New Reform………………………………………..36
Table 3.1. Types of Data Yielded………………………………………………………………..48
Table 3.2. Number of Institutions Selected for First Research Visit…………………………….51
Table 3.3. Participants of the first visit…………………………………………………………..54
Table 3.4. Participants of the Second Research Visit……………………………………………56
Table 3.5. Student Studying at the Institute in B.Ed Honors Elementary……………………….59
Table 3.6. Students Studying in ADE at a College of Education in Punjab……………………..71
Table 3.7. Students Studying in B.Ed Honors Elementary at FoE ……………………………...72
Table 3.8. Students Studying in ADE at a College of Education in Sindh………………………73
Table D.1. Labels coded at the second stage of coding ...……………………………………...286
Table E.1. Some common challenges perceived by the participants …………………………..288

x

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1: Graphic: Data Generation Resources………………………………………………..47
Figure 3.2: Graphic: Institutions Included in Second Research Visit …………………………...55
Figure 6.1: Photograph: Old building of College of Education in Sindh………………………155
Figure 6.2: Photograph: Common room for teacher educators at college of education in
Sindh……………………………………………………………………………….. …………..158
Figure 6.3: Photograph: A Computer Skeleton Placed in Teachers' Common Room at College of
Education in Sindh ……………………………………………………......................................162
Figure 6.4: Photograph: Library at College of Education in Sindh…………….........................163
Figure 6.5: Photograph: Books Donated by USAID …………………………………………..164
Figure 6.6: Photograph: Resource Room at College of Education in Sindh…………………...166
Figure 6.7: Photograph: Things Placed Inside Resource Room at College of Education in
Sindh……………………………………………………………………………………………168
Figure 6.8: Photograph: A Portable Workstation at College of Education in Sindh…………...171
Figure 6.9: Photograph: Materials Presented inside Classrooms at College of Education in
Sindh……………………………………………………………………………….. …………..175
Figure 6.10: Photograph: Low Cost Materials used by Math Teacher at College of Education in
Sindh……………………………………………………………………………………………177
Figure 6.11: Photograph: Two New Classrooms at College of Education in Sindh……………179
Figure 6.12: Photograph: Inside New Classrooms at College of Education in Sindh………….180
Figure 6.13: Photograph: Old classrooms at College of Education in Sindh…………………..181
Figure 6.14: Photograph: Computer lab at College of Education in Sindh…………………….185
Figure 6.15: Photograph: Landscaping at College of education in Punjab……………………..189
Figure 6.16: Photograph: College Building of College of Education in Punjab……………….190
Figure 6.17: Photograph: Science Laboratory at College of Education in Punjab... …………..191
Figure 6.18: Photograph: Library at College of Education in Punjab…………….. …………..193
xi

Figure 6.19: Photograph: E-library at College of Education in Punjab………………………..195
Figure 6.20: Photograph: Computer lab at College of Education in Punjab…………………...197
Figure 6.21: Photograph: Teacher Educator's Office at College of Education in Punjab……...201
Figure 6.22: Photograph: Teacher-made Learning Materials at College of Education in
Punjab……………………………………………………………………………… …………..205
Figure 6.23: Photograph: Inside a Classroom at College of Education in Punjab… …………..207
Figure 6.24: Photograph: Heating inside a Classroom at College of Education in Punjab…….208
Figure 6.25: Photograph: Multimedia Resources at College of Education in Punjab…………211
Figure 7.1: Photograph: A University Campus in Sindh……………………………………….220
Figure 7.2: Photograph: A Classroom at University in Sindh…………………………………222
Figure 7.3: Photograph: Classroom used as Printing Room at a University in Sindh………….223
Figure 7.4: Photograph: Classroom set-up for Foreigners' Visit at University in Sindh……….224
Figure 7.5: Photograph: An Old Computer Lab used as a Classroom at a University in
Sindh……………………………………………………………………………………………225
Figure 7.6: Photograph: Library at a university in Sindh………………………………………227
Figure 7.7: Photograph: Locked Bookshelves in Library at a University in Sindh…………….228
Figure 7.8: Photograph: Building and Lawns of a University in Punjab……………………….240
Figure 7.9: Photograph: Inside the Institute of Education Building at a University in
Punjab…………………………………………………………………………………………..241
Figure 7.10: Photograph: Library at a University in Punjab……………………………………243
Figure 7.11: Photograph: Books in open shelves at the library in a university in Punjab……...244
Figure 7.12: Photograph: Science Resource Room of the Institute at a University in
Punjab…………………………………………………………………………………………..245
Figure 7.13: Photograph: Computer Lab at a University in Punjab……………………………247
Figure 7.14: Photograph: Office of a Faculty Member at a University in Punjab……………..248
Figure 7.15: Photograph: A Laboratory where the Classes were held at a University in
Punjab…………………………………………………………………………………………..254

xii

Figure7.16: Photograph: Art Room at a University in Punjab…………………………………255
Figure 8.1: Graphic: Levels of voice and silence among four institutions ...………………….265
Figure A.1. Organizational Structure in the Federal Ministry of Education ..…………………282
Figure B.1. Organizational Structure in the Department of Education – Punjab………………283
Figure C.1. Organizational Structure in the Department of Education – Sindh………………..285

xiii

Chapter 1
Introduction
Actually the curriculum which is written is totally deviation from our old curriculum, text
books or the material which is written, being a developing country; I can say it is a drastic
change we are trying to bring; especially when the course books are not fully textbooks, it
is just a few page chapter guidelines and instruction for the teacher, that is going to be a
problem for our teacher educators who are in remote areas or in less developed areas that
how to prepare their lecture, they totally depend on the book though we say that they
have internet they can use but due to shortage of power in our country when there is not
light for 10-20 hours and everyone cannot afford this laptop, internet is not connected
many times they cannot even spare time to sit and to browse the internet and to have
some material from internet so definitely they have to depend on the text book. (A local
Pakistani expert, interviewed in June 2012)
These are the words of a local expert working in a university in the capital city of
Pakistan who was a part of the planning team for the new teacher education curriculum reform
introduced in Pakistan in 2010. Her words indicate one significant feature of my study of
“interpretive policy analysis,” i.e., the idealistic approach of the reform in the presence of
variations and disparities of conditions in institutions in different regions of Pakistan (Yanow,
2000). At some institutions there could be highly sophisticated infrastructures and facilities
available for teacher education, while in the other institutions within the same or different
regions there might be completely opposite condition. In Pakistan, there are teacher education
institutions that do not even have enough space to accommodate two classes at a time. Looking
at all these discrepancies, one thing is clear: in various regions of Pakistan the starting point for
1

institutions might be very different and far ahead or far behind each other. A centralized
curriculum for such a diverse population is very idealistic. The “reform ideals” in the words of
Kennedy (2005), do not seem to match closely with “institutional realities.”
The other significant observation explored in this study also emerges from the centralized
approach adopted in curriculum planning. Hierarchical models prevailing in the administrative
structures of Pakistan since independence, when adopted in planning, policy making, and
implementation, turn out to be an outside-in or top down approach, no matter what the planners
may intend or claim. As per Fullan’s (1993) approach, the intended changes cannot be brought
about with conformist top down bureaucratic mechanisms. The recent program and curriculum
planning under the supervision of The National Curriculum Review Committee, in collaboration
with foreign and local experts at the USAID Teacher Education Project (USAID-TEP), was
intended to include maximum “actors,” as reports of the project and news on the websites
mention. However in this study I found big differences between universities and colleges in the
amount of their involvement in curriculum planning. A big gap is that only the teacher educators
at the university level were involved at the planning stage, while a large number of teacher
educators in the colleges of education around the country were only included at the
implementation stage.
Teacher educators at colleges of education are looked down on, not only by the university
teachers, but also by the government departments of education at the national and provincial
levels. This structural division and discrimination of institutions and practitioners brings many
challenges, mainly when the institutional culture and environment is entirely different at
universities and colleges in many parts of the country. This goes back to the first feature, and
institutional realities remain uncovered due to the silencing of many significant voices. There are
2

two major reasons that are visible through the analysis of participant’s perspectives and
perceptions. One is the distance between local actors’ and policy makers’ worlds; second is the
influence of foreign donor agencies that suppresses local voices.
Context
The curriculum of teacher preparation programs in Pakistan had neither been revised nor
restructured since the 1980s. Teacher education institutions in Pakistan broadly can be divided
into two major categories – colleges of education and institutes or departments at universities.
Only in some regions are the Regional Institutes of Teacher Education (RITEs) and Provincial
Institutes of Teacher Education (PITEs) given the responsibility of teacher preparation. In 2009
a major intervention was made in the form of teacher education curriculum reform. In the period
of one year, in 2010 a new curriculum was planned and introduced at eight colleges of
education, as well as at six universities: in another span of two years the new curriculum was
adopted by all colleges of education and thirteen public universities around the country. This
curriculum reform initiative in the form of the USAID Teacher Education Project (USAID-TEP)
was funded by USAID and was launched in collaboration with The Higher Education
Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. A major goal of the intervention was described as
institutionalizing specific reforms in pre-service teacher education. To fulfill the objective of
restructuring and reforming teacher education policies and programs in Pakistan, a program plan
for a four-year B.Ed Honors Elementary degree was offered at the universities, while at the
colleges of education a two to three-year Associate Degree in Education (ADE) was offered. The
National Curriculum Review Committee at HEC approved the ADE program plan and course
guides for all colleges of education to adopt. Central as well as provincial departments of
education recommended closing down all the previously offered certificates and diploma
3

programs, at colleges of education and to adopt the ADE curriculum, while thirteen universities
around the country also adopted the four year B.Ed Honors Elementary program, planned under
USAID-TEP.
Pakistan had inherited a bureaucratic structure from British colonialism. For the last 66
years reformers tried to reshape these hierarchical structures, but they could not be completely
restructured. Still a top down approach to planning and implementation is very much there, and it
becomes more evident whenever a centrally planned reform is launched. The recent teacher
education reform under USAID-TEP and HEC was also planned and implemented with more or
less a similar approach. Teacher educators from universities in Pakistan and experts from US
universities worked together to develop a four-year program plan, the B.Ed Honors Elementary
degree and to draft course guides for ADE. The program plan and course guides were designed,
reviewed, and finally implemented at the institutions within a span of two and half years.
Teacher educators at the university level were more closely involved in curriculum development,
while the teacher educators at the colleges of education were involved mostly at the stage of
implementation.
After the implementation period of every policy or reform, certain studies are conducted
to assess the failure and success of the policy. Root causes of maximum failures that Pakistan has
witnessed in educational planning for a long time could never be identified, because researchers
and reformers seldom went deeper than a surface level quantitative policy analysis. To me it is
important to analyze a policy at its initial stages and to bring changes before reaching an end
point and declaring the failure of another intervention. The new teacher education curriculum
reform launched in 2010 was still in the phase of experimentation when I proposed this study. I
care about institutional and individual voices in policy making. I believe the hierarchical and
4

bureaucratic structures make it unavoidable to bring silence to the institutional and individual
voices. At present, only those individuals are heard who have a higher status in the hierarchy,
while those at the lower status who are the actual practitioners are just counted in, and sometimes
their voices are just recorded but never heard at the level of decision making. The involvement
of donor agencies and foreign consultants in policy making and higher level decision making is
also a point of concern. With the approach of importing ideals from outside Pakistan through
policy borrowing and adaptation of foreign program plans along with donor agencies providing
support in education, local needs and realities seem to be ignored in the past ten years more than
ever before. This silence or ignorance can then result not only in issues and challenges at the
implementation stage but can affect the outcomes too. The concerns here are mainly about the
role of implementing institutions, the position of actors, the conditions that affect the
implementation, and questions about who participates in policy making and policy
implementation.
Theoretical Framework
It is true around the world that everyone cannot agree upon one form of education and
one set of goals or targets, even in one country (Cohen, 1985; Zeichner & Liston; 1990). But the
reforms in education that could include the voice of larger sets of stakeholders have better
chances to be adopted and implemented in true spirit. Otherwise, institutions have had a
tendency of absorbing all reforms but with very little change (Cohen, 1985; Zeichner & Liston;
1990). In the case of recent reforms one can see on the one end the vision of reformers, or the
experts who draft new policies, state larger goals, and aim at creating the ideal state, while on the
other end is the reality which shows that this kind of change cannot come over night, or even
over years, because it is too idealistic. Kennedy (2005) observed classroom instruction and
5

highlighted the contrast of classroom realities and reform ideals and stressed that realities also
need to be included in reform agendas instead of ideals only. In the case of a policy that is aimed
to bring reform, the experts keep claiming to have the best solutions given in the form of
blueprints, while the practitioners, like teachers and heads of institutions, are dealing with
everyday issues, which are usually not visible in the suggested solutions. (Fullan, 1993; Fullan,
1999; Kennedy, 2005). So their voices need to be included in the mandates if there have to be
mandates to bring change
I find Michael Fullan’s “eight basic lessons, arising from new paradigm of dynamic
change” speaking about similar aspects of change. Fullan in 1993 offered these eight lessons, and
then revised that the list in 1999 in relatively different terms. He has shown in his eight lessons
how the various actors and actions relate to each other to bring change. I perceive that the way
Fullan presented the eight lessons in 1993 was more in practical terms than in 1999, when he
presented similar lessons in more theoretical terms. Because I am more concerned with practical
issues and challenges here, I am developing my framework based more on his initial work than
his later work. Fullan put equal responsibility on the state and local authorities as well as
described every individual or stakeholder in the process as a “change agent.” According to
Fullan’s lessons, all elements in a change process are interconnected and cannot work alone to
bring a real change, and missing any one of them can also result in failure to bring reform. His
further work in 1999 also focused on more or less similar ideas. He maintained that change can
be guided but cannot be imposed.
The four lessons I shall be looking at in detail are: “Lesson 1: You can’t mandate what
matters; Lesson 2: Change is a journey not a blueprint; Lesson 6: Neither centralization nor
decentralization work; Lesson 8: Every person is a change agent” (Fullan, 1993, pp. 21-22). Out
6

of the eight lessons discussed by Fullan, these four are the ones that clearly address the issues
and challenges which are the focus of my study.
•

You can’t mandate what matters. As Fullan described change in relation to personal
beliefs and values, one cannot assume that a policy document or a three day orientation
workshop will change people’s mindset. People need to be involved in the change
process not just informed at the time of implementation. According to Fullan (1993)
“Mandates alter some things but they don’t effect what matters” (p.24).

•

Change is a journey not a blueprint. Human beings are not machines that are
programmed and can be re-programmed any time as needed. They learn through
experience and they react to the environment. To change their behavior we need to bring
change all around and let them be a part of it. “Uncertainty” in Fullan’s view is an
essential part of the journey of change. According to him, change will occur through
experiences of “anxiety, difficulties and fear of the unknown” (p.25).

•

Neither centralization nor decentralization work. Fullan (1993) offered a somewhat
different model for change; he perceived a balance between “top down and bottom-up”
approaches to be essential to bring a change. According to him, “control at top” is a mere
“illusion,” and he thinks it is a “mistake” if the local bodies “ignore the center” (p.37).
Thus the center should work as a hub, and the local teams should put in their effort and
play their significant role with a mutual and shared sense of responsibility and ownership.

•

Every person is a change agent. People involved at any stage of the change process and
perceived only as actors might be able to and willing to perform a better role. “Moral
purpose needs an engine and that engine is an individual” (p. 40). Unless all the
individuals involved or willing to bring a change do not take action “to alter their own
7

environment,” the change cannot occur. Thus the voice of each individual and of groups
of individuals who wish to bring a change can become the real force and help in
“bringing continuous improvement” instead of just patchwork (p.40).
Looking deeper at the above four points, it becomes clear how every unit be it a local
institution or an individual working at these institutions, plays a significant role in the reform
process. The centralized approach towards policy planning tends to ignore this inevitable reality.
Another crucial and unavoidable feature is the physical environment of institutions. In countries
like Pakistan, one cannot ignore the physical realities, while on the one hand we have the most
modern hi-tech classrooms with all multimedia facilities available, but on the other hand we do
not even have a building for a college of education, and its programs are run in two classrooms
borrowed from another institution. The institutions working in such contrasting situations cannot
be given a mandate to follow or the same goals to achieve.
Keeping these lessons in front of me, I designed a study to analyze the recent teacher
education curriculum reform in Pakistan. To me the hypothesis given by Kennedy (2005) was
the central research problem, i.e. “the reform ideals themselves may be unattainable or may
impede practice” (p.17). Unattainable ideals have been reported at the end of many programs
and interventions, in terms of unachievable goals, but with an interpretive analysis of local
realities, I wanted to study how they help or hinder practices. Therefore I decided to explore how
the institutional realities at universities and colleges of education in Pakistan relate to the reform
ideals and how the participating institutions and individuals have positioned themselves and
responded to this curriculum reform.

8

Analytical Framework
In the past ten years a trend of summative and formative program evaluation of donor
funded programs and projects has initialized built-in monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in
educational planning in Pakistan. But most of the evaluation reports that are published only
provide an analysis of the level of achievement of short-term and long-term targets. These
reports are mostly published by the donor agencies that were involved in the programs and in
project implementation. Almost none of these reports present a below-surface analysis of
procedures and factors affecting the success and failure of programs and interventions. Because
there are almost no qualitative studies in the area of teacher education policy planning, therefore
I proposed this research as a way to look beneath the surface level. I believe this is a study of its
own kind for Pakistan, and for other neighboring and developing countries which have foreign
and donor-funded programs and interventions. “Interpretive policy analysis” is something unique
in Pakistan, particularly in the field of teacher education (Yanow, 2000).
The major goals of this study were to explore the local and institutional realities and to
listen to individual voices at the institutions involved. Therefore I chose to conduct an
“interpretive policy analysis,” adopting “grounded theory” approach, that seemed to be the best
way to fulfill both of these goals (Yanow, 2000; Denscombe, 2007; Corbin & Strauss, 2008).
Through a living experience at the colleges of education and universities, I wanted to access the
“local knowledge” through the three “artifacts” as suggested by Yanow, i.e., “language, acts and
objects” that may depict hidden “beliefs, values and feelings” (Yanow, 2000). . I chose local and
foreign experts, heads of colleges of education, teacher educators at the colleges of education,
and teacher educators at the universities as representatives of various “communities of
meanings” in my study (Yanow, 2000; Yanow and Schwartz-Shea, 2006). I used project
9

documents, participants, interviews, pictures of physical spaces and resources, and classroom
observations as my data sources. I analyzed the three artifacts in relation to each other to
investigate how the TE Curriculum Reform 2010 was being perceived and interpreted at the six
institutions- four colleges of education and two universities. A cross-analysis of words, actions,
and objects helped me in identifying the institutional discrepancies between colleges and
universities, selected in three provinces of Pakistan.
Research Problem and Protocol
Knowing that there was extensive involvement of foreign funding agency in the recent
reform, and having an experience in the past of a centralized approach adopted in Pakistan in
policy planning, I began this study with an over-arching question: How is the TE Curriculum
Reform 2010 being reshaped at the implementing institutions of teacher preparation in Pakistan?
I completed the data collection in two visits to Pakistan; one in mid 2012 and another
during early months of 2013. For my first research visit I had drafted six big questions:
•

How is the new TE curriculum plan related to the professional standards?

•

How different is the new curriculum plan from the old curriculum of teacher education?

•

What differences are there in the physical resources and environment?

•

How are the new candidates enrolled differently from previous practices?

•

What differences are there in teaching-learning practices and assessment procedures in
the old and the new programs?

•

What are the expected outcomes of this new scheme of study?

10

These were more like guiding questions for me. Adopting an interpretive analysis and
grounded theory approach, I did not want to limit my focus too much to the research questions
only. Rather, I made decisions on the initial conversations with participants for what to focus on
more intensively (Denscombe, 2007; Corbin & Strauss, 2008). In light of my initial analysis, for
my second research visit I had drafted another set of questions which were not entirely different,
but were more focused:
•

How do the teacher educators describe the change brought out through the new program?

•

How do they describe their own involvement in the program?

•

How different are their practices from previous programs, and what encourages them to
change?

•

What physical facilities are available and how are they using them in the context of the
TE Curriculum Reform 2010?

•

What hinders any changes or the innovations that teacher educators want, or the reform
demands to bring in to classrooms?

•

How different do they think the post-reform student group and what is their participation
in the new program?
The above questions helped me to spotlight only certain aspects while reviewing

documents, interviewing, and observing teacher educators. But the living experiences and
conversations brought much more richness to my analyses than only trying to find answers to
these questions. Hence the three final questions analyzed and presented in the later chapters are:
1. How do the participants of the study perceive their own role in the recent teacher
education curriculum reform?
11

2. What are the major hopes and fears expressed by the participants after being a part of
the reform for nearly two and half years?
3. How do the availability and utilization of physical spaces and resources across
institutions under the new curriculum reform relate to the practices of teacher
educators at the colleges of education and universities?
What is in the Coming Chapters?
The seven chapters of this dissertation have the following details:
Chapter 2. This chapter prepares the audience of the study to understand the broader
picture of teacher education and educational administrative structures in Pakistan with an overall
depiction. Chapter two includes historical perspectives with regards to teacher education policies
in Pakistan in past six decades. Then it further elaborates how the administrative structures are
organized and play their role in planning and implementing various programs and policies. The
last section of chapter two introduces the new TE Curriculum Reform 2010 and provides brief
analysis of its implementation through the end of year 2012.
Chapter 3. The third chapter narrates the story of this study, including methodological
decisions and procedures of selecting participating institutions. It also presents a brief narration
of my travelling experiences and some stories of various incidents that impacted the
interpretation of conversations that I recorded and the actions I observed. Travelling from one
place to another made it clear how the realities change from one region to another. Then the
details of data collection and the data analysis procedures are elaborated. The last section of
chapter three provides a brief introduction of the four institutions that I visited during my second
research visit.
12

Chapter 4. Chapter four presents the analysis of conversations with the participants
about their own position in the new TE curriculum reform. The chapter is divided into
subsections for presenting the interpretations of perceptions and perspectives shared by the two
experts, the three heads of institutions, aand the teacher educators who volunteered to participate
in this study at four colleges of education and two universities. In this chapter I have included the
analysis of data collected in both research visits. So the analysis draws upon the findings from
the six institutions in three provinces of Pakistan –Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Sindh, and
Punjab.
Chapter 5. Chapter five begins with the narration of highlights of the new TE reform that
were extracted from the review of documents and initial conversations with one foreign and two
local experts. It then elaborates in the next three sections how the local experts, teacher educators
at the colleges of education, and teacher educators at the universities expressed their hopes and
fears about the reform. The two local experts talked about the overall four-year program plan,
but did not comment on specific course content. Teacher educators and heads of institutions at
colleges of education in this conversation were more specific about the content and teaching of
specific courses, while teacher educators at universities talked about the course contents and
teaching as well as the overall four-year program plan.
Chapters 6 and 7. Based upon the review of reform documents and initial conversations
with the two local experts, it was evident that the institutions will need specific physical
infrastructures and resources to implement the reform in its real spirit. One assumption on the
basis of this was that teacher educators’ practices would also be influenced by resource
availability and utilization. Chapters six and seven present an analysis of teacher educators’

13

practices in relation to the physical environment and resource availability and access, at the four
institutions that I visited during my second research visit.
Chapter 8. As a researcher using interpretive policy analysis, I am targeting an audience
of policy makers and planners at the central and provincial levels in Pakistan, before anyone else.
Therefore in the concluding chapter I have summarized the major findings and then presented the
policy implications. I believe this study is yet ongoing, and there are many other aspects which
still remain unexplored, even within the above stated framing questions; therefore I have narrated
a further research agenda as the last part of the eighth and final chapter.

14

Chapter 2

The Big Picture
Pakistan has had a central government set-up since independence in 1947. At the center is
the Federal Government, which has several ministries and divisions. Along with the central setup another divide of administration exists in each of the four provinces—Sindh, Punjab, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan—which all have provincial ministries and departments. Azad
Jammu and Kashmir have their own elected government and independent administrative set up.
The capital territory and the northern and tribal areas come under the jurisdiction of the Federal
Government of Pakistan. The administrative set-up of education is generally organized according
to the federal and provincial administrative units. There are further smaller administrative units
at district levels as well. In general, this set-up conforms to Fullan’s idea of “top down”
governance.
Higher education institutions like universities are somewhat autonomous and work
directly with the provincial governments, but they all are also linked up with the Higher
Education Commission (HEC) at the federal level. It seems that the Devolution of Powers Plan
(2001) under Education Sector Reforms gave many rights to provinces and opened ways to
planning at regional levels. Yet until 2010, most policy planning for education was done in the
Policy and Planning Wing of the Federal Ministry of Education, in consensus with provincial
authorities. Further implementation and action plans were then developed at the provincial level
and implemented at the district level (UNESCO, 2006; Shah, 2003; Shah, 2008). The eighteenth
constitutional amendment (2010) was a big step towards decentralization of program planning
and implementation, but so far the change is only evident in papers, not as such in practices.
15

Before we look into the organizational structures of teacher education, let us take a look at the
patterns of educational administration in Pakistan.
Administrative Set-up in the Education Sector
At the time of independence in 1947, Pakistan inherited a completely centralized
administrative set-up and after many turns and u-turns we have now reached a semi-centralized
set-up after many years and many restructuring interventions. As per the government’s websites
the central body for educational administration now mainly consists of Federal Ministry of
Education and Training, which works under the direct supervision of the federal minister for
education and a federal secretary of education. The ministry works through different wings and
sections, and every wing is headed by a joint educational advisor, such as the Curriculum Wing.
This chart (appendix A) describes the federal set up briefly.
After the Devolution of Powers Plan 2000, many responsibilities and powers were
transferred to provincial ministries and departments of education at the district level; yet there
are certain functions which are still performed with a centralized mechanism. Before the
eighteenth constitutional amendment (2010), these functions included, and were not limited to,
designing curricula up to class XII, formulating educational policy, first hand dealing and
disbursement of grants in aid, and donations and loans received from different donor agencies
and countries (Shah, 2008; UNESCO, 2006 ). Now the eighteenth constitutional amendment
further gives the right to provinces for their own “Curriculum, syllabus, planning, policy, centers
of excellence, standard of education” (Siddiqui, 2010; I-SAPS). In contrast to Fullan’s (1993)
idea of balancing the “centralized and decentralized” procedures, every other effort towards

16

decentralization has resulted so far in more and more top down mechanisms working at both
central and provincial levels.
A similar administrative structure like the federal one works under every provincial
government. The provincial minister for education is the head of each provincial department of
education and is assisted by a provincial secretary of education. Then various departments and
sections are headed by deputy secretaries and assistant secretaries, who work under the
supervision of the provincial secretary. Up to the level of the provincial secretariat, all provinces
have a uniform administrative set up, but below this level there are variations and discrepancies
in each province. For example, the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) is a unique position in
Punjab. The major responsibilities of the DPI include, but are not limited to, serving as the sole
curator of education at the provincial level for coordinating and harmonizing the functions of all
the divisional directorates within the province, and also appointing ad hoc schoolteachers and
lecturers in the colleges (Shah, 2008; UNESCO, 2006). There have been many changes at the
divisional and district levels in all provinces. The newest district set up until December 2012
includes an Executive District Officer (EDO) for education, who supervises the educational
affairs in a district. Under his/her supervision, four District Education Officers (DEO) head male
elementary, male secondary, female elementary and female secondary education departments.
This is a general structure; however there are variations among provinces, depending on the size
and population under one administrative unit. (Shah, 2008; UNESCO 2006). For example
Appendices B and C present organizational structure of departments of education in Punjab and
Sindh.
It is noteworthy that with the Devolution of Powers Plan 2000, the main powers remain
with the provincial authorities; only the responsibilities of elementary, secondary, and higher
17

secondary education implementation were shifted to the district level. The major shift seems to
be in decision making of school budgets, and the recruitment and placement of teachers to be
administered by the districts (Shah, 2008). But still the main issue reported by districts is the
“political influence” in all kinds of decision making regarding teacher recruitment and placement
(Shah, 2008). In all four provinces the responsibility for teachers’ leave sanctions and teachers’
evaluation is even distributed below district level, at tehsil (a sub-division of district), and village
level. As far as curriculum planning is concerned, now with the eighteenth amendment in place
since 2010, provinces are given the right and responsibility to develop their own plans of study
up until higher secondary school level, although the program plans must be in accordance with
the national standards, benchmarks, and learning outcomes, as given in the national curriculum
documents (I-SAPS; Government of Pakistan, 2010). Textbook publishing was already under
the jurisdiction of provincial education departments. Higher education policy planning and
implementation still rest with the federal ministry and the provincial departments. The National
Curriculum Review Committee is still the final authority to approve any change in plans for
studies.
Organizational Structures for Teacher Education
It is noteworthy that I could find no authentic federal or provincial document or website
from which the organizational structures of education and teacher education could be seen. All of
the primary resources are filled with numbers of buildings, chairs, people, and budgets.
Therefore, I had to use secondary sources, which include individual research papers, graduate
student dissertations, and donor agencies’ reports. As with the overall administrative structures
of education, the organizational structures of teacher education have also developed and changed
over time in the past 66 years. There was certainly a time when teacher education was closely
18

linked with schools under the Normal Schools model. With the passage of time, this has changed
and has been reshaped in all provinces, as well as at the federal level. There are now four
different kinds of public institutions that provide pre-service and in-service teacher education
programs around the country of Pakistan:
1. Faculties of Education or Institutes of Educational Research (IER) at Universities
2. Public Colleges:
a. Government Colleges for Elementary Teachers (GCET)
b. Government Colleges of Education (GCE),
c. Government Elementary Colleges of Education (GECE),
d. Government Elementary Colleges for Teachers (GECT)
3. Bureaus of Curriculum (BoC) or in case of Punjab Directorate of Staff Development
(DSD)
4. Provincial or Regional Institutions of Teacher Education (PITEs or RITEs)
According to the reports of 2005 and 2006, a total of 270 teacher education/training
institutes exist in Pakistan, out of which 227 are public institutions and 53 belong to the private
sector. Forty-five of these institutions are recognized by the Higher Education Commission as
universities/degree awarding institutions. Out of these 45 institutions, 16 are in Punjab, 12 in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 in Sindh, three in Balochistan and four in the Federal Administered
Areas. Other than these 45 universities/degree awarding universities, there are 230 teacher
education institutions which are not degree awarding but which work in affiliation with one of
the universities/ degree awarding institution. (AED & USAID, 2005; UNESCO, 2006; Tunio &
Aziz, 2012).

19

At the federal level and among all provinces, the basic features that commonly exist are a
uniform curriculum and a consistent structure for teacher education programs. All institutions in
one province follow almost the same scheme of study, which is not much different even among
the provinces, because it is approved through the National Curriculum Review Committee under
the Higher Education Commission, which is a centralized body working under the umbrella of
the Federal Ministry of Education and Training (AED & USAID, 2005; UNESCO, 2006).
Looking at some provincial variations, first of all Punjab stands out with its completely
different and yet strong networking for teachers’ professional development, which is exhibited
through the existence of the only University of Education and a Directorate of Staff
Development that works under the supervision of the Provincial Ministry of Education. The
University of Education in Punjab was established with the main mandate of enhancing preservice teacher education in the province and the Directorate of Staff Development was
established to enhance the professional capacity of teachers, head teachers, teacher educators,
and various categories of education personnel whose work affects the quality of learning in
schools, directly or indirectly. The first two categories of teacher education institutions
mentioned above were affiliated with the University of Education and worked under the
administrative structures of the District Education Offices, until the New Teacher Education
Reform 2010. DSD is not just doing in-service any longer, and it has also brought pre-service
teacher education into its fold; accordingly, it has a say over the affiliation of colleges. Now the
colleges in different vicinities are getting affiliated with the closer universities. The
organizational structure was confusing due to the existence of PITE and having very similar
agenda as DSD, until 2009 when it was merged into the DSD. Now the DSD is the sole
administrative body for 33 GCETs while curriculum planning and pre-service degree awarding is

20

the responsibility of universities. Certificate programs and courses for in-service professional
development are conducted through the Directorate of Staff Development, Punjab (DSD, 2012;
Javed, Juan, & Nazli, 2012; UNESCO, 2006).
In Sindh, the sole responsibility of administrative control was with the Executive District
Officer of colleges, but in November 2012 the Sindh Provincial Assembly established the Sindh
Teacher Education Development Authority (STEDA, 2013). Before the establishment of
STEDA, the Bureau of Curriculum, in collaboration with PITE, was responsible for designing
and supervising pre-service and in-service teacher education programs. For examination and
certification, colleges of education are affiliated with Faculties of Education, or Institutes of
Educational Research at respective Universities. The major difference of GECEs and GCEs is
that the former colleges can only offer undergraduate courses. For graduate degrees in education,
students either go to Universities or to the GCEs affiliated with them. PITE in Sindh does not
have any regular programs; it only conducts training on demand from the institutions,
departments, or external donors (UNESCO, 2006). With the establishment of STEDA, a new
organizational and administrative structure might emerge in the future.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan do not have very sophisticated
organizational structures for teacher education. In KPK, the Directorate of Curriculum and
Teacher Education supervises 20Regional Institutes of Teacher Education (RITEs). RITEs along
with some other training centers, are eligible to offer undergraduate teacher education programs,
while for graduate and post-graduate studies, universities are the only option. In-service training
is not a regular activity and is only organized on demand. Similarly in Balochistan, the Bureau of
Curriculum has had the sole responsibility to supervise the PITE and the GECTs. Only
undergraduate degrees were offered at GECTs, and only one College of Education in the whole
21

province was offering the B.Ed. With the recent developments the scenario is changing in both
provinces gradually (UNESCO, 2006; PreSTEP/USAID, 2010).
In this whole organizational structure, two important features stand out. One feature is
that the most powerless and vulnerable group here seems to be the teacher educators. The
teachers generally in the education system in Pakistan are answerable to, and are supervised and
work under the control of, many bosses at a time (Siddiqui, 2012). These various bosses are there
in the above mentioned bureaucratic structures at the federal, provincial, and district levels, as
well as in the universities. But the second feature is that there is a remarkable difference of
positions between teacher educators of colleges of education and those who are working at
universities. However the university teachers are under much less pressure, because they are not
answerable to anyone outside the university, yet in the presence of HEC and the emerging role of
donor agencies, they are also not completely out of these centralized and strongly networked
power relationships. Further analysis of the situation is presented in the later chapters.
Bureaucratic Models and Issues in Policy Implementation
Excessive control saps the will to be productive and this ultimately harms provincial
interests. Local governments can be empowered to do much more today to build national
economies than was perceived in the past when their workings were biased in favor of
running an administration and delivering services. (Fahim, 2012)
Words like change or reform, through a new policy after every other decade or so, seem
to lose their meanings when they get entangled in all these bureaucratic administrative structures
and set-ups. A span of more than 66 years of Pakistan’s independence from British rule has
shown the failure of many policies and plans in terms of achieving their goals. Some analysts

22

look at it as a policy issue of setting unachievable targets, while others say it is always due to
financial constraints, and yet others find flaws at the implementation level (Islam, 2004; Ali,
2011; Ahsan, 2003).
Chaudhry and Chaudhry (2012) have discussed the issues they attribute to explain the
low performance of Pakistan within South Asian countries and around the world not only in
terms of “bio statistics,” but also in “socio-statistics,” “geo statistics,” and “eco-statistics,” while
they describe the “case of Pakistan” as “the story of an elite state that is clutched in the hands of
a military establishment, colonial legacy in the shape of bureaucracy, politicians motivated by
self interest, capitalist-minded industrialists, middlemen or the power brokers, and rural feudal”
(p.51). They highlight that Pakistan has retained the bureaucratic civil services model “both
structurally as well as functionally,” and they label it in terms of “stultified local administration
and neo-colonialism” (p.54). Like many other neighboring countries in South and South East
Asia, Pakistan has been trying to grow away from colonial and post-colonial hierarchical models
of planning and implementation (Haque, 2007; Jadoon & Jabeen, 2010). “Top down, nonparticipatory and executive oriented developmentalism” does not allow institutional or individual
participation and ownership of shared goals and vision to develop (Ahmad and Rashid, 2011,
p.82 cited in Chaudhry &Chaudhry, 2012).
Within educational planning and administrative set-up, only a few changes occurred,
mainly in 1973 and then 2001, in the form of the Devolution of Power Plan under the Education
Sector Reforms, and eighteenth constitutional amendment in 2010 (Shah, 2003; Islam, 2004;
Jadoon & Jabeen, 2010). Still, the picture does not seem to have changed much. The planning
process begins with identifying local needs, but then the decision making in terms of prioritizing,
budgeting, and policy making is partly done at the provincial and at central level only.
23

Implementation and monitoring is mostly decentralized to the district and institutional levels
(Shah, 2003; Islam, 2004; Shah, 2008). In the last three years since the eighteenth constitutional
amendment, the major difference visible is more involvement of provincial representatives in
larger forums like the National Curriculum Review Committee. But authorities at the center still
look down at provincial and local bodies, and many still believe that provinces and local bodies
do not have the capacity and ability to plan and make policy decisions independently (Siddiqui,
2010). With such beliefs and attitudes prevailing in the education sector, it is still impossible to
see major changes in practices.
It must be clarified here that the current education policy was announced and recent
curriculum reforms in teacher education was planned before the eighteenth constitutional
amendment was passed. So from 2006 to 2009 the involvement of provinces was minimal, as
mentioned above, even though there was a whole series of conventions, seminars, and
conferences around the country to form a new policy of education, new curriculum plans and
professional standards of teacher education (Ministry of Education, Policy and Planning Wing,
and UNESCO, 2009). It is claimed that all concerned departments were included in the process,
but it still remained a very clear top down approach, as I saw in attending the seminars being
conducted in different districts of Punjab. These so-called seminars were nothing more than
presentations of a few civil servants in front of audiences from different district level institutions.
The audiences had a silent and passive role to play, and to be counted through the attendance and
registration sheets for the records.
During the last ten years or so, the foreign donor agencies, who do not have a legitimate
jurisdiction determined for them, brought in another bureaucratic model and are becoming
another kind of hegemonic body in the whole scenario, because they have the power of
24

financing. A feature that must be addressed is that in the culture of top down, authoritative
administration and obedience, there is an inbuilt silence; people are habitual in obeying the
orders and working only as actors, not as thinkers or reflectors and they do not become a part of
change rather they take it as a mandatory obligation (Fullan,1993; Fullan,1999). Thus even by
involving local bodies and institutions, the in-built silence and submissiveness does not diminish.
Donor agencies sometimes ask what the actors need, but it is very much possible in the case of
countries like Pakistan that the actors do not know what they need, and even if they do know,
they do not have the habit of saying it out aloud.
Past Trends of Teacher Education Policy and Practices in Pakistan
The initial model of teacher education adopted by Pakistan in 1947 was as old as 1854,
when an institution in Karachi was established as a Normal School to offer the “Junior
Vernacular Certificate” (Tanveer-ul-Zaman, 2000; Shah, Kiani, Mahmood, & Husain, 2011).
The astonishing part is that in looking at some government documents to search for the history of
teaching and teacher education, I found that until the early 1980s jobs were being offered for
Junior Vernacular and Senior Vernacular teachers in public schools. The two certificate courses
required eight years and ten years of schooling, and they provided six to twelve months of
training for teaching in primary schools (Class I-V) and middle schools (Class I-VIII)
respectively. The two other certificates being offered at that time were the Certificate in
Teaching and the Bachelor in Teaching. These two certificates required twelve years and
fourteen years of schooling and provided one year training to prepare teachers for middle and
secondary schools (Tanveer-ul-Zaman 2000; Shah, Kiani, Mahmood &Husain, 2011).

25

In November 1947, after three months of independence, a National Educational
Conference was held in Karachi. The proceedings of this conference included statements of
philosophy as well as concrete recommendations about teacher education, in accordance with
new curriculum planning to suit the needs of the new nation. But in the next ten years, most of its
recommendations were found unachievable, due to lack of human and material resources as well
poor infrastructures. There was quantitative growth in the number of schools, student enrolment,
and teacher recruitment, but teacher qualifications and education remained a big constraint. In
the presence of only 27 primary teacher training institutions and six teacher training colleges,
mostly the teachers appointed to public schools had passed either middle or secondary schools
only with no or minimal training (Jalil, 1998; Ali, 2011; Ahmed 2012).
In 1958 a National Commission was appointed, and it produced a report in 1959 that
placed teacher education among top priorities. Recommendations for developing extension
centers and colleges of education were evidence of serious and focused attention towards
curriculum development and teaching quality. But this document was never fully implemented,
due to various political and financial issues within the country. It seems that until the division of
two wings of Pakistan, i.e., East and West Pakistan (1971), there remained complete political
chaos, and education could never become a priority for the political leaders in power (Jalil, 1998;
Ali, 2011; Ahmed 2012).
The first National Education Policy in Pakistan was announced in 1972. Although the
major feature of this policy was the nationalization of all educational institutions, with the
philosophy of equal opportunities of education, it also demanded a revision of the curriculum of
teacher preparation programs, as a result of which the curriculum for teacher education was
revised (Parveen, 2008; Ahmed, 2012; Ahmed &Aziz, 2012). In 1973 a National Institute of
26

Education was established under the Federal Ministry of Education and Training which later
became a part of the Faculty of Education at Allama Iqbal Open University that was established
in 1974. The policy and practice of offering Primary Teaching Certificate, Certificate of
Teaching and B.Ed through distance education, on the one hand solved the problem of upgrading
teachers’ qualifications in far flung areas, but on the other hand, also increased issues of the
quality of training. After the first National Education Policy in 1972, three more policies of
education were announced by different governments, in 1979, 1992, and 1998.
In the early 1980s there was a huge effort to revise the curriculum of teacher education
programs. Every later policy document included teacher education as one of its sections, focus
area, or a separate chapter. “A common feature of all the policies, plans, programs, and schemes,
with the sole exception of the Second Five-Year Plan, is that all of them failed to achieve their
objectives” (Mitchell, Salman, & Mujaffar, 2005, as cited in UNESCO, &USAID, 2006; Ali
2011). The major focus up until 1992 was to fulfill the need for trained teachers, which was huge
and to balance the teacher student ratio around the country which was in a terrible imbalance
(Kizilbash, 1998; Ahmed 2012). Only in 1998 were the issues of the quality of teacher education
addressed more explicitly. Until 1998, teacher education programs being offered at various
institutions of teacher education included the PTC – Primary Teaching Certificate and CT –
Certificate of Teaching, the basic qualifications which were pre-requisite to become an
elementary schoolteacher, and the B.Ed was the pre-requisite for becoming a secondary
schoolteacher. None of these programs was more than one year in duration (Kizilbash, 1998;
Parveen, 2008).
Within teacher education institutions there were issues such lack of facilities, irrelevant
content of teacher education textbooks and no set procedure for appointing teacher educators.
27

With all these conditions, these institutions including Allama Iqbal Open University (where I am
a faculty member) were producing approximately 30 - 40,000 teacher education graduates at
different levels annually (Kizilbash, 1998; Tanveer-ul-Zaman, 2000). Due to a ban on
appointments to government jobs, the number of unemployed graduated teachers was increasing.
For those who had been inducted into teaching, in-service teacher education was almost nonexistent. Many research studies and reports during the 1990s addressed the quality of teaching
and teacher education. One of the most famous studies was conducted by Donald and Fernando
(1995). They stated that “teacher training is worthwhile if it improves the quality of teaching and
helps students to learn,” and they maintained that if a teacher education program “does not
improve the quality of teaching or help students to learn, it is a waste of time and money” (p.43).
They inquired through a study conducted in Pakistan how well teacher training in Pakistan meets
these standards, and they concluded that:
Unmotivated faculty and students; inactive principals; a curriculum divorced from the
real problems faced in teaching; heavy reliance on lecturing, dictation and rote
memorization; cheating on examination; and lack of supervision or even much concern
about what happens in the colleges all undercut the ability of certification program to turn
out well-prepared and dynamic teachers. (p. 58-59)
Another significant finding was that the aims of different programs were not well
reflected in the actual delivery of the programs. Government colleges of teacher education were
“institutions of lowest priority,” and there were no clear visions or goals set for these institutions
(Kizilbash, 1998). The document of the National Education Policy 1998-2010 provided
situational analysis of teaching and teacher education during the last decade of the twentieth
country. It begins with the statement, “The quality of education is directly related to the quality
28

of instruction in the classrooms. The teacher is considered the most crucial factor in
implementing all education reforms at the grass root level” (p.47). One whole chapter of policy
further elaborates the issues and challenges of teacher education programs and the status of the
teaching profession in Pakistan. It is important to understand that the issues and challenges faced
by policy makers ten years ago, still prevail with more or less the same intensity. The first issue
addressed is that teaching is a last-choice profession, and it results in two further challenges
which are lower commitment levels and lower motivation levels towards the profession.
The National Education Policy 1998-2010, keeping in view all these issues and
challenges, gave clear-cut recommendations as well as detailed implementation strategies to
achieve the objectives that were given in the document. Major initiatives in teacher education,
based upon the policy provisions of the National Education Policy 1998-2010 included the
establishment of Provincial/Regional Institutes of Teacher Education in each province. These
bodies mainly worked for in-service teacher training for the first time in the country. In
collaboration with various international donor agencies, various in-service trainings were
conducted on a large scale around the country. Government Colleges of Elementary Teachers
were facilitated to improve the quality of instruction in pre-service teacher education programs.
Another big reform in teacher education came when in Punjab, the University of
Education was established in 2002, which was the first university to specialize in the field of
education in Pakistan, and all Government Colleges of Elementary Teachers in Punjab were
affiliated with this university. For the first time, three to four-year undergraduate programs were
offered and recommended by the Higher Education Commission throughout the country. The
National Curriculum Review Committee at the Curriculum Wing of the Federal Ministry of
Education and Training, in collaboration with the Universities’ Departments/ Faculties of
29

Education and Provincial Departments/Bureaus of Curriculum, reviewed the curriculum and plan
of studies for pre-service teacher education programs (HEC, 2006).
In 2009 the Federal Ministry of Education and Training, with the cooperation of
UNESCO and the financial support of USAID, developed National Professional Standards for
Teachers in Pakistan. These standards outlined a “vision of the qualifications Pakistan expects of
its teachers. These expectations need to be of national concern because teachers are the heart of
the nation's effort to assure a better future for all children and youth” (UNESCO, 2009). These
standards were part of a larger reform effort and developed in close coordination with the
Pakistan-based National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (NACTE), through the
Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the STEP program (Strengthening Teacher Education
in Pakistan). This $2.1 million program provided a policy framework and served as a significant
first step towards introducing quality assurance and a mechanism of accreditation for teacher
education programs in Pakistan (US Embassy, 2009).
Keeping in view rapid developments on both domestic and international fronts, the
Federal Ministry of Education and Training realized that a new articulation of the educational
priorities and future of Pakistan was needed in light of the Millennium Development Goals and
the Education for All agenda. The Inter Provincial Education Ministers Conference of January
2005 endorsed the review of the National Education Policy (NEPR). A Policy Review team was
put up in September 2005, with the mandate to undertake the revision exercise (Ministry of
Education, 2009). UNESCO and USAID (2006) mentioned referring World Bank (2006) report:
The quality of education provided by the public sector in Pakistan has been poor due to
low levels of teacher competence, lack of classroom-based support for teachers, poor
quality of textbooks and learning materials, lack of systems to assess student learning
30

outcomes, uneven supervision, insufficient resources for critical teaching and learning
materials, and weak sector governance and management. (p.8)
The National Education Policy 2009 includes a chapter titled “Raising the Quality of
Education”. The chapter begins by referring to the National Education Assessment System
Report (2007) to address the low quality of Pakistan’s education. It is further stated in the
introductory paragraph of this chapter that, “improving quality requires action in the areas of
teacher quality, curriculum and pedagogy, textbooks, assessment approaches, and in learning
environment and facilities” (p 42). For the first time a policy had a complete chapter addressing
quality issues in education. It is also significant to note that the first section of this chapter is
“Improving Teacher Quality,” which is building upon the same assumption as in the previous
policy. The initial paragraph indicates that the policy makers believe teachers to be the major
source of bringing quality into education. This belief is widely maintained and accepted by
educators.
Besides the policy documents and national surveys, it was reported again and again by
individual researchers and in the World Bank, UNESCO, and USAID reports that all programs
and courses of teacher education in Pakistan mostly focused on providing prospective teachers “a
handful of recipes for good teaching,” handing over a “fixed and static model of teaching” to
novice teachers, and giving them a limited “self-image of being a tiny screw in the big machine
of education” (Siddiqui, 2010; Bashir ud Din, Bana and Afridi, 2012). Moreover, there have
never been common criteria established for “good teaching” or to assess the quality of teaching
at various levels (Siddiqui, 2010). All these studies, reports, and many chapters and reflective
papers mostly highlighted issues with the practices at teacher education institutions, and they
pointed out the flaws and mistakes of teacher educators. Only a few of researchers reported about
31

issues such as lack of facilities and flaws in the system that affected the quality of teacher
education. But none of them addressed the impediments that existed because of the above
mentioned bureaucratic models and the silence of many voices in the authoritative organizational
culture at the institutional level.
The new TE Curriculum Reform of 2010
The year 2009 marked a serious initiative in teacher education in Pakistan, the first major
curriculum reform since the 1980s. This curriculum reform policy had two arms. On the one
hand, the Policy and Planning Wing under the Federal Ministry of Education and Training
announced the new National Education Policy in August, 2009, after a long review and revision
process; on the other hand, the Ministry, with the cooperation of UNESCO and the financial
support of USAID, developed the National Professional Standards for Teachers in Pakistan.
“These standards are part of a larger reform effort and developed in close coordination with the
National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (NACTE) through the Higher Education
Commission (HEC) and USAID's STEP program (Strengthening Teacher Education in
Pakistan)” (USAID, 2009; US-Embassy, 2009). In the same year (2009), a new project named
Pre-Service Teacher Education in Pakistan (Pre-STEP) was launched, with funding from
USAID. As a result of these reform activities, a new curriculum was introduced in the form of a
two-year program, i.e. Associate Degree in Education (ADE) and a four-year program, B.Ed
HonorsElementary. The information presented in this section was collected through the project’s
website and through document analysis of the new curriculum documents and quarterly and
annual reports of Pre-STEP, that were provided by the project office in Islamabad.

32

Before I summarize the initiatives and activities under this reform, it is attention-grabbing
to see some of the structural and functional changes that occurred during project implementation.
The project named Pre-STEP was initiated in 2009; in 2010, the new curriculum was introduced
in the piloting institutions. In early 2011, the project was stopped because of some administrative
issues. In the first phase of the project before 2011, the US based Academy for Educational
Development (AED) was the key implementing agency, in collaboration with the Education
Development Center (EDC); and among other universities from USA Michigan State University
was a partner in providing support to develop new curriculum and in planning new teacher
education policy. Fifteen Universities in Pakistan and Higher Education Commission were also
listed as partners in the quarterly reports and website (Pre-STEP, 2009).
Later in the second phase, when the new administrative set-up was established, the name
of project changed from Pre-STEP to USAID Teacher Education Project (USAID-TEP). At that
time the Education Development Center (EDC) became the key implementing agency, and
Teachers College-Columbia University became the new partner in USA, while Michigan State
University was no more collaborating in curriculum development or any other in-country
activity. The administrative staff in the project was also re-appointed. Many of the officials were
changed even in the key administrative positions, and some remained the same (EDC, 2011). It is
not reported anywhere in the project reports and other documents made available to me why this
set up was changed. The audit report of USAID gives the impression that one major reason is
the failure in achieving set targets along with high fraudulent expenditures at the end of AED
(USAID, 2010; USAID, 2011).

33

In the first phase of the project, when it was titled Pre-STEP, the major goal was to
initiate a new teacher education program and NEW policies in Pakistan, as it was stated in
project documents and on the website:
Pre-STEP's primary objective is to help the Government of Pakistan develop, introduce,
and implement effective curricula for a new four-year Bachelors' degree in education and
a two-year associate degree in education. To achieve that goal, Pre-STEP also helps
provincial governments create systems, policies and standards that ensure the effective
execution of these degree programs. (Pre-STEP, 2009)
Pre-STEP’s head office was established in Islamabad, and provincial Pre-STEP offices
were set up as well to collaborate with provincial governments and departments of education. All
the planning and monitoring was mainly controlled through the head office. Under this project,
faculties of education from various universities of Pakistan and USA worked together to develop
a new curriculum for teacher education programs. For the partner universities in Pakistan to
work in close collaboration for developing course materials and implementation, a Pre-STEP
coordinator was selected at each university within its Faculty of Education. Colleges of
education are affiliated with the partner universities; a Pre-STEP coordinator was also selected
among the teacher educators at the colleges, to communicate with the project team during the
implementation phase. Development of the new curriculum was monitored and supervised by the
Pre-STEP team and approved by NCRC at HEC.
In the second phase of the project, it is titled was USAID-TEP, and its goals were
described as:
The USAID Teacher Education Project directly supports 22 Pakistani universities and 75
teacher colleges to raise the level of academic standards in teacher education programs.
34

The project tailors its assistance to each province and region's priorities for improved preservice teacher education. It provides technical assistance in developing and
strengthening systems, policies, and standards to ensure better management of teacher
education programs. (USAID-TEP, 2013)
It was further elaborated that “the result will be outstanding instructors graduating from
colleges and universities with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required to meet Pakistan’s
National Professional Standards for Teachers” (USAID-TEP, 2013). This suggested that the
National Professional Standards were maintained as the goal to achieve through this huge
intervention in the form of the TE Curriculum Reform 2010. The quarterly and annual reports of
the project (2011& 2012) mentioned that the project had entered in the final year and had
achieved many of its objectives, if not all (Appendix. A).
Some of the major accomplishments mentioned on the website listed capacity building
trainings held for teacher educators, curriculum planners, and educational managers; the teacher
education strategy 2018 developed at institutional and provincial and regional levels; new
curriculum documents developed and distributed; new programs offered at 49 colleges and 13
universities around the country; colleges’ and universities’ improvement plans being finalized
for the development of infrastructures at various institutions; policy planning sessions being held
in all provinces and regions for teachers’ placement and pay scale decisions; and professional
development of existing school teachers going on (USAID-TEP 2013). Looking at the provincial
achievements given on the project website this is a small tabular presentation of statistics.

35

Table 2.1.Statistics Showing Spread of the New Reform
Number of

Number of

Number of

Number of

Participants Trained

trainings held

colleges offering

Universities

ADE

offering B.Ed

Region

Male Female Total

Honors
Punjab

917

649

1566

78

06

04

Sindh

619

575

1194

45

12

02

KPK

647

542

1189

50

20

03

Balochistan 522

492

1014

46

05

02

18

03

01

03

01

Kashmir
Federal

159

118

277

10

137

126

263

10

Capital
Gilgit
Baltistan

The quarter report of the project, from October to December 2012, showed that the total
number of students enrolled in the two new programs at colleges and universities around the
country was 5473. It is noteworthy that 4,340 students were enrolled in ADE in colleges of
education, and 1,113 students were enrolled in the four year B.Ed Honors Elementary. Another
significant feature is that 79% of the students in ADE and 78% of the students in B.Ed Honors
Elementary were female (see Appendix B).
36

Major Changes in the TE Curriculum
Between the 1980s and 2009 there were three major teacher education programs offered
in Pakistan for preparing elementary and secondary school teachers, these were the Primary
Teachers Certificate (PTC), the Certificate of Teaching (CT), and the Bachelors in Education
(B.Ed). There were some other diploma courses available for physical education teachers, art
teachers, and language teachers. The TE curriculum reform 2010 proposed to close completely
the PTC and CT, and proposed to phase out the old B.Ed program in a few years. The initial new
curriculum document was prepared in 2010 and was made available at the website of HEC. HEC
placed it as a recommended basic program outline for all teacher education institutions around
the country. The 2010 curriculum document provided program and course outlines for an
Associate Degree in Education (ADE), a B.Ed Honors Elementary; and a B.Ed Honors
Secondary, as well as for an M.Ed. These documents were an outcome of the planning meetings
and sessions held in provinces and at NCRC. In 2010, when the new programs (ADE and B.Ed
Honors Elementary) were launched, there was much difference in the course outlines given at the
HEC website document and the enacted curricula at colleges.
During the years 2010 to 2012, many revisions were made in the ADE and B.Ed Honors
Elementary Program under the supervision of the USAID -TEP teams. Now there is a new
document available on the HEC, as well as the project website, which contains the minutes of
three meetings where the new course outlines were approved, and it also contains the course
outlines of the B.Ed Honors Elementary programs and course guides with unit plans for the ADE
program. B.Ed Honors Elementary is a four-year undergraduate program which is offered at
universities. ADE can be described as the first half of the B.Ed Honors Elementary, and it is
offered at colleges of education. Universities and the department of education in Punjab did not
37

agree to offer the two-year program plan, therefore in Punjab, ADE was adopted as a three-year
program, while in all other provinces and regions it is offered as a two-year program. Initially the
two- to three-year ADE program was launched in eight colleges around the country in September
2010. In the same semester, B.Ed. Honors Elementary was also launched in six partner
universities. It is important to note here that ADE and B.Ed Honors Elementary are called
programs. The new TE Curriculum Reform 2010 that I am studying includes both the programs
(HEC, 2012; USAID-TEP, 2013).
Major changes that were brought about through the new curriculum reform include first
of all the longer duration and more credits in the program; in the past, all teacher education
programs were no longer than twelve to eighteen months. Only a few universities in Punjab had
already initiated three to four-year programs before this reform. But this is a whole new two to
four-year program plan. Either a student teacher will complete two/three years ADE to begin
teaching or will fulfill the requirement of four years for the B.Ed Honors.
Another major change is the structure of the program. In past student teachers were
expected to have content knowledge through their other (BA or BS) degrees, and only some
foundation courses and methods were the major focus of teacher education programs. But in this
new program student teachers study foundations, content, as well as methods, within one plan of
studies and they get only a single degree certificate at the end. It is important to notice that the
admissions criteria were not revised as such. As in the old programs (PTC/CT), anyone who has
passed twelve years of schooling in the second division (i.e. 45%) or above can enter the
program, depending on the seats available. In the old B.Ed program, the eligibility was fourteen
years of education (BA/B.Sc) in the second division (i.e. 45%) or above.

38

The new plan of studies has three major features that stand out in reviewing the old and
new documents. One is the focus on the English language. The medium of instruction is English,
and all recommended resource materials for the courses other than Islamiat and Urdu are in
English. There are three compulsory courses within the plan of study which focus on English
language literacy and functional English. The second major emphasis is on the use of
technology. There are two compulsory courses, one is a Computer Literacy course and the other
is an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) course. All course guides are full of
recommended internet resources, which signifies the learning of computer skills required for
teaching and learning through the new curriculum. The third major difference is in the duration
and frequency of practice teaching. In all old programs, there was six to eight weeks of practice
teaching at the end of the program, while in the new plan of studies there are four different
places when student teachers go for short-term and long-term practice teaching. There are many
other methodological changes proposed in the teacher education classrooms for the professional
development of teacher educators. I could not find any documented details of the professional
development interventions through this reform, but these were discussed by the participants of
this study and are presented in detail in the coming chapters.
A Personal Perspective
My own experiences as a teacher candidate illustrate the procedures that were in place in
1995. After completing my B.Sc with Mathematics, Statistics and Psychology, I decided to
become a teacher. I enrolled in the one year B.Ed program at a teacher education college, which
was run under the governance of the Pakistan Air force; therefore, it was considered to be a
semi-public institution. I studied four compulsory courses - English, Urdu, Pakistan Studies, and
Islamiat; three core courses- Foundations of History of Education, Educational Psychology, and
39

School Administration; and a set of four elective courses, two of methods and two of contents for
Math and Science Education. The college was affiliated with a university in Punjab. I remember
completing my course work in ten months, and then I went for six weeks of practice teaching in
a privately owned school. I felt very confident with all the coursework I had done, but once I
started teaching I felt very much unprepared to handle a classroom of thirty teenage students. I
felt this so strongly that whenever my supervisor used to come to observe my classroom, I talked
to her and mentioned why I felt so unprepared. She always praised my teaching style and said
that the goal of practice teaching is to prepare you for real teaching. I remember my discussions
with my mother during those days. I always said that the courses they taught us did not speak
about the classrooms we had. They taught us about ideal conditions and the class I was teaching
was actually held in a corridor of the school building because they did not have any other space
left. I remember that I did not have a wall where I could place my charts, so I had to put them on
the blackboard, but then I had to take them off because I needed the board to write.
I did my first teaching job after doing a Masters degree in Psychology. I still believe that
studying topics like the functions of human mind, thinking, perceptions and learning helped me
better understand teaching and learning. I worked in a boys’ school, which was administered
under the governance of the Pakistan Army. This was an institution that had all the facilities
available for teaching, both inside and outside a classroom. I could almost practice everything I
had learned in my teacher education program. After working for three years in this school, I
joined a project of computer literacy for teachers. I was selected as a trainer for the school and
college teachers. That is when I had the first-hand experience of going in public school
classrooms. The professional development course of integrating technology into the curriculum
was very well designed and very captivating for the teachers. But it was not designed for
40

Pakistani schools; the participating teachers always mentioned how unrealistic it was to think
that they could actually use technology in their classrooms.
I regularly visited the public and private schools where the participating teachers were
working. Seeing all the different conditions, I once again realized through this experience that
whatever we are taught in teacher preparation and professional development programs was very
idealistic. It was useful only in certain conditions, and those conditions were not to be expected
in public schools, where majority of the students go. During these two jobs I completed another
Masters in Educational Planning and Management, in which all the courses talked about how
policy and plans are made and how educational institutions and projects are managed. This was
again an eye opener for me, seeing how much money was going down the drain in efforts to
improve educational institutions, yet public schools and colleges still lacked even the basic
facilities.
In 2004 I joined the department of Elementary Teacher Education at Allama Iqbal Open
University. I was given the task to revise the courses of in two certificate programs called
Primary Teaching Certificate (PTC) and Certificate in Teaching (CT). I was astonished that all
the courses in PTC, CT, and B.Ed were developed during the 1980s and had not been revised
since then. I saw that the same program plans were being followed for almost two decades,
without any major changes. I was also told by the head of the department not to make changes
more than 33 %. This was not comprehendible for me. I could not really understand what 33% of
a theoretical course was? I revised four courses with the help of a team of reviewers
recommended by the department. I was only able to update the information, and I could not
make many changes in the content other than in a few units in four courses, when at the end of
two years I was told that this program was closing soon. The Higher Education Commission only
41

then had started the campaign to close all undergraduate programs of teacher education which
were of one-year or less duration. A proposal approved with the consent of universities was to
offer four-year undergraduate teacher education programs. At Allama Iqbal Open University, I
was one of the team members working on the program plan for a four-year undergraduate
degree. It remained a huge debate about whether it was suitable for Pakistani cultural context,
and if it is feasible or not for an open distance institution like AIOU.
In 2009 the project of Pre- STEP was launched by USAID in collaboration with HEC. I
came to the US for a PhD degree through the scholarship opportunities in this project. I was
always curious about how the new curriculum reform under this project was being planned and
how it was being implemented at the universities and public colleges of education. I was still
concerned about the gap of realities at the public institutions and the idealistic approach of
teacher education programs. I got basic information through online resources, and I came to
know that the new program was launched at selected public universities and colleges of
education in 2010. I decided to study the enacted curriculum at the pioneer institutions of teacher
education as my first step.

42

Chapter 3
Methodology
The journey of this study began in the year 2004 when I joined a public university in
Pakistan, Allama Iqbal Open University. This is an open distance education institution that offers
programs from the secondary school level to the postgraduate level. In Pakistan, Allama Iqbal
Open University is counted among mega universities due to its huge enrolment every semester
and it is noteworthy that teacher preparation programs have larger enrolments than any program
offered at this university. The teacher education programs’ enrolment in year 2009 alone was
more than 70,000 (USAID, 2009). In 2004, when I joined the university, I was given the
responsibility to revise the two teacher education programs called the Primary Teaching
Certificate (PTC) and the Certificate of Teaching (CT). Once I started revising the courses of
PTC, I came to know that in two of the provinces, Punjab and Sindh, these two programs were
closing down, because they wanted better and more highly qualified teachers. But Allama Iqbal
Open University decided to continue offering PTC and CT programs because they were still
getting enrolments from all the regions. Meanwhile I came to know that another program at my
university which was called 10+3 Diploma was in its experimental stages and it might be closed
down because we did not get high enrolments in it. This was a three-year program of studies,
after ten years of schooling. For me, it was a question of whether such decisions should be based
on the number of students enrolling, or on something else, like issues of quality of the program.
In 2007, when I was more involved in teaching curriculum planning and project
implementation courses at the Masters level, I was informed me that we needed to develop a new
program plan for an undergraduate four year B.Ed Honors program. For this a proposed outline
was given by HEC. It was very confusing for me that we had recently closed a three year scheme
43

because students did not enroll in it, and those who did enroll did not tend to complete the three
years; they rather preferred to switch to a regular higher secondary school certificate for further
education; I had no background in philosophies of teacher education; I had only studied
educational planning and management, so my major concern was the question of how to plan and
implement a new program and look more closely upon the prospects of its feasibility. Having
personal experiences and some background qualifications in curriculum planning, I was also
concerned about the gaps in the teacher education curriculum and the practices at public schools
and colleges. Thus I had many questions in mind, such as how we should enroll and retain
students in a four-year teacher education program, whether we had the capacity to teach all
content and methods courses at teacher education institutions, how we could make this new plan
more context specific and reality based, and what the future of this program and its graduates
would be. I was made a part of the team working on the basic program design, and we started
working, keeping all these scenarios in front of us.
In 2009, when the team at AIOU had just completed the initial phase of planning the new
four-year curriculum outline, a booklet was sent to all faculty members on the Higher Education
Commission. This booklet had ten professional standards for teacher education in Pakistan. This
was the output of a project called STEP (Strengthening Teacher Education in Pakistan), which
was funded by USAID. We were advised to prepare the new plan of studies in relation to these
standards. Soon after that, we came to know that USAID had launched another project called
Pre-STEP (Pre-Service Teacher Education Project), which is now called the USAID-Teacher
Education Project (USAID-TEP). This project aimed to help faculties in developing a four-year
plan of studies for the undergraduate degree in education, to help policy makers develop new
policies of teacher education and placement, and also to support teacher education institutions in
44

capacity building. I felt very excited to work with a larger team but I was also told that I had
been nominated for a PhD scholarship to study in USA. So I left the task but not my interests.
Once I learned that I could conduct my dissertation study in Pakistan I decided to research
further the new teacher education curriculum reform, brought about by HEC and USAID-TEP.
Methodological Decisions
Initially while planning the study, I reviewed previous research and found that teacher
education curriculum policy is one of the least researched areas in Pakistan. All policy analysis
studies available usually provide cost-benefit analyses, or report losses and failures of policies
one after another. The majority of studies are ex-post facto, meaning the research studies are
conducted after it has been determined that the policy has failed. I believe that instead of
knowing anything after five to ten years, or even later, it is necessary to review the policies at the
time of implementation, as a way to help policy makers, planners, and implementers in informed
decision-making. There had not been a tradition of “formative program evaluation” in education
in Pakistan (Zaki, 1989). With more and more involvement of foreign agencies in educational
planning and management in Pakistan, summative and formative program evaluation was now
becoming a culture, as most of the programs and projects had built-in monitoring and evaluation
components. But such assessments also only studied the achievement of short-term and longterm goals. They mostly provide quantitative analyses. None of the evaluation reports and
research studies presented the reasons or qualitative factors affecting implementation success and
failures.
To review the new teacher education curriculum reform in Pakistan I opted to conduct an
“interpretive policy analysis” at the institutional level (Yanow, 2000; Yanow & Schwartz-Shea,

45

2006). “Interpretive policy analysis” is something unique in Pakistan, particularly in the field of
teacher education (Yanow, 2000). For developing a cohesive and rich research design, I used “an
interactive model” proposed by Maxwell (2005). This model helped me think of my design as
“interactive” within its elements. Thus, keeping in view my research questions, I planned and
conducted a qualitative study that included multiple sources of data including document review,
interviews, observations and pictures that gave my study an essence of visual ethnography. My
research questions initially helped me to spotlight certain aspects while developing interviewing
protocols and thinking through all other methods. But the living experience brought much more
richness to my analyses than only trying to find answers to these questions. In that way the study
was grounded and I let the data direct my curiosity.
I lived, observed, talked, and recorded the “artifacts of local knowledge” at the teacher
education institutions in the form of “language, objects and acts” (Yanow, 2000; Yanow &
Schwartz-Shea, 2006). For language, I chose to learn through documents and conversations with
the members of interpretive communities; for objects, I studied physical spaces and collected
pictures with “thick descriptions” of the physical spaces and the resources available for
implementing the new curriculum; and for acts, I observed practices in the institutions (Geertz,
1973; Yanow, 2000; Glesne, 2010). I thus used two ways to collect data about “formal and
informal communication,” utilizing two forms of media “text and images” (Bauer, Gaskell and
Allum, 2000). The sources of data for this qualitative study were policy and curriculum
documents from before and after the new curriculum reform, institutional records of student and
faculty, pictures of physical spaces and resources, interviews with educational professionals, and
observations; all of these sources were interlinked as shown in the figure below.

46

Figure 3.1. Data Generation Resources
(“For interpretation of the references to color in this and all other figures, the reader is referred to the electronic version of this
dissertation”).
Institutional Data
Course Packs

Documents

Student
enrolment, and
retentions

Teachers’ plans
EDC and Institutions’
Reports

Interviews with teacher
educators at colleges
Interviews
Before and
after
observations

Interviews with teacher
educators at Universities

Pictures
Observations
Thick
descriptions
Planning

Labs

Classroom
47

Diary records

Faculty and
institutional
profile

Here I present the types of data yielded in the form a table given by Yanow (2000).
Table 3.1. Types of Data Yielded
Methods of
accessing data

Sources of data

Kinds of data yielded

Observation

Principal’s office interactions

Field notes and anecdotes of

Classroom interactions and activities
Out of class activities – labs, libraries,

•

Acts

•

General behaviors

•

Common room interactions

Body language

•

Use of physical spaces and

and open yard
Conversation

resources

Interviews and interactions with:

Audio recordings and notes of

•

•

Spoken language

•

Teacher educators

•

Non-verbal language

•
Document review

Planners

Heads of institutions

Policy document

Notes of

Institutional profiles

•

Written language

•

Course packs and lesson plans

Descriptive records

And Excerpts

Student records
Quarter and annual reports
Websites and News papers
Visual
ethnography

Buildings

Pictures and thick descriptions of

Physical resources in classrooms
Labs, libraries and other resource
rooms

48

•

Physical spaces

•

Physical resources

Summer Visit to Pakistan
I conducted the study in two phases; because I was using a grounded theory approach
(Glaser and Strauss, 1967), it was very useful to build a larger plan on the basis of an initial visit
to the research sites. I first went to Pakistan to explore the reform details and institutional
realities with an open mind and then decide how to select participants and procedures for further
study and analysis (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Denscombe, 2007). I went for two months during
summer 2012, when it was extremely hot weather and electric power in most cities was regularly
shut down for 12to 18hours in a day for rationing. I did not know, but I later realized, that this
electricity shut down has significant affects at the institutional level and it was one of the major
findings that I shall present in next chapters. Before going I collected some basic information
about the planning and implementation of the new teacher education curriculum reform of2010.
In this study, universities are different from colleges; in Pakistan colleges of education were
initially given the responsibility of preparing elementary and secondary level school teachers
only. So, most of the colleges around the country are offering undergraduate programs while
only in Punjab some of these offer Master level programs as well. The colleges are affiliated
with one or the other university in the region. Universities are autonomous bodies and offer
programs from under graduate level to doctoral level.
The new curriculum of the four-year program has been divided into two parts. Initially
the two to three-year program is called the Associate Degree in Education (ADE). In 2010 ADE
was launched at eight colleges of education as an experiment. The whole four-year program was
called four-years B.Ed honors, and it was offered at six universities only in 2010. During this
first phase I chose to visit four out of eight colleges, including two male and two female colleges.
As I mentioned earlier, I was more interested in studying the role and standing of institutions in
49

planning and implementing the reform, hence I decided to conduct “interpretive analysis” of the
enacted curriculum at the institutions where it was initiated (Yanow, 2000).
During my two months’ stay in summer 2012, I visited the USAID-TEP office in
Islamabad and the teacher education institutions in four cities where the new programs were
launched in 2010. I am not mentioning the names of the cities here because that would
jeopardize confidentiality by making it easy to recognize the respondents’ identities (Research
and Scholarly Integrity, 2012). Selection of institutions in countries like Pakistan is not possible
through very sophisticated sampling strategies. Initially I selected one institution from three
provinces and one from the northern areas of Pakistan, where the program was launched. Later I
had to change my selection of institutions during my visit to Pakistan. It was not possible to
travel to the northern areas by air during the monsoons, and the sociopolitical scenario of the
region caused severe security issues in travelling to these areas by road. I ended up collecting
data in four cities within three provinces, but I still maintained the ratio of two male and two
female colleges in my selection of participants.

50

Table 3.2. Number of Institutions Selected for First Research Visit
Region

Number of Institutions
Male

Punjab

Female

01

Sindh

01

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

01

01

Baluchistan

--

--

Kashmir and Northern Areas

--

(had one initially but
couldn’t reach)

I conducted eleven interviews during the first visit. I interviewed one teacher and one
head-teacher at each college. The other three interviews were “elite interviews” of the experts
(Marshall and Rossman, 1999) – two of representatives from National Curriculum Review
Committee at HEC, who were the conveners/members from University Faculties for the fouryear undergraduate program, and one foreign consultant from USAID-TEP, who was involved in
the process of developing the new teacher education program and courses. Initially I only
conducted two elite interviews, but then I decided to interview another local expert. The reason
to add another expert was that the local expert I interviewed initially told me that she had left the
program development team in 2010, so she could not provide up-to-date information. This third
expert was a faculty member at one university, and she was also one of the conveners of National
Curriculum Review Committee.

51

Second Visit to Pakistan
My initial data analysis suggested that teacher educators at colleges of education were not
a part of the planning phase; only university teachers were involved. The college teachers were
involved only during the implementation stage, which was also mentioned by some interviewees
as the “piloting or experimental stage.” Their feedback was recorded from time to time, but all of
them mentioned that they had not seen the changes they recommended so far. So the college
teacher educators saw themselves only as implementers. The two local experts, who were
involved in planning the TE curriculum reform, also mentioned that they were being “told” how
to do it. They took it more as an assignment, and it seemed to be a top down flow of instructions
and orders rather than a two-way communication. My analysis at the pilot stage was only based
on limited interview data, and it helped me identify some unheard voices and differences of
perspective among individuals working at various institutional levels. Before my second
research visit, I knew that the situation of voice and participation was central to my research
agenda.
On the bases of my initial visit and data analysis, I was able to design the study further.
The major goal of the study now became clear as exploring some individual and institutional
perspectives to access the local knowledge that plays a significant role in policy implementation.
The new TE curriculum reform was planned and designed to bring a change in the institutional
culture (USAID, 2009). Some significant features, as mentioned by the planners and program
reports were all definitely very significant and crucial changes that were long awaited in colleges
of education in Pakistan. I planned to take a closer look and find out what kinds of changes (if
any) were actually occurring. One goal was to understand how the teacher educators interpreted
and enacted the new curriculum reform, and whether and how their perspectives and practices
52

had changed. The other goal was to learn how the physical environment and resources played a
role (or not) in this process of change. I took the role of researcher to be able to listen to unheard
voices, make institutional perspectives visible to planners, and interpret the enacted curriculum
by accessing the “local knowledge” through “language, acts and objects” (Yanow, 2000). I
adopted a multiple method research design that helped me to understand and interpret various
actions, documents, words, and objects.
Selection of Participants
The summer study had left me with many questions open for further research. I had
developed a sense through initial data analysis that when a reform is planned with a centralized
approach, involving only specific individuals in the policy-development process can result in
missing some significant voices. Such top down approach does claim to include everyone as a
change agent but makes things more “mandatory” and provides change agenda as a “blueprint”
instead of letting it be a “journey” (Fullan, 1993). The involvement of foreign donor agencies at
the institutional and individual level viewed as an outside-in model, even if it is not intended to
be. It is significant to note here that my initial analysis showed similarities and differences in the
individual perspectives of planners, heads of institutions, and teachers, and still the element of
motivation to bring a positive change was visible among all. This common motivation was very
positive but it could also overshadow the differences which were needed to be in focus at this
stage to remove confusions and identify “conflicting interpretations” among the “interpretive
communities” (Yanow, 2000). I identified the experts, the university teachers, heads of colleges
of education, and teacher educators at the colleges as the interpretive communities, or the
communities of meaning, in this case (Yanow, 2000). Here is a distribution of participants
during my first research visit in summer 2012.
53

Table 3.3. Participants of the first visit
Colleges

Curriculum Planners
Teacher Educators

Punjab

Sindh

KPK

Punjab Sindh

KPK

Foreign

Local

1

First visit

Heads of Institution

1

2

1

2

1

2

Total

1

11

The first decision I needed to make before my second visit to Pakistan was to re-select
participating institutions and individuals. Keeping in mind the time and resource constraints I
again limited my selection to four institutions, but this time I selected two universities and two
colleges of education so that I might be able to review the reform from four different viewpoints.
Figure 3.2. Institutions Included in Second Research Visit

A university
in Sindh

A university
in Punjab
Four View
Points

A college of
education in
Sindh

A college of
education in
Punjab

Travelling in Pakistan between the provinces has become insecure in the past few years
due to political and regional conflicts. The expenses of travelling and lodging are also different
from place to place. Therefore, this time I kept two alternative locations for data collection. I
included Punjab as my first region of data collection, because Punjab is considered to have the
54

best administrative setup and physical resources in the whole country (World Bank, 2006). It is
the largest province with the highest number of universities and colleges of education. But
Punjab does not represent the conditions around the country, which my practicum study visit also
made clearly visible. In addition to Punjab, I then planned to include one more region, either
Sindh or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). I had visited Colleges of education in both provinces
already, and both of these regions can be taken as presenting somewhat similar conditions.
Balochistan could give a different picture, but it is almost impossible for a female from Punjab to
go there and live or travel alone in the current sociopolitical situation. Another reason for not
including Balochistan was that the program was not launched there in 2010, and I was choosing
institutions from the 2010 cohort.
Finally, during my second visit I ended up going to Punjab and Sindh only. In the two
selected provinces I planned to include one university and one of its affiliated colleges of
education. At the universities I planned to interview and observe at least two teachers who were
teaching in the new program and who had also taught the old schemes of study. I aimed to
interview and observe at least one teacher educator who was a part of curriculum designing
activity, and one other who was not. At the colleges I planned to interview and observe the same
teacher educators and heads of institutions as I did before, during the first visit. But in the case of
Sindh I could not do that, because they did not agree to participate any more. Yet I was able to
interview and observe two other teacher educators.

55

Table 3.4. Participants of the Second Research Visit

Second visit

Colleges Teachers

University teachers

Punjab

Sindh

Punjab

Sindh

3

2

2

2

Total

9

Traveling and Site Visits
I travelled from USA to Pakistan in extreme weather. Once I was there from May to July,
which was extremely hot, and then the second time I was there from December to February,
which was extremely cold. There was regular electricity rationing during the summer, and during
the winter natural gas rationing was added to it. At the domestic level, electricity is the major
source for all the cooling systems and lights in Pakistan, while natural gas is used for most of the
heating systems and cooking, and it is also being used as an alternative low cost fuel for vehicles
in Pakistan. Therefore, I was able to learn how difficult it is for people to work and study under
all these troublesome state of affairs in smaller and bigger cities. Electricity shutdowns make it
impossible to use technological facilities, and it becomes extremely troublesome to work and
study at colleges and universities because of the severe weather conditions and building
structures. I shall discuss further details later about this.
The matter of fact is that I learned a lot through my travelling within and between cities.
Site visits in a country where there is a continuous security threat in many parts and regions is
risky. It is a society where it is not very common for a single female to travel around alone, or go
to various places and meet strangers. I am one of the citizens of the same society, so I am
56

expected to follow the norms. Mindful of the security issues, I tried to avoid roaming around in
the cities where I knew there could be a risk. In one region I stayed in a nearby city instead of
where I was actually collecting the data. So I travelled every day to and from that city by road
during day hours before it got dark. During my summer visit to KPK, being a female I had to
request the brother of a friend to be with me on my visits to these institutions, and I kept my head
covered going into the city and the institutions mainly because it was a boys’ college where I had
to collect data. I could have made my task much easier by asking USAID to provide me
conveyance and someone to come along. But I intentionally did not do that, knowing that this
could change my role as a researcher in the eyes of my respondent group, who would view
USAID representatives as foreigners or outsiders.
I travelled by air and by road to various cities, and I also used local transport to move
around. This was a unique experience, and one could learn a lot about the culture of various
cities only through living and roaming around. There is no public transport network in the cities.
Some private vans fulfill this purpose, and they are overcrowded. The most common means of
transportation in all the cities I visited was the rickshaw. But every city had different kinds of
rickshaws. Rickshaw drivers usually do not know how to read; there are usually no building
numbers, and every street does not necessarily have a name. Every city has its own unique codes
for telling the addresses and routes. Every other rickshaw driver will learn it differently. So it
always took me almost a week to learn that in each city. Another common issue was fuel
shortages. Three days a week every city gets Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in the fuel stations.
So during those three days rickshaw fares are half of what they charge when CNG is not
available and they are using petrol. Then there also were transportation strikes due to the fuel
prices, making it impossible to commute.
57

One unique and unforgettable experience of my life was in Sindh. After a weeklong
countrywide strike and protests against the central government, I was able finally to get a flight
to Sindh. The day I arrived, another episode of strikes and protests began in Sindh, against the
Supreme Court of the country and in favor of the central government. It was the second morning
in the city, when I went to the college at 8:00 am. A teacher came into the principal’s office and
said that there was aerial firing going on in the streets. The protestors wanted everything to shut
down. So they were firing. The college was closed at once and everyone was told to go home.
This was shocking for me, because nobody was responsible for the students and the teachers.
They were simply told to go. I was also told to leave the college premises. Thankfully a worker
got me a rickshaw, and on my way to the hotel I witnessed aerial firing for the first time in front
of me. There were school children and college girls and boys walking by when men on
motorbikes were going around firing aimlessly. These events made it evident how political
instability and restlessness in the regions is disturbing the whole life of people in the provinces,
including educational activities. These and other features of city life were to me the “symbolic
acts” that worked as “signifiers” of the “discourse” of social restlessness, the imbalances in the
provision of resources, and uninformed public responses and reactions (Geertz, 1973). But the
people, the following week after four days of closure, behaved as normal as nothing ever
happened, which was even more astonishing for me, yet it was routine for them.
Getting Permissions and Informed Consent
As per research ethics and the regulations of the IRB at MSU, I developed consent forms
for each individual participant. Preparing for the interviews was a very crucial stage for me. The
process of IRB application at MSU and the Responsible Research Conduct workshops helped me
to realize my “responsibility” as a researcher. On the very first contact with one of the college
58

heads, I was told that I needed to have an official letter to prove that whatever I was saying was
true that I was a researcher only. They do not accept scanned copies, so I had to get an original
signed letter. I got a letter from the USAID-TEP office. It was amazing how only having the logo
on the letterhead and a signature at the bottom made them believe that I was a researcher,
although they said it was just a formality. I could now see why Hull (2012) called the
bureaucracy of Pakistan “Government of Paper”; and it reminded me of how Yanow &
Schwartz-Shea (2006) described the old days’ research cultures, in which European researchers
would go to the colonies and conduct studies as they liked. So the USAID-TEP team never
needed a letter, and their letter made doors open for me, too.
For my second visit, I did not want to carry the letterhead of USAID, so I got letters from
my research advisor for each institution. I contacted the heads of institutions through telephone.
No one ever responded at my first attempt. Then I left messages, and in some cases I had to find
a link, like my students and colleagues from those cities, through which I could reach someone to
get an appointment. At the universities, once I reached and met them face-to-face, I did not have
much problem in getting permission. But at the colleges, the heads of institutions were still
hesitant. One of them initially agreed and the next day she refused, saying that “higher
authorities” will not agree, and she was “answerable” to them. I asked her if she wanted to talk to
them, and she refused. So I contacted the director at the district education office by phone, and I
was able to get permission only by explaining the goals of my visit. I had also prepared a photo
release form that I got signed by the heads of institutions, so that I would be able to use the
photographs in my analysis and presentation of data.
I met the teacher educators at their respective institutions. All the teacher educators were
not there at the colleges and universities at the time of my visits, as the practice teaching was
59

going on. Some of the teachers were busy in training workshops and planning meetings with
USAID-TEP and HEC. So I met with the teachers who were available in their offices or common
rooms, explained my study, and requested if someone could volunteer to talk with me. I felt that
language was a big barrier in communicating with the teacher educators. Mainly in KPK and
Sindh, where I did not know the native language, I found teacher educators a bit hesitant in
volunteering for interviews, knowing that they would have to talk in Urdu or English.
Observations and Taking Photographs
During the summer visit, I spent only three days at each institution, while during the
second visit I spent five to ten working days at each institution, depending upon the teacher
educators’ availability. I was thus able to observe teacher educators during free time, classroom
instruction, and other activities. There was no laboratory teaching during my stay. But the living
experience and opportunity to observe helped me see the “words in action,” and I was be able to
analyze more deeply how the enacted curriculum was being interpreted by individual “actors” at
the institutions (Yanow, 2000). I kept noting, regular “diary records” and taking pictures with
“thick descriptions” (Geertz, 1973; Denscombe, 2007; Corbin & Strauss, 2008). I was not using
a video recorder, so I had to note down every detail as far as possible. I developed a “daily log”
and kept writing after visiting the institutions every day (Denscombe, 2007; Corbin & Strauss,
2008).
I only took pictures of institutions’ buildings, hallways, classrooms, libraries, and
laboratories as well as the physical resources available. I did not photograph people as was
promised in the consent forms. “Semiotics of built spaces” as well as the objects in them bring a
different meaning to the enacted policies or curriculum at institutions (Yanow, 2000; Yanow &

60

Schwartz-Shea, 2006). I had to write “thick descriptions” with the pictures after my visit every
day, and I also used the pictures for probing questions during interviews (Geertz, 1973; Gold,
2007). Using techniques of visual ethnography, such as “photo elicitation” within interviews,
helped me understand more about how physical spaces and resources become the “objects” that
change the meanings of policy for different “communities of meanings” (Yanow, 2000; Harper,
2002; Pink, 2007; Gold, 2007). I used photographs for three purposes in my study: “gaining
orientation, developing rapport and analysis” (Gold, 2007). Site visits and photography were all
done by me, mostly in the presence of the participating teacher educators. So the teacher
educators kept giving me more and more information while showing me around.
With the help of my field notes, anecdotes, and thick descriptions, I was able to analyze
and report in detail about much that I observed and recorded (Geertz, 1973; Yanow, 2000,
Glesne 2010). Pictorial data with text can be useful for presenting and analyzing the differences
between physical environments in the institutions, and the “deconstruction of physical spaces” is
helpful in understanding the institutional culture (Hall, 1997; Bauer, Gaskell and Allum 2000).
Conversations
The conversational text helped me more than any other source of data in analyzing
understanding the different “meanings and interpretations” of the reform among teacher
educators in the institutions in different geographical regions (Yanow, 2000). I conducted semistructured interviews and some informal conversations with the planners and teacher educators
who agreed to be a part of the study. My aim was to listen to and audiotape the participants
more than just asking set questions, so that I would be able to understand their perspectives fully
(Denscombe, 2007; Corbin & Strauss, 2008). I conducted two formal interviews with each

61

participant that were audio-taped, and then there were informal conversations now and then,
which I only noted down (Bauer, Gaskell, and Allum, 2000).
The first set of interviews with all the participants was more focussed on my research
questions, and the second interview was more about their planning and instructional activities
after I had spent some time observing them. The second interview also included “photo
elicitation,” and we talked about the physical spaces and resources. The informal conversations
provided me some crucial information and helped me getting closer access to “local knowledge”
(Bauer, Gaskell, and Allum, 2000; Yanow, 2000; Denscombe, 2007; Corbin & Strauss, 2008).
I audio recorded all the interviews with the respondents’ permission. An interesting
observation I noted in my field notes was that some of the respondents were talking before and
after the recording more freely and openly than when I was recording or asking questions. This
could be either the effect of the audio recording or the way I asked the questions. Corbin &
Strauss (2008) have given two different reasons for this. One is that through the interview the
respondents come to realize things that they had never thought about. So once the interview is
over, there are some significant points coming to their minds as a result of the conversation or
may be as “afterthoughts.” Second, is if there is some “sensitive information” that they do not
want to be recorded on the audio recorder; they talk about it after the recording is stopped. So to
avoid missing any information, I kept taking notes even after we had stopped recording, and
when we were having informal conversations. I informed the respondents time to time that I was
noting down whatever they were saying, and they had no objection. One of the respondents
called me thrice after I had returned from the visit to their city. She kept sharing with me various
issues that disturbed her. I kept notes of all such conversations with the transcriptions of
interviews.
62

Analysis and Presentation of Information
My first step to analyze the interview data was to transcribe all the conversations myself,
which helped me go through each conversation once. Except three interviews during my first
visit, all the other conversations were recorded in Urdu, or were bilingual. During my first visit, I
had help from some qualified translators to translate the de-identified transcripts. But later I
decided to use the original transcripts for analysis and translate them later, because I found many
of the words and expressions losing their meanings when translated into English. For data
analysis I have so far applied “open coding” to find patterns and themes (Glesne, 2010; Saldana,
2010); and I had to go back and forth with the observations to relate them to the interview data.
The reason for using open coding is that I adopted a question-oriented approach. I used the
“grounded theory” approach for my analysis, i.e., to look for emerging themes and patterns and
then see if I could develop a theory, or at least interpret the “architecture” of “local knowledge”
that prevail among the “interpretive communities of meanings” (Yanow, 2000; Corbin &
Strauss, 2008; Glesne, 2010 ).
I used the software called NVivo initially for analyzing the three interviews which were
in English. The software did not support other languages. This first step helped me identify
various themes that the participants mostly talked about. For all other interviews I developed
data sheets in the same format, by putting all the transcripts in tabular form, and I started coding.
I analyzed the data line by line. In a column by each line, I gave every line or group of lines a
label. Then in a second column I developed codes as I started finding “groups of repeating
ideas”; these groups of repeating ideas then led me towards emerging “themes” (Auerbach &
Silverstein, 2003; Saldana, 2010). Then I made a list of all the emerging themes and ideas, and it
was a list of more than eighty themes (see Appendix D). I then decided to group the similar
63

themes and ideas under three major heads, using Yanow’s interpretive analysis in a unique way.
I clustered the themes and ideas in a way so that I could present “words, actions and objects”
separately in my report. So I clustered the perceptions and perspectives of participants about
their own roles in one group, in order to present them in one chapter. I then clustered their
viewpoints where they exhibited their hopes and fears about the new curriculum reform, to
present in another chapter. In the other two analysis chapters I present their views and my
observations of teacher educators’ practices in relation to the institutions’ physical spaces,
objects, resources, and facilities. Thus I was able to relate my own observations and pictorial
data to the conversations. This whole procedure resulted in developing four sets of data analysis,
which I present in four chapters.
Review of Documents and Institutional Records
Documents are one of the major sources of information in my study. I used a basic
document review, not only to help me develop my research questions but also to direct and help
me frame my interview protocols and observation records (Yanow, 2000; Denscombe, 2007;
Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Before I went to Pakistan, I had first of all explored the current status
and past issues of the quality of teacher education in Pakistan only through online available
resources, for instance the national reports and policy documents. My further goal was to access
local knowledge through policy documents, course packs, project reports, and lesson plans for
learning more about how the curriculum planners, heads of institutions, and teacher educators
interpret the new teacher education curriculum reform. Therefore I conducted a detailed review
of the old and new curriculum documents, course materials, and reports to access and understand
the meanings of text.

64

I reviewed the teacher education curriculum outline of 2010 that was available on the
HEC website before my visit to Pakistan in May 2012. It included the plans of study for B.Ed
Honors Elementary, B.Ed Honors Secondary, ADE, and M.Ed. This was an outline only for all
the institutions. Accreditation procedures were being developed, and all the institutions around
the country were supposed to follow this outline. It was astonishing that Government websites
about education in Pakistan were not always open to access and were not updated regularly. The
major ones that open and maintained, were mainly of HEC and AEPAM, but these did not
provide wholesome information regarding teacher education. It was surprising to me that the
most useful and up to date reports, records, and documents of teacher education were only
available on the websites of donor agencies and NGOs. The two major websites about teacher
education in Pakistan were administered by USAID and UNESCO-http://pakteachers.org/ and
http://unesco.org.pk/education/teachereducation/ respectively.
In the summer of 2012, the curriculum documents in the form of course packs were only
available in hard copies at colleges of education and at the USAID-TEP head office in
Islamabad. One major part of the document review consisted of reading the new curriculum
course packs developed by the USAID-TEP’s curriculum team. I was referred to the Director of
Curriculum and the Program Assistant for Curriculum in the project head office, for obtaining
these course packs. Initially I was not allowed to take any of the documents out of the project
head office, but later when I got sick, only then did the Senior Technical Director agree to let me
take one course pack with me and return it before taking another. A few days before my
departure, they allowed me to get the material photocopied for further review. I decided only to
get one complete course pack copied that they claimed to be in its final form; I was told that all
others were still draft copies. I also copied some of the course outlines and weekly plans as
65

given in the first 10-12 pages of each course pack. This whole experience was telling much more
than mere reform details. I could see the bureaucratic models working at each stage. Getting
permission and access to only what they wanted me to have access to was itself and information
for my study.
During my second visit, I was told that now all the course packs were in final form and
were available at the project website; the documents on the project website were not much
different than what I had reviewed during the summer. The new program of study was now also
available at the HEC website. I explored the new document that had replaced the 2010
curriculum outline. The new document only had the B.Ed HonorsElementary and ADE program
outlines that I had seen being developed at the USAID-TEP office. The curriculum document
also included minutes of the meetings in which this outline was approved by the National
Curriculum Review Committee. The minutes of meetings were useful source of information to
understand the process of curriculum development and the approval procedures. I could see how
the procedures were followed in a centralized set-up which as per constitutional amendments had
been decentralized in 2010. The course packs of ADE were now available at the website of
USAID-TEP which provided a scripted curriculum to be applied at the colleges of education. For
other records and reports related to the new teacher education reform, the USAID-TEP team also
provided me with the soft copies of the rationalization report, the Baseline Survey report and the
quarterly and annual project reports of the years 2011 and 2012. These reports helped me to learn
the current status and the procedures that were followed to implement the new curriculum
reform.
For institutional records, I had to request the heads of two colleges and the deans of the
faculty of education at the two universities during my second visit. In Punjab I was given access
66

to student enrolment records at the University, as well as at the college. I spent one day in the
record room with the administrative staff members and was able to get some basic data through
student files maintained by the clerks. The college of education in Punjab was not hesitant at all,
even in giving me the student course grades, while no other institution allowed me to get the
course grades. On the one hand, I was told at all other places that the records were not yet ready
to be disseminated to “outsiders,” and on the other hand the coordinators were advising me get
the records from USAID-TEP team; this also was astonishing that they were considered the
insiders. In Sindh I was unable to get the records at all from the University I visited in Sindh;
they never refused, but also they never gave me access to any sort of records. The college of
education I visited in Sindh, provided me with student enrolment record sheets that the
coordinator had prepared, but for everything she always told me she had to get permission from
the higher authorities. At the end she only emailed me after I had returned to the US. All
institutions were ready to share only what was shared on their websites and in published
materials such as newsletters and prospectuses. Except at the college of education I visited in
Punjab, I always found hesitation from them for sharing any other records and statistics. They
had signed the consent forms and agreed to participate, but still they always asked me why I
needed the records of any type.
Introduction of the Institutions
During my first visit I did not collect extensive data about the institutions; therefore I do
not have much detail about the colleges of education in KPK. But during the second visit to the
four institutions, I tried to collect as much information as I could. I was not able to get as much
information as I expected, yet here I present brief introductory information that I extracted

67

through the websites and records provided to me by the four institutions in two provinces, Punjab
and Sindh.
A university in Punjab.
The university I visited in Punjab is one of the oldest universities in country. It was
established in the late nineteenth century during the British colonial era. The main campus of the
university is situated in a central city of Punjab, Pakistan. It has one of the largest research
institutions for education. It offered courses and programs at graduate and postgraduate level,
through its main campus and undergraduate programs through affiliated colleges of education
around Punjab. The faculty of education has been working in close collaboration with foreign
universities for developing its programs and improving its research capacities. It is one of those
institutions that has been involved in teacher preparation and educational research since the years
when in Pakistan there were large numbers of teachers inducted in schools without any
professional qualifications. It started as only an institute but now there are ten departments at the
institute, and fourteen masters’ level programs are offered as well as the M.Phil and the PhD in
various specializations.
Before the year 2010 there were pre-service undergraduate programs only offered
through the affiliated colleges but not on university campuses. Through the new teacher
education reform, the Department of Elementary Education is now offering B.Ed Honors
Elementary on campus. In 2010 it was one of the pioneer institutions that offered the new
curriculum for the four years B.Ed Honors Elementary program. In 2012 when I visited the
institute, there were already two successive batches of B.Ed Honors studying on campus. The
teacher educators involved in teaching the B.Ed Honors’ courses are full time faculty members
as well as the visiting lecturers, who are not on the full time faculty status but are members of
68

faculty at some other institution or colleges. Only four professors of the institution are involved
in teaching the new program; a reason given by many is that they are already busy in teaching
other graduate and postgraduate programs.
In December 2012 there were two batches of B.Ed Honors Elementary students studying
on campus. The classes were going on for one batch while the other was gone for practice
teaching. Enrolment of third batch was in process. The evening B.Ed Honors program is also
offered at the institute. It is called the “self-support” program. Those who could not be admitted
in the morning program because of a limited number of seats, or those who cannot attend classes
in morning hours are eligible to be admitted in the evening self-support program. In the selfsupport program the students do not get any scholarship or funding, while the morning program
students get support for their fees and other expenses. This is the distribution of number of
students studying in first two batches:
Table 3.5. Student Studying at the Institute in B.Ed Honors Elementary
Batch 1 year 2010

Batch 2 year 2011

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

Morning regular program

04

40

44

4

37

41

Evening self-support program

03

42

45

5

38

43

I was only shown the student files of the morning batch of students. It was noteworthy
that the total enrolment initially was 46 in the first batch and 50 in the second batch. Thus two
from the first batch and nine from the second batch had already dropped out of the program.
69

Admission was granted on the basis of their “division” in higher secondary school examination.
In Pakistan, when the results of standardized tests are announced, there are three divisions of
obtained percentage scores. The first division is for 60 percent and above, the second division is
below 60 percent and above 45 percent, while the third division is below 45 percent. For B.Ed
Honors students, at least second division in higher secondary school examination is required.
The majority of the students enrolled in the morning classes had marks obtained in the first
division. Only 13 students in the first batch and four in the second batch had marks in the second
divisions.
An affiliated college in Punjab.
The college of education I visited is one of the oldest and best resourced colleges in
Punjab. It is one of the pioneer colleges for adopting the new curriculum reforms in 2010. This
college was established in the early 1960s, when many other colleges were also established in
Punjab for providing pre-service teacher education to prospective elementary and secondary
school teachers. Besides some diploma programs, it offers B.Ed and M.Ed programs in morning
and evening sessions. It is also the District Training and Support Center for the teachers and
teacher educators around the district. There are eight full time faculty members and seven
visiting teachers who teach at the college (DSD, 2012). All of the regular faculty members are
involved in teaching courses in the new B.Ed Honors Elementary program under the new teacher
education reform of 2010.
At the time of my visit to the college in December 2012, two batches of ADE program
were already studying, and admissions for the third batch were in process. This college is not
only offering the ADE but is also going further and offering the B.Ed Honors Elementary. The
ADE program was initially launched in affiliation with a university in Punjab, but now for B.Ed
70

Honors Elementary the college administration decided to affiliate with a local university where
education department is not that old, yet collaboration is easier because of closer communication.
Following is the enrolment of the two ADE batches in 2010 and 2011:
Table 3.6. Students Studying in ADE at a College of Education in Punjab
Batch 1 year 2010

Batch 2 year 2011

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

08

31

39

14

49

63

In the first batch initially 50students were enrolled. Among them, 37 were first-division
holders in the higher secondary school examination. Eleven students have dropped out due to
various reasons. In the second batch initially seventy students were enrolled, among whom 35
were first division holders at higher secondary school examination. Seven students have dropped
out. The second batch is divided into two sections because of the larger number of students.
A university in Sindh.
The university that I visited in Sindh was established soon after the independence of
Pakistan (1947). During the first five years or so it was working more like an examination board
than a university. In the early 1950s, the first department that began teaching and learning
activities on campus was the department of education. More and more departments were added
in the coming years. In the late 1980s, the department of education was raised to the status of
Faculty of Education. Now six departments under the Faculty of Education are currently working
and offering programs, ranging from the undergraduate level to the masters’ level. Colleges of

71

education affiliated with the Faculty of Education only offer undergraduate programs. The larger
campus of university is in another city nearby, but the Faculty of Education is still there on the
old campus. The Faculty of Education at the university in Sindh was one of the pioneer
institutions to offer the B.Ed Honors Elementary under the new teacher education reform. It is
worth noting that the Faculty of Education hired some new faculty members for the new program
but still some visiting teachers teach with the fulltime teacher educators. Students until two years
are studying at the old campus then they need to go to the other campus, which is in another
nearby city, for completion of their further two years of the program. Following is the
distribution of students studying at Faculty of Education:
Table 3.7. Students Studying in B.Ed Honors Elementary at FoE
Batch 1 year 2010

Batch 2 year 2011

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

12

07

19

04

04

08

The above table was sent to me after many reminders in months after my visit. No further
information was provided about the students’ enrolment or their previous and current grades. I
am not sure if these figures are of the initial enrolment or the currently studying students. No one
replied to my email, and the phones were never picked up by the coordinators. All I could know
further is that a third batch of students was just enrolled when I visited, and it included 18 males
and 16 females.

72

An affiliated college in Sindh.
The college of education I visited in Sindh has a building as old as 130 years, and the
building is still in use. There were only two new classrooms built with the help of another donor
agency. The building was initially used in the nineteenth century as a training college for
women. In late 1980s it was transformed into a college of education, and got affiliated with the
university I visited. It offered courses like the PTC, the CT, and other certificate and diploma
courses in the past. Now it is only offering ADE since 2010, when it was selected among the
pioneer institutions under the new teacher education reform 2010. It has fifteen fulltime teacher
educators who are all involved in teaching the new teacher education program, ADE.
Following is the distribution of students currently studying in ADE at GECE
Table 3.8. Students Studying in ADE at a College of Education in Sindh
Batch 1 year 2010

Batch 2 year 2011

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

None

42

42

None

28

27

In the first batch initially 43 students were enrolled. Among them 40 had obtained marks
in the first division in the higher secondary school examination. In the second batch initially 28
students were enrolled, among whom three had obtained marks in the first division at the higher
secondary school examination. Only one student dropped out. The reason for enrolling fewer
students in the second batch was the space available for teaching, because the lab school is also

73

running in the same building. Enrolment of the third batch was in the process when I visited the
institution.

74

Chapter 4
Role Perceptions and Perspectives
During my first research visit to Pakistan I met some educational experts involved in the
planning of new TE curriculum reform, and some members of the course-developing team at the
USAID-TEP office in Islamabad. I learned through the initial conversations with the program
and course developing teams that teacher education institutions in Pakistan were then in a
transitional phase, in which everyone was a part of the change process. At the USAID-TEP
office when I was meeting local and foreign experts, I heard words and phrases like “paradigm
shift,” “a revolution in teacher education,” and “everyone is a part of the change process.” But
then I met two of the local experts who were members of the National Curriculum Review
Committee (NCRC). Listening to them, I got two different perspectives, and I realized that not
everyone felt to be a part of the reform and not everyone is in agreement with all that has been
proposed in the new reform. One of the local experts who left the curriculum team after some
initial meetings, uttered many statements like “we were forced into it,” “it was kind of imposed
to us to listen to them,” and “nobody was listening to us.” She highlighted the current situation at
the colleges of education and alleged that the teacher education institutions as well as the teacher
educators were not yet ready for such drastic changes. She repeatedly mentioned that the reform
was “too idealistic and ignores realities on the ground.” Soon after some more interviews during
my first visit, I developed a feeling that this is the best time to make voices at the institutional
and individual levels audible to policy makers and planners.
This reform has been in place for more than two years, and there are a lot of places where
the individual voices and institutional realities can bring much more life to the reform. I initially
analyzed the interviews to access the “local knowledge” about the TE curriculum reform 2010
75

through words of the “communities of meaning” (Yanow, 2000; Yanow & Schwartz-Shea,
2006). The communities of meanings that I selected to contact in this study were the experts, the
heads of institutions, and the teacher educators at universities and colleges. I believe that it is
very important to see how the members of communities of meaning perceive their own position
before assessing if the reform policy is being fully translated or not into practices without losing
any of its essential features. Open coding of repeated or similar perspectives of participants in the
interview data helped me to identify different sets of role perceptions and perspectives under a
certain hierarchical structure and organizational culture. Almost every participant lies between
the two ends of a spectrum from being an authority to being a follower; while many of them also
experienced being at several different points of the spectrum, at different occasions. Some of
them at one point expressed the significance of their role and at some other point showed
concern over how they had to surrender their autonomy to some institutional or external
authority. They expressed their concerns and conveyed their desire to be supported and given
autonomy for becoming an active part of the anticipated change. It is noteworthy that neither
gender nor provincial comparison could give a clear distinction of who felt empowered and who
did not. There was somewhat better of sense of autonomy among university teachers in Punjab
than at any other participating institution, but the biggest predictor of a sense of autonomy and
having a voice was a position at a university as opposed to a college.
In this chapter I present the perceptions about their respective roles expressed by two
experts, three heads of institutions and the teacher educators who volunteered to participate in
this study at four colleges of education and two universities. In this analysis I chose to include all
the local experts and teacher educators that I interviewed during my two research visits because I
wanted to understand and interpret how the local practitioners felt and expressed their views
76

about their own role under the new TE reform. Hence I am presenting the findings from thre
provinces - KPK, Sindh and Punjab, in this chapter based upon the interpretive analysis of what
they said and what I observed during my two research visits.
Role Perceptions and Perspectives of the Two Local Experts in NCRC
Both of the local experts that I interviewed during my first visit were the members of
NCRC. They were also the conveners of the committees that worked for preparing the new plan
of study for the Associate Degree in Education (ADE) and the four-year B.Ed Honorsprogram.
One of the experts was working in a public university, and the other was in a private university. I
am giving them pseudonyms to prevent their identification through this report. From here on I
name the expert working in the public university as professor Farida, and the expert working in
the private university as professor Anjum. The rest of the participants will be referred to as a
head of the institution or a teacher educator at a college or a university in their respective
province. Their perspectives help to paint a picture of the relationship of top down and bottom up
participation in curriculum reform efforts.
Professor Anjum and Professor Farida had very similar role perceptions as the members
of NCRC, but very different perspectives and opinions about their respective roles in the process
of developing and implementing the curriculum under the new reform. Both of them considered
themselves to be in the role of experts who have clear and strong opinions about teacher
education in Pakistan. Being members of NCRC, both of them perceived themselves at a position
where their voices must be heard and their opinion should be considered authentic and valuable.
But Professor Anjum was of the view that she was not being listened to, since the planning of the
TE new reform began in 2009. She also mentioned that in her view the new program proposal

77

was imposed on the planners at NCRC; therefore, at a point she left the process. She started
telling her part of the story by saying,
It was a meeting called for national curriculum review committee. We were attending the
meeting about B.Ed and M.Ed; (we were working on the plan since 2006) during that
meeting HEC officials came and said here is Pre-STEP team. Listen to what they say. We
already had initiated four year program and we were looking at the prospects and
challenges. Pre-STEP proposal was also for four year program. It was kind of imposed on
us to listen to them.
She mentioned that she and other members of NCRC were already working on a fouryear undergraduate plan of study for the universities, but they were analyzing the challenges and
issues which in her opinion needed to be resolved before launching the new program nationwide.
In her view, they first needed to experiment with the program at some universities where the
resources were available and teacher educators were better qualified. According to her, when
they were working on the proposal they were aware that teacher educators were not ready for the
semester system and would not be able to get the spirit of this shift if the program was launched
in such a hurry. But she mentioned that “authorities had already decided” to adopt and launch the
reform nationwide. She said, “I and some others tried to explain it to them but nobody was
listening to us, and no one was giving attention to the realities.” She also informed me that after
two or three meetings she refused to be a part of this process, because she was not convinced,
and no one was listening to what she was saying. According to her, “the people who are working
in the reform are just saving their positions; I don’t need to worry about that anymore.” She
explained that being in a private university she felt safe; she did not have those pressures any
more that she used to have when she was working in the public sector.
78

Professor Farida, who was working in a public sector university, also mentioned that at
HEC a team of experts was already working on plan for a four-year undergraduate TE program
since 2006. Contrary to what professor Anjum perceived, she talked about Pre-STEP (USAIDTEP) as a partner with them in this process. She shared the same story in a different way by
saying,
We started planning ADE by the end of 2010 or early 2011. Initially we worked on four
year degree program since 2006 under HEC umbrella. We had in 2006 the first meeting
then in 2009 we reviewed and it continued till 2010. We finalized it in 2011 and it was
disseminated to the institutions for implementation. Pre-STEP was with us from 2010.
Initially it was our own plan.
She perceived her role as one of the committee members who only drafted the initial
program plan. Then USAID-TEP helped finalize the plan, and since the course development
started her role was only to review some materials for the courses. According to her, the final
course and program plans were made by the teams of teacher educators working with USAIDTEP team. As a member of NCRC she reviewed, recommended changes or approved the course
materials she received for reviewing. She said, “These are from American authors; we are not the
writers. The review team is different and the writers are different; we are only reviewing.” She
clarified that she and other members of NCRC were only a part of the review committee but not
a part of course development. She expressed she that she did not see herself as a part of the
program/course development team, but she was there only in the committee that oversaw the
process and approved final drafts. She said, “I am only a supervisor and we (members of NCRC)
have the authority to approve or disapprove.” She mentioned that she did not review the whole
set of courses; she had only seen the course outlines which came to her for review and feedback.
79

She reported that the universities offering four-year programs were allowed to choose if they
wished to adopt these outlines or would be developing their own courses, while the colleges of
education were required to adopt the uniform course outline and to use the course-packs
developed by the course teams. Professor Anjum indicated a sense of unfairness or inequality in
that the universities were offered more curricular freedom than colleges. This interview was one
of the first indications that colleges might be experiencing curricular reform as a top down
policy.
The two experts clearly presented two different perceptions about their own role in the
reform process. Professor Anjum perceived herself as an expert in the field and talked about the
realities on the ground. She did not seem to accept the dictation from authorities and she wanted
to bring a change from the institutional level, so her perception of her role indicated that the
curriculum reform was proceeding with both top down and bottom-up participation. She gave
the example that she was making some changes at the institution where she is working. She
clearly mentioned her views that she wanted the institutions to work independently, and she did
not like the culture of dictating policies and plans.
In contrast, Professor Farida from the public university perceived herself as a part of the
process, in the position of a course and program reviewer. Her perception of her role seemed to
indicate a top down approach to curriculum reform. Up to her description of program planning,
she used the word “we,” but when she talked about course development, she again and again
used third-person narration, “they,” keeping herself in the role of reviewer only. For instance,
she said, “They are developing books” and then she said, “We have been telling them.” So she
perceived herself only as a planner and reviewer but not a part of the course development team.
She presented the public service mindset prevailing in Pakistan in which the public servants
80

usually obey the orders and try their best to implement whatever is provided to them from higher
authorities. At times she sounded like an authority, but then on other occasions she sounded
more like an obedient government servant who was obligated to fulfill the policies and plans.
Role Perceptions and Perspectives of Heads of Colleges of Education
Before I discuss the individuals’ perceptions and perspectives, it is necessary to
understand that the heads of colleges worked under a certain bureaucratic set-up. The
hierarchical structures of provincial education departments make them define their roles and
perceive their positions in a specific way. Three heads of colleges of education I talked to during
my first visit to Pakistan showed concern over their roles in the process of the new reforms. All
of the people at the colleges were of the view that they were only ordered by the higher
authorities in the local education departments. They mentioned that they were called to attend the
meetings only once the program had already been developed and the teacher educators’ training
had started off. They were also there as participants in the orientation workshops, and there they
were informed about the details of the new program. These perceptions clearly indicated the top
down approach adopted in the reform process and identified individuals who were either silenced
or never became a part of the change process; rather the reform agenda was given to them as a
blueprint to follow (Fullan, 1993).
The two heads of colleges, one in Sindh and one in KPK, and one vice principal in
Punjab, had very different scenarios to work in, yet they had very similar perceptions of their
roles in the reform process. They saw themselves at the college gate where the reform entered
but they could not see themselves beyond that. The heads of colleges in KPK and Sindh
explicitly showed concern about the fact that they were not a part of the reform policy planning

81

from the beginning. They were never asked if their institution was ready for the implementation
of this new program plan; rather the plan to implement was imposed from the top down, and they
were directed by the departments of education as well as the universities. Still they were trying
to implement the program through managing and utilizing the available resources. The opinion
of having no voice in the design of the curriculum reforms was shared by all of the college
participants, regardless of which province they were located in.
The head of the boys' college of education in KPK perceived his role only as an
implementer, and not as a contributor. According to him the higher authorities did not consult the
heads of college institutions; they just gave them a program to implement. He stated,
They gave us the program in orientation meeting and told us to enroll students. This
college only had five rooms borrowed from another institution because it does not have a
building of its own. There were fifty students enrolled in the first batch, coming from 16
districts and they needed hostel too.
The college head had to use his personal links and get rooms in a hostel of another
college where the students were accommodated. According to him, managing the launch of this
program was a big issue for him. He mentioned that he had to obey whatever the higher
authorities said because the reforms were imposed from the top down, without any input from
him. His college students even went on strike once, because initially they were promised jobs at
the end of the program, but later they were told that there was no job guarantee. When I talked to
him during summer 2012, he was still unaware of the final policy of recruitment for the ADE
students, and this was causing unrest among the students at the college of education in KPK. He
said, “If you ask me I would request that the authorities provide a building before anything else
82

and launch the program only when the policy is decided and approved.” According to him, he
was the face of authority from the students’ perspective, but he himself did not know about how
the decisions were being made. He had to do whatever he was ordered to do. The perception of
his role at the college was that curriculum reform was a top down policy.
The head of the college of education in Sindh also perceived her role as a project
implementer, whose job was to receive a plan and implement it within the given resources. She
was promoted as a college head a few months after the launch of ADE, so she had not even
attended the orientation meetings. She was in a very confused state when I met her the first time.
She suggested that I talk to other people because she had minimum knowledge of how the new
curriculum was planned and how it was approved to launch at the college. She was working as a
teacher educator in the same college, but she said she had no role in planning the program
whatsoever. She did not say a lot about her own role during my first visit, but during the second
visit she seemed really upset about how the officers at the department of education, “university
people and Pre-STEP [USAID-TEP] people” were treating her. She mentioned again and again
that she could not work under so many bosses.
The incident I witnessed during the USAID-TEP visit was a typical example of the
pressures and anxieties in a bureaucratic hierarchy. The head of the college was scolding a
worker because the head was anxious about what the USAID-TEP team would report to the
education department. After scolding the support staff, the head was trying to explain to me that
only a missing bulb in a classroom could become such a big issue for her, while she had been
demanding a power generator for the college and no one had listened. Then she said, “We are
doing as much as we can, and then they complain against us on minor issues. Then the
authorities ask us for explanation and it also damages the reputation of the college.” She
83

perceived herself stuck in the middle of authorities at the department of education and the
universities. At one point, she even mentioned that she wanted to send the message that
“outsiders” (she meant USAID-TEP team or observers) should not be allowed to come and visit
without prior information, because it disturbed the work routine at college.
While the two principals, one in the girls’ college in Sindh and one in the boys’ college in
KPK, were agitated about being uninformed and ordered only by the authorities, and for not
being asked to be a part of decision making process, the vice principal in Punjab showed
somewhat satisfaction with the process of policy planning and the role of the college
administration in it. The principal of the college of education in Punjab did not participate in the
study, but the vice principal talked to me, and he informed me that they were only involved in
the reform when the plan had already been prepared and they were called to attend an orientation
meeting in Islamabad. In that meeting they were given a briefing about the new reform and new
curriculum. He also reported that he attended the training with other teacher educators, because
he was teaching a course as well. His perception of his own role was also as a manager as well as
a teacher educator. He showed satisfaction with the role and responsibilities that he and the
college head were performing. He mentioned that “this particular college is developing its
infrastructure and is able to implement the new program,” which gave him a sense of
achievement. He informed me that the college was also a center of training for its respective
district, so he mentioned that “we are working in close collaboration with the provincial
Directorate of Staff Development.” He was excited to report that soon they would have
multimedia projectors in classrooms as well. He said, “We only had some issues with the
university but now we have changed the affiliation and we are working in close collaboration
with a local university.” In his view the role of heads of institutions was not limited to providing
84

suitable resources and managing the institutions in such a way that the teacher educators and
student teachers could be supported for implementing the reform; rather he saw himself as a
“communicator between authorities and the institution.” He also mentioned that the provincial
department of education and the universities had shared goals, and the colleges of education
were playing a significant part in achieving the goals.
It is obvious that the institutional culture and hierarchical settings in three provinces had
given a certain sort of role perception to the heads of colleges in KPK, Sindh, and Punjab. In
KPK and Sindh, the heads of institutions were more disturbed with the fact that no one listened
to them, and they are only there to follow the orders in any circumstances. In Punjab the vice
principal showed much less concern over the authority issues, especially with the department of
education. He found himself as part of the larger administration, and he was working to achieve
goals rather than merely following orders. Reasons for this could be a better communication
system and, as informed by the participants, close collaboration of the provincial departments
with the district education offices and institutional heads. Whatever was being planned at the
provincial and district level in Punjab, it was done in consultation with the heads of institutions.
The institutions were not autonomous completely but at least the heads of institutions had a voice
in local decision-making.
Role Perceptions and Perspectives of Teacher Educators at Colleges of Education
At the four colleges of education that I visited during summer 2012, the teacher educators
described their own roles differently. Here again different organizational cultures were evident in
the individuals’ perspectives. The teacher educators’ role perceptions were clearly based upon
various settings and work environments in which they were performing certain sets of activities.

85

The kind of leadership they worked with and the facilities provided to them gave them a certain
position. Another very significant feature was the liaison between the colleges of education and
their respective affiliated universities. At three colleges of education, some teacher educators
participating in this study tended to define their own roles from the perspective of their position
with regards to teacher educators at the universities, whereas others looked at their position
within their institution only. Some of them saw themselves as implementers of the curriculum,
while others perceived themselves as followers of the guidelines provided by the university.
Some of them also highlighted the tension between the teacher educators at colleges and those at
universities; they thought college and university personnel should stand equal.
Two colleges of education in KPK.
The three perspectives of teacher educators at the two colleges in KPK highlighted many
significant features of how they perceived their roles in this reform. A teacher educator at the
boys’ college related his role perception more with institutional realities. According to him,
physical spaces and facilities limited them from playing a significant and larger role as a teacher
educator. One of the female teacher educators showed satisfaction and enthusiasm about her role
as a young teacher educator who thought she was able to bring a real change in the classroom.
The other female teacher educator perceived her role to be limited due to the fact that she did not
have the kind of skills and knowledge required to implement the new curriculum. She also
showed concerns over the more limited autonomy at the college level compared to the
universities.
A teacher educator at the head of the institution at the boys’ college of education in KPK
related his own role more to the physical facilities and resources that they had or did not have.
The teacher educator teaching Math perceived his role being limited by the scarcity of learning
86

resources and space available for teaching. He said, “We don’t even have classrooms to
accommodate fifty students at a time, so how can we do any classroom activity? We don’t have
any library or laboratory even, then how can we fully play our role to bring change?” He showed
me around and told me that they only had one proper classroom, with a capacity of forty
students. The other room being used for classes was a computer lab, while they already had two
batches of students enrolled. So in his view the limited availability of physical space and learning
resources limited their roles in the reform. He added that he wanted to bring innovation in his
classroom but for that he needed space and learning resources , which were not there. He also
mentioned that he could not foresee anyone at his college in a position to make a big difference
in such a scenario, when no one was there to fulfill the needs of students and teachers at the
colleges of education.
At the female college of education in KPK, the two teacher educators I talked to
perceived their role differently. One did not find herself prepared for the reform, and she also felt
her role was restricted by the fact that she could not design her own courses. She also felt
agitated due to the fact that the university teachers posed an authority but did not even fully
perform their duties [as teacher educators? as curriculum consultants?]. The other female teacher
educator was very enthusiastic about this reform and perceived herself as already a part of the
change process. Being the youngest teacher educator at the college, she expressed that the old
and senior people did not want to change. According to her this was the reason that she was able
to become an active part of the change process while others could not.
A senior teacher educator teaching science at the female college of education in KPK,
who was also working as a vice principal, mentioned that at colleges of education teachers are
bound to do whatever the University says to them because they have the final authority and say.
87

She said, “They give us the syllabus, and they have the authority to conduct examinations, so our
role is very limited.” She also mentioned that she saw her role nowhere in the designing and
planning of courses, “neither do we make courses, nor we can bring any changes in it.” She
mentioned that USAID-TEP collected their feedback about the new courses. According to her,
whatever she told them she had not seen the recommended changes in the revised courses. She
mentioned that she had been giving her feedback to the Pre-STEP [USAID-TEP] team but even
in the revised booklets she found the same mistakes, and nothing was incorporated from what
she recommended. She also perceived herself and her colleagues not in a position to understand
the new curriculum and its requirements. She also said she does not think the training provided
for professional development has prepared her to play her role in this change process. She said
“Only those can teach who already knew these techniques and strategies already, many of us
cannot even understand the terminology used in the course packs”.
This teacher educator at a female college of education KPK pointed out that the
professional development trainings under this reform were not enough to prepare them for this
reform; therefore they cannot bring a real change in classrooms. She gave her own example that
she still cannot use internet as she only attended the training for three days and she could not
learn it. She was given a certificate and is counted as a computer literate while she cannot use
computers at all. She mentioned that there has been no “refresher course or training for language
learning” so as a teacher educator she faces two big challenges: one is the language barrier and
the other is her computer skills. So she thinks neither her role nor her skills went through any
change during the new reform. Then she remarked, “They want us to be researchers and use
latest materials. I am telling you the truth we don’t have latest materials, I am still using old
materials though I try to do the classroom activities as suggested in the new book”. In her view
88

everything is happening in a hit and trial method, so she does not feel herself ready for being a
part of this change. Talking about roles of college and university teachers she showed serious
concerns over the fact that college teachers do not have the autonomy for designing their own
curriculum or bringing changes to it. She also shared a strange story that the college teachers
have been asked twice to prepare final exams and also to mark the student papers. These two
tasks were supposed to be done by the university teachers, but the university teachers just came
and asked the college teachers to do this. Due to authorities’ pressure, the teacher educators at
college level could not say no and had to do as they were told. So she said, “I really do not know,
what the limit of my role is.”
Another teacher educator teaching English at the girls’ college of education in KPK had a
very positive perception of her own role in this reform. She said, “I think anyone can play a
positive role if one is willing to perform. If someone is not ready to work and does not want to
change, then they cannot bring change”. She gave her own example and said, “I always wanted
to teach with innovations and new strategies. I personally go to the market and look for latest
books. I do not find the new books in the local market so I try outside. I want to make my
teaching better so I think I am already a part of the change”. She mentioned that whenever she
was asked she provided feedback to the USAID-TEP team about the courses, which gave her a
feeling of being a part of the reform. She mentioned “whenever a change begins people think
like this is something new and something difficult, but if we try to learn we can see its benefits”.
She perceived her role is very strong and significant as a teacher educator. She did not express
any discomfort with the fact that she has to follow the outlines given to her by others or that she
cannot bring any change in the courses. This is where a culture of submission and obeying orders
is evident in which participatory change process cannot flourish (Fullan, 1993).
89

All college teachers in one way or the other had a perception that their role is more
confined to classroom practices. Some of them were satisfied with it and some showed their
unrest. It is evident from their perspectives shared during the interviews that they want to play a
significant role in teaching the new curriculum. They were all ready to be a part of the change
but they have various hindrances that stop them. In each institution some similar and some
different settings and realities limit their role perception. Institutional cultures vary from one
institution to another and so do the perspectives and perceptions of teacher educators working in
these organizational cultures. Bringing a positive change in teacher education classrooms,
through their efforts and practices is something all of them are trying and is discussed further in
the coming chapters.
A college of education in Sindh.
Before I present college teacher educators’ perspectives and perceptions about their role I
would like to share a surprising experience I had in the college of education in Sindh. When I
had conducted all the interviews and done all the observations the principal and vice principal
asked me if I would share some details of what teacher educators said to me in their interviews. I
told them it was confidential so I could not share anything like that. She at once mentioned a few
things herself to prove that teacher educators had told her already what they talked to me about,
for instance the resources they need. The administrators in this incident seemed to think they
have the right to know and the teacher educators seem to feel obligated to report whatever they
do or say even in a one-to-one interview conducted in a separate room by a researcher. The vice
principal had mentioned it a few times that they don’t want any negative report to reach higher
authorities.

90

All the three teacher educators that I talked to at the college of education in Sindh
perceived their roles limited to classroom level. They took the perspective that they had no role
in course development and design; they were only teaching what they were told to, so they
perceived curriculum reform as a top down process. A teacher educator teaching Math and
Science said, “Syllabus is given to us by PreSTEP, and policy making is not our task. Our task is
to teach in the classroom”. So according to her the curriculum planning is done by USAID-TEP
and the teachers have no idea who designs the courses. She mentioned that teacher educators
cannot add or delete anything with their own choice and they stick to the given. She also reported
that they were asked for feedback during the initial semesters but nothing has been changed as
per their recommendations or suggestions yet. But at the end she very comfortably said “the
teacher educators have no role in policy making, it is not their task”; and according to her
perspective they only have a role to play in their classrooms. She identified herself as a “learner
of new pedagogies” under the new reform. Her perspective was that top down curriculum reform
was the proper way to do things.
Another teacher educator teaching computer literacy and Child Development at the same
college of education in Sindh showed serious concerns about how the courses were being
assigned to them. She wanted to teach science as she had the qualifications, experience and
background in teaching science but she was told to teach computers and assist a teacher who was
teaching the course of Child Development. She said, “I wanted to teach science but I was told to
teach this; I saw the computer for the first time when I started to teach it, so I am learning with
my students now”. She mentioned again and again that she could give her best if she was given a
subject of her choice in which she has expertise. But in this case she was just fulfilling her
responsibility and cannot go beyond a certain limit. She called me thrice after her interview to
91

add to her comments that she loves teaching science and that she feels great when she is in
classroom with her students, but the politics of institutions do not allow them to do what they
want to do, it forces them to do what they are ordered. She clearly perceived herself more as a
follower of orders than having any autonomy as a teacher educator.
The third teacher educator teaching courses of English and Communication Skills at the
college of education in Sindh, showed a somehow different perspective. She said she feels as if
she is a part of the course development though she has not written any units in any course or
reviewed any part. But she said: “they called us for meetings and trainings when they made the
syllabus, they showed us the draft outlines and we gave our feedback their”. She mentioned that
she had been attending all the workshops and meetings in various cities. During the conversation
she mentioned that she recommended some changes which were not yet incorporated in the
curriculum but she never showed any concern or discomfort about it. She said “I find something
necessary to be changed I mark it before class and just do tell my students in the classroom”. She
said she has reported and requested some alterations to USAID-TEP team as well. She perceives
her role in the classroom very significant and said that “we are doing our best to prepare quality
teachers”. She thinks she was already doing her level best even before this reform as she has
been trained nationally and internationally, so her role has not changed much or she did not need
to change much in her classroom.
Talking to the teacher educators at the college of education in Sindh made me feel that
the teacher educators I talked to have a very limited view of their own role. They tend not to
think about their roles beyond classrooms. For instance making corrections or changes in the
classroom gives them satisfaction. They do not think that bringing change at a larger level is
their responsibility. They do not think policy making is their task or they can play any role in it.
92

They perceive their role only to the extent that they are given a new task, they are provided
trainings for it and they are doing it as an assignment. At certain points during conversations they
expressed that by applying the new techniques which were introduced to them through the
training workshops, they have become a part of the change. Two of the three teacher educators I
talked to think they have no role to play in the curriculum development and all three mentioned
that their feedback was never incorporated in the revisions of courses so far.
A college of education in Punjab.
In Punjab the teacher educators I talked to feel more autonomous in their choice of
subjects and selection of material; though they also highlighted the fact that they cannot make
any changes in the courses. Both of the teacher educators that I talked to in Punjab perceived
their role as limited to their classroom, but they were not satisfied with it. They felt that having
course outlines developed and final exam being conducted by the university teachers limits their
role as college teacher educators and challenges the autonomy they deserve. They showed their
discomfort toward the attitude of university teachers and mentioned that they neither get any help
nor guidance from university teachers so they should not be bound to follow the university
syllabus only for the purpose of exam-oriented learning.
A teacher educator teaching science at the college of education in Punjab mentioned that
the university teachers have more autonomy in selection of topics and course development
because they design their own courses at the universities. He said at the college of education they
have to follow the outlines made by others; and are never asked by the university if they wish to
change anything in it. He also mentioned that he has recommended many changes whenever PreSTEP (USAID-TEP) team visited and asked them; but none of the changes he recommended
were incorporated in the syllabus.
93

Only this one college teacher educator among all the participants of the study described
his own role with reference to how much part he can play in student assessment. He said, “The
University has the right to take exam at the end of semester and that exam is 80 percent of the
total assessment grades, I feels he my role is left only 20 percent”. So he perceived his autonomy
being minimized when his students are assessed by others. During my second visit when the
college of education had affiliated with another university where 40 percent of evaluation was
now based on internal assessment, he felt better authorized. According to him, “Assessment is
the key to guide classroom practices and due to very little role of teacher educators in classroom
assessment they feel handicapped”.
Another teacher educator at the same college of education in Punjab teaching Islamiat
perceived his own role as an implementer of the curriculum as well as a follower of authorities’
orders. He showed his discomfort again and again about the miscommunication and a superiority
exhibited by the university teachers. He said, “they don’t talk to us, neither have they responded
to our calls, nor emails and letters” He mentioned that the university fellows do not provide any
help or guidance to them, they just work as an authority. He said it creates a chaos like once
“they came and gave us a syllabus, we started teaching and then after a few months they sent us a
new syllabus. Some of the topics were same but it was designed very differently, we started
teaching that, at the end they made the examination paper again from the syllabus they gave in
the beginning”.
During my second visit the teacher educators showed more confidence and mentioned
that they feel they have more autonomy as now they are affiliated to a different university; they
are also offering a four-year program instead of an associate degree of two years only. The
examination is still held by the new university. But now the college has 40 percent internal
94

assessment, which makes them feel they have more control. They still strictly follow the course
outlines provided by USAID-TEP and the university. The teacher educators mentioned that still
there feedback and recommendations are not inculcated in the course revisions yet they have to
teach whatever they are told to teach. At this college the two participating teacher educators
clearly were agitated due to the top down approach adopted by the university they had affiliation
with and also by the curriculum reform planners.
Role Perceptions and Perspectives of University Teachers.
The perceptions of teacher educators at the two universities are clearly different from the
teacher educators at the colleges of education. The university teachers find themselves somewhat
more autonomous in designing their own courses, assessing their own students and having a
voice in developing the new program plan. The two teacher educators at a university in Sindh
perceive themselves better suitable for the reform and new curriculum, than the senior faculty
members. Both of the participating university teacher educators thought older and more senior
teacher educators had such habits and ways of teaching that they could not bring a change even if
they wanted to, while new and young faculty members could adopt innovative teaching more
quickly and effectively. It is evident though that even at one university in Punjab the two teacher
educators I talked to had a similar perception of their roles as university teachers, but very
different perspectives about how willing they were to adopt the reform. Yet another similar
perspective is that living under an authoritative governance structure, they could not refuse to
become a part of the program and teaching the new curriculum.
A university in Sindh.
The previous section of this chapter was about the perceptions of college faculty. In this
following section, I will report on the perceptions of university faculty in the two provinces. As
95

far as the two teacher educators I interviewed at the university in Sindh are concerned, they
perceived their role as course developers as well as teachers and researchers, so there was a
perception of not only top down, but also bottom-up participation in curriculum reform. They
were teaching in more than one program at the university and they were also responsible for
supervising student researches. Both of them were also continuing their research work for their
doctoral degrees as well. Thus their perspectives about their own role were not just limited to
teaching or implementing a curriculum in a classroom. Yet they were also concerned about how
the universities are losing autonomy under various bureaucratic structures.
A teacher educator teaching Math and Child Development at a university in Sindh,
talking about his own role under the bureaucratic hierarchies and political influences, mentioned
the eighteenth constitutional amendment that came in two years ago (2010) and placed most of
educational planning under the jurisdiction of provincial governments. He mentioned it as a
“multiplication of powers rather than division of powers” from central to provincial
governments. He said, “now the universities are being treated as colleges and we feel like we are
losing our autonomy because of the political influence in all decision making”. He was
specifically talking about the strikes within the university against the vice chancellor. He did not
explain the reason of the strikes but he just mentioned, “this is all very political”. He further
mentioned that “we are told to come to the institution during the strikes, the students also risk
their lives and then the classes are not held, this all is a waste of time, but no one bothers”.
He himself had been a teacher at various private schools; he made it very clear in the first
twenty minutes of his interview that he thinks differently from the traditional teachers and
teacher educators. He shared his experiences as a private school teacher, as a businessman and as
an engineer as well as a mathematician. After all these experiences he had decided to work as a
96

teacher educator in this university and joined the university just before the new teacher education
program was launched. He is not very young in age but he counts himself in the “new faculty”.
He believed that the older and senior people working in the system could not bring a positive
change as he said “one of my friends call them ‘used bullets’, so there’s no hope in them, and I
also believe they have created the problems so how can we expect them to solve the problems”.
In his view the old faculty members caused all the problems and all the troubles in teacher
education were due to their misconducts, so involving them in the reform process is not going to
solve any problem. He appreciated the tactic of involving more of younger and fresh faculty
members in the new reform, so he expressed a perspective of both top down and bottom up
curriculum reform.
This teacher educator teaching Math and Child Development at the university in Sindh
also suggested that people coming from different backgrounds can make a difference, like he
himself was coming from the private institutions and had different approach of teaching. He
mentioned that once a teacher is 30-35 years old and has an experience of working for five to ten
years after that nothing could really change him/her. According to him: “it is impossible to
change the senior teachers; they will go to the professional development workshops but once
they come back they revert back to their old practices”. He also alleged that every teacher
educator should have school teaching experience to become an effective teacher educator, but he
mentioned that it was not a current practice in majority of universities in Pakistan. He believed
that because other teacher educators at his university mostly do not know about school teaching
so he was in a better position with school teaching experience of about ten years. Further as a
course developer he perceived himself as an active and useful part of the change process but he
pointed out that the approach being used is totally wrong. He said, “I volunteered for this but
97

things are done in a haphazard manner; how can anyone develop new courses only by reading a
few articles? It is a long process I need more resources for that”. He further informed me that in
the process he found himself stuck at a point; he said “[I] don’t know how to develop the
specialization courses as they are asking”. He showed his concerns about the course development
procedures being followed and being a part of the system he didn’t know how to handle the
pressure of doing things as quickly as he was being asked to do.
Another teacher educator teaching Urdu at a university in Sindh perceived her role as a
course developer as well as a teacher educator and a researcher. She also appreciated the decision
of the dean to involve the new and younger faculty in the new teacher education program. She
said, “I am glad that madam involved more of young teachers like me in the new program. I am
glad to be a part of the team, madam said to us ‘you have just joined and you still have thirty to
forty years to work’”. She mentioned similar concerns about senior faculty members like her
other colleague that I had talked to. She said, “I believe that the teachers who have already been
working in the old system cannot adopt the new teaching methodologies successfully even if
they are provided trainings”. She further explained that if the old teachers will be forced to
change now, it could ruin their skills instead of improving them. She also mentioned that though
they are adopting the USAID-TEP program plan she felt satisfied with her own position in the
process and thought she had enough autonomy to plan and bring changes to her course. She
thought she was ready and independent enough to play her role in the reform, so her perspective
was that bottom-up contributions were possible for her.
Both of the university teachers I talked to in Sindh shared very similar perspectives. Both
of them viewed their own roles as broader than what the college teachers expressed. The
university teachers found themselves more autonomous and both of them perceived themselves
98

better suited for the reform due to the fact that they did not come from a traditional mindset. Yet
they perceived their senior colleagues facing a challenge to change their approach and both of
them also perceived senior faculty members being a challenge to the desired change.
A university in Punjab.
In contrast to the university in Sindh, in a university in Punjab majority of the faculty
members were senior professors who were teaching in the new four-year program as well as in
the old programs. It is clear that some of the senior teacher educators refused to teach in the
undergraduate program, yet there was no decision or choice made by the authorities to include
only senior or only young faculty members. The two teacher educators who participated in my
study were heads of their respective departments and they found themselves obligated to be a
part of the reform. Though the two professors had a clear perspective about their roles as
university teachers, yet they had two different perspectives about their role and autonomy in the
new TE curriculum reform.
One of the teacher educators I talked to was also the member of National Curriculum
Review Committee and was also involved in reviewing the curriculum plan for the new four-year
program at national level. He was also working with the course development team for science
courses. He mentioned that he does not fully agree with the plan of studies and he keeps pointing
out the flaws and deficiencies of the program plan especially with reference to teaching of
science and specialization courses of science. He mentioned that his suggestions and
recommendations are not being valued but he said, “I’ll talk to them again but I cannot force the
committee to agree with me”. So he feels that being a part of the team he can only suggest, and it
is up to the committee members if they agree to it or not. He said at university level things are
not dictated from outside. Everything has to go through the executive bodies of the university
99

and they have the authority to approve or disapprove the final program and course outlines. He
said so far they have adopted the program plans but not all the course outlines prepared by the
USAID-TEP team. For some courses they approved the new outlines but for others they were
still following their old course outlines. Though the colleges affiliated with the university were
following the new course outlines developed by USAID-TEP and approved by NCRC. He
mentioned that he will put his recommendations of changes in the suggested program plan in the
up-coming committee meeting at university and he also said “whatever they will decide I own it
as a member of committee”.
Another university teacher educator teaching Arts and Crafts in Punjab had some
different story to tell. She is not only head of the department but also a member of board of
studies at the university which is one of the executive bodies that approves or disapproves the
program plans and course outlines. She has been one of the key members in planning curriculum
at university level for the old programs at the university as well as for the affiliated colleges. She
said that many of her colleagues and she were not agreeing to offer a four-year undergraduate
program at university level. In her view it was a decision made by the higher authorities of
university and she was not in the favor of this program plan. She said, “I also developed a course
for arts and crafts as well as participated in development of Child Development course”. She
mentioned that although the overall program plan approved by NCRC is adopted, yet universities
are not bound to follow the USAID-TEP course guides, while the colleges are. The course
outlines are not exactly the same as at the colleges of education, because the university teachers
can prepare their own course outlines and get them approved by the university bodies only. She
said, “I worked for the new curriculum but that is only because I was assigned to do this task”.
She further explained, “I am teaching the arts and crafts course and I own it as I have put in my
100

best effort in developing it yet I did not like the idea of offering four year undergrad program at
university”. She elaborated why she was against launching this program at university level
because university teachers already have a huge load of postgraduate programs and research
work. In her view the old university program plans suited Pakistani education system and
university should only supervise the affiliated colleges of education for undergraduate program
as it used to do in past. She perceives herself more as a researcher and she thinks university
teachers should be involved more into research degrees instead of undergraduate programs.
It was a clear contrast between the university teachers in Sindh and those in Punjab. This
difference may only be a function of the personalities, backgrounds and institutional cultures
because (officially speaking) the universities around the country have same autonomy and
university teacher educators share more or less similar voice in the new teacher education
reform. The two teachers in Sindh were both relatively new to teacher education and were
excited about the new program. They just identified themselves as different from their senior
colleagues and felt good about it. While the participating teacher educators in Punjab were senior
faculty members and had a clear vision about the old and new teacher education programs. They
perceived themselves more than merely involved in teaching; they perceived themselves as
significant elements of the system so they could position themselves very clearly in favor or
against the new teacher education reform and its various elements. Another significant difference
is that at the university in Sindh the teacher educators adopted the course outlines developed by
the course teams under USAID-TEP while at the university in Punjab the teacher educators
design their own courses and can make changes. This adoption indicates a submissive culture
that predominantly ignored or silenced the voices of senior faculty members who were against
the reform ideals and included those who conformed to the top down authoritative regulation.
101

Distinction of Perceptions of Roles between University and College Teacher Educators
It was pointed out again and again during the conversation with local experts, university
teachers and college teachers that not only the government but also the university teachers look
down at the college teachers. College teachers are not given the same status even in policy
making as well as in general practices at the institutions. Teacher educators at the college in
Punjab very openly talked about how the university teachers keep them at a distance. One of
them stated, “the only difference between us and them is that they have the titles of Professors
and we don’t, but this difference sometimes becomes bigger and bigger”. I noted it in their
prospectus as well that even the PhD graduates at the colleges have the title of “senior subject
specialists” they are not given the title of professor. A practical example of distinction of roles is
most evident in the following anecdote that I noted at the last day of my visit in a University in
Sindh.
It was the last day of my visit in Sindh. The team of USAID-TEP was here and they had
invited me to attend a ceremony at the university. I did not know what the major goal of the
ceremony was. All I knew was that people from USAID-TEP had been here for the previous few
days and were preparing for this event. Once a faculty member told me that some people from
Consulate of USA were visiting the institution and some student teachers had to express their
views about the new four-year teacher education program. The day they were coming I was there
to attend the event half an hour earlier. I could see only those three teacher educators who mostly
spend time in the office of the dean. Since morning they were preparing the room next door for
the short meeting of students, teachers, USAID-TEP team and people from Consulate of USA.
The key member of USAID-TEP was listening to the short speeches that the university students
had prepared and was trying to correct their accent and put in some words that may make their
102

speech more impressive. He was telling the student teachers what to highlight as the positive
features of the program and how to praise their institutions and teachers. The students were also
told that at the end they must mention that they need more physical facilities on the campus.
I was told that the USAID has approved the grant to construct a new building for the
Faculty of Education. This is why the people from consulate were visiting the institution. There
were some female students and a teacher educator invited from the college of education which I
had already visited. As soon as they arrived they were told by a university teacher to go in the
room next door and sit there silently. This was the moment when I realized how different they
must feel while wearing white uniforms with head covered in a particular way, while the
university students do not have to wear a uniform or cover their head. The dean and other faculty
members of university treated the college representatives as if they needed to be controlled and
monitored because college people do not have the appropriate manners. The dean even asked the
teacher educator from the college if she was confident that the student would be able to speak
well in front of the guests. The college teacher tried to satisfy the dean and said, “I have prepared
her myself; you may call the girl and listen to her speech if you want”. The USAID-TEP member
actually went to listen to the student’s speech and to approve if she should or should not speak in
front of the guests. Meanwhile the dean called the college teacher to her table and told her off for
the reason that she could see “different shades of white scarves on the students’ heads”. The dean
called one of her faculty members from the university and told her that she must go to the college
next week to tell them which white color is most appropriate for the uniform and especially the
scarves. She uttered some sentences facing towards me that meant actually to prove teacher
educators and students at the college of education need continuous supervision and advice to
learn how to improve their dress codes and manners. To my amazement no one wears a uniform
103

at the university but the university teachers were telling the college teachers to improve the
uniformity in the uniform and approving or disapproving it.
This event was an eye opener for me. I had already heard teacher educators at the college
of education mentioning a little discomfort while talking about their interaction with the
university teachers, but they never said it clearly during one-to-one conversations. This incident
made it very clear to me how and why they do not see themselves as partners or having same
role in the hierarchy of institutional bureaucracy. The teacher educator from the college was later
sitting with me before the meeting and was very upset about this particular happening in the
dean’s office. She said, “this is why we want autonomy and our students do not want to come
here for completing their four year degree program”. She mentioned that college girls had
stronger moral values as they always cover their heads, dress up properly and they did not like
the coeducation culture because it makes girls lose their values. This was now the second
shocking part for me. On the one hand I felt the university teachers look down towards the
college teachers and students; and on the other hand I found a college teacher judging university
students by studying in coeducation and the way they dress up. I could not believe that all the
innovative and modern education reform claims are completely ignoring this rivalry situation
among college and university teachers. The teacher educators at both the institutions are a part of
the process but I could not see them becoming a part of the change in a way that teacher
education policy makers and planners were dreaming for.
Summary Points
•

The two members of NCRC, who were the conveners for the ADE and B.Ed Honors
curriculum planning committees in 2010, had two different perspectives about their own

104

roles in this reform. One expert was working in a public university and only perceived
herself as a reviewer and supervisor but not as a member of the program or course
development team. The other expert was working in a private university and perceived
herself out of the program planning process as she was not being heard and she stopped
attending the NCRC committee meetings once the new reform was launched. The later
expert in her conversation mentioned clearly that she had refused to become a part of the
top down regulatory culture and had left the reform planning process after a few initial
meetings.
•

The three college heads perceived their roles like implementers or facilitators to ensure
that physical facilities are provided and the procedures of implementing new curriculum
reform are intact. They did not see their role in planning; they only perceived themselves
as actors not as decision makers at a larger level than within their own institution. At the
two colleges in KPK and Sindh they did not find the authorities providing them enough
budget and facilities for meeting the needs of the reform so they found themselves in a
dilemma. In Punjab the head of college perceived himself as a leader at the institutional
level and as a communicator between college and higher authorities. All of them
indicated that the reform was introduced as a mandatory agenda and the top down line of
action was adopted to ensure its implementation.

•

Three college teacher educators in Sindh and one in KPK expressed satisfaction with the
fact that they have a limited but significant role in teacher education classrooms. Two
teachers in KPK two teacher educators in Punjab conveyed their unrest about this limited
autonomy and expressed a desire to be more autonomous in designing their own courses.
At the boys’ college in KPK the teacher educator perceived his role to be limited because

105

of the least physical facilities, small space and no availability of relevant materials. At a
girls college in KPK a teacher educator showed unrest about how university limits the
role of teacher educators at the college. All of the participants from colleges in Sindh,
KPK and Punjab mentioned that they don’t have any role in course design and revisions,
even their feedback was not included while revising the courses. In Punjab the two
teacher educators at college of education showed more concerned about autonomy in
assessment procedures as well as wanted to be more involved with the university in
planning of courses and programs.
•

The two university teachers in Sindh perceived themselves as course developers, teacher
educators as well as researchers. In their views they had a significant role to play to bring
the change in teacher education because they were new to the field and had to stay for
long. The two relatively new university teachers recognized themselves doing better than
old teacher educator and they even criticized the old teacher educators in colleges as well
as in the universities. One of them showed concern about his work as a course developer
being affected by lack of guidance and resources and due to the quick and fast pace of
course development procedures. Both of them seemed to confirm to the top down
approach and thinking bad of those who refused or showed resistance in becoming a part
of the recent reform.

•

The university teachers in Punjab saw themselves as curriculum planners, course
developers, teacher educators as well as researchers. The two participating senior teacher
educators showed two different perspectives. One of them was a member of NCRC, he
perceived himself as an active part of the reform planning and implementation at national
level; but still he felt his feedback and concerns were not always given due regard. Yet

106

he owned the overall decisions made by NCRC and the university bodies. The other
university teacher who had developed a course for the new curriculum and was teaching
it herself did not like the idea of having undergraduate program at a research institution in
a university. But she had not been able to convince authorities and had to follow the
orders. This disturbed her because as a university teacher she perceived her role to be
more autonomous than it has been in the current reform. One of them showed conformity
and the other showed agitation but both indicated the top down mechanism working in
planning and implementation of the new curriculum reform.
•

It is clear that the college teachers in three provinces Sindh, KPK and Punjab do not have
the autonomy to design their own curriculum or to plan their own courses. They do not
have a voice at any level though the largest population of students in the new program is
enrolled at colleges. While the university teachers are somewhat better because they have
the autonomy to design their own courses, though the overall program plan had to be
adopted by the universities under recent reform. Another clear distinction between
college and university teachers is that the college teachers are not given the same status
as the university teachers. Not only in the organizational hierarchy but even in the
interactions the university teachers seem to look down to the college teachers and clearly
exhibit it in their interaction. In such circumstances college teachers can only perceive
themselves as actors but not as efficient change agents.

107

Chapter 5
Hopes and Fears
How policies are interpreted by teachers influences their practice and those practices can
result in the reckonable effects (Coburn, 2001, Hill, 2001, Spillane, 2001). Fullan (1993) states
“The individual educator is a critical starting point because the leverage of change can be greater
through the efforts of individuals, and each educator has some control” (p.12) and he further
mentions “every educator must strive to be an effective change agent” (p.13). He has highlighted
the “motives and skills” of the people involved as two important features in “change agentry”
(p.12). My initial conversations with all the participants were to learn more of how they feel
about the change and how they interpret the new TE curriculum reform. During the initial
conversations with the teacher educators at six institutions, many of them shared their high hopes
with the new TE curriculum reform as well as expressed their anxieties and fears under the
current circumstances. They also pointed out some such institutional realities that could help or
hinder the implementation of reform.
Until the beginning of 2013, I could not find any comprehensive documented list of
salient features of the teacher education reform. So before moving ahead with the analysis here
are some salient features of the reformed curriculum as I summarized from the document review
and interviews of local and foreign experts:
•

There is no text book. The curriculum booklets and course guides are made available
to teacher educators, but not to student teachers. These materials are also available
online. These booklets only provide weekly break-up of the course and sample
lessons with suggested methods, teaching strategies and activities to be included.
108

Optional ways of teaching the lessons with a list of recommended readings, reference
books and websites are given. The idea is that teachers and students may become
researchers and curriculum developers for their own learning and collect and share
materials through using the internet and library resources. However, internet and
library resources are not currently available.
•

The new curriculum not only includes Computer Literacy and ICT as two of its core
courses, but it also involves strategies through which practical use of technology may
become a regular practice of teachers and students. Teachers are supposed to use
audio-visual resources in classrooms and students also need to present their work
through multimedia. For content development teachers are recommended to use
various web resources in the course outline documents. Students are also supposed to
use web resources for fulfilling the requirements of their assignments. Libraries are
supposed to be equipped with up-to-date books, multimedia resources and web
resources, which currently they do not have.

•

English is the medium of instruction in the new curriculum reform. Except Islamiat
and Urdu or some regional language courses, all other courses are in English. The
suggested books and web materials are also in English. There are two core courses of
Functional English and two more courses in the second year for teaching literacy
skills and teaching of English. Teachers are supposed to demand that students talk
and present in English only. At this time teachers themselves are trying to improve
their English language skills.

•

The curriculum reform brings a shift in the classroom practices from lecture-based
teaching to interactive, collaborative, and student-centered teaching; and passive

109

learning to active and independent learning with the help of in- and out-of-class
activities, cooperative learning strategies like pair-and-share and group work.
Individual assignments are made an essential element for independent learning. This
is an unfamiliar approach to pedagogy.
•

The semester system has been introduced in all collaborating universities and
colleges. Before this reform almost all teacher education institutions were following
the annual examination system. Only the universities in Punjab, where three- to fouryear degrees were offered, had already adopted the semester system in teacher
education programs.

•

New assessment techniques are being introduced with the semester system. Now
teachers are supposed to assess students on the bases of their classroom performance,
assignments, presentations, practical work and there will be midterm and final exams
at the end of each semester. Portfolios and reflection journals are also introduced for
the first time.

•

Practice teaching has been distributed in four slots over the program of four years at
the end of the third, fourth, seventh and eighth semesters. These are supervised
practice teaching sessions in which for the first time ever in Pakistan a model of
cooperative teachers at the schools is being adopted. These cooperative teachers and
heads of the schools where student teachers go for practice teaching also get to attend
some briefings and a few days of training.

Although I tried to bring up these features of the new TE curriculum reform in
conversations, not every participant of the study necessarily talked about each one of the
features. In general commenting upon the prospects of the new reform, almost every participant
110

presented a unique perspective, yet there were some common features as well. Appreciating the
new classroom culture being developed through the new reform at teacher education institutions,
the participants also identified major challenges in the current settings (Appendix E). The two
local experts, Professor Anjum (from the private university) and Professor Farida (from the
public university) talked about the overall four-year program plan but did not comment upon
specific course contents. Both of them seemed to agree upon the point where they found
universities in a better position to adopt the new TE curriculum reform, while the colleges being
in more difficult position as they do not have enough resources and capacity. Teacher educators
and heads of institutions at colleges of education in this conversation were more specific about
the content and teaching of specific courses, while teacher educators at universities talked about
the course contents, teaching as well as the overall four-year program plan.
Here neither gender nor provincial comparison provided any evidence of similarities in
how participants perceived the new teacher education reform. It is also clear that there is not a
relationship between liking the substance of the curriculum reform and having a voice in its
design. I found individuals at every institution having their own sets of realities that were unique
and played a significant for adopting, approving or disapproving the above mentioned elements
of the reform. In this chapter I am presenting all the hopes and fears that the participants
expressed keeping in view the institutional realities and challenges they are facing under the new
TE curriculum reform.
The Two Local Experts in NCRC
About four-year TE program. Professor Anjum who was working at a private
university, was of the view that four year undergraduate program is not culturally acceptable for

111

teacher education in Pakistan at large. She said, “Most of the students coming in teacher
education are females. At my university we are having a hard time to convince the parents that a
four-year program is good for them”. She explained that parents in Pakistan generally want their
daughters to get married as early as possible. She informed me that at her university where they
adopted a four year scheme a few years ago, they tried through student counseling to explain to
them what professional education is, yet the girls after two years tend to leave and get married.
So she mentioned that adopting four-year program country wide is a big step and she said, “Who
will ensure that teachers will complete four year program. They neither have time nor funds”.
Professor Anjum again and again mentioned that she is not against the reform but she is
against the way it is being imposed on institutions without improving their physical conditions
and without considering the “realities at grass root level”. This is a clear example of Fullan’s
claim that reforms need both top down and bottom-up participation. Her concerns and fears
made her believe that this “project” is not going to make a real difference in the institutional
culture as well as in the quality of teacher education.
Professor Farida who teaches in a public university also mentioned some of the concerns,
but she was also hopeful about the new reform. She overall liked the idea of a four-year program
and had no objection on its design, but she was more concerned about how the institutions and
teacher educators would be able to fulfill the requirements of the new reform. She showed her
hopes and fears very clearly. She pointed out that having no clear program goals is a flaw in the
plan at the very basic level. She said, “I think there should be some mission statement and we
can say that some vision, mission and goals those are missing in the documents and may be at
that time it was not visualized that how important these things are”. She liked the new
curriculum as it includes everything from old schemes as well as new and modern ways and
112

ideas of teaching. In her view the main difference is delivery. Counting the strengths of the new
program and reform she said:
Content is more or less the same; but due to technology age, delivery is different. It is
more interactive. In this curriculum there are examples that a teacher has to give to their
students, research based information, then ICT inclusion in the curriculum, and also
English language, more focus on three four courses of English language then they have to
study mathematics and statistic as well so these are new changes which were not there in
old B.Ed program, and supervised teaching practice as well.
Talking further about the “uniform curriculum” she mentioned that she was not in favor
of uniform curriculum, in her opinion “institutions should be able to choose their own content,
universities can choose but the colleges had to adopt the courses designed by the course
development teams working under [USAID-TEP]”. She thinks the diversity in curriculum is not
only needed because of different conditions among provinces and regions but she also said
“From my point of view if we give uniform curriculum then what is accreditation and what is
assessment if everyone has to do the same thing. They have to follow the same path then what is
(program) assessment, how will we judge this is good this is bad so I think there should be
variation”. In her view a diverse or variable curriculum could help the planners and policy
makers improve the quality of teacher education.
Readiness of teacher educators.
Professor Anjum, the expert working in a private university, had a very negative
perception about the new program plan. In her view teacher educators in Pakistan generally are
used to work in annual system so they do not know how semester system works. She said, “We
introduced it here (at a private university) and teachers still have no concept that 3 hours teaching
113

is must for 3 credit courses. And how much work is required for 3 hours from students, how
many pages they should read and how many related articles of extra readings are enough for one
week?” She showed serious concerns over the new plan of study as in her view it does not
provide clear guidelines for teacher educators to implement the semester system in true spirit.
She said “It is very important that they should know clearly that student has to read 30 or 50
pages per week, and 1 or 2 articles of 15 pages or so”. She pointed out that the plan does not
elaborate minimum requirement and the teacher educators who have been teaching in an annual
system do not know what it is necessary to cover before midterm and after that or how to manage
reading materials. She said “We don’t have formal training for that in our country. Semester
system is already strange thing for us even in universities. Then how the college teachers will at
once adopt it only after a few days training?” She further explained that colleges only have
subject specialists who are not qualified enough in her view to teach the new courses.
Having no textbook as an issue.
Both experts showed their concerns over the fact that there are no recommended
textbooks for in the new curriculum. Professor Anjum showed real apprehension over the fact
that the new TE reform is asking not to use textbooks any more she said, “They don’t have
anything else than a textbook. What are they offering them as an alternative?-nothing”. In
professor Farida’s view, “It is very drastic change. I can say it is a change we are trying to bring
that the books are not fully a textbook it is just a few-page chapter guidelines and instruction for
the teacher educators; that is going to be a problem for our teachers who are in remote areas or in
less developed areas that will not know how to prepare their lecture”. She explained that in
smaller cities and rural areas the teacher educators totally depend on the textbooks. She
elaborated that even if they have Internet they can use, due to shortage of power in our country
114

when there is not light for 10-20 hours each day, such ideals are not realistic. She also said
“everyone cannot afford laptop and internet is not connected, so definitely they have to depend
on the textbook”. She mentioned that she has reviewed the course packs and in her view “the
material they have developed is not very rich so definitely they'll go in the market, they'll buy the
books which will give them same old content”. About the recommended books she pointed out
that either the books will not be available or even if a copy is provided at each institution
copyright for forty to fifty students each semester will be another challenge that can come up
later.
Challenging conditions at colleges of education and public schools.
Professor Anjum referred lack of physical resources at colleges of education as a big
hurdle for such a reform agenda. According to her the new TE reform demands extensive use of
infrastructure and resources which are not there at the colleges of education especially in small
districts with more rural population. She said:
You are teaching active learning courses and you don’t have any kind of physical
resources. Like if a teacher is teaching in a classroom, and there is only blackboard
behind him. Children are sitting in front of him in a traditional way. Now how he can
teach when he cannot even see every student? When there is no light also.
In her view all these things count and instead of improving the institutional conditions the
reform is only demanding to change practices. She perceived the reform to be very idealistic in
this regard.
Another point of concern for Professor Anjum was that the new curriculum is not going
to prepare teachers in private universities to teach in the public schools. In her view the new

115

curriculum talks more about ideal conditions while “there are many old style schools which have
no boundary walls and toilets”. Further explaining the conditions at the public schools she
explained:
They have 6 classes in primary, kachi 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and in elementary there are
in fact 9 classes. Can you tell me any elementary school in rural areas except model
schools, where multi-graded teaching is not applying? -means, taking 2, 3 classes in one
room and only one teacher is teaching… one or two rooms; even have to sit under tree.
This new curriculum does not speak to any of these situations. They say they will enroll
students from rural areas but nobody is talking about the children’s background in a rural
setting. What are we preparing these teachers for? The things we are teaching them will
be useful only in private schools. Neither the mind-set is changed nor are the heads
welcoming in public sector. If someone comes with new skills, he is humiliated”.
In contrast, Professor Farida having a relatively positive perspective was hopeful, said
that “quality teachers” can be prepared through this curriculum and there will be a “positive
change in schools in future years, but that will only be possible if the institutions have all the
required facilities which they don’t have now”. She also mentioned that the conditions in which
these teachers will be learning at the colleges and universities are not the same as the conditions
in the schools where they are supposed to teach in future. She mentioned in public schools
especially in Sindh and KPK they will never find such facilities and supportive environment to
apply these teaching methodologies. She said, “in teacher education program they are
experimenting in special environment created for them, classroom environment created to deliver
that content. I don't think in other schools in other areas in other institutions the situation will be
the same, no”. She mentioned that schools neither have the facilities nor the organizational
116

culture to allow teachers for the kind of teaching being idealized in the current reform. She
mentioned that the new curriculum does not talk about it and it can be a big flaw of the plan of
study.
Distance education.
Professor Farida also pointed out that Allama Iqbal Open University is an open and
distance education institution that enrolls the largest number of student teachers every year in
Pakistan. She showed her discomfort about the fact that the course development teams do not
have the specialists for distance education and she said, “There is nothing yet clear of open
distance education. The largest number of teachers enroll in these programs in Pakistan, and yet
nothing is finalized about how to adopt this scheme for that. The kind of teaching strategies
suggested cannot be adopted in distance education, for that we need to develop ICT at our
regional campuses”. In her opinion the new TE reform must have some alternatives for distance
education otherwise the big chunk of teachers will be prepared on the old traditional patterns
through distance education and the reform will not be able to bring a real change.
Teacher Educators and Heads of Institutions at Colleges of Education
It was recommended in the new TE reform that all other undergraduate programs may be
stopped and only this associate degree may be offered. At three colleges of education, one in
Sindh and two in KPK that I visited during my two visits, only the two-year ADE program was
offered. There was no other program so the teacher educators were only teaching in one
program. Only at the college of education in Punjab, other programs (B.Ed and M.Ed) were also
being offered along with ADE. Teacher educators and heads of institutions at colleges of
education expressed mixed views about the new curriculum reform and its content. They usually
commented more upon the courses they were teaching and less about the overall program plan.
117

Here are some of the main comments given by the teacher educators and heads of four colleges
of education:
College of education in Sindh.
At the college of education in Sindh I talked to four teacher educators including the
principal and vice principal of the college. All the four of them praised the new and innovative
methodologies introduced through this reform. Through an initial conversation with these
teachers at a college of education in Sindh it was clear that their overall perception about the
curriculum was that it is innovative and creative but very difficult for them as well as for the
student teachers. Except the English teacher, both of the other two mentioned how hard it was for
them to understand the language, terminology, techniques and topics. They had always been
teaching in a traditional set up and the medium of instruction was mainly Sindhi. Now not only
teaching strategies were changed but also the materials were all in English. They also mentioned
how the students coming from various parts of Sindh are finding the courses difficult. There
other concerns also included short time available for teaching extensive courses and also the fact
that the curriculum is neither addressing the issues of public schools’ classrooms nor preparing
the teachers for them.
The new methods of teaching. All the three teacher educators and the college head
praised the new methods of teaching and appreciated the kind of classroom culture that is
developing under the new curriculum. The teacher educator teaching computers and Child
Development mentioned that she likes the way student teachers participate in the classroom
interaction. She said, “previously we never practiced to involve students in activities. Now the
group work and pair n share activities that we design for them give them an opportunity to
actively engage in the classroom interaction”. The teacher educator teaching math and science
118

was of the view that the new methods of teaching had enhanced student learning. She said, “We
never learned and never taught this way before. I am sure with the active learning and
collaborative learning activities students learn much better” she also highlighted the fact that she
enjoys teaching more than before. She said, “I feel actively engaged too. We only used to deliver
lectures and give notes, now we don’t even realize and the time for class is finished but we don’t
want to end the class until our activity is over because we are so involved”. Similar views were
given by the teacher educator teaching English and communication skills. She said, “I’d say the
work that has been done under this reform is very good and courses have been developed with
hard work. I really appreciate the andragogy we were introduced to, during the professional
development workshops”. She mentioned that “collaborative learning, group work, and active
learning are new for colleges of education” as previously they all used to deliver lectures and
give away already prepared notes only. These university teacher educators expressed the view
that they were participants in collaborative efforts to reform the curriculum.
The language issue. Teacher educators at the college of education in Sindh always talk
to each other in their local language, Sindhi ( ‫ .)ﺳﻨﺪﻫﯽ‬Adopting English as a medium of
instruction was not only a problem for students but it seemed to be a challenge for teacher
educators as well. The vice principal teaching Computer Literacy and Child Development said,
“the major change I see is of language. Everything is now in English. Previously we used to
prepare notes but that was all in Sindhi. Now all we have is list of topics and suggested books
and websites. Everything is in English. We cannot use local books any more”. She mentioned
that now they either photocopy from books or download materials from the internet but she also
pointed out that is no limit suggested in the course outline and it becomes troublesome for them
to decide how much content they should include. She informed me that sometimes she seeks help
119

from students who already know computers and learns from them. Another teacher educator
teaching Science and Math at the college of education in Sindh mentioned that the course packs
they received were not easy to understand. She said “when I got these books I found them very
difficult. The concepts were the same but everything was in English and methodology was
changed. I liked the activities such as group work and pair and share, but the materials were
difficult to understand”. She pointed out that the workshops helped her a lot and now she does
not use local books any more she is using books of foreign authors. She informed me that for
some topics she also uses internet and she has to seek help from her children sometimes.
Mentioning the problem of language, the teacher educator teaching English and
communication skills at the college of education in Sindh mentioned that she herself has no
problem, rather she really likes the new curriculum. She informed me that she has attended many
professional development courses in Pakistan and abroad so she did not find it very difficult to
adopt English as a medium of instruction. But she mentioned that other teacher educators and
students are finding it very difficult. She said, “the new students do not even know how to write
their name in English or to speak a sentence without mistake” so for them the new syllabus was
very tough. She said she has to begin from very basic level, as the students are not ready in the
beginning. She pointed out that for learning other courses properly the students need to learn
English well, otherwise they cannot perform well in other subjects too.
Selection of materials. Another important aspect talked about by the teacher educators at
the college of education in Sindh was that they did not have clear guideline about how to be
selective about materials while using internet and reference books. The topics and broad areas
are given in the course packs but then long lists of websites and books make it difficult for them
to decide how to select what to include and what not to include in the curriculum. The teacher
120

educator teaching Computer Literacy and Child Development said, “I even asked them during
the workshop to tell us how to select materials. For example the topic of Excel is given we don’t
know how much detail should we include in it. But they said they will not tell this”. Another
teacher teaching Mathematics identified the same issue in a different way by pointing out that
they are not the final evaluators so this becomes a tough decision for them to make about how
much details they should include. The teacher educator teaching English mentioned that she has
sent her feedback many a times about the reference lists given at the end of the units. She said,
“the books are not available to us and there are long lists of websites. Each website contains
unlimited information. Only a few useful websites should be identified. I have tried myself and
most of the links do not open”. She was concerned that how she can refer these websites to the
students when she herself finds it difficult to decide the limits of content to be included. She also
mentioned that she does not find some of the content age appropriate or suitable for the students
considering cultural and religious values of Pakistani society.
Given time versus the curriculum. All of the teacher educators I talked to at college of
education in Sindh mentioned that the courses are long and they have less time for teaching.
Time constraint is also making it difficult for them. The issues like strikes and sudden shutdowns
in the city make it impossible for them to complete the courses in given time. Then they have to
cut down the activities and out-of-class activities as well as library periods. The teachers find it
necessary to go through the whole course knowing that final exams are going to be a challenge.
The college head mentioning this problem said “they have planned the courses for sixteen to
eighteen weeks for each semester but we don’t have enough time to cover the course here. The
college remains closed for many days due to the unrest in our city”. She mentioned that it is
becoming difficult for them day by day as on the one hand the elections were coming closer and
121

on the other hand there is security risks during religious festivals like “Eid-Milad-un-Nabi” ( ‫ﻋﻴﺪ‬
‫ )ﻣﻴﻼﺩ ﺍﻟﻨﺒﯽ‬and “Muharram-al-Haram” ( ‫ .)ﻣﺤﺮﻡ ﺍﻟﺤﺮﺍﻡ‬Such issues enforce them to keep the college
closed for many days during the semester. The teacher educators also mentioned that time given
for completing the courses is not enough, and materials are too long and extensive.
A teacher educator teaching English and Communication Skills at the college of
education in Sindh said, “as per my subject is concerned, the credit hours are not enough for
English. Material is too long and we have many issues like electricity shut downs and strikes
during the working days”. According to her the program plan is not developed keeping in mind
the challenges they face in their region. According to her everyone seems “overburdened”
because they are unable to manage the given course materials in the given time. The teacher
educator teaching Math and Science also mentioned that she could not complete all the topics in
the given number of days for teaching. She said, “The course is really long, we sometimes have
strikes and other problems as well. We then request other teachers to borrow time, they also have
their own work to finish, so we end up having less activities and use the library and out of class
activity slots”.
The computer teacher also mentioned that she often has to sit late hours after the college
timings and tries to help students as “the course is long and many students have seen and used
computers for the first time like myself, so we need extra time”. They all informed me that issue
of courses being long and time being short cannot be handled at the institutional level due to the
fact that they cannot make changes in the given courses.
Suitability of curriculum. Two of the teacher educators at college of education in Sindh
also mentioned that they don’t find the curriculum suitable or localized enough in Pakistani
cultural context. They say the booklets and suggested materials on the sites do not match with

122

the social and cultural norms of the region and do not provide local examples. So they then try to
induce as much local examples as possible and delete those materials which might be considered
abusive or offensive. The teacher educator teaching English mentioned “I found some words in
the text of the course booklets which are not age appropriate or are not recommended to be used
in our society” She said she also found such materials and language in the online resources so
she is highlighted this problem in her feedback to USAID-TEP team as well. The teacher
educator teaching Child Development at the college of education in Sindh mentioned that there
are no local materials or books available, they are using foreign-authored books and materials so
she generates local examples and scenarios for student activities. She said “a student coming
from interior Sindh does not even know about city life, or about life in other regions of Pakistan
so how can she understand the child psychology unless she is given local examples”.
Student background. The teacher educators teaching Math, Science and Computer
Literacy at the college of education in Sindh were of the opinion that the courses are not in
accordance with the student background. The teacher educator teaching Math and Science
pointed out that not all the students come with a science background. There is a difference in the
curriculum of sciences and humanities at the higher secondary school level in Pakistan. So the
students coming from humanities’ background cannot understand the basic concepts of Science
included in the new teacher education curriculum. She said “The students who have not studied
Science at Matric and F.Sc level, for them the course of science s really difficult. It is hard to
explain things to them and they cannot learn even till the end of semester”. She mentioned that
she has given her written feedback on it as well.
Future prospects. The vice principal who was teaching Computer Literacy and Child
Development at the college of education in Sindh also showed her concern about the future of
123

these teachers as she said the schools where they will go and teach will not have the facilities and
environment for the innovative and modern teaching. She said the old programs were according
to the system of education in Pakistan as it had two separate plans one for primary school
teachers and the other for middle school. Now they are teaching same courses to all the
elementary school teachers while conditions are very different at the public schools. She said, “I
feel like we are preparing Golden Stars but soon there will be dust on them, because the
environment at schools is not supportive rather they discourage such innovations because they
don’t have materials, money and space for all these activities”. She informed me that she was
already seeing it happening at the practicum while the students need things and space for
applying what they have learned but the schools neither have the space nor the culture of
adopting novel ideas and methodologies. She thinks the money that has been spent on
developing new program could be better used on providing facilities to the institutions and
improving the old programs which were better suited for the Pakistani context, instead of
redesigning the whole thing.
College of education in Punjab.
The college of education I visited in Punjab is offering other programs as well as the
ADE. This is one of the few colleges which have been authorized to offer the full four-year B.Ed
Honors from the year 2012 onwards. So now they are offering the ADE as well as B.Ed Honors
along with old B.Ed and M.Ed programs. The college administration and the teacher educators
seem to be very enthusiastic but besides that they are also very vocal about the issues of
autonomy more than anything else. It was clear that the teacher educators at college were deeply
concerned about the lack of communication and coordination among them and the coordinating
university. This unrest was even worsened by the fact that initially the university had the
124

authority to take final exam, which was 80 percent of the total evaluation. Finally within a span
of two years a shift from one university’s jurisdiction to another local university, this problem
seems to be lessened in intensity. The teacher educators clearly showed their unrest again and
again about the fact that they do not have the liberty to design or restructure their courses and to
assess their students. Both of them were of the view that under such conditions a real change
cannot occur. The principal as well as the teacher educators I talked to, liked the new methods of
teaching introduced in the teacher education classrooms. They were of the opinion that the new
TE reform has changed the classroom environment at the college of education but the current
assessment system is not letting them change much. The other two concerns showed by them
were again about the level of courses being higher and tougher as per student background and
that the public schools are yet not ready for the innovative teaching they are expounding under
the new reform. This indicates ignorance of institutional realities and idealistic approach of the
reform which did not include localized planning and remained largely centralized (Fullan, 1993;
Kennedy, 2005).
New methods of teaching. Both of the teacher educators I talked to at the college of
education in Punjab were of the view that the new methods teaching under the new reform were
very useful for the student teachers for their own learning as well as for them to adopt in future. A
vice principal teaching courses of classroom management and science at a college of education in
Punjab liked the new curriculum’s “problem solving” approach. In his view the best thing about
the new TE reform is that it has changed the classroom culture in teacher education. He said
“there is active engagement of students and teachers, now we not only teach but we are practically
applying and performing as well”. He liked the idea of having parallel courses of content and
methods. He informed me that he has also sent his concerns again and again to USAID-TEP team.
125

The teacher educator teaching Islamiat also mentioned that he has seen a visible change among
student response. He said, “as we are now teaching through the new techniques and strategies like
group work and pair-and-share, the students’ response is also very different”. According to him
he finds his classroom much more interactive than before. But both of the teacher educators also
showed their concerns regarding the content of their courses.
Student background. The first concern mentioned by the vice principal in Punjab was the
same as pointed out by science teacher in Sindh. The vice principal in Punjab teaching science
mentioned the students coming from humanities background cannot learn the given content
easily. He said, “they don’t even know very simple terminology, they don’t understand the basic
concepts, so they will only learn up to the level of solving the exam questions”. He informed me
that he tries his best to make things easier for his students but then he also said he cannot ignore
the fact that these student teachers will be teaching science at elementary level so they should be
prepared enough. According to him the admission criteria for science teacher should be changed.
A similar concern was shown by the teacher educator teaching Islamiat as well, as he also does
not find students ready for the level of the ADE courses. According to him the course designed
for ADE is almost the same as they have been teaching at Master level. According to him the
student teachers who have not studied Islamiat as elective cannot understand or grasp all of the
details as recommended in the ADE course.
The teacher educator teaching Islamiat at the college of education in Punjab was very
concerned about the way new curriculum of Islamiat had been designed. He said, “the way we
used to develop curriculum in past had a set mechanism and especially level of students was kept
in mind. But the new curriculum has the content of Master level”. He mentioned that in his
feedback to USAID-TEP he marked many topics and areas which were above the level of these
126

students. They do not have a background of studying Islamiat as elective. He said “once I was
there in the meeting, among the planners there were maulana (‫ﻣﻮﻻﻧﺎ‬the religious scholars) so they
showed rigidness and did not listen to me”. He enlisted many topics in the curriculum
recommended for ADE which were exactly the same as the curriculum of Master level and in his
view could not be explained unless the student teachers have a background knowledge. He also
mentioned that some of the topics in the new curriculum are very broad for which there can be
complete courses. He said “such topics become problematic and we do not have any limit set for
how much details should we include”. He alleged that he is privileged for having many books
and resources at home, while such topics cannot be searched only through internet. He assumed
in other colleges this will be a big issue as he knows such books are not available everywhere.
Student assessment. Both the teacher educators I talked to at the college of education in
Punjab were of the view that the examination system affects the curriculum and teaching
methods. According to them there were two major issues hindering them to perform better under
the new reform. One was that they could not make any changes in the courses. They were bound
to follow the outline given by the university. The other issue was that the university still has a
very traditional approach towards student assessment. The teacher educator teaching Islamiat
shared that for almost one year the coordinating university did not take exam and then at once
they notified to hold the exam next day. He said, “there was no review mechanism set for
revising or changing the curriculum. In the mid of a semester when we had already covered
about a half of the course, they changed the content and then at the end of the year when they
were holding exams finally they said they will send the question paper according to the HEC old
plan of study”. The teacher educator teaching science mentioned that having old style of final
exams and knowing 80% of evaluation is going to be on the bases of theoretical exams, one
127

cannot expect much change in the teacher education practices. He said “in my view to change a
system it is necessary to change the way of assessment. When we are teaching in a practical
mode then the exams should also be designed differently”. According to him a “paper-pencil
exam” is not appropriate for the kind of changes this reform wants to bring.
Conditions of public schools. The last concern of both the teachers at the college of
education in Punjab was that the schools in Punjab are not prepared for such teaching
methodologies as the new reform recommends in the teacher education courses. Both of them
reported that in public schools there are seventy to hundred students sitting in one room, only
controlling that class is a challenge for a novice teacher. The teacher educator teaching science
said “the schools are not ready, we tell them you have to prepare such material and you have to
do so and so activity, but when they go to school, there is a time table already in place and there
are more than eighty students”. According to him student teachers find themselves in a chaos
even at the practicum stage. In his view there should have been some policy adopted for these
schools along with this reform in teacher education. A teacher educator teaching courses of
Islamiat said, “the schools where these students will go for teaching are traditional schools; they
are already facing problems in practicum”. He said, “applying the techniques and strategies is out
of question, if our student teachers are successful in controlling those big classrooms I’ll
consider it a big achievement”. In his view when the reform was launched in colleges of
education all over Pakistan then there should have been a policy in place for the public schools
as well or the curriculum should be designed to help teacher educators preparing for existing
conditions. He perceives a big gap in the new curriculum and classroom realities at schools

128

Two colleges of education in KPK.
The teachers in two colleges of KPK I visited during my first visit said that they liked the
reform strategies overall but they were concerned about how these strategies can be applied in
current circumstances at colleges of education as well as in public schools. They appreciated the
active learning and cooperative teaching but with that they were discomforted for the fact that
they are not being able to apply the innovative teaching as they wanted to or as it is
recommended under the new reform. They mentioned a number of reasons for that. One major
reason at the boys’ college of education seemed to be lack of facilities, infrastructure and space;
while at the female college of education was mentioned to be teacher educators’ own
deficiencies as per using English language, using computers, and knowing the credit hours
scheme or to select suitable amount of materials. They also mentioned students’ issues like
problem in language understanding and not being able to access as well as understand the
learning materials available on net or in the course packs. The teacher educators at both colleges
mentioned the problems of lack of facilities at colleges of education and at schools where they
are sending students for practice teaching. They again and again showed concerns that such
issues will not allow the teacher educators or the student teachers to apply the innovative
teaching methods as recommended in the reform.
As per content of the curriculum the teacher educators mentioned topics and areas within
their courses that they wanted to be added and two of the courses which were there in the old
schemes were also mentioned to be missing, one is the school administration and the other is
philosophies/history of education. Two teacher educators mentioning these recommended that
these were necessary for the students who are learning to become teachers with special reference
to education system in Pakistan. One teacher educator mentioned how she did not like the
129

organization of courses and she thinks her feedback does not affect the program plan because of
the centralized top down approach.
New methods of teaching. A principal at the boys’ college of education in KPK teaching
history of education in old programs mentioned that he likes the new way of teaching introduced
through this reform he said “The old system was very traditional, curriculum and teaching both.
A textbook was provided and one had to teach a specific material. Student involvement was
limited to memorizing the text material”. So according to him the new reform bought effective
changes as “this is totally different from teaching point of view and from curriculum point of
view. This one is totally based on research”. He appreciated the idea of student involvement in
searching the materials with the teachers. The vice principal of the girls’ college of education in
KPK also appreciated the new methods of “collaborative learning and involvement of
technology” in the classrooms. She mentioned it is good but “abrupt change” from “lecture
method” that was usually the only way of teaching before the reform. Both other teacher
educators I talked to at the two colleges in KPK mentioned that the basic strength of the new
reform is its “active participation of students and the student centered approach”. A teacher
educator teaching English at girls’ college of education in KPK mentioned the strengths of the
program as:
The main thing that I appreciate about this program is active participation of students,
everything is student centered. Second is whatever we are teaching it is very clearly
related to short term and long term goals mentioned in the National Standards and I have
to share this with the students as well. Literacy skills are something new, introduction of
the topic and activities designed for it are really creative. Similarly Child Development is
a new course. Practical implementation of those topics that we studied in child
130

psychology is something I have never seen before, many of them are directly related to
teaching. In old courses there were just theories and in these new ones it is linked with
the teaching practices.
Requirements of the new reform versus given conditions. One of the benefits of
including bottom-up participation in curriculum reform is that given conditions can be taken into
account. At the boy’s college of education in KPK the teacher educator as well as the principal
were of the view that it is not possible to implement the recommended changes under the given
conditions. A teacher educator at boys’ college mentioned that “independent learning is good but
every student cannot access the materials online, and we do not have a library” so he is not fully
convinced to the part where textbook and notes are completely discouraged.
The principal of the boys’ college of education in KPK mentioned that, “the way this
program has been designed, it is highly necessary to have computer lab, science lab and other
facilities to support student learning”. According to him most of the part of the new curriculum
asks for “practical and active learning” but for the activities they need the facilities or otherwise
he said “teacher educators will have to go back to the traditional ways of teaching and that would
kill the spirit of the reform”. The teacher educator teaching Mathematics at the boy’s college of
education in KPK mentioned that they do not even have a proper classroom to accommodate 50
students. He said “they cannot even sit properly in these rooms then how can I manage the
classroom activities?” He further mentioned that within three borrowed rooms from another
institution they are running a whole program with two cohorts of around fifty students in each.
They only have one classroom and the other two rooms are being used as science lab, library,
computer lab as well as common room for teacher educators. So in his view such limitations are
forcing him to stick to traditional methods of teaching.
131

The language issue and student background. Like the teacher educators at the college of
education in Sindh, two of the teacher educators in KPK were also of the view that having
everything in English is becoming stressful for teachers as well as for the students. A teacher
educator teaching Math at the boys’ college of education mentioned that, “we used to teach
everything in Pushto and all teachers as well as students do not know English very well”. He
mentioned that having all the course materials and online resources in English is very
challenging for some of his colleagues as well as for the students coming from various
backgrounds. He mentioned that, “The students think they need to learn English first and only
then they can understand the other subject areas; I still translate materials for them and I think
there is no harm even in providing them resources”. According to him, the K-12 schooling in
KPK does not prepare the student teachers for this kind of curriculum and for the kind of
teaching and learning the reform planners expect. He says the students can sometimes not at all
understand the English language so as a teacher educators he has to translate and interpret things
for them. He said having everything provided to them in English is not at all a suitable strategy.
He suggested that there should be more materials available in Urdu or local languages. He said,
“I am in favor of teaching in local language, for example when I was teaching Child
Development I could not make them understand the concepts and they were least interested until
I explained it to them in Urdu or Pushto”.
I could understand his concern because this was a city where I always had to take
someone with me while going around, because no one speaks Urdu commonly, people only
speak and comprehend Pushto. The other teacher educator at the girls’ college of education who
is also the vice principal and is teaching science as well as courses of classroom management
mentioned that she does not find herself and her colleagues ready for many features of this

132

reform. She said, “I hear my colleagues saying they do not understand the materials given in the
course packs” she said that the content of the courses is not very different but the language is a
big issue and “there has been no refresher course for language”.
Content of courses. Talking about the content of the courses the principal of boys’
college of education in KPK mentioned that he likes how all subject areas of primary school
teaching are included in ADE. He also appreciated the inclusion of ICT and English language
courses. But he mentioned that he finds a big deficiency in the new curriculum with regard to
inclusion of philosophies of education. He said, “I could not find anything about the Muslim
Philosophers like Imam Ghazali, Allama Iqbal, Ibn e Khuldoon, and Shah Wali ullah”. He
further elaborated that not only Muslim philosophies are necessary to be studied by the
prospective teachers but also the philosophies of “old Greek philosophers like Socrates and
Aristotle” are important and applicable till now. In his view this is a big gap in the new
curriculum. He suggested, “Practical implications of these philosophies should be included in the
content”.
A vice principal teaching courses of Classroom Management and science at a girls’
college of education in KPK commented upon the organization of courses in the new plan as
well as some particular topics that she thinks must be added. Her first concern was that the
courses of content and methods are far apart in the plan of study. She said “they learnt the
content of science in one semester and then there was a gap of a whole semester, after which
they studied the methods course” in her opinion the student teachers could not relate or link the
two courses due to the gap in between. She suggested that “either the content and methods
course should be merged or should be taught in the same semester so that they could link them
with each other”. In her opinion the new curriculum also missed the fact that most of the schools

133

in rural areas only have one or two teachers only. She said “in the old curriculum we had a whole
course of school administration; now we only have a course of classroom administration”. In her
opinion it is necessary for teachers in KPK to learn about schools administration as well, because
in majority cases they have to play a role in school management.
Another issue pointed out by the vice principal teaching courses of Classroom
Management and science at a girls’ college of education in KPK, related with the content
selection is that teacher educators don’t know from where and how much reading materials
should be selected. She said, “if we use online materials it is a lot, me and my colleagues often
discuss that we don’t know how to limit or how to be selective”. She pointed out two major
challenges one is that the teacher educators do not understand the credit scheme and the other is
they do not have resources to print the online materials and provide it to students. She informed
me that she is relying mostly on the old books she has and students also have copies of them so
to her this is the only way she can handle the challenges she identified. Another teacher educator
teaching English at the same college said she likes the new English courses but in her opinion
there are two major amendments to be considered one is to include more about writing skills and
the other is to bring change in the assessment procedures. She said: “I have suggested to add
more about writing skills in literacy course and I want to convey this message that everything
cannot be assessed through pen and paper exam in course like Communication Skill. We need
the university to understand this”. This is another example of how bottom-up participation can
contribute to curriculum reform by taking into account local conditions and existing resources.
Conditions of public schools. A common perception of all the four teacher educators I
talked to at the two colleges of education in KPK was that the schools in KPK are not at all ready
for the changes that the new reform recommends. The principal of boys’ college said “our
134

students who went for practicum faced many challenges”. He highlighted the fact that even in the
selected schools they could not find it feasible to apply the kind of teaching learning activities
that they had learned. The teacher educator teaching Math said “use of computers and other
materials is out of question, the schools in rural areas do not have classrooms”. According to him
the new teacher education curriculum does not prepare students for such circumstances. The
teacher educator teaching classroom management said “what we are teaching them is very
idealistic, though we try to keep telling them they shall not find such environment in schools but
we are not giving them the skills for what they will face there”. The teacher educator teaching
English at the girls’ college of education in KPK mentioned:
The schools are extremely over crowded. So my students were confused when they go for
practicum. Even without the resources the students were trying their best. When we were
talking about National Standards there is ICT and Language proficiency, we are teaching
them accordingly. But in schools there are no resources. I then told them, and they
prepared alternatives.
This teacher only among all others that I talked to was of the view that instead of
including the institutional realities in the curriculum or preparing teachers for current conditions
the public schools should be improved. She perceived the new curriculum as a step towards
development and she said “only the people are resistant to change and we need to change their
perceptions and behaviors”.
University Teachers’ Perspectives
The previous section summarized insights from the college teacher educators; this
following section focuses on the views of the university teacher educators. The four university
135

teachers I interviewed during my second visit were all concerned about the student background
and a big jump for them in the new curriculum reform. They think that students coming after
twelve year of schooling are not at all ready for universities and for such a drastic change. The
issue of having no background in science and math was also highlighted again and again. Almost
everyone agrees that the policy of enrolling students from humanities and trying to teach them
the content of math and science is a wrong step. In Sindh they also mentioned that the teacher
educators are not ready for this huge change. They think only the trainings of a few days cannot
change their habits of so many years. They did not rate the quality of training very high because
the people were not very much involved and in their view such small trainings will not make any
difference. They were not satisfied with the course development procedures as they think there
has been no proper guidance provided to them for developing course and they do not have
enough materials as well.
At the university in Sindh.
It is noteworthy that the two teacher educators at the university in Sindh had very similar
views about the new TE curriculum reform as both of them considered it to be very ideal and not
suitable for every classroom and adaptable for every teacher educator.
The new teaching methods. The first comment by both the teacher educators I talked to
at the university in Sindh was about the methodology being expounded in the new reform. Both
of them mentioned that the institutions as well as the teacher educators are not ready for such
innovative and non-traditional teaching styles. One of the teacher educators teaching Math and
Child Development courses used and proverb “‫( ”ﮐﻮﺍ ﭼﻼ ﮨﻨﺲ ﮐﯽ ﭼﺎﻝ ﺍﭘﻨﯽ ﺑﻬﯽ ﺑﻬﻮﻝ ﮔﻴﺎ‬one who
imitates can’t be himself) to explain his point of view. In his opinion the teacher educators have
been practicing traditional ways for long and “only a few days trainings cannot change their
136

habits”. He mentioned that he perceives this reform as a “cosmetic surgery” only. In his view
short trainings and introduction to new philosophies would not change the institutional culture
unless the whole system is changed. He said:
When I attended the pedagogy workshops, my initial feelings were very positive. But I
then I realized such a huge change is not possible. People don’t even understand the
meanings of this terminology. They are only using jargons. They don’t even know what
is meant by associate degree, modular approach. The students also know nothing about
how to take notes, how to use library or internet resources, how to participate in class and
how to do independent assignments and group projects. A big problem that I foresee is
that these subject support forums and curriculum development workshops and
professional development workshops are not going to make any difference, because these
are isolated from ground realties. It all seems like a patchwork or cosmetic surgery, while
this system needs complete overhauling. They have never experienced it before.
Another teacher educator teaching Urdu at the university in Sindh was of the view that
imposing new teaching methodology in every classroom for every teacher is not a good idea. She
mentioned that some teacher educators who were remarkably well versed and knowledgeable in
their subjects might only get strangled in these new methodologies and cannot teach well. She
said:
I observed some teacher educators in a research project. The teachers are neither prepared
nor they have the facilities to adopt the methodologies recommended in this reform. For
instance an Islamiat teacher is very competent in teaching with lecture method; now after
this training he is stuck in between. He cannot deliver lessons with activity method;
137

firstly he does not have the facilities and secondly he is not comfortable with activity
method. Similarly for the students they say a child should learn independently. The
students coming here have a habit of spoon feeding until twelfth grade. How can they
change abruptly?
The two teacher educators at the university in Sindh had a totally different perspective
from the teacher educators at the colleges of education. They liked the new pedagogy and
methods introduced but they were of the view that it is not appropriate to force every teacher to
change his/her method of teaching. And in their view the students are also not ready for the kind
of independent learning being enforced. In their view forcing teacher educators to change their
practices could result in diverse effects, it might not necessarily improve classroom instruction,
and it might hinder student learning instead of helping.
Procedures of course development and content selection. The other major issue
mentioned by the two teacher educators at the university in Sindh was that the courses were
being developed under the new curriculum in a very haphazard manner. They said the
procedures being followed are not at all suitable for designing and developing professional and
specialization courses. The teacher educator teaching Math at the university in Sindh mentioned
he was a part of the course development team and he was thinking to quit as he could not find
materials, resources and help or guidance that he needed to develop a specialization course. He
said:
For example this course of teaching mathematics for the eighth semester, nobody knows
what it should look like, because there has never been such a course before. We have
already taught a course of contents and one of methods in forth semester. It was also
138

teaching of mathematics. There are so many things to consider especially in mathematics
you need to have more rigorous knowledge. Now we have to develop courses of fifth,
sixth, seventh and eighth semester. There was no such program before. I have asked them
in workshops, I need help I have never done this before. Somebody tells me read these
few articles and I am saying I need to develop a course, I need resource material, books
and text books. We cannot replace textbooks with some papers, we cannot take shortcuts.
Then there is issue of copyrights, if you want to use some books you need to get the
rights. I am trying my best but I am not at all satisfied with the procedures
The other teacher teaching Urdu was also of the view that the courses which were
developed were neither as per the level of students nor organized very well. She showed much
disappointment about the kind of student and teachers’ manuals provided to them for the new
curriculum. She was of the view that senior teacher educators who designed the courses were
not able to come to the level of a higher secondary school student. She said:
They chose PhD holders, Deans and professors to design these courses. I pointed out
many a times that teacher educators and teachers should be involved in the process.
Language is a big barrier, if we were there we could have pointed out. When we received
the content we could not understand it. There were many issues. For instance sequence
was the first issue. They put teaching of poem in the very beginning. If you see the
manual it was a collection of four to five hundred pages. It had no sequence as per the
course outline and no page numbers. It was a collection of photocopied materials from
here and there. We could not afford to photocopy it for all the students.

139

Student background. Talking further about the content of the courses she mentioned that
students are coming from higher secondary school level and they have not necessarily studied
Urdu as an elective course. She views the courses designed are much above the level of
comprehension of students who have just came out of higher secondary schools. She said:
In fact this is a very idealistic approach that everything is in one course. Now that is a
student of intermediate level only and we are trying to teach him everything; all from old
times to modern times. We are just trying that nothing may be left. I am telling you
students cannot digest it all and we’ll not even achieve fifty percent while we are aiming
to achieve hundred percent. There are master level contents in Math and Science also. We
must realize this mistake
Given time versus curriculum. Both of the teacher educators at the university in Sindh
perceived the curriculum to be a lot richer than the time available to complete it. Like the teacher
educators at the college of education in Sindh, they also pointed out the issue of riots and strikes
in the city which leave very short time available for completion of courses. They mentioned all
the problems of shut downs, and suddenly enforced holidays which cause the cancellation of
classes. The teacher educator teaching Math and Child Development at the university in Sindh
said:
There are many weeks during the semester when either the classes are cancelled due to
strikes in the university. Then the city is closed after every few days due to fuel and gas
shortage so the students and teachers cannot come to the university. We then have no
time left to complete the courses

140

Time management at both the institutions in Sindh was mentioned as a big challenge. The
teacher educator teaching Urdu at the university in Sindh also mentioned the same issue and
said:
On the one hand course is heavy and on the other hand we have lesser time. For instance
there was Eid ul Fitr, then Eid ul Adha and Eid Milad un Nabi all in one semester this
year. Then before that there were floods and earthquakes. Now you saw the institutions
were closed due to strikes. No matter how much we speed up we cannot cover the
content. The curriculum is much higher for a semester of three to four months.
She further suggested that the only way to manage such heavy courses and program
within the given timeframe is to integrate some subjects. In her view only then they can cover the
contents in the give time but the current plan of study does not have provisions of integration so
it is not feasible under all the given scenarios.
At a university in Punjab.
The two teacher educators at the university in Punjab gave two completely different
perspectives about the new curriculum and reform. One of them talked about the four year B.Ed
Honors program and perceived it not suitable for Pakistan generally and for the university
specifically; while the other teacher educator had no objection on the idea of four year B.Ed
Honors program rather he had more to say about the plan of study, course development and
suitability of content for the students.
About four year undergraduate program. Talking about the B.Ed Honors program the
teacher educator teaching arts and craft at a university in Punjab mentioned that the idea of four
year programs has been imported from abroad and it does not suit societal set up in Pakistan. She
141

said “this is an imported scheme and change must occur from within our own system, we were
evolving already and we did not need this undergraduate four degree especially in research
institutions like ours”. In her view the planners only accepted a foreign policy because the
authorities said so. In her view such initiatives and interventions do not bring the goal of quality
education closer and there’s a waste of financial resources. She said:
I think this is lack of planning and thinking. If such programs are offered abroad and even
if it is successful there, it does not mean we must adopt it. We should not work with a
goal of being in good books of authorities, we must think and act sincerely. Like any
other reform there is a hype in the beginning but then we are unable to maintain it
because we do not take decisions keeping in view the conditions of our country and out
institutions. I do not see a positive outcome of such a huge investment.
A major reason that she gave for not liking this reform is that majority of students in
teacher education are females and they usually get married at early age in Pakistani set up. She
said “In Pakistan most of the girls get married after B.A. In this case until four years not having a
degree in hand is not good for them, which seems to be the case in this program”. According to
her cultural context should always be considered while planning any educational reform.
According to her planning should not be influenced by the funding but it should be more deeply
rooted in the local needs. In her view a centralized and top down culture of planning cannot be
inclusive of local aspirations.
Content courses versus methods courses in the new reform. The teacher educator
teaching science at the university in Punjab had no objection on the four year program as such
but he was more concerned about the proportion of content and methodology courses. According
142

to him a student graduating from B.Ed Honors should at least have content knowledge equivalent
to traditional BA or BSc, in which the students study the specialization courses in much more
detail. He said “I have been pointing it out since 2006 when we were working on the four year
program plan, that the number of content courses is not enough. If we wish to prepare teacher
educators equally good in pedagogy and content, then we should have content courses at least
equivalent to BA/B.Sc”. His major concern was that there is loads of repetition in pedagogy
courses. According to him other than science and math mostly the pedagogy for elementary
classrooms is more or less the same so having so many methods courses in the program is too
much repetition of same things. He said:
Up to elementary level methods of teaching are almost the same for all subjects other
than math and science. Here we have for teaching of Urdu and English, as well as for
teaching Social Studies and Islamiat. Then there is another course for each specialization
that they chose. I say cooperative learning, group activity and other strategies are the
same for English as well as Urdu. Similarly some methods like discovery method, project
method or inquiry method are the same for all accept math and science. So I feel having
so many methods courses makes it all over emphasized.
The new teaching methods. Both the teacher educators I talked to at the university in
Punjab appraised the student involvement aspect and the up to date content of the new
curriculum. The teacher educator teaching arts and craft said, “I have developed this course
myself. Like other courses I also made it sure to give up to date content and I liked the active
involvement of students”. She said while developing the course she did not have in mind that
there will be such big number of students in the class as most of the institutions are enrolling.
She mentioned that most of the courses designed in the new curriculum and the pedagogies
143

recommended are suitable for only classes of maximum 25 students. The teacher educator
teaching science mentioned that he feels students are more actively involved in classroom
discussions and preparing their assignments and projects with keen interest. He said
“assignments and group projects are very helpful for student learning, they are learning to work
independently and in collaboration also. The classroom interactions are much more active than
previous practices in teacher education classrooms”. Both of the teacher educators mentioned
that as far as independent student learning is concerned they were already practicing it at the
institute. They mentioned that active classroom interaction is strength of this reform.
Readiness of teacher educators. Both the teacher educators I talked to at the university in
Punjab mentioned that the teacher educators at their institution were not ready for the
recommended methodology of teaching and learning under the new curriculum reform. The
teacher teaching arts and craft mentioned that the teacher educators at the university level were
not interested and not ready to change their ways of teaching. According to her the new student
group was younger and the teaching strategies needed to be changed for them. She said “when
they were attending all these trainings their interest was not in learning new ways or change their
ways of teaching, their interest was in TA/DA. I do not see any outcome of these trainings”. The
teacher teaching science courses at the university in Punjab also showed similar perspectives
about senior teacher educators. He said the senior faculty members were not interested in
offering this program but the authorities decided. He said “either the faculty members are too
busy or they just don’t want to get involved into all this, they are busy with their graduate
courses and research work”. In his view the university authorities should have considered the
opinion of senior members or should have convinced them before launching the program. He

144

informed me that majority of the teacher educators at the university refused to teach at
undergraduate level, only a few agreed.
Student background. Talking about the students’ readiness for the new curriculum, the
teacher educator teaching arts and craft at the university in Punjab mentioned that students
develop strong habits at K-12 schools and it is not easy for them to change at once. She
mentioned that most of the students come from public schools and colleges and they are not
fluent in speaking English and find it difficult to comprehend the new curriculum. Medium of
instruction is also English so it is very hard for them. According to her the language change and
workload makes them feel astounded. She said, “a flaw in content is that here everything is in
English, the students feel overburdened. They do not have reading habits because they never had
libraries. Having all courses in English and so much work is difficult for them to handle”.
According to her pushing the students into a new culture of learning is overwhelming for them
and they are not able to handle it. The teacher educator teaching science courses also highlighted
the fact that university has a culture of library use, independent learning and research, in his view
the students coming straight from higher secondary schools “have a habit of spoon feeding”. He
said “they cannot at once unlearn that conduct and transform into independent learners”. He
mentioned that the program has a big flaw in the preparation of Math and Science teachers. He
pointed out that in old programs there was always different criteria for enrolling math and
science teachers. In the new reform all student teachers for elementary schools are enrolled
without any differentiation as per their background. He said “the problem is worse for those
students who have not studied science, even the simple concepts of science are hard for them to
understand”. Both of them identified that the new curriculum is idealistic in the sense of making

145

student teachers independent learners at once after having twelve years schooling in passive
learning environment.
Conditions of public schools. Both the teacher educators at the university in Punjab
mentioned that the schools are not yet ready for the kind of pedagogy they are using and
advocating for in the new program. The teacher educator teaching arts and crafts mentioned that
in Pakistan such initiatives are taken very enthusiastically in the beginning but then they cannot
be maintained because the policies are made in the AC rooms in big cities. She mentioned that in
the rural areas where the teachers will go have no basic facilities like electricity. She says at the
time of planning if they involve teachers then they might be able to know the facts. She said:
The schools do not have even the basic facilities, there is no electricity and power, and
then how could the application of technology be possible. These all policies look great
but they are conceived in the AC rooms of Islamabad. There we do not even remember
that our kids learn under the burning sun and there are cattle grazing beside them. This
curriculum does not talk about it, it only talks about the high-fi things that might not even
be available in the American schools.
The teacher educator teaching science mentioned that the schools do not have facilities to
implement the new pedagogies and technologies. He mentioned that the schools neither have the
space nor the resources. He said “at elementary level schools do not have labs and science
equipment. Computers are also not available for teachers so using technology is out of question”.
In his view the student teachers can implement what they are learning in private schools only. In
his view the provincial government in Punjab is working on improving the conditions of schools
but it will take time so a quick change might not be visible.
146

It is evident that the university in Sindh was already offering B.Ed so the teacher
educators did not find it very odd to offer and undergraduate program at the university. While in
Punjab the university was not offering any undergraduate teacher education program so the
teacher educators were not ready and willing to adopt it. There were many similar opinions given
by the participant teacher educators, regarding student enrolment, and teachers’ readiness yet one
unique feature at Sindh was the time constraint. Due to continuous disturbance in the region
there were very few working days left and it was very hard for the teacher educators to finish the
required credit hours and cover the whole program plan.
Summary Points
•

The two expert members of NCRC showed their concerns about the new reform at
different levels. One was totally against the four year teacher education program due to
cultural context of Pakistan and idealistic approach of the reform. The other favored the
adoption of four year professional program design but was also concerned about the
idealistic approach of the reform. Both of them highlighted the challenging realities and
lack of ability and capacity at the colleges of education. In their opinion colleges of
education and public schools were yet not ready for such reform. One of the experts
(Prof. Anjum) said it more explicitly than the other, that the recent curriculum reform has
ignored the realities on the ground due to its out-side-in and top down approach.

•

The three teacher educators and the college principal at the college of education in Sindh
who participated in this study liked the new methods of teaching. They showed their
concerns about the student background that becomes a challenge for teaching the new
contents, adopting recommended methodologies and instruction in English. Selection of
materials was indicated as a troublesome task for teacher educators. They also expressed
147

frustration about the long courses and heavy workload within given time to cover the
courses in one semester. They identified the security issues during the restlessness in their
region and idealistic approach of curriculum planning as a challenge. All of them
implicitly pointed out the top down approach adopted in planning and implementation of
the curriculum reform.
•

The two teacher educators, one vice principal of girls’ college and a principal of boys’
college of education in KPK who participated in the study were all of the view that the
new teaching methods have improved classroom interaction. But they were concerned
about the student background and level of courses as well as additional burden in the
form of English language being the medium of instruction. The vice principal of girls
college again and again mentioned that teacher educators were finding it very difficult
and needed more support and training. One teacher educator showed his disagreement
upon extra influence on independent learning and adopting English as a medium of
instruction. The principal of boys’ college and vice principal of girls college mentioned
some missing contents that they thought were necessary for TE curriculum in Pakistan
but they expressed agony for the fact that their voices are not heard and the approach of
curriculum planning is not decentralized in real terms though it claimed so in the
beginning.

•

At the college of education in Punjab the two teacher educators perceived the new
methodologies highly effective yet they were more concerned about mismatch in the
student background and course contents. They showed their concerns over the assessment
procedures as well. According to them they could not play their part unless the culture of

148

supremacy of universities remains so; as the final examination is administered by the
universities which limits the real change in classrooms.
•

At the university in Sindh, both participants mentioned that the new methodologies of
teaching were not suitable for every classroom and for every teacher educators. They
showed their concerns over the procedures of course development and content selection.
They also highlighted that the content and activities were far too much to cover within
the time frame in a semester. These teacher educators were teaching the courses designed
by the curriculum teams working with USAID-TEP, so they found little space for
bringing any change or innovation by themselves. They found the curriculum reform
more idealistic and the teacher educators, student teachers and institutions not ready for
adopting such drastic changes. They identified teacher educators and student teachers of
their institution and affiliated colleges struggling with the new curriculum reform. This
again indicated that the reform planning was not bottom-up or decentralized as one of the
teacher educator explicitly mentioned that if practicing teacher educators had been a part
of the process they could have designed much more suitable curriculum.

•

At the university in Punjab the two teacher educators liked the new teaching
methodologies. One of them was of the view that four-year TE program was not suitable
for Pakistani cultural context and should not be offered at research institutions. The other
teacher educator was more concerned about program design and structure, especially the
ratio of content and methods courses. Both of them showed concern about student
background. The teacher educators at the university in Punjab were able to design their
own courses therefore they were much more satisfied with the content yet they were more

149

concerned about the overall program plan which was imposed on them in a top down
flow of orders.
•

Enrolment criteria for student teachers in science was highlighted by teacher educators at
colleges as well as universities and it was mentioned again and again that the students
coming from arts and humanities background could not learn the content given in the
basic content courses of science in the new curriculum. It was highlighted by many
participants that this point has been raised at many forums but this is significant evidence
that a bottom up voice is not being heard at all.

•

Conditions of public schools were identified as a big fear by all the participants. They
considered the physical environment and organizational culture not at all suitable for the
kind of teaching the new reform advocates. They all mentioned again and again that the
new TE curriculum is not preparing teacher educators for the real situation at the schools.
Decentralization of curriculum planning could have helped in making things work better.

150

Chapter 6

Resources and Practices at Two Colleges of Education
It is worth noticing that at the time of this study the teacher education curriculum reform
2010 had completed two years. The participants who agreed for observation of their classroom
sessions in the four institutions i.e. two universities and two colleges of education, were those
who have been teaching the new curriculum since 2010 when it was launched. First batch of
students in the new program had already completed first two years. It means at the two colleges
of education one batch had already completed Associate Degree of Education (ADE); while at
the two universities the first batch of students had now started their fifth semester in the B.Ed
Honors program. The experimental phase was almost over, National Curriculum Review
Committee (NCRC) had approved the final program plans and things seemed to be much in
place.
Looking at the curriculum documents and meeting the two members of NCRC during my
first visit, one could clearly infer that institutions will need of certain type of physical
infrastructure and resources for implementing new teacher education reform. Both of the two
local experts had pointed out the difference of availability of resources among universities and
colleges of education. Knowing the conditions of teacher education institutions through my own
previous experience I also believed that the reform changes are not very easy to implement
because the requisite materials, built spaces, resources and skills are not yet present in the
colleges and schools. In the words of one local expert and member of NCRC whom I talked to
during my first visit:

151

Definitely, that is why the teacher educators stick to the old curriculum due to shortage or
lack of these infrastructures, all these facilities in the classroom, comfortable interactive
classrooms or classroom size. For class size at colleges, there are 60 to 70 students and
room can only accommodate 50 and they have no space to move or to perform different
activities; so (improved) infrastructure is must for delivery of this content. (Interview,
June, 2012)
This sounded very similar to how Collins (1996) described that “the structure and
conception of school that evolved in the last century is quite incompatible with effective use of
new technologies” (p.61) while the education reforms were introducing more and more use of
technology in classrooms. Similarly according to the two local experts the teacher education
institutions in Pakistan are not designed for innovative teaching and learning practices or use of
multimedia resources. Thus I had decided that I shall begin to look at “institutional realities” not
only through the practices but also by looking at the physical infrastructures, built spaces
environments and the resources available for teaching and learning (Kennedy, 2005). I
hypothesized that sometimes what is called “inherent resistance to change” is not only due to the
people involved but also because of the limitations in physical structures and resources of the
institutions that hinders the change (Zhao & Frank, 2003). Once I was there in the institutions I
found all kinds of variations from classroom to classroom and from institution to institution.
Now I was learning that the curricular change will mean different things for different institutions,
not only because of the human element but also because of the limitations of resources and
utilities.
In this chapter I am presenting my analysis of data that I collected during second visit
through observations, pictures and conversations about the practices of planning, teaching and
152

student assessment, at the two colleges of education, one each in Sindh and Punjab only. I could
not visit the colleges of education in KPK again during my second visit; therefore this chapter
does not include further information and analysis about the two colleges of education in KPK.
This chapter is divided into two sections- each presents the situational analysis of current
practices of teacher educators in relation to resource need, availability and utility at the two
colleges of education- one in Sindh and one in Punjab.
Section I: College of Education in Sindh
The two institutions I visited in Sindh were situated in the same city. The city is located
in one of those regions that is going through a period of political and religious clashes and
anarchy for last many years. Lawlessness and mayhem within the city is reported every day.
During my first visit I did not stay in the city as my colleagues and fellows informed me of the
restlessness and disturbances. When I reached there and saw the larger than life-sized billboards
of political representatives and some local religious heads (‫ ) ﭘﻴﺮ‬everywhere around the city; I had
a weird feeling of existence of fascism in the environment. Every road and street in the center of
the city seemed to be owned by these frontrunners. During my second visit I decided to stay in
one of the hotels inside the main city area to have a closer look and experience the city life.
Most of the roads and streets were broken and dirty. But the billboards were big and high.
The only public transport I could find was rickshaws. The dirty roads and rickshaws, smelly
environment and overall atmosphere made me wonder why the people here follow and support
these political leaders when they don’t even have basic facilities provided to them. Later the fear
expressed by the college teachers helped me understand this more clearly. According to a teacher
educator at the college “people tend to associate themselves with one group against the other, to

153

feel safer”. Political group affiliation gives a false sense of security. I further asked if these
political leaders ever visit their institutions or help them in improving the conditions. She said
“they only come when there is some big celebration or a higher level meeting is held, we are not
allowed to talk to them directly”. She further explained that a hierarchical system was strictly
followed in all practices, so the higher authorities and officers could not be accessed by common
people very easily.
A teacher educator at the college of education mentioned many a times, how hard it was
for the female students and teachers to reach the college during the days of disorder around the
city. She said, “the girls come usually from far as the residential area is not near the college, it is
very risky but we have a rigid rule of seventy five percent attendance”. She told that she herself
travels an hour each way by rickshaw to and from her home. The college was in the middle of
busiest area of the city, where there were shops and restaurants all around. So the students and
teachers experience all sorts of difficulties to reach college. Within my two weeks’ stay in the
city there were two strikes one for the political reasons and the other for high fuel rates. Thus the
college was closed twice for three working days in one week and for two days in the second
week. I noticed one very clear characteristic of the citizens was to remain and behave normal in
all sorts of disturbances and keep life going on under any circumstances.
At the college of education in Sindh some major observations regarding planning and
classroom practices included the control and scarcity of resources affecting practical implications
of the reform. The teacher educators participating in this study had a routine of planning their
lessons in isolation and they were not using college time and resources for the planning. The
teacher educators were spending money out of their own pockets to fulfill the goals of lesson
planning and preparing materials. They showed frustration with the fact that they usually do not
154

get the resources they demand. But they also showed their enthusiasm as they put their best
personal efforts for student learning. They could not include technology effectively in their
classroom teaching due to lack of resources and training; and electricity shutdowns. Here are
some major findings with regards to physical resources and practices at the college of education
in Sindh.
Poorly maintained and limited use of physical infrastructure.
The college of education I visited in Sindh is more than hundred years old and it is one of
the oldest institutions of the region. The main building (figure 6.1) due to its old design has many
positive and negative features attached to it.
Figure 6.1 Old building of College of Education in Sindh

155

One of the major positive features of the old building is that it does not get very hot
during the severe hot weather. The rooms in the old building at the college of education in Sindh
include classrooms, library, computer lab, offices, teachers’ common room and a resource room.
The building had not been maintained so some parts of it were closed due to the hazard that it
can collapse any time. The old toilets in the college building are not useable any more therefore
with the new building a new toilet was built which is used by all the students.
The yard in the middle has plantation and building structure almost makes it impossible
to have any games or outdoor activities there. Second floor of the old college building is empty.
It is not being used at all. I was told that the upper story has safety hazards so that is not being
used any more. The principal told me “there is no maintenance and we have been requesting for
repairs”. There are two other parts of the building which were newly built through two different
donor-funded projects. One had an auditorium and the other had two classrooms. ADE classes
are held only in the two new classrooms. I never observed any inventive or innovative use of
space at this college. I never witnessed any games or any other physical activities during the two
weeks I spent there. According to the participating teacher educators they only design classroom
activities or some larger group activities in the auditorium. The only thing I witnessed at this
college in Sindh, happening other than classes, was preparation of Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi ( ‫ﻋﻴﺪ ﻣﻴﻼﺩ‬
‫ ,)ﺍﻟﻨﺒﯽ‬i.e. celebration of the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Even the
celebration was being delayed due to non-availability of the final guest list from the higher
authorities. Other than that I never witnessed any out of class activity for the students or teacher
educators.

156

Planning is an isolated practice for teacher educators.
The new teacher education reform and all the efforts made through professional
development forums in past few years were a step towards encouraging collaborative efforts’
culture at the institutions. But the very first observation regarding planning teaching-learning
activities at college of education in Sindh was that everyone was doing it in isolation. I never saw
any collective or one to one meeting among the teacher educators or students to discuss any
academic issues. The only time I saw teacher educators in a meeting was when the head of
institution called them and was explaining how to complete some paper work that is required by
the district office. All three teacher educators I talked to mentioned that they plan their lessons at
home. I noticed that at the college of education in Sindh teacher educators did not have their own
offices, though there was a common room for all of them (figure6.2). This place could have been
used for collaborative planning and discussions.

157

Figure 6.2. Common room for teacher educators at college of education in Sindh

All I could see was neatly placed tables, chairs and lockers. None of the teacher
educators mentioned that they ever use this place for an academic discussion or planning. I saw
teachers spending hours and hours sitting in the sunshine or in the common room depending
upon the weather. Some of them will get up only when they have class or when they need to go
out of the college for observing students during their practice teaching at a nearby school. I had
never seen any one of them reading a book or writing anything other than when some of them
were working on some registers and official documents.

158

I asked three teacher educators one by one if they use the common room for any other
purpose than sitting during the free hours. Three of them said they only get a few minutes during
the day to have a cup of tea, only one of them said, “we sit here during our free time and we
discuss our problems and issues related to work, we do not have time to chit chat since Pre-STEP
started, there is a lot of work”. I noticed that whenever program coordinator was around, only
then the space was used to report to her about work progress and maximum number of teacher
educators was then present in the common room.
No time during the working hours for planning. The centralized planning and tom down
implementation management had ignored many minute details, which could have been very
helpful in better utilization of time and resources at the institutions. All three teacher educators
participating in my study mentioned that they don’t get time for planning their lessons during
college time. The teacher educator teaching Math said, “I have three classes of first year and
three of the second year, then I also go for observation twice a week. There are two out of class
activities with each group and a library period too”. So according to her she has to spend two
three hours every day at home for preparing her lessons. The teacher educator teaching English
and Communication Skills said “things were going on a very fast pace in these two years.
Courses were still under experimentation, classes were being observed and students started their
practicum”. So in her view all activities were going on simultaneously during the weekdays
which did not give them any time left for planning. She said “I always do planning at home and I
do that only on weekends. There I have my books and internet is available too if I need. It is not
possible to do it at college”. Only the vice principal who was teaching Computer literacy
mentioned that she plans her lessons at college after the working hours. She said she does not

159

have computer at home and the student teachers who were staying at hostel could help her during
her planning so she preferred to do it in college lab.
Almost no collaboration with university teachers. All three college teacher educators
mentioned that they never plan their lesson in collaboration with fellow university teacher
educators. They all mentioned that during the first year of new program launch university teacher
educators used to come with the USAID-TEP team and observe their lessons. The teacher
educator teaching computer related courses said “in the beginning teacher educators were getting
irritated as all the time someone was sitting in their classes and observing them. But they only
observed and guided us about the activity based learning and pedagogy”. She informed me that
during the second year the university teacher educators rarely ever came or discussed anything
with them. The only one incident she could remember was when USAID-TEP team organized a
meeting for them to discuss the final exams. The teacher educator teaching Math and Science
mentioned that some of the siblings of her students were studying at the university so she could
only find out through them what was being done at the university in the same courses as she was
teaching. She also mentioned that she either takes help from her own children at home how to
search materials on the net or she calls the USAID-TEP coordinator whenever she cannot
understand something or needs some guidance.
Thus at the college of education most of the teacher educators were planning their lessons
at home and it was quite an isolated activity for them in which they could not consult or discuss
with their colleagues. They only had some initial “guidance” from the university teachers and
foreign experts in the first year of reform, but now that practice had also discontinued. With the
passage of time they had come back to an isolated planning culture that could take away the
essence of collaboration which was one of the major features of the recent reform.
160

Resources available at the college cannot be used for lesson planning.
An administrative control over the resources was also one of the major observations at
the college of education in Sindh. Inaccessibility of resources can hinder the process of bringing
reforms at practice level in institutions and classrooms. Teachers and students when get stuck
into the procedures of getting permissions, approvals and yet sometimes cannot reach the
required resources even if they are available at the institution, it becomes really frustrating. The
kind of change suggested in the teacher education reform required easy access to resources for
teachers and students so that they could utilize them for learning purposes. I could see two
possible hindrances in the way of positive change one could be the teacher educators’ habits or
ignorance and the other might be the authoritative control over resources which is evident
through locked laboratory, resource room and library book cases. It was a common notion of all
the three teacher educators participating in my study that they cannot use the resources available
at college for their planning practices. Either the resources were not suitable for the new
program, like they mentioned the old books in the library, or access to the resources was an issue
and they didn’t have time during the day for lesson planning.
I also noticed that even the curriculum course packs were also kept under the custody of
the head of institution. I saw teacher educators coming in the office and asking for it. The vice
principal had a logbook, in which she noted who took which booklet and who returned when.
Other than the computer laboratory there was no other place where a computer was made
available for searching or preparing materials. I saw an old computer in a corner of the common
room, but it did not even have all its parts; there was no keyboard and mouse (figure 6.3).

161

Figure 6.3. A Computer Skeleton Placed in Teachers' Common Room at College of
Education in Sindh

I asked one of the teacher educators at the college of education in Sindh if the computer
was ever working and they were using it for the planning purposes, or searching materials online.
She told me that since it has been there in the common room she never saw anyone using it. She
also said “maybe there was no other place available to keep it, and that is why it is placed here”.
Participating teacher educators did not have their books, portfolios, and materials at the college.
They kept their resources at homes. A teacher educator teaching English and Communication
Skills said “here sometimes we do not have electricity, sometimes computers don’t work; so I
plan for the whole week at home during the weekend, this is why I keep my books at home”.
162

Electricity was a big issue mentioned by every participant. During my second visit there was a
regular electricity shutdown (rationing) from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm. It affected the routine of
every teacher educator.
Library. Library, in the recent reform when text book culture is being diminished,
becomes a basic necessity for teacher educators as well as the student teachers. I spent a couple
of hours every day in the library at college of education in Sindh, during different timings, and
never saw any teacher educator coming in to get a book or to sit and read something from those
locked bookshelves. Only once or twice some teachers were seen sitting with the librarian while
having a cup of tea and reading newspaper. There were locks on all book cases (figure 6.4). No
one could take out a book to read without the permission of the librarian.
Figure 6.4. Library at College of Education in Sindh

163

During my two weeks’ visit I found this to be the most silent and non-visited room in the
whole building. I never saw anyone sitting in the library reading a book. I spent many hours
there and all I could witness was a few teachers coming there occasionally to read newspapers. I
also noticed two bookcases full of books labeled as “donated by USAID” (figure 6.5).
Figure 6.5. Books Donated by USAID

It was evident from the books in packages that most of them were not touched by anyone.
The teacher educators whom I interviewed did not even know about these books; and they said
they have their own reference books that they use. They could not tell me exactly if the students
could ever get these books to read. They said the other bookshelves with the older books were
164

mostly used by all. They informed me that students had a specified library period twice a week
and they could only come then. They could study books under the supervision of their teachers.
They could only check out books when the assignments were due, but that happened rarely. As
mentioned by the three participating teacher educators the common trend was that students use
photocopied notes and their own books or internet resources at homes. It is important to note that
not every student has internet at home. Another significant observation that I noted in my daily
logs was that there was not a single research journal available in the library while the reform
planners talked much about helping teacher educators and student teachers to learn through the
latest researches in their fields. Having limited library resources, or minimal use of the available
ones is definitely contradictory to the claims of creating a research and academic culture under
the new TE reform.
Resource room and science equipment. In the old building at the college of education in
Sindh, one of the rooms that always remain locked is the resource room. The control and
authority that flows from top till the institutional level has made it difficult for teacher educator
even to take maximum benefit of whatever is available to them. The resource room looked like a
big storeroom and the dust on most of the things was showing that someone rarely touches them
(figure 6.6).

165

Figure 6.6. Resource Room at College of Education in Sindh

Theresource room was always kept locked from the outside. To show me the resource
room the vice-principal came herself to open it. Entering the room she said, “I cannot give keys
to anyone, these people are careless, so I always make sure this resource room is only opened
under my supervision”. The objects lying there were mostly models and teaching aids made by
the students of old programs. The vice principal who also taught Computer Literacy told me that
students used to make these models and teaching aids to present them at the time of their “final
lessons” in the old programs. She mentioned it with pride and was making a point that how
strong was the old plan of study. She said “I feel so proud to show these things, students used to
make all these and other things by themselves in the old programs, it was a very skillful and
166

informative activity”. This room was used as a workshop while the old programs were being
offered. According to the vice principal it was a better learning experience for students than just
searching on internet and preparing multimedia presentations. She said, “in the new program
they place more emphasis on classroom activities and use of technology”. So now they don’t
make such models anymore.
I realized that they only do whatever is scripted in the new curriculum outlines. They
have stopped their old practices even knowing that the old practices were much useful for
teacher learning. Showing the pictures I asked a teacher educator if the teaching aids in the
storeroom were ever used in teacher education classrooms or in lab school. She told me that
these are kept under the lock unless someone is coming to inspect and then they exhibit it. The
teacher educator said “it has not happened now for years, so these things just remain here. Earlier
we used to have annual day at college and we used to have an exhibition”. In her view the new
curriculum focuses more on student activities which are different than preparing models or using
them in classrooms. There was no science laboratory at the college of education in Sindh. There
was only some basic science apparatus stored in the resource room (figure 6.7).

167

Figure 6.7. Things Placed Inside Resource Room at College of Education in Sindh

The teacher educator teaching science at the college of education in Sindh explained that
she had to set up a table in the classroom or verandah whenever she needed to demonstrate some
experiment for student teachers. She said “it takes much effort before and after the class” so she
could always do that. I could see that only to use any of the materials, one would need to get
permission and key from the principal’s office, and getting them out and using will be a longer
process for sure. Plus there was not much of the equipment that I could think is enough for the
new curriculum needs. I had seen the curriculum outlines and teacher educators could have
created very interesting activities for the topics under discussion if they had the space and
equipment available.
168

Computers and internet. I noticed that the computer in the teachers’ common room was
not usable and the computer lab always remained locked unless there was a class going on. The
only other time it was opened was when I or someone from USAID-TEP team wanted to talk to
the teachers in privacy. The teacher educator teaching English and Communication Skills
mentioned that major reason for her to plan her lessons at home was that “we do not have enough
resources available here. The library does not have the books I need. Computers often don’t
work and we often do not have electricity”. There were regular electricity shutdowns (rationing)
during the college hours for three to four hours every day. This and other technical issues with
the computers as well as non-availability of resources were forcing teachers to plan and prepare
their lessons at home.
The teacher educator teaching math explained that she always needed help while using
computers and there was no one at the college who could provide that kind of support. She said
“I have never used computers before and during the training they only taught us the basics. For
internet search and to download materials I seek help from my husband and children at home”.
She mentioned that she is fascinated by the materials she finds online but she can rarely include
any online or computer based activity in her lessons. She said “only one or two computers are
attached to internet at the college”. I suggested her to use multimedia projector and she said, “I
don’t know how to use it and I don’t want to damage it. I always need someone to help me and
others don’t have time they are also busy with their work”. Only the computer teacher who was
also the vice principal mentioned that she plans hands on activities for students and she uses
online resources more than books. She said, “I often sit after college hours and search for
materials, sometimes I ask student teachers to search for me”. She also mentioned that she still
doesn’t feel confident enough to work alone on computers so she asked student teachers living in
169

hostel to stay with her after college time and search materials online. Having less skills and no
technical support was hindering teacher educator adopt one of the major reform agendas i.e.
effective use of technology.
Teachers do not demand anymore and use their own resources.
The three teacher educators at various points expressed their agitation about the fact that
their requests for more learning resources are mostly turned down. All three of them conveyed
the same message during their conversations with me that they do not put up any requests
anymore as they know they would get a negative response. The teacher educator showing me the
resource room mentioned that she could only demonstrate a few experiments and none of the
students get a chance to have hands on practice. She said, “I wish they do the experiments
themselves but I do not have enough things and what if something breaks”. She wanted the
students to conduct the experiments as well, but she did not have enough things for all and if
something breaks it takes ages to get it replaced. So she said, “I only demonstrate a few simple
experiments from the curriculum that do not need much equipment” and for that she puts in all
the efforts of setting up the things before class and putting them back in the resource room
afterwards.
The English language teacher while telling me how she feels about lack of resource
materials mentioned that she had demanded a tape recorder many a times but has not got any
positive response. In her view a tape recorder and player was a better device as they could use
batteries in it. She identified the need of model conversations and speech styles to help the
student teachers learning how to converse or speak in English. She mentioned that after asking
many time at the end she stopped asking for it. She said, “I look for online materials and try to
make it possible for students to watch it or listen to it, but that is only possible when we have
170

electricity and computers are working”. In her view she could help students read and write well
but teaching them verbal skills is not possible without effective resources.
Noticing that there were no audio-visual or other electronic or digital resources available
in the library or elsewhere; I inquired from the teachers if they ever used any electronic resources
like some educational software or CDs, and they said they never thought of it. At some points I
felt that teacher educators did not even know or were not informed about how much resources
they have at the college. For instance a science teacher at the college in Sindh was suggesting
that there should be a portable computer and multimedia system in the college which can be
moved from one place to another. I noticed this movable work station right behind her while she
was talking to me (figure 6.8).
Figure 6.8. A Portable Workstation at College of Education in Sindh

171

At the end of the conversation I asked her if she knows what is in this locked and chained
steel-cupboard, but she did not even know what that was! I had seen it already being used in a
college in Islamabad so I knew what it was. I could not ignore the fact that a common
characteristic among the teacher educators I interacted with at the college in Sindh was not to
inquire or talk about things with other teachers as they were telling me. A collaborative approach
seemed to be missing. Maybe they had never talked about these things, and they clearly had not
received any professional development to support them in the use of teaching-learning materials
that they have available to them. It was clear that the teacher educators did not have much
experience and needed more professional support to learn new ways of utilizing the available
resources effectively.
Textbooks versus other resources. All three teacher educators at the college of education
in Sindh mentioned that they do not use a single book for preparing their lessons and teaching;
rather they were mostly using a set of few books that they owned. The teacher educator teaching
English and Communication Skills mentioned that she has a set of books that she collected
during her foreign visits and some were given by the USAID-TEP coordinator during
professional development workshops. She mentioned the reference books recommended in the
course packs were not available locally and about the web resources she said “I’d prefer if they
had given a shorter list. Most of the websites do not open”. She also explained that she had to go
through every website herself before recommending it to student teachers. She said many of
them contain materials which are either not “age appropriate” or are not “culturally approved”.
The math and science teacher informed me that she was using “text books of math” but she was
not using local text books rather she was convinced that “oxford text books of elementary level”
were enough for the content she needed to cover. She also informed me that a couple of books
172

were provided by the USAID-TEP coordinator during professional development workshops. She
said she only used web resources to design classroom activities and to get some innovative ideas.
I could see that the teacher educators had adopted the non-textbook agenda firmly. They had
developed a set of resources for their own use and were now sticking to it, which was better than
sticking to only one text book as they used to in past. Availability of online journals and
resources could have improved the scenario even better but they were trying their best with what
they had.
Photocopy and Printing. Having textbooks in past never required teacher educators and
student teachers to print or photocopy any other published materials. Teacher educators and
student teachers could buy those textbooks from the market. But now the case is different, as
teacher educators were providing photocopied or printed materials from various resources so the
need of photocopying and printing had increased. All three teacher educators as well as the
principal of college of education in Sindh informed me that there was a printer at the college but
they did not have enough budget to use it for printing other than official documents and papers.
Now that there was no text book under the new reform and the tradition of dictating notes in
classrooms is over, all teacher educators had to print and photocopy materials for classroom use.
The English and Communication Skills teacher informed me that she does not give notes other
than handouts in groups. She said “I prefer to make jigsaw or some other activity for providing
them the materials. Then it is up to them if they want they can get photocopies of the materials
we are using”. I observed that all the students had the same photocopied materials for the
classroom discussion in a class of Communication Skills. The teacher educator told me that she
had provided only one copy in groups and every student then got it copied for herself.

173

Two other teacher educators teaching Math and Computer at the college of education
mentioned that it is costing a lot to them as well as to students. The teacher educator teaching
Math said “in the beginning they were getting scholarships from Pre-STEP (USAID-TEP) and
many of the students were living in hostel so the cost wasn’t much for them, but now I think it
will be tough for new students”. She also elaborated that when there were textbooks it was
affordable but now they had to spend a lot. She showed her concern for teacher educators as well
as the students. According to her this college caters population from the city and surrounding
rural areas. She alleged that once the scholarship support would be over students could not
continue to spend so much. She said, “I spend almost Rs.100 every week only on photocopies, I
am sure every teacher cannot afford it”. The computer teacher also mentioned that initially
student teachers also showed resistance but then they were told they must spend from their
scholarship money on printing and photocopying. She also mentioned that from the third year
onward the newly enrolled students will not get any scholarship funding and it will be hard for
them to meet the expenses.
The participant teacher educators mentioned again and again that for the new curriculum
they had purchased their own sets of books that they use for planning their lessons, other than
that they sometimes took help of internet resources. All three of them mentioned that they bought
the books on their own expense while only one or two of them were given to them during the
professional development training. English and Math teachers mentioned that none of those
books that they use were available for student use at the college library. They said the students
only get photocopied chapters and sections as per requirement. To my question about copyright
issues none of them had any information if there is any recommended policy at the institutional
level.
174

Preparing low cost teaching aids. Despite all the challenges, the teacher educators I
talked to seemed to be very enthusiastic and willing to perform their best. They like the active
learning strategies and were trying their best to improve classroom culture. As per Fullan’s
(1993) idea of “change agentry” I could see that this is the real strength which hasn’t been
identified as such in old policies and recent reform. These teacher educators were so proud of
their hand work they have been doing in old and new programs. I could see that there were a lot
of charts presented in classrooms (figure 6.9).
Figure 6.9. Materials Presented inside Classrooms at College of Education in Sindh

175

The two new classrooms where ADE classes were held had whiteboards to write and soft
boards to display materials. Initially there were chalkboards in these rooms but I could see that
white boards were put up on top of it. All four walls of classrooms were full of charts about
various topics from the curriculum of different subject areas. The teacher educator teaching math
told me it was all made by teacher educators and also student teachers as a part of their
assignments. They had used vibrant colors and various materials to develop these charts and
pictures.
Science and Math Teacher also showed me some low cost materials that she uses as
teaching aids (figure 6.10).

176

Figure 6.10. Low Cost Materials used by Math Teacher at College of Education in
Sindh

The science and math teacher educator at the college of education in Sindh seemed so
happy telling me how she used the old file covers and other things to make flash cards and other
material to be used in classroom. She had collected bottle covers, coins, straws, tins and other
stuff to use in various activities. According to her if they did not have enough resources they try
to manage it through such no cost materials. She was trying her best to keep her students actively
engaged in learning. She said she believed math could not be understood with traditional
methods. She mentioned that her students praised her active learning methods. This was mostly

177

her own innovative thinking and skills that she was using to keep her students’ interest high in
her classroom.
The teacher educator teaching Math said, “students mostly present their model lessons
and assignments individually and in groups, using whiteboard and charts only”. She informed me
that they could rarely use multimedia as the science and math teacher educator said “to use
multimedia we need to set it up here, I don’t know how to do that, I need someone to come and
help me and I don’t know if at that time someone would be free when I need help”. She admitted
that the trainings were not enough for her to be prepared to use multimedia, even though
multimedia presentations were recommended in the new curriculum, but she couldn’t manage
that. She herself always needed help with technology, therefore she avoids using multimedia.
A Computer teacher and a Math and Science teacher at the college of education in Sindh
mentioned that they do not get support from the college for developing teaching-learning
resources. They usually do not have printing facilities available at the college. Sometimes due to
electricity shutdowns and at other instances they are told reasons like the printer is not working
or there is no more printing paper available. Hence the teachers use their personal resources and
even for photocopying handouts or notes, they pay from their own pocket. This limits them from
doing what they really want to do to improve their teaching and student learning. Explaining it
all a Math and Science teacher said “I only do as much as I possibly could”.
Classroom teaching and learning practices.
Physical environment and facilities. There was a remarkable difference among old and
new classrooms at the college of education in Sindh. ADE classes for the first two batches were
being conducted in the two newly built classrooms (figure 6.11).

178

Figure 6.11. Two New Classrooms at College of Education in Sindh

A teacher educator teaching science at the college of education in Sindh said “the kind of
activities we need to do, cannot be performed in the old rooms with the old desks”. The old
classrooms neither had the space nor the furniture that could allow the kind of student activities
recommended in the new reform. Therefore it was decided to hold the classes in new classrooms.
When there is no class being held the new classrooms are remained locked and not used for any
other purpose.
The two new classrooms were more spacious and are better lit than the old classrooms
(figure 6.12).

179

Figure 6.12. Inside New Classrooms at College of Education in Sindh

The new furniture seemed much more suitable for various activities and group work in
classroom. There were chairs and tables which can be easily moved. I noticed all sorts of charts
and other aids for teaching and learning, mounted on the walls. The old classrooms had
blackboards and the two new classrooms had whiteboards. I observed classes in both the old and
new rooms. The visibility in case of white boards is better than in case of old blackboards. In the
new classrooms I observed three classes. When there was no electricity and it was cloudy
outside, it was really hard to see the board and even writing in my own notebook. I was also
informed by the science teacher that not many institutions in Sindh have such classrooms and
furniture. She said “you will mostly find the old style buildings, classrooms and furniture in all
180

other colleges”. She explained that only under some projects through foreign donor agencies
such classrooms and furniture was made available at a few institutions.
The old classrooms at the college of education in Sindh were big enough but the building
was very old, therefore not all rooms could be used. Thus two classes were taught in each room
where the lighting was not enough, and the windows of most of the classrooms were kept closed
that caused issues of low light and high humidity (figure 6.13).
Figure 6.13. Old classrooms at College of Education in Sindh

The old building was mainly being used for the lab elementary school where the student
teachers were to go and practice teaching. Hence for their own teaching learning activities they
have the newly built, spacious classrooms but for practice teaching they go and practice in those
181

dark and humid classrooms. Yet it was perturbing that the lab school within the vicinity of
college had no learning aids in the classroom, not even charts on the walls. I observed student
teachers bringing some materials with them to the classrooms and practicing using them. In one
period of about 35 minutes two student teachers were trying to deliver two different lessons
simultaneously in a multi-grade classroom. I don’t think it was possible for the elementary
school students to grasp so quickly the material they were presented for a few minutes only. The
charts and pictures that student teachers pasted on the blackboard were not completely visible to
all the students; I could not see them fully from the very last bench where I sat for observation.
The presented materials were taken off in a few minutes as the teacher had to write on the same
board where she pasted the charts and pictures. Thus it was impossible for them to conduct the
suggested activities and manage the presentation of recourse material in such physical
conditions.
Each room in the old building had two classes sitting under one roof so the space is over
occupied in the classrooms. Sometimes two teachers teach in these classrooms at a time, while in
others there was multi-grade teaching being practiced by single teacher that causes noise and
disturbance. There were wooden desks and benches that do not allow much mobility. I observed
teachers trying to limit the classroom activities during practice teaching, and it ruined the whole
impact of the lesson. For instance two student teachers practicing their lessons in one classroom
had to divide their time. Since one of them was teaching the other was only trying to keep her
group of students quiet. She clearly did not know what else to do. I could see both of these
student teachers trying to involve students in some group work but they did not have any space
for students’ group work as they had planned. So they were only relying upon individual work
mostly. One of them tried to do a coloring activity but then she realized the color pencils and
182

other things needed by the students are not available. The teacher educator at the end only
discussed the usefulness of the planned activities with the two student teachers but never spoke
to them about the issues of multi-grade teaching in one classroom or about having lesser space
and resources.
Teacher-centered classroom environment. The teacher educators informed me about all
the new “andragogy and pedagogy” they had learned about during the professional development
trainings under the new reform. The teacher educator teaching English and Communication
Skills at the college of education in Sindh mentioned how she has to begin with the new students
from very basic level. She said “they come from rural areas and don’t even know how to write
their names in English, many of them cannot speak a single sentence when they came to us”.
According to her first she had to teach them basic language skills and only then she can prepare
them for teaching. I observed in her class that she adopted a very directive approach. She asked
questions from specific students. Even during the activity of debate she chose the topic she
picked the girls to speak. I had noted down that only three to four students were responding to
her questions and participating in the class. Later she explained that students have strong habits
formed during twelve years of their schooling. She mentioned that it is not easy for them to
speak and communicate in English. But she had made it a rule to only speak in English in the
classroom as per demand of the new curricular reform.
The Math teacher on the other hand had designed more inclusive activities and I found
students more involved with the interactive lesson she had planned. She also had another teacher
educator assisting her in managing the class, who mainly helped in arranging things and
managing student activity. It was evident in her classroom again that everything is designed and
directed by the teacher only. She also mentioned similar reasons that student teachers are mostly
183

coming from a background where they have not learned to be independent enough. She said “all
I can do is to design such activities that they all participate in it and remain active”. She made
sure that every group member was working and actively participating, though again only four
group leaders always responded to her questions.
Minimum use of technology. One chief element of the new TE curriculum reform was
effective use of technology in teaching and learning. In the new prospectus of the ADE program
for Sindh, this college is mentioned as one of the oldest colleges, and among the resources there
is a computer lab with internet facility and a library. I also noticed in the prospectus that 50
percent of the student fee goes towards computer lab, library and science lab funds. However,
even these resources are not always available for teacher educators and student teachers.
All three teacher educators showed urge to learn and improve their lessons but they also
pointed out the obstacles which do not let them bring real reform. There was only one electricity
socket to plug in any electronic device in the classroom. I could see that even the new classrooms
were not designed initially for using multiple media. They always had to go to the computer lab
for using multimedia and the lab was not fully functional so she was not using it. Two teacher
educators at the college of education in Sindh also mentioned that the internet is always very
slow and worked only on one or two computer. In a period of 45 minutes there was not enough
time to move from one room to another, and then to do browsing, viewing, selecting and
downloading. The computer lab always remained locked and could only be opened with the
permission of the vice principal. She did not give keys to anyone but always came and opened
the lab herself. In the first look the lab looked well equipped with 25 computers in it (figure
6.14), however, I did not see any of the computers in use during any of my visits.

184

Figure 6.14. Computer lab at College of Education in Sindh

The teacher educators and the college head in Sindh, whom I talked to, informed me that
mostly only five or maximum ten computers out of 25 are actually working. The computers that
once have some error were never repaired. They did not have any technical support staff and
according to the vice principal “it takes ages to put up a request and get some help from the
district education department”. The internet was only available on one computer during the days
when I was there. The teacher educator who was teaching Computer Literacy course also
mentioned that lab was designed in such a way that it was impossible for her to reach every
student while working on the computers because there was no space to move between the fixed
tables in the lab. According to her the new students needed maximum help because majority of
185

them had never touched a computer before arriving at the college. The two other teachers
teaching at the college of education in Sindh mentioned that they did not bring their students to
the lab anymore because of three reasons, first was that all computers did not work and it was
difficult for them to manage the work on only a few; second that electricity was shut down
during the day usually so the computers did not work at all, and third that they needed technical
assistance which was not available.
When utilities as basic as electricity are missing in the college, there is very little chance
that the use of technology recommended in the TE curriculum reform can be implemented with
any success. Teacher educators can only utilize the available resources to a limit. The classrooms
are dark and not at all made for severe weather resistance. Listening to all the stories, witnessing
a shortage and low maintenance of physical resources, and observing all the efforts of teacher
educators in these difficult settings I realized that reform is definitely not as easy a task as it
seems through reading the project reports. It was clear from the observations and conversing
with the participant teacher educators that there was little support to resolve issues of access to
the resources at the college of education in Sindh. Teacher educators were putting in their best
efforts and they wanted to use technology and they wanted to adopt innovative teaching and
learning practices but they could not do much beyond certain limits. As per Fullan’s (1993)
lessons if they were given a chance to be vocal and active in the reform the teacher educators at
colleges could prove themselves to be the real change agents; but for that they needed an
ownership and sense of autonomy instead of imposed control through top down authoritative
management.

186

Section II: A College of Education in Punjab
The college of education that I visited in Punjab is in one of the small but developed
cities of Punjab. The first thing I noticed in the city was the extremist slogans on the streets and
walls as well as banners on the gas stations stating that they condemn certain religious minorities
and support certain religious pressure groups. But I could also see huge malls and hotels here and
there, so could not figure how rigid the people are in terms of religious restrictions. Rickshaw
was again the main public transport that I could use. The roads were much better built than the
city I visited in Sindh, and the vehicles were well maintained, so the ride was much smoother.
The staff at the hotel where I stayed was always disturbed and even mentioned it a few times that
being a single female, I should better get the food in my room instead of eating in the dining hall.
These experiences gave the impression of a conservative mindset of the natives.
The college of education that I visited in Punjab was chosen as one of the eight
pioneering colleges for launching the ADE program under the new reform. It is categorized as a
boys’ college but majority of the students enrolled in ADE are females. This college is located
on a road that is famous for having many educational institutions on it. The college campus faces
the front of a mini-campus of University of Education, which has its main two campuses in
another city of Punjab. There is no boundary wall between the college and the university
campus. The main gate for the two institutions is the same but then there is a separate entrance
for each one. Both offer under graduate and Master level programs and enroll almost the same
number of students every semester. Following are some major observations and findings
regarding physical resources and practices of teacher educators at the college of education in
Punjab.

187

Looking at the physical spaces and resources at the college of education in Punjab and
talking to the participant teacher educators it seemed they have much better resources provided
by at the institution, than in the college of education in Sindh. They were utilizing the resources
more efficiently though still I could see some gaps. The teacher educators I interviewed as well
as the principal of college seem highly proactive and enthusiastic about getting more and more
resources for the students. Both the teacher educators and the college head informed me that they
have already forwarded requests for science laboratory and more multimedia projectors and
computers to be installed in classrooms. As far as teachers’ made resources are concerned I
found the teacher educators putting their best efforts to provide as much learning materials to the
students as possible. They were also spending from their own pockets to ensure that students
may get enough learning resources. Here again the classroom teaching and learning practices
very innovative and involving yet everything was excessively teacher centered.
Well-maintained and better utilized physical spaces and resources.
The college of education in Punjab has a well-maintained building with open lawns and
grounds that are used by the students to play games and sit around. The landscaping and
cleanliness in the open yards and grounds is remarkable (figure 6.15).

188

Figure 6.15. Landscaping at College of education in Punjab

The main building has four parts to it. The two parts at the front side have offices,
teachers’ common room, computer and science laboratories, library and e-library, while the
building at the back has all the classrooms, a big hall and some individual teacher educator
offices (figure 6.16).

189

Figure 6.16. College Building of College of Education in Punjab

The building of college of education in Punjab is not very new yet very well maintained
and gardeners have done a marvelous job with the plantation. I could not stop comparing it with
the low maintenance of the building and compound of the college of education in Sindh. But I
also reminded myself of the scarcity of human resource in Sindh where I had seen one support
staff doing three different jobs at a time, and being told off for something which might not be
included in his job specifications. Students were not only sitting in groups but I also found some
male students playing cricket. I was also informed me that student teachers practice various
games and participate at provincial level games with other colleges and universities. Other
resources were also in a much better situation than the college in Sindh.
190

Science lab. Even having a separate room set up for the science laboratory at the college
of education in Punjab, it was not functional, the students do not come here for experimentation.
The college of education in Punjab had a large room designated for science laboratory, though
the apparatus available for conducting experiments was not enough (figure 6.17).
Figure 6.17. Science Laboratory at College of Education in Punjab

Inside the room, tables and chairs were just stacked in and were extremely dusty. The
cupboards had locks on them and there was a bird’s nest fallen on one of the table which was just
lying there. The walls and side racks had some charts and models displayed. The teacher
educator teaching science told that they were not using this as a laboratory until proper apparatus
and equipment was purchased. He pointed out that with the apparatus available for teaching he
191

could only demonstrate some experiments in classroom. While showing me around and later
talking to me looking at the pictures I had taken, he reported that they did not have enough
materials and apparatus for all the students to use though they had put up demand for setting up a
sophisticated laboratory. So the only option was demonstration of science experiments by the
teacher.
I found all this similar to how the things were at the college in Sindh; but the major
difference I could see was in the range of equipment available for science teaching and also there
were no controlled mechanism for getting permissions. Although there were locks on the
resource room and on the cupboards, but they keys were not in the custody of the principal or
vice principal. The keys were with the administrative staff who was responsible for maintenance
of equipment and would always not only provide anything the teacher educators need, rather
would help them as well in taking it out and setting up. The easy access was enabling teachers to
make frequent use of the resources. The teacher educator also reported that they have put up an
application for setting up a well-equipped science lab. According to him and the principal the
new lab was expected to be installed in a few months. Science lab resources were necessary to
fulfill the requirements of new curriculum which stresses upon independent and active learning.
Library. As mentioned earlier in the absence of textbooks library plays a vital role at
intuitional level. There was a better established and maintained library in the college of
education in Punjab (figure 6.18), than at the college of education Sindh. It was spacious enough
and there was a wide range of old and new books. Yet again there were no research journals
there as well.

192

Figure 6.18. Library at College of Education in Punjab

The library books were placed in open bookshelves. The librarian and the teacher
educator teaching Islamiat at the college of education in Punjab informed me that ADE students
come to the library twice a week. I once witnessed a group of more than twenty students in the
library; at that time some of them were getting books out of the shelves and while others were
already sitting around the tables with some books and notebooks in front of them. Two teachers
were there one was discussing something with the students sitting around the table and the other
was sitting with the librarian. At two other instances I visited the library to capture some
photographs, each time I went there were two or three teacher educators in the library reading

193

newspapers or books. Once I noticed a female teacher sitting in a chair with some books on the
table and probably she was making some notes.
The two teacher educators I talked to at the college of education in Punjab told me that
although there is always one teacher supervising the student teachers during their library period;
but the students choose their reading materials themselves. The teacher mentioned that students
could get the books checked out but that usually happens only when they had assignments. They
also used downloaded materials from online resources. They were not in the habit of getting the
books checked out for reading in routine. None of the two teacher educators mentioned that they
ever asked or encouraged students to read materials other than what they give in the form of
photocopies or reference lists.
The new TE curriculum reform reinforces more and more use of library resources by
teacher educators as well as by the student teachers. The list of books and websites at the end of
each unit in the curriculum document clearly emphasizes the significance of reading and
researching. But at the institutional level only availability of a library is not enough until the
teacher educators and student teachers make it a habit to read and use books and other materials
in their teaching learning activities. The library at this college of education seems to fulfill the
basic needs but the practices of teacher educators and students still seem to be very limited with
regard to using library resources. Teachers mentioned they don’t get enough time to sit and read
and students usually come only during library periods or for obtaining books relevant to some
particular assignment or project. The science teacher also mentioned there are very few new
books available, especially science books are expensive so they don’t have more than a single
copy of a just a few of them.

194

Computer labs. The college of education in Punjab has two fully functional computer
labs (figure 6.19). One is named as e-library and the other is called computer laboratory as per
their use.
Figure 6.19. E-library at College of Education in Punjab

This room has fifteen computers. It is called an e-library. All of the computers are
connected to the internet. I spent many hours in this room because all the participants wanted me
to talk to them in this room. The vice principal has his office in the corner of this room. I
interviewed teacher educators as per their choice in that glass cabin. One of the reasons can be
that in summer it had the air conditioning and in winter it had heating on all the time. May be the

195

participants wanted me to be comfortable. I observed many students and teachers coming in and
working on these computers during the day. I saw students working and discussing some
assignments with a teacher educator sitting in the lab. I saw only a few teachers searching for
resources on net. One teacher was there every day looking for scholarships to go abroad for
studies. He even asked me questions about that. Others were uploading their profiles as the
department of education; Punjab had demanded it.
A printer is attached to one system and no one can take print without the permission of
the teacher educator in-charge of this e-library. Many teachers themselves do not know much
about using computers so they seek help from either the person in-charge or from the students
sitting and working there. The computer screens, computer bodies and printer here tell that the
lab equipment is not very old and is well maintained. The e-library has air conditioners which
remain on all the time during summer; and during winter an electric heater remains on all the
time. I noticed this was another cause of attraction for teachers to spend more time here than at
any other place in the college, as some of them only came to have a cup of tea during the break
time.
The other lab (figure 6.20) at the college of education in Punjab is equipped with 35
computers, a printer and a multimedia projector. Internet is also available here but not on all
computers.

196

Figure 6.20. Computer lab at College of Education in Punjab

The teacher educator teaching Islamiat at the college of education in Punjab showing me
around told that this bigger lab was mainly used for students learning about computer literacy,
ICT and other such courses. The students from other classes only come here sometimes for
presentations. There was technical staff available and a computer lab assistant was there too to
help students and teachers. I saw many students and teacher educators working on various
workstations. Upon inquiring I was told this lab remains open until 7:00 pm and any student or
teacher can come and work here unless a class is going on.

197

The availability and utilization of computers and internet resources at the colleges in
Sindh and Punjab was remarkably different from each other. In Sindh only one computer was
connected to internet and even that could not be accessed without the permission of head of the
institution. In Punjab a whole lab is called e-library and is open for use by teacher educators as
well as the students. The new TE curriculum reform encourages students and teachers to use
more and more online resources, the presence of e-resources in Punjab is definitely more helpful
for implementing the kind of changes suggested in the new curriculum reform.
Planning is an isolated activity for teacher educators.
At the college of education in Punjab after meeting the principal, on the first day of the
visit, I was lead to the e-library where the vice principal also has his office in a corner in a glass
cabin. I was told that the teacher educators spend most of their spare time here so I can meet
them and talk to them freely. In this e-library, which is accessible to teacher educators and
students, I observed that teacher educators use this space for various purposes but I never saw
any collaborative planning activity or discussion going on. I saw many teachers coming and
sitting here working on computers during the day. A regular activity that was going on there was
that teacher educators had to update their online profile for Directorate of Staff Development in
Punjab. Everyone was uploading his profile picture and credentials online with the help of a
computer teacher. Here I witnessed some academic discussions among the teacher educators.
The vice-principal is the key person to administer all internal activities so teacher educators will
come and talk to him more often about scheduling of classes and other such administrative
issues.
No time for planning during the day. The three participating teacher educators including
the vice principal at the college of education in Punjab, mentioned that they usually do not
198

discuss their lesson plans with one another. They seek help and guidance from technical support
staff in the computer lab and e-library. One of the major reasons given by them was that there
were not many teacher educators of the same subject area who could sit and discuss their lessons.
There were eight full-time teacher educators and seven visiting faculty members at the college of
education in Punjab as per the prospectus. All teacher educators were either subject specialists or
senior subject specialists. The teacher educators only teach their own subject of specialization or
the foundation courses. There were five different programs being offered at the college and only
eight full time teacher educators are there. The teacher educators are taking at least four classes
every day in the morning session. Then they also teach in B.Ed and M.Ed programs in the
evening. According to the teacher educators their usual working hours are from eight in the
morning till six in the evening. During this time they only get almost two hours of free time. That
is also utilized in other tasks like grading, attending meetings, and fulfilling other immediate
tasks ordered by Directorate of Staff Development or other authorities. The lower number of
teacher educators is causing a big issue for them to take out time for planning and preparing their
lessons. All three teacher educators including vice principal mentioned that they remain busy
during the day so they plan their lessons at home usually. Only the teacher educator teaching
science mentioned that he uses his office to sit and plan for the lessons. He informed me that he
only gets two evenings free during the week that he spends in his office and plans for the next
week.
No collaboration with university. The teacher educator teaching Islamiat at the college of
education in Punjab said “in the first year when the courses were being developed Pre-STEP
team used to come and we had meetings at other places where teacher educators from different
colleges met and planned some model lessons”. He showed his concern about the indifferent and
199

non-responsive behavior of the university teachers. He said “I personally tried to contact them
many times but they never respond”. Similar concerns were shown by the teacher educator
teaching science. He said “this college is a hub for all the district activities, school teachers and
heads come here for their meetings and trainings, but nothing is planned for teacher educators”.
According to him the initial meetings of course development and professional development were
very useful but once the project (USAID-TEP) entered its third year such meetings became lesser
and lesser useful. He said “university and college teachers must collaborate for lesson planning
as well as for deciding upon student assessment and exams”. According to him on the one hand
he needed clear view about how his students will be assessed to prepare them for the final
exams; on the other hand he should have a say in decision making about student assessment.
Teachers’ private rooms. There was a common room as well as personal offices for the
teacher educators at the college of education in Punjab. Not everyone has an office but some
senior teacher educators have their own individual offices. This is a picture of the office of one
of the participants of this study (figure 6.21).

200

Figure 6.21. Teacher Educator's Office at College of Education in Punjab

The teacher educator’s office at the college of education in Punjab had all the necessary
furniture and a computer in working condition. But internet was not connected to it. The teacher
educator mentioned that it is good to have his own place where he can sit and work with more
focus and concentration. There was no heating or cooling system other than an electric fan which
only works when the electricity is available and a coal burner for winter. There was a side room
where he kept his teaching resources and student assignments. The teacher educator teaching
science at the college of education in Punjab had kept all his teaching resources handy. He
showed me many of these there and then. I witnessed some of the teacher educators sitting in the
common room and in the e-library discussing their lessons and activities with each other. So I
201

could see that having a personal office can sometimes have the diverse effect as the teacher
educator does not sit among others and misses the opportunity to learn and share experiences
with others.
Teachers’ own efforts and institutional support.
Teacher educators at the college of education in Punjab praised the support from the
college and district office. The two teachers and vice principal mentioned that the college head
was a very proactive man and was always ready to help them. They mentioned the budget issues
are there but the college administration and teachers work together to bring improvements as
much as they can. One of the major issues for them as well was the electricity shutdowns. This
particular city where the college is situated has more industries than other cities around, and the
power shutdown was usually for longer hours. They sometimes do not have power from 8 in the
morning till 2 in the afternoon. These are the exact hours of ADE classes. Thus during the
electricity shutdown in the hot weather the classrooms become hot ovens with temperatures as
high as 110oF and more. The college has a fuel power generator but that can only serve for two
computer laboratories and principal’s office. Teachers mentioned that using computers, internet
and multimedia resources in the classrooms is not at all possible under such power shutdowns.
Thus they cannot mostly use any technological resources
Textbooks versus other resources. During my first visit to college of education in
Punjab, the two participant teacher educators mentioned that under the new reform they do not
have a prescribed book to teach from. They appreciated the idea of using more than one book
and letting the students learn from more than one resource. Both of them informed me that
USAID-TEP was going to send some new sets of books for library use. They were very hopeful
that it will change the trend of using single source of knowledge. But during my second visit they
202

reported that new books were not provided and they were using their own reference books that
they already had.
The teacher educator of science reported that he was now using “textbooks of Secondary
and Higher Secondary Schools”. He mentioned again and again that “the materials in textbooks
are enough and he does not recommend any other sources. He informed me that the reference
books are not available in the market and the ones that are there are very expensive. He did not
complain about the non-availability of the reference books he simply said “for course outline that
is given, the text board books of higher secondary schools are enough”. So he had recommended
to his students that “everyone buy the science textbooks from the market”. He justified it by
saying that “other university teachers are also doing the same” and relating it to “mental level” of
the students. According to him student teachers do not have the caliber for learning more than a
certain level. He also mentioned that students were coming from different backgrounds
(humanities and science) so he could not keep his level of teaching very high. He said “I have to
limit myself to giving them the basic knowledge that all of them may be able to comprehend and
for that this content is enough”. He even said he doesn’t need to use internet very much and he
justified it by saying that “students don’t have internet at homes” so he encourages them to use
textbooks only.
The other participant teacher educator teaching Islamiat informed me that he does not
allow students to use online resources without his approval. He said “I use my own collection of
books and before recommending any internet source to them I thoroughly review it”. According
to him various scholars have given different perspectives and he cannot allow students to read
and use any of those randomly. He said, “even for preparing their assignments they first show me
what resources they are using”. The restricted approach of the Islamiat teacher towards student
203

use of internet and other resources once again made me think of the religious fundamentalism
that I noticed on the roads of the city. Yet there are no clear cut guidelines in the curriculum
document about giving students a free hand to use any scholarly materials, it is up to the teacher
educator only. He can restrict student teachers to learn only what he recommends.
Printing and photocopying. Since the textbooks use was being discouraged and teachers
were being encouraged to use more and more alternate resources, the need of printing and
photocopying had increased at the institutions. The teacher educator teaching Islamiat at the
college of education in Punjab mentioned that his subject area required a lot of reading. He said
“all students do not have internet and I do not allow them to open anything and just read it or use
it in assignments”. He believed that he must select appropriate materials for the students. He said
“I have a huge collection of books from where I select course readings and if I find something
useful online I print it”. He said he has to bear the cost of printing and photocopying on his own.
The college printers cannot be used for printing huge materials that are required. He said he only
gets one set of readings printed and then the students copy for themselves. I also observed that
during his classroom instruction he only gave one page handouts and told students to get the
readings for the week from his office and get them photocopied. He said “it is expensive for the
students too but there is no other option. It is the requirement of the new course outline as they
have included a lot more than what needs to be taught at this level”. He was of the view that
having so much expense one printing and photocopying is an extra expense on students as well
as teachers. He said “all of them are not getting scholarship from USAID and those who will
come in the next batch will have no scholarship funding at all”. So in his view the expense of
photocopying and printing is an extra burden on students and teachers.

204

Teacher-made resources. The college of education in Punjab had much better resource
availability and utilization to implement the new TE curriculum reform. Teacher educators here
reported again and again that college administration was very supportive, yet were putting their
best efforts to bring innovation in their practices. The science teacher educator at the college of
education in Punjab also mentioned that he uses his own materials for teaching various concepts
(figure 6.22).
Figure 6.22. Teacher-made Learning Materials at College of Education in Punjab

The science teacher was showing his own materials with such pride that having not much
things available he is still doing so much effort for his students. He showed me some models that

205

students had prepared during previous years at the college and he was using them now for
classroom teaching. He said he was unable to explain some of the difficult concepts to the
students in which they needed more equipment and a proper laboratory that they did not have.
He mentioned if he had a science laboratory he could do much better for his students.
According to the science teacher the current laboratory resources did not match with the
needs of the new curriculum. Within the budget limits they could not afford to have all the
learning tools and equipment at once. Yet the teacher educator teaching science at this college in
Punjab like the math and science teacher at the college in Sindh, was doing his best to prepare
low-cost and no-cost materials to enhance student learning. This shows how motivated the
teachers were and wanted to do the best possible efforts for the students. The science teacher
here was playing an active role as mentioned by himself and the vice principal to develop a new
laboratory; he was aware of where the process had reached so far as he gave me the details.
According to him without a sophisticated laboratory he could not ensure that his students were
learning and getting the concepts of science as they should.
Classroom teaching and learning practices.
Classroom space and furniture. With the new TE curriculum reform in place at the
colleges of education it was very important to have suitable physical environment and space to
perform the activities recommended in course guides. The classrooms were spacious enough to
accommodate 35-50 students (figure 6.23).

206

Figure 6.23. Inside a Classroom at College of Education in Punjab

The furniture inside classrooms only included chairs with arm-desk for the students and
one table for the teacher as well as a teachers’ chair and a podium. Having no tables for students
allowed movement and space for various kinds of group activities. It can create trouble because
there were no tables for the students to place some equipment or learning materials during the
activities. There was a soft-board in each room to display materials. Charts and papers were
posted on the soft boards only; nothing was pasted on the walls. The classrooms and building
structure seemed suitable for the kind of student activities suggested in the new curriculum
reform. The furniture in the rooms can be easily moved and teacher educators informed me that

207

the open grounds and yards as well as the auditorium provide enough space for them to plan and
conduct various student activities.
All classrooms at the college of education in Punjab had enough space to accommodate
up to thirty five to forty students but with no tables. Some rooms are larger than the others. The
light and ventilation is properly managed as there are windows on two sides of the rooms. In
winter the college was very cold though, and the only way to heat the classrooms was through
old style coal burners (figure 6.24) called angeethi (‫.)ﺍﻧﮕﻴﮣﻬﯽ‬
Figure 6.24. Heating inside a Classroom at College of Education in Punjab

208

A coal burner creates smoke and congestion which can become unbearable at times. I
kept shivering in the rooms as I had scheduled to visit the first class in the morning at 8.30 am. I
could feel how hard it is for students and teachers to read, write, and concentrate in such
circumstances. I did not observe classrooms during summer but just visited and took some
pictures. It was extremely hot during summer too, and the only source of air conditioning
available was electric ceiling fans, which worked only if the electricity was available.
Temperature here also goes up to 110o F during summer and below freezing point during winter.
Teacher centered classroom activities. The two participating teacher educators and the
vice principal mentioned that they consider their current classroom practices much changed and
improved under the new reform. They were of the view that the new strategies have changed
“the culture of lecture based passive learning” into “active and independent learning”. I could see
that for them having classroom discussion and question-answers was a big change and they
definitely needed more professional development courses and workshops to go further from the
point where they had reached so far. Talking about their practices teacher educators mentioned
that students were not in habit of independent learning therefore they needed more guidance and
support from teacher educators.
Very similar to what I observed in the two classrooms of college of education in Sindh,
here again the classroom activities were greatly teacher centered at the college of education in
Punjab. The students though participated in the small group discussions but everything was
directed and guided by the teacher educator. None of the students ever asked a question or spoke
without being asked. The teacher educator teaching science demonstrated a science experiment
to present different forms of matter. Only he did the experiment and the whole class only
observed him. He later explained that in a class of 45-50 minutes he could not manage more than
209

that and he did not have a developed science room or laboratory where he could let every student
perform the experiments. Islamiat teacher had also designed a small group and whole group
discussion for the group of thirty student teachers. None of the student teachers participated in
the whole group discussion unless the teacher educator called out their name or specifically
pointed towards them.
One significant difference that I observed and noted down was that English was not made
mandatory at the college and may be this is why more students were ready to participate in
classroom discussion. I found them much less hesitant than in Sindh. The teacher educator
teaching science mentioned that students did not feel confident to speak in the class if he had
restricted them to speak in English only. So he told “I only asks them to present their work and
assignments in English. Otherwise they can speak in English or Urdu”. Many students answered
his questions in English but those were mostly the answers to specific knowledge based
questions. Teacher educator himself was switching codes while teaching and talking to them.
Minimum use of technology. Integrating technology in teacher education was one of the
key features under the new TE curriculum reform. The course guidelines suggested more and
more use of computers and online resources. Similar to what I observed and noted at the college
of education in Sindh, the classrooms did not have any inbuilt technology resources. Teacher
educators reported that they rarely use multimedia or any other projector during classroom
instruction. But it is notable that the college of education in Punjab had portable multimedia
equipment (figure 6.25), and they had ordered for more.

210

Figure 6.25. Multimedia Resources at College of Education in Punjab

At the college of education in Punjab there were three multimedia projectors being used
in classrooms and laboratories. But the teacher educators I interviewed reported they only use it
for student presentations. One of the teacher educator mentioned that some teachers use it more
regularly than others. During my second visit two of the three multimedia projectors were under
the use of trainers from DSD, Punjab, who were conducting professional development sessions
in college auditorium and classrooms. Yet they had to use fuel power generator all the time to
keep the equipment working.

211

There were other sorts of projectors like overhead projector, and record players, available
at the ICT center in the college of education in Punjab. But it was astonishing to know that the
teachers mentioned they don’t have any material to display in these projectors. A teacher
teaching ICT in classroom was showing all these equipment to students and giving them hands
on experience by switching it on and off. He was talking and showing them through
demonstration for how to use different sorts of media players and projectors. But later he and the
other two teacher educators mentioned that they only use multimedia projector and none other in
the classrooms, that also mostly for student presentations. On inquiring they said they need
resources to show on these projectors, which they don’t have.
The teacher of Islamic studies at the college of education in Punjab mentioned how he
thinks his lessons could improve if he had such reference material. He said, “My courses are so
that multimedia resources can help to improve my lessons. For instance instead of just reading
and discussing about pilgrimage (hajj-‫ )ﺣﺞ‬if I show them a documentary, that would be much
more effective”. So I could see that the teachers had the ideas and were ready to use multiple
resources yet still could not do much due to large number of programs and lesser resources at the
college. This particular teacher mentioned that when he needed the projector it was being utilized
elsewhere, he gave me an example on the spot that it is being used in the in-service teacher
education program at the college. Electricity shutdowns were given as another reason for not
being able to use such resources. The fuel power generators were not sufficient to provide
electricity in classrooms. Although the teacher educators and the principal mentioned it many a
times that in a few months they will have multimedia resources fixed in all classrooms, but they
had no solution for power shut downs.

212

Summary Points
Changes recommended in the new TE curriculum reform ask for certain physical settings
to achieve the goals of improved teacher education practices. The sort of classroom activities and
the integration of technology as prescribed in the course guidelines and inculcated through the
professional development workshops require well developed infrastructure and availability of
learning materials and resources at the institutions. The two colleges of education I visited had
much difference in the availability, maintenance, and utilization of resources. A centralized
curriculum plan being implemented in two entirely different institutional settings cannot be
equally fruitful. These differences were also visible among practices of teachers as well.
•

The first and foremost observation at the college of education in Sindh was that the
teacher educators were trying to follow the course guides like a mandatory script to be
followed and instructional designs to be implemented whatsoever. Such mandatory
change is only acted upon as orders from top down, but cannot be taken as a change
process. At the college of education in Sindh library books, science equipment and
computer labs were always kept locked and such a controlling environment was causing
in limited use of available resources. Administration was annoyed with the situation of
least financial support from the local department and teachers had reached at a point
where they did not demand for resources anymore but put their own maximum efforts in
preparing low cost teaching aids for students and paying from their pocket to fulfill the
printing and photocopying needs. Having no time during the day and no collaboration
with colleagues at the college or with other closer institutions, planning of lessons was an
isolated activity. Classroom teaching and learning was completely teacher centered and
very less student participation was evident. Teachers had to manage within limited
213

resources and inside dark rooms in the absence of electricity they were doing their level
best to change their traditional practices, yet they were aware they need more
professional development and resources to enhance student learning. Over all poorly
maintained and limited use of physical infrastructure and spaces made it much difficult
for students and teachers to practice the teaching and learning activities as expounded in
the reform. Teacher educators were putting their personal efforts but an overall
supportive environment was missing.
•

A very different yet an obligatory change scenario was evident at the college of education
in Punjab. Here the college administration was supportive and the facilities were much
better availed and utilized but time management was the biggest issue for teachers to
effectively plan their activities in many programs offered. At the college of education in
Punjab library, computer labs, and science equipment were always easily available for
teachers and students to use, but the teacher educators found no time for planning their
lessons at college and had no habit of consulting or sharing their lesson planning with
other colleagues. They showed intention to collaborate with university teachers but there
was a certain communication gap which made it impossible. Better physical resources
were there but still the major issue was large number of enrolment, offering four preservice teacher education programs at a time and having professional development
workshops, meetings and courses hosted at the college was making it difficult for teacher
educators to have resources available for the students when they need. Teacher educators
here again had to spend on printing and photocopying. Student participation was
somewhat better in classrooms; yet the classes were still teacher centered. E-library and
computer lab was being utilized to its maximum but technology use in classrooms was

214

limited. Limited use of technology was because of electricity shutdowns and lesser
resources available as compared to number of students and teacher educators who need to
use the resources. Over all supportive behavior of administration and easy access to the
available resources made effective use of resources much easier for the teacher educators.
Well-maintained infrastructure was making it easier to implement various programs and
especially the practices expounded under the new reform though the teacher educators
and administration was aware of their deficiencies and were proactively trying to
improve.

215

Chapter 7
Resources and Practices at twoUiversities
The conversations from very beginning of this study made one perspective dominant,
namely that universities have better resources than the colleges of education and they can better
instill the new reform and new program plan for four year undergraduate B.Ed honors. The two
local experts in their initial comments clearly stated that the colleges of education will find it
more difficult because of the existing deficiencies of infrastructure, physical resources and
human resource capacity. According to them the new TE curriculum reform seemed more
suitable for the universities than the colleges.
In the previous chapter I presented an analysis of resource availability and utilization in
relation to practices of teacher educators at two colleges of education. In this chapter I am
presenting the conditions of physical resources and practices of teacher educators at two
universities. It is evident that the infrastructure and resource availability is not only different at
colleges and universities, rather there is much difference in availability and utility of resources at
one university from the other. Similarly the practices also vary a lot from one university to
another. Any conclusion or decision making on the bases of one of these institutions cannot be
applicable on the other. As compared to colleges of education one could see a clear difference of
availability and utility of resources and how it helped or hindered the reform implications.
At the two universities I had only observed a few classrooms and very limited work
routine therefore I cannot only present a basic analysis. Availability, maintenance and access to
resources were much better and easier in case of the university in Punjab than in Sindh. In Sindh
the first impression of campus of Faculty of Education was an old building with dark hallways

216

and dark classrooms. Only one fuel power generator was working for the dean’s office but rest of
the building mostly stayed in darkness due to no money available to buy fuel and run the other
power generator during electricity shutdowns. Teacher educators at the university in Sindh had
many reasons to stick to their traditional teaching practices. The new reform seemed to bring no
major difference while the teacher educators mentioned that they are waiting for funds from
Government and donor agencies to improve resource availability. In Punjab the education
institute at the university presented a huge campus having all kinds of resources easily accessible
and available. Teacher educators mentioned that the reform recommendations are mostly they
have already been practicing except some interactive classroom instruction methods. For them
having younger students on campus was a challenge and they were finding it hard to change the
passive learning habits of students coming straight from higher secondary schools and colleges.
The chapter is divided in two sections. Each sections includes details of practices of
participant teachers in relation to the physical resources available to them at the two universities
– one in Sindh and one in Punjab.
Section I. At a University in Sindh
I had a plan to stay in Sindh for three weeks in total as I had planned to visit two
institutions in the same city but I could only stay for two weeks. One whole week I kept waiting
for the nationwide riots finish so that I may get a security clearance to fly to Sindh. Then during
the first week of my visit again there were riots and strikes within the city where I was visiting
the college and the university. I managed to reach the college three times during the first week
but only went to the university once and met the teacher educators to plan interviews and
observation for the next week. After that first visit I could not go there at all in the first week as

217

the roads to the university were closed and then it was announced by the local Government that
all institutions will remain closed for the next four days (Thursday-Sunday) due to security risk
during the celebrations of ‫ .ﻋﻴﺪ ﻣﻴﻼﺩ ﺍﻟﻨﺒﯽ‬It has been happening for past few years that one sect
ّ
attacks the other in the city when the religious celebrations are going on.
During the second week I was hopeful that I shall be able to observe some classes as the
participant teacher educators had initially told me they have two classes each with the B.Ed
Honors Elementary class. Yet I could only once observe one class and a ten minutes discussion
group. Otherwise I was told every day that classes are not being held due to some internal issues
between university students, teacher and the university’s vice chancellor. On the last day when
all other things had calmed down I was told that due to the visit of the USAID-TEP team and
members of the US consulate all classes were cancelled the whole day. Thus cancelling classes
seemed to be a part of routine.
The university I visited in Sindh was in the same city where there was one female college
of education and another college of education where male and females study together. Clustering
so many institutional resources in one city does not seem suitable at all for a province where
there are many places with no such institutions at all. There were many positive and negative
features that emerged due to the fact that the three institutions were working so close to each
other. One important aspect highlighted by the teacher educators was that many professional
development workshops were held in the same city so it was easy for the teacher educators of all
three institutions to attend these. Another positive aspect could be close collaboration among the
institutions but it was not reported so by the participants of the study. The main campus of the
university resides in an adjacent city. The teacher educators keep mentioning that the resources
available at the other campus are much better than on the education building. But they don’t
218

want to move there, rather they want new resources to be built for them at the old location. The
problem with such political wars going on within the institutions is that they hinder the progress
towards better education.
The university campus I visited in Sindh was in a phase where people were waiting for
the new campus to be built. The student teachers were already enrolled in the new program, and
the human resource was available but the teacher educators at most of the points mentioned that
they were waiting for the new campus building and new resources to come in, so that they could
improve practices as per the reform agenda. An astonishing story here was that the computers
and some other multimedia resources they already had, and could be used until the new machines
come, had been dismantled since two years and that was exactly when they started the new
program. The new program and reform to them was a major source of funding which was going
to help them build a new campus. But until that may materialize, they were teaching with the
minimal resource availability.
This university in Sindh was the only institution among the six institutions I visited,
where I could not move around freely. Even a support staff stopped me once and told me to
remain inside the room until the participant teacher may come and take me with him/her. I was
told again and again that the riots in the city and disturbance within the university was causing
security issues so I must not move around alone. Here are some of the significant features that I
noted during my visits.
Poorly maintained and limited use of physical infrastructure.
The new TE curricular reform clearly signifies the effective use of physical resources and
spaces. The present building of the faculty of education at university in Sindh is more than sixty
years old. The major difference I could see in buildings of institutions in Punjab and Sindh is that
219

there is very poor maintenance level in Sindh. The building of faculty of education just like the
college of education in Sindh was in such condition that many of its parts have been declared
hazardous (figure 7.1).
Figure 7.1. A University Campus in Sindh

The access to the building of faculty of education is not through the main campus only
but there are two other entrances through side streets due to which security risk for students
remain higher. One part of the university building is an old secondary school and the other part
is known as the campus for faculty of education. The teacher educators mentioned that the old
building of faculty of education was supposed to be taken down and rebuilt two years back, but
then at once the plan was postponed. When I visited in January 2013 the plan was still being
220

finalized. The old one had a double story building having administrative offices, faculty offices,
classrooms and computer laboratory. I did not see any science laboratory or resource room in the
building. This was the only place where I was even stopped by the support staff and was
forbidden to move around without being accompanied by a faculty member. There were strikes
and riots going on in the university against the vice chancellor, so there was security alert even
on the campus.
The two rooms used for B.Ed Honors. The new TE curriculum reform recommends
specific student activities for which the classroom design plays a significant role. There were
many classrooms in the building of faculty of education at university in Sindh, where classes
were being held for all other programs but not B.Ed Honors. Two common features of all of the
classrooms were their huge capacity, large number of chairs, a teacher’s podium, no other
fixtures than a black /white board and darkness when the electricity is shut down. The two
teacher educators told me those classrooms were already fully occupied and the number of
students in the new program was much smaller so they did not need big classrooms. I could not
take pictures of any of the old classrooms as either they were locked or there were classes going
on. I was only allowed to take pictures of the two rooms where I was observing the B.Ed Honors
Elementary classes (figure 7.2).

221

Figure 7.2. A Classroom at University in Sindh

This room was nothing like the other classrooms. It had been designed as a conference
room but was used as a classroom for the new program. Not all students enrolled in the new
program were attending their classes here. This one room was in the middle of all administrative
offices and there were three entrances to this room- two open from two administrative offices
and one from the office of the Dean. The furniture in this room was relatively new. There were a
few charts on the soft-board and a huge portrait of a lady who looked British. The teacher
educators I talked to did not know who that is and why that portrait was on the wall. I saw some
computers in the room and I got the impression that these are for teachers and students to use in
the class, but I was wrong (figure 7.3).
222

Figure 7.3. Classroom used as Printing Room at a University in Sindh

The computers in the room were the faulty computers that were stored here. Only one of
them was working and being used by the PA to Dean at the university in Sindh. This room was
also used for printing and photocopying. People kept coming in even during the class. I was told
by the teacher educator that it was basically designed as a conference room but later it was
decided that classes will be held here for the new program. There was always noise coming from
surroundings as the teacher educators kept the two doors open for trespassing, because the
administrative staff used this room as well.

223

To my amazement the ambience of the room was completely changed on the last day of
my visit. The USAID-TEP team was coming to visit with the people from the US consulate in
Sindh, Pakistan. So many charts and posters were posted and other changes were made in the
classroom (figure 7.4)
Figure 7.4. Classroom set-up for Foreigners' Visit at University in Sindh

It was the same room but on the day of foreigners’ visit all printers and other machines
were picked up. There were more charts and posters on the walls. Multimedia resources and
sound systems were brought from the university’s resource center. Since morning till 3:00 pm
everyone was only busy in preparing for a twenty-minute session. But it is not how the room is

224

set up for classes every day. It was my last day at the university otherwise I would have loved to
see how things get back to normal the next day.
There was only one more room where the second year students attend the classes offered
for the new program and that is an old computer lab (figure 7.5).
Figure 7.5. An Old Computer Lab used as a Classroom at a University in Sindh

This room at the university in Sindh had some old computer lab furniture and nonworking computers were lying in a side room. Many of the chairs were broken. I spend a few
hours there during electricity shut down waiting for the participants. It becomes too dark and one
read or write due to darkness. Rear half of the room is also used as the common room for the
225

teacher educators and the coordinator of the program also sits there. On asking the faculty
members I came to know that all other rooms in the building were being used for the old
programs. There was a very small enrolment of students in the last two years (10-20) in the B.Ed
Honors program so they thought it is suitable to have classes here for them. The teacher educator
teaching Math and Child Development courses mentioned that once the USAID scholarship will
be closed the student enrolment might go lower than that. The furniture of the room was not at
all suitable for the students to sit and read or write even. Student teachers had no desk and not
even the armrests with their chairs. The whiteboard was not even fixed in the wall it was only
placed on a chair. This seemed as a temporary set-up but it was being used for the past two years
in the same condition. It was clear that at college of education in Sindh the ADE program was
the only one being offered at the moment and they were putting in their best efforts and
resources to make it successful while at the university it was just another program which was yet
in the experimental phase.
Use of resources at the University for Lesson planning.
Library and computer labs. The library and internet resources are a significant part of the
program as recommended by the new TE reform. Diminishing the text book culture it is
suggested that teacher educators and student teachers may use library and online resources
extensively. The university in Sindh has a whole double story library building. It remains open
from 9 am till 6 pm (figure 7.6).

226

Figure 7.6. Library at a university in Sindh

I went to the library three times and twice a support staff told librarian was away so I
could not go inside and sit or see the library books without his permission. I showed him the
letter of the dean but he told me to come when the librarian was there. The third time when the
librarian was there he allowed me to go in a take a few pictures in the main library hall. I saw
some students sitting in the library studying. I was told that this was the main library for the
whole campus. Here again all the bookcases had locks on them (figure 7.7).

227

Figure 7.7. Locked Bookshelves in Library at a University in Sindh

It is amazing that only in Sindh I found the culture of keeping books in locked bookcases
in a library. When I asked a librarian he told me “we don’t have open shelves so we are keeping
these books safe here”. He informed me that they give reference books to read in the library
only and issue books only when teachers ask them to. Only to talk to a librarian I had to ask three
different people where to reach him because twice when I went to the library, he was not in there
only a support staff was there. It just made me think what if someone has to get a book to read or
to use for ready reference? The locks at the library bookshelves on the one hand signify a hurdle
228

in access and on the other hand it also exhibits to be a way of exerting control or authority
similar to what I observed at the college in Sindh.
The teacher educators informed me that they rarely used library resources for planning
their lessons. Both of them mentioned that they had their own sets of books from where they
prepared their lessons. The teacher educator teaching Math and Child Development showed me
only two books for the methods’ course he was teaching. He mentioned that he rarely needed to
use any other resource because the material given in those books was enough. I could see that the
culture of text books was not going to be easily diminished from the institutions. Most of the
teacher educators I met were all still relying on certain specific books instead of using multiple
resources or researching regularly as recommended in the new reform. The teacher educator
teaching Urdu said “you may pick any of the books from various authors in Urdu, almost
everyone has done the same work”, so in her view it does not matter if they use a few books
only. Yet she mentioned she was using internet at home occasionally. She said in the university
hours she never got time to use computer or internet so she could only search online at home.
Yet she also highlighted that she was a mother of two young kids so it wasn’t possible for her to
work at home in routine.
There was no regular library period like in colleges of education; so it was up to the
students whenever they may use it. The teacher educator teaching Urdu informed me that she
sometimes recommends books from library and students were using them for their assignments.
But the other teacher educator teaching Child Development and Math, said, “the library doesn’t
have any new books so I don’t recommend students any of those”. He further said, “ninety
percent of the books are obsolete. The money being spent in teacher trainings and workshops
should have been used in improving resources at the institutions”. Both the teacher educators
229

were satisfied with their performance so far under the given conditions. They mentioned that in
the coming years when a new building will be constructed they wouldhave all the facilities. In
their view only better physical resources could improve the situation, yet no one knows how long
it will take and how many batches would have graduated till then.
There were computer rooms and a conference room at the second level of the building
where I was not allowed to go. I was told that the conference room and computer rooms are not
open all the time. They are opened only through formal approval. The librarian told that even
the teachers needed to book those rooms with prior request. The offices of the two faculty
members I met did not have any computer there. They informed me that only heads of the
departments and dean had the computers in their offices. The teacher educator teaching Math and
Child Development informed me that since last two years they were being told that once the new
building will be built they all would get computers and internet in their office. Till then if they
needed to use computers they could only do that in the common room. He said, “I never get to
use it, it is usually being used by other teachers and sometimes by the students too”. He also
informed me that there were computers available in the library building but he never had time to
go there and spend time. The teacher educator teaching Urdu also informed me that there are
computer labs in the library building but she said she had never used those resources. She said,
“those are mostly used by Master level students and those who are learning computer courses”.
Both of the teacher educators agreed that if they had computer and internet available in their
offices it would make a big difference and they would use it more frequently for sure.
Planning is an isolated activity for teacher educators.
The new TE reform through its campaign, professional development forums and program
design stressed upon collaborative efforts for student learning. The message of cooperative
230

teaching and learning is conveyed through all the course guides. Yet at the university in Sindh it
was evident that teacher educators rarely plan or discuss their planning in a collaboration with
each other. There were various reasons evident for making planning an isolated activity for the
teacher educators.
No time during the day. Both of the teacher educators I talked to mentioned it again and
again how busy they remain during the day. Both of them informed me that the activities at the
university during the day do not give them any time to plan for their lessons. One of them said he
plans for the whole week at home during the weekend and the other teacher educator who was a
female mentioned she plans at home every day whenever she gets a couple of hours free. The
female teacher educator was teaching Urdu at the university in Sindh, she said, “I must tell you
the truth, I do not get time ever at the university”. According to her she had no one to share her
responsibilities at home so she has to manage the household and professional work. She said “I
come one hour late because I am a mother of two young children who go to school”. She
admitted that she is using her work hours for her personal affairs too, but according to her she
had no other choice. She then explained that she takes three classes every day in three different
programs. She was also involved in research projects with the dean and she was working on her
own dissertation too. She said, “the two three hours I get during the day are spent in various
administrative tasks, paper marking and research work”. She said she only gets a couple of hours
at home in the evening that is when she uses her personal resources (books and sometimes
internet) to plan her lessons.
The teacher educator teaching Math and Child Development mentioned that he was
teaching in three different programs during the day and was also teaching evening classes. He
mentioned that he stays on campus from nine in the morning till seven in the evening. He said
231

“during the day I only teach and spend rest of the time in marking papers or doing some other
tasks assigned by the dean, I never get time to sit and plan my lessons”. He mentioned that he
was also involved in developing courses for the new program therefore he needs to attend
various meetings and workshops too. He said “I only get time on the weekend and family gets
very annoyed as I don’t really spend any time with them”. He said he never uses internet he
mostly relies upon the books that he has and prepares his lessons from there.
No collaboration with colleagues. At the university in Sindh on the first day of my visit,
I was guided by a teacher educator from the dean’s office to an old computer lab which was now
being used as a common room as well as a classroom for the second year students of the B.Ed
Honors program. I was told to always come and sit here until the participants of my study may
come and take me with them. The program coordinator was always sitting there and I could
never observe anyone planning or doing any academic discussion or whatsoever. I only
witnessed teacher educators coming and discussing their class timings with the coordinator who
is responsible for managing the timings of classes for old programs as well as the new one. She
had three different timetables in front of her to keep a check if all teachers are taking classes as
per plan and was responsible to make alterations if some teacher educators could not teach at
specific time or day. There was a computer in this room that was working and connected to
internet but there was no printer. And the others are just dumped in a side. I only once saw two
students trying to do some work on this computer while the coordinator kept asking them to
finish quickly and go. The participants of my study used to come here one by one to meet me and
they used to take me to their office for further conversation.
The two teacher educators mentioned that they never get to discuss their lesson planning
with any other colleague. The teacher educator teaching Math and Child Development
232

mentioned “this is not the culture here. Everyone is busy and nobody shares or discusses plans. I
wish this happens and this could be very helpful”. According to him the private institutions
where he worked before had the culture of sharing and discussing everything in meetings with
other colleagues. He said “I miss that collaborative and collective efforts’ culture. Here I do not
get to meet others very often, we are imprisoned within our own circles”. Both of them also
mentioned that they do not collaborate regularly with the college teachers. They mentioned that
it only happens in meetings and workshops arranged by USAID-TEP. The teacher educator
teaching Urdu said “in the first year when the new program was launched there were many
workshops where we worked together, then we also used to go to observe classrooms and had
meetings with the college teachers to provide them guidance”. She informed me that since she
has been busier with research she has never been able to collaborate with the local colleges.
Teachers’ own efforts and resources. The new TE curriculum reform demanded to
have more than text book resources for student learning. Not every institution could provide
many such resources but it was clear that teacher educators at all institutions I visited were trying
on their own to develop and or provide learning materials to student teachers, by themselves. The
teacher educator teaching Urdu was able to share some of her resources with me. She had
brought some magazines and digests from her home to develop reading habits among her
students. She said “when these students came they had no reading habits other than reading
course books”. She alleged that reading will help them develop their language skills so she
emphasized reading and reciting. She told that she had also used some audio songs (‫ )ﻏﺰﻟﻴﮟ‬for
helping student develop a taste of Urdu poetry. She said “the current physical facilities at the
institution do not allow us to do much, but I try my best to provide as many resources to my
students as possible”. She said many of the teacher educators do not take much pain but she said
233

the junior faculty members were much more enthusiastic. She informed me that the university
supports them for photocopying and printing so the teacher educators do not have to spend a lot
from their own pocket. She said not everyone but many teachers provide photocopied materials
to the students. She said “I chose the necessary materials and get them copied for the groups to
discuss in classroom, then if the students need they can get the materials photocopied for
themselves”. She informed me that she has given a short booklist to her students which is enough
and they do not need to spend a lot of money on printing and photocopying.
Classroom practices.
It is evident that the new curriculum reform aimed to bring major changes in the
classroom culture. It expounded innovative teaching, integration of technology and active
learning. Yet both the teacher educators I talked to at the university in Sindh mentioned that the
new teacher education reform did not bring a drastic change in classroom practices at their
institution in general. They said the kind of teaching and learning practices that were expounded
under the new reform could not be adopted at once. The teacher educator teaching Math and
Child Development said, “neither the teachers nor the students are yet prepared for this sort of
teaching and learning. The students are not coming from a background of independent learning
then how can we transform them over night”. The teacher educator teaching Urdu said “I
personally think that there is no harm in lecture method and traditional practices if a teacher
knows well how to do it”. Both of them were of the view that trying to revamp the classrooms at
once was actually creating more trouble than giving any benefit.
Teacher-centered – passive learning. I was only able to observe one class of Child
Development course and a ten minutes discussion group with the teacher educator teaching
Urdu. In both cases I observed a completely teacher centered approach of teacher educators and
234

severely passive learning at the students’ end. In a session of fifty minutes I noted down that the
teacher educator kept speaking most of the time. He only asked a few questions now and then.
Sometimes he waited for the student response and mostly he didn’t wait before answering the
question himself. In the instances when the students spoke it was always one or two of the three
same students who were sitting closer to the teachers’ podium. The teacher educator used
English mostly but sometimes explained a few concepts by giving examples in Urdu too. He told
them there will be readings assigned every week and they will then have discussions. He referred
to the introductory readings he had already given in the previous session, but never gave them
any time for discussing in small or large groups.
Later while talking about his classroom practices the teacher educator mentioned that
students hesitate in speaking in classroom and they cannot speak very well in English. He said,
“some of them even cannot speak Urdu very well”. He said he had not designed any group
discussion or interactive activity because this was more of an introductory session to a new topic.
He said, “I see what is needed for a certain topic, it is not necessary that we adopt active learning
activities for every class. Some topics need mere lecture and explanation so I go as per demand
of the topic”. He also explained that when the students come in university during first semester
most of them are not ready for the sort of independent and active learning the new reform has
introduced. He said “they do not even know how to take notes, they do not even know how to
consult books and how to analyze materials, if we want them to do all this then we should first
have a zero semester to make them learn all these learning activities”. He also pointed out that
teacher educators also don’t know how to adopt the methods being introduced in the new reform.
He said “only a few days’ workshop cannot alter the experience of many years and it cannot be
an alternative of a whole course. We should be given proper professional development courses if
235

they want us to change our classroom practices.” According to him university teachers have
never had any professional development trainings so they need extensive support to learn the
new methodologies.
The teacher educator teaching Urdu was also concerned about students’ background but
she said, “I make them change their habits through various techniques. In the beginning they feel
hesitant but slowly they get used to it”. She explained that not every teacher educator is ready to
adopt the new methodologies as well. She mentioned that students as well as teachers have
developed the traditional styles since they have been in teaching and learning. According to her a
few days workshops and brief instructions could not be enough for every teacher educator to
learn the new teaching methodologies. She said, “this is a dangerous experiment and I am telling
you some people will lose even what they were good at”. She said the teacher educators cannot
adopt the active learning and student centered approach so quickly. Her own students demand
her to provide more explanation and lecture. She said, “these students have also learned in a
passive environment and they want us to teach them in similar way”. In the ten minutes’
discussion group that I observed this was exactly the approach, the students were asking her to
explain a few things and she was the one on the giving end. I did not observe any sharing but
only one way delivery of knowledge was the mode of those ten minutes session. She also
expressed similar view as the other teacher educator and said the university teachers need more
support to change their practice. But she also pointed out that in her personal view every teacher
educator does not need to change the method of teaching if s/he is fulfilling the goals and
achieving objectives.
Minimum use of technology. The classroom I observed or visited did not have any
multimedia resources. The two teacher educators I talked to at the university in Sindh informed
236

me that they never use computers or internet for classroom activities. The teacher educator
teaching Urdu mentioned that she had used audio cassette player a few times in classroom
otherwise she had never used any other electronic device. She mentioned that student teachers
also use books and printed materials mostly as Urdu is the subject area they do not get much
different material in print or electronically. She said she demands her students to read more and
more literature and books other than course readings and that is a demand of her course more
than using internet resources. She never mentioned any videos or any other such resource that
she uses or would prefer to use. The teacher educator teaching Math and Child Development also
mentioned that he does not use any sort of electronic resources. He said that he wanted to
integrate technological resources, but he neither had access to such resources nor had time to
prepare them. He said the books recommended in the courses are not available in the library or
even in the local market so students only use whatever is available to them. According to him
“limited resources make us do very little. If we had a better library and access to internet
resources in classrooms why would we not use. But personally I can neither afford nor have
time”. He again and again alleged that if the money spent on workshops and trainings was spent
in improving resources at institutions it would have improved classroom practices more.
At the university in Sindh I found a clear indication of practices being limited due to lack
of availability and access to resources. Under the new TE curriculum reform the teacher
educators were well aware of significance of using multiple media for student learning but they
neither had a well maintained library nor computer or internet resources. The teacher educators
were still relying only on a couple of books in replacement of a single textbook. One plausible
reason for having traditional classroom practices could be the physical structures and location of
the rooms being used for B.Ed Honors program. All arrangements were taken as temporary and
237

the whole infrastructure was disturbed due to the uncertainty of when the campus building will
be renewed. Everyone seemed to be looking forward to when all technological and other
resources will be made available. Yet teacher educators were putting in their efforts and trying to
carry on their work under all difficult conditions and overwhelming workload.
Section II. At a University in Punjab
The university I visited in Punjab is located in one of the most developed and big cities of
Punjab. This city is on the one hand famous for preserving its traditions such as old architecture
and cultural festivities as well as having a modern lifestyle; while on the other hand city is a hub
of modern literature, art and culture as well. There are many private and public universities
located in this city and around. Some of them are top ranked in the country. The university
campus I visited is in the center of the city. A huge area is allotted for the university campus,
hostels and faculty residence and lawns and gardens. People of this region are famous for their
carefree and liberal life style. The infrastructures and transportation are much better than other
parts of the country. The most common transport means used by the students and teachers at the
university are privately owned cars or motorbikes and then there are cabs, rickshaw and buses or
vans.
At the university in Punjab I spent almost ten working days and met two teacher
educators. I used to spend my day in the library, computer lab or in the office of the participants.
I was given permission by the head of the department to go around and take pictures. I could
meet the teacher educators in their office timings and could observe their classrooms and other
activities. During the first two days there were no classes held at the institution because of the
political leaders’ visits to distribute laptops among students. The laptop distribution ceremony

238

was held at the auditorium and all faculty members were ordered to attend it. So no one could
give time to me or to any other activity the whole day. Then there were some meetings going on
with NCRC members in Islamabad and then in Lahore for planning and reviewing the further
details of the curriculum reform. One of my participants was a member of NCRC so he again
could not meet me for another four days. The three days I visited him and observed his classes
were also very busy for him and he could only meet me for a little while in his office and then I
was able to observe two of his classrooms. He was teaching a methods course of teaching
science. The other participant who was around met me thrice during my visit. I only met her in
her office for little while and then observed her classrooms. Whenever I went to my participants’
offices I was told again and again by their assisting staff that they are busy in classes and
meetings all the time, and they rarely have time to sit in office.
I sat for many hours in library and computer lab. Both places always remained very busy
but I could not figure out how many students of the new program regularly visit the two places. I
saw very few teacher educators at the two places. There could be many reasons for that. One
might be that almost all of them had their individual offices where computers and internet were
available to them. I was never stopped by anyone while going around in the institution and the
only hard time I had was to meet the people as no one was easily available. Here are some major
features of my observations regarding physical resources and practices of teacher educators at
the institution.
Well-maintained physical infrastructure.
The new TE curriculum reform inculcated the idea of expanding student learning through
better use of all kinds of resources available. The institute building at the university in Punjab
exhibited an exemplary physical infrastructure that is designed particularly for a research
239

institution. The university is spread out on a huge area. There’s a boundary wall around the
campus that defines the limit of the university campus that includes blocks of various
departments and institutes as well as residence halls and university housing. There are spread out
lawns between the building blocks and a two way road connects them all (figure 7.8).
Figure 7.8. Building and Lawns of a University in Punjab

The lawns remain filled with students. The open-air student cafeterias are also filled with
students all day. Boys and girls walk around and sit together in the lawns but they have separate
cafeterias. Boys cannot enter the girls’ cafeteria, though the food shops inside it are run by all
males. The boys can often be seen playing cricket and football in the play grounds. The main
240

building of the institute of education at the university in Punjab that I visited is a square shaped
building which has three entrees, an open yard in the center and a triple-story building with
verandah and balconies. (figure 7.9).
Figure 7.9. Inside the Institute of Education Building at a University in Punjab

On each floor there were offices and classrooms. Computer labs and science labs were on
the ground floor while library and resource rooms were on the second floor. The conference and
committee rooms as well as main administrative office were also on the ground floor. There was
a big auditorium adjacent to the building of institution. The building is relatively new as
compared to the buildings I saw in Sindh. It had been designed very well for conducting large

241

and small lectures, workshops, classes, conferences and laboratory work. Having almost all
required facilities yet the maintenance work was also in progress when I visited. Due to the
construction work going on at the second and third floor, some offices and classes had been
shifted to the first floor and some in the adjacent blocks. The classrooms at the first floor were
already fully booked for other programs so the classes for the new program were being held in
the science laboratories and art rooms for until the construction work may finish.
Teachers use institutional facilities for planning their lessons. Teacher educators
mentioned again and again that the practices expounded under the new TE reform were not new
for their institution. They were already using the institutional and personal resources for planning
and teaching, the only problem for them was to manage time for all the activities they were
involved in.
Library. The institution in the university in Punjab is known for a huge collection of
books and a well-utilized library. Students from other institutions also come and use the library
resources here (figure 7.10).

242

Figure 7.10. Library at a University in Punjab

The library had two parts one was only for reference material that could only be read in
the library; the other part had books and materials for checking out. Unlike in Sindh, here all the
books were placed in open shelves and anyone could use them for ready reference without
seeking permissions. Students only needed to go to the librarian when they could not find a
resource or they needed to checkout something. There was private photocopying facility on
campus just outside the institution building, where students could get chapters and notes
photocopied while no copyright law or rule was followed as such. I even asked a librarian and he
did not know of any such policy.

243

Figure 7.11. Books in open shelves at the library in a university in Punjab

The two teacher educators I talked to mentioned that they used library books frequently
for planning their lessons and for developing courses. According to the teacher educator teaching
science they had one of the best collections of books at the institution library and they encourage
their students to use library as much as possible. He pointed out that “students coming from
high-schools in the new program do not have a habit of using library resources and do not know
how to make notes”. He further elaborated “we need to make them independent learners so I try
to give them such assignments in which they have to use library books and internet”. None of the
teacher educators mentioned if they had any fixed time for students to go to library like in

244

colleges of education. They only mentioned that students use library resources whenever there
was an assignment or during exams when they needed to study further about the topics.
Science resource room. There was a well-equipped resource room at the second floor of
the institution in the university in Punjab, for science students. Here a big amount of the
laboratory apparatus and models was stored (figure 7.12) and some tables are arranged for
conducting basic experiments too. Otherwise there were separate physics, chemistry, biology and
even and electronic labs were there at the institute to perform various experiments.
Figure 7.12. Science Resource Room of the Institute at a University in Punjab

245

A team of laboratory-assistants worked with all specializations offered at the department
of science education at the institution. The resources were available to all the teachers to be
issued and used in laboratories for experiments or to be used in classrooms for demonstration.
The teacher educator teaching science at the university in Punjab took me with him to show me
these resources. He mentioned that they could always get the resources required for any
experiments or demonstration. He also informed me that new equipment and materials are
regularly purchased and made available for students and teachers.
The science teacher at the university in Punjab showed satisfaction with the science lab
equipment. He said the teachers could easily find the needed materials in the resource room so
they didn’t have to prepare anything themselves. If there were things not available they could
simply put up a request to purchase it. He reported that if there was something not available
easily he could show the demonstration to students through multimedia presentation. He said so
far in the new curriculum he had not found many topics that need such presentations. He said
they could always use lab equipment for demonstration of experiments. He elaborated that “they
are learning elementary school level and there are not many topics which need much
elaboration”. He said “there are only a few simple experiments that we need to demonstrate”
otherwise most of it is theoretical.
Computer laboratories. There are three computer laboratories at the institution of
education in the university in Punjab. One lab specifically is for PhD students, one for Masters
and one for everyone else (figure 7.13) that now includes the student and teachers of the new
four year undergraduate program.

246

Figure 7.13. Computer Lab at a University in Punjab

The laboratory that is open for all at the institution in university in Punjab has thirty five
computers, all working and all connected to internet. Any student or teacher could use the
computers at any time during the day. It remains open from 9 am to 5 pm. The other two
computer labs remain open till late, those are mostly used by post graduate students and teachers.
Whenever I visited this lab, teachers and students were sitting there, using internet as well as
working on their presentations and other tasks.

247

Offices of faculty members. At the university in Punjab all faculty members have their
individual offices and there is a common room for them as well to sit together. Each of the
offices of faculty members (I visited almost eight of them) had a computer connected to internet
and printer available in it (figure 7.14).
Figure 7.14. Office of a Faculty Member at a University in Punjab

It seemed be very helpful for teacher educators to have all these resources at hand. They
could easily work and prepare their lessons. But both the teacher educators I talked to at the
university in Punjab, mentioned that they are awfully busy in three to four classes to take in a
day and attending meetings in and out of the institution, along with that supervising research

248

students adds to their routine work of assignments and examination marking. They have
midterms as well as final exams with two or three assignments each semester, grading which
takes much of their time. So they informed me that they don’t get much time to sit in offices.
Both of them though informed me that they were using their offices sometimes even after the
working hours. One of them said “having all these resources at hand does not make much
difference when the time is not perceived as another significant resource”. The teacher educator
teaching science mentioned that the teacher educators find themselves overwhelmed with the
workload. They have enough resources but need more time for planning.
The teacher educator teaching Arts and Crafts informed me that she mostly collects all
necessary materials through internet search and library resources but she finalizes her lessons at
home. She mentioned that the institute had provided enough resources for teacher educators so
she never found it difficult to plan a rich and informative session for students. But she also said
“time is the biggest issue” as all of the teacher educators were busy in several tasks and
assignments at a time. She said, “our own work as research supervisors and course teachers is
more than enough but administrative meetings and tasks are additional. I am a single woman so I
take everything home and plan my lessons in the evening”. According to her the other teachers
who have families were finding it difficult to manage time. Yet both of the teacher educators
mentioned that having computers and internet facility in their offices is a big help. They could
always use their personal computers and office facilities any time.
Teachers’ resources. Unlike the colleges of education, the two teacher educators at the
university in Punjab reported that they do not need to invest money in preparing or purchasing
resources. Both of the teacher educators I talked to at the university in Punjab mentioned that
they rarely need to buy any material resources or even pay for photocopying and printing. They
249

had printers in their offices and there was the printing and photocopying facility on campus
where they could make the reading materials available for students to go there and get it
photocopied on their own expense. Teachers did not need to spend from their own pocket for the
photocopying or printing but the students had to. The arts and crafts teacher mentioned that she
worked with her students in the arts room where the samples of the work of previous students are
displayed so she doesn’t need to develop any other materials herself. She also mentioned that it
is better if students have hands on practice by themselves. She said, “I believe in independent
learning so I let the students develop their own materials and only help them as a facilitator”. She
also mentioned that in the new program it becomes difficult at times because the students are not
in a habit of independent learning and they expect “spoon feeding”. She informed me that for the
theoretical part she had been providing photocopied materials as weekly readings and then she
provides a list of websites and library resources which the students may explore themselves. She
also mentioned that “university provides enough support to the faculty for printing and
photocopying costs. Even we can order other materials too, but students get the art work utilities
for themselves”. She showed complete satisfaction with the facilities, university has been
providing students and teachers under certain budget restrictions.
The science teacher also mentioned that the students in the undergraduate program are in
a habit of “spoon feeding” as they are coming directly from high schools. He mentioned that he
prefers them to discuss the weekly readings in class and then prepare their own notes but his
concern was that “they only work independently when they do assignments and projects”.
Therefore he had to provide them more photocopied materials from the books and references to
some useful materials available in library or online. He said, “this is university, they soon learn
the independent learning culture but in the beginning two semester we need to give them extra
250

support”. He also informed me that he never had to spend money from his own pocket because
university provides all the resources they require. Rather he reported that in some courses where
ample funding is available from some project, he could provide photocopied materials to all the
students without any cost.
Planning is partially collaborative within departments.
The new TE curriculum reform stressed a lot on collaborative efforts at institutional
level. Only at this institution among all the four places I visited, I observed teacher educators
discussing their lessons and implementation strategies while sitting in the common room and in
the offices. Many of them did it informally but this seemed to be a regular routine of teacher
educators to share their plans with each other. I also observed similar sharing and discussion at
the office of the chairman of science education. Teacher educators were not only discussing their
lessons but also sharing ways of assessment and grading the papers. Head of the department was
mostly listening and only sharing his own experiences yet not directing anyone. I also noticed
that the teacher educators shared materials with one another.
There were ten departments working at this institution of education at the university in
Punjab. All of them offer various specializations. Every department has a team of three to eight
faculty members and four or five administrative and support staffs. The dean and director’s
office has separate admin and support staff as well. Every department has full time faculty
members ranging from lecturer to professors, yet more than half of the teachers teaching in the
new program are visiting faculty only. The point of concern here was that the visiting faculty
rarely met with the regular faculty to share their plans and ideas plus they also had not been a
part of the professional development program under the new program. The reason of involving
more of visiting teacher educators, given by one of the participants of the study is that “the
251

institute did not stop offering any of the old programs and launched a new four year program
which has added extra burden”. According to him the institution is offering many programs at a
time. Number of teacher educators as well as space is not enough for all of these new courses
and classes. He mentioned that none of them gets time to sit in the office or library to research
and plan enough for their lessons during the day. He suggested that either “the institution should
induct more people or cut down some of its programs”. Another teacher educator at the
university in Punjab also mentioned the same issue describing her own working hours. She
begins her day at 7 am and returns home at 7 pm. She said, “the new program demands regular
research and activity designing on the teachers’ part which is not possible with this hectic
routine”. She pointed out many a times during conversation that in the above mentioned setting
when they have a lot more on their plate already how could they fulfill the additional
responsibility of undergraduate courses.
No collaboration with affiliated colleges. Under the new TE curriculum reform
institutional networking was identified as one of the needs of time. Both of the teacher educators
mentioned that they did not have any regular communication or collaboration with the teacher
educators teaching at the affiliated colleges. The teacher educator teaching science at the
university in Punjab mentioned they only met with college teachers during the workshops
arranged by USAID-TEP or HEC otherwise they did not collaborate with the colleges as such.
He suggested that there should be more forums where they could meet and share their
experiences during the semester. He identified the issue of having eighty percent of the college
student evaluation being done by the university. He said, “this does not suit the recent reform.
But at university we cannot change it until the decision making bodies agree to it”. He mentioned
that the university in Punjab had affiliated colleges for other undergraduate programs as well and
252

in all those programs it is the university’s responsibility to do the final evaluation which is 80
percent of the total evaluation.
Classrooms practices.
The new TE curriculum reform had the major impact mainly in classroom practices at
the colleges of education. Here at the university teachers claimed that most of the practices that
are recommended under the new reform were already a part of classroom culture at this
institution. I observed four classes, two with each of the two participating teacher educators at
the university in Punjab. The classrooms in the building at the University in Punjab had enough
space to accommodate forty to fifty students. The furniture seemed very similar to that in the
college of education I visited in Punjab. There were no tables for the students but the chairs with
arm-desk. The rooms and laboratories were much better lit and ventilated. The classrooms also
had gas heaters and electric fans. There were fuel power generators which switched on
automatically whenever the electricity shutdown. During the beginning months of 2013, the
classes of the new program were not being held in those classrooms. All classes for B.Ed Honors
at the university in Punjab were being held in science labs and art rooms. I observed four classes
in two different settings. Here are salient features of classroom practices that I observed in two
settings.
Setting 1. This was an arts room where the class of Teaching of Science was being
conducted. Teacher educators kept informing me that this was a temporary arrangement and the
new classrooms were supposed to be ready by another semester. This was obviously not a very
suitable setting for conducting a class (figure7.15)

253

Figure 7.15. A Laboratory where the Classes were held at a University in Punjab

During the two classes at the university in Punjab in this room male and female students
sat separately though they mixed up for the group discussion and activities. There was a mix of
old and new furniture in the room. The number of stools in the room was less than the number of
students. Therefore a few students had to sit in some low chairs and were unable to even see the
teacher from behind the high desks. I also sat on a high stool for a while and then preferred to
keep standing because it was not at all an easy thing to sit on it for an hour-long session. I could
imagine how uncomfortable students must be and how difficult is to pay attention to the lesson.

254

Setting 2. I also attended some classes in another art room at the university in Punjab,
where the students were having some practical artwork done (figure 7.16).
Figure7.16. Art Room at a University in Punjab

The art room at the university in Punjab was spacious enough and the furniture was much
suitable for an interactive class conduct. Such physical environment was helpful for the teacher
as well as the students. There were eight tables with five or six chairs around them and enough
space for the teacher to go around and interact with all the groups of students working on their
pieces of art. The teacher educator mentioned that she prefers to conduct all her classes in this

255

room as she does not like the atmosphere of lecture rooms where all students sit facing the
teacher. According to her this set up is more appropriate for an interactive classroom.
Different sorts of classroom interaction. The two classes I observed with the teacher
educator teaching science were not very different from what I had already observed at the
college of education in Punjab. The teacher educator was the center of attention. He had given
some readings to the student teachers which most of the students had not read. He explained
every topic by giving examples. Mostly used English but sometimes explained in Urdu too. He
kept asking questions but no more than five or six students participated in both classes that I
observed. Day one was more of passive learning while on the second day of observation the
teacher educator also organized a small group discussion. At the end he also asked the students
to do a small individual activity, i.e. to fill in some short answers on the handouts that he went
and got printed for everyone from his office during the class.
Later talking to me about the practices he mentioned that he never gets enough time to
plan lessons and activities. He mentioned that students didn’t know exactly which day he will be
taking the class as he was not coming to the university regularly. He had to go to Islamabad or
within city for meetings with NCRC and or USAID-TEP. He said the time management for him
is the biggest issue. About student response he mentioned that it had always been like that during
group discussions only some of the students are responsive but when they have individual
presentations then all of them are involved. He said, “things like individual presentations and
model lessons has always been very useful to develop their confidence and remove their
hesitance”. According to him the student teachers were new to the university system in
undergraduate program so they were not very confident in classroom interaction.

256

The two classes I observed with the teacher educator teaching Arts and Crafts were much
different from all other classes I had observed at any of the institutions. I did not hear the teacher
educator or the student teachers talking in English at all. The colors and other materials were
limited on each table and only one set of colors was being shared by all student teachers on one
table. The teacher educator and the student teachers were all very comfortable with each other,
they talked and laughed, and even one student attended a phone call on her mobile phone. This
was something unique I observed so far in all four institutions. The teacher educator laughed
with them and also says some witty comments now and then. She seemed to love her work and
her students’ work as well. She was very involved and at times seemed lost in the work
completely. She did not return to me or even looked at me until the end of her class. At the end
on both days coming out of the classroom she asked me if I could comfortably observe and if I
was satisfied.
The teacher educator teaching arts and crafts course at the university in Punjab, described
her practices to be the same since many years. She said “I don’t not think a reform can make
miracle happen”. She explained by saying “it is the institutions and people in them who bring the
real change”. According to her she had always maintained a friendly environment in her classes.
About speaking in English she mentioned she encourages them to use English while they deliver
model lessons and presentations but she does not find it suitable to use English with them
otherwise. According to her students could become hesitant and would not speak if she had made
it a rule in her classroom to only speak in English. She told that her students at Masters Level
were independent enough and she also encouraged collaborative learning since she had been a
teacher educator. With the new group of students in the four-year B.Ed Honorsshe was finding it
difficult because the students were coming directly from higher secondary school level.
257

Use of technology in classroom. There were multimedia projectors and overhead
projectors placed and fixed in the arts rooms where the classes were being held for B.Ed
Honorsat the university in Punjab. I did not see any of the two teacher educators using these
resources during their classes. The teacher educator teaching science explained that he could not
find time to develop presentations or to search for materials to show to the student teachers. He
said “we usually use the projectors more when student presentations are going on”. He admitted
that use of such resources could enhance learning experience but he said for this he needed more
time to sit, search and develop some useful audio-visual materials.
The teacher educator teaching Arts and Crafts informed me that she liked to share the
visual arts with her student teacher before they begin their work. She said “I usually use some
visuals and other technological resources only when I am giving some historical perspectives or
showing them some of the work from various artists”. She said she uses her own laptop mostly
so she can search for materials after office hours and then brings it in to share with the student
teachers. She said for theoretical and historical perspectives she prepares multimedia
presentations. She also informed me that other than their own artwork student teachers also
present on multimedia.
The university in Punjab had much better equipped and maintained laboratories, resource
room, art room and library. Physical infrastructure is being developed further to accommodate
more students. The availability and access to resources was not an issue there. But the utility of
all these resources was yet not optimum. Such underutilization of resources in my view could
result in another story of a lost opportunity for the student teachers who are enrolled in such a
wealthy institutions but are not being guided well how to utilize the resources and get maximum
benefit from it. The teacher educators I talked to were of the view that the students in
258

undergraduate program are not in the habit of utilizing resources and learning independently. The
teacher educators admitted that they were not able to make extra effort with the new students for
which one of the major reasons was that they were very busy in teaching many courses at a time
in many different programs. The participants mentioned that the teacher educators were not
willing to introduce the undergraduate program initially. It was a decision made by the higher
authorities so the faculty members were not much motivated or enthusiastic for it.
Summary Points
The physical resources available at the two universities are not comparable to each other.
The university in Punjab had only adopted the program plan of the new curriculum but they were
designing their own courses. This had enabled teacher educators to design and chose activities
and plan lessons as per available resources. While at the university in Sindh where the program
plan as well as courses were adopted from the centralized curriculum, teachers were only trying
to fulfill the scripted recommendations in the course guides. During their conversations at the
university in Sindh the two teacher educators kept giving explanations for what they could not
do. Here are the main features of availability and use of resources in teacher educators’ practices
at the two universities:
•

At the university in Sindh the building structures are not only old but have not been
maintained at all. The university is offering many programs at a time and the resources
available at the university are not even enough for the teacher educators to use. Locked
book shelves and computer labs once again symbolize the authority and control. The
teacher educators do not get enough time during working days to utilize the resources
available at the university and only plan their lessons based upon their personal resources.
Teacher educators at the university neither collaborate for their lesson planning with their
259

colleagues at the university nor with the college teachers. Classroom practices that I
observed are very traditional and there is almost no use of technology in everyday
teaching learning practices. Minimum use of technology is due to much lesser resource
availability as compared to the students enrolled in various programs and number of
teacher educators who need to use them. Electricity shutdowns also obstruct teacher
educators and students in using technological resources. All these institutional realities
were worth identifying at the time of course development and program design but the
centralized curriculum planning and a top down mechanism never allowed planners of
the recent reform to look at all these issues and challenges.

•

At the university in Punjab the built spaces are comparatively newer and well maintained.
The university offers many other graduate programs. Resources are available for use at
any time during the day for students. Teacher educators have all necessary resources
available in their offices and can utilize them for lesson planning as well as for teaching.
Teacher educators do not plan lessons in collaboration with each other but discuss it
within their departments with the colleagues. They do not get time during the working
days for planning so the teacher educators usually do it after the working hours or at the
weekend only. Classroom practices are mostly teacher centered and teacher educators
explain it as a habit of students coming from traditional backgrounds. Use of technology
seems much better than other institutions as the resources are ample with regards to
number of students and teacher educators. Teacher educators being a part of course
designing and curriculum planning seem to own their practices.

260

Chapter 8
Research and Policy Implications
In this dissertation I have presented a short picture of a study that has just begun. The
findings presented here are only some interpretations of views and perspectives expressed by the
participants as well as of my observations at the selected institutions. It is important to note here
that all the findings in this study are based only on a basic qualitative study of only six
institutions. The goal was to conduct an interpretive analysis of whatever information the
volunteer participants from each institution provided. The study is merely based on the
perspectives of participants at particular institutions, and the findings cannot be generalized. This
fact itself is one of the major findings of the study: that every institution has a different situation,
which in my opinion needs to be considered while planning and implementing a reform. This
study does not cover all aspects at any of the institutions I visited. Here I am presenting some
major findings extracted from the previous four chapters, and then some policy implications and
a further research agenda based upon this basic analysis.
Major Findings
Security issues.
My first and foremost observation during this research study was the security issues
which were hindering even my own research visits to many places around the country. For many
years Pakistan has been facing security issues. None of the local or national governance
institutions have yet been able to adopt a policy to ensure a safe and secure environment, even in
the big and developed cities. Travelling within and between various parts of the country is
becoming so dangerous that I had to wait for weeks to go to a certain region and I had to cancel
some of my research visits. In such circumstances in the regions that I could reach I found out
261

how hazardous it is for teacher educators and students sometimes to even reach the institutions.
The centralized and top down approach of policy planning could never cover the regional and
institutional factors that hinder or challenge the reforms. With bottom-up participation in
curriculum reform, it could be made possible to take security issues into account for policy
implementation.
It is one of my major findings that the new teacher education curriculum reform pertains
to very ideal situations as they are perceived by central government agencies. The new
curriculum planners at the national level have not only extended the period of teacher preparation
at the undergraduate level, but have also upgraded the information level under the taught courses
and have attempted to improve classroom environment without considering the realistic local
scenarios. Teacher educators and student teachers coming to the institutions during mayhem in
the city do not even talk about it. No one at the institutions consider these realities at the bottom
to be a part of the conversation. Teacher educators and the institutional heads try to run the wheel
as smoothly as possible and pretend that everything is normal.
The institutions remain closed for many days and even for weeks, but the uniform
curriculum designed for a semester has no flexibility. Thus the teacher educators try and cover
the topics as quickly as possible to make up for the days when the institution was closed for
security reasons. They cannot think of anything else but to cover the syllabus given to them as a
prescribed agenda. They must finish it and prepare the student teachers for their final
evaluations. The teacher educators at many points highlighted that the curriculum of teacher
education is not planned with these realities in view, and space is not provided where they could
talk about these issues.

262

Energy crisis.
Electricity and natural gas are the two major sources of energy at institutions. In most
regions of the country people face severe weather conditions. Electricity is the major source for
air conditioning, and natural gas is the source for heating. In recent years natural gas was also
being used to a large extent as fuel for motor vehicles. Within the last ten years Pakistan has
undergone a severe power crisis. When I visited Pakistan there were long hours of shutdowns of
electricity and gas, for rationing purposes. The gas shutdowns were causing difficulties for
teacher educators and student teachers to reach the institutions. The main sources of
transportation used by common people use natural gas as fuel, and three days a week gas was not
available around the country. The heating systems across the country mostly use natural gas and
due to the load-shedding of gas, classrooms were reaching below the freezing point at two
institutions when I visited during the winter.
Electricity not only causes a problem with air conditioning during high temperatures, it
also causes trouble in using all technological resources. The new teacher education reform
stressed extensive use of technology in teaching and learning at the teacher education
institutions. Many of the institutions could not use the technological resources at all in various
cities because the electricity load-shedding is done at a maximum level during the day. Some
institutions had arranged fuel power generators, but those were not capable of providing
electricity to the whole institution. Classrooms remained dark and the computer labs only could
be used for a few hours. Some institutions were not able to purchase fuel within their given
budgets.

263

Struggle between control and autonomy.
Control in one form or another was clearly visible in the city life as well as at the
institutions. Two major cities, one in Punjab and one in Sindh presented two different forms of
control and power exertion. In one case in Sindh the political leadership seemed to own the city.
The old and broken streets had high and bright billboards of political leaders. Another city in
Punjab seemed to be under the influence of religious pressure groups. Even the main roads had
slogans of religious hatred and fundamentalism. A fear of the unknown seemed in control and
was evident at many points during conversations.
Pakistan has a bureaucratic administrative structure. Until 2010, when this reform was
launched, the central government had maximum authority to control planning even in provinces.
The new teacher education curriculum was planned and is still being implemented with a
centralized approach and mindset, even after eighteenth amendment. USAID-TEP in
collaboration with the Higher Education commission involved university teachers and managed
to develop a uniform curriculum outline of Associate Degree in Education for all the teacher
education colleges around the country. Only universities have the autonomy to design their own
courses. Still the overall program plan for the undergraduate four-year B.Ed Honors degree is
same for all. Even the university teachers feel powerless when it comes to adopting a program at
the university level. They have the autonomy to design their own courses and select their own
materials, yet they cannot refuse to be a part of the program, which they do not even agree to
offer at the university level. College teachers face power exertion and control from more than
one end. They not only have the college leadership but also the district education departments
and university teachers who evaluate them. USAID-TEP was also seen as another authority at
times. University teachers when talking about or communicating with the teacher educators at
264

the colleges of education, did not seem to be colleagues or partners with them, rather university
teachers seemed to treat and think of college teachers as subordinates. Figure 8.1 represents
emblematic levels of voice and silence that I perceived during my conversations and
observations.
Figure 8.1. Levels of voice and silence among four institutions

A university in
Punjab
Middle
managemen
A college
Punjab

A university in
Sindh

in

A college
Sindh

in

Middle
management

The red line at the bottom presents complete silence, and as we go upward the people
tend to speak in the yellow zone but are not heard much, while the people in the green zone
speak out and are heard at a certain level. The vertical and horizontal distances mean how close
or distant the communication is between the colleges, local middle management, and the
universities. The teacher educators and the leadership at the institutional level seemed to be
working under various forms of pressures. The situation in Punjab seemed much better than in
Sindh. The college teachers as well as the university teachers were much more vocal and were
not ready to approve or accept dictation of any kind. In Sindh, the situation seemed more
difficult. The participants did not feel free to bring changes even at the institutional level. Such
265

power relations were keeping the institutions and individuals in a dilemma. They kept looking at
themselves as the followers of whatever was ordered by the authorities. Not having any voice
even in the curriculum planning was one big example of being powerless. Although college
teacher educators found themselves somewhat autonomous at the classroom level, yet their
autonomy was limited there, because they could teach only what they were told to teach.
Sometimes I felt that it was not only the pressures and power relations rather it was also about
the communication gap among individuals, institutions and authorities.
Curriculum uniformity.
The curriculum plan developed under the supervision of the USAID-TEP team had been
approved by National Curriculum Review Committee at the Higher Education Commission. This
document on the HEC website not only included the program plan for the B.Ed Honors degree
but also includes course guides of two year Associate Degree in Education. Some of the teacher
educators at the colleges of education mentioned again and again that they wanted to bring
certain changes in the contents of the course but they could not. According to the college
teachers their feedback that was collected during the experimental phase has not been given
value and nothing was changed as per their suggestions. Among many other comments of
teacher educators about the curriculum, the two major issues were about student background and
teacher educators’ preparedness for teaching the new curriculum the way it was suggested.
Student background. An admission criterion for the ADE and B.Ed Honors degree is
passing the higher secondary school examination in the second division that is a 45 percent mark
obtained in the intermediate board exams. Once the students came to the colleges of education or
universities, some of the institutions required an admission test and some did not. One of the
major concerns shown about student background was that not all of them came from science
266

background. They could not comprehend even the basic concepts of Math and Science. The new
program plan did not give the option in the first two years for choosing subjects as per student
background, so this was creating big trouble, mainly for science and math teacher educators. The
second concern was about preparing them for independent learning. The new teacher education
reform stressed a lot about innovative teaching learning strategies that can develop the habit of
independent and active learning. Student teachers came from the schools where they had never
experienced these teaching and learning practices. This work made it even more difficult for the
teacher educators to change student habits and prepare the student teachers to adopt the new
pedagogies in future as teachers as well. The third observation and concern was about language.
Student teachers were coming from all sorts of schooling background. Most of them only spoke
regional languages as reported by the teacher educators. They knew how to read and write in
Urdu, but English is not a language used at most of the schools. The stress upon English
language and providing all the course materials only in English was troubling the students as
well as teacher educators. Another significant feature mentioned by some participants again and
again about some courses was that some of the courses were same as those in Masters level
programs. The courses designed for ADE and B.Ed Honors degree were not as per the previous
qualification level of the student teachers. I also found some course outlines to be same as what
was offered in the old M.Ed degree that was a post-graduate program.
Teacher educators’ preparedness. A huge effort under the new teacher education reform
was made in the form of professional development training and workshops. At every institution I
visited the full time teacher educators had attended at least one or more training workshops
during the last two years. The professional development training in the view of teacher educators
was very captivating and interesting but was not enough to develop the skills required to teach
267

the new curriculum. Yet they thought they needed more help. Many of the participants
mentioned that either they or their colleagues were finding the new teaching methodologies
difficult to adopt. Some of them even pointed out the difficulty in comprehending everything in
English.
In some areas, the university teachers found themselves at a better end than college
teachers such as in using computers and other technology but the college teachers needed further
help. For some pedagogical skills, university teachers needed more guidance, such as being more
interactive during classes and adopting more active learning strategies rather than sticking to
their old teacher centered and passive learning practices. Many of the participants mentioned that
having no textbook in hand, they did not know exactly how to select materials, how much detail
to include, and how much reading material they should recommend under the credit hours
scheme. They had been using textbooks and an annual exam system so all this needed more
preparation, knowledge, and skills. They also expressed the desire to get more help in developing
the courses for the specialization phase of year three and four in the B.Ed Honors degree
program.
At three institutions two universities and one college, the number of programs being
offered and the students enrolled were more than the capacity of full time teachers to teach.
Therefore, at these institutions nearly half, and in one case more than half of the faculty teaching
the new curriculum were part time visiting faculty. Under the recent teacher education reform it
was not made sure that all the part time and full time teachers attended the professional
development courses. Thus a significant change cannot be expected because at the institutions;
where a mix of strategies was still being adopted by the teacher in classrooms. Some of the
teacher educators, who themselves claimed to have adopted many new practices as a result of
268

professional development workshops under the new reform, mentioned that the part-time faculty
and the senior teacher educators either did not attend any of the professional development
courses, or only a few days of workshops did not bring any change to their old practices.
Another very important observation came from one of the participants who mentioned
that the teacher educators in universities and colleges, who were known for their content
knowledge and teaching skills are finding themselves in a dilemma. Senior teacher educators
used to teach effectively with how they taught previously but under the new reform they are
pushed to adopt new strategies without enough professional development provided. Thus the
teacher educators are afraid that they “might lose what they were good at”. This took me back
directly to Kennedy’s (2005) fifth hypothesis “the reform ideals themselves may be unattainable
or may impede practice” (p.17).
Physical spaces and resources.
The variations with regards to physical infrastructure and resources at the institutional
level were one of the salient aspects of this study. The six institutions I visited during the two
visits showed somewhat different pictures from each other. At one of the colleges I found a wellbuilt and well maintained infrastructure, especially designed for an educational institution, while
at another I saw an old building, half of which was closed because of being dangerously old and
damaged, while at the third place I also found a college of education being run only in five
rooms borrowed from another technical and vocational institution. Even the two universities I
visited could not be compared with each other with regards to physical space and resources. One
had maximum resources available and extensive budget to improve and maintain resources;
while the other had dark hallways and classrooms, and they were waiting for budget approval to

269

get fuel for the power generator and looking towards a donor agency to develop and improve
their building and equipment.
Libraries had an even more significant part under the new teacher education reform as it
attempted to diminish the text book culture. There were lists of reference books and websites at
the end of each unit in the new course packs developed for teacher educators. These books were
neither available in the libraries nor in the local markets. Only at one of the six institutions that I
visited, the teacher educators showed satisfaction with the library resources they had. All others
mentioned that libraries did not contain the new books and journals they needed for the new
curriculum. Most of the teacher educators were using only a couple of books that they kept with
themselves, or a collection of books they had at home. Student teachers never got those books at
the libraries, or even in the local markets.
Less effective use of available resources was also a salient feature under the new teacher
education reform; the above two findings closely related to this aspect of the study. One was the
power crisis and the other was exertion of control and power. Power crises in the case of using
technological resources were a big hindrance. When there was no electricity at an institution for
four to six hours during the exact times of classes, then one could not think of using even the
available resources for planning and teaching activities. At the college and university, where it
was ensured that the computer labs and e-library would remain open even after the working
hours, and extra resources were invested in keeping the fuel generators working, the use of
technology was much better than the other institutions. Even when the electricity was on at some
institutions, the classrooms were not designed to support technology use. Having no portable
devices and having only one computer lab for all made it difficult for teacher educators to plan
and integrate technology in their lessons and activities. I found it very obvious through
270

conversations and observation that at some of the institutions keeping the resources under lock
and key was practiced as another kind of control and authority. Such culture discouraged teacher
educators and some of them hesitated demanding or requesting again and again. So they only
used what was easily available to them.
Here two significant features of the study are evident. First, the different institutions in
different locations of the country varied with regards to the funds and physical infrastructure
available to them. Second, due to the centralized planning approach and the top down
implementation procedures adopted by the authorities involved, the new TE curriculum reform
faced many challenges and issues at the institutional level.
Teacher educators’ enthusiasm.
A very encouraging finding of the study was the level of enthusiasm that teacher
educators showed. The efforts made by many of the teacher educators are remarkable. Having no
technological resources available, they tried to bring innovations in their teaching and learning
practices through their personal efforts. On the one hand they were investing money from their
own pocket for printing and photocopying; and on the other hand they tried to develop low cost
materials to enhance student learning. The teacher educators showed me their portfolios and
learning aids, with such pride and pleasure as if they had achieved a lot. They actually were
achieving a lot through their personal efforts but they also wanted to improve conditions at the
institutions. They believed that the new curriculum reform was a step towards positive change
and most of them wanted to be a part of the change in one way or the other.
The teacher educators informed me how they used to prepare models with low cost
materials in the old programs. Now the student teachers were preparing more multimedia

271

presentations instead of material models. Some of the teacher educators mentioned that preparing
low cost material models was something more suitable for the school settings where the student
teachers would end up teaching. The teacher educators at two institutions were still using old
material models to teach when they had no other teaching aids available. They were trying to
deliver their best for student learning.
Teacher educators, like other professionals, could become key part of the change process.
As per Fullan’s (1993) lessons, if they were taken as partners and as key forces to bring real
change, they could show miraculous performance. All of them at one point or other mentioned
that they wanted to bring positive change not only for their student teachers but also for
improving teaching practices in schools. They were spending from their own pockets and they
were trying to bring innovations as much as possible, even in the toughest situations that I
observed in KPK and Sindh.
Policy Implications
Regional and institutional variations.
The first lesson that can be extracted from this study is that in Pakistan, social and
institutional environment in one region does not match with these in another region. People in
one geographical area are going through severe security issues, street firings, target killings and
suicidal attacks that are happening every other day. Institutions remain closed for many days and
weeks during the semester. In another region severe weather conditions and the power crisis
makes it even more difficult for teachers and students to even sit inside the classroom or work in
laboratories. Having no funds available for fuel power generators makes it impossible for them
to think of any other alternative but to provide photocopied notes and discuss verbally as they
272

always did in past. In such circumstances, the reform loses its meanings. In the third scenario,
having all resources available, the institutions have adopted a market model, offered many
programs, and enrolled such a large number of students that teacher educators do not even find
time to use the resources available and cannot fulfill the demands of the new curriculum.
Keeping all these and many other diversities in mind, policy planning needs to be flexible and
inclusive of maximum variations, together with both top-down and bottom-up contributions. It
is not necessary that every intuition may begin from the same starting point, and that needs to be
recognized.
Involving local and institutional leadership and practitioners.
An authoritative and hierarchical administrative model being influenced more and more
by the foreign policy borrowing through donor agencies, is making it far more difficult to include
or liberate local bodies and institutions in decision making. Inclusion of variations is not possible
unless the centralized approach and the top-down mindset is converted to decentralization in real
meanings. A real bottom-up procedure with inclusion of the institutional leadership needs to be
adopted at the planning stage, not only at the implementation stage. Involving college heads and
teacher educators in the planning process will help identify the diverse needs of institutions. It
will also help in bringing more flexibility in the plans and giving more sense of ownership to
institutions and individuals. As in Fullan’s (1993) lessons, it will help in making the reforms and
changes a process that may not be seen as a scripted agenda but as a process or a journey in
which everyone travels together.
Continuous appraisal and support. Teacher educators’ professional development
should be considered as a continuous process. Only orientation meetings and two- to three-day
workshops must not be considered enough for all. A comprehensive appraisal model for all
273

teacher educators should be adopted in which through self and peer evaluation they can identify
their own professional development needs. In some regions, the teacher educators informed me
that it was the first time ever that they had had any professional development learning workshop,
or training. On-the-job in-service professional development should become a part of the process
for teacher educators. The Directorate of Staff Development in Punjab is already working on
these lines, but this is a need in other regions as well.
Decrease the differences between university and college teachers.
In Punjab many of the colleges of education offer undergraduate programs as well as
programs up to the Masters’ level; but in other regions the colleges of education are mostly
offering undergraduate programs only. Even the new TE curriculum reform ADE was offered at
colleges of education and the B.Ed Honors degree was offered at universities. Another difference
indicated through document review is that majority of the teacher educators at the colleges of
education only have Masters’ level qualifications and do not go beyond being Senior Subject
Specialists in their career, while at the university a teacher educator enters the workforce as a
lecturer and goes up to the professor level. For every teacher educator at the universities, it is
essential to attain a Ph.D degree. All these and many other differences keep a clear demarcation
between the status of teacher educators in universities and in colleges. Policy recommendations
are needed at this point which may help to reduce these differences and the rivalry conditions
between colleges and universities, and which may help the college teachers gain more of a voice
in leadership to contribute to curriculum reform.
Program evaluation and accreditation instead of curriculum uniformity.
One of the local experts expressed this desire, and it seems a very crucial need of the time
that instead of bringing a forced uniformity to the teacher education curriculum, there should be
274

a better program evaluation and accreditation system. Certain academic bodies at the national
and provincial level should ensure that teacher education programs offered at various institutions
are fulfilling the basic needs, meeting the professional standards, and achieving the goals of
teacher education. Such bodies may include individuals from academia, and they should work in
close collaboration with the higher authorities as well as the institutions.
Regular curriculum review.
None of the participants knew if there had been any mechanism decided on for reviewing
the courses and program plan on a regular basis. Feedback was collected during the first two
years, and now the final program plan and course guides are available for institutions to follow.
But no one knows about whether or how further review will take place. The teacher education
programs developed in the 1980s were never revised until the year 2000 in many parts of the
country. Only a few of universities revised their courses, but the overall plan of programs
remained almost the same for more than two decades at most of the institutions. With this huge
recent reform effort, another thing to remember is to keep reviewing and revising the curriculum
plan and courses on a regular basis. Institutions may be given clear guidelines, for that, and
program evaluation and accreditation may also include this feature as one of the musts for every
institution. Yet it is important to let the institutions be the most influential part of the process, in
order to balance the previously adopted centralized tactic with a more decentralized and bottom
up approach this time.

275

Directions for Future Research
Here I wish to note again that this research report is one of many to come. This study has
just begun and at this stage all of the above findings can lead to further studies and in depth
analyses. I am proposing two major research agendas.
Institutional needs assessment.
First of all, institutional needs assessment studies should be conducted. As mentioned
earlier visiting only six institutions showed how different one institution is from the others. They
all have different sorts of resources available and different sorts of needs to improve teaching
and learning practices. Resources of all kinds - people, money, material and energy, are required
at all institutions to fulfill the demands of the new curricular reform. Some of them have higher
needs than others. An institutional analysis can help in identifying needs and budgeting
accordingly. Certain quantitative and qualitative studies can help in assessing the needs.
Similarly, the needs of professional development can also be anticipated through
institutional surveys and evaluations. Teacher educators finding themselves in a dilemma can be
helped through knowing their exact needs. Some of them identified language issues; some
pointed out their need for help in using technological resources; some expressed the desire to
learn about the credit hour system and as out selecting materials for student learning; and some
of them even recognized that they need to know about copyright laws and plagiarism. Many of
them do not even know that they need to learn more to meet the needs of the new curriculum
reform. They think whatever they are doing is enough, and they do not really need to change
their practices. Such studies can serve in helping all teacher educators evaluate themselves and
recognize their own strengths and weaknesses.

276

Curriculum review studies.
Studies at the institutional level can be conducted to review courses and program plans.
The basic plan of studies that are adopted by all institutions may only be taken as a first attempt,
and from here on the institutions may carry on studies to evaluate the content as well as to
experiment with various pedagogies. Teacher educators at various institutions may collaborate
and work together for such research studies. Old and new curriculum must be compared and
evaluated. Some of the participants in the study highlighted some features of old curriculum that
they think are necessary to be included, but are missing from the new plan of study. Such content
analysis must be made, and revisions may be introduced after exploring the strengths and
weaknesses of certain topics and courses. Initially institutions with better infrastructures and
physical facilities may be selected to experiment with more sophisticated methods of teaching
and using technology in classrooms. Once having some exemplary models ready, then further
courses may be designed for other institutions. The effectiveness of certain methods in the
Pakistani context and the need for using technology may be decided after experimenting at
selected institutions.
Impact studies.
At this point, when one batch of ADE students has graduated, further studies can be
designed to assess the impact of the new curriculum reform. Once the student teachers’
portfolios and grades are recorded and made available for research, it will be a suitable time to
conduct impact studies on student learning. Another time for exploring the impact on their
classroom teaching skills will be when the student teachers join schools to teach during and after
completing their practicum, and some longitudinal data collection can be useful to assess how far
they might be able to carry on the skills and knowledge. Such studies may involve qualitative

277

and quantitative methods to investigate the impact of the new program in comparison with the
old teacher preparation programs. Cross-institutional and cross-regional impact studies can also
be useful in identifying where and how useful the new curriculum is.
What have I learned so far?
This study was a learning experience for me. The first and foremost lesson regards
research approaches and methodology. I had never conducted a purely qualitative study before. I
had been involved in basic and applied research studies since my first job, but I always had a
very positivist approach in designing and conducting research studies. Initially when I was
thinking of this study, I drafted a proposal to conduct a program evaluation, but then I decided
first to plan a qualitative exploratory study, upon which I could further develop my evaluation
instruments. Once I stepped into the qualitative analysis of the basic data that I had collected,
only then did I realize how deep I could go. Thus, instead of developing quantitative tools of
study, I decided to stick to the qualitative analysis; especially knowing that this kind of analysis
is being completely ignored and it is almost nowhere in policy analysis in Pakistan. This learning
experience of conducting a qualitative analysis is surely going to be an addition to my researcher
profile, and hopefully I shall be able to adopt a more mixed method approach, and conduct more
in-depth studies in my future research ventures as a university teacher and researcher in Pakistan.
Yet my own experiences during my research visits also enabled me to learn more about the
issues and challenges that researchers can face. Being a university teacher, it will be an effort on
my part to make things better and help researchers as well as institutions develop a research
culture to support more analytical work.

278

Another very important lesson that I had during the analysis and writing of this
dissertation, is the removal of the “attribution error” that I was making (Kennedy, 2010). I had
field notes from classroom observations and otherwise. When I began writing about teacher
educators’ practices, I was writing more as an evaluator, and I began to criticize their practices,
without acknowledging their circumstances and efforts. Then at one point I stopped and
reminded myself to stop being judgmental, to reduce my own biases, and put myself into their
position and see things more neutrally instead of wearing the cap of an evaluator. This helped
me to step back and look at my diary records from my observations, and I was able to relate the
practices I observed with other institutional realities. Having this kind of realization during my
own analytical work is a lesson that will go a long way for me as a researcher and as a research
supervisor.
Last but not the least I can view the policy planning from a different angle now. I only
had learned and taught the perspectives of planning and management throughout my five-year
university teaching in Pakistan from 2004 to 2009. I taught Masters level courses like “Financing
and Budgeting of Educational Programs,” “Project Implementation and Monitoring,”
“Curriculum Planning and Evaluation,” and “Educational Research and Statistics”. All these
courses had been designed and developed during 1980s and 1990s. Although I was also a
product of the same education system and was working in a public university under the same
hierarchical bureaucratic system, but the authoritarian approach of educational management and
leadership always disturbed me. Attending the meetings at the Higher Education Commission
and at my university, I was always worried, and I expressed my concerns about how and who is
going to implement the plans and programs that we were designing in the central administrative
set-up. But I did not know how to reach out to them. In 2010, when I had heard of the eighteenth
279

amendment, I felt relieved and hoped that things might begin to change. This particular study
helped me to reach the institutions at various locations, and my interpretive analysis of the new
TE curriculum reform revealed many more realities and challenges in various parts of the
country than I had expected.
Knowing the diversity of various regions and the gaps between institutions is making it
almost impossible for the policy makers to bring a real reform in teacher education. Continuing
the centralized and top down approach in policy making and implementation is a mistake that
has been made again and again. On the one hand since Devolution of Powers Plan in Pakistan we
are moving towards giving more and more autonomy to provinces and local bodies to make their
own decisions and with the eighteenth amendment in the constitution, the provinces are given
even more independence in policy making than ever before. But on the other hand since the
beginning of new millennium, policy making is becoming more of out-side-in than an inside-out
process; because of huge involvement and influence of donor agencies in policy making. There
is a dire need at this point of time to stop looking down at the provinces and to include more and
more local bodies, institutions and individual voices to bring a real change. Colleges, universities
and departments of education at provincial and central level need to open ways of collaboration
and communication. Institutions and departments need to come closer. Researchers like me can
play a key role in bridging the gaps and bringing more voices to the table.

280

APPENDICES

281

Appendix A
Figure A.1. Organizational Structure in the Federal Ministry of Education
secretary

Additional
Secretary

Joint Secretary

Deputy Secretary
(Admin/Finance)

Section Officer
()
Section Officer
(General/Protoc
ol)

Deputy
Secretary
(Coord)
Section Officer
(Coord. Legel)

Accounts
Officer ()

Joint Secretary
(1)

Deputy
Secretary (PT)

Joint Secretary
(2)
Deputy
Secretary
(TWD)

Seputy
Secretary
(Educational)

Source: http://www.moptt.gov.pk

282

Section Officer
(IT-1)

Section Officer
(Edu-I)

Section Officer
(PT-II)

Section Oficer
(Budget/Cash
& Accounts)

Section Officer
(PT-1)

Research
Officer ()

Section Officer
(Edu-II)

Appendix B
Figure B.1. Organizational Structure in the Department of Education – Punjab
Secretary School Education

Additional
Secretary (5)

Additional Secretary
(Education Reforms)
Deputy Secretary
(Education
Reforms)
Section Officer
(Training)
Section Officer
(Education
Reforms)

Deputy Secretary
(Elementary
Education)

Deputy Secretary
(Administration
and Coordination)

Deputy Secretary
(Secondary
Education)

Section Officer
(S-III)

Sect. Officer
(Secondary
Education-I)

Section Officer
(Implementation
& Coordination)

Section
Officer (S-IV)

Section Officer
(Secodnary
Education-II)

One Window
Operation

Section
Officer
(Recuritment)

Section Officer
(Secodnary
Education-VI)

Section Officer
(Administration)

Section Officer
(S-VII)

283

Deputy Secretary
(Inquiry and
Discipline

Deputy Secretary
(Ligation)
Law Officer

Section
Officer (Inq.
& Discip-I)
Section
Officer (Inq. &
Discip-II)
Section Officer
(Prob)

Section Officer
(S-WI Law)
Section Officer
(LIgation)

Figure B.1. cont’d.
Additional Secretary (General)

Deputy Secretary (Academic)

Deputy Director
(Monitoring
Assistant Director
(Monitoring)

Section Officer
(Academic)

Assistant Director
(Administration)
System Analyst

Additional Secretary (Budget
Secretary School Education
& Planning)
Deputy Secretary
General)
Section Officer
(G-IV)
Section Officer
(D& C)
Section Officer
(Assembly
Business)

Deputy Secretary (Budget
& Planning)
Section Officer (SNE)
Section Officer (Budget)
Section Officer (Audit)
Section Officer (ADP)
Section Officer Schools
Section Officer School

Source: http://schools.punjab.gov.pk/

284

Appendix C
Figure C.1. Organizational Structure in the Department of Education – Sindh
SECRETARY
SPL. SECY
ADDL. SECY
(HE)

DG
(COLLEGES)

ADDL. SEC
(A & T)

ADDL. SEC (GA &C)

SPL. SECY. FOR
SPL. EDU.
ADDL. SEC
(ENDOWMEN
T)

DG (PITE)

CHAIRMAN
CHARTER &
INSP)

CHIEF PROG. MAN. (RSU)

DIRECTOR
TECH. EDU)

ADDL.SEC
(PDF)
ALL
PROJECTS
DIRECTOR (P & D)

CHAIRMAN (STBB)

ADDL. SEC
(SCHOOLS)

DIRECTOR (BOC)

DIRECTOR (PVT.
SCH)

MNG. DIR (S.E.F)

Source: http://www.sindh.gov.pk/dpt/EducationFinal/

285

DIRECTOR
(INSPECTIONS)

DEPUTY
SECRETARY

Appendix D
Table D.1. Labels coded at the second stage of coding
1. Previous qualifications
3. Previous experiences
5. Foreign trainings
7. Current position
9. Involvement with ADE
11. Involvement in the curriculum
planning meetings
13. Attended training workshops
15. Reaction to training workshops
17. Information about professional
standards
19. Professional Standards Booklet
21. Introduction to standards
23. Standards addressed at training
workshops
25. Relationship of curriculum and
standards
27. Relationship of assessment and
standards
29. Comparison of new and old
curriculum
31. New techniques and methodology
33. Use of technology
35. Content courses
(strengths/weaknesses)
37. Methods courses
(strengths/weaknesses)
39. Course Pack (strengths/
weaknesses)
41. Missing subjects/topics in new
scheme
43. Social studies one course only
45. Curriculum review process
47. Position of college teachers
49. Feedback process
51. Subject allotment
53. Content revisions- issues and
challenges
55. Changes needed – subject wise
57. Local needs

2. Classroom size
4. Furniture
6. Computer lab issues
8. Electricity issues
10. Internet issues
12. Printing and photo copying
14. Teachers expenses
16. Budget issues
18. Enrolment criteria
20. Large number of applications
22. Selection criteria
24. Qualification and rank differences
26. Teachers role in selection of
material
28. Student dissatisfaction
30. Attraction to scholarships
32. Attraction to job promises
34. Student quality
36. Interactive classrooms
38. Group activity
40. Active learning
42. Pair n share
44. Student involvement
46. Teachers training
48. Teachers’ skills
50. Language issues
52. Ability levels of new students
54. Internal assessment
56. Grading and scoring
58. External assessment

286

Table D.1. cont’d.
59. Teacher educators are not ready for
credit/semester
61. Schools are not ready
63. Administration and school
environment
65. Orientation of schools
67. Physical resources
69. Practicum in local schools
71. Number of students
73. No books and libraries
75. Feedback of teacher educators not
valued
77. No research Journals
79. No rules of copyright
81. Authoritative

60. Examination system
62. Assignments and projects
64. Further two year policy
66. Teachers’ subject mastery
68. Hopes
70. Fears and Challenges
72. School environment (culture)
74. Schools physical facilities
76. Insecure scenarios
78. Expenses by teachers
80. Expenses by students
82. Teachers’ personal efforts

287

Appendix E
Table E.1. Some common challenges perceived by the participants
Perspectives
Perceptions

and College of edu.
Sindh Female
Hd

Four year program is
not
suitable
for
Pakistan
New
teaching
strategies are not
suitable for colleges
Number of students
enrolled
in
one
classroom are too big
Teacher
educators
are not ready for
applying the new
strategies
Content is heavy for
the given time in a
semester
Teachers do not
know how to select
materials
in
accordance
with
credit hours
Reference materials
are not available to
replace text books

TE1 TE2

College of edu. KPK
Male
Female

University NCRC
in Punjab Experts

Hd

TE
1

TE TE1

College of
University
edu. Punjab in Sindh
Male
TE Hd TE
TE1 TE2
2

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

TE2

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

288

X

X

Pub Pvt
lic
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Table E.1. cont’d.
Trainings provided are not
enough
Physical
facilities
in
institutions limit reform
Content of courses is
higher than students’ level
Students cannot develop
independent
learning
habits quickly
Students from humanities
cannot study this content
Program
plan
has
imbalance structure
Work environment in
schools is not supportive of
such reforms
Physical conditions of
schools do not match with
the
reform
recommendations
Course
development
process is not appropriate
Lack of communication
/coordination
among
university and colleges

X
X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

289

X

REFERENCES

290

References

AED., & USAID. (2005). Directory of teacher education/training institutions in Pakistan.
Retrieved from http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADI415.pdf
Ahmed, M. R. (2012). Factors affecting initial teacher education in Pakistan: Historical analysis
of policy network. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 13(2), 104113.
Ahmad, R., & Rashid, A. (2011). Discourse, donors and development: The policy conundrum in
Pakistan. In Aneel, S. S., Haroon, U. T., & Salman, A. (Eds.), Fostering sustainable
development in South Asia: Responding to challenges. Islamabad, Pakistan: Sang-e-Meel
Publishers.
Ahmed, S. N., & Aziz, S. A. (2012). Quality in teacher education: A situational analysis of
quality assurance strategies of teacher education in Pakistan. Interdisciplinary Journal of
Contemporary Research in Business, 7(4), 173-182.
Ali, S. (2011). Deficient policy communication deficient outcomes-capacity building policy
under education reforms in Sindh, Pakistan. Bulletin of Education and Research, 33(1),
1-19.
Ahsan, M. (2003). An analytical review of Pakistan’s educational policies and plans. Research
Papers in Education, 18(3), 259-280.
Auerbach, C.F. & Silverstein, L.B. (2003). An introduction to coding and analysis: Qualitative
data. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Bashir ud Din, A., Bana, Z., & Afridi, A. K. (2012). Education in Pakistan: Learning from
research partnerships. Karachi, Paksitan: Oxford University Press.
Bauer, M. W., Gaskell, G., & Allum, N. C. (2000). Quality, quantity and knowledge interests:
Avoiding confusions. In Bauer, M. W., & Gaskell, G. (Eds.). Qualitative researching
with text, image and sound. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. (1966). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for
research. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.
Chaudhry, A. G., & Chaudhry, H. R. (2012). Development chronicle of Pakistan: A case of
colonial legacy. Retrieved from http://sbbwu.edu.pk/journal/SUMMER-2012-vol-6-No1/Paper%207.pdf
Coburn, C. (2001). Collective sense-making about reading: How teachers mediate reading
policy in their professional communities. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis,
23(2), 145-170.

291

Collins, A. (1996). Whither technology and schools? Collected thoughts on the last and next
quarter centuries. In C. Fisher & D. C. Dwyer & K. Yocam (Eds.), Education and
technology: Reflections on computing in classrooms (pp. 51-66). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for
developing grounded theory (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Denscombe, M. (2007). Good research guide: For small scale social research projects. (3rd ed).
Berkshire, England: Open University Press.
Donald, P.W., & Fernando, R. (1995). Hope or despair? Learning in Pakistan’s primary
schools. London, UK: Praeger Publishers.
DSD. (2012). Introduction. Retrieved December 19, 2012
from http://www.dsd.edu.pk/pages/contents/7
Fahim, M. (2012). Postcolonial hangover partly to blame for stunted local government in
Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Retrieved March 4, 2013 from
http://tribune.com.pk/story/449871/postcolonial-hangover-partly-to-blame-for-stuntedlocal-government-in-pakistan-india-and-bangladesh/
Fullan, M. (1993). Change forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. New York, NY:
Taylor and Francis Group.
Fullan, M. (1999). Change forces: The sequel. Philadelphia, Pa: Falmer Press.
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures (reprinted, 2012). New York, NY: Basic
Books.
Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A.L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for
qualitative research. New Burnswick, NJ: Aldine Publishing.
Glesne, C. (2010). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Boston, MA: Allyn &
Bacon Publishing.
Gold, S.J. (2007). Using photography in studies of immigrant communities: Reflecting across
projects and populations. In Stanczak, G.C. Visual research methods (pp 141- 166).
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Government of Pakistan. (2010). A bill further to amend the constitution of Islamic Republic of
Pakistan. Retrieved March 4, 2013
from http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/report_constitutional_18th_amend_bill20
10_020410_.pdf
Government of Punjab. (n.d.). Schools Education Department. Retrieved March 04, 2013
from http://schools.punjab.gov.pk/?q=system/files/SED-Organogram.gif

292

Government of Sindh. (n.d.). Education and literacy department. Retrieved March 04, 2013
from http://www.sindh.gov.pk/dpt/EducationFinal/Introduction/Intro-Organogram.htm
Hall, S. (Ed.) (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. London,
UK: SAGE Publications.
Haque, M. S. (2007). Theory and practice of public administration in Southeast Asia: Tradition,
directions and impacts. International Journal of Public Administration. Singapore,
Singapore: Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
Harper, D. (1988). Visual sociology: Expanding sociological vision. The American Sociologist.
(Spring), 54-71. Retrieved September 30, 2012
from http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~pms/cj355/readings/harper.pdf
Harper, D. (2002). Talking about pictures: A case for photo elicitation. Visual Studies 17(1), 1326.
Harvard Business School. (2005). Managing change to reduce resistance. Boston, MA: Harvard
Business School Press.
HEC. (2009). Curriculum of education B.Ed/BS (HONS) & M.Ed. Retrieved January 13, 2010
from http://www.hec.gov.pk/InsideHEC/Divisions/AECA/CurriculumRevision/Documen
ts/Education%202006.pdf
HEC. (2012). Curriculum of education B.Ed Honors Elementary; Associate Degree in
Education. Retrieved January 4, 2013
from http://www.hec.gov.pk/InsideHEC/Divisions/AECA/CurriculumRevision/Documen
ts/Education-2012.pdf
Hull, M.S. (2012). Government of paper: the materiality of bureaucracy in urban Pakistan. Los
Angeles, CA: University of California Press
Hill, H. (2001). Policy is not enough: Language and the interpretation of state standards.
American Educational Research Journal, 38(2), 289-318.
I-SAPS. (n.d.). 18th constitutional amendment: Issues and challenges in curriculum and
standards. Retrieved December 26, 2012 from http://isaps.org/Publications/Info/18th%20Amendment%20pdf.pdf
Islam, N. (2004). Sifarish, sycophants, power and collectivism: Administrative culture in
Pakistan. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 70(2), 311-330.
Jadoon, M.Z.I., & Jabeen, N. (2010). Public administration education in Pakistan: Issues,
challenges and opportunities. Pakistan Vision. 11(1), 120-141.
Jalil, N. (1998). Pakistan’s education the first decade. In Hoodbhoy, P. Education and the state:
Fifty years of Pakistan. (pp 23-42). Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press

293

Javed, M., Juan, W. X., & Nazli, S. (2012). The role of the directorate of staff development
(DSD) in teacher training in Pakistan in the public sector schools. LANGUAGE IN
INDIA: Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow, 12 (November) 376-392.
Juliet, C. & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research (3rd Ed). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE
Publications.
Kennedy, M, M. (2005). Inside teaching : how classroom life undermines reform. Cambridge,
Mass: Harvard University Press.
Kennedy, M. M. (2010). Attribution error and the quest for teacher quality. Educational
Researcher, 39(8), 591-598.
Kizilbash, H.H. (1998). Teaching teachers to teach. In Hoodbhoy, P. (ED) Education and the
state: Fifty years of Pakistan. (pp 102-135). Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press
MacDougall, D. (1997). The visual in anthropology. In Banks, M., & Morphy, H. (Ed.),
Rethinking visual anthropology. (pp.276-295) London, UK: Yale University Press.
Marshall, C. & Rossman, G. (1999). Designing qualitative research (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE Publications.
Maxwell, J. A. (1996). Qualitative research design: An interpretive approach. Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE Publications.
Mawxell, J.A. (2005). Designing a qualitative study. In Bickman, L., & Rog, D.J. (Ed.). The
SAGE handbook of applied social research methods, (pp 214-253). Los Angeles, CA:
SAGE Publications.
Ministry of Education, Policy and Planning Wing, & UNESCO (2009). National professional
standards for teachers in Pakistan. Retrieved December 23, 2010
from http://unesco.org.pk/education/teachereducation/files/National%20Professional%20
Standards%20for%20Teachers.pdf
Ministry of Education. (1998). National Education Policy 1998-2010. Islamabad, Pakistan:
Government of Pakistan.
Ministry of Education (2009). National Education Policy Review. Islamabad: Retrieved October
10, 2009 from http://www.moe.gov.pk/nepr/default.asp
Ministry of Education (2009). National Education Policy 2009. Islamabad, Pakistan:
Government of Pakistan
Mitchell, J., Salman, H., & Mujaffar, I. (2005). Education sector reforms in Pakistan: Demand
generation as an alternative recipe. In Hathaway, R.M. (Ed.), Education reform in
Pakistan: Building for the future. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International
Center for Scholars. Retrieved March 04, 2013
from http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/FinalPDF.pdf
294

Parveen, S. (2008). An evaluative study of primary education in the light of policies and plans in
Pakistan (1947 – 2006). Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 7(5), 17-26.
Pink, S. (2007). Doing visual ethnography: Images, media and representation in research. (2nd
ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Pre Service Teacher Education in Pakistan (2009). Retrieved Oct 20, 2009
from http://www.prestep.org
PreSTEP/USAID. (2009). Rationalization of pre-service teacher education programs in
Pakistan. Retrieved January 12, 2012
from http://www.pakteachers.org/sites/default/files/publications/rationalization-studyreport.pdf
Popper, K.R. (1968). Conjectures and refutations: The growth of scientific knowledge. New
York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers.
Research and Scholarly Integrity (2012). Retrieved August 10, 2012
from http://grad.msu.edu/researchintegrity/resources/protection.aspx
Saldana, J. (2010). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Los Angeles, CA: Sage
Publications.
Shah, D. (2003). Country report on decentralization in the education system of Pakistan:
Policies and strategies. Islamabad, Pakistan: Academy of Educational Planning and
Management
Shah, M.A., Kiani, K. M., Mahmood, Z., & Hussain, I. (2011). In-service training of secondary
level teachers: A follow up of teachers’ performance in comparative perspective. Journal
of Education and Practice, 11(2), 40-49
Shah, S.M.H. (2008). Implementation of devolution plan in education sector in Pakistan:
Variations across provinces and districts (unpublished dissertation). Retrieved May 05,
2012 from http://prr.hec.gov.pk/Thesis/591S.pdf
Siddiqui, S. (2010). 18th amendment and education. Retrieved January 4, 2013
from http://dawn.com/news/570524/18th-amendment-and-education-by-dr-shahidsiddiqui
Siddiqui, S. (2010). Rethinking education in Pakistan. Karachi: Paramount Publishing
Enterprise.
Siddiqui, S. (2012). Education inequalities and freedom: A sociopolitical critique. Islamabad,
Pakistan: Narratives (Pvt) Limited.
Spillane, J. (2001). Standards deviation. How schools misunderstand education policy.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

295

STEDA. (2013). Sindh Teacher Education Development Authority. Retrieved March 1, 2013
from http://www.steda.gos.pk/index.php
Tanveer-ul-Zaman. (2000). Teacher education in Pakistan. Islamabad, Pakistan: Allama Iqbal
Open University Press.
Tunio, N. A., & Aziz, S. A. (2012). A study of the effectiveness of teacher training programs in
English for secondary and higher secondary schools in district Larkana. Interdisciplinary
Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 6(4) 951-956
UNESCO. & USAID. (2006). Situation analysis of teacher education: Towards a strategic
framework for teacher education and professional development. Retrieved Oct 20, 2009
from http://unesco.org.pk/education/teachereducation/files/sa1.pdf.
UNESCO. (2009). Teacher education for quality education. Retrieved December 23, 2009
from http://unesco.org.pk/education/step.html
USAID. (2009). Education –Pakistan. Retrieved December 23, 2009
from http://www.usaid.gov/education-0
USAID. (2010). The audit report. Retrieved March 4, 2013
from http://oig.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/audit-reports/g-391-12-004-p.pdf
USAID. (2011). Overall audit report USAID. Retrieved March 4, 2013
from http://oig.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/other-reports/sarc0311.pdf
USAID-TEP. (2013). USAID teacher education project. Quarterly progress report: Oct 1- Dec
31. (Unpublished report) Submitted to USAID. Pakistan
USAID-TEP. (2013). Introduction. Retrieved March 4, 2013
from http://pakteachers.org/USAID_Introduction
US-Embassy. (2009). PRESS RELEASES. Retrieved on Oct 20, 2009,
from http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/pr-09080701.html
World Bank. (2006). Simplified implementation completion report. The Islamic Republic of
Pakistan. Report No. 35465. Retrieved February 13, 2012
from http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/235716/Implementation%20Completio
n%20Report_Pakistan.pdf
Yanow , D. (2000). Conducting interpretive policy analysis. Los Angeles, CA : SAGE
Publications.
Yanow, D., & Schwartz-Shea, P. (2006). Interpretation and methods: Empirical research
methods and the interpretive turn. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
Zaki, W.M. (1989). Evaluation of educational plans and projects. Islamabad, Pakistan: National
Book Foundation.
296

Zeichner, K. M., & Liston, D. P. (1990). Traditions of reform in U.S. teacher education. Journal
of Teacher Education, 41(2), 3-20.
Zhao, Y., & Frank, K. A. (2003). Factors affecting technology uses in schools: an ecological
perspective. American Educational Research Journal, 40(4), 807-840. Retrieved March
24, 2013
from https://www.msu.edu/~kenfrank/papers/Factors%20affecting%20technology%20us
es%20in%20schools.pdf

297