Innovating Teacher Pre-Service Education in Bahrain: An International Partnership Model

by Lucy Bailey
Bahrain Teachers College, University of Bahrain, Bahrain.

10.46679/isbn978819484832503

Abstract

This chapter reports on the process used to develop a revised curriculum for initial teacher education in the Kingdom of Bahrain, using this case-study institution to reflect on the evolving nature and purpose of teacher preparation in the twenty-first century (McMahon, Forde & Dickson, 2015), and the drivers and impediments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to ensuring that teacher education programs keep abreast of wider social change. The chapter, therefore, contributes to the burgeoning literature analyzing the worldwide evolution of teacher education (Tan, Liu & Low, 2017).

The chapter begins by explaining the reasons underpinning a proposed revision of the Bachelors in Education (BEd) programme. It next reports on the process that was adopted to undertake the curriculum revision, arguing that the concepts of ―policy borrowing‖ and ―policy learning‖ are both problematic, and suggesting that these should be replaced by the idea of ―institutional partners‖. The chapter subsequently examines how potential tensions between local and global practices were leveraged in the revision through this partnership model.

This case study in the development of a pre-service teacher education curriculum is of interest to international scholars as it explores the place of teacher education in both driving and reflecting social change, and it raises questions about how competing conceptualizations of teacher education reflect contrasting visions for society (Säfström & Saeverot, 2017). Interweaving sociological and philosophical perspectives on teacher education and development, this chapter will be of interest to curriculum developers, teacher educators, and teacher practitioners alike.

Keywords: institutional partners, policy borrowing, policy learning, teacher education, curriculum revision.

This chapter is a part of: Innovations in Educational Leadership and Continuous Teachers’ Professional Development (Eds. Osama Al Mahdi, Ph.D.)

© CSMFL Publications & its authors.

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