Present, past, and future of training teachers in El Salvador

In El Salvador, training is viewed as a single process beginning from the time the teacher enters pre-service programs until he or she retires. At the same time, it is viewed in consonance with curriculum and materials development, i.e., each a part of a unified effort to improve the quality of education. The study was conducted at a time when the Government of El Salvador (GOES) had just increased initial teacher preparation from 2 postsecondary years to 3. New primary school curriculum programs had also been implemented in 1988. Despite this, both teacher education and curriculum development were in a state of turmoil and uncertainty. There is currently no problem with the supply of primary school teachers, exactly the opposite of what was true a decade ago. By placing teacher training in 8 public and 5 private Technological Institutes in 1982, the GOES made 3 notable achievements: (1) transforming a deficit in the number of trained primary school teachers to a surplus of some 5,000-8,000; (2) increasing the number of years of study for the primary school teacher from 12 in 1980 to 15 years today; and (3) stimulating the interest of young people in teaching so that only about 1 of every 5 who want to enter the field are accepted at the training centers. Nevertheless, many people are calling for a return to teacher training within a single, centralized unit at the Ciudad Normal. One reason for the outcry is that the new teachers who entered the profession in the 1980"s have come largely from lower income groups, thus shifting the traditional middle class base of the profession. In addition, most of the Technological Institutes are poorly equipped, understaffed, small, and unable to offer quality training. Further, mixing teacher training with technical education is viewed by many as demeaning to the profession. To improve the quality of the training programs, the GOES is considering: increasing the number of years of pre-service training from 3 to 4-5; providing training in fewer institutions, such as one in the central area outside of San Salvador, one in the east, and one in the west of the country; and freezing enrollments for 1-2 years while these changes are being finalized. The GOES will need support in three areas to implement these proposals: (1) providing medium-term training to the trainers of teachers (fewer than 100 in the entire country) on a massive scale in 1990-91; (2) equipping the newly selected centers with modern bibliographies, materials, and equipment to raise the quality level of the training; and (3) reorienting the curricular programs of the pre-service training centers, focusing on active methodologies, a more scientific base, and work with the communities. This report also considers issues pertaining to in-service teacher training and the primary school curriculum. (Author abstract)