Philosophical Perspectives of Skill Development in Teacher Education

Abstract

The philosophical perspectives skills development in teacher education is discussed with a focus on the relationship between philosophy and education as rooted in the principles and methods of teaching and learning basic skills in teacher education. Philosophy guides the understanding of the nature of human beings who need education and the place of the educator in skill development. The approach to skill development is to point to those purposeful human needs to explore, establish, apply, manage and administer safe and ethical practices and procedures of science, technology, mathematics and humanities to generate new knowledge and exploit this knowledge to serve the economy, the environment and society. Requirements for achieving the above objectives include the core skills of doing science, communication, management, and critical thinking, as well as the skill to identify, compare, and contrast qualities, perform analyses, and appropriately interpret the meaning of signs. Educator must possess these skills so as to have the capability to develop them in students; and this is the crucial task of teacher education.