Institutional Report
The unit’s conceptual framework enables the unit to articulate a shared and coherent vision that is committed to
knowledge, teaching, competence, and student learning. It reflects the units commitment to professionalism,
diversity, technology, and excellence. It is systemically applied throughout all programs and aligned with
professional and state standards.
Vision and Mission of the Unit
The vision and mission statements of the unit were
revisited by the faculty in Fall 2007, and the revisions were finalized in March 2008, as the unit
conceptual framework was emerging from extensive reflection and collaboration.
Philosophy, Purpose, Goals, and Institutional Standards
The unit’s conceptual framework is summarized in the phrase, “Together we shape the future through
excellence in teaching, scholarship, and leadership.” It was decided to include the
word together to indicate that the unit recognizes the importance of collaboration with other
education agencies and stakeholders in Qatar in order to effectively shape the future of education. Together also
relates our commitment to diversity, in which the contributions of all stakeholders are honored and valued, and
the goal is excellence for all students.
The act of “shaping the future” focuses on three areas:
teaching, scholarship, and leadership. The faculty and the teacher education candidates are expected to
demonstrate excellence in these three key areas.
The design that represents the conceptual framework
incorporates the color blue that the university uses to represent the College of Education; a plant, indicating
shaping and growth; and the Qatar University building architecture (right bottom corner) to symbolize
Qatar/Arabic culture. The design was developed in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders.
The three pillars of the conceptual framework – teaching, scholarship, and leadership – are supported by
specific unit learning outcomes, aligned with the National Professional Standards for Teachers and School
Leaders (QNPS). The unit
learning outcomes are aligned to the QNSP so that our candidates are well prepared to apply for their licensure
(see Alignment Matrix). The knowledge base for the unit’s conceptual
framework, “Together we shape the future through excellence in teaching, scholarship, and leadership,” draws
from both the research base and the uniqueness of the unit.
Together. The key word, “together,” was placed in the beginning of the
conceptual framework to represents strong collaboration with a number of agencies and stakeholders who are also
committed to the current education reform in Qatar. Building capacity and sustainability in education is a
critical factor in supporting this growing nation and preparing human capital for future workforce. While
the unit is committed to prepare competent educators and school leaders, it is a shared responsibility among all
who are interested and invested in the state’s growth and the education of learners in K-12, who would
eventually lead the future of Qatar. The term also reflects our recognition and respect for the diverse nature
of Qatar’s society and student population, in which multiple cultural, linguistic, and historical groups
contribute to the shape and strength of the educational environment. It also expresses the commitment of the
unit to prepare candidates that have the dispositions, knowledge, and skills to provide excellence in education
for all students.
We Shape the Future. The
unit prepares teacher candidates and school leaders who make contributions to shaping the future of Qatar. The
faculty, teacher education candidates, and graduates are involved and expected to participate in shaping the
future of Qatar. The unit believes that excellent teaching, scholarship, and leadership, aligned with the
university vision and the unit, directly relate to how the future of Qatar is shaped.
Teaching. Candidates from the unit must demonstrate the knowledge, skills,
and dispositions expected in the unit learning outcomes and the QNPS. Excellence in
teaching must be carried out by the use of best practices in facilitating student learning in the K-12
classrooms. The unit focuses importance on the content and pedagogical knowledge and skills in all the programs.
According to Darling-Hammond (2006), teachers who lack preparation rely more on rote methods of learning; are
more autocratic in the ways they instruct; are less skilled at managing complex forms of instruction aimed at
deeper understanding; are less capable of meeting children’s learning styles and needs; and are less likely to
see it as their job to accommodate them, blaming students when their teaching is not successful. Teacher
candidates should develop teaching efficacy where they believe it is possible to influence learner achievement
regardless of influences such as socioeconomic level, family, friends, and school and personal teaching efficacy
(i.e., with how a teacher believes in his or her abilities to make a difference in the classroom) (Zientek,
2007).
Teacher candidates are expected to demonstrate high quality teaching and, similarly,
faculty members in the unit are also challenged to exemplifying best practices in university classrooms.
It is expected that the faculty will model best practices for candidates who then apply knowledge and skills in
actual K-12 settings through their field experience and clinical practices.
Scholarship. The faculty members in the unit are committed to prepare
candidates who think critically, solve problems, make decisions and reflect on sound data. Quality teaching and
learning are grounded in scholarly knowledge generated through inquiry within and outside of classrooms.
Candidates are expected to engage in ongoing reflective practice and make informed decisions about their
instructional practices and the learning of their students. The scholarship of teaching builds and strengthens a
shared culture in which practitioners reflect on their teaching, use effective classroom assessment techniques,
discussing teaching issues with colleagues, try new strategies, and read and apply the literature on teaching
and learning in their discipline and engage in reflective practices (Bowden, 2007; Gray, Chang, & Radloff,
2007). Based on this expectation, the candidates must be committed to advancing the quality of teaching and
learning in schools by using the tools of scholarship to educate the coming generations of
children.
Leadership. Whether one’s role involves
teaching or school administration, the characteristics of leaders are essential for helping others to achieve
goals and improve student learning. Although the unit offers a master’s program in educational leadership, the
philosophy extends to all teacher candidates who are expected to become teacher leaders in their schools through
various capacities and roles they play. The role of leader may be to assist other teachers or to develop
programs and policies (Conley & Muncey, 1999). Blankstein (2004) indicates that shared leadership is
critical for creating a successful learning community, and the benefits of teacher leadership can result in
improving teacher efficacy and supporting teacher retention. According to Urbanski and Nickolaou (1997), teacher
leadership is a critical component when an education reform takes place in schools. Teacher leaders serve as
mentors to new teachers, coaches to each other, peer evaluators, and team members with other teachers. They also
write curricula, design and deliver professional development sessions, speak about teaching and learning, and
conduct research in education. Reform efforts may stand a better chance of penetrating the classroom and
bringing better results in student learning when teacher candidates are prepared to become teacher leaders while
in their pre-service and in-service programs.
Candidate Proficiencies Related to Expected Knowledge, Skills, and Professional Dispositions
The faculty in the unit identified learning outcomes to meet each of the three elements in the conceptual
framework. The category of teaching has four areas of outcomes: content, pedagogy, technology, and diversity.
These categories reflect the unit’s emphasis on technology and diversity. It is critical that the candidates are
well prepared to demonstrate the use of technology for teaching, with students, and in classroom management.
Diversity
is another focus because Qatar is a diverse community with people from all over the globe. In addition, Qatar
schools follow a full-inclusion policy, and most learners with identified or unidentified disabilities are
mainstreamed in general education classrooms. All educators must be able to teach all children and adolescents
regardless of their disability, race, or economic status.
The scholarship section has two
learning outcomes: scholarly inquiry and problem solving. Finally, the areas that are identified for the
leadership category are ethical values and initiative. Each area aligned with the QNPS so that the teacher
candidates have opportunities to perform expected knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
Even
though the IRTE does not require specialized association standards for each discipline or content area, several
programs chose to align their curriculum with a set of appropriate international standards. For example, the
B.Ed. program courses and key assignments within those courses were aligned to both the QNPS and the Interstate
New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards for beginning teachers (Program
Alignment). The program for the M.Ed. in Education Leadership follows the standards from the Educational
Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) (Alignment
Chart). (Please note that although some course names may have changed during the early stages of the
programs, no content or skills were omitted by these changes.)
Summary of the Unit’s Assessment System
The unit assessment system was developed to closely monitor each candidate’s educational performance throughout
his/her program. Evaluations on candidate performance are conducted on multiple points to follow their
progression, referred as “Checkpoints.” 1) at admission into the teacher education
program; 2) time of application for student teaching or internship; 3) completion of student teaching or
internship; and 4) during their induction year. Checkpoints two and three require candidates to develop their
electronic portfolios, referred as e-folios, addressing each of the unit learning outcomes by presenting their
reflective writings for each learning outcome along with one or more artifacts to support their rationales.
The
advanced teacher candidates in the M.Ed. Special Education and the candidates in the M.Ed. in Educational
Leadership also have four checkpoints: 1) end of the second semester; 2) end of third semester and application
for internship; 3) completion of internship and end of fourth semester; and 4) post-graduation (end of first
year after completion of program). These candidates are required to produce their e-folios at checkpoints one
and three. As for initial candidates, these candidates in the M.Ed. programs must address each of the unit
learning outcomes by presenting their reflective writings for each learning outcome with one or more artifacts
to support their rationales.