Vol. 2, Issue 10, Part A (2016)

Quality and excellence in the education sector is one of the major initiatives of the Government of India in its plans. To achieve the outcome of enhanced quality at all levels of education, Govt. of India has been focusing its attention on quality and excellence in higher education and teacher education. Teacher quality has produced voluminous studies that line many a research library. Discussion on what it is, how it is developed, and its connection to student achievement have become the feature of educational slang in the 21st century. These seek to look at teacher quality in away in which it brings: as a means to review how the terms excellence and quality are shaped by policy, identify how educators perceive teaching quality and to review how quality is cultivated in teachers. Within this scope, this article provides an overview of teacher education and evaluation in India and lastly we discuss about issues and challenges in teacher education. Several studies related to classroom environment and teacher behavior in selected subjects are referenced. The results from different papers and articles and some interview with teachers from different schools and colleges indicate that some items may be irrelevant in the Indian context (e.g., physical characteristics), while more items may be needed to reflect good teaching in India (e.g., questioning skills). In addition, the potential use of teacher profiles to drive staff development and academic improvement is explored.