Abstract

This chapter interprets some of the key features of the discourse on the teacher education programme, i.e. BEd, for secondary-level teachers. It describes the structure and the components of the century-old BEd degree programme and attempts to locate some of the unidentified tensions in the discourse of teacher education. The three components of teacher education are: educational theory, method, and practicum. However, the method dominates in shaping the ethos and experiences of students. The chapter highlights the implications of an absent convergence between subject knowledge and educational theory as a result of which teachers-in-the-making do not learn to be excited about knowledge and ideas. The analysis also deconstructs the ethos of a teacher education institution by narrating students’ conduct and certain important rituals such as cultural activities and by recognising the shadow of school life in the life of a teacher education institution. The chapter aims at making an assessment of the recently introduced changes in the structure and curriculum of the BEd programme at the behest of the NCTE and how these would alter the discourse of teacher education.