The UN Sustainable Development Goals and Teacher Development for Effective English Teaching in Bangladesh: A Gap that Needs Bridging

Abstract

This article takes up the opportunity offered by the United Nations’ Strategic Development Goals to examine provisions for the selection, recruitment, training and professional development of secondary English teachers in Bangladesh. Qualified and trained teachers are considered as essential to effect the changes in English teaching and learning planned in national education policy. Since the adoption of a communicative approach to language teaching, initiatives have been taken to train teachers to teach English in this approach, and particularly to use multimedia equipment in their teaching; however the adequacy of these provisions is questioned in existing research and in media debates. This article starts with a brief description of the education context, highlighting the global Strategic Development Goals and local secondary English teaching. A review of existing recruitment and professional development provisions for secondary English teachers follows. Then project-based training programmes, which are funded and managed by external donors and aid agencies, are critically examined. Finally emerging issues and recommended changes are discussed.

English language teaching in Bangladesh today: Issues, outcomes and implications

“…Notably, EIA being the last among the donor-funded teacher training programmes intended to implement CLT with the help of information and communications technology (ICT) (Al Amin & Greenwood, 2018b). It has not only focused on large-scale English language teachers' training, but also conducted empirical studies as a proof of their success (Karim et al, 2018).…”

Management Skill Development of Academic Institutional Heads in Bangladesh: A Conceptual Study on Henri Fayol’s Management Principles

“…However, most of the organizational heads are struggling to meet the emerging demand for developing managerial skills (Hallinger, 2017). According to Amin (2018), no formal management structure has been established for educational management such as planning, training, organizing, controlling, performance evaluation system in the educational institutions in Bangladesh. At the same time, most of the academic heads have lack of understanding of the major components of management principles, concepts, and management process, such as providing remuneration, the degree of centralization, scalar chain, order, equity, the stability of tenure personnel, initiatives and spirit de corps.…”

Mapping the Integration of the Sustainable Development Goals in Universities: Is It a Field of Study?

“…Sustainability is a concept that has become increasingly complex; over the years, it tries to address the preservation of natural resources, of human life, the quality of human life and explores practices that allow for continuity that seeks preservation, i.e., future well-being (Amin & Greenwood, 2018). Therefore, the United Nations Organization promotes a program for educational change, which focuses on the economic, social, and environmental dimensions (The General Assembly, 2015).…”

“…Therefore, it is crucial to analyze and reflect on the initiatives adopted and the stakeholders in the initiatives (Jetly & Singh, 2019), precisely the fourth objective of the SDGs, which focuses on achieving ìA Quality Educationî (The General Assembly, 2015). In this order of ideas, the 2018 United Nations report identifies teachers as a critical factor, since they, in addition to influencing future professionals, also affect institutional dynamics (Amin & Greenwood, 2018).…”