Bahrain Teacher’s College- REVIEW & ACCREDITATION

  • BTC was reviewed by National Institute of Education-Singapore (NIE) on November 2012. The NIE review included the tripartite partnership model between BTC, UOB and MOE, its governance and operational framework, BTC’s curriculum, student recruitment and graduate placement to schools, quality of BTC trained teachers, academic quality assurance, research, teaching resources and infrastructure, values dimension of pre-service programs and service learning, organization and senior management, strategic plan, staff’s morale, staff’s quality and workload, council leadership, and identified needs. BTC is preparing for a review from National Quality Assurance Authority for Education and Training (QQA).
  • BTC has been working on an identification process for international external accreditors that are best suitable for a teacher training college. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) – a professional accrediting body in the United States of America is identified for recognition and BTC will be undergoing for the process of application. Founded in 1954, NCATE is nationally recognized accrediting body authorized by the U.S. Department of Education. NCATE, composed of over 30 member organizations, accredits schools, college and departments of education (professional education units) in U.S. College and universities. These schools, colleges and departments of education have primary responsibility for the preparation of teachers and other professional school personnel. For a wide range of reasons, NCATE does not accredit teacher education schools located outside of the United States. However, cognizant of the growing international interest in its process, NCATE is willing to have its standards, process and expertise used by international programs and universities which are interested in undergoing an independent external review, based on the NCATE standards appropriate to an international context and using reviewers who are thoroughly familiar with NCATE standards and protocols. This process is identified as International Recognition in Teacher Education. BTC, upon finalizing the application process, will undergo the international review by agreeing to participate in a self-study process where, following an orientation, will evaluate itself over a multiple month period against the NCATE standards. Upon completion of the self-evaluation, an international review team composed of those experienced in the NCATE process of accreditation, will conduct a site visit of the program and will prepare an evaluative and consultative report which will be shared with BTC. The outcome of the external review is shared NCATE.