International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2013): 4.438 Volume 4 Issue 2, February 2015 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Implications of Qualitative Research Findings in Teacher Education Rupal Mankad 1 Kuldipsinh Jadeja 2 1 Professor, D.G.T. College of Teacher Education, Aliyabala, India 2 Lecturer, C.U. Shah University, Wadhwancity, India Abstract: Along with rapid changes in education patterns and processes there is a massive shift in teacher education as well. The process need to be analyzed and given implications to strengthen the teachers of the nation. It is found that in majority of universities the 'off campus program' is not included in the syllabus of the teacher education. However, the value of the program cannot be neglected while contemplating over the quality education and quality teacher education. The purpose of the study is to discover the impact of this program on the student trainees and to give some implications to the policy framers. The present study was undertaken in Saurashtra University (India), which offers this program. The randomly selected focused group was interviewed and the field notes submitted by them were analyzed in a qualitative tradition of analysis. The major finding was the positive attitude and multiple skill development of the student trainees. They were of the opinion that the ‘off campus program’ was quite beneficial in developing various qualities of an ideal teacher in them. The study also recommends the ‘off campus program’ to be continued in teacher education program and it should implemented where ever it's not. Keywords: Teacher Education, off campus program, Implications, quality education, quality teachers training. 1. Introduction The society is a product of implicit and explicit consequences of human beings, wherein juxtaposition of tangible and intangible components catalyze an eternal process of change through interactions between various components. As education plays an indispensable role in the formation, development, and modifications of social norms, there will be no exaggeration in considering education as one of the prime factors and a driving force that directs and leads to such social changes, though various other reasons also may be traced for the same. Since people building is one of the major objectives of education, it contains in itself a process of treating the living conscience and molding it i.e. giving and regulating shape as per the requirement of the society. A living being, having a quite complex existence, keep on changing time to time for it is a product of emotions and expressions , gathering and generating knowledge through the emotional expressions and ultimately creating a value based knowledge system. Role of education is to provide such values with strength and shield them in the society, which makes it a core component of the society with a quite unique and significant role to play. The teacher, being at the centre of the education system, has an extremely significant role to play in educational process. To acquire quality and to impart quality changes cannot be neglected while justifying the role of a teacher, which naturally proves the importance of teacher education institutions. In this connection NCTE‟s statement will be worthy to be stated here, “As the integral component of educational system, teacher education has to address itself to the challenges of the society and participate actively in their solution. A teacher education which is not sensitive to the problems of Indian society is a burden on the national exchequer which meets its cost. It is, therefore necessary for it to enlarge its goal and scope.” (NCTE , 2004) Thus, it becomes must for teacher education to develop such skills and values among their teacher. Any field, that wants to match its performance to the needs, has to make extensive research in that area. Quality researches and its outcomes have always been adding value to the field. Pitrola, stating the importance of Qualitative research goes to the extent of saying the following, “Quality research in India is fundamental for generating intellectual capital necessary to survive and sustain economic growth and prosperity in competitive global markets.”(Pitrola, 2008) To enhance the quality of teacher education, vigorous qualitative and quantitative researches are required to be undertaken. It is thus necessary to harness talent and expertise to develop capacity within the teacher education also. Research is an intellectual activity. However, as stated previously, human being is a set of implicit and explicit qualities; it is the must to be measured by both. Education is a process of value addition, may be in society or in individual. To investigate such areas, there is a separate research tradition. Qualitative research helps to find such internal aspects of the behavior in terms of individual or social. Wikipedia states the aim of qualitative research in following words, “Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. The qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, where, when.” (Wikipedia) Paper ID: SUB151083 250