Abstract:
Distance education as a vehicle for the delivery of course content,
as well as complete academic programmes, continues to grow rapidly in the
world. Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that
focuses on the pedagogy, technology and instructional system design that
aim to deliver education to students who are not physically “on site” as in a
traditional classroom or campus. There are theoretical and practical courses
given through the distance mode. Teaching practice is the most important
aspect and any individual should have the competence to teach, because
teaching directly affects the child who studies in the classroom. Successful
teachers are not simple charismatic, persuasive and expert presenters; they
should also have the knowledge, skills and techniques of making productive
use of teaching materials to suit the varying levels of the learners. Therefore,
teachers should have adequate teaching practice skills to teach in the
classroom. Diploma in Early Childhood and Primary Education (Dip. in
ECPE) programme is one of the programmes conducted by the Open
University of Sri Lanka. Teaching practice is one main component that
completes the programme. This research inquires whether the teaching
practice component of the Dip. in ECPE programme provides adequate
training to students to teach preschool and primary schools children of
different ability levels, simultaneously
