SKILLS REQUIRED FOR AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER IN THE 21ST CENTURY IN INDIA

In the 21st century, the world has been changing rapidly. Change in economy and advancement in technology are the main factors behind this transformation. This change affects the nature of employability and entrepreneurship. On the other hand, use of technology among the masses by means of mobile phone, computer, internet etc has become a common phenomenon. Thus, the teachers, in the present era, have to deal with students having easy access to the world of information and technology. Therefore, they need to be equipped with some skills to prepare their students to face the global challenges. Moreover, India, being the second largest populated country, has some other issues like poverty, multilingual, cross- cultural, overcrowded classrooms. There has already been a change in the role of a teacher from being a transmitter of knowledge to be a facilitator of constructing knowledge. This paper highlights the skills required for an effective teacher in the 21st century in India. Through this qualitative study the following 21st century skills came into limelight- critical thinking and problem solving, creativity, communication, leadership, Information and Communication Technology, economic and financial literacy, environmental and conservation literacy. This paper finds out that many teachers in primary and secondary levels in India do not have proper knowledge and skill in using Technology in general and internet in particular. The untrained teachers teaching in primary, upper primary and secondary levels have been pursuing their professional training. They also need to have working knowledge in using teaching learning materials by means of Technology. Above all, teachers must take effective steps in their teaching learning process to develop the moral values of the students.