A Study of the Perception of Teachers and Pupil Teachers Towards National Professional Standards for Teachers

The National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) is an initiative under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, designed to redefine and elevate the teaching profession in India. The present study has been initiated to investigate the perception of teachers and pupil teachers towards National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) in relation to gender and stages of the teaching profession. The representative sample consisted of 100 teachers and 100 pupil teachers of private senior secondary schools and private B.Ed. colleges, respectively, from the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh state. The perception of teachers and pupil teachers was assessed through a self-developed questionnaire. The questionnaire was constructed based on five dimensions related to perception, such as awareness, contextual, procedural, implementation, and possible impact. Statistical techniques, mean, S.D., and t-test have been used to analyze the data. The findings of the study indicate that teachers demonstrated a more favorable perception regarding NPST as compared to pupil teachers. Female participants displayed a more positive perception than their male counterparts, with female pupil teachers showing the most positive perspective among all categories. Male and female teachers expressed similar views regarding NPST; that indicates gender does not shape their views among the teaching community.