NTTC under the microscope: problems of change in primary teacher education in Lesotho

Abstract

This paper reviews the introduction of a new primary Diploma in Education at the National Teacher Training College. As the only institution responsible for initial primary teacher education in Lesotho, it carries much responsibility for bringing about change and improving the quality of teachers. The introduction of the Diploma in Education (Primary) (DEP) in 1998 was to meet this challenge. The paper draws from several sub-studies of the Multi-Site Teacher Education Research (MUSTER) Project 1 1 MUSTER (Multi-Site Teacher Education Research Project) is a collaborative project co-ordinated from the Centre for International Education at the University of Sussex Institute of Education, UK. Financial support for the three-year project was provided by the British Department for International Development (DFID). , using a variety of research methods. It describes the new curriculum, how it is taught, and how students perceive it, and identifies several contradictions and disjunctions both within the programme and within the college. The paper concludes with a discussion about how curriculum reform can be managed in such a teacher training college.