Teacher Education In Sub-Saharan Africa Research Articles

STRATEGIES FOR RE-SHAPING INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION TO STEER HOLISTIC AND SUSTAINABLE EDUCATION IN AFRICA

Education is the only institution through which society can attain its ideals and aspirations. For this to happen, teachers play a pivotal role in translating the ideals into mini activities that are meant to transform individuals’ learners into useful competent citizens. This is the main reason that Teacher education as a special programme of education, has undergone tremendous transformations over few decades ago in Africa and the world. These transformations, however, have not been accompanied by concrete actions to adapt Teacher Education to the different dynamisms the African society is traversing. This paper aims at examining the effectiveness of practices being used in current initial teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa. The focus of the paper is based on three paramount questions: 1. What are the current practices versus new requirements in initial teacher education of the Twenty-First Century (21st C) in the context of Africa? 2. How best can teachers be prepared to meet the needs and aspirations of African societies and the world in the Twenty-First Century and beyond? 3. What are the challenges militating against quality teacher education in Africa? The first question seeks answers on who should be the teachers in the 21st Century classroom in Africa. The second question focuses on who and how such a teacher can be prepared. The third attempts to identify challenges that potentially threatens the attainment of an effective and efficient initial teacher education. The information generated from these questions will not only help in shedding light on some wrongdoings surrounding initial teacher education, but also unlock the door to more modern and ultra-modern practices that can make Africa produce useful, competent, and exportable teachers.

Critical realism: an explanatory framework for small-scale qualitative studies or an ‘unhelpful edifice’?

ABSTRACT This paper describes how critical realism was operationalized to provide an explanatory framework for a small-scale qualitative study in the field of teacher education in a sub-Saharan African context. Critical realism combines a realist ontology (there is something to find out about) with a relativistic epistemology (different people will come to know different things in different ways). An attraction of this approach is that it seeks to explain observed phenomena through processes of inference, thus providing the opportunity to make changes for the better in the situation under investigation. The stratified view of reality provided a framework for the analysis of data, which led to the identification of two underlying causal mechanisms and new understandings of teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa. The approach is not without challenges, including the potentially intrusive nature of the enquiry and the positioning of the researchers. Despite these challenges, the evidence from this study is that the approach has the potential to provide new insights which have informed on-going international development projects in teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa.

Challenges and Opportunities in the Implementation of School-Based Teacher Professional Development: A Case from Kenya

This study investigated how a school-based professional development programme, designed by the Headteacher and staff of a Kenyan primary school, and delivered by a Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) team, supported teacher learning and growth. The TESSA team observed teaching in the classroom before the implementation of the school-based teacher professional programme. This was followed by the training of the teachers in the school. The TESSA team did an evaluation of the school-based training programme through classroom observation, an interview schedule and a teacher questionnaire. The evaluations were done three months and one year, respectively, after the school-based training. The findings indicate that teachers experienced professional growth through collaborative learning with colleagues, used a greater range of approaches and learned to self-reflect on their classes with more use of active learning. Teachers made productive use of textbooks as well as accessing and using TESSA OER in teaching.

School-University Collaboration Initiative: Benefits and Challenges in Uganda

This investigation examined academic staff, school administrators and school teachers’ perceptions of the university-school collaboration. A qualitative research paradigm was followed through a case study of Makerere University’s use of Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa-(TESSA) project materials. The case study focused on gaining a wealth of detailed information on a small sample of academic staff, school administrators, and school teachers while addressing the research questions of the study. Twelve participants were used for data collection from the university (three) and the primary schools (nine). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews organized around the key research questions. Results indicated that the gap between university academics and school teachers is narrowing. Some school teachers have changed their practices that appear to have improved their methods of delivery of content to the learners. The use of TESSA materials is altering teachers’ teaching practices. But, the resources for university-school collaboration are varied and expensive. Teachers’ workload appears to leave them little time to be effectively involved in collaborative activities. Conclusions from these findings were that there are both merits and constraints to university school partnership to the advantage of each institution; teachers are incorporating TESSA materials into their teaching practices. The implications of these findings for the university-school partnership include the increased need for university and school administrators to support school teachers benefit from the collaboration; and to create more time for the involvement of all participating parties so that they can better implement the collaboration activities.

Developing a pedagogy of mutuality in a capability approach: Teachers’ experiences of using the Open Educational Resources (OER) of the teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) programme

The TESSA (teacher education in sub Saharan Africa) programme aims to improve teacher education at scale by developing open educational resources (OER) that allow sustainable and locally managed pedagogical change in higher education institutions and schools. The article offers a sociocultural theoretical rationale for the pedagogy of mutuality represented in the TESSA OER; and for the research approach to understanding pedagogical change that recognises the dialectical relationships between national policies and institutional structures and practices, and the consequent impact of these on teachers’ practice and pupils’ learning. It reports from an interview-based enquiry, from the project11The project is funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ‘Extending and embedding TESSA OER’, looking at how teacher educators at a Kenyan University served to broker changes in pedagogy within the institution and its partner schools. Two school-based cases are discussed that highlight the role teachers, who take up these pedagogical challenges play in further brokering change in their local institutions; some of the influences that support the process of institutional change are identified and how these are understood and reported to increase access and enhance learning for all pupils.

Developing and deploying OERs in sub-Saharan Africa: Building on the present

Open educational resources (OERs) have the potential to reduce costs, improve quality, and increase access to educational opportunities. OER development and deployment is one path that could contribute to achieving education for all. This article builds on existing information and communication technology (ICT) implementation plans in Africa and on the experiences of organizations and initiatives such as the African Virtual University (AVU), OER Africa, the South African Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE), and the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) Project, to present one view of the benefits, challenges, and steps that could be taken to realize the potential of OERs in sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, the article focuses on the factors necessary for creating and sustaining a vision for OER development and deployment; developing and distributing resources with an open license; improving technology infrastructure and reducing the cost of Internet access; establishing communities of educational collaborators; sustaining involvement in the OER initiative; producing resources in interoperable and open formats; establishing and maintaining the quality of OERs; providing local context to address national and regional needs and conditions; informing the public about OERs; and taking the initiative to build on the knowledge, skills, and experiences of others. In order to assist educators and decision makers, links to a variety of resources are provided.

OER Adaptation and Reuse across cultural contexts in Sub Saharan Africa: Lessons from TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub Saharan Africa)

Over a period of three years a number of International and African based institutions collaborated to design and create a set of Open Educational Resources (OERs) to support school based teacher education as part of the TESSA project. Writing of the materials drew on case studies, experiences and existing resources from across the region using a highly structured template. These TESSA OERs were then adapted to be appropriate for each user setting and practices. It is this process - supporting the user community to harness and integrate OERs for their own systems and cultures, which is the focus of this article. The authors draw on a range of data to make explicit the kinds of knowledge, skills and support employed in the adaptation process and in particular the role of the structured template in supporting this process, and the problems encountered. The article suggests that OERs will only fulfil their promise if more attention is accorded to issues of user access and skills as well as the form of the OERs, their purpose and underlying pedagogy. Finally the paper offers suggestions for guidance to support other users in adapting OERs for their own context whilst maintaining the quality of the OERs and working towards self-sustaining communities of users.

Improving the Practical Aspect of Pre-Service Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Issues of Conceptualization, Planning and Management

Teaching practicum, variously called teaching practice, professional practice, professional experience,practical experience, school experience, has always been part of teacher education regardless of theapproach taken. The Standard Council of the Teaching Profession (1998, p.10) defines teachingpracticum as:a period of time spent in schools where the prime focus for the trainee teacher is to practice teachingunder the supervision of a mentor who should be trained for this job, to spend time with teachers andclasses, observing, teaching small groups and whole classes, and undertaking the range of tasks thatmake up the teacher’s role including planning, assessing and reporting.

Harnessing Open Educational Resources to the Challenges of Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

The challenges to teacher educators in sub-Saharan Africa are acute. This paper describes how the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) consortium is working within institutional and national policy systems to support school-based teacher professional development. The TESSA consortium (13 African institutions and 5 international organisations delivering teacher education across 9 countries) designed and produced a bank of open educational resources (OERs) to guide teachers’ classroom practices in school-based teacher education. Drawing on examples from the TESSA consortium and from the University of Fort Hare, South Africa, the authors categorize the forms of TESSA OER integration as highly structured, loosely structured, or guided use. The paper concludes by outlining success factors for the integration of OERs: accessibility, adequate resources, support for teachers, accommodation of local cultural and institutional practices, and sustainable funding.

The TESSA OER Experience: Building sustainable models of production and user implementation

This paper offers a review of the origins, design strategy and implementation plans of the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) research and development programme. The programme is working to develop new models of teacher education, particularly school based training, including the creation of a programme webspace and an extensive bank of Open Educational Resources. This paper identifies key research findings and literature which informed the TESSA approach and activity design. Drawing on participant experiences in different development activities and data generated in development testing activities, I offer a personal account of the programme to date. The paper concludes by suggesting a pattern of resource making and design that could be adopted by other programmes serving parallel development needs. Editors: Andreia Santos (Open University, UK). Reviewers: Richard F. Heller (Peoples-uni.org, UK) and Andreia Santos (Open U., UK).

School‐based teacher development in Sub‐Saharan Africa: building a new research agenda

This article explores and analyses the context of school‐based teacher development in Sub‐Saharan Africa. The argument is made that many aspects of the teacher problem in these regions mirror those in the rest of the world, but the size and scale of the need makes the challenge of providing schools and teachers to achieve ‘Education for All’ (EFA) one of the world's biggest educational problems. As such, a response from the global community, parallel to similar initiatives in health, is required. The context of the problem is set out, particularly the inevitability of creating new school‐based modes of teacher development. The analysis draws extensively on the work of the Teacher Education in Sub‐Saharan Africa (TESSA) research programme. The article then goes on to suggest: (1) the revolution in communication technologies provides an opportunity radically to reassess the forms and modes of teacher development, particularly in rural areas; and (2) there is a need for research and development activity to provide the foundation upon which such potential can be realized. In this context a new ‘architecture for teacher development’ needs putting in place, a process that should be a mainstream concern for the world's education research community.