Continuing Professional Teacher Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Improving Teaching and Learning 9781474277891, 9781474277914, 9781474277884

Table of contents :
Cover
Half-title
Title
Copyright
Contents
List of Illustrations
Notes on Contributors
Foreword: CPD As Conflicting Agendas
Acknowledgements
Part One: Setting the Context
1. CPD in the Context of Sub-Saharan Africa
2. Improving Learning through the CPD of Teachers: Mapping the Issues in Sub-Saharan Africa
Part Two: Country Case Studies
Education Reform(s), Quality and CPD
3. A ‘Teacher-Centred’ Approach to CPD: The Case of Namibia’s Localized and Decentralized Model of Teacher CPD
4. Assessing the Actual Needs of Untrained Teachers with Previous Teaching Experience in Ghana
Equity, Social Cohesion and CPD
5. CPD Intervention for History Teachers: Does CPD for Holocaust Education Promote Social Justice in South Africa’s Secondary Schools?
6 Key Initiatives in Rwandan Teachers’ CPD after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi
7. Building Teachers’ Capacity for Inclusive Education in South Africa and Zimbabwe through CPD
Literacy, Numeracy and CPD
8. Mathematics Teachers’ CPD Experience and Classroom Practice: Is CPD Improving Learning in Uganda’s Primary Schools?
9. Lessons for System-Wide CPD of Teachers: Insights from the External Evaluation of the Western Cape Education Department’s Literacy and Numeracy Intervention
Part Three: Policy and Practice
10. Improving the CPD of Teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policy, Practice and Research Challenges and Implications
Index

Citation preview

Continuing Professional Teacher Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Also available from Bloomsbury Education in East and Central Africa, edited by Charl Wolhuter Education in Southern Africa, edited by Clive Harber Education in West Africa, edited by Emefa Takyi-Amoako Effective Teacher Development, Bob Burstow

Continuing Professional Teacher Development in Sub-Saharan Africa Improving Teaching and Learning Edited by Yusuf Sayed

BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain 2018 Paperback edition first published 2020 Copyright © Yusuf Sayed and Contributors, 2018 Yusuf Sayed and Contributors have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors of this work. For legal purposes the Acknowledgements on p. xxiii constitute an extension of this copyright page. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: HB: 978-1-4742-7789-1 PB: 978-1-3501-3103-3 ePDF: 978-1-4742-7788-4 ePub: 978-1-4742-7790-7 Typeset by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters.

Contents List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Foreword: CPD As Conflicting Agendas  Michael Samuel Acknowledgements

vii ix xvii xxiii

Part One  Setting the Context

1 2

CPD in the Context of Sub-Saharan Africa  Yusuf Sayed and Azeem Badroodien Improving Learning through the CPD of Teachers: Mapping the Issues in Sub-Saharan Africa  Colleen Howell and Yusuf Sayed

3

15

Part Two  Country Case Studies Education Reform(s), Quality and CPD

3

4

A ‘Teacher-Centred’ Approach to CPD: The Case of Namibia’s Localized and Decentralized Model of Teacher CPD  John Nyambe, Choshi Kasanda and Sakaria Iipinge

41

Assessing the Actual Needs of Untrained Teachers with Previous Teaching Experience in Ghana  Kwame Akyeampong, Christine Adu-Yeboah and Christopher Yaw Kwaah

57

Equity, Social Cohesion and CPD

5

6

CPD Intervention for History Teachers: Does CPD for Holocaust Education Promote Social Justice in South Africa’s Secondary Schools?  Jacqueline Gaston, Zahraa McDonald and Akiko Hanaya Key Initiatives in Rwandan Teachers’ CPD after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi  Eugene Ndabaga, Claudien Ntahomvukiye and Yunus Omar

85

109

Contents

vi

7

Building Teachers’ Capacity for Inclusive Education in South Africa and Zimbabwe through CPD  Colleen Howell, Judith McKenzie and Tsitsi Chataika

127

Literacy, Numeracy and CPD

8

9

Mathematics Teachers’ CPD Experience and Classroom Practice: Is CPD Improving Learning in Uganda’s Primary Schools?  Charles Obiero and Betty Akullu Ezati

151

Lessons for System-Wide CPD of Teachers: Insights from the External Evaluation of the Western Cape Education Department’s Literacy and Numeracy Intervention  Susan Meyer, Lydia Abel and Karen Brückner

173

Part Three  Policy and Practice

10 Improving the CPD of Teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policy, Practice and Research Challenges and Implications  Yusuf Sayed, Rada Jancic Mogliacci and Azeem Badroodien

209

Index

223

Illustrations Tables 4.1

4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6

8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4

9.5

Relationship between teachers’ perceived content knowledge in core subjects against their entry grades before the UTDBE programme (N=321) Teachers’ perceived adequacy of knowledge in teaching before the UTDBE programme (N=426) UTDBE teachers’ acquisition of content knowledge (N=426) Relationship between trainees’ difficulty in English Language and their entry qualification in English Language Teachers’ areas of difficulty in Maths and their entry qualification in core Maths Relationship between teachers’ perceived difficulty or otherwise in Integrated Science and their entry qualification in Integrated Science School sample size and number of interviews Teacher-­attended CPDs by type and provider in the last three years Staffing gaps in the Wakiso and Kampala districts Percentage of Grade 6 pupils proficient in Mathematics by gender, 2012 Articulation of curriculum phases and school levels in South Africa’s public school system Poverty rankings of schools in the Western Cape, 2014 Summary profiles of select LitNum case study schools and teachers, 2014 Change in the average percentage score obtained by Phase 2 LitNum schools and ‘Other schools’ in the Grade 3 Mathematics systemic test, 2010–2014 Change in the average percentage score obtained by Phase 2 LitNum schools and ‘Other schools’ in the Grade 6 Language systemic test, 2010–2014

67 68 70 74 75

76 157 159 167 168 176 179 183

191

191

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9.6

Illustrations

Change in the average percentage score obtained by schools in the Western Cape in the Grade 3 Mathematics systemic test, 2010–2014, according to schools’ national quintile classification

199

Figures 9.1

A hierarchy of INSET outcomes (adapted from Harland and Kinder 1997) 9.2 A typology of schools (Meyer 2005) 9.3 Dissemination of LitNum Language inputs to non-­participating schools, 2013–2015 9.4 Extent to which LitNum support was integrated into subject advisors’ regular work programme, 2013–2015 9.5a–d Box-­and-whisker diagrams (Med-Quartile-IQR-Outliers) of average percentage scores attained by LitNum and ‘Other’ schools in Grade 3 WCED systemic test for Mathematics, 2010–2014 9.6a–d Box-­and-whisker diagrams (Med-Quartile-IQR-Outliers) of average percentage scores attained by LitNum and ‘Other’ schools in Grade 6 WCED systemic test for Language, 2010–2014 9.7a Box-and-whisker diagram of average percentage scores attained by Quintile 1–3 schools in the Grade 3 WCED systemic test for Mathematics, 2010–2014 9.7b Box-and-whisker diagram of average percentage scores attained by Quintile 5 schools in the Grade 3 WCED systemic test for Mathematics, 2010–2014

181 182 189 190

192

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200

200

Notes on Contributors Yusuf Sayed is Professor of International Education and Development Policy at the University of Sussex, UK, as well as South African Research Chair in Teacher Education, and Founding Director of the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE), at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), South Africa. He is also an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Rhodes University, South Africa. Previously, Yusuf was Senior Policy Analyst at the EFA Global Monitoring Report, UNESCO, Team Leader for Education and Skills, the Department for International Development UK, and Head of Department of Comparative Education at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.   He is an education policy specialist with a career in international education and development research. His research focuses on education policy formulation and implementation as it relates to concerns of equity, social justice and transformation. He has published on various issues in international education and development including: education quality and teacher education, exclusion and inclusion; education governance and the role of the state; equity, financing and education. He is presently engaged in several research projects on teachers and teacher education including the ESRC/DFID-funded project ‘Engaging teachers in peacebuilding in post conflict contexts: evaluating education interventions in Rwanda and South Africa’, and several large-­scale studies about teacher professionalism, teacher education and continuing professional development in South Africa and globally. Lydia Abel is an Educational Development specialist and Director of ORT SA CAPE, an education NGO operating in the Western Cape. She is passionate about teaching reading with comprehension. Although originally involved in science education, she has worked on literacy improvement for thirty years. Her key achievements include being a founding member of the Reading Association of South Africa, initiating standardized testing in the Western Cape and developing the ORT SA CAPE Literacy Wheel. Her doctorate and experience in teacher development in language, mathematics, science and technology has given her deep insights into South Africa’s intractable education challenges.

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Notes on Contributors

Christine Adu-Yeboah is Associate Professor in Higher Education and Teacher Education at the Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. She holds an International Professional Doctorate in Education from the University of Sussex, UK. Her research interests are in English language education, teacher education, equity, quality and access issues in education and gender in higher education. She is currently Vice Dean of the School for Educational Development and Outreach in the College of Education Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Kwame Akyeampong is Professor of International Education and Development at the Centre for International Education, University of Sussex, UK. He began his academic career in Ghana at the University of Cape Coast where he served as the Director of the Institute of Education before moving to Sussex in 2004. He has published widely in international journals on education and development, covering the areas of teacher education in development context, policy and practice of pre-­ tertiary education in Ghana and its implications beyond that context. He has interest in the political economy of education systems in low-­income countries. From 2011 to 2013, Professor Akyeampong was a senior policy analyst with the Education for All Global Monitoring Report team at UNESCO in Paris. Azeem Badroodien is currently Professor of Education at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. he was previously Associate Professor at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa, and Deputy-Director of the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE). He is an education policy sociologist who has written extensively on education policy across a variety of sectors and analytical concepts. Karen Brückner is Research Associate at ORT SA CAPE. Prior to her work in education research, she managed the regional funding desk operations of a South African bank, a highly regulatory and assessment-­driven environment. Her research interests include statistical analysis and graphic representation of education data and learner achievement results in particular. While collaborating on the chapter in this book, her proposition to consider an association between the empirical research findings and the principles of the national education and training policy framework also re-­kindled her interest in the area of education policy research. Tsitsi Chataika is Senior Lecturer in inclusive education at the University of Zimbabwe. She holds a doctorate in educational studies from Sheffield University

Notes on Contributors

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(UK), focusing on the inclusion of disabled students in higher education. She also has a diploma in disability mainstreaming with the International Labour Organization. She promotes inclusive development through influencing policy and practice. Dr Chataika has authored several journal articles, book chapters and policy briefs. She researches into how disability intersects with education, religion, development, policy, postcolonialism, gender and childhood studies from an African perspective. She has presented at international conferences and conducted workshops at international level. Betty Akullu Ezati is an Associate Professor of Education, and holds a PhD in education. She is the current Dean of the School of Education at Makerere University. Dr Ezati has undertaken research on teacher education, teaching and learning in higher education and gender, and concultancy activities especially in the area of gender and education. Her areas of research include teacher education, gender and education, teaching and learning in higher education and African indigenous education. Her current research is on how to improve quality of learning in primary schools through close links between providers of initial teacher education and in-service teacher programmes. Jacqueline Gaston was born and raised in the southern Philippines where she earned her first Master’s degree in Teaching English. After several years of teaching in both the technical–vocational and university levels, she migrated to the US in 2013. She subsequently entered Teachers College in New York and earned her second Master’s in International Educational Development in 2016. Currently, she is revisiting her roots and conducting background research on mother tongue-based multilingual education in the southern Philippines. Akiko Hanaya has been an international development practitioner for more than twenty years. She is currently Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) Education Advisor to Bangladesh. Ms Hanaya is an EdD candidate at the School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex, UK. Colleen Howell is Research Associate in the Centre for Education and Development (CEID) at the UCL Institute of Education, UK, working in the area of higher education. She is also Research Associate at the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), South Africa. She has been extensively involved in education research and policy work in South Africa focused on issues of equity

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and diversity in education, and on the building of inclusive education and training systems. Between 1998 and 2014 she was at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, initially as a researcher in the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) and then as Director of the Institutional Research in the Institutional Planning Division. Sakaria Iipinge is Assistant Pro Vice Chancellor of Hifikepunye Pohamba Campus of the University of Namibia at Ongwediva, Namibia. His research interests include: curriculum and assessment reforms and strategies; integration of ICT in teacher education; teaching in large classrooms; continuing professional development for novice teachers. Choshi Kasanda is Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Namibia, Namibia. He has served in several management positions at university level and is founding Head of the Department of Mathematics and Science Education at the University of Zambia and University of Namibia. He obtained his BSc (Education) at the University of Zambia, and his MSc and PhD (Mathematics Education) at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) in the United States. Professor Kasanda is a recipient of UNAM’s sabbatical merit award. He has supervised several postgraduate students and has published widely in the areas of instruction in Mathematics and Science, IKS and ICT, teacher development and empowerment and gender. Zahraa McDonald is a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for International Teacher Education at CPUT in Cape Town, South Africa. Currently her research focuses on teacher professional development, including initial teacher education, as well as CPTD. Judith McKenzie is Head of the Division of Disability Studies in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She has had an ongoing interest in inclusive education and has been involved in several teacher education projects within this field. She is currently researching learning needs for teachers of children with severe to profound disabilities within the Teacher Empowerment for Disability Inclusion project, a collaboration with Christoffel Blindenmission funded by the European Union. Susan Meyer is Project Manager at ORT SA CAPE, an education-­focused NGO based in the Western Cape, South Africa. She is responsible for research,

Notes on Contributors

xiii

programme evaluations and teacher development projects. Her research interests include system-­wide change in education, continuing professional development of teachers, and school improvement. The main focus of her research is on innovations aimed at improving language and mathematics teaching in primary schools to benefit learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. Ms Meyer has published articles and chapters in a number of books about the above-­mentioned topics, and conceptual dimensions of debates concerning the quality of education in South Africa. Rada Jancic Mogliacci is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for International Teacher Education, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa. She obtained her degree in Primary Education at the University of Novi Sad (Serbia) and her PhD in Human Development in Social and Cultural Research from Bielefeld University, Germany. Her work has been particularly focused on pre-­service and in-­service teacher education, and teacher policy formulation and implementation. Dr Mogliacci is currently engaged in research projects on newly qualified teachers and teacher policy analysis. Eugene Ndabaga is Associate Professor of Education in the College of Education at the University of Rwanda, Rwanda, and is Director of Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies. Professor Ndabaga has published a number of articles in refereed journals, written book chapters, undertaken local and international consultancies, and supervised PhD and Master’s students at local and international levels. Claudien Ntahomvukiye holds a PhD from the Witwatersrand University, South Africa. He is full-­time Lecturer at the University of Rwanda, College of Education, Rwanda, and part-­time Lecturer at private universities in Rwanda. He has over twenty-­five years’ experience in the field of education and he is passionate about education with outcomes. He is involved in various education-­ related projects and consultancies, especially in the topics of Educational Leadership and Management in enhancing students’ progress and encouraging teachers’ professional development in Rwanda. He has published a series of articles related to his field of interest focusing on school leadership and management for school improvement. John Nyambe is Director for the Centre for Professional Development, Teaching and Learning Improvement (CPDTLI) at the University of Namibia, Namibia.

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Previously, he served as Director for the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Unit at the same institution. He has also served as: Deputy Director for Professional Development and Research at the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED); Rector: Caprivi College of Education; Vice-Rector: Ongwediva College of Education; Lecturer. He has also been a high school teacher. His research interests are in teacher education and continuing professional development for educators. Charles Obiero has been Education Economist/Statistics Specialist with UNESCO’s Regional Bureau of Education, Lebanon since 2016. A doctoral student at the University of Sussex, UK, he holds a Master’s degree in Education Planning and Management (UNESCO IIEP, France) and Bachelor degrees in Mathematics and the Philosophy in Economics respectively from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He has over twelve years’ experience in research on monitoring learning achievements in Kenya and is a policy expert on capacity development among Ugandan teachers between 2013 and 2015. He currently works in the Middle East supporting the integration of assessment for learning and monitoring the quality of education in the context of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4, namely ensuring inclusive and quality education for all and promoting life-­long learning. Yunus Omar is currently a Lecturer at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for International Teacher Education, hosted at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Mowbray, Cape Town, South Africa. His research areas include the sociology of education, education policy, teacher life-­histories, education and social justice, and education and globalization. Michael Samuel is Professor in the School of Education, University of KwaZuluNatal, South Africa. He holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Durban-Westville which focuses on a force field model of teacher development. He has served as a curriculum designer of innovative masters and collaborative doctoral cohort programmes locally and internationally. His research interest focuses on teacher professional development, higher education, life history and narrative inquiry. His books include Life History Research: Epistemology, Methodology and Representation (1999), Continuity, Complexity and Change: Teacher Education in Mauritius (2016), and Disrupting Higher Education Curriculum: Undoing Cognitive Damage (2017).

Notes on Contributors

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Christopher Yaw Kwaah is Research Fellow at the Centre for Educational Research Evaluation and Development (CERED) in the College of Education Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Dr Kwaah has a PhD in Curriculum and Teaching and his research interests are access and equity issues in education, teacher education, curriculum development and implementation and higher education issues. He has recently co-­authored a book chapter on Culturally Responsive Education: Reflections from the Global South and North in the Routledge Studies in Culture and Sustainable Development.

Foreword CPD As Conflicting Agendas Michael Samuel

This book presents an overarching map of teacher professional development and continuing professional development (CPD) within selected sub-Saharan countries in an attempt to highlight the specific interpretations of the phenomenon within a Global South context. The scope, goals, purposes, directions and effect of CPD take on nuanced localized interpretations which challenge the normative hegemonic worldviews that CPD is a simple, logical and rationale extension of baseline foundational platforms from the initial training and education of pre-­service teachers. CPD is argued to be more than extended knowledge and pedagogical competences to execute as classroom practice. The book highlights the interconnected complex relationships between the larger macro-­contextual systemic (political, economic, historical, geographic and cultural) landscapes and the programmatic interventions that are designed to activate the learning trajectory of teachers as professionals. In presenting this complexity, the book offers only a glimpse into what further mapping needs to be undertaken to present the range of perspectives, paradigms and permutations of the sub-Saharan landscape. The argument cannot be comprehensive, but merely illustrative of the intricate issues that confront designers and participants in the relational spaces of negotiating relevant, appropriate and worthwhile sustainable continuing professional development. This entails negotiating not only personal perspectives, institutional expectations, regional and national priorities, but also understanding how the agenda of CPD is implicated in setting up international relations of hierarchies across global settings. How paradigms and programmes, human, physical and financial resources are imported and exported into the lived spaces of teachers across varied contexts, comes to be troubled by the varied case studies in this anthology. Whose values and interests, whose resources do particular CPD interventions challenge and support? What effect, if any, does CPD have on the quality of

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teaching and learning in school spaces? How does CPD develop (if it can) the teachers as social agents? Who activates CPD, and why? How does one know if CPD is successful or not? In this way, the anthology perhaps opens reflections about whether spaces beyond the Global South could also use the book’s syntax to question how, and in whose interests, dominant forms of CPD activities are being orchestrated. For me, the collective assemblage of questioning raises doubt about the agenda of CPD itself. (Perhaps this doubt could be transposed into questions about education as enterprise more holistically as well.) The declared intentions of most CPD reform initiatives usually refer to activating the self-­development and growth of teachers, which is in turn directed towards increased learning potential of learners and aimed at coupling social agendas of reconstruction and transformation of the wider society. Yet paradoxically, it could be argued that many CPD projects are disguised attempts to generate greater surveillance of teachers’ work, to generate more regulatory accountabilities which de-­professionalize and normativize teachers into preferred identities, worldviews and operations. CPD, like schooling and education more generally, is increasingly implicated in the econometric performativity cultures, more interested in semblances of surface measurable evidences of change achievements, whilst not seriously connected to activating deep quality learning. CPD agendas oftentimes originate outside the spaces of classrooms and schools, and instead draw its mandates from economic, political and ideological projects not always connected to the knowledge enterprise of education. Under strong state control, schooling is seen primarily as a site of social enculturation and development of national identities. The teacher as an agent of the public state (sometime called ‘civil servant’ or ‘public servant’) and the agent of epistemological activation (a professional educator) are in constant dialogical tension. Are teachers nationalistic servants or epistemological agents? When juxtaposed in these oppositional categories, the agenda of CPD becomes implicated too, in making decisions about the purposes of education. These purposes lead to wide-­scale foundational questioning about the shape and form of schooling. For example, the lack of confidence in state schooling systems to offer deep quality teaching and learning has led to the rise of private schooling systems aiming to forge independent (and sometimes conservative) sociological agendas which protect narrow group interests. Private schooling is also being interpreted as a space to sow separatist cultural trends outside of the broader nationalistic mandates.

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A reciprocal relationship between forms of schooling governance and forms of CPD emerge consequently. What form does CPD take in these varied governance spaces: in public schooling, schooling in previously under-­achieving schooling contexts, in lower economic contexts, in middle-­class suburbia, in deep rural settings? Each of the specific contexts generates situated challenges and choices for CPD based on, amongst other issues, the personnel within the school (management and teaching staff), their levels of expertise, their resources, their commitment to preservation or change. This perhaps is not a concern unique to the Global South. Too often, what is called for by teachers themselves, is an ‘outside-­in’ CPD growth model, where the sources for their development are expected to be responsibly provided by those in authority. This capitulation to externally driven agendas, whether to the donor funders, or the (democratically elected) employing state departments (and their monitoring agents), is an indirect complicity of teachers in their own de-­professionalization and perpetuates notions of teacher deficiency. This reinforces the mandate of those in charge to regulate all teachers, irrespective of their individual capabilities. A usual tar-­brushing of teachers ensues and the controller of the purse-­strings becomes the saviour, or the bringer of new truths. CPD becomes commodified, delivered and accepted willingly. A reactive rise to assert the voice of teachers as professionals who understand their specific localized contexts, is increasingly offered as a solution to counter the above described disguised dictatorial outside-­in professional development tendencies. Teachers are rallying around activating their localized spaces to declare their felt and experienced needs within their own localized contexts. Teacher voice is being understood as a contestation between self-­determination and externalized imposition. Communities of practice serve as rallying support to draw internal resources. Which kinds of contexts are able to activate such communal teacher work, is a moot point which this anthology probes. Why are the communal enterprises more prevalent in more affluent communities? What explains the self-­driven CPD initiatives’ link to better-­resourced contexts? Moreover, this anthology raises the question whether teachers themselves (especially un-­trained, or under-­qualified, or less experienced practitioners) are indeed capable of being able to accurately predict their own developmental needs. It might also be argued that the incapacitated teachers are unlikely to present images of their own inadequacies and therefore choose to willing capitulate to the ‘redeeming’ solutions that the benevolent provider offers. This is also noted in the usual positive reflections offered by attendees of CPD activities, despite their fragmented, irregular, superficial and episodic nature in the form of

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short-­term interventions. Little follow-­up after CPD interventions is conducted about whether the short bursts of orientation to preferred policy directives, new curriculum policy, or new management/administrative agendas, are indeed translated into sustained action within the school settings from which the targeted CPD participants originate. The CPD agendas sometimes satisfy the giver rather than the receiver. And the learner and the learning in community are often remotely connected into this agenda. This raises doubt about the short-­ term models of CPD interventions. Despite their laudable goals at mass orientation of the teaching force to new directives, the long-­term effect of their interventions are not fully explored. Is this investment justified? More systemic and systematic-­wide alignment across educational reform initiatives is suggested as possibly capable of sustaining the agenda of any deep professional growth and development model. This includes attending to multiple facets of school provisioning and contextual specificities. CPD should align with management and district regional support officers’ roles and responsibilities. CPD should address the profile of specific learners and their community. CPD for different staffing profiles in unique schools might warrant specialized forms of localized differentiated interventions. However, this requires funding, resources and time, as well as management and staffing commitments which are often not easily available ingredients in the complex and complicated world of teachers, their schools and their communities. Managers may know the value of CPD, and teachers potentially understand its asset and investment, but the challenges of working increasingly in spaces where broader social, economic and political challenges impact on the lived world and experiences of teachers, mitigate against any sustained adoption of CPD as everyday integrated experienced reality. The increasing enrolment of learners into the education systems across the sub-Saharan context is usually celebrated as evidence of addressing matters of formal access in line with international protocols such as ‘Education for All’ and the ‘Millennium Development Goals’. However, the side effect is that it has spawned into the schooling system a range of un- and under-­qualified teachers whose formative foundational subject-­matter knowledge and pedagogical practice knowledge as professional teachers are in need of systemic development. Many schools, especially those in historically under-­served contexts, in rural settings, in spaces where qualified teachers are not prepared to take up employment, are challenged with a skewed proportion of teachers who may not themselves be able to identify their own professional growth trajectories or needs, simply because they have inadequate baseline teacher professional capabilities. CPD in these instances becomes ‘disguised pre-­service’.

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Further research needs to elaborate the effect of those who indeed have not chosen the profession, but are co-­opted into the world of schooling because it provides an employment option. Their presence and involvement in CPD might be a disengaged interest or simply a qualifications credentialing exercise. All these permutations make designing and delivering CPD activity both within and outside schools a complex challenge. It is easy to concede that the goals of upgrading un- or under-­qualified teachers are pragmatic consequences of the education system’s massification goals. However, those goals paradoxically fuel the system with teachers who lack deep commitment to the project of education. CPD thus become a form of ‘therapeutic intervention’ to generate a calling amongst those teachers (not only the un- and under-­qualified) who have to learn to cope with the challenges of increased learner enrolment without necessarily increasing resourcing in order to cope with the agenda of the educational project of teaching and learning. The stress and burnout of teachers result in untold real and symbolic violence meted out by both teachers and learners, and this might have the unintended consequences of the general loss of faith in schooling as a public enterprise. Home-­schooling, or ‘shadow education’ in the form of private tutoring, begin then to sprout alongside the formal public schooling system. CPD becomes implicated in assisting teachers to generate ‘tolerable sustenance’ to cope with charged spaces of schooling. Teachers, especially those influenced by Westernized contexts, bemoan the lack of deference to their authority. They see their worldviews crumbling as learners too assert agency that borders on disregard for the confinement of schooling which reportedly lacks imaginative and creative stimulation. Classrooms have become hostile spaces. Modern classroom learners expect schooling to be entertaining rather than provoking disciplined learning. School systems have also become pushed to service the agenda of ensuring appropriate exit credentials for learners to access higher forms of education. The limited spaces within the higher education system drive (primary and) secondary schooling to teach their learners how to gain (at any cost) the appropriate entry credentials to secure access. Assessment practices and rehearsal towards examination-­oriented pedagogy have become commonplace to replace deep educational exploration. CPD becomes implicated in reading and interpreting what informs such a rising school culture. Classrooms have become more than just spaces for negotiating the knowledge project through quality teaching and learning. Quality is superficially understood in productivity terms of learner outputs and examination scores. Newer definitions of what constitutes ‘quality’ education emerge in the case studies explored in this anthology. It perhaps is a consequence of the specificities

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of many sub-Saharan contexts being characterized as ‘post-­conflict’, where historical upheaval has drastically filtered into the social fabric, whole bodies of trauma and injustices. The social and psychological effects of these traumas are accentuated further when it is teachers and schooling systems that may historically have been directly implicated in promoting social exclusivity, inequity and injustices. In these spaces, CPD thus becomes directed towards realizing not just an act of subject-­matter knowledge and its pedagogical practice, but an act of social reconstruction. I have critiqued above when social acculturation rather than pedagogical knowledge engagement dominates the agenda of schooling. However, these case studies seem to suggest that any pedagogical knowledge project cannot proceed without first tackling the deep remnants of the previous inequities of past social, political and historical contexts. So, this begs the question: is there any society in any worldwide context that does not have to address these matters of social discrimination, whether around disability, racial and gender identities, sexual orientations, xenophobia or class prejudices and violence? Should schooling, by definition, be more than about learning subjects and disciplines, but instead be about learning how to be and become in this world? CPD targeted towards these agendas have the potential to redefine the foundational purpose of schooling. These reflections about CPD in Ghana, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe are windows into the world of education in a specific sub-Saharan context. However, like all good case studies, they offer more than just an analysis of the specificities of their localized context. They generate the policy and future research questions for contexts beyond their worlds of time and space. I am left with a deeper insight into how the same words take on different meanings in unique contexts. CPD offers more discomforting questions rather than certainties because its agenda is yet incomplete. And yet my discomfort is my comfort. Be uncomfortable as you tread into these insightful territories.

Acknowledgements The editor would like to express his gratitude and thanks to: l

l

l

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Colleagues at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) and the University of Sussex for their support, advice and encouragement in making this book possible. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) for their generous financial support to the South African Research Chair (SARChI) in Teacher Education hosted by the Faculty of Education, CPUT. Opinions expressed in this book, and the conclusions arrived at, are those of the authors, and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF and CPUT and its partners. The CITE Advisory Board, and in particular the Chairperson, Professor Robert van Niekerk, the Mathew Goniwe Chair of Social Policy and Director of the Institute of Social Economic Research, Rhodes University, for his sage advice and wisdom. The many contributors, without whom this book would not have been possible.

Part One

Setting the Context

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CPD in the Context of Sub-Saharan Africa Yusuf Sayed

Centre for International Education (CIE), University of Sussex, UK and Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE), Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Azeem Badroodien

Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE), Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Setting the context The Sustainable Development Goals agreed upon by UNESCO in September 2015 signal that despite a number of improvements in access to education, the right to equitable and quality ‘education for all’ has remained somewhat elusive. This is especially troubling given that UNESCO estimates that 250 million children across the world are ‘not learning even basic literacy and numeracy skills, let alone the further skills they need to get decent work and lead fulfilling lives’ (UNESCO 2013: 186). And it is why access – not only to educational opportunities, but to ‘high-­quality education’ – remains the central driver in the transformation of South Africa’s human development prospects (UNDP 2013: 81). In highlighting this, a critical connection is made between good teachers and quality education provision and how it is integrated into a variety of national and global education policies. Arguably, it is through high standards in teaching that learning can be shifted in positive directions, and thus the extent to which governments prepare teachers (from pre-­service to in-­service professional development) to support equitable and quality learning has become a crucial part of policy. That is because ‘good teachers close the gap between poor and good quality education by maximising the benefits of learning in every classroom for every child’ (UNESCO 2013: 237; Sayed & Ahmed 2014; Naylor & Sayed 2014).

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In that regard, the continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers is an important dimension in improving the quality of teacher knowledge and pedagogical competences. Increasing CPD capacity, it is argued, takes forward education reform initiatives in ways that build teacher abilities to respond more adequately to new issues and challenges as they emerge. CPD, as such, is a ‘long-­ term process that includes regular opportunities and experiences planned systematically to promote growth and development in the profession’ (VillegasReimers 2003: 12). Yet despite the recognized importance of teacher professional development in bringing about necessary educational change, most countries struggle to provide this very necessary support to improve the quality of teaching. Indeed, across the African continent concerns are often raised about the level of educational quality and the centrality of teachers’ knowledge and skills to determining this. Being the region with the highest teacher shortages, there is significant unease about the overall poor quality of teaching in African schools, and a worry that many teachers in the region are entering the profession with inadequate core subject knowledge because of the suboptimal quality of their own initial teacher education preparation (UNESCO 2013: 237). With education provision having expanded quite rapidly in Africa (in pursuit of expanding access to education), ‘many teachers are recruited without the necessary training’ (UNESCO 2014: 6). In Ghana, for example, there has been a 61 per cent increase in the number of primary school teachers over the past decade. Yet the percentage of trained teachers has gradually fallen from 72 per cent in 1999 to 53 per cent in 2013 (UNESCO 2014: 6). Figures for 2012 indicate that in thirty of ninety-­one countries, fewer than 75 per cent of primary school teachers met national standards with regard to their training, with more than a half of these countries (seventeen out of thirty) being in sub-Saharan Africa. This has created several challenges for teacher training in these countries, namely how to recruit trained teachers, train untrained teachers, as well as how to train existing teachers (UNESCO 2014). In the latter regard, it is unsurprising that the upgrading of teacher qualifications and improving their knowledge and skills has been prioritized as the most cost-­effective and efficient way of building a desired teaching core (UNESCO 2014: 242). Continuing professional development across Africa is seen as a way of addressing the needs of both untrained and undertrained teachers, as well as equipping teachers with the kinds of knowledge and skills they need to deal with the complexity of issues that are central to the educational experience in Africa.

CPD in the Context of Sub-Saharan Africa

5

These complexities include, for example, the debilitating effects of armed conflict or violence on education, and the ways in which certain well-­intentioned reform imperatives often undermine more equitable and just provision. This is most evident in issues tied to peacebuilding, the promotion of inclusive education, enhancing teacher capacity to respond more effectively to diversity in all its manifestations, and equipping teachers with more effective and learner-­centred teaching and assessment practices. In all these cases, teacher professional development is regarded as a key strategy to ensure that Sustainable Development Goals 2030 are achieved, and it is treated as good practices where such initiatives are implemented (UNESCO 2014: 242).

The genesis of this book This book evolved out of the research conducted by the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) that has focused since 2014 on the generation of research and evidence that informs policy-­making around teacher education. As part of this work, the emphasis has been on systematically collecting materials about initial teacher education (ITE), teachers, social cohesion initiatives and CPD. In the latter regard, the focus has been on the provision of programmes of teacher professional development across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Indeed, while CPD is internationally recognized as an important focus within the field of teacher education research and scholarship (Schwille, Dembele & Schubert 2007), its associated body of international literature has made very little contribution to understanding CPD in developing country contexts (Sayed & Howell 2017). That said, CPD is an important component of education programmes and investments in many countries of Africa. It is this scholarly gap that the book sets out to address. After initiating a series of seminars and dialogic fora with various writers and authors across southern Africa in 2015, CITE set out to bring together a collection of contributions about the diverse challenges of CPD in SSA. This culminated in an international writers’ workshop in October 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa, where representatives of writer teams from participating countries took part in three days of pan-African networking and dialogue, from which emerged the chapters in this book. It is primarily geared towards sharing relevant experiences, lessons and good practices emerging from various countries in SSA, and seeks to provide through the chapters a scholarly platform for discussion and dialogue about CPD in the region. An additional goal is

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa

to contribute to the overall discourse on education change and school reform in SSA.

CPD in the context of this book Teacher Professional Development is conceived in this book (see Chapter 2) as a continuum that includes the initial teacher education (ITE) of different teachers as well as the learning they undertake throughout their careers (referred to as continuing professional development). CPD, as such, is regarded as part of a continuous, long-­term process that treats teachers as life-­long learners engaged in a continuum of professional learning. This learning starts from the days at school when current practitioners watched their own teachers teach, to the kinds of teaching long-­server educators engaged in at the end of their careers (Schwille, Dembele & Schubert 2007). CPD is part of a spectrum of educational processes, with associated practices designed to build the knowledge, competence and commitment of teachers. Notably, while CPD is often referred to as ‘in-­service education and training’ (INSET), this book favours the term ‘continuing professional development’ (CPD). Both terms refer to professional development post qualification, yet they are distinctively different and reflect distinct approaches to the professional development of practising teachers (Villegas-Reimers 2003). CPD is regarded as reflecting a new approach that is a critique of the older (although quite resilient) INSET framework (Schwille, Dembele & Schubert 2007). ‘In-­service’ training is thus not another name for CPD, but rather an older, restricted form of teacher professional development that consists of ‘limited workshops or short-­term courses that offer teachers new information on a particular aspect of their work’ (Villegas-Reimers 2003; Schwille, Dembele & Schubert 2007: 33). INSET, in that respect, fails to ‘take into account what we know about how teachers learn’. CPD, on the other hand, approaches teacher professional development as ‘a long-­term process that includes regular opportunities and experiences planned systematically to promote growth and development in the profession’ (VillegasReimers 2003: 12; Borko 2004: 3). As such, this book regards CPD as the more dynamic term, one that reflects a ‘new image’, ‘new model’ or ‘new paradigm’ on the training and development of teachers as professionals, and that challenges much of what has come before (Villegas-Reimers 2003, citing Cochran-Smith & Lytle 2001).

CPD in the Context of Sub-Saharan Africa

7

Overview of the book The book is divided into three parts. Part One introduces current discussions about the CPD of teachers in subSaharan Africa and comprises two chapters. While this first chapter sets out the context and the genesis of the book, Chapter 2 provides the main framework for the book and maps out some of the key contexts and issues that shape the provision of CPD in the region. The authors of the chapter, Howell and Sayed, argue that this contextualization of the provision impedes on the conceptualization of the CPD as an ongoing improvement of the education quality. Part Two of the volume gathers case studies from six countries in SSA: South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Chapters  3 to 9 provide thematic and geographical overviews of the different country case studies seeking to initiate educational change through CPD across the region. Each of the countries faces different challenges related to the professional development of teachers. Some of them deal with high numbers of unqualified and under-­qualified teachers, as well as qualified teachers who enter the profession with insufficient content and pedagogical knowledge to adequately support student learning. Others highlight how certain political and social priorities shape the kinds of further professional development programmes teachers can access. Grouped together the chapters speak to three key themes: the nature of different kinds of teacher professional development reforms; the challenges associated with the push for inclusive and socially just education; and the current preoccupation with the improvement of teachers’ knowledge in literacy and numeracy. With the first theme, a variety of reforms across SSA have emphasized the improvement of teacher competences as the main route to ensuring quality education provision. One such reform is decentralized models of professional development. In that respect, Chapter 3, by Nyambe, Kasanda and Iipinge, shows how one such model operates in Namibia and how the absence of strong teacher policies leads to ineffective and uncoordinated implementation of CPD provision. They note that the dual model of CPD – one which focuses on updating teachers’ knowledge and the other on upgrading teachers’ qualifications – struggles to gain purchase in practice in Namibia because there are no strong policy frameworks that assist CPD implementation and that sensitize teachers to the benefits of CPD. Akyeampong, Adu-Yeboah and Kwaah thereafter focus in Chapter  4 on a donor-­funded programme in Ghana aimed at training untrained teachers as a

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa

way of improving teacher quality. This chapter describes some findings from an empirically grounded evaluation of teachers’ perceptions of their pedagogical and content knowledge prior to and after completing the donor-­funded Untrained Teachers’ Diploma in Basic Education in Ghana, and argues that many untrained teachers do not fully appreciate the extent of their limitations in teaching various concepts. Akyeampong, Adu-Yeboah and Kwaah conclude that if CPD for untrained teachers is to be effective, it requires a stronger relationship between teachers’ ‘knowledge of practice and knowledge for practice’. With the second theme, namely the challenges associated with the push for inclusive and socially just education, three chapters consider CPD interventions that promote social cohesion and equality in diverse country contexts. Chapters  5 to 7 respectively explore how issues of social justice are addressed in the curriculum in South Africa, peacebuilding in Rwanda, and inclusive education in South Africa and Zimbabwe. In Chapter 5, which focuses on a specific area of content knowledge in the history curriculum in South Africa, Gaston, McDonald and Hanaya show how a CPD intervention uses the teaching of the Holocaust to expand and develop the content knowledge of history teachers in South African schools. The authors assert that the programme entitled ‘The Holocaust: Lessons for Humanity’ contributes substantially towards the social justice goals of the curriculum by improving the capacity of teachers to nurture critical thinking among learners and deepen their understanding of the notion of human rights. They caution, however, that the development of ‘teacher pedagogical strategies for social justice’ needs to be embedded across the curriculum rather than through fragmented, specific or discrete units in specific subjects, as with their case study. This focus on developing teacher pedagogies for social justice is explored in a different way in Chapter 6, where Ndabaga, Ntahomvukiye and Omar examine CPD programmes geared towards promoting peacebuilding in Rwanda. They focus on a home-­grown programme that emerges from the National Iterero Commission (traditional school) as well as an intervention by the Aegis Trust, an NGO, in collaboration with the Institute for Research, Dialogue and Peace. In contrast to Chapter 5, where issues of difference and conflict in South Africa are foregrounded, the authors show how CPD programmes aimed at peacebuilding in Rwanda, and which emphasize ideas of sameness and national unity, adopt very different approaches to social cohesion and social justice, often with very different outcomes. The section then switches to a different social inclusion issue, namely access to quality education for children with disabilities, to highlight the need for CPD

CPD in the Context of Sub-Saharan Africa

9

programmes to develop different kinds of competencies when engaging with the inclusive education needs of learners. In comparing the cases of South Africa and Zimbabwe, in Chapter 7 Howell, McKenzie and Chataika argue that how teachers conceptualize inclusive education, and the meanings they attribute to it, often shape the ways in which they pedagogically approach the needs of their special needs learners. With the third theme, the emphasis is on CPD interventions that seek to enhance teachers’ competencies to teach literacy and numeracy in Uganda and South Africa. Obiero and Ezati in Chapter 8 review a CPD programme in Uganda aimed at improving the competences of primary school mathematics teachers. They observe that whilst the programme increased teacher content and pedagogic content knowledge in mathematics, in most cases teachers were unable to effectively transfer this knowledge in their schools due to a variety of contextual challenges. This is followed by Meyer, Abel and Brückner’s analysis in Chapter 9 of an evaluation of a CPD literacy and numeracy (LitNum) intervention in the Western Cape, South Africa. Using a variety of sources and viewpoints, they assert that while the CPD intervention contributes substantially to improved learner performance, it needs to be differentially applied in different schooling contexts if it is to appropriately address the wider social and political contexts of the various schools. They argue that these contexts lead to significant variations in learner improvement. In Part Three’s Chapter  10, Sayed and Jancic Mogliacci wrap up the main arguments of the book and provide a conceptual overview of key debates within current policy and research, as well as its implications for CPD in sub-Saharan Africa.

Themes running through the book Several issues emerge from the text. First, the chapters chronicle multiple and differing reasons for the provision of CPD across diverse contexts in the region, each in their own way concentrated on the development of new, improved or ‘revitalized’ teaching practices that lead to the greater effectiveness of the teaching function. In each case, this function is inextricably linked to enhanced student learning and improved educational outcomes since, as Welch (2012) argues, ‘if professional development is not centred on the link between educator

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa

skill and knowledge and student learning, it cannot be said to be working’ (cited by de Clercq & Shalem 2014: n.p.). Second, the chapters highlight the need to always connect the provision of CPD to the concept of teachers as professionals, namely that its provision is a fundamental part of both personal learning and the development of the teaching profession itself. At the personal level, CPD develops the professional competence of teachers and helps them adapt to the changing nature of their occupation and the need to consistently acquire new kinds of knowledge and skills as the demands of the role change (SACE 2015). CPD can further ensure and renew the commitment of teachers to their profession, and to the ethical dimensions of it, as well as help them make sense of the profession with its changing needs. It can also shift teachers’ attitudes, views and beliefs about what is required of them (Naylor & Sayed 2014). At the teaching profession level, CPD emphasizes the kinds of ‘teacher skills and new kinds of knowledge’ that need to be re-­ programmed to address the requirements of a rapidly changing, knowledge-­ driven world (Castells 2009). Third, the chapters speak to CPD supporting teachers to become active agents in their classrooms, with CPD discourses positioning teachers as ‘active learners’ and ‘reflexive practitioners’ when they actively engage in their own professional development. This is particularly important for the schooling process in SSA given that, according to Sayed et  al. (2016), teachers across diverse contexts in Africa are increasingly being called on to serve as ‘agents for transformative action’ and as activists for social justice in order to embed higher levels of peace and social cohesion within conflict-­stricken communities. In that respect, as Sayed et  al. (2016) argue, teacher CPD needs to move beyond a narrow focus on literacy and numeracy to be more ‘affective’ and support teachers through both ITE and CPD programmes to promote inclusive education, social cohesion, global citizenship and education provision geared towards sustainable development. Notably, the greater focus on teacher agency is an attempt to shift teacher discourses away from a discourse of derision in which teachers are perceived as ‘the problem’ and as ‘lazy and unaccountable’ professionals. As such, teachers are more often than not identified as a ‘source of blame’ and ‘needing to be changed’ when education reform initiatives do not achieve their desired results, rather than them having ‘actual deficits’ (Mokhele & Jita 2010; Samuel 2012: 24). Such a conception of teacher agency through CPD posits teacher professionals as having a meaningful (and autonomous) role to play in their own development, and needing the support of the state to do what they need to do.

CPD in the Context of Sub-Saharan Africa

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Indeed, such conceptions of teacher agency in CPD discourses is a deliberate positioning against forms of ‘teacher fundamentalism’, where teachers are narrowly regarded as service workers fulfilling a state education agenda and its ambitions, and required to work on its various programmes. In such instances, teachers are invariably de-­professionalized and made accountable to the state via a set of ‘standards and accountability’ mechanisms, with the state thereby being able to exert control over teachers’ work through ‘managerial forms of control’. Fourth, many of the chapters remind readers that teacher agency is shaped by, and is responsive to, the contexts of which teachers are part, and thus teacher learning is framed by their various experiences within different contexts. As such, in order for teachers to become active transformative agents, it was noted that CPD programmes need to include deliberate processes of reflection that encourage teachers to reflect on their actions using conscious and deliberate strategies (Morrow & Samuels 2005: 66). Fifth, and linked to the above point, political, economic and social forces (as well as the contexts in which teachers practise) invariably shape the provision of CPD across different contexts, as well as its purpose, diverse nature and form. These forces also crucially shape the efficacy and impact of CPD programmes in different countries (Villegas-Reimers 2003). Sixth, many chapters highlight the value and importance of collaboration in teacher learning and the contribution of CPD initiatives to the creation of conditions that allow teachers to be part of communities of practice. Collaboration within CPD emphasizes the value of collaborative learning, the need for peer interaction and support (such as mentorship), a requirement to initiate institutional partnerships such as university–school partnerships, and the enormous value in bringing teachers together in collaborative professional development networks (for example, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in South Africa), or teaching clusters. However, many of these kinds of collaboration are often weakened by contextual challenges that include ‘professional isolation’ (where teachers are unable to access their peers), preferences for individualized teaching approaches (which discourage working with others), or implementation challenges that accompany particular policies. Seventh, the various chapters attest to the importance attached to CPD as a key element of educational reform initiatives in SSA (as is the case across the world) and the acknowledgement that ‘educational reforms that do not include teachers and their professional development have not been successful’ (VillegasReimers 2003: 24–29).

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa

Lastly, the chapters also reveal key gaps and silences about CPD in subSaharan Africa. For example, the focus on CPD often results in the neglect of other education role-­players, such as principals, who are important contributors to the building of a quality education system. There is also a very real danger that the focus on education reform will result in CPD becoming a mere instrument to train teachers to implement the change agendas of different governments. All in all, though, the chapters in this book confirm the provision of varied levels of CPD across the region, and the key roles played by teachers in seeking to provide good-­quality education. In the various chapters and case studies that follow, teachers are seen to be attending various CPD training programmes and receiving diverse forms of support – whether through CPD workshops focused on inclusive education, literacy and numeracy, upgrading teacher qualifications, or enhancing teacher content knowledge – with the aim being to build quality education systems. In most cases however, CPD provision appears to be quite limited, irregular, and often inappropriate for particular schooling contexts. As such, the various chapters appeal for more effective, ongoing, onsite, contextually specific CPD for teachers in sub-Saharan Africa which is tied to systemic education reform efforts.

References Borko, H. (2004), ‘Professional Development and Teacher Learning: Mapping the Terrain’, Educational Researcher, 33 (3): 3–15. doi:10.3102/0013189X033008003. Castells, M. (2009), Communication Power. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. Cochran-Smith, M and S. Lytle (2001), ‘Beyond Certainty: Taking an Inquiry Stance on Practice’, in A. Lieberman and L. Miller (eds), Teachers Caught in the Action: Professional Development That Matters, New York: Teachers College Press. De Clercq, F. and Y. Shalem (2014), ‘Teacher Knowledge and Employer-­driven Professional Development: A Critical Analysis of the Gauteng Department of Education Programmes’, Southern African Review of Education with Education with Production, 20 (1): 129–47. Mokhele, M.L. and L.C. Jita (2010), ‘South African Teachers’ Perspectives on Continuing Professional Development: A Case Study of the Mpumalanga Secondary Science Initiative’, Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9: 1762–66. Naylor, R. and Y. Sayed (2014), ‘Teacher Quality: Evidence Review’, Office of Development Effectiveness: Commonwealth of Australia. Sayed, Y and R. Ahmed (2014), ‘Education Quality, and Teaching and Learning in the Post–2015 Education Agenda’, International Journal of Education Development, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.11.005.

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Sayed, Y. and R. Naylor (2013), The Evidence on Teacher Quality. Canberra: ODE Australian Aid. Sayed, Y., A. Badroodien, Z. McDonald, T. Salmon, L. Balie, T. De Kock and C. Garisch (2016), Teachers and Youth as Agents of Social Cohesion in South Africa. Cape Town: Centre for International Teacher Education. Schwille, J., M. Dembele and J. Schubert (2007), ‘Global Perspectives on Teacher Learning: Improving Policy and Practice’, Fundamentals of Educational Planning, Paris: UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning. UNDP (2013), ‘The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World’, Human Development Report 2013, New York: UNDP. UNESCO (2013), EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013/14: Teaching and Learning: Achieving Quality for All. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO Institute for Statistics/Global Monitoring Report (2014), ‘Wanted: Trained Teachers to Ensure Every Child’s Right to Primary Education’, Policy Paper 15/Fact Sheet 30. Paris: UNESCO. Villegas-Reimers, E. (2003), Teacher Professional Development: An International Review of the Literature. Paris: UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning.

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Improving Learning through the CPD of Teachers: Mapping the Issues in Sub-Saharan Africa Colleen Howell

UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK and Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE), Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Yusuf Sayed

Centre for International Education (CIE), University of Sussex, UK and Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE), Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Introduction As countries and organizations across the world begin to actively take forward a new post-2015 sustainable development agenda, the imperative to increase access to good-­quality education for all children, the focus of the previous Educational For All (EFA) initiative, remains central to the realization of this broader agenda. However, despite the very important improvements in primary school enrolment that have taken place across the globe, it is argued that the quality of the education significant numbers of children are receiving, including across sub-Saharan Africa, is woefully inadequate (UNESCO 2014). In most cases these inadequacies mirror broader political and economic inequalities, so that the quality of the education a child receives is directly related to his or her economic and political status (UNDP 2013). It is not surprising, then, that this focus on quality has drawn attention to teachers and the critical connection between teaching practice and the nature of the learning experience for children, including their performance. As UNESCO (2015: 2) has asserted, ‘The quality of an education system can exceed neither the quality of its teachers nor the quality of its teaching’, and that, after home

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background, these are the most critical factors in learning performance (Sayed & Ahmed 2015). These concerns have in turn increased awareness around what is required from teachers for them to be effective. This is seen to involve the coming together of appropriate knowledge, skills, dispositions and commitment (Hardman et al. 2011) with the exercise of responsibilities that go beyond ‘the boundaries of the classroom’ to include broader responsibilities to the school, the system and the wider community (Hilton, Flores & Niklasson 2013: 3). What is especially important to the concerns of this chapter is that the acquisition of such competence and the exercise of such responsibility involve processes of ongoing learning for teachers, or what has been characterized as a continuum of life-­long learning (McKenzie et al. 2005). This continuum begins with their school days watching their own teachers (Schwille, Dembele & Schubert 2007; Kruijer 2010), is deepened and formalized through their initial training as student teachers (pre-­service training) and their subsequent induction into the world of work, and then continues through their ongoing development as educational professionals throughout their careers (RSA 2007). The latter element of this continuum, recognized as the continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers, is argued to be especially important to improving the quality of teaching practice, providing opportunities for teachers to refresh their knowledge, learn new skills and reflect on their professional experiences for ongoing learning (Mulkeen 2010). In providing a context to the case studies and contributions that follow in this handbook, this chapter explores some of the central concerns impacting on and shaping CPD in sub-Saharan Africa, a region made up of forty-­eight countries on the African continent that are located geographically below the Sahara desert. On the one hand, this chapter takes as a starting point the recognition that in many parts of the region, in addition to weaknesses with existing pre-­service teacher education systems (Penny et  al. 2008; Mulkeen 2010; Hardman, AbdKadir & Tibuhinda 2012; Akyeampong et  al. 2013), training and ongoing learning opportunities for practising teachers are largely ‘superficial and inadequate’ (UNESCO 2015). Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, the provision that does exist appears to have little impact on teaching practice in the classroom, a change imperative that ‘seems almost a mission impossible in subSaharan Africa’ (Miyazaki 2016: 703). Deepening the impact of these challenges are the complex social, political and economic factors that characterize the countries across the region. These in turn shape and impact on teachers and the contexts in which they teach, often creating exceptionally difficult working conditions and undermining opportunities for effective learning.

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However, while these challenges are real and pervasive across the region, it is equally important to recognize its heterogeneity and the nuances of national contexts, particularly their educational contexts and the particular issues driving and impacting on the professional development of their teachers. Within many of these contexts, and therefore of relevance to the region, is the emergence of important developments with regard to CPD (Burns & Lawrie 2015), especially towards expanding access to CPD opportunities and improving the quality of CPD programmes. While some of the drivers that are influencing these changes have come under critical scrutiny (Akula 2014), what dominates much of the emerging research and reflections on these developments is the assertion that the provision of adequate and appropriate CPD across the region is critical to enhancing the quality of teaching, and thus the learning experience for children.

Key trends around the purpose, conceptualization and forms of CPD provision Education reform as the driver of CPD A number of writers have drawn attention to the fact that across the globe, the ongoing professional development of practising teachers has multiple purposes, resulting in a diversity of CPD initiatives and programmes (Schwille, Dembele & Schubert 2007; Ono & Ferreira 2010). This diversity is strongly influenced by context (Villegas-Reimers 2003; Kombo & Nkumbi 2008; Adler 2002) where the political, economic and social forces that shape and impact on different education contexts largely inform the purposes underpinning CPD programmes in these settings. These change imperatives then inform the kinds of new skills, knowledge and understandings among teachers that CPD initiatives are often directed towards, such as a new national curriculum, as well as the particular forms of professional growth and learning that may be important to that context, such as education renewal in post-­conflict situations. The centrality of context to understanding the purposes of CPD is especially important to sub-Saharan Africa. What emerges from much of what has been written about CPD in the region is that particular CPD initiatives have been and remain largely driven by specific education reform imperatives that are important to processes of educational change within the different country contexts. Especially relevant here have been those change processes that have

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sought to address post-­independence goals towards improving access to quality education for all children and overcoming the education inequalities of the region’s predominantly colonial past. Over the last fifteen years, efforts towards the realization of these goals have been strongly influenced by the United Nation’s Education for All (EFA) initiative. As much of the statistical data now shows, respective national commitments to reaching the EFA targets have resulted in significant increases in the number of children gaining access to education across the region (UNESCO 2014; Kruijer 2010), with a concomitant increase in the social and geographic diversity of school enrolment (Mulkeen 2010). While many children still remain out of school (UNESCO 2015), these substantial changes in levels of access have led to significant increases in the number of teachers required by the education systems in these countries (Kruijer 2010). This need has, in turn, led to a chronic shortage of teachers, making sub-Saharan Africa the region across the world that faces the greatest challenge ‘by a large margin’ in relation to teacher shortages (UNESCO 2014). Perhaps the most important consequence of this shortage has been the widespread tendency for countries in the region to make use of un- and under-­qualified teachers (Mulkeen 2010; Kruijer 2010; UNESCO 2015), creating a situation where many teachers teaching in the classrooms have been recruited despite not having the necessary training (UNESCO 2014; 2015). This situation is further exacerbated by the poor quality of teacher education at the pre-­service level (Penny et al. 2008; Mulkeen 2010; Hardman, Abd-Kadir & Tibuhinda 2012; Akyeampong et al. 2013) with many teachers entering the profession with inadequate core subject knowledge (UNESCO 2014) and teaching practices that fail to engage learners effectively (Akyeampong et  al. 2013; Burns & Lawrie 2015). An additional causal factor to the ‘under-­ qualification’ of many practising teachers has been the rise in the national teaching standards of a number of countries in the region (Kruijer 2010). Thus, while these developments have been aimed at improving the quality of teaching, they have also led to a situation where many teachers already in the system now no longer meet the minimum requirements for professional practice and are therefore ‘under-­qualified’. These developments have also been important to informing large-­scale efforts to improve and expand pre-­service education systems and in this way improve the quality of the teachers entering the system. However, what has also emerged out of these contexts is the positioning of CPD as a central mechanism to address these challenges, both in relation to the upgrading of un- or under-­

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qualified teachers and overcoming recognized ‘gaps’ in many teacher’s knowledge and skill (Onwu & Sehoole 2011; Gathumbi, Mungai & Hintze 2013). UNESCO (2014) argues that many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to bringing about change at the pre-­service level, are faced with the complex task of training untrained teachers and improving the knowledge and skills of those who are under-­qualified and/or poorly trained. They therefore argue that for many countries, despite the enormous challenge involved in training existing teachers, such training is seen as the most cost-­effective and efficient means of building a desired teaching core (UNESCO 2014). The provision of appropriate and effective CPD is therefore an imperative that ‘cannot wait’ (Burns & Lawrie 2015). However, as already suggested, these changes around access to education provision have not been the only education reform imperatives that have had important implications for the positioning and provisioning of CPD in subSaharan Africa. Other reform imperatives that speak more directly to specific social and political changes central to particular countries have also focused attention on CPD and its importance in equipping teachers to play an envisaged role towards the realization of these changes. Important here are initiatives that have sought to strengthen the role of teachers in the building of social cohesion, especially in post-­conflict situations, but which reflect both strengths and weaknesses in their approach and impact (Sayed & Noveli 2016). Similarly, efforts by countries to create more inclusive education systems, including addressing those barriers that have restricted access and excluded many learners on the basis of, for example, gender and disability, have focused strongly on CPD and the building of teachers’ capacity to respond to greater diversity through effective professional development (Engelbrecht & Green 2007). While many of the CPD initiatives noted above are driven by NGOs with insecure sources of funding (Sayed & Badrodien 2016), the purpose driving them is still one of education reform and the realization of necessary educational change in different contexts.

The fluidity of the concept of CPD in sub-Saharan Africa This overview of the dominant purposes of CPD in sub-Saharan Africa suggests that underpinning this strong emphasis on education reform as its driver is a broad conceptualization that encompasses a range of initiatives aimed at and involving teachers who are already practising; that is, those who are ‘in service’. Fareo (2013: 64), citing Mohammed (2006), therefore argues that:

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa Continuing professional development may be regarded as all forms of ‘in-­service’ ‘continuing education’, ‘on-­the-job-­training’, ‘workshop’, ‘post-­qualification courses etc. Whether formal or informal, structured or unstructured, teacher initiated or not.

What is important about this understanding of CPD is that it brings together, and uses interchangeably, the concepts of ‘in-­service training’ and ‘continuing professional development’. However, while the terms are used interchangeably, the focus is always on additional or ongoing learning by qualified and practising teachers. Such learning is generally seen to involve the acquisition of new knowledge or skills that develop an individual as a teacher (OECD 2009). While, as the previous section has suggested, such development may be informed by a particular change initiative requiring new skills and knowledge from teachers (such as a new national curriculum), its objectives are to improve teachers’ professional practice (Gathumbi, Mungai & Hintze 2013) and, arguably, to strengthen their commitment to the ideals of their profession (Morrow & Samuels 2005). Although there is little disagreement, then, that the concepts of ‘in-­service training’ or ‘continuing professional development’ are about processes, programmes and interventions that seek to bring about such learning and developments, writers from within the region (Ono & Ferreira 2010; Mulkeen 2010; Akula 2014) and beyond (Villegas-Reimers 2003) argue that an important distinction needs to be made between the two concepts. Villegas-Reimers (2003) has argued that ‘in-­service’ training is not just another name for CPD but rather an older, increasingly limited form of teacher professional development, with a range of limitations in design and form (Schwille, Dembele & Schubert 2007; Ono & Ferreira 2010; Steyn 2011). Especially important here is what is argued to be the short-­term or limited duration of ‘INSET’ and its fragmentation from ‘a larger, cumulative life-­long curriculum of teacher training’ (Schwille, Dembele & Schubert 2007: 33) as well as its decontextualization and isolation from real classroom situations (Ono & Ferreira 2010). CPD, on the other hand, reflects a new approach to the professional development of teachers, which emphasizes the long-­term, continuous nature of teachers’ learning and promotes their growth and development within the profession (Villegas-Reimers 2003). Christie, Harley and Penny (2004: 171) argue that while it may be inappropriate to use CPD to describe the short ‘INSET’-type programmes, in the sub-Saharan context it is useful as a ‘shorthand term for all forms of teacher development activity’. In this particular context, what appears to be more important than distinguishing between the two concepts is recognizing that teachers are most often involved in two distinct kinds or types of programme, both of which are

Improving Learning through Teachers’ CPD

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described and understood as constituting CPD (Hardman et  al. 2011). Programmes fitting into the first type are aimed at upgrading un- or under-­ qualified teachers, including improving their academic qualifications. It is argued that these programmes, in addition to being prolific across the region (Mulkeen 2010), have a strong focus on certification as the outcome of such training. Moreover, it is not always possible to show conclusively that a teacher’s participation in an upgrading programme leads to improved pedagogical practice in the classroom (Kruijer 2010). Programmes or initiatives fitting into a second type, strongly distinguishable from the upgrading/certification programmes, are far less prevalent and tend to enjoy an ‘unsatisfactory status’ in most developing countries, including those within sub-Saharan Africa (Gathumbi, Mungai & Hintze 2013: 7). The objectives of such programmes are to facilitate the ongoing improvement of teachers’ pedagogical practice in the classroom and enhance their overall professional development (Mulkeen 2010). While the context that underpins the huge demand for upgrading programmes has already been described, the concern for Hardman et al. (2011) is that the understanding of what CPD is becomes distorted through a conflation of these two types of programmes. For them, the continuing professional development of practising teachers (what they call INSET) then becomes about upgrading qualifications rather than improving pedagogical practice. Christie, Harley and Penny (2004) argue similarly that these complexities and distortions in understanding about what CPD is happen because there is a blurring of PRESET and INSET. They argue that rather ‘than being part of a continuum’ of teachers’ ongoing learning and professional development, INSET programmes become a way of completing a teacher’s initial training (De Clercq & Phiri 2013, citing Christie, Harley and Penny 2004). What is important, then, to the concerns of this chapter is that conceptualizations of CPD and how it is understood across sub-Saharan Africa appear to be strongly influenced by contextual factors. These muddy the waters, obscuring important conceptual pointers that are thought to be essential to understanding what CPD is and its importance to the ongoing improvement and enhancement of pedagogical practice in the classroom – a key component of quality education provision.

The nature, form and scope of existing provision In their exploration of teacher professional development in ‘fragile contexts’, Burns and Lawrie (2015: 7) assert that in such contexts ‘where the need for

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa

quality teaching is greatest – the frequency of professional development is episodic, its quality variable, its duration limited and support or follow-­up for teachers almost non-­existent’. What is crucial about their summation is that many countries across sub-Saharan Africa would fall within their definition of ‘fragile contexts’, as ‘post-­conflict’ societies, ‘newly formed and politically vulnerable nations’ and, perhaps most pervasive, ‘low-­income contexts’. They would therefore experience the kinds of challenges with regard to CPD the authors describe as resulting in significant inadequacies in provision. While it is important not to homogenize the region, what emerges if this picture of inadequate provision is unpacked is that overall many local teachers have limited access to CPD opportunities, which therefore fail to meet the need that exists (Mulkeen 2010). Moreover where CPD provision is in place in different countries, it is often described as ‘haphazard’ (Jiya, Samuel & Morrow 2005), ‘ad hoc’ (Gathumbi, Mungai & Hintze 2013), ‘piecemeal’ (Burns & Lawrie 2015) and uneven, with existing opportunities skewed away from where the need is greatest (Mulkeen 2010). It is argued that such skewing is especially evident in the rural parts of these contexts, but a factor even in the better-­resourced ones, with teachers in these areas also having limited opportunities to access CPD (Chikoko 2008; Penny et al. 2008; Adedeji & Olaniyan 2011; Buckler 2011). The term ‘uneven’ can also be used here to describe the extent to which existing provision of CPD is adequately ‘institutionalized’ across the region; that is, the extent to which CPD provision forms an integral part of the formal teacher education system and is linked to teachers’ accreditation and advancement within the profession. For example, Gathumbi, Mungai & Hintze (2013) argue that in Kenya, while the government has made important progress towards building and institutionalizing CPD programmes and initiatives, much still needs to be done to fully institutionalize it. Similarly, despite important and substantial efforts by the government of Tanzania to develop a fully systematized national CPD programme, ‘major challenges’ remain with regard to its effective implementation, including issues of funding and the allocation of sufficient resources to different levels of the system (Hardman et al. 2011: 677). However, in better-­resourced contexts such as Nigeria and South Africa, despite the existence of important challenges with regard to effective CPD provision, greater institutionalization is evident and seen as important to improving the quality of teaching in these locations. Akuezullo and Akudolu (2006) explain that in Nigeria, in addition to substantial improvements that have been made to extending CPD provision, especially through the setting up of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) in the early 1990s, Mandatory

Improving Learning through Teachers’ CPD

23

Continuous Professional Education (MCPE) now forms part of the requirements that must be met for teachers to renew their licences to practise. Similarly, in South Africa under the new, post-­apartheid teacher education system, teachers are expected to earn professional development points through their participation in accredited CPD initiatives and these form part of the criteria used for advancement within the profession (RSA 2007). Many concerns also exist around the quality of what is on offer (Burns & Lawrie 2015), even where it is systematized with relatively strong political support. These perceptions of quality tend to encompass a number of issues, including: l

l

l

l

the inability of CPD programes to effectively respond to the needs of teachers, which as Gathumbi, Mungai & Hintze (2013) suggest are diverse and thus cannot cannot be homogenized; their failure to effectively translate into changed and improved practice in the classroom (Hardman et al. 2011; Akyeampong et al. 2013); a lack of research support to evaluate their impact (Mulkeen 2010); and the dominance of modes of delivery that have been increasingly discredited and challenged (Chisholm 2000; Mulkeen 2010; Akula 2014; Burns & Lawrie 2015; Bett 2016).

Especially important to this latter concern is the dominance of two (often interrelated) models or modes of training that continue to be used in many countries across the region. The first is the use of, and reliance on, ‘one-­off workshops’ or ‘short courses’. This type of training, captured by Akula (2014: 179) as ‘the traditional modality of one-­shot professional programmes’, is regarded as inherently limited because of its short-­term or limited duration. It therefore fails to take account of the cumulative, long-­term nature of teacher learning (Borko 2004), which requires time and ongoing follow-­up support (OECD 2005). Moreover, it is especially limited in contexts, very evident in sub-Saharan Africa, where CPD, as already argued, forms a critical element of substantial educational change initiatives, such as the implementation of a new curriculum or post-­ conflict reconstruction. These processes of educational change generally require ‘high-­quality continuing professional development’ (Phorabatho & Mafora 2013: 617) that is able to bring about significant paradigm shifts in teachers’ thinking and practice, something that their training has often not equipped them to do (Akyeampong 2003). Such change cannot be effectively facilitated through short-­term interventions of limited duration, an assertion that is made by teachers themselves especially towards the realization of important educational change imperatives (Mangope & Mukhopadhyay 2015).

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa

The second mode of training here is what is most often captured as the ‘cascade model’ of training, or ‘train the trainers’ (Chisholm 2000; Mulkeen 2010; Burns & Lawrie 2015; Bett 2016). This mode, which dominated, for example, the South African government’s system-­wide implementation of a new post-­apartheid curriculum framework (De Clercq & Phiri 2013) and has been the ‘default’ mode of teacher professional development in Kenya (Bett 2016), is argued to be problematic in a number of ways. Central to this is what Gathumbi, Mungai and Hintze (2013: 7) call the ‘shallow-­coverage of INSET content’ where ‘training messages flow down from experts and specialists through several layers of personnel and eventually to the teachers’ (citing Dove 1986). Once again, in a context where substantial change is required from teachers, professional development that is strongly reliant on ‘filtered’ content, often through ‘poorly qualified and poorly trained instructors’ (Burns & Lawrie 2015), is unable to bring about the depth and breadth of professional learning the teachers require. In many cases, such cascading means that particular teachers become the trainers of other teachers, having themselves only been exposed to limited opportunities to internalize the content that they are expected to transmit to other teachers (Hardman et  al. 2011). This mode of delivery is also often centrally driven, relying, as already noted, on a ‘one-­size fits all’ approach that becomes decontextualized from teachers’ specific contexts and is unable to meet their needs (Nyarigoti 2013), and is exacerbated by the fact that it often takes place in settings that are different to the school context (Bett 2016). Many such programmes are therefore unable to help teachers to deal with the challenges of their real-­life contexts and thus have limited impact (Gathumbi, Mungai & Hintze 2013). The issue of centralization in CPD noted in relation to the cascade model has also come under scrutiny for other reasons. Akula (2014), for example, questions the intentions behind strongly centralized government initiatives. Drawing from the Ethiopian context, he argues that centrally driven CPD initiatives are ‘not always cause for celebration’. Rather, he suggests: it is often under the facade of professional support that governments have instilled new regimes of control and surveillance into teachers’ work. True, well-­ designed teacher professional development programmes contribute to teacher professionalism. Yet, in the name of professionalism, privileged and state-­ sanctioned forms of ‘knowledge’ and ‘truth’ about the nature of teaching and teacher professionalism have come to be legitimized. 2014: 180

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Especially important to him here is the dominance of the ‘school effectiveness’ discourse and its associated assertion that teachers alone are responsible for student outcomes’ (Akula 2014: 180, citing Larsen 2010). Steyn (2008: 17) raises similar concerns in the South African context. He argues that there is an ‘inherent danger of (CPTD)1 becoming nothing more than a state-­funded skills development programme. . . [becoming an] instrument used by the state to train teachers in the implementation of new policies [rather than] to improve classroom practice as a first objective’. Despite the existence of these centralized initiatives, which tend to be driven through government policy and change strategies, it would seem that across the region there is still a strong reliance on donor funding for CPD provision. Central here is, on the one hand, criticisms that governments are not directing sufficient resources into CPD (Gathumbi, Mungai & Hintze 2013) and the overreliance on donor-funded, non-­state providers as the deliverers of CPD projects and programmes (Christie, Harley & Penny 2004; Mulkeen 2010). There are a number of important implications to this trend. First, it is argued that framing such provision, even where it forms part of national policy and education reform initiatives, are donor-­driven agendas informed by broader global political and economic forces (Tabulawa 2003; Akula 2014). These agendas are often informed by decontextualized notions of what is best for the region (Samoff 2007; Akula 2014) with myriad consequences for CPD and what is expected from teachers. Burns and Lawrie (2015) argue that: ‘change and innovations are often imposed by external agents. The innovation that teachers are asked to adopt – especially instructional methods – may not conform to, and may even conflict with, local cultural and communication practices. ’ Taken the depth and breadth of the challenges discussed above that dominate CPD provision across sub-Saharan Africa, it is easy to develop an overall picture of insurmountable obstacles for teaching across the region emerging from and trapped within a deeply unequal and dominant global world order. While these challenges are real and play themselves out in complex ways as the next section discusses, it would be remiss not to recognize that within such complexity and disadvantage, examples of innovation and effective CPD provision are also evident and, arguably, gaining traction. Perhaps the most important of these is the increasing trend towards the valuing of decentralized, school-based learning (Hardman et al. 2011; Hardman, Abd-Kadir & Tibuhinda 2012). Especially important here are those efforts that build on the recognized value of collaboration in teacher learning (Hardman et  al. 2009; Steyn 2008; Singh 2011) by promoting learning and knowledge-­sharing between teachers as

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa

peers, bringing teachers together into teaching communities (Kruijer 2010) or teacher clusters (De Clercq & Phiri 2013). In South Africa, for example, this principle is realized through national policy that makes provision for government-supported ‘professional learning communities’, which, it is argued, create opportunities for greater access to CPD by teachers and for CPD to be brought closer to where teachers are (DBE 2016). While it would be remiss not to recognize that these initiatives also have their limitations (Jita & Ndlalane 2009; De Clercq & Phiri 2013), overall the principle of collaborative learning remains important to the development of CPD in the region and continues to emerge as an important trend in the efforts by governments to improve the quality of teachers’ professional practice.

Understanding the importance of context The argument has already been made that central to shaping the purpose and form of CPD across sub-Saharan Africa is the issue of context. Put simply, contextual factors inform the purposes that drive much of the CPD provision across the region. However, as the previous discussion has shown, contextual factors are also important in shaping the nature of the challenges that are evident around the conceptualization, design, mode of delivery and funding of CPD initiatives. These challenges often reflect the inherent tensions that exist between competing priorities in developing contexts and the complex ways in which these tensions play themselves out within the education systems here (Badat, Barends & Wolpe 1993; Badat & Sayed 2014). Central to the challenges that characterize CPD provision in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa is what Hardman et al. (2011: 669) have called the tension between ‘quality, breadth and cost-­effectiveness’. As noted above, largely as a result of efforts to meet the targets of the EFA initiative and redress historical inequalities, many countries across sub-Saharan Africa have ambitiously sought to increase access to education, especially at the primary level. These developments have resulted in significant teacher shortages, which have in turn led to an influx of un- or under-­qualified teachers into these education systems, with an associated impact on the quality of classroom teaching. It has also been argued that the impact of these developments on the quality of teaching has been exacerbated by poor pre-­service training provision in many of the countries. Overall, then, CPD has been positioned as key to addressing this ‘teaching’ challenge, especially through programmes that upgrade the skills and knowledge

Improving Learning through Teachers’ CPD

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of practising teachers with an associated expectation that this will improve the quality of pedagogical practice and thus learning outcomes. The overarching imperative for many countries has therefore been, and continues to be, for vastly expanded CPD provision that is able to reach far greater numbers of teachers and impact on far greater numbers of learners. However, it has also been argued that effective teacher learning which translates into changed practice takes time and requires ongoing learning opportunities with high levels of support and follow-­up (Villegas-Reimers 2003). Thus an equally important driver of effective CPD is the provision of programmes and initiatives that are to provide sustained learning opportunities over a relatively long period of time – what may be seen as provision that ensures quality of outcomes through depth and rigour. Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are therefore tasked with providing more CPD and ensuring that it is the kind of provision able to bring about effective teacher learning and improved pedagogical practice. However, these priorities must be simultaneously addressed ‘in the context of severely constrained education budgets’ (Mulkeen 2010). Welch (2002: 31), talking about the post-­apartheid context in South Africa, captured the tension that emerged when trying to meet both these imperatives. She argued that in the design and roll-­out of CPD post-1994, ‘one (was) faced with a choice between two equally important imperatives: to offer high-­quality programmes – but only to small numbers of teachers; or to open access to large numbers of teachers – but without adequate learner support or assessment’. Christie, Harley and Penny (2004), in discussing Stuart and Kunje’s (2000) reflections on a Malawian INSET programme, argued similarly. They stated: ‘The aims of training a large number of teachers in the shortest possible time are probably incompatible with the aim of producing and supporting innovative teachers equipped to act as change agents’ (citing Stuart and Kunje 2000, in Christie, Harley & Penny 2004). A number of writers have suggested that one of the most important manifestations of this tension for CPD is the persistent use of the cascade mode of delivery explained in the previous section. On the one hand, this mode of delivery provides a ‘cost-­effective and economic way of passing on teaching reforms’ (Lange 2014: 588), able to ‘reach out to many teachers within a short period of time’ (Bett 2016: 1). However, while these are very important considerations where the need for expanded provision is great, it is also recognized, as has already been argued, that this model of CPD has significant limitations. The most of crucial of these is around its ability to bring about effective teacher learning and the kind of changes in pedagogical practice that

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa

are needed (Gathumbi, Mungai & Hintze 2013). However, on the other hand, Hardman, Abd-Kadir and Tibuhinda (2012) argue that while other modalities may be more effective in allowing for depth of engagement with teachers within their teaching contexts, they require levels of capacity, expertise and resources that are often very difficult for low-­income countries to meet. These contextual factors, and the associated tensions between competing priorities, also influence people’s understanding of why – in that meaning is made around why – many CPD initiatives fail to translate themselves into meaningful change in teachers’ pedagogical practice. Particularly important here is where and with whom the problem is seen to lie. Burns and Lawrie (2015) argue that: In many parts of the globe, teachers regularly fail to apply – or fail to implement with any degree of quality or fidelity – what they have learned from the ‘trainings’ they have received. Consequently, and almost universally, teachers are blamed for this omission, despite the fact that it is most often the professional development system itself that so often fails teachers, and in turn, fails their students.

Three issues in the sub-Saharan context seem to be especially important to why teachers are so readily positioned as the ‘source of blame’ when CPD initiatives do not achieve their desired results (Mokhele & Jita 2010). The first is the pervasive influence of a deficit discourse around teachers and their knowledge (Fullen 1995) and how this influences CPD (Mokhele & Jita 2010). This is a complex issue in the context of sub-Saharan Africa where, as has already been explored, serious challenges exist around the adequacy of the knowledge of many practising teachers – a ‘deficit’ or gap in real terms that has been a central driver of CPD across the region. However, what is at issue here is how teacher learning takes place and thus what is required for this knowledge gap to be addressed. Despite the increasing recognition of the importance of a constructivist approach to teacher learning, where teachers actively ‘construct knowledge of their own by deconstruction, interpretation and reconstruction when engaged in activities and in social discourse that take place in a certain context’ (Ono & Ferreira 2010: 16), teachers are ‘increasingly being interpreted not as agents of change but agents to be changed’ (our emphasis) (Samuels 2008: 3). Central to such thinking is a failure to understand and make meaning of teachers’ own experiences and value these as important to the development and design of effective CPD (Thomas, Thomas & Lefebvre 2014; Buckler 2015). Similarly, many CPD initiatives fail in their design to harness the principle that teachers

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must drive their own development with meaningful support from the state (Jiya, Samuel & Morrow 2005) and to draw on the perspectives of teachers themselves (Tsotetsi & Mahlomaholo 2013). Not recognizing teachers’ own agency in the learning process misaligns CPD programmes with teachers’ needs and sets them up for failure. The second issue is a persistent failure to acknowledge the very difficult working conditions under which many teachers in sub-Saharan Africa work, and how this affects their participation in and translation of CPD programmes into practice. Lauwerier and Akkari (2015) assert that the conditions under which many teachers work is at the heart of any examination of the quality of basic education in sub-Saharan Africa and ‘by far, the greatest barrier’ to effective professional learning (Burns & Lawrie 2015). Akula (2014: 190), drawing on the Ethiopian context, argues that under such conditions, ‘expecting teachers to play a distinctive role for improved student learning outcomes . . . is to ignore the deplorable pedagogical and socio-­economic conditions within which teachers discharge their day-­to-day responsibilities, not least the poor background of the students and the families they come from’. The conditions under which teachers work have a profound influence on their identity as teachers and professionals, on their confidence to discharge their responsibilities and on their openness to change (Burns & Lawrie 2015). The third issue is the influence of widespread education reforms that have sought to shift teaching and learning practice from ‘teacher-­centred instruction to child-­centred pedagogy’ (Altinyelken 2010: 151). Central to these reforms have been CPD programmes aimed at facilitating this shift, sometimes in simplistic ways that polarize ‘teacher-­centred’ pedagogy against ‘child-­centred’ pedagogy and decontextualize it from local conditions (Hardman, Abd-Kadir & Tibuhinda 2012). It is not possible within the constraints of this chapter to do justice to the important research and writing over the last twenty years on the pervasiveness of this new thinking, the issues that have been important to its development (Tabulawa 2003) and its impact on a range of education reforms across the region, especially around the curriculum (Chisholm & Leyendecker 2008). That said, it is important here to recognize that while its value for learning is acknowledged and supported, its implementation across many sub-Saharan countries has been fraught with complexities and challenges reflecting large discrepancies between policy and practice within classrooms (Altinyelken 2010). These challenges have been most profound for teachers, requiring them, under very difficult circumstances, to make substantial epistemological shifts (Sayed 2004; De Clercq & Phiri 2013). However, as already noted, while the depth of

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa

new learning required by teachers has been great, forms of CPD provision able to facilitate such changes in thinking and practice have been inadequate (Phorabatho & Mafora 2013). In the absence of such support, teachers cannot be expected to adequately meet the demands that the change process requires of them.

Conclusion In contributing to a deepened understanding of the context that frames the case studies that follow, this chapter has explored some of the dominant trends that are evident in the provision of CPD in sub-Saharan Africa. Not unexpectedly, what emerges is a picture of deep complexity, with a range of political, economic and social factors that are central to shaping the region’s development having a profound effect on CPD across the region – informing what is driving it and how it is understood as well as the dominant modes of organization, design and delivery that are evident. It is not possible, therefore, to develop a careful and nuanced picture of what is happening with regard to CPD provision without attempting to unpack and understand this complexity. In discussing such a large and varied region, there is always a risk of homogenization, where the specific dynamics of country contexts are glossed over. While recognizing these constraints, it has been argued that across the region CPD provision is primarily driven and its purposes defined by education reforms most often directed towards expanding and improving the quality of education in the different countries. Similarly, how CPD is understood is largely informed by a range of contextual issues that create fluidity in its conceptualization and thus in the parameters that shape the nature and form of CPD initiatives in different countries. Looked at holistically, this chapter also suggests that CPD provision across the region remains inadequate for the need that exists – with this inadequacy reflected in a reliance on problematic modes of provision, limitations and inequalities in access and insufficient and unreliable funding provision. Although these inadequacies are very real and important to the development of a realistic picture of CPD across the region, it has also been suggested that informing the status quo are the tensions and associated challenges that arise when, arguably sound policy imperatives towards expanding and improving CPD provision are implemented within countries beset by deep inequalities and competing priorities. What is therefore at the heart of improving CPD across the region and enhancing its value for improved

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pedagogical practice are efforts to address those broader contextual factors which undermine the delivery of equitable and quality education provision in each country.

Note 1 The South African teacher education policy framework talks about Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD).

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Hardman, F., J. Ackers, N. Abrishamian and M. O’Sullivan (2011), ‘Developing a Systemic Approach to Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Emerging Lessons from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda’, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 41 (5): 669–83. Hardman, F., J. Abd-Kadir, C. Agg, J. Migwi, J. Ndambuku and F. Smith (2009), ‘Changing Pedagogical Practice in Kenyan Primary Schools: The Impact of School-­based Training’, Comparative Education, 45 (1): 65–86. Hilton, G., M. Assunção Flores and L. Niklasson (2013), ‘Teacher Quality, Professionalism and Professional Development: Findings from a European Project’, Teacher Development, 17(4): 431–47. Jita, L. and T. Ndlalane (2009), ‘Teacher Clusters in South Africa: Opportunities and Constraints for Teacher Development and Change’, Perspectives in Education, 27 (1): 58–68. Jiya, M., M. Samuel and W. Morrow (2005), Report of the Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education, Pretoria: Department of Education. Kombo, W. and E. Nkumbi (2008), ‘Teacher Professional Development in Tanzania: Perceptions and Practices’, Journal of International Cooperation in Education, 11: 67–83. Kruijer, H. (2010), Learning How to Teach: The Upgrading of Unqualified Primary Teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from Tanzania, Malawi and Nigeria, Brussels: Educational International. Lange, S. (2014), ‘Learner Orientation Through Professional Development of Teachers? Empirical Results from Cascade Training in Anglophone Cameroon’, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 44 (4): 587–612. Lauwerier, T. and A. Akkari (2015), ‘Teachers and the Quality of Basic Education in Sub-Saharan Africa’, Education Research and Foresight: Working Papers Series, (11). Mangope, B. and S. Mukhopadhyay (2015), ‘Preparing Teachers for Inclusive Education in Botswana: The Role of Professional Development’, Journal of International Special Needs Education, 18 (2): 60–72. McKenzie, P., P. Santiago, P. Sliwka and H. Hiroyuki (2005), Teachers Matter: Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers, Paris: OECD. Miyazaki, T. (2016), ‘Is Changing Teaching Practice the Mission Impossible? A Case Study of Continuing Professional Development for Primary School Teachers in Senegal’, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 46 (5): 701–22. Mokhele, M. and L. Jita (2010), ‘South African Teachers’ Perspectives on Continuing Professional Development: A Case Study of the Mpumalanga Secondary Science Initiative’, Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences, 9: 1762–66. Morrow, W. and M. Samuels (2005), ‘Conceptual Issues about Teacher Professional Development’, unpublished report for Ministerial Commission on Teacher Education, South Africa.

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Mulkeen, A. (2010), ‘Teachers in Anglophone Africa: Issues in Teacher Supply, Training and Management’, New York: The World Bank. Nyarigoti, N. (2013), ‘Continuing Professional Development Needs for English Language Teachers in Kenya’, International Journal of Research in Social Sciences, 3 (2): 138–49. OECD (2009), ‘Creating Effective Teaching and Learning Environments: First Results from TALIS’, Paris: OECD. Ono, Y. and J. Ferreira (2010), ‘A Case Study of Continuing Teacher Professional Development Through Lesson Study in South Africa’, South African Journal of Education, 30. Onwu, G. and C. Sehoole (2011), ‘Why Teachers Matter: Policy Issues in the Professional Development of Teachers in South Africa’, Africa-Asia University Dialogue for Educational Development: Report of the International Sharing Seminar Series 4: 121–36. Penny, A., M. Ward, T. Read and H. Bines (2008), ‘Education Sector Reform: The Ugandan Experience’, International Journal of Educational Development, 28: 268–85. Phorabatho, T. and P. Mafora (2013), ‘Constraints in the Management of Teachers’ Continuing Professional Development for Curriculum Reform Implementation in South Africa’, Mediterranean Journal of Social Science, 4 (13): 617–26. Samoff, J. (2007), ‘Education Quality: The Disabilities of Aid’, International Review of Education, 53 (5–6): 485–507. Samuels, M. (2008), ‘Accountability to Whom? For What? Teacher Identity and the Force Field Model of Teacher Development’, Perspectives in Education, 26 (2): 3–16. Sayed, Y. (2004), ‘The Case of Teacher Education in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Politics and Priorities’, in L. Chisholm, Changing Class, Pretoria: HSRC, 247–65. Sayed, Y. and R. Ahmed (2015), ‘Education Quality, and Teaching and Learning in the Post-2015 Education Agenda’, International Journal of Educational Development, 40: 330–38. Schwille, J., M. Dembélé and J. Schubert (2007), ‘Global Perspectives on Teacher Learning: Improving Policy and Practice’, International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), Paris: UNESCO. Singh, S. (2011), ‘The Role of Staff Development in the Professional Development of Teachers: Implications for In-­service Training’, South African Journal of Higher Education, 25 (8): 1626–38. Steyn, G. (2008), ‘Continuing Professional Development for Teachers in South Africa and Social Learning Systems: Conflicting Conceptual Frameworks of Learning’, Koers, 73 (1): 15–31. Steyn, G. (2011), ‘Determining Guidelines for Professional Development: A Qualitative Study’, Journal of Educational Studies, 10 (1). Tabulawa, R. (2003), ‘International Aid Agencies, Learner-­centred Pedagogy and Political Democratisation: A Critique’, Comparative Education, 39 (1): 7–26.

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Thomas, M., C. Thomas and E. Lefebvre (2014), ‘Dissecting the Teacher Monolith: Experiences of Beginning Basic School Teachers in Zambia’, International Journal of Educational Development, 38: 37–46. Tsotetsi, C. and S. Mahlomaholo (2013), ‘Teacher Professional Development: What Is Missing?’, Journal of Education Studies, 12 (1): 89–102. UNDP (2013), ‘The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World’, 31, Human Development Report. UNESCO (2014), ‘Wanted: Trained Teachers to Ensure Every Child’s Right to Primary Education’, Policy Paper 15/Fact Sheet 30. Accessed 2 November 2016 at http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002299/229913E.pdf UNESCO (2015), ‘Investing in Teachers Is Investing in Learning a Prerequisite for the Transformative Power of Education’, Background paper for the Oslo Summit on Education for Development. EFA Global Monitoring Report Team. Accessed 2 November 2016 at http://en.unesco.org/gem-­report/investing-­teachers-investing-­ learning-prerequisite-­transformative-power-­education. Villegas-Reimers, E. (2003), Teacher Professional Development: An International Review of the Literature, Paris: UNESCO. Welch, T. (2002), ‘Teacher Education in South Africa Before, During and After Apartheid: An Overview’, in J. Adler and Y. Reed (eds), Challenges of Teacher Development: An Investigation of Take-­up in South Africa, Pretoria: Van Schaik.

Part Two

Country Case Studies

Education Reform(s), Quality and CPD

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A ‘Teacher-Centred’ Approach to CPD: The Case of Namibia’s Localized and Decentralized Model of Teacher CPD John Nyambe

University of Namibia, Namibia

Choshi Kasanda

University of Namibia, Namibia

Sakaria Iipinge

University of Namibia, Namibia

Introduction In their speeches, most politicians involved in the liberation struggle in Africa continue to rebuke their former colonial masters for, among other things, having installed education systems that hinged on divisiveness, deprivation, poor quality and mass exclusion of indigenous communities. Thus, the achievement of political independence in the former colonies brought about hope, excitement and optimism for greater access to the long-denied public good, namely education (Harber 1994; Samoff 2001; Nabudere 2007). Massification of formal education was to become the panacea of all social ills and the ticket for upward social mobility into the new economy. Major educational reforms became the preoccupation of many education ministries at independence in previously colonized countries. Most notable, for sub-Saharan Africa, are the postindependence reforms emanating from the Education for All (EFA) movement in the 1990s which arose from the Jomtien Conference, Thailand, and the subsequent Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All drawn up in 2000 in Dakar, Senegal. Shortly after the Jomtien Conference, most sub-Saharan education systems plunged into the drive towards increased access to education, particularly

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through compulsory and free primary education. Nearly everywhere, schools mushroomed in number, propelled partly by the political self-legitimation of new leaderships as they sought to make good on election promises of social justice, equity, democracy and quality. Education systems, however, could not sustain their promise of ‘education for all’ in the face of the old and dilapidated school buildings, a shortage of qualified teachers, and a dearth of textbooks and other teaching materials for learners (Samoff 2001). Focusing on one of the goals of education for all – namely the provision of quality education for all – this chapter presents and analyses Namibia’s localized and decentralized model of continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers, which was introduced in 2010. It examines the broader CPD policies as well as those programmes and strategies aimed at improving teacher competence and motivation through the offering of teacher continuing professional development. Lastly, it highlights the challenges faced by Namibia in providing CPD for teachers.

Context Located in the south-western corner of Africa, and bordering Zambia in the north-east, Angola in the north, Botswana in the east, South Africa in the south and the Atlantic Ocean in the west, Namibia was one of the last colonies on the African continent, securing political independence from South Africa and its apartheid only in 1990. Soon after independence, Namibia witnessed a proliferation of policies that positioned teachers’ continuing professional development at the centre of the education reform landscape. First was the policy directive entitled The National Integrated Education System for Emergent Namibia: A Proposal for Education Reform and Renewal (Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport [MECYS] 1990). Informed by the history of an ethnically and racially segregated education system, this policy was meant to outline not only the strategies for integrating the eleven racially and ethnically based education systems, but also those that would mobilize and consolidate the teaching force into one profession with a common purpose. The desegregation of the education system and the teaching force was followed by several other policies. A milestone of note in this case is the policy directive Toward Education for All: A Development Brief for Education, Culture and Training (Ministry of Education and Culture [MEC] 1993). This policy document outlined the vision for education in post-apartheid

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Namibia together with its major goals of access, equity, quality and democracy (MEC 1993). The policy on ‘education for all’ covered a wide spectrum of issues in the reform of education in Namibia, ranging from formal basic education, senior secondary education, adult and non-formal education to teacher education. While the first decade of Namibia’s independence was principally concerned with increasing access to education as well as ensuring equity and democracy in educational provision (i.e. the first three goals of education for all), the subsequent decade saw increased concerns over the fourth goal of education for all, namely the provision of quality education to all. At the macro-level of Namibian society, these concerns about quality were amplified by the nation’s Vision 2030 strategy, which aspires to help Namibia reach those higher levels of industrialization and development that will ensure improved quality of life for all its citizens (Government of the Republic of Namibia [GRN] 2004). Meeting this goal means turning Namibia into a knowledge-based society that performs strongly in information technology, innovation and manufacturing. Vision 2030 recognizes that the attainment of its goals is contingent upon a dynamic, responsive and highly effective education and training system. Regrettably, however, it has been noted that due to the poor quality of educational provision, the current education system does not meet Vision 2030’s targets (GRN 2004: 77). Consequently, a fifteen-year turnround strategy, the Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP), was developed in August 2005 and implemented in 2006 in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning, and to meet the demands of Vision 2030. The ETSIP was augmented by other initiatives, such as the National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST). Both the ETSIP and the NPST identified CPD for teachers as one of the key pillars of better-quality education. The ETSIP programme attracted financial and technical support from various agencies within the ‘donor community’. In particular, the component that focused on teacher CPD in ETSIP attracted funding from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) through the Millennium Challenge Account Namibia (MCA-N). Funded by the US government, the MCC/MCA-N pledged and committed to supporting the Namibian education sector through the ETSIP programme by establishing and implementing a coordinated and localized CPD system for educators (teachers, teacher educators and school managers). To this effect, the MCC/MCA-N noted: In order to have a strategic and guided approach to improving the quality of the education system in the country, the government developed and implemented

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa the Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP). In ETSIP several pillars are identified through which the Education Sector will be improved. One such pillar is focused on the continuing professional development (CPD) of education practitioners (i.e. classroom teachers, school managers, and teacher educators) . . . The problem however, is the lack of resources to create a comprehensive and seamless CPD system that can address the needs of practitioners to reform the education system. Through financial assistance from MCC/MCA-N, this reform can be accelerated so that a comprehensive and selfsufficient system can be in place. MCC/MCA-N 2011: 32

Following on from the funding commitment made by the MCC/MCA-N was the development of a CPD concept paper entitled: ‘Creation of a national CPD system – proposal for MCC/MCA funding of technical assistance under quality of education activity’ (MCC/MCA-N 2011). The concept paper was intended to provide guidance in the development of a national CPD system. Its point of departure was the observation that many providers of teachers’ CPD operated in isolation, and thus CPD provision was characterized by fragmentation, duplication of learning activities, and often competition among providers as they vied for the time of potential beneficiaries. Against this background, the CPD concept paper advocated the establishment of a national CPD Consortium that would seek to bring together all key players in CPD in order to achieve collaboration and coordination. Members of the consortium consisted of Ministry of Education directorates, which included the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED), and the Programmes and Quality Assurance (PQA), the Faculty of Education at the University of Namibia (UNAM) and the two teachers’ trade unions. In order to ensure that collaboration was indeed achieved in the provision of CPD, the MCC/MCA-N also contributed both financial and technical support towards the establishment of a CPD coordinating unit to be hosted at the University of Namibia. The unit would serve as the focal point of coordination for all consortium members. Even more importantly for the purpose of this chapter, the concept paper also called for the development and implementation of a CPD model: ‘Design a CPD model that is seamless across the three categories of human resources – teachers, teacher educators, and education managers – at all levels of the formal education system and including professionals who are located outside the system but important to its success’ (MCC/MCA-N 2011: 34–36). Consequently, the localized, site-based and decentralized model of CPD was developed and adopted in 2012. This model has since served as the framework

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within which CPD for educators in Namibia is conceptualized, organized and facilitated. A detailed presentation of the model follows below.

Description of the case study As alluded to in the preceding sections, the case under analysis in this chapter is Namibia’s localized, site-based and decentralized model of CPD for educators. The rationale for adopting this approach to CPD, as well as its key features, will be presented, as will the structures within the model, how professional development needs are identified within the model, and lastly, learning programmes that have been, or are being, delivered through the framework of this model.

Rationale for a localized, site-based and decentralized model of teachers’ CPD in Namibia In the documents describing the model, several reasons are advanced as justification for it having been selected. First and foremost, at the practical level, it is argued that given the geographical vastness of Namibia, and a population density thinly spread over long distances, it would be almost impossible to seek meaningful provision of CPD from a centralized point. In addition, natural forces such as annual floods tend to cut off certain portions of the teaching fraternity, making them physically inaccessible for close to six months every year. In such situations, it is argued, a localized CPD system would be preferable. Apart from geographical factors, the choice of the model was also influenced by macro-level policies such as the government’s policy on decentralization, which seeks to more widely distribute government services in an effort to empower the local communities through democratization, participation, accountability, responsibility, efficiency and effectiveness (CPD Consortium 2012). From a professional perspective, the model was chosen on the assumption that effective learning takes place when teachers learn in their own working milieu. In this way, they can relate what they are learning to their own practice and prevailing conditions.

Key features of the model The model consists of two components: CPD for updating, and CPD for upgrading. CPD for updating is intended to provide educators with ongoing learning opportunities to update their knowledge and skills in order to enhance

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their effectiveness and productivity. The key focus is learning that includes keeping abreast of new knowledge and developments in the area of expertise and not necessarily the acquisition of qualifications. Professionals identify a shortfall in their own practice and the need to learn new knowledge or skills to address the shortfall. This form of CPD is needs-driven, tailor-made and practice-oriented (CPD Consortium 2012). CPD for upgrading, on the other hand, consists of planned, structured courses which are undertaken over a period of time and have specific, designated and verifiable learning outcomes that are formally assessed by an accredited provider. The courses are aligned to, and can either articulate into a formal programme of an approved/accredited institution of higher learning, or, upon completion of all the required units/modules, lead to or contribute towards a qualification/award (UNAM 2013).

Structures of the model In order to facilitate the decentralized approach, the model provides for structures in the form of committees at various levels in the education system. At the site or local level is the site-/school-based CPD coordinating committee (SBCPDCC). This committee is responsible for coordinating and facilitating ongoing teacher learning opportunities at the site or school level. Within the provisions of the decentralized model, each school is expected to establish a school-based CPD coordinating committee. The SBCPDCC is premised on the understanding that effective teacher learning occurs when teachers learn within their normal working milieu and the learning is, by and large, managed by the teachers themselves in order to fulfil their immediate and specific professional development needs. The site- or school-based CPD coordinating committee is chaired by the school principal who is assisted by one of the teachers who serve in a position as the school-based CPD focal person. At a given school, this committee would consist of the school principal, one mentor teacher, heads of department, one novice/beginner teacher plus an experienced teacher (UNAM 2013: 31). However, the composition is flexible and may vary from school to school. As described in the CPD Implementation Guide (UNAM 2014b: 5), the roles and responsibilities of the site-/school-based CPD coordinating committee are synthesized into four broad areas:

1. identifying learning needs of teachers at the site/school level;

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2. planning for these needs; 3. implementing learning opportunities to address these needs; 4. and lastly evaluating either in terms of monitoring progress or evaluating impact. Each school is expected to draft an annual CPD plan so as to guide its activities throughout the year. In order to manage teacher learning at the school level, school principals country-wide were trained in 2014 under the MCC/MCA-N support through a programme called Instructional Leadership for School Managers (MCC/MCA-N 2014). One of the learning outcomes of the programme was for school principals to understand and be able to carry out their roles as teacher-developers through the implementation of the site-/school-based CPD for teachers. Apart from the training of school principals, the CPD Unit at UNAM also conducts regular support training to schools in the area of school-based or site-based CPD implementation. Apart from the site-/school-based CPD coordinating committee, the model also makes provision for the establishment of regional CPD coordinating committees (RCPDCC) at the regional level. Namibia comprises fourteen political regions, each of which include a directorate of education, arts and culture. Therefore, within the framework of the decentralized model of CPD, the fourteen directorates of education, arts and culture are expected to establish regional CPD coordinating committees. The regional CPD coordinating committee (RCPDCC) is described as ‘. . . an effort towards enhancing ownership and responsibility for CPD at the regional and local level. This committee is therefore the key driver, the kingpin for CPD at the regional level. It is the regional authority for professional development of educators’ (UNAM 2014a: 2). According to the model, the RCPDCC oversees the establishment of site-/ school-based CPD committees within the directorate and renders support to these committees either by way of materials, funds or facilitators of learning opportunities for teachers. The RCPDCC is chaired by the deputy director of the regional directorate of education, arts and culture. Other members serving on this committee include a representative from each directorate’s Faculty of Education, a regional teacher resources manager, inspectors of education, senior advisory teachers, representatives of school principals and union representatives plus the senior regional human resources officer (UNAM 2014a: 2). The roles and responsibilities of the RCPDCC can be broadly summarized as falling into four categories:

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1. identifying professional development needs at regional level; 2. planning for these needs; 3. implementing learning opportunities to address these needs; 4. evaluating learning opportunities. Other coordinating structures of the model include the CPD Unit at the University of Namibia and the National CPD Advisory Board, which comprises all the CPD Consortium members. The CPD Unit is charged with providing leadership in the development and implementation of a coordinated CPD system in the education sector. It is also expected to build capacity of the regional directorates of education, arts and culture in the implementation of the new concept of CPD. The National Advisory Board, on the other hand, is expected to give advice and guidance to the CPD Unit regarding development and implementation of the coordinated and decentralized CPD system.

Identification of professional development needs Structures aside, the decentralized model also makes provision for the process of identifying professional development needs for teachers and other educators. Essentially, the model advocates a bottom-up, participatory process of identification of professional development needs for teachers in Namibia. At the site/school level, the process entails planning meetings during which teachers identify their professional development needs. These needs are prioritized through a frequency count exercise. Popular needs with the highest frequency counts top the priority list. Depending on the availability of other resources, such as time and funds, the schools’ agreed-upon rank-ordered priority activities list will make it into the annual school CPD plan. Schools then enter their annual plans into a planning template that has been agreed upon at the national level. At the regional level, the identification of professional development needs follows almost the same process. The process is described as follows in the implementation guide for the regional CPD coordinating committee:

1. solicit/collect site-/school-based CPD annual plans from all schools within the directorate for the year in question; 2. analyse these plans (e.g. do a frequency count of needs across the sites/ schools); 3. based on the analysis/frequency counts identify regional trends (e.g. which learning needs seem to appear more frequently across the sites/schools?); 4. prioritize regional trends (most popular learning needs);

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5. base your regional CPD plan on the prioritized trends of learning needs generated from across the site-/school-based CPD committees; 6. share the regional CPD plan with the sites/schools. UNAM 2014a: 6 Note that the regional CPD plan does not replace the site-/school-based CPD plan. The regional plan consists only of the few learning needs that have been prioritized based on their frequency counts from the annual school plans. The other learning needs remain on the site-/school-based plan and are managed by its CPD committee. At the national level, regional needs, generated through the process discussed above, are further analysed and considered in the development of the national CPD plan. Here again, learning needs generated from the regional directorates of education, arts and culture are subjected to frequency counts. The dominant learning needs constitute the national CPD plan for a given year while the ones that do not seem to represent a national trend are left to the regions to manage.

Programmes that have been facilitated through the decentralized model of CPD While the model is fairly new in terms of its operations in Namibia, to date it has served as the conceptual framework on the basis of which teacher learning opportunities have been implemented at the site level. Many of these ongoing teacher learning opportunities have been crafted in the form of CPD for updating. These have included short courses such as Information Communication Technology (ICT) literacy for educators, ICT integration for educators and several other courses. In 2013–14, the CPD Consortium (via the CPD Unit) conducted a profiling exercise of teachers in terms of their qualifications and school phase at which they were teaching. The profiling exercise led to the crafting of an in-service diploma in Junior Primary Education targeting teachers who are teaching at the junior primary phase (pre-school to grade 3) but are either un-qualified or are under-qualified. The programme started in March 2016 and is being coordinated through the Centre for Professional Development, Teaching and Learning Improvement (CPDTLI) the newly created Centre at the University of Namibia. The programme is fully funded by the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture and is expected to admit 1,000 serving teachers annually for the next four years. Following the localized and decentralized model, the RCPDCC is charged with

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the oversight of the new upgrading programme at the regional level in terms of the selection of participating teachers, and general support to the participating teachers. Its mode of delivery blends occasional face-to-face sessions with site-/ school-based study meetings, site-based mentoring and online studies.

Analysis and discussion In the following paragraphs, we present our analysis and discussion of the model based on the description given above. Our analysis is pitched at two levels. First, we engage with the model to analyse and discuss the positive aspects that may enhance teacher learning. Second, we examine and discuss some of the inherent shortcomings of the model. Given the foregoing description of the model, we begin by observing that the decentralized, site-based or localized model of CPD evokes an image of teacher learning whereby the teacher is repositioned from the margins to the centre of the pedagogic process. The description paints a picture of a model that centres on the professional development needs of the teacher, contrary to traditional practices that tended to centre on the needs of the authority (Clark 1992; Goodson 1992). Both Clark and Goodson are of the view that for teacher CPD to be effective, the teacher should be accorded a voice in selecting the areas of learning rather than being a passive recipient of this learning. Indeed this is what the model we have discussed and suggested here attempts to achieve. In the classroom, the concept ‘teacher-centred’ is often apportioned negative connotations of unequal and hierarchical power relations, with the teacher being the dominant authority while the learner occupies a marginalized position of powerlessness (Ministry of Education and Culture [MEC] 1993). In the context of Namibia’s decentralized model (UNAM 2013), teacher-centred as a concept is assigned positive connotations that refer to the teacher occupying a central position, directing and taking responsibility for his or her own learning. Often, teachers are accustomed to a practice where their professional development needs are determined elsewhere by central authority, mostly with little or no consultation, and to be delivered only by those perceived to be experts. Such an approach to CPD relegates teachers to a passive and recipient role, beholden to the broader plans and knowledge schemes of head office bureaucrats in a centralized and top-down fashion. Treated in this way, teachers are not only professionally disempowered but are also denied a voice in their own professional development. Such an approach tends to create dependency on experts

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(Callewaert 1999; Kennedy 2005), and the knowledge delivered by the ‘experts’ is likely to be accepted unquestionably as the truth (Callewaert 1999). Further to this, we argue that the decentralized model of CPD positions teachers as experts in their own right who are capable of meaningfully participating in their own professional development (Clark 1992). Instead of being externally driven at central office, professional development activities for teachers are locally driven and self-directed. In short, teachers are responsible for their own learning. Also evident from the case description is that with the emphasis on locally originated professional development, the model departs from the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach where one programme or one learning experience is designed to cater for the professional development needs of all teachers (UNAM 2013). By contrast, the decentralized model acknowledges that teachers are unique in important ways and that attempts should be made to respond to specific teacher needs. Yet despite the positive aspects outlined above, the model raises a series of pertinent issues that need to be addressed. First and foremost is how its donordriven origins (i.e. MCC/MCA-N funding) are tied to genuine concerns of improving learning outcomes in Namibian classrooms as opposed to advancing an agenda of global neo-liberal capitalism. In the sub-Saharan context, learning outcomes have been compromised in this way (Leher 2004; Tonna 2007). Leher advances the view that the World Bank has in recent years assumed the role of ‘expert’ in matters relating to education, simply because of its financial muscle. In relation to the above observation, both Tabulawa (2003) and Altinyelken (2010) cite the case of learner-centred pedagogy whose origins across sub-Saharan Africa was not only donor-driven but was also accompanied by heavy doses of democratization in teaching. For aid agencies, development is perceived as possible only under liberal democracy (Tabulawa 2003: 8). Therefore, promoting democracy should not only be seen as a priority for any country serious about development but also as a condition for receiving aid. Within the neo-liberal agenda, pedagogical transformation is seen as instrumental in situations where the pedagogy is a tool for promoting liberal democracy at the macro-level of society. Learner-centred pedagogy, for instance, is seen to inculcate in learners democratic social relations that are Westernoriented and pro-capitalism (Tabulawa 2003: 10). An inextricable connection exists between the democratization of teaching and learning on the one hand, and the creation of liberal democracy at the micro-level of society on the other.

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As for teachers, it is because of the role that they play in perpetuating liberal democracy through learner-centred pedagogy that they are regarded as the most critical of the workers. Hill (2003: 4) argues that within neo-liberal capitalism, aid agencies seek to closely control teacher learning as teachers are critical to shaping the workforce that is essential for the existence of neo-liberal capital. In his view, teacher learning, such as teacher CPD, should be closely controlled so that any form of pedagogy that is antithetical to neo-liberal capital should be repressed or stifled, banished and not allowed to exist given the teacher’s important role in shaping and creating the future labour force: Teachers are the most dangerous of workers because they are intimately connected with the social production of labour power, equipping students with skills, competences, abilities, knowledge and the attitudes and personal qualities that can be expressed and expended in the capitalist labour process. Teachers are guardians of the quality of labour power . . . the capitalist state will seek to destroy any forms of pedagogy that attempt to educate students regarding their real predicament – to create an awareness of themselves as future labour-powers and to underpin this awareness with critical insight that seeks to undermine the smooth running of the social production of labour-power [original emphasis]. This fear entails strict control, for example, of the curriculum for teacher education and training, of schooling, and of educational research.

It can therefore be argued that given its donor-driven origins, its underlying assumptions of democratization of teacher learning, and the attendant teacher empowerment, the decentralized model of teacher CPD can be regarded as an ideology, a political artefact, or a hidden agenda that seeks to facilitate capitalist penetration, far from being driven by genuine concerns of improving the quality of teaching and learning in schools. As Tabulawa (2003) and Altinyelken (2010) argue this is precisely what donor ‘funding’ has achieved in most developing countries – an education system that apes the west. In addition to locating it within the broader context of neo-liberal capitalism, it is also important to note that in the Namibian case, there has been no study to date that has conclusively established that the decentralized model of CPD for teachers is necessarily superior in terms of improving learning outcomes in schools. Instead of subjecting it to a critical analysis, the model has been received wholesale with an uncritical embrace. Certain penetrating questions have not been raised by the stakeholders directly affected by the imposition of the decentralized CPD model. For instance, would such a model work in a remote rural school? Would a small rural school have the capacity to implement site-/ school-based CPD? Should teachers’ professional development needs always be

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identified by the teachers themselves? What happens to the mandate of central authority regarding teacher professional development? Also evident from the case description is that the model tends to harbour subtle polarization, and in the process the benefits and strengths of a mixed approach are compromised. For instance, the polarization between centralized versus decentralized, externally driven teacher CPD versus locally driven CPD, central authority versus the teacher, and many more. We argue that as a result of this polarized approach, the strengths that could have been drawn from a mixed approach are lost. Lastly, it is also important to consider whether teachers who are unqualified can effectively be trained through CPD towards their first qualification in teaching.

Challenges in implementing the model While the concept as designed sounds palatable, it has not been without challenges. Most notably, not all regional directorates of education, arts and culture readily embraced the new concept. There has been some hesitation from some of the regions in terms of implementing the concept. In some schools, the new concept has been resented as ‘an add-on’ that might exacerbate their ‘already heavy’ workloads. In some cases, a poor culture of learning has meant that the model has not been adopted wholeheartedly. Another challenge has been the lack of a CPD policy from the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture that spells out the benefits of CPD to the teacher, the learners and the wider education system. Such a policy would also outline the sanctions – if any, and if necessary – for participating or not in CPD. A draft teacher policy was mooted in 2014–15 but it was stopped in its tracks by challenges from the teachers’ unions, who perceived it as an underhand way for the Ministry to punish teachers. In the absence of such policy at the moment, the coordination and implementation of CPD activities are challenging, as there are no systematic approaches to CPD implementation.

Conclusion In conclusion, we argue that while the case study presents an alternative model to the current practice that is authoritative and highly centralized, there is a need

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to address certain factors that may impede the successful implementation of such a model. For instance, a clear policy on teacher CPD is a necessity as it would facilitate the implementation of the model. Further, there is need for a country-wide teacher sensitization programme on the benefits of teacher CPD for both the individual teacher and the education system in Namibia.

References Altinyelken, H. (2010), ‘Pedagogical Renewal in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Uganda’, Comparative Education, 46 (2): 151–71. Callewaert, S. (1999), ‘Which Way Namibia? Or How to Decolonize the Colonized Mind of the Anticolonial Teacher?’, in K. Zeichner and L. Dahlastrom (eds), Democratic Teacher Education Reform in Africa, 222–47, Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Clark, C.M. (1992), ‘Teachers As Designers in Self-directed Professional Development’, in A. Hargreaves and M.G. Fullan (eds), Understanding Teacher Development, 75–84, New York: Teachers College Press. Continuing Professional Development Consortium (2012), A Decentralized Model for Continuing Professional Development of Educators in Namibia, Windhoek: CPD Unit, University of Namibia. Goodson, I. (1992), ‘Sponsoring the Teachers’ Voice: Teachers’ Lives and Teacher Development’, in A. Hargreaves and M.G. Fullan (eds), Understanding Teacher Development, 110–21, New York: Teachers College Press. Harber, C. (1994), ‘Ethnicity and Education for Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa’, International Journal of Development, 14 (3): 255–64. Hill, D. (2003), ‘Global Neo-Liberalism: The Deformation of Education and Resistance’, Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 1 (1): 1–93. Retrieved 22 March 2011, from http://www.jceps.com/print.php?articleID=7 Kennedy, A. (2005), ‘Models of Continuing Professional Development: A Framework for Analysis’, Journal of In-service Education, 31 (2): 235–50. Leher, R. (2004), ‘A New Lord of Education? World Bank Policy for Peripheral Capitalism’, Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 2 (1). Retrieved 22 March 2011 from http://www.jceps.com/?pageID=articles&articleID=20> Millennium Challenge Corporation/Millennium Challenge Account Namibia (2011), ‘CPD Concept Paper: Creation of a National CPD System, Proposal for MCC/MCA Funding of Technical Assistance Under Quality of Education Activity’, Windhoek: MCC/MCA. Millennium Challenge Corporation/Millennium Challenge Account Namibia (2014), Handbook for Instructional Leadership in Namibian Schools, Windhoek: MCC/MCA-N. Ministry of Education and Culture (1993), Toward Education for All: A Development Brief for Education, Culture and Training, Windhoek: Gamsberg.

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Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (1990), The National Integrated Education System for Emergent Namibia: A Proposal for Education Reform and Renewal, Windhoek: Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. Nabudere, D.N. (2007), ‘The Developmental State in Africa’, Southern Africa Review of Education, 13 (2): 125–38. Samoff, J. (2001), ‘ “Education for All” in Africa but Education Systems that Serve Few Well’, Perspectives in Education, 19 (1): 5–28. Tabulawa, R. (2003), ‘International Aid Agencies, Learner-Centred Pedagogy and Political Democratisation: A Critique’, Comparative Education, 39 (1): 7–26. Tonna, M.A. (2007), Teacher Education in a Globalized Age. Retrieved 28 February 2011 from http://www.jceps.com/?pageID=article&articleID=88> University of Namibia (2013), Introduction to Continuing Professional Development, Windhoek: University of Namibia. University of Namibia (2014a), Implementation Guide: Regional CPD Coordinating Committee, Windhoek: University of Namibia. University of Namibia (2014b), Implementation Guide: Site/School Based CPD Coordinating Committee, Windhoek: University of Namibia.

4

Assessing the Actual Needs of Untrained Teachers with Previous Teaching Experience in Ghana Kwame Akyeampong

Centre for International Education (CIE), University of Sussex, UK

Christine Adu-Yeboah

University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Christopher Yaw Kwaah

University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Introduction Many developing countries in the sub-Saharan African region have significantly increased access to basic education (UNESCO 2014). In the case of Ghana, the increase has been attributed to demand-driven national policy strategies such as the introduction of a capitation grants scheme for schools and a school feeding programme (Ghana Education Service [GES] 2012; National Development Commission 2015). Data from the Ministry of Education show that in the 2013–14 academic year, the Net Enrolment Rate (NER) for primary schools was 89.3 per cent (Ministry of Education [MOE] 2014). According to the 2015 joint report of the United Nations and the National Development Commission, Ghana has attained universal primary education (UN/National Development Commission 2015). This substantial progress in access has been achieved at the expense of quality of education, however, and has contributed to a learning crisis in schools that affects children who are mostly from marginalized and disadvantaged communities (UNESCO 2014; Akyeampong et al. 2007). Ensuring that all children are taught by well-trained teachers who are just as motivated to promote effective teaching and learning is seen as an important step in addressing this learning crisis (UNESCO 2014). However, the poor level

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of teacher quality and a teacher shortage poses a threat to improving the quality of education in many education systems in Africa (Eren 2012). Many countries have responded to teacher shortages by recruiting unqualified or untrained teachers to fill the gap (UNESCO 2014). In Ghana, for example, since the early 2000s, meeting trained teacher demand has been a big challenge for the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) due to insufficient numbers of trained teachers and high incidence of teacher attrition. In 2004, about 5 per cent of primary schools in Ghana had only one teacher or none at all (GoG 2004). A significant gap between trained teachers in under-served areas and better-supplied areas has also emerged (MOESS 2005). Studies suggest that the acute teacher shortage is a factor in poor-quality education in Ghana, in spite of an annual turnout of 8,000 teachers by teacher education institutions (Akyeampong 2003; World Bank 2004; MOESS 2005; Bennell & Akyeampong 2006). Coupled with the unwillingness of trained teachers to accept postings to under-served communities due to deplorable living conditions, this has resulted in Ghana employing a large number of untrained teachers (World Bank 2004; Akyeampong & Asante 2006; MOESS 2006). By the 2012–13 academic year, about 30.6 per cent of public basic school teachers were untrained (MOE 2013). Basic school in Ghana comprises Kindergarten, Primary (grades 1 to 6) and Junior High School (grades 7 to 9). Many of these teachers had been teaching without any systematic professional development to improve their classroom practice and earn them qualification status (Akyeampong, Mensa & Adu-Yeboah 2012). Like many developing countries, in-service training in Ghana excludes untrained teachers. Thus, this category of teachers have often served without any orientation or organized training to equip them with professional knowledge and skills required to improve learning for the many children who enrolled in schools as a result of the global Education for All (EFA) initiative (UNESCO 2014). A needs analysis of the Ghanaian situation revealed that there was demand for a training programme for untrained teachers. The analysis also showed that about 92 per cent of eligible untrained teacher candidates could be trained without removing them from their day-to-day teaching jobs; instead, they could be trained using a flexible open- and distance-learning teacher education programme (MoEYS/TED 2004). Consequently, in 2004, a four-year in-service teacher development programme, the ‘Untrained Teachers’ Diploma in Basic Education’ (UTDBE) was developed to upgrade the qualification status of all untrained teachers in the teaching profession. The UTDBE programme reflects

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similar approaches adopted by other countries to address the training needs of untrained teachers (see the Proformaçao project in Brazil, the Malawi Integrated In-service Teacher Education Programme (MIITEP) and the Teacher Upgrading Project, Lao PDR). Even though the UTDBE programme has been running for just over a decade, there is little research that explores what the professional and academic background characteristics of untrained teachers suggest about their professional learning needs; the extent to which the teachers feel these needs are being met through the programme has also not been analysed. In this chapter, we provide some answers that might address this knowledge gap. The chapter starts with a review of literature on continuing professional development (CPD) and teacher quality, focusing in particular on untrained teachers. Next, it discusses the routes to becoming a teacher in Ghana, including the UTDBE programme. Finally, the chapter focuses on the research we undertook to explore UTDBE teachers’ academic and professional backgrounds, and the extent to which the teachers felt the programme addressed gaps in their professional knowledge and practice.

CPD and teacher quality Providing quality education to pupils is directly related to providing well-trained teachers with the capacity to improve their teaching and learning (UNESCO 2014). Hence, various governments in sub-Saharan Africa have paid attention to improving training, often through CPD as a way to improve teacher quality (Akyeampong et al. 2013). The research evidence suggests that teachers who receive in-service training are generally found to be more informed about subject matter and pedagogy, and become better teachers than those without such training (Bett 2016; UNESCO 2014; Pryor et al. 2012). In the case of untrained teachers, provision of CPD can act as an opportunity to improve teachers’ instructional quality that can also lead to improvements in pupils’ learning outcomes (Akyeampong & Lewin 2002; Butt & Shams 2007; Kunje & Stuart 1999). There are many models of untrained teachers’ upgrading programmes which are forms of CPD in different contexts (Kruijer 2010; Mulkeen 2010; Mukeredzi 2013). Often, the models depend on the availability of resources, background of the teachers and geographical coverage, among other factors (Mulkeen 2010). For example, while in Zanzibar an upgrading programme for untrained teachers involved a four-year course using local teacher resource centres for two days per

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week, one day at the weekend and one day of school time, Zambia’s upgrading programme was of a two-year duration, using self-study modules and a face-toface component during each school holiday (Mulkeen 2010). Furthermore, the literature on upgrading untrained teachers report a combination of methods in various interventions programmes. For example, the ‘cluster’ model, often through the establishment of teachers’ resource centres and in-school support for more highly qualified colleagues or head teachers, has been adopted in Kenya, Malawi and Uganda (Kunje & Stuart 1999; Mulkeen 2010; Njenga & Kabiru 2001). In other contexts, such as Nigeria (Kruijer 2010), Lesotho, Zambia and Tanzania (Mulkeen 2010) and Ghana (Akyeampong, Mensa & Adu-Yeboah 2012), a distance education model combined with face-to-face sessions, a series of workshops and occasional in-school support from other stakeholders such as mentors, supervisors, college tutors have been used to upgrade unqualified or untrained teachers. A ‘cascade’ model, alongside school-based and distance-learning approaches, have also been used in Kenya to upgrade teachers (Bett 2016). The effectiveness of such in-service training for untrained teachers has been widely noted in the literature. According to Mulkeen (2010), despite the lower entry requirements for upgrading programmes in sub-Saharan African countries, there is some evidence to suggest that those teachers who have benefited from upgrading programmes are more skilled in the classroom than those from fully residential traditional teacher colleges who have stronger subject-content knowledge. In a recent comparative study of teaching practices among newly qualified teachers who accessed the Diploma in Education through the UTDBE and the regular residential programmes in Ghana, Kwaah (2016) found that many more UTDBE teachers used strategies that provided hands-on activities for their pupils than did their counterparts from three-year residential training, who by contrast relied on direct transmission of knowledge interspersed with question-and-answer sessions. Kwaah argued that although the untrained teachers had weaker grades than their peers who had been trained through the traditional residential programme, their teaching was more effective. In Tanzania, Kruijer (2010) discovered that untrained teachers had improved in both subjectcontent knowledge and pedagogical skills after going through the ‘Upgrading Programme for Grade B and C Teachers to Grade A’ (MUKA) programme for untrained teachers. Similarly, the Special Teacher Upgrading Programme (STUP) for unqualified teachers in Nigeria found that many had developed innovative teaching skills that had contributed to improvements in pupils’ learning outcomes (Kruijer 2010). Furthermore, in Lesotho, an evaluation of the District Resource Teachers’ Programme for untrained teachers showed an

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improvement in learning outcomes by 17 per cent in schools examination results (Mulkeen 2010). Upgrading programmes for untrained teachers are, however, not without problems. Enrolling on an in-service programme does not necessarily mean teachers’ pedagogical skills will improve (James et al. 2015). In the case of South Africa, some teachers have reported that professional development workshops can be disjointed and inconsistent with real classroom practices (James et al. 2015). The background characteristics of untrained teachers – such as their entry grades or educational qualifications, years of teaching experience, and the level of basic school they teach before enrolling on the programmes – have not been critically examined in many studies on CPD programmes for untrained teachers to date. Akalu (2016), for example, suggests that CPD programmes in developing countries should take into consideration both the conditions under which teachers work and the local context of schools if they are to positively impact on teachers’ classroom practice. Understanding these background characteristics is important if the programmes are to be fit for the purpose of improving teaching quality. Other research suggests that teachers with sound subject-content knowledge are able to identify learners’ initial knowledge, ask better questions, give better instructions and encourage more contributions from pupils (Browning et al. 2014; Buschang et al. 2012; Çalik & Aytar 2013). Conversely, teachers with inadequate subject-content knowledge tend to minimize pupil participation in classroom discourse and their ability to ask cognitively challenging questions (OECD 2010; UNESCO 2014). Poor academic qualifications among untrained trainees means that recruitment based on rigorous subject-content knowledge would disqualify many (Villegas-Reimers 2003; Kruijer 2010; Pryor et al. 2012). One solution is to improve the academic knowledge background of untrained teachers through CPD while simultaneously enhancing pedagogical subjectcontent knowledge. This is the approach adopted by the UTDBE programme in Ghana.

Becoming a teacher in Ghana: traditional and non-traditional routes According to Akyeampong (2003: 24), ‘the development of teacher education in Ghana is a chequered one, often based on ad-hoc programmes to meet emergency situations and needs of the education system’. This has led to a teaching force

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trained via different courses of varying duration, and this has resulted in teachers having a range of qualification profiles that subsequent reforms have tried to align (Osei 2006). Traditionally, initial teacher education in Ghana is provided at teacher education universities and Colleges of Education. At both levels, the approach used is the concurrent model of training, which focuses on developing both teachers’ subject-content knowledge and their pedagogical skills. Whereas university programmes offer four-year degree courses in order to produce teachers and education officers for the basic and secondary school levels, Ghana’s thirtyeight public and eight private Colleges of Education provide three-year programmes for students with no prior teaching knowledge that lead to the award of a Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) for teaching in primary and lower secondary schools. However, the DBE can also be acquired through two other routes:

1. The In-service training programme for untrained teachers. This course is non-residential, and known as the Untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education (UTDBE). This programme is designed for teachers who have completed their education up to secondary level, who have not had professional training, but yet have been employed as untrained teachers mainly as a result of teacher shortages. Trainees enrolled on the UTDBE distance-learning programme use prepared training module textbooks and have face-to-face sessions with College of Education tutors over the course of their training. 2. The two-year in-service programme, meant to upgrade practising teachers with a Certificate ‘A’ teaching qualification up to diploma level. This chapter focuses on the UTDBE programme.

The Untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education programme An untrained teacher in the Ghanaian context is a teacher who has at least the requisite minimum basic education but no professional training (GES 2007; Tanaka 2012). These teachers are defined according to their employment status: ‘pupil teachers’ are employed by the GES through the various Districts and Municipal Education Offices; ‘youth employment teachers’ are employed by the government under the 2006 presidential initiative youth employment programme; and ‘volunteer teachers’ are employed voluntarily by the community to fill local teaching vacancies (GES 2007).

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In Ghana, the UTDBE programme has become the avenue for all untrained teachers in public basic schools to become professionally qualified teachers. Since its introduction in 2005, the proportion of untrained teachers has fallen from 21 per cent in primary schools and 12.6 per cent in junior high schools1 to not more than 5 per cent at each level in 2010, and consequently has led to a significant drop in the number of untrained teachers in many rural communities (GES/TED 2012). The success of the UTDBE programme has the potential to improve the quality of basic education for poor and marginalized children in many rural communities. The programme, which began in the 2004–05 academic year, was designed and implemented with technical and financial assistance mainly from the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The cohort for this study started in the 2011–12 academic year. A unique feature of the programme is its requirement for untrained teachers to continue working in the classroom whilst being trained. This approach allows teachers to directly relate what they are learning through the programme to their classroom practice. Another feature of the programme is its use of the same teacher education curriculum as that used for the residential pre-service teacher education programme offered in the Colleges of Education. For example, teachers in both programmes take courses in the following areas: foundation studies in academic subject areas; education and professional studies; and practical teaching activities (GES 2003). The forms of assessment and professional standards are also the same. According to Akyeampong, Mensa and Adu-Yeboah (2012), this has meant that the course modules are at times very theoretical and without sufficient reflection on the needs of practising teachers. However, the UTDBE programme designers argue that their rationale ensures parity of esteem with the content and quality of training provided in the residential teacher education programme (GES 2003). For the UTDBE teachers, the programme combines distance-learning modules with cluster/circuit and school-based training and periodic residential/ face-to-face meetings. The cluster meetings, which are organized by the teachers themselves, are meant to allow them to study training modules and share practical ideas about teaching. The circuit-based programme is meant to encourage teachers to meet college tutors for tutorials, to pick up assignments and/or receive feedback, and also to discuss other learning problems. This is done with support from Circuit Supervisors (CS) who are mandated to provide professional support for practising teachers. The purpose of the residential faceto-face meetings is relatively similar: they create a forum for teachers to share experiences and ideas, learn from one another, write tests/quizzes, complete assignments, and discuss any challenges with college tutors. Residential meetings

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take place on the campuses of the colleges of education during vacations in order for trainees to access available in-house facilities such as libraries, laboratories and resource centres. Orr et al.’s (2013) systematic review of the literature reveals that pre-service Initial Teacher Education (ITE) is expensive and not always effective. Thus, the design of the UTDBE programme would seem to offer a more cost-effective training solution with the added advantage of direct or immediate application to classroom practice. However, the issue is whether such non-conventional teacher education programmes can effectively identify and address the different knowledge and pedagogical gaps that exist across a cohort of teachers with varying levels of experience. In this chapter, we explore how UTDBE teachers view the extent to which the programme responds to their training needs, and how they view this in relation to core subject areas. Our study focused on the following specific questions:

1. What are the background characteristics of untrained teachers? 2. How do trainees with different entry characteristics rate the UTDBE programme in terms of meeting their professional learning needs? 3. Which content areas in the core teaching subjects do untrained teachers feel are the easiest or most difficult to teach? 4. What gaps does the UTDBE programme address well (or not)?

Methods The study was exploratory in nature, employing a mixed methods approach. The targeted untrained teachers were in the final year (i.e. 2015–16 academic year) of their programme, and so had spent nearly four years in training as the programme required. Two instruments (questionnaire and interview guide) were designed to obtain primary data. The questionnaire sought information about: teachers’ entry characteristics; subject-content and pedagogical knowledge prior to enrolling on the programme; what they regarded as the content and pedagogical skills they had acquired during the programme; and more generally their experiences of the programme. The interview guide for selected teachers sought to elicit more detailed feedback on the subject and pedagogical content areas that they found to be difficult or easy. The interviews also focused on what they perceived as strengths or weaknesses prior to enrolling on the programme, and the extent to which the programme addressed gaps in their professional knowledge and skills.

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We developed and validated the questionnaire through a pilot study involving UTDBE teachers in a study centre in Cape Coast in December 2015. This study centre was selected due to its proximity to researchers and also because the trainees would have similar characteristics as those in our target sample.

Participants Participants in this study were drawn from two study centres in the Central and Volta regions of Ghana. These centres, which can be found in all ten regions of Ghana, host the UTDBE programme run by the University of Cape Coast’s Institute of Education. These untrained teachers, who hail from various districts, attend campuses of selected Colleges of Education for face-to-face instructional sessions when schools are on vacation. Questionnaires were administered to eight randomly selected classes out of fourteen in one study centre, making a total of 340 teachers, whilst two classes were randomly selected from eight in another study centre making a total of eighty-six teachers. Thus, in total 426 teachers took part in the study. We conducted interviews with a conveniently selected sample of ten teachers at each study centre, comprising 54.9 per cent males and 45.1 per cent females. Just over half of them (c. 51.4 per cent) were married, 47.2 per cent were unmarried and 1.4 per cent were divorced. The marital status of the teachers would suggest that for many of them, a three-year residential training programme might be less attractive than one based on a CPD model of training, as the latter does not require giving up their teaching jobs and the income they provide. The teachers’ ages ranged from under 20–25 years (10.3 per cent), 26–30 years (54.5 per cent), 31–50 years (33.8 per cent) and 50 years and above (1.4 per cent). The highest academic qualification ranged from 90.4 per cent with the West Africa Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSSC) to 4.9 per cent with a GCE Ordinary Level, 2.1 per cent with a GCE Advanced Level Certificate, 1.2 per cent with a Basic Education Certificate and 1.4 per cent with a Middle School Leaving Certificate. Thus the majority of the untrained teachers had completed secondary education but would not have met the entry qualification criteria for the traditional three-year pre-service teacher education programme (NCTE 2010). In a study of teacher education in Ghana, Akyeampong (2003) found that Colleges of Education were only able to recruit SSSC candidates with weak entry grades and that many others who sought entry were rejected because of their poor SSSC results. Many UTDBE teachers would have even weaker grades than those students enrolled in the residential three-year teacher education

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programme (Kwaah 2016). However, unlike students who enrol in residential teacher education programmes directly after their secondary education, and therefore have no teaching experience, these untrained teachers have considerable teaching experience, ranging from about five years (58.6 per cent), with the rest spread from five to ten years (33.9 per cent), ten to nineteen years (6.4 per cent), and twenty to twenty-four years (1.1 per cent).

Results and discussion Trainees’ content and pedagogical knowledge prior to the UTDBE programme Not surprisingly, the survey data revealed that most teachers enrolled on the UTDBE programme had achieved only poor grades in English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science. Out of the 90.4 per cent who enrolled with the West Africa Senior Secondary School Certificate (WASSCE), less than 10 per cent had gained ‘A’ and ‘B’ grades in all three core subjects, while almost 50 per cent of them enrolled with grades ‘C’ and ‘D’. More than half enrolled with ‘E’ and ‘F’ grades, which would not qualify them to enrol on any programme in a tertiary institution in Ghana, including the traditional three-year teacher-education programmes in Colleges of Education. According to the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) standards, grades ‘D’, ‘E’ and ‘F’ do not qualify prospective students to enrol into tertiary institutions (NCTE 2010). Fewer than 5 per cent enrolled with a GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ level certificate. A few teachers (2.6 per cent) had a Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which means they had completed education only up to lower secondary level. This data confirms that most of the untrained teachers had a suboptimal subject knowledge background. The teachers were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with statements about how adequate their knowledge in the three core subjects was before the UTDBE programme. We disaggregated responses by entry grade level. Table 4.1 shows that over 60 per cent of the teachers who enrolled with ‘A’ and ‘B’ grades strongly agreed, or agreed that their content knowledge in all the three core subjects was adequate, whilst the majority (over 60 per cent) of the teachers with ‘C’ and ‘D’ grades also affirmed that their content knowledge in all the core subjects was adequate before enrolling on the programme. Roughly 60 per cent of those with ‘E’ and ‘F’ grades in English Language also agreed that their content knowledge was adequate. For Mathematics and

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Table 4.1  Relationship between teachers’ perceived content knowledge in core subjects against their entry grades before the UTDBE programme (N=321) Subject English Language

Maths

Integrated Science

‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’

Strongly Agree

Agree

Moderately Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

9(47.4) 42(30.7) 29(29.9) 19(27.9) 8(36.4) 21(24.1) 18(18.6) 16(28.1) 5(38.5) 27(30.3) 32(23.5) 24(26.4)

6(31.6) 45(32.8) 27(27.8) 22(32.4) 6(27.3) 40(46.0) 42(43.3) 20(35.1) 6(46.2) 33(37.1) 48(35.3) 30(33.0)

4(21.0) 43(31.4) 38(39.2) 24(35.3) 7(31.8) 22(25.3) 30(30.9) 16(28.1) 2(15.4) 22(24.7) 46(33.8) 27(29.7)

0(0.0) 6(4.4) 3(3.1) 3(4.4) 1(4.5) 2(2.3) 6(6.2) 3(5.3) 0(0.0) 6(6.7) 8(5.9) 9(9.9)

0(0.0) 1(0.7) 0(0.0) 0(0.0) 0(0.0) 2(2.3) 1(1.0) 2(3.5) 0(0.0) 1(1.1) 2(1.5) 1(1.1)

Integrated Science, this was about 63 per cent and 59 per cent respectively. Slightly less than 10 per cent of the teachers with grades ‘C’ and ‘D’ in Integrated Science felt that their content knowledge was inadequate in Integrated Science. Over 30 per cent of the teachers moderately agreed that their content knowledge in English Language was adequate. Approximately 30 per cent of the teachers with a ‘D’ in Mathematics moderately agreed that their content knowledge in mathematics was adequate, whilst 7.2 per cent disagreed. It is striking that the teachers with weaker grades also felt that they had adequate knowledge in the core subjects. However, the interview data revealed that a poor subject knowledge background was a reason many could not study at university, with a few recognizing that it had implications for their ability to teach the subjects well: Before the programme, English was my problem. I didn’t pass the WASSCE that is why I couldn’t go to University. Female lower primary teacher I find it difficult to study Maths. I do not understand it well, so it is difficult teaching it. I just learned enough to pass my WASSCE, but teaching it is different. Female class 3 teacher with four years’ teaching experience; age not indicated

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Table 4.2  Teachers’ perceived adequacy of knowledge in teaching before the UTDBE programme (N=426)

Lesson preparation Lesson delivery TLMs preparation Use of TLMs Classroom management and organization Assessment practices

Strongly Agree

Agree

Moderately Disagree Agree

Strongly Disagree

89(20.9) 98(23.0) 102(23.9) 95(22.3) 105(24.6)

111(26.1) 136(31.9) 111(26.1) 127(29.8) 149(35.0)

116(27.2) 117(27.5) 113(26.5) 112(26.3) 102(23.9)

70(16.4) 59(13.8) 69(16.2) 60(14.1) 49(11.5)

40(9.4) 16(3.8) 31(7.3) 32(7.5) 21(4.9)

104(24.4) 151(35.4)

104(24.4)

44(10.3)

23(5.4)

We explored the extent to which the teachers either agree or disagree with statements about their perceived knowledge of teaching in five key areas (see Table 4.2). Generally, more than 40 per cent of them agreed that their knowledge of lesson preparation and delivery, and the use and preparation of teaching and learning materials (TLMs) was adequate, whilst less than 30 per cent moderately agreed. However, about a quarter of them (25.8 per cent) disagreed that their knowledge of lesson preparation and TLMs preparation was adequate before the start of the programme. These results and the interview data also suggest that many do not feel that they had mastered skills that would make them effective, although clearly from the survey results some were more confident than others. The interviews also revealed that many teachers felt a major challenge to becoming effective teachers lay in the difficulty of teaching large classes. Many felt they lacked skills in teaching large classes, whilst others pointed out that they had not fully grasped the rationale for some activities their classes had undertaken. Others said they were not aware of the value and importance of formative assessment in teaching. For them, training was an opportunity to address these gaps. Before I came, my knowledge of lesson notes preparation was poor. No one took me through how to prepare notes. I was just teaching raw like that. Class management and control was difficult. This is due to the problem of overcrowding. And I was doing only summative assessment. Twenty-six-year-old class 6 female teacher with four years’ teaching experience Before the programme, my knowledge of delivery was low and so it made it difficult to teach. I found it very difficult to prepare and use TLM. I never

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organized my class in groups. I didn’t know much about assessment. In fact, I did not know class exercise was a form of assessment. I was giving them class exercises and examinations, but I didn’t consider the class exercise as a form of assessment. I was using my own crude methods such as punishment (touch your toe) to manage and control my class. Thirty-four-year-old male junior high school maths teacher with six years’ experience

Throughout the interviews, lesson notes and TLM preparation came up as areas of professional practice that were particularly problematic for teachers. Other challenges related to group work, class management and control of large classes and effective teaching methods that would promote improved learning. Although some teachers claimed they had benefited from some in-service training whilst teaching as untrained teachers, these had not adequately addressed their difficulties in a systematic and coherent manner. There was little indication from the interviews that the UTDBE programme was regularly tapping into the teachers’ situated knowledge of teaching as a key starting point in learning to become a professional teacher. The assumption seemed to be that the programme would equip teachers with a corpus of professional knowledge and skills that could be applied under any condition (see also Akyeampong, Mensa & Adu-Yeboah 2012).

Teachers’ acquisition of content and professional knowledge during training We were interested in the extent to which the teachers felt the UTDBE programme had addressed and improved their subject-content knowledge and professional knowledge of teaching. First, we asked the teachers to indicate how much their content knowledge acquisition had improved, how UTBDE had boosted their confidence in teaching, whether it had addressed topics they found difficult to understand, and whether after the programme they felt their knowledge base in the core subjects had improved sufficiently to teach well. The results are reported in Table 4.3. Generally, the results show that over 80 per cent of the teachers reported that the UTDBE programme had helped them to improve their confidence in teaching the three core subjects, but also their knowledge of English (86.1 per cent), mathematics (92.5 per cent) and Science (87.8 per cent). However, a sizeable number (English – 43.4 per cent, Maths – 31 per cent, and Science – 37 per cent) were not so positive when asked about whether the programme had

English Maths Science English Maths Science English Maths Science English Maths Science

1. The UTDBE programme has helped me to improve my knowledge in:

2. The UTDBE programme has improved my confidence in teaching:

3. The UTDBE did not adequately address some of the topics in these subjects I was having difficulty understanding:

4. After the UTDBE programme I feel I understand these subjects better to teach it well:

234(54.9) 249(58.5) 210(49.3)

99(23.2) 54(12.7) 66(15.5)

262(61.5) 265(62.2) 245(57.5)

228(53.5) 259(60.8) 220(51.6)

Strongly Agree

Table 4.3  UTDBE teachers’ acquisition of content knowledge (N=426)

153(35.9) 146(34.30) 148(34.7)

86(20.2) 78(18.3) 93(21.8)

131(30.8) 135(31.7) 130(30.5)

139(32.6) 135(31.7) 154(36.2)

Agree

27(6.3) 22(5.2) 53(12.4)

37(8.7) 57(13.4) 52(12.2)

28(6.6) 24(5.6) 32(7.5)

57(13.4) 29(6.8) 26(6.1)

Moderately Agree

9(2.1) 8(1.9) 13(3.1)

133(31.2) 169(39.7) 147(34.5)

4(0.9) 2(0.5) 18(4.2)

2(0.5) 3(0.7) 16(3.8)

Disagree

3(0.7) 1(0.2) 2(0.5)

71(16.7) 68(16.0) 68(16.0)

1(0.2) – 1(0.2)

– – 10(2.3)

Strongly Disagree

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addressed difficulties they had in their subject-content knowledge. In the interviews, teachers who felt that the programme had improved their confidence in teaching explained that it had helped them to understand the ‘right ways’ of doing things in the classroom, and improved their understanding of difficult topics. Initially, I knew some of the things I was doing were wrong and that brought my confidence down. But now, I know the right way of doing things so I am more confident. Twenty-six-year-old class 6 female teacher with four years’ teaching experience Though I found Maths easy to teach, I found transformation difficult to teach. After the second term of the programme, I was able to teach the topic [transformation] well. Through this programme, I have improved in content knowledge and I know if am to teach all the subjects, I will not have any problems, at least not with the content. Thirty-four-year-old male JHS maths teacher with six years’ teaching experience

However, some did not feel the same, either because they did not like the subject or there wasn’t enough time, in the case of integrated science, to do practical work. Before the programme, Maths and Science were my problem. With the Maths, I haven’t seen any improvement because I am not interested in it. As a result, it has affected my grades in this programme. Thirty-eight-year-old female KG 1 teacher with five years’ teaching experience We still find it difficult to understand the science well. I think it is because we do not have enough practical work at the lab. But with the others, we are ok. Thirty-eight-year-old female KG 1 teacher with five years’ teaching experience

With regards to their professional knowledge, lesson notes and TLM preparation as well as lesson delivery, some teachers noted that these areas were not adequately addressed by the programme. I still have difficulties with writing notes for maths lessons and with the preparation of TLMs. There are also problems with lesson delivery. Twenty-six-year-old class 6 female teacher with four years’ teaching experience

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CPD in Sub-Saharan Africa I think I need more help with lesson notes preparation for composition. Thirty-eight-year-old female KG 1 teacher with five years’ teaching experience I still have some problems with preparation of TLM. Class 3 female teacher with four years’ teaching experience; age not indicated I still have some problems with lesson notes preparation, preparing TLM, organizing group lessons and assessment. Thirty-eight-year-old female KG 1 teacher with five years’ teaching experience

The interviews suggested that some teachers felt the programme was not providing them with enough opportunities to deepen their practical knowledge of teaching through more guided practical professional learning. Our findings suggest, as other studies point out, that upgrading programmes may not necessarily and adequately address gaps in teachers’ pedagogical skills if they do not sufficiently link theory to practice (James et al. 2015; Villegas-Reimers 2003). Clearly, from our data, there is a sizeable proportion of untrained teachers who feel confident and competent in relation to their pedagogical knowledge and skills before the training, but also others who feel their deficiencies persist even after going through the programme. We would argue that this points to the need for CPD programmes to create opportunities for critical dialogue among teachers to share their professional learning experiences, and make the study of practice an important part of learning to teach (Akyeampong et al. 2013). The UTDBE programme includes face-to-face elements with college tutors and peers, but the teachers reported that this was often used to discuss course assignments, receive feedback from tutors, prepare for examinations, and not for critical inquiry into professional practice and its significance to theory. It was rarely used to feedback on particular knowledge and skills gaps, or as a platform to review what was working (or not) in their practice after learning new skills and teaching approaches.

Relationship between trainees’ difficulty with the three core subjects and entry qualifications Teachers were asked to indicate areas in the three core subjects with which they still had difficulties. We mapped their responses to their entry qualification

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grades, assuming that teachers whose grades suggested a strong subject knowledge base would indicate that they had fewer difficulties. Teachers’ perceived difficulties with aspects of English Language in relation to their entry grades in core English Language are reported in Table 4.4. The results show that teachers with entry grades ‘A’ and ‘B’ reported having fewer difficulties compared to those with weak grades (e.g. ‘E’ and ‘F’). For example, only about 29 per cent of the teachers with entry grades ‘A’ and ‘B’ reported difficulties in composition, compared with about 38 per cent with grade ‘D’. What surprised us is that a majority of teachers with weak entry grades reported little difficulty with the methods of teaching English. For example, with the exception of composition, more than 60 per cent of teachers with grades ‘E’ and ‘F’ reported that understanding the content of English Language for teaching was not particularly taxing. The same is true for teachers with an entry grade of ‘D’ (approximately 60 per cent). These findings appear to contradict Chief Examiners’ reports on teachers’ English Language knowledge. According to one report, about 50 per cent of UTDBE trainees demonstrated weak English Language proficiency (Institute of Education 2012). The results from our study suggest that many untrained teachers may not think of themselves as having a weakness in the subjects they are expected to teach. This raises questions about the programme’s ability to help teachers to clearly understand the nature of their weaknesses in teaching specific areas in the subject. It may be an oversimplification to assume that all untrained teachers with weak entry grades in English Language are necessarily deficient in their ability to teach the subject effectively. Our results indicate that some may hold a different view, and it is important that the programme engages with how they understand competence in teaching English Language based on deeper knowledge of their deficiencies. Results in Table 4.5 show the relationship between teachers’ perceived level of difficulty with aspects of Mathematics and their entry grade in Mathematics. It shows that more than 50 per cent of the teachers perceive all the aspects of Mathematics to be easy or very easy to understand. For example, over 70 per cent of the teachers with grades ‘D’, ‘E’ and ‘F’ perceived ‘statistics and probability’ and ‘methods of teaching primary school mathematics’ as easy to understand. Conversely, there were some teachers who had difficulties in understanding certain aspects of the subject. For example, about 43.1 per cent of teachers with grade ‘C’ had difficulties in understanding number and basic algebra. For geometry and trigonometry, this was 37.5 per cent and for statistics and probability 33.8 per cent. Like the data on English Language knowledge and

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Table 4.4  Relationship between trainees’ difficulty in English Language and their entry qualification in English Language

Composition

Comprehension

Grammar

Speech work

Literature

Methods of teaching English

N=292 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ N=286 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ N=290 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ N=288 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ N=283 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ N=287 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’

Very Difficult

Difficult

Easy

Very Easy

4(23.5) 13(10.1) 20(23.3) 12(20.0)

1(5.9) 24(18.6) 13(15.1) 11(18.3)

6(35.3) 78(60.5) 43(50.0) 31(51.7)

6(35.3) 14(10.9) 10(11.6) 6(10.0)

0(0.0) 3(2.4) 8(9.3) 2(3.4)

2(12.5) 11(8.8) 8(9.3) 10(16.9)

8(50.0) 83(66.4) 60(69.8) 35(18.8)

6(37.5) 28(22.4) 10(11.6) 12(21.4)

1(6.3) 5(3.9) 9(10.7) 6(9.5)

0(0.0) 26(20.5) 15(17.9) 17(27.0)

10(62.5) 77(60.6) 53(63.1) 28(44.4)

5(31.3) 19(15.0) 7(8.3) 12(19.0)

1(5.9) 12(9.7) 10(11.5) 6(10.0)

6(35.3) 33(26.6) 28(32.2) 12(20.0)

5(29.4) 62(50.0) 39(44.8) 33(55.0)

5(29.4) 17(13.7) 10(11.5) 9(15.0)

2(11.1) 11(8.9) 12(14.6) 3(5.1)

3(16.7) 43(34.7) 30(36.6) 22(37.3)

11(61.1) 56(45.2) 35(42.7) 24(40.7)

2(11.1) 14(11.3) 5(6.1) 10(32.3)

0(0.0) 8(6.3) 8(9.4) 6(10.2)

5(29.4) 22(17.5) 24(28.2) 9(15.3)

8(47.1) 61(48.4) 39(45.9) 27(45.8)

4(23.5) 35(27.8) 14(16.5) 17(28.8)

capability, the data suggests that poor mathematics grades do not necessarily match perceived difficulties with some areas of the topic. For example, only about 20 per cent of teachers with the poorest grades (‘E’ and ‘F’) said they found number and basic algebra difficult, fewer than those with much higher entry qualification grades ‘A’ and ‘B’. When it comes to the methods of teaching primary

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Table 4.5  Teachers’ areas of difficulty in Maths and their entry qualification in core Maths Subject Content Areas Number and basic algebra

Geometry and trigonometry

Statistics and probability

Methods of teaching primary school mathematics

N=197 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ N=244 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ N=246 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ N=244 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’

Very Difficult

Difficult

Easy

Very Easy

2(11.1) 7(12.1) 12(16.2) 0(0.0)

3(16.7) 18(31.0) 18(24.3) 9(19.1)

8(44.4) 19(32.8) 35(47.3) 36(76.6)

5(27.8) 14(24.1) 9(12.2) 2(4.3)

3(13.6) 6(7.5) 13(14.8) 5(9.3)

5(22.7) 24(30.0) 16(18.2) 12(22.2)

10(45.5) 41(51.3) 44(50.0) 32(59.3)

4(18.2) 9(11.3) 15(17.0) 5(9.3)

1(4.8) 7(8.8) 9(9.9) 4(7.4)

5(23.8) 20(25.0) 18(19.8) 12(22.2)

10(47.6) 39(48.8) 50(54.9) 34(63.0)

5(23.8) 14(17.5) 14(15.4) 4(7.4)

1(4.8) 4(4.9) 5(5.7) 1(1.9)

2(9.5) 8(9.8) 5(5.7) 5(9.3)

9(42.9) 41(50.0) 46(52.9) 31(57.4)

9(42.9) 29(35.4) 31(35.6) 17(31.5)

school mathematics, there is consistently high agreement that it is easy or very easy irrespective of the entry qualification grade. Finally, we explored which science subject areas teachers perceived to be difficult (or not so) to understand, and mapped the responses to the different entry grades. Results are reported in Table 4.6. Generally, the teachers found science subjects more difficult than Mathematics and English Language. Chemistry was the most difficult. Over 50 per cent of the teachers with entry grades ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘E’ and ‘F’ perceived Physics and Chemistry as particularly challenging. For example, 73.5 per cent of teachers with grades ‘E’ and ‘F’ perceived Chemistry as being difficult to understand. In an earlier impact evaluation study by Akyeampong, Mensa and Adu-Yeboah (2012), untrained teachers found the science content material in the UTDBE module handbook as either not relevant for teaching the subject at the primary level, or too difficult to understand. This may not have been helped by Ghanaian tutors’ instructional approaches in Science, which tend to be theoretical and didactic, allowing little

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Table 4.6  Relationship between teachers’ perceived difficulty or otherwise in Integrated Science and their entry qualification in Integrated Science Subject Biology

Physics

Chemistry

Methods of teaching science

N=296 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ N=304 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ N=304 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’ N=298 ‘A’ & ‘B’ ‘C’ ‘D’ ‘E’ & ‘F’

Very Difficult

Difficult

Easy

Very Easy

1(7.7) 5(6.2) 9(7.5) 10(12.2)

0(0.0) 20(24.7) 31(25.8) 16(19.5)

7(53.8) 41(50.6) 63(52.5) 41(50.0)

5(38.5) 15(18.5) 17(14.2) 15(18.3)

1(7.7) 8(9.9) 17(13.6) 21(24.7)

4(30.8) 33(40.7) 57(45.6) 27(31.8)

3(23.1) 36(44.4) 45(36.0) 32(37.6)

5(38.5) 4(4.9) 6(4.8) 5(5.9)

2(16.7) 15(18.1) 28(22.2) 28(33.7)

3(25.0) 35(42.2) 58(46.0) 33(39.8)

4(33.3) 28(33.7) 36(28.6) 19(22.9)

3(25.0) 5(6.0) 4(3.2) 3(3.6)

0(0.0) 6(7.9) 10(7.9) 12(14.8)

0(0.0) 22(27.8) 34(26.8) 11(13.6)

5(45.5) 32(40.5) 61(48.0) 42(51.9)

6(54.5) 19(24.1) 22(17.3) 16(19.8)

room for trainees to identify and work through their particular learning difficulties in the subject (Akyeampong & Kuroda 2007). Unsurprisingly, all the teachers with the highest entry grades (‘A’ and ‘B’) indicated that they found methods of teaching science easy or very easy. However, roughly 70 per cent of teachers with entry grades ‘E’ and ‘F’ also reported that they found the methods of teaching science either easy or very easy. This is quite consistent with the results in teaching English Language and Basic Mathematics. As in the other two subjects, to teach science effectively, teachers need a sound subject-content knowledge base – it is what makes the learning of specific topics easy or difficult. Thus, knowledge of subject matter is critical (see Shulman 1987). Our findings open up the debate about how CPD should be designed to address this gap. These findings also suggest that it should not be taken for granted that teachers with a weak subject knowledge base necessarily believe that this limits

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their ability to teach well. Our concern is that some teachers may not associate CPD programmes that target their subject knowledge for improvement as necessarily relevant to their ability to teach effectively.

Conclusion As its name suggests, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is about ensuring that professional development is not a one-off event, but rather that it focuses on gaps in teachers’ professional knowledge and offers practice for improvement on an ongoing basis. Given that most of the untrained teachers in the study had at least five years’ teaching experience, it would seem appropriate for a CPD programme to make better or stronger connection with the gaps in their professional knowledge base. The UTDBE programme purports to offer opportunities for untrained teachers to discuss their learning needs and work collaboratively to address them, with support from College tutors and school mentors. Although when questioned through the survey, most teachers believed they were sufficiently knowledgeable and skilled, our interviews, which explored the issues more deeply, suggest that this strong belief may point to teachers’ exaggeration of their knowledge and competence. This sense of exaggeration is consistent with what has been found in many teacher trainees in Mali, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda (see Akyeampong et al. 2013) One interesting aspect of our study relates to the differences in the responses by teachers with stronger academic qualifications and those with weaker results in relation to their subject and professional knowledge competence. Broadly, our findings suggest that some teachers with weak academic qualifications indicate that they found core subjects difficult, but a sizeable proportion also say the opposite. We would argue that, since the UTDBE targets practising teachers with generally poor academic qualifications, it would have to do more to identify and target specific areas in their subject knowledge base which need improving. However, it is doubtful whether the programme as currently structured can deliver on this, because UTDBE materials have not been designed for remedial training. Instead, the focus is on providing a standard teacher education curriculum on a par with the residential programme for trainees with no classroom experience. As such, not enough attention is given to what untrained teachers know or are lacking in from a practical experience point of view (Akyeampong, Mensa and Adu-Yeboah 2012). It is also evident from our data that teachers with weak academic entry backgrounds did not necessarily perceive their ability to teach as fundamentally

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insufficient. Our interview data suggest a tendency to look at deficiencies mainly in terms of gaps in specific teaching strategies or skills (e.g. using teaching learning materials, lesson notes preparation, etc.). Although some teachers indicate subject knowledge areas that are problematic, this was not a significant concern for most of the teachers interviewed. Our findings raise a more fundamental issue, however, about how to improve the professional knowledge base of teachers with some classroom experience. On the strength of this exploratory study, we would argue that the UTDBE programme needs to analyse the needs and knowledge gaps of teachers with some classroom experience in order to add value to the training offered, and also to and identify and address specific gaps in their subject-content knowledge base. The UTDBE teachers in Ghana have sustained exposure to real classrooms which puts them in a strong position to judge their professional learning needs. Programme designers may also have to find different ways of presenting subject-content knowledge in the course modules so teachers are able to work through it and address any challenges, and ensure that it is relevant to teaching at the basic school level. In fairness, the UTDBE programme already has structures in place to address teacher knowledge and skills gaps through its system of tutorials, assignments and feedback sessions, all of which are expected to be used for discussing professional learning needs with support from Circuit Supervisors (CS) and other identified field tutors. Teachers are also expected to use the residential face-to-face meetings to share experiences and ideas about teaching, and to learn from each other. Our exploratory study did not focus on the kind of professional learning needs that were being tackled by these systems of engagement, but insights from the interview data suggest that these channels for professional learning lacked the authenticity of classroom knowledge and practice. Similarly, in an earlier in-depth evaluation study of the UTDBE programme, Akyeampong, Mensa and Adu-Yeboah (2012) found that these channels were not being used in ways that would allow for individualized professional needs to be identified and evaluated for critical reflection and group learning. Finally, our study suggests that teacher education policy may need to give direction on what should be included on CPD programmes for untrained teachers with a wide range of teaching experience if such programmes are to address the professional learning informed by the knowledge gained from practice.

Note 1 Lower secondary education.

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Process of Teaching’, Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 13 (3): 1599–1606. http://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2013.3.1649 Eren, A. (2012), ‘Prospective Teachers’ Interest in Teaching, Professional Plans About Teaching and Career Choice Satisfaction: A Relevant Framework’, Australian Journal of Education, 3 (56): 303–18. Ghana Education Service (GES) (2007), Headteachers’ Handbook, Accra: Ghana Education Service. Ghana Education Service (2012), Untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education (UTDBE) Programme: Project Implementation Manual, Accra: Teacher Education Division. Government of Ghana (GoG) (2004), White Paper on the Report of the Education Review Committee, Accra: Government of Ghana. James, A., S. Bansilal, L. Webb and B. Goba (2015), ‘Teacher Professional Development Programmes in MST for Developing Contexts’, Africa Education Review, 12 (2): 145–60. http://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2015.1107970 Kruijer, H. (2010), Learning How to Teach: The Upgrading of Unqualified Primary Teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa, Brussels: Education International. Kunje, D. and J. Stuart (1999), ‘Supporting Untrained Teachers in Malawi’, International Journal of Educational Development, 19: 157–66. Kwaah, C.Y. (2016), Teaching Practices of Untrained, Newly Qualified and Experienced Trained Teachers in Ghanaian Basic Schools, Cape Coast: University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Ministry of Education (2013), Education Sector Performance Report, Accra: Ministry of Education. Ministry of Education (2014), ‘Report on Basic Statistics and Planning Parameters for Basic Education in Ghana 2012/2014’, Accra: Ministry of Education. Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MOESS) (2005), Preliminary Education Sector Performance Report, Accra: Ministry of Education. Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MOESS) (2006). Preliminary Education Sector Performance Report, Accra: Ministry of Education. Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Ghana Education Service/Teacher Education Division (2004), Implementation Plan for an ICT Enhanced ODL Programme for Teacher Education, Phase 1: National Framework for Teacher Accreditation and Programme for Untrained Teachers. Mukeredzi, T.G. (2013), ‘Professional Development Through Teacher Roles: Conceptions of Professionally Unqualified Teachers in Rural South Africa and Zimbabwe’, Journal of Research in Rural Education, 28 (11): 1–17. Mulkeen, A. (2010), Teachers in Anglophone Africa: Issues in Teacher Supply, Training and Management, Washington DC: World Bank. National Development Planning Commission (2015), Ghana Millennium Development Goals: 2015 Report, Accra: NDPC.

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Njenga, A. and M. Kabiru (2001), In the Web of Cultural Transitions: A Tracer Study of Children in Embu District, Kenya. Early Childhood Development: Practice and Reflections. Following Footsteps, The Hague: Bernard Van Leer Foundation. OECD (2010), Teaching and Learning Survey (TALIS) 2008 Technical Report, Paris: OECD. Orr, D., J. Westbrook, J. Pryor, N. Duranni, J. Sebba and C. Adu-Yeboah (2013), What are the Impacts and Cost-effectiveness of Strategies to Improve Performance of Untrained and Under-trained Teachers in the Classroom in Developing Countries?, London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Centre, Institute of Education, University of London. Osei, G.M. (2006), ‘Teachers in Ghana: Issues of Training, Remuneration and Effectiveness’, International Journal of Educational Development, 26: 38–51. Pryor, J., K. Akyeampong, J. Westbrook and K. Lussier (2012), ‘Rethinking Teacher Preparation and Professional Development in Africa: An Analysis of the Curriculum of Teacher Education in the Teaching of Early Reading and Mathematics’, Curriculum Journal, 23 (4): 409–502. http://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2012.747725 Shulman, L.S (1987), ‘Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform’, Harvard Educational Review, 57 (1): 1–22. UNESCO (2014), EFA Global Monitoring Report: Teaching and Learning – Achieving Quality for All, Paris: UNESCO. Villegas-Reimers, E. (2003), Teacher Professional Development: An International Review of the Literature, Paris: UNESCO. World Bank (2004), Books, Buildings and Learning Outcomes: An Impact Evaluation of World Bank Support to Basic Education in Ghana, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Equity, Social Cohesion and CPD

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CPD Intervention for History Teachers: Does CPD for Holocaust Education Promote Social Justice in South Africa’s Secondary Schools? Jacqueline Gaston

Columbia University, USA

Zahraa McDonald

Centre for International Teacher Education(CITE), Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Akiko Hanaya

University of Sussex, UK

Introduction Many teachers currently working in South African classrooms underwent their initial teacher education during apartheid; a time when authoritarianism and oppression rendered general social and everyday life utterly unjust. Yet they are held accountable for learners’ cognitive achievement and expected to be agents of peace and social justice, able to deal with challenges of diversity and inequality (DHET 2015). Consistent with the broader concern around teacher development in general, and continuing professional teacher development (CPTD) in particular, there is a scarcity of programmes specific to building teachers’ capacity for the latter role. During apartheid, a philosophy of fundamental pedagogics was used to condition black teachers to be autocratic, non-­critical transmitters of knowledge (Welch 2002). Skills-­oriented CPTD was driven by commercial and industrial growth in the 1950s and 1960s. In the mid– 1970s, after the Soweto uprising, the hope of receiving equal pay propelled teachers to engage in CPTD in order to gain academic qualifications, but this did not equate to improved teaching or learning (Vries 1989; Welch 2002). These conditions gave way to privately funded, NGO-led programmes aimed at reversing the effects of fundamental pedagogics and empowering black teachers

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(Van den Berg & Meerkotter 1993). By the end of apartheid, NGO-provided teacher training programmes had led to 112,000 teachers joining the profession (JET 1996). But while some learned to adopt more progressive methodologies in their classrooms, this did not result in system-­wide improvement of learning outcomes (JET 1996). Additionally, teacher preparation in general remained rooted in ‘the undemocratic, teacher-­centered, apartheid-­serving system of the past’ (Adler 2002: 23). Since the advent of democracy in 1994, there have been many efforts to systematize teacher development (Badat & Sayed 2014). Despite successive policy initiatives however, there has not been any significant improvement in the delivery of CPTD. Taylor and Muller (2014) note that while the number of ‘qualified’ teachers increased from 53 per cent to 94.4 per cent between 1990 and 2008, the billions spent on in-­service training did not result in improved learners’ performance. Additionally, CPTD in South Africa has mostly been characterized by short-­term, one-­size-fits-­all, cascade-­type approaches meant to provide support for curricular reform (Chisholm 2005; Maringe & Prew 2014). Curricular reforms that sought to break from the apartheid past advanced learner-­centred principles that signalled a paradigm shift from the teacher-­centred rote-­learning models that teachers knew. The type of training that accompanied these reforms were inadequate in preparing teachers for their new roles (Chisholm 2005) and many teachers were frustrated by the unnuanced approach of government-­provided programmes that left them unsupported in terms of subject-­matter knowledge, lesson planning, and quality assessment (Maringe & Prew 2014). In 2009, a Teachers’ Development Summit involving 350 education stakeholders, including many practising teachers, came together to discuss the persistent challenges of teacher education and development. Subsequently, the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa: 2011–2025 (ISPF) was published in 2011 with the main intended outcome of improving the quality of teacher education and development and raising the quality of teachers and teaching (DBE & DHET 2011: 1). Although teachers’ professional development has been the focus of many national education strategies since 1994, CPTD that promotes social justices takes on a critical role in light of the fact that two-­thirds of South Africa’s current teachers – the majority of whom are black – were taught during apartheid (Maserow 2015), when education was racially segregated and unequal (Adler 2002). While the dual goals of economic growth and the building of a just, inclusive and cohesive society are explicit in the country’s long-­term macro development plan (NPC 2013), the preoccupation with standardized assessments, along with

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other market-­led solutions as enacted through the education sector plan, suggest the predominance of the human capital approach consistent with the global, neo-liberal discourse on quality education (Tikly 2011). The implication for social justice is that such solutions have often been found to exacerbate rather than reduce inequality (Tikly 2011). Consistent with this approach, the implementation of the country’s current teacher development framework prioritizes CPTD for teaching literacy and numeracy over other learning areas. Professional development in subject areas such as History has taken a back seat to those with more measurable cognitive outcomes. It is within this context that this chapter delves into the current state of continuing professional teacher development (CPTD) in South Africa with a view to identifying and understanding interventions that seek to promote social justice. Specifically, this chapter aims to illuminate how a CPTD intervention aimed at building teachers’ capability for teaching the Holocaust can promote social justice in South African secondary schools. It uses a case study design to explore a CPTD intervention focused on developing history teachers’ knowledge and skills in teaching the Holocaust as a way to empower and motivate learners to become effective agents of change. The case study adopts a social justice lens to explore the program’s theoretical underpinnings and the conditions around which it is being implemented. Data were collected via document reviews of current national and educational policy frameworks, (training) Resource Manual, reports, as well as semi-­structured interviews with programme representatives and teachers. The findings indicate that the study of Holocaust education engenders historical understanding, the capacity to make connections between the past and the present, and an explicit call to action in order to activate its transformative role. Teachers are stimulated to develop content knowledge, the capacity to develop critical thinking in learners, and an understanding and appreciation of human rights. At the same time, the development of these capabilities through the Educator Training is constrained by limited time for the CPTD intervention itself as well as application of the skills in the classroom. What these findings suggest for the South African context is that there needs to be long-­term CPTD for the development of teachers’ pedagogic strategies for social justice education across the curriculum rather than limited to singular topics in two grades. The chapter adopts a social justice approach to education quality alongside a framework for social justice pedagogy to evaluate whether or not the case study intervention is compatible with social justice education goals and if so, to what extent. The chapter begins by providing a brief background to the South African lacunae with respect to social justice (in education) together with a discussion of

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the analytical framework used as a lens to evaluate the intervention. A brief overview of the methodology including a description of the CPTD intervention is provided, followed by a discussion of findings. The chapter ends with a summary of key concerns, emerging issues, and tentative recommendations.

Education, social justice and pedagogy Despite its classification as an upper-­middle-­income country, South Africa has consistently been one of the most unequal countries in the world (Gini coefficient of 0.65 as of 2014; World Bank 2014) with inequality often attributed to structural legacies of colonialism and apartheid. A so-­called two-­tiered education system reflects this inequality, with children from wealthy families educated in schools with ample resources, while the majority of black children from working-class and indigent families are educated at low-­resource schools (Maserow 2015). Unsurprisingly then Pam Christie (2016: 435) contends that ‘South Africa remains profoundly unequal, as is evident in all dimensions of education provision’. Along the same vein, Postma, Spreen and Vally (2015: 1) claim that the education system in South Africa has perpetuated inequalities and social injustice since 1994. Advocates in the field of education see social justice as both a goal and a process. They work towards a mutually constructed society where all individuals and groups are able to fully and equally participate, and individuals are seen as self-­determining and interdependent, having both a sense of agency and a sense of social responsibility (Adams, Bell & Griffin 2007). In arriving at a theoretical framework for understanding education quality from a social justice perspective, Tikly and Barrett (2011) draw attention to various structural factors underlying current educational systems. The authors compare and contrast human capital and human rights approach as the two dominant perspectives framing education quality and conclude that while aspects of each are drawn upon in policy and practice in varying proportions, neither framework fully acknowledges the social, economic, political and historical forces that influence and define education quality and determine who has access to it. As an alternative, Tikly and Barrett propose a social justice approach to education quality, building upon Fraser’s (2008) definition of social justice as ‘parity of participation’ and Sen’s capabilities approach (1999, 2009). They consider Fraser’s work as that which engages with the ‘broader economic, cultural and social forces and structures that delimit or promote justice’, and the

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incorporation of Sen’s work is used for ‘understanding the deeper ethical basis of justice and freedom in relation to development’ (6). In this alternative, the quality of education is evaluated by ‘the extent to which it fosters key capabilities that individuals, communities and society in general have reason to value’ (7). According to Sen, ‘Capabilities are opportunities that individuals have to realize different “functionings” that they may have reason to value’ (Tikly & Barrett 2011: 7). Walker (2006) clarifies the difference between capabilities and functionings by likening the former to the opportunity to achieve, and the latter to actual achievement; or a potential versus an outcome (in Tikly & Barrett 2011). This distinction is critical in analysing issues of justice and equality in education (Walker & Unterhalter 2007). Rather than the functionings or outcomes, what needs to be evaluated are the capabilities – the real freedoms or opportunities that enable learners to choose and achieve what they themselves find valuable (Walker & Unterhalter 2007). Central, then, to the capability approach is human freedom and agency, and a key role for quality education is therefore ‘supporting the development of autonomy and the ability to make choices in later life, rather than simply providing individuals with the necessary resources to learn’ (Tikly & Barrett 2011: 7). As an autonomous agent, individuals have the capability to pursue what they value, rather than what others have decided is good for them. In the way, Tikly and Barrett’s approach extends the rights-­based approach that ensures basic entitlements, rather than individuals’ capability to decide and achieve what they value. In Sen’s view, such freedom and agency are critical for positive social change. He further argues that while agency is important for individual freedom, it is instrumental for collective action and democratic participation as well (Walker & Unterhalter 2007). Extending this notion of freedom and agency onto education, Walker and Unterhalter (2007) state that individuals can be agents of their own learning, agents of the learning (or failure to learn) of others, and the recipient of others’ agency (6). They caution however that ‘like learning, thinking of oneself as an agent whose actions and contributions count in the world of education does not happen overnight. It is a process of both being and becoming’ (Walker & Unterhalter 2007: 6). In addition, they point out that in considering agency, it is important to realize these are ‘informed or deformed by society and public policy’ (6). In other words agency is, and can only informed, by the conditions of social life in which it is constructed. Fraser’s three dimensions of social justice are thus juxtaposed onto education, as a heuristic tool for determining the conditions of injustice in the system:

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1. the status of redistribution as the distribution of inputs or resources that facilitate the development of key capabilities; 2. the state of recognition as the extent to which needs and rights of different groups are recognized in education; and 3. the levels of participation as to how decisions about education quality are governed and the nature of participation in debates at the local, national and global levels. Tikly & Barrett 2011 The social justice approach broadens the goals of the dominant frameworks largely by attending to the third issue around participation and voice. A fundamental tension for social justice education is how to develop an agent that acts to promote justice while they are living in conditions of injustice. Promoting social justice thus requires a process that is both ‘democratic and participatory, inclusive and affirming of human agency and human capacities for working collaboratively to create change’ (2). In describing the goals of social justice education, Adams, Bell and Griffin (2007: 2) highlight a cyclical (and indeed intersecting) relationship: The goal of social justice education is to enable people to develop the critical analytical tools necessary to understand oppression and their own socialization within oppressive systems, and to develop a sense of agency and capacity to interrupt and change oppressive patterns and behaviors in themselves and in the institutions and communities of which they are a part.

Two characteristics common across social justice education pedagogies is they (a) unveil oppression and the perpetuation of inequities and social injustice, and (b) seek to transform these policies and practices (by developing agency) (Mthethwa-Sommers 2014). (See also Freire 1970; Gay 2001; Ladson-Billing 1984, 1995.) Adams, Bell and Griffin (2007) also base their definition of social justice education on a theory of oppression, believing that a historical and dynamic understanding of oppression in all its forms, characteristics and interconnections is necessary for developing strategies for systematically opposing them. Understanding or unveiling oppression, as well as building critical thinking, is however inherently linked to content knowledge about particular events or situations. Indeed in his review of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) History curriculum for senior secondary schools, Kallaway (2012) stresses that content knowledge is essential for effective history teaching. He explains that ‘understanding and insight’ into ‘key issues and dynamics of a particular era and set of issues and concepts’ allow teachers to critically and

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productively engage with students (2012: 36). In other words, without familiarity with content (including about the nature of oppression), teachers are precluded from developing learners’ critical thinking, which is necessary for developing agency related to social justice. Distilling the goals and processes related to social justice education on a more practical level, Hackman (2005) identifies five essential classroom components that are meant to encourage students, but which, more importantly, support teachers in creating a learning environment that is ‘empowering, democratic and critical thinking’ (103):

1. content mastery; 2. tools for critical analysis; 3. tools for social change; 4. tools for personal reflection; and 5. an awareness of multicultural group dynamics. A school-­based national research study on the perceptions and practices of educators, learners and parents around values in education found that South African teachers either did not fully engage with the vision of promoting critical thinking, or did not think it was practical in their classrooms (DoE 2002). Petersen (2010) believes, however, that this resistance stems from the failure to consider teacher identity and the burden they continue to carry of ‘the memory of their experience living in a racial state, and how this experience shaped and shapes their identity even today’ (S30). Teachers’ identities as educators as well as individuals are indeed firmly tied to ‘their own socialization within oppressive systems’ and hence to social justice education according to Adams, Bell and Griffin (2007: 2). Weldon (2010) asserts that if CPTD in post-­conflict societies fails to recognize and address teachers’ painful experiences of the past, ‘the aim of transforming society through the education system has little chance of succeeding’ (353). Weldon explains further that apartheid victimized both black and white teachers, resulting in racialized identities that devalued whole groups (2010). Petersen (2010) warns that unless educators are given the opportunity to examine their past experiences, they will continue to employ the authoritarian methods they experienced as learners. This victimization is especially relevant in Holocaust studies, and teachers should be able to come to terms with the moral injustice inflicted on them before they are able to understand and promote human rights. Holocaust education views itself as a prism for exploring one’s own experiences of trauma (Fracapane & Haß 2014).

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Using the above approaches and frameworks, this chapter aims to illuminate how a CPTD intervention aimed at building teachers’ capability for teaching the Holocaust can promote social justice in South African secondary schools. This section frames what an intervention can aim towards in order to make a contribution to social justice, namely to promote agency and unveil oppression as a mechanism for achieving enhanced participation in society. From the perspective of the above discussion, the extent to which this is achieved depends on the development of critical analysis tools both for recognizing or unveiling oppression as well as transforming policies and practices associated with injustice, that is, agency. As such the principal factor that guides the analysis of the data in this chapter is whether the teaching of the Holocaust contributes to the development of agency and unveiling of oppression. Opportunities and conditions for promoting critical thinking are therefore also salient to the analysis. In so doing, the case study aims to contribute to understanding the general nature of CPTD in South Africa and how this impacts on social justice.

Methodology Before presenting the findings in the following section, this section outlines how the data on which the findings are based were gathered. A qualitative case study research design was used to gather data for this chapter. Yin (2009: 2) states that case studies are the preferred method when ‘the focus is on a contemporary phenomenon within a real-­life context’. The phenomenon in this chapter is a CPTD intervention, specifically the teacher training of the South African Holocaust and Genocide Foundation (SAHGF, or the Foundation). This case was selected because the articulated intentions are in line with identifying and understanding CPTD interventions that seek to promote social justice. Through ‘effective teacher training’, the Foundation’s goal in promoting the study of the Holocaust is ‘to produce learners who are motivated and empowered to recognize their potential to be effective agents of positive change’ and ultimately contribute to creating ‘a more caring and just society, respecting diversity and healing the injustice of our past’ (Freedman 2014: 141). The Educator Training is designed to help teachers elicit connections between the past and the present, encourage a commitment to the protection of human rights, and engender a sense of social and individual agency, empathy and compassion, as well as a respect for diversity (SAHGF n.d.a).

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In addition, the Educator Training is a CPTD intervention aimed at developing history teachers’ knowledge of, and pedagogical skills for, teaching the Holocaust. It was conceptualized and is being delivered by the SAHGF, a non-­profit organization with Public Benefit Organization (PBO) status. It is registered as an educational trust. The SAHGF was founded in 2007 as an outgrowth of the Cape Town Holocaust Centre (CTHC, or the Centre), founded in 1999 (SAHGF n.d.a). SAHGF sees itself in a unique position to create spaces for dialogue around issues of discrimination and prejudice (Freedman 2014). This CPTD intervention is, moreover, probably the most widespread of its kind in South Africa, a factor that provided added impetus to its selection as a case. To date, the foundation has trained over 4,000 teachers in approximately 2,700 schools across all of South Africa’s nine provinces. Case studies allow for a range of research methods to be employed while the focus remains constant. In other words case studies are comprised of multiple sources of evidence (Yin 2009: 2). The integration of Holocaust studies in the 2007 curriculum became the impetus for the SAHGF to provide system-­wide CPTD to ensure that teachers are capable of teaching the topic, both in terms of content and methodology. This means that while the CPTD intervention is delivered by one service provider, the case study reaches beyond the workshops provided into the classroom via the curriculum as well as the teachers that are trained. The boundaries of this case are thus not physical, but rather related to the flow of content knowledge – particular content knowledge included in the social science or history curriculum and its capability to be appropriated to promote social justice. In particular, then, the case study was bounded by an examination of how the intervention supports teachers to teach this content knowledge in a manner that unveils oppression and develops agency. A number of research methods were drawn on as part of this process. One of the methods was interviews, both with representatives of the programme as well as teachers who had undergone the training.1 Insights into teachers’ perceptions of the impact or effectiveness of the programme in terms of its goals were elicited during the interviews. Another research method was documentary analysis of a range of sources, including the Gr 9 and Gr 11 curriculum, the learning material that accompanies the training, and annual reports of the SAHGF where it reports on this teacher training intervention. Data were collected by the authors with the help of a doctoral research assistant.2 All interviews were transcribed and authors had access to hard copies of the learning material featured in the intervention. Data were analysed by the

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authors in an iterative process that uncovered the themes presented in the following section.

Case study: The educator training In this section, findings are presented in three parts. First, a brief description of how the intervention is constituted and delivered is provided. Second, data are presented that relate to how the intervention could contribute towards unveiling oppression. Third, data are presented that relate to how the intervention could develop agency (of teachers).

Holocaust educator training in South Africa The Foundation partners with the various provincial education departments (PEDs) in the delivery of the training to teachers. The South African education system operates on a devolved model, whereby nine PEDs govern below one national Department of Basic Education (DBE). For example, teacher appointments are held with PEDs and not the national DBE. As such, the professional development of teachers is also the purview of PEDs. In the case of the Holocaust Educator Training CPTD intervention, facilitation and resource material costs are covered by the foundation, while the various PEDs take care of inviting educators and providing the venue for the training (Programme administrator, personal communication, 29 July 2015). The training consists of a four-­hour introductory workshop focused on the content and approaches to it, while the skills development workshop is spread over three sessions of two and a half hours each (CTHC n.d.). In practice, however, it consists of one workshop, as a result of difficulties in getting teachers to be present for a longer period. The Foundation has had to sacrifice design effectiveness for practicality and conducts one-­off, full-­day workshops to accommodate teachers’ resources as well as its own budget. This is especially true for educators coming from rural areas, whose travel costs to the training venues are not covered by their education districts (Lead trainer, personal communication, 29 July 2015). Time constraints also inhibit the delivery of the workshop over a number of sessions, which would have provided teachers with the opportunity to test new methods in their classrooms. Foundation stakeholders have apprehensions around inefficiencies of the national agency to coordinate CPTD. While this shortcoming has allowed the

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Foundation to conduct full-­capacity workshops in the countryside in particular, a concern arising from this lack of oversight is that classrooms full of learners are left without teachers (Programme administrator, personal communication, 29 July 2015). Training facilitators are former school teachers who model teaching methodologies that promote human rights and encourage critical thinking. During the workshop, educator participants are exposed to various resource materials through a range of activities, covering content knowledge of the Holocaust, genocide and human rights. Training delivery is adapted to the needs of participant communities in order to approximate their own teaching contexts (Programme administrator, personal communication, 29 July 2015). The connection to the history of apartheid is examined and participants are encouraged to share their experiences as well as strategies of dealing with prejudice. Through the lens of the Holocaust, participants are guided to reflect on contemporary issues of human rights abuses and collectively examine ways of dealing with them (Programme facilitator, personal communication, 29 July 2015). According to one of the Foundation’s programme facilitators, earlier versions of the training had drawn their attention to the difficulties teachers faced in teaching the Holocaust, with most of the teachers they trained saying they had either left it out, or simply followed whatever they found in the school textbook (Personal communication, 29 July 2015). This led to the further development of the programme to include training in both content and methodology. An integral component of the Educator Training is ‘The Holocaust: Lessons for Humanity’ Resource Kit given to each training participant, which includes an Educator’s Resource Manual (ERM) and Guide for Introductory Film, a documentary DVD, and a Learner’s Interactive Resource Book (LIRB). The Educator’s Resource Manual includes an appendix containing primary sources as well as bibliographical information. Additionally, teachers from rural areas are given poster sets that present a historical overview of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, as well as racism, anti-­semitism and apartheid. The Lessons for Humanity Resource Kit was designed to support the teaching of the CAPS History for both Grade 9 and Grade 11, with the corresponding terms and topics presented in the introductory chapter of the Educator’s Manual. The teaching goals stated in the Resource Manuals mirror those stated in CAPS History. As noted above, the impetus for expanding the Educator Training was the inclusion of the topics on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust in the national curriculum. According to Maringe and Prew (2014), the current integrated CAPS guides all phases of learning in schools, and was designed to stipulate

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content, learning activities, assessment standards, skills and values, as well as the time allotment for each learning area in order to support educators and teachers on a grade-­by-grade, subject-­by-subject basis (Maringe & Prew 2014). The sustainability of the programme can be evaluated from available data. According to its director, SAHGF is fully committed to its goal of using Holocaust education as a tool for producing effective agents of change (Personal communication, 21 August 2015). Evidence of their commitment is seen in the constant redevelopment of the Educator Training as well as their registration of the CPTD intervention with SACE. Moreover, the Foundation has shown a willingness to cooperate and collaborate with other educational stakeholders. Within a year of this research study commencing, the Foundation has been able to make inroads into previously challenging terrain. As of August 2015, the Foundation felt that it was impossible to take the training into Limpopo. Yet less than twelve months later, as of July 2016, the first Educator Training in Limpopo was undertaken (Personal communication, Lead trainer, 28 July 2016). An understanding of the importance of these partnerships is vital in ensuring sustainability. Broadly, their approach can be synthesized into three critical elements: historical understanding; making connections between the past and the present; and the call to action (practice of agency). The first two can result in unveiling oppression associated with the events of the Holocaust, and together the three can contribute to the development of agency.

Unveiling oppression The Educator Training’s underlying theory of change is built around the promotion of human rights as a precursor to (democratic) nation-­building, with the values of reconciliation and healing, tolerance, and respect for diversity seen as building blocks to a more equal and just society. The main lessons revolve around how (mis)conceptions of race lead to prejudice and discrimination, the different responses or choices people make (i.e. victims, perpetrators, bystanders or upstanders) based on these misconceptions, and the eventual violent consequences of such choices. The development of teachers’ content knowledge of the Holocaust is a primary mechanism the Educator Training employs to eliminate the misconceptions; at the same time, it seeks to deepen their knowledge of how oppression is unveiled at a particular moment in history. The Foundation intends to ensure accuracy

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of information as well as a degree of comprehensiveness and complexity with respect to the Holocaust, and this goal prompted the production of the Resource Kit, now an integral component of the CPTD programme (Freedman 2014). The Resource Kit was designed to promote historical understanding. The LIRB provides various sources of information and (for the most part, especially with regard to Holocaust-­related concepts) bibliographical references to these sources. Similarly, the ERM contains a comprehensive and largely chronological (historical) coverage of the events leading to the Holocaust and its consequences. Additionally, historiography is made more explicit in the ERM, with two introductory pages explaining the importance of, and how to work with, sources (SAHGF 2013: 9–10). In the LIRB, connections between past and present prejudices are invoked through questions related to the contents or information sources contained within a particular topic (for assessing understanding), as well as larger questions related to the main topic. These larger questions revolve around current issues and compel the learner to juxtapose the lessons of the past onto the present, in some cases addressing personal identities, in others communal or universal rights. With regard to the development of content knowledge, the teachers referred mostly to the Lessons for Humanity Resource Kit as a material resource, not in the context of their own knowledge development but rather as a tool for teaching. While all teachers thought that the ERM was a very good resource, they also unanimously agreed that there was too much content for the time allotted by the curriculum and therefore had to adapt and select resources according to their learners’ needs. The ERM does not follow the curriculum structure, although it provides a clear table showing clearly where the content relates to CAPS. The relevant section of the Gr 9 curriculum is structured to explain World War II, while the ERM is structured around the topic of the Holocaust and the Jews. The Gr 11 curriculum places more focus on the Holocaust, but it also has an equal emphasis on the perpetrator – Nazi Germany. Therefore, while the ERM contains rich information and background context about the Holocaust, not everything else associated with the topic is in the curriculum. For example, the ERM gives little attention to topics such as ‘Nazi’s aggressive, expansionist foreign policy for Lebensraum’ (DBE 2011: 41), ‘Outbreak of World War II: Axis vs Allies’ (DBE 2011: 41). At the same time, the manual contains topics that are not included in the curriculum, such as propaganda and Kristallnacht, and provides more emphasis on such topics.

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Overall, the ERM does not attempt to follow the structure or contents of the curriculum literally as most textbooks do, but at the end of each chapter it does indicate where in the curriculum it foresees the material fitting in. Often, however, this ‘critical outcome’ is the same for many sections; for example, ‘Communicate effectively using visual, symbolic and/or language skills in various modes’ is repeated several times. This is one of the seven outcomes CAPS expect learners to achieve. The ERM contains rich contextual information that will help learners understand the Holocaust. Teachers cannot, however, use the ERM or the LIRB as an unmediated resource for compliance with the curriculum. Teachers have to select relevant information and activities. Indeed the teachers articulated divergence in opinions around content provided in the ERM. One teacher felt that there was too much ‘irrelevant’ content around Jews, and finds teaching about the origins of anti-Semitism difficult: I felt that they spoke a lot about the Jews . . . more about the Jews . . . and they went back to Jesus’ time and more back, to actually find where the hate for the Jews comes from. I just felt that that particular part, I would not do in detail with my learners because you also have to think of how your kids would respond to that. Teacher 3, Interview

On the other hand, another teacher found this extra content helpful for engaging students: And some of them were extra, like some of the information was extra, like it wasn’t in our textbooks, but I still will add it in. And a lot of the stories that she told, I will still tell to the kids as well. They love like stories and all that, you know, in history. Teacher 2, Interview

Yet another teacher provided a similar response, that the information was simultameously ‘too much’, but still usable: Because we spent a lot of time focusing on various particular aspects of the history – and under my circumstances here at school, where time is regulated by the government curriculum — there isn’t enough time to get through that group work . . . and the focus on some of the material was a lot more than you would in a classroom, and you know, in a classroom full of kids it can go any which way sometimes [as a result of] their distractions. So to maintain a particular programme, though the timetable at every school is different, I thought it’s quite

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idealistic in its nature, but certainly has many useful aspects you could adopt and otherwise incorporate. Teacher 1, Interview

These contrasting views speak to varying Holocaust-­related content knowledge teachers may want to present in their classes. They further demonstrate that teachers do not accept all the information and resources provided to them uncritically. The material does, however, enhance the capabilities teachers have to teach the Holocaust. As the quotations above suggest, they will use their own judgement to gauge how to use this information most effectively for the learners they teach, and their contexts. Enhancing teachers’ capabilities to teach the Holocaust is particularly helpful for those who have not been formally trained to teach history. Programme facilitators found many attendees had not been trained to teach history specifically, but had nonetheless been assigned history classes. One facilitator shared her experience: I have had teachers after the programme say ‘Thank you. I now understand the difference between World War I and World War II’. A lot of them are not history teachers; they have just been put into the history class because there isn’t a history teacher [otherwise available]. Personal communication, July 2015

Finally, the Foundation faces a unique challenge among CPTD providers in that it is viewed with scepticism due to its affiliation with the Jewish community. The ongoing Israeli–Palestinian crisis throws Holocaust education into question, with participants asking how a once-­oppressed people can now become perpetrators of oppression themselves (Nates 2010). One programme facilitator feels that due to these perceptions, ‘teachers lose out on an amazing programme, an amazing learning opportunity, and a vehicle for teaching learners about humanizing people’. One of the teachers mentioned that learners also demonstrate hostility to the topic: . . . a lot of the kids thought it [the Holocaust] was not relevant to them, and a lot of the kids don’t actually care about Jewish history, because of like the crisis going on in Palestine at the moment, there’s like quite a hostile feeling towards Jews from some kids. So we’re trying to deal with that because it’s not okay to be racist or discriminatory in that way. Teacher 2, Interview

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Developing agency The Foundation equates agency to choice, so that – armed with tolerance and respect – learners can become positive agents of change by making responsible choices and defending human rights. Connections between Holocaust education, human rights and democracy abound in the programme material. Critical thinking is further tied to the development of critical thinking amongst learners by teachers. The Educator Training develops teachers’ capability by providing them with pedagogic strategies and resources to develop this facility in their students. The LIRB contains many questions and discussion topics, and the ERM provides a related ‘model’ answer to each of the questions posed in the LIRB. Some of the questions in the LIRB provide a call to action where learners are encouraged to find solutions to current issues; for example, ‘How do we treat people whom we see as being “different” from ourselves?’ (p. 29). All teachers stated that they are using pedagogical skills they learned during the training, although one teacher could not pinpoint a specific methodology. Group work was one of the pedagogical strategies that teachers reported as being good, although one teacher indicated that applying it to large classes is difficult. Obviously, I can’t, because of our class numbers . . . you can’t always do the group work in your class room because of the noise levels, we’ve got like forty minimum in our class, thirty-­eight to forty the minimum in our class, so group work doesn’t always work. Teacher 3, Interview

The designers of the Educator Training initially assumed that teachers who consider critical thinking a valuable and necessary skill would automatically learn how to develop it in their learners. The Educator Training further enhances teachers’ capability to develop agency by allowing them to reflect on their own experiences of oppression. During the Holocaust Educator Training, an activity is integrated in the discussion of content where, by comparing the Holocaust and apartheid, teachers are given an opportunity to share and discuss their memories of the past. However, the limited time allotted for this activity, as well as the lack of follow-­up support, precludes long-­term ‘healing’ or changes of attitude or long-­held beliefs. An evaluation of the Educator Training found that teacher participants felt that more time should be set aside for discussions, debate and drawing connections between the Holocaust and apartheid (Mthent 2008).

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The issue of teacher identity is thus a continuous struggle, and has implications for the development of agency, both for educators and their learners. Over the course of several workshops, it has been noted that many educator participants still find it hard to deal with their personal experiences during apartheid, and as they learn more about the Holocaust they resort to a comparison of suffering, insisting that apartheid should also be regarded as genocide (Nates 2010). This need for their struggles to be recognized may prevent educators from making the necessary connections between the past and the present. As observed during workshops, many educators still displayed prejudices stemming from racism and xenophobia while discussing current events, especially when they felt personally affected (Nates 2010). One teacher’s experience illustrates that tensions and traumas still exists among older teachers: People were quite nasty to each other . . . talking about segregation in Germany and the fact that Jewish people and black people will discriminate against [others] and then because there were a lot of people of different races in the seminar, they started like arguing with each other. That was quite weird: like a very short Afrikaans lady was arguing with a Xhosa lady, and it was almost like our country hadn’t moved forward in any way. I was quite shocked because they were a lot older than me and they were acting like quite immaturely and saying for ‘my point of view’, and I found that quite distracting, so [Facilitator’s name] was like ‘this is good, this is valuable’, but people were actually being rude . . . I didn’t expect that. But maybe it’s good because that can happen in your classroom, I guess. Teacher 2, Interview

The last quotation suggests that CPTD interventions which address teachers’ identity remain relevant more than two decades after apartheid.

Conclusion This chapter probed the current state of continuing professional teacher development (CPTD) in South Africa with a view to identifying and understanding interventions that seek to promote social justice. Specifically, this chapter aimed to illuminate how a CPTD intervention aimed at building teachers’ capability for teaching the Holocaust can promote social justice in South African secondary schools. It used a case study design to explore a CPTD intervention focused on developing history teachers’ knowledge and skills in

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teaching the Holocaust as a way to empower and motivate learners to become effective agents of change. The case study adopted a social justice lens to explore the program’s theoretical underpinnings and the conditions around which it is being implemented. The chapter contends that an intervention can aim to contribute to social justice by promoting the development of agency and unveiling oppression as mechanisms for achieving enhanced participation in society. It further argues that the development of critical analysis tools is commensurate with recognizing or unveiling oppression, as well as transforming policies and practices associated with injustice. This is agency. As such, the foremost factors that guided the analysis of the data in this chapter are how the teaching of the Holocaust contributes to the development of agency and the recognition of oppression. Opportunities and conditions for promoting critical thinking were also salient to the analysis. Data collected via document reviews of current national and educational policy frameworks, (training) Resource Manual, reports and semi-­structured interviews with programme representatives and teachers illustrated that the study of Holocaust education engenders historical understanding and the capacity to make connections between the past and the present, but requires an explicit call to action in order to activate its transformative role. The development of the first two capabilities can result in unveiling oppression associated with the events of the Holocaust; however, the development of actual agency can happen only when there is a call to action. During the programme, teachers are stimulated to develop content knowledge, the capacity to encourage critical thinking in learners, and an understanding and appreciation of human rights. During the intervention teachers are presented and left with access to content knowledge and learning material. The Lessons for Humanity tool kit is an excellent example of a resource for teachers to teach historical events. It offers teachers support on a number of levels. The most significant for the development of critical thinking is content knowledge and examples of primary resources that can be used for teaching history. The learning material includes exercises that constitute opportunities to develop critical thinking in learners, and an understanding and appreciation of human rights. The Educator Training for Holocaust education is an example of a merger between curriculum content and social justice. Indeed it represents an exemplary model for the development of history textbooks or learning material. The theoretical framework highlights a tension inherent in developing agency – that is an individual’s autonomy to act – commensurate with justice

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under conditions where he or she experience only injustice. Social justice education or pedagogies that promote critical thinking in order that individuals are able to first identify oppression, and then act in ways that would eliminate it, are essential. Critical thinking was moreover illustrated to rest on thorough content knowledge. It follows that one cannot engage critically with something unless one has basic knowledge of it. It further follows that the more knowledge one has of a particular matter, the more analytical one may be about it. The CPTD intervention of Educator Holocaust Training illustrates a conundrum for content knowledge, though. Content knowledge is never presented uncritically. As such there are limitations for how critical thinking can be developed when it is promoted by special interest groups. Because, in this case, the material has been developed by a special interest group, it does risk being regarded as propaganda. Theoretically speaking, however, propaganda cannot exist under conditions of freedom of speech and democratic rule. No teacher is forced to attend the training or to use the material. Indeed the teachers interviewed were clear about the need to be selective in its use, as well as the value they found in it. Thus the Educator Training for the Holocaust does enhance teachers’ ability to promote social justice to the extent that the programme equips them with both the knowledge and material to unveil oppression and develop agency. The content presents opportunities for fruitful engagements that could result in the development of critical thinking, despite the scepticism and hostility associated with Jewish history and contemporary Palestine. In other words the scepticism and hostility provide learners and teachers with opportunities to engage with controversial matters in the relatively ‘safe’ space of the classroom. And yet here is where the ERM founders: it does not provide teachers with tools to mediate the current Israeli–Palestinian crisis. As Teacher 2 said, some of the learners display hostility. Given that the current conflict between Israel and Palestine began subsequent to World War II, when Jewish people were provided with a ‘homeland’ by the British in 1948 as ‘compensation’ for their loss, it would be useful for the ERM to provide teachers with support in how best to explain the resulting, and ongoing, regional tensions to learners. Time constraints also impact on the Educator Training, in terms of both the CPTD intervention itself and application of the skills in the classroom. Indeed time may be the most significant variable in defining the efficacy of CPTD interventions. In this particular intervention, time has a number of peculiar dynamics. Understanding and building content knowledge of a particular event in history is embedded within the intervention. The Foundation has limited time to present the workshop; teachers have limited time to attend it. Teachers also

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have limited time within the curriculum to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired during the CPTD intervention. Embedding social justice within curriculum content gives it a greater chance of being applied, given that the curriculum has to be taught. The findings suggest that promoting social justice in CPTD interventions is a complex task that requires a dynamic interplay with content knowledge and critical thinking. Herein lie challenges in that critical thinking is best developed on the cusp of the controversial, in a space where content knowledge is contested and tenuous. Given that time for CPTD interventions is a scarce commodity, building teachers’ capability for promoting social justice in South African secondary schools requires constant attention and support.

Notes 1 The authors wish to acknowledge the time that interviewees willingly donated to this project. 2 The authors wish to acknowledge Joyce Raanhuis, who kindly assisted with conducting interviews with teachers, as well as Lorna Balie, who processed the data.

References Adams, M., L.A. Bell and P. Griffin (eds) (2007), Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, London: Routledge. Adler, J. (2002), ‘Global and Local Challenges of Teacher Development’, in J. Adler and Y. Reed (eds), Challenges of Teacher Development: An Investigation of Take Up in South Africa, pp. 1–16, Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers. Adler, P.A. and P. Adler (1994), ‘Observational Techniques’, in N.K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln (eds), Handbook of Qualitative Research, 377–92, London: SAGE. Badat, S. and Y. Sayed (2014), ‘Post-1994 South African Education: The Challenge of Social Justice’, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 652 (1): 127–148. Chisholm, L. (2005), ‘The Making of South Africa’s National Curriculum Statement’, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 37 (2): 193–208. Chisholm, L. (2015), ‘Curriculum Transition in Germany and South Africa: 1990–2010’, Comparative Education, 51 (3): 401–18. Christie, P. (2016), ‘Educational Change in Post-­conflict Contexts: Reflections on the South African Experience 20 Years Later’, Globalisation, Societies and Education, 14 (3): 434–46.

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Clandinin, D.J., J. Long, L. Schaefer, C.A. Downey, P. Steeves, E. Pinnegar, S. McKenzie Robblee and S. Wnuk (2015), ‘Early Career Teacher Attrition: Intentions of Teachers Beginning’, Teaching Education, 26 (1): 1–16. Department of Basic Education (DBE) (2011), Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement. Pretoria: Government Printing Works. Department of Basic Education (DBE) & Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) (2011), ‘Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa: 2011–2025’ (Full Edition), Pretoria: DBE. Department of Education (DoE) (1997), Government Gazette (No. 18051, 6 June) Draft Statement on the National Curriculum for Grades 1–9, Pretoria: Government Printer. Department of Education (DoE) (2002), ‘Values, Education and Democracy’: School-­ based research report, Pretoria: DoE. Department of Education (DoE) (2006), National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (NPFTED), Pretoria: DoE. ‘Educator Training’, Cape Town Holocaust Centre. Accessed 15 July 2015. http://www. ctholocaust.co.za/cape-­town/cape_town-­educator_training.htm EFA (2014), Teaching and Learning: Achieving Quality for All. Flores-Crespo, P. (2007), ‘Situating Education in the Human Capabilities Approach’, in M. Walker and E. Unterhalter (eds), Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach and Social Justice in Education, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Fraser, N. (2008), Scales of Justice: Reimagining Political Space in a Globalizing World, Cambridge: Polity Press. Freedman, Richard (2014), ‘Engaging with Holocaust Education in Post-­apartheid South Africa’, in K. Fracapane and M. Haß (eds), Holocaust Education in a Global Context, 134–42, Paris: UNESCO. ‘History of SAHGF’, South African Holocaust and Genocide Foundation. Accessed 15 July 2015. http://www.holocaust.org.za/pages/about-­the-foundation-­history.htm Joint Education Trust (JET) (1996), ‘The National Teacher Education Audit: NGO Sector’, Johannesburg: Danish International Development Agency (sponsor). Kallaway, P. (2012), ‘History in Senior Secondary School CAPS 2012 and Beyond: A Comment’, Yesterday and Today, (7): 23–62. Maringe, F. and M. Prew (eds) (2014), ‘Twenty Years of Education Transformation in Gauteng 1994 to 2014: An Independent Review’, Johannesburg: Gauteng Department of Education. Maserow, J. (2015), ‘Teachers by Numbers: Finding a Way In (A Numerical Overview of the Teaching Profession)’, in J. Maserow (ed.), Taking Equal Education into the Classroom, Cape Town: Equal Education. Mthethwa-Sommers, S. (2014), ‘What Is Social Justice Education?’, in Narratives of Social Justice Educators, 7–25, Berlin: Springer International Publishing. Nates, T. (2010), ‘ “But, apartheid was also genocide . . . What about our suffering?” Teaching the Holocaust in South Africa: Opportunities and Challenges’, Intercultural Education, 21 (S1): S17–S26.

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Nates, T. (2012), ‘Layers of Memory in South Africa’, Reinventing Peace (blog), 2 May. https://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/2012/05/02/layers-­of-memory-­in-south-­africa/ Petersen, T. (2010), ‘Moving Beyond the Toolbox: Teaching Human Rights Through Teaching the Holocaust in Post-apartheid South Africa’, Intercultural Education, 21 (S1): S27–S31. Postma, D., C.A. Spreen and S. Vally (2015), ‘Education for Social Change and Critical Praxis in South Africa’, Education as Change, 19 (2): 1–9. Sayed, Y. and R. Ahmed (2015), ‘Education Quality, and Teaching and Learning in the Post-2015 Education Agenda’, International Journal of Educational Development, 40: 330–38. Sen, A. (2003), ‘Development as Capability Expansion’ in A.K.S. Fukuda-Parr and S. Kumar (eds), Readings in Human Development, New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Siebörger, R. (1998), ‘How the Outcomes Came Out. A Personal Account of and Reflections on the Initial Process of Development of Curriculum 2005’, in N. Bak (ed.), Going for the Gap, 44–52, Cape Town: Juta. South African Holocaust and Genocide Foundation (SAHGF) (2013), The Holocaust Lessons for Humanity: Educator’s Resource Manual, Cape Town: Cape Town Holocaust Centre. Taylor, N. and J. Muller (2014), ‘Equity Deferred: South African Schooling Two Decades into Democracy’, in J. Clark (ed.), Closing the Achievement Gap from an International Perspective: Transforming STEM for Effective Education, 265–282, Netherlands: Springer. Terzi, L. (2007), ‘The Capability to be Educated’, in M. Walker and E. Unterhalter (eds), Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach and Social Justice in Education, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Tikly, L. (2011), ‘A Roadblock to Social Justice? An Analysis and Critique of the South African Education Roadmap’, International Journal of Educational Development, 31 (1): 86–94. Tikly, L. and A.M. Barrett (2011), ‘Social Justice, Capabilities and the Quality of Education in Low Income Countries’, International Journal of Educational Development, 31 (1): 3–14. UNESCO (2014), Holocaust Education in a Global Context Holocaust Education in a Global Context. Van den Berg, O. and D. Meerkotter (1993), ‘Action Research in South Africa: Classroom Transformation in a Political Cauldron’, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta, GA. ‘Vision/Mission’, South African Holocaust and Genocide Foundation. Accessed 15 July 2015. http://www.holocaust.org.za/pages/about-­the-foundation-­vision_mission.htm Vries, P.D. (1989), ‘South African Black Teachers and the Academic Paper Chase’, British Journal of Sociology of Education, 10 (4): 449–58. Walker, M. (2006), ‘Towards a Capability-based Theory of Social Justice for Education Policy-making’, Journal of Education Policy, 21 (2): 163–85.

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Walker, M. and E. Unterhalter (2007), ‘The Capability Approach: Its Potential for Work in Education’, in M. Walker and E. Unterhalter (eds), Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach and Social Justice in Education, New York: Palgrave Macmillan Welch, T. (2002), ‘Teacher Education in South Africa Before, During and After Apartheid: An Overview’, in J. Adler and Y. Reed (eds), Challenges of Teacher Development: An Investigation of Take Up in South Africa, 17–35, Pretoria: Van Schaik. Weldon, G. (2010). ‘Post-­conflict Teacher Development: Facing the Past in South Africa’, Journal of Moral Education, 39 (3): 353–64. World Bank (2014), ‘South Africa Economic Update: Fiscal Policy and Redistribution in an Unequal Society’, South Africa Economic Update 6, Washington, DC: World Bank. Yin, R.K. (2009), Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

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Key Initiatives in Rwandan Teachers’ CPD after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi Eugene Ndabaga

University of Rwanda, College of Education, Rwanda

Claudien Ntahomvukiye

University of Rwanda, College of Education, Rwanda

Yunus Omar

Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE), Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Introduction Peacebuilding processes in post-­conflict countries have, in the main, focused on external models of conflict prevention and governance. In so doing, these processes have largely neglected locally embedded peacebuilding concepts. In particular, the role of education, and in particular the role of teachers as agents of peacebuilding, has been overlooked. This chapter focuses on this latter role in post-­genocide Rwanda, with a focus on the years during which Rwanda has been dealing with the multiple effects of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. In particular, the chapter focuses on specific interventions providing the continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers in post-­genocide Rwanda as a way of enabling teachers (or not) to act as peacebuilding agents in their post-­conflict country. Towards this, the chapter considers the Rwandan government’s peacebuilding and unity initiatives after the 1994 genocide. One of the government’s stated primary objectives is to rebuild the nation that was economically, morally, ethically, and above all, physically destroyed by its own people. In this context, a central vexing concept is that teachers were used as focused, deliberate instruments of spreading hatred among young people before and during the genocide.

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This chapter relies on data collected in a UK Economic and Social Research Council/Department for International Development research project, ‘Teachers as agents of peacebuilding in post-­conflict contexts’. The research was conducted in two post-­conflict countries: Rwanda, in its post–1994 genocide context; and South Africa, which emerged from its apartheid past in 1994. In the Rwandan context, the research project was premised on the following main research question: ‘What are the mechanisms used to professionally inculcate peace values among teachers for further social transformation, particularly through education for sustainable peace?’ The government of Rwanda has recently rolled out a new, competence-­based curriculum which claims to enhance and consolidate social cohesion and peacebuilding in Rwandan schools, and establishes expressed linkages and co-­ operation in pursuit of peace building with a range of state institutions as well as international NGOs. The success of this implementation hinges on teachers: their ability to reform their own pedagogical practices, upgrade their knowledge on topics mandated within the curriculum, and their understanding of and adherence with the rationale behind the new curriculum. The main focus of this chapter is a reviewof two key peacebuilding programmes, each focusing on particular approaches to this issue by the Rwandan government. The first programme to be discussed is the National Itorero Commission (NIC), a state-­driven initiative designed to encourage patriotism and an ethic of service to the post-1994 Rwandan state. The second is the Peace and Values Based Education programme, introduced in 2008 by the Aegis Trust, a UK-based NGO dedicated to the prevention of genocide. Before these two programmes are discussed, we provide a broad overview of relevant aspects of peacebuilding literature in post-­genocide Rwanda, with the aim of contextualizing the role of teachers in building a conflict-­free country.

Teachers and peacebuilding in post-­genocide Rwanda: A review of relevant literature According to Rutazibwa (1999), the roots of ‘genocide ideology’ in Rwanda were formed during the colonial era, and this ‘ideology’ was taught across all levels of education. Gasanabo (2004) analysed the history textbooks and associated teaching materials used in Rwanda from 1962 to 1994 and concluded that the history taught at both primary and secondary levels propagated a version of the past based largely on colonial stereotypes of Rwandan history. He asserts that

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this process of education-­cum-indoctrination was a major driver of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and that teachers themselves were among the key agents of undermining the values and principles that were held sacrosanct in pre-­genocide Rwandan society. However, teachers were also victims of the genocide, and during the perpetration of the 1994 atrocities they suffered an enormous amount of psychological trauma, which negatively affected their teaching and interaction with children (Yohani 2015). Many of the teachers left the country and many others became internally displaced (Obura 2003). Teachers, though, are positioned to promote peace within post-­genocide Rwanda. Research demonstrates that teachers are key to the process of social reconstruction following upheaval. Wentzel & Looney (2007) posit that if the school is to nurture and promote positive social interaction amongst groups that self-­identify with markers of social difference, like ethnic group or race, then the teachers in those schools must espouse and model the desired values in those schools. Rutayisire (2004) notes that teachers are in an influential position to be able to shape learners’ identities, and model and impart values of mutual respect and tolerance. Teachers are also well positioned to teach the skills required for civic participation, and for gainful employment. Teachers and their practice feature heavily in the government’s re-­envisioning of Rwanda, especially in their role as the key influences of the next generation. In post-­genocide Rwanda, Rwandan children are encouraged, and expected, to do whatever is necessary to live peacefully with each other without any form of discrimination based on stated or perceived differences between them. Hughes and Chen (2011) argue that a teacher’s own conduct is an essential guide in moulding a child’s moral behaviour. A role-­modelling teacher should show a genuine interest in all students and nurture a relationship with each of them (Izadinia 2012). In addition, role-­modelling teachers should deal with students honestly and in a trustworthy manner; nurture mutual trust and respect with and among students; treat their students respectfully by believing in their inherent dignity; and execute their responsibilities in morally accountable ways (Monteiro, Almeida and Vasconcelos 2012). In assessing the roles of teachers in the genocide and post-­genocide periods, a critical and ultra-­complex conceptual area is foregrounded. It is the same generation of surviving teachers, many of whom perpetrated acts of extreme violence against fellow teachers, and are known by local communities and the families of their victims, who are now regarded by the state as part of the solution in rebuilding not only the education system, but society as a whole (NIC 2011).

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It is for this reason that the training of teachers in the area of peacebuilding is considered vital for the promotion of equity, peace and social cohesion in Rwanda. In the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, a persistent ideology of hatred continues to exist in parts of Rwanda, a not unexpected phenomenon. In this regard, it is deemed crucial to help teachers reconstruct their professional and ethical conduct. A crucial element supplementing this ideal is that the government of Rwanda determined that history should be taught objectively, and that teachers should refrain from using racial propaganda (Mafeza 2013). To put this into practice, teachers were instructed to emphasize on peace and unity in schools, so that students learn to coexist in ways that undermine discrimination and exclusion. Therefore, the training of teachers in post-­genocide Rwanda was deemed critical, in that teachers had to clearly understand Rwanda’s past, and to subsequently encourage practices of reconciliation. Given the importance accorded to teachers’ roles in post-­genocide national reconstruction, the Rwandan government is convinced that the most effective method of genocide-­prevention, and the fostering of a common citizenship, is through the education and training of teachers. Consequently, the government of Rwanda has determined that strategies for teachers’ CPD are essential in the pursuit of peace in a society decimated by genocide a mere two decades before. However, whether those aspirations are carried into reality is a question for consideration, as few CPD programmes exist, especially those structured to engage teachers in long-­term, reflective processes of personal change and continued professional enhancement. Primary focus in reforming education has instead been on the issuance of the competency-­based curriculum, which includes the key themes of social cohesion and community peacebuilding. These themes were developed to reflect peacebuilding in its broadest sense, and must be taught across all subjects, including those where it is not traditionally found, such as the natural sciences and mathematics. Teaching peace, reconciliation, tolerance, justice, democracy, patriotism, solidarity and national unity have become topics of great importance in primary and secondary schools. Subjects related to genocide have also been incorporated into the Rwandan primary and secondary curriculum. Explaining the rationale of the new curriculum, the chairperson of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) indicated that young people needed to know the origins and causes of the deep divisions that have shaped recent relations between Rwandans. If this was not taught, future generations would have a skewed, partial vision of the past, one that was not informed by ‘objective facts’ (New Times 2008).

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Teaching learners about genocide is an understandably complex endeavour that requires qualified personnel and appropriate teaching methods. Findings from interviews conducted with teachers revealed that a great number of them do not feel comfortable while giving lessons on this subject, as they consider it a ‘sensitive’ issue. They rationalized this mindset by stating that teaching students about tragic and traumatizing events would affect learners psychologically, as well as affect their (teachers’) own mental states. Given the short period between the end of the genocide and the present, it is clear that Rwandan teachers are not yet sufficiently well trained to deal with issues arising from the genocide, and the majority of teachers do not possess the knowledge or repertoire of pedagogic skills to teach a ‘subject’ (genocide) which is not related to their academic backgrounds. It is in this context that this chapter posits that there is a clear and urgent need for CPD for teachers, in order to equip them with the required skills to deal with such sensitive topics. CPD programmes for teachers are developed and presented by a variety of actors, including the state. In the main, CPD programmes orient teachers to curriculum or examination changes, and upgrading qualification levels. In the Rwandan situation, where both qualified and unqualified teachers are employed in schools, pre-­service and in-­service education (for the attainment of basic teaching qualifications) occur simultaneously. It is in this context that the chapter now turns to an appraisal of two interventions intended to promote teachers’ understandings of, and increased knowledge about, the content and pedagogies required to create the conditions for peace, reconciliation and the building of a new, inclusive Rwandan identity that makes a decisive break from the violent past. The two interventions discussed in the following pages are those run under the auspices of the National Itorero Commission (NIC), which represents a ‘home-­grown’ initiative, and the Aegis Trust, an external organisation providing support to teachers.

Rwandan post-­genocide peacebuilding interventions The National Itorero Commission (NIC), in collaboration with the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) Itorero ry’igihugu (the National Itorero Commission, NIC) was established in order to ‘shape’ and ‘change the mindset’ of the Rwandan people in the postgenocide era (NIC 2011). The programme has now been delivered to hundreds

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of thousands of Rwandans, including teachers from primary through to university level. Itorero ry’igihugu was introduced in 2009, and is designed to contribute to solving problems related to mindset, violent behaviour and undesirable practices, by applying Rwandan cultural values (NURC 2009). It is noted here that no formulation of what constitutes ‘Rwandan cultural values’, or any set of national values, for that matter, is uncontested, even though these contestations may not be articulated in the public domain. Itorero is not a teacher-­specific intervention, but as a tool for nationalising and sensitising Rwandans in general, it has special application for teachers, with the president of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission indicating that they are ‘key stakeholders in social and economic development of our country [and] we want them to use the Rwandan culture to discuss and find solutions to national problems. Teachers have a big role to play in unity and reconciliation and Itorero will help. ’ (New Times 2008). It is thus considered by the government as a form of CPD, orienting teachers towards the ‘correct’ values and forms of patriotism to pass on to the youth of the nation. While it is not CPD, it is a ‘home-­grown solution’ and often explicitly identified as such, part of the stable of programmes since 2005 that the Rwandan state consider lynchpins within its remarkable recent progress (Rwabyoma 2016). Harris (2007) stresses that each country has its own unique circumstances and challenges to deal with, and argues that countries also possess the resources to solve their problems, in partnership with external agencies. Zewde (2010) states that home-­grown approaches have been advanced as foundational for successful discussions about community, and by extension, national development in postgenocide Rwanda. In recent years, as stated by Haller (2001), African indigenous institutions and locally developed, systems and processes have had considerable potential to act as catalysts in fostering innovation. He cites examples of these systems in, among others, Benin, the Cape Verde Islands, Congo, Malawi, Mali and South Africa. In all of these countries, he asserts, institutions do exist at the traditional level for the peaceful resolution of political crises. Home-­grown solutions in Rwanda are considered to be practices developed by the government and citizens based on local opportunities, cultural values and history in order to fast-­track their development (RGB 2014). They are locally created solutions, and thus are appropriate to the local development and context. Arguably, these home-­grown solutions have been the foundation of Rwandan development successes since the 1994 genocide, particularly with regard to uniting former perpetrators of violence and their victims. The particular form of civic education also falls within the concept of ‘home-­grown’; heavy investment

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in civic education is argued to reverse what it characterizes as an incorrectly portrayed history (colonial representations of a Rwandan past that were sustained and carried through the pre-­genocide period). The government has thus moved to appropriate the ‘best practices’ of Rwandan culture as a practical means of addressing social problems being faced by the country (NURC 2009). Examples of locally originated solution initiated in the post-­genocide period are presented here. Those listed here are courses and programmes which include some form of training around issues of peacebuilding. A number of courses have been initiated, including Ndi umunyarwanda (I am a Rwandan), and Ubumwe n’ubwiyunge (Unity and reconciliation). During the presentation of these courses, participating teachers are made aware of how the state frames teachers’ roles in the post-­genocide era. Teachers are not only supposed to impart academic knowledge to learners, but also instruct them in ‘Rwandan values, which include, inter alia: gusabana (get-­together); inyangamugayo (to become Rwandans with integrity); gufatanya (communal help) and umuganda (national and community work). In addition, a range of other government programmes have been devised. Among these are ingando (civic education) and itorero ry’igihugu (national civil school), alongside several others that play a crucial role in building a uniform, cohesive society among Rwandans to ensure peace. These courses and programmes are meant to provide a forum for Rwandans of all social strata to discuss national unity, reconciliation and the other social and development issues affecting the country after the 1994 genocide. Itorero is the most recent and most prominent intervention in this respect. Through Itorero, the government has sought to institutionalise what it considers a culture of serving the country to encourage patriotism, positive values, responsibility and selfless service – attributes that contribute to accelerating progress, and promote social cohesion, peace and reconciliation and democratic governance. Before the colonial period, the government narrative indicates, Rwandans lived in harmony, regardless of difference, in mixed communities. This, it is indicated, is as a result of a particular form of Rwandan school known as itorero: meetings and training camps modelled on military trainings which ‘seek to promote a specific image of Rwanda’ (Ingelaere 2010: 53). It is used as a mechanism through which the state or governing authorities convey messages regarding an ‘official’ narrative of national culture in different areas such as language, patriotism, social relations, sports, dance, songs and the defence of the nation. As a result, young Rwandans would grow with an understanding of, and attachment to a national, inclusive culture. Participants in itorero schools were

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encouraged to discuss different national programmes and the positive values of Rwandan culture. Again, it is noted that the official narrative about the precolonial period is silent about possible struggles among various groups (for power, status, access to resources, assertion of cultural values, etc), and are not reflected in the counterpoint narrative to the colonial archive. That being said, the NIC is now attempting to build on this defined, unproblematic pre-­colonial tradition. As stipulated in the 2003 Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda, it is necessary to draw from history the positive values which characterized ancestral ways of living and governance, and that this must be the basis for the current existence and development of the Rwandan nation. As part of the efforts to reconstruct Rwanda and nurture a shared national identity, the government draws on selected positive aspects of pre-­colonial Rwandan culture and traditional practices to enrich and adapt its development programmes to the country’s present, post-­genocide needs and context. The vision of itorero ry’Igihugu is for all Rwandans to share a common mindset based on similar values with the purpose of promoting unity and patriotism. The programme seeks to mentor the Rwandan citizens to have a positive attitude and to solve problems related to mindset, bad behaviour and bad practices through applying Rwandan cultural values (NURC 2009). The main objective of itorero ry’ igihugu is to build a Rwandan citizen characterized by values identified and defined according to the orientation of the Rwandan government. During an interview, the chairman of the NURC explained that the itorero programme’s objective is to promote Rwandan values and cultivate leaders who strive for the development of the community. He went on to state that NURC is a Rwandan civic education institution whose principal aim is to teach all Rwandese to maintain their culture through its different values such as national unity, social solidarity, patriotism, integrity, bravery and tolerance. Data from interviews with teachers who attended itorero showed their aptitude at resolving conflicts and fighting genocide-­related ideologies in their schools and universities. During these interviews, teachers claimed that the training had been extremely helpful, and a significant number of teachers who had been trained in the itorero programmes assisted during the Gacaca trials. ‘Gacaca’ can be translated in many ways, but one rendering, as ‘justice amongst the grass’, refers to community-­based organs of justice in which genocide perpetrators talk about the roles they played during the atrocities and confess their crimes. Gacaca offered the victims of the genocide one of the most important outcomes of this justice process, in the frequent revelations of the physical remains of the victims’ relatives (Wielenga and Harris 2011), thereby

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emphasizing the needs of the victims and a desire to‘heal the wounds of genocide’ (Sarkin 2001). Through civic education programmes, the government of Rwanda is attempting to create good citizens by exorcizing the genocide, and replacing historical atrocities with future visions of reconciliation and unity (Turner 2014). Returning to the question of teacher CPD, it appears that itorero functions less as a tool for improving teachers’ professional practice, and more of a leadership indoctrination in which teachers, as with other intorero graduates (‘intore’), are expected to become ‘opinion leaders’, ‘fighters for social change’ and facilitators to ‘change bad mentalities’ (Purdekova 2012:196). The framing of itorero as CPD speaks to the orientation of the government when it comes to teacher training and priorities: that the moral and political foundation of teachers, as both civil servants and ‘agents of change’ (ibid.), are of more immediate importance than training in pedagogy or methodology. This indicates a choice within the government, one which foregrounds a form of social cohesion over the academic development of learners. This does, however, provide a clear sense of identity and purpose for teachers, as arms of the government in implementing an ambitious plan for development within the nation. When the itorero programme was established, it faced significant challenges, including a lack of trust between participants and facilitators as well as low-­ quality facilities. These issues were slowly overcome as more resources were dedicated to the programme. Over time, the objectives of the programme were strengthened, and via government influence, the programme was expanded to reach a large number of Rwandans. The initiatives of itorero were supported by activities of some NGOs, as discussed below.

The Aegis Trust The Aegis Trust, the other teacher CPD intervention considered within this chapter, first introduced the Peace and Values-Based Education Programme in 2008. Central to this programme is the teaching of history, with the goal of enabling teachers and learners to relate to, and understand, the historical significance of complex topics such as the genocide against the Tutsi, and other examples of genocide and reconciliation initiatives. Gasanabo et  al. (2016) indicate that the Aegis Trust Peace Education Programme has two strands:

1. onsite peace education at the Kigali Genocide Memorial (KGM); and 2. the Outreach Peace Education Programme (known as Community Peace Education).

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The onsite programme organizes the following activities:

1. learners’ workshops: Peace education teaching through a learner-­centred approach, with active and interactive participation from students, while the teacher acts as a facilitator. 2. teachers’ training workshops: Peace education training for teachers to enable them to appropriately deliver the student workshops described above, using a learner-­centred, participatory, active and interactive (LC/P/A/I) teaching methodological approach. 3. an educational exhibition that displays experiences shared by survivors, perpetrators and rescuers. In the onsite programme, the training equips teachers with methodology and practical knowledge, using peace education theories, relevant practice and inspiration from stories and testimonies from the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, as well as peacemakers’ stories. After the training, teachers are given educational support materials that they can use to teach the peace component in class, but also to initiate a conversation in their communities. To achieve its mission, the Aegis Trust came up with its own peace model/ framework that can be referred to when delivering peace education. This model/ framework posits that sustainable peace is achieved from a combination of the following three elements: looking back; looking at the present; and looking forward. This is true not only for critical thinking and educating about values and positive attitudes, but also for training for sustainable livelihoods. Trained teachers are prominent members of society, and, as such, they are respected. One of the trainers in the programme indicated: ‘We have had positive feedback from different parts of Rwanda about teachers using our materials to challenge communities positively, and to spark discussion on unity and reconciliation. But (we’ve also heard) stories about children who are challenging parents and educators to change behaviours for improved quality in the relations within the communities’ (A teacher from school D). The teachers trained by the Aegis Trust incorporated storytelling into their teaching. The use of audio-­visual and live testimonies has proven to be an effective method to teach life skills, including critical thinking, empathy, and personal responsibility. Together with its partners, the Aegis Trust has worked closely with the Rwandan Ministry of Education, via the Rwanda Education Board, to infuse peace education into the content and methodology of the new school curriculum at all levels, and in all subject areas. This new curriculum has been taught in schools countrywide since the beginning of the 2016 academic

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year, a major milestone for the country, and an important step towards creating communities that are resistant to the divisions that can lead to genocide (Gasanabo 2016). Jegede (2002) has observed that teacher-­training systems in Africa have failed to adhere to the provisions of national policies on education. He notes that teacher education should be cognisant of changes in methodology and in curriculum, and that teachers should be regularly exposed to innovations in their professions. In this regard, the Aegis Trust plans to work with the University of Rwanda College Of Education (UR-CE) to make the implementation of the new school curriculum possible through a variety of initiatives, including preservice teacher training. One of the challenges the Aegis Trust programme faces is related to resolving conflicting messages from parents and teachers. Trainees have repeatedly highlighted the challenge for young people who must navigate information received from school, where peace education is received, and from home, where parents may have strong views that do not align with the values inherent in peace education. Therefore, applying what has been learned at school would be particularly difficult if parents are unaware of the aims and content of the new curriculum, and do not support these ideals. Having outlined key aspects of the two programmes, we now analyse the core concepts that have emerged from the discussion.

Analysis The 1994 Rwanda genocide and its aftermath is one of the most horrific man- made calamities in recorded history. Within a period of three months, more than one million people were killed (Obura 2003). The legacy of this violence is ongoing suffering, economic loss and tension among Rwandans. However, since the genocide, the government of Rwanda has introduced a wide range of interventions to promote reconciliation and positive group relations. The state has recognized the specific role that education could play in the peacebuilding process, and has focused its initiatives in this area on teachers of all levels. During the 1994 genocide, schools closed completely. Much of the educational infrastructure was destroyed and schools themselves were often sites of mass atrocities. About 75 per cent of the teacher corpus were killed, fled the country, or were imprisoned on genocide charges (Obura 2003). It is estimated that

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32 per cent of the total of primary schools were destroyed and some 3,000 primary school teachers lost through death or flight (Freedman et al. 2004). The main objective of the post–1994 government was to reshape and try to restart the education system which had been decimated during the genocide. The government believes that education should be aimed at recreating in young people the values which had been eroded over time (MINEDUC 2003).The government adopted a policy to rebuild the country as a nation characterized by key values such as unity, respect for human rights, patriotism and hard work. The government of Rwanda recognizes that teachers are at the forefront of the aim to inculcate these values, and also acknowledges that teachers’ roles involve more than simply standing in front of a classroom and lecturing. Teachers also have a significant responsibility in preparing young people to lead successful, productive and decent lives. As stipulated in the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP), teachers must have ‘healthy’ attitudes and should possess ‘rich’ values. The ESSP also states that teachers have the power to shape the attitudes and skills of young people toward peaceful human relations. How ‘healthy’ attitudes and ‘rich’ values are defined are not indicated. Vision 2020, a government development programme, was launched in 2000, and has as its main objective the transformation of Rwanda into a knowledgebased, middle-­income country. It also outline measures to effectively reduce poverty and health problems, and make the nation united and democratic. Vision 2020 indicates that through teaching young children the values of respect, tolerance and empathy, and by equipping them with the necessary skills to resolve conflict in a non-­violent manner, they are provided with the tools they need to foster peaceful relations at home, at school and around the country throughout their lives. Before the 1994 genocide, and generally in the recent past, the role of a teacher was predominantly limited to being a source of information. In the present, though, the definition and responsibilities of the role have increased significantly. In this context, Prasad (2013) indicates that it is absolutely necessary for teachers to be continuously trained in order to refresh their knowledge and skills. Every Rwandan teacher needs to be aware of the necessity for peacebuilding, and hence any Rwandan teacher has to refresh his or her teaching skills for teaching all Rwandan learners about what it entails to be a good citizen, to be patriotic, as well as what it means to be a Rwandan and a global citizen. Discussing the importance of training, a teacher from one of the western province schools of Rwanda argued that:

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. . . the role of teachers is to engage learners to be collaborative with their fellow learners, and with all Rwandans from all walks of life, in order to move towards a culture of peace not only at school, but also in their everyday life. Therefore the CPD training we get through the National Itorero Commission (NIC) is of paramount importance. Teacher from school G

Rwandan teachers view CPD as being of great importance, and include in their ranking of importance all seminars and workshops, at school, district and national levels. The rationale is that school administrations and the Ministry of Education have a mandate to shape young Rwandans as peace-­loving citizens. This mandate is part of a special requirement for nation-­building and social cohesion, and thus teachers need to be trained in order to be able to inculcate peace values among learners. A teacher from one of the northern provinces of Rwanda expressed the extra need for CPD as follows: . . .I would like to receive training about how to deal with children who take drugs and [drink] alcohol, as well as training about peacebuilding . . . [to] get more skills about it in the way that you can encounter a case and know how to deal with it. Learning all those values is good for building peace among young generations. Trying to prevent violence, and having the skills to deal with it, would be good for children, so that they become aware that Rwandans are one people, not ‘I’m Hutu’, ‘I’m Twa’ or ‘I’m a Tutsi’. Head teacher of school H

This indicates the depth and ownership of aspiration that is present in many of the Rwandan teachers interviewed: they express desire to act as agents of social cohesion, and yet also indicate that there is a continued lack of access to such trainings. Itorero, though accessible to many Rwandans, is not specifically formulated to train teachers in the capabilities needed to teach more effectively, and the Aegis Trust, perhaps less available to all, is unable to meet the widespread need of teachers throughout the entire country. The lack of access to CPD represents a continued barrier to teachers operating as agents of peacekeeping and social cohesion. In concluding this brief analysis, it is noted that different interventions are ongoing, from national to local levels, utilizing Rwandan traditional values and authenticity – the ‘home-­grown’ solutions referred to above. Arguably, these have yielded some positive results, but require further empirical study to understand, at a critical level, the actual extent of their impact in helping students to internalise values of social cohesion and thus bring to fruition the Rwandan future envisaged via government policy.

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Conclusion The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi deeply damaged the social fabric of the country, and this chapter acknowledges that rebuilding it is a formidable task that will need time to be realized. The process also requires different interventions and approaches to reinforce the peacebuilding process, and prevent a repeat of the genocide. Prevention of such atrocities, and addressing and removing the roots of violence and conflict, are key for stability and development in any country. Although the task is far from easy, there is evidence that significant progress in the peacebuilding process has been made since the end of the genocide. According to a National Professional Board report (2002), this progress can be sustained through teachers’ roles as agents of peace. Teachers, therefore, must acquire and employ a repertoire of instructional methods and strategies, yet remain critical and reflective about their practice, drawing lessons from their own, and colleagues’, experience. Teachers’ professional responsibilities focus on instructing the learners in their immediate care, but they also participate in a broader range of activities within the school, and in partnership with parents and the community. Teaching is often portrayed as an activity that conserves valued knowledge and skills by transmitting them to succeeding generations. Teachers must also question settled structures, practices and definitions of knowledge; to invent and test new approaches; and, where necessary, to pursue change of organisational arrangements that support instruction. As agents of the public interest in a democracy, through their work teachers contribute to the dialogue about preserving and improving society, and they initiate future citizens into this ongoing public discourse. In Rwanda, the important role of teachers in the peacebuilding process is clearly recognized, and post-­conflict policies and initiatives have been designed to support teachers in fostering unity and reconciliation. In the context of the post-­genocide period, Rwanda has begun a process of learning from its own history and culture as a direct response to the economic and social challenges facing the country. Its government has instituted nationwide interventions that involve all citizens. These interventions were inspired by, and rooted in, Rwandan culture, and are geared to bringing people together so that they may revisit the country’s history in order to re-­imagine a common future. The implementation of Rwanda’s home-­grown solutions has had significant impacts on healing some of the deep social divisions that contributed to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. In the same vein, the itorero programme and its

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partners initiated the Rwanda Peace Education Programme, which is designed to respond to some of the problems that came about as a result of the genocide. The programme aims to instil shared Rwandan values, and to create social cohesion between fellow citizens. Rwanyombya (2016) states that, after independence, African nationalists and elites dispensed with their own native institutions, and rushed to blindly copy foreign systems they did not understand. Had they looked in their own backyards, they would have found the solutions to many of local recurrent crises. The government of Rwanda considers the adoption of itorero as an attempt to resurrect pre-­colonial culture and provide a response to the trauma of genocide and provide a way forward in moving Rwanda to a middle-­income country. Via a central narrative which relies heavily on young people as agents of change, it has attached great importance to the preservation and promotion of its culture as a cornerstone of peaceful and sustainable national development. Rwandan teachers are positioned as key within the emergence of the ‘new’ nation, and in this research, it is evident that they have taken up this role for themselves. Continued professional development, specifically addressing the challenging areas identified in this research, will empower them to act as agents of social cohesion within their classrooms. Towards this, more extensive and critical training in facilitating discussion, drawing out critical thinking, and promoting harmony within their classroom will continue to build lasting peace within Rwanda. Through a discussion of two key peacebuilding interventions, this chapter has provided a series of insights into the ways that pre-­colonial values have been inserted into continuing professional development programmes for teachers. Further research over the next few years will provide greater insight into the consolidation or otherwise of these current initiatives, and it will be interesting and important to discover whether or not teachers will receive the necessary support, particularly in the form of CPD programmes that have peacebuilding as its core rationale.

References Bamusananire, E. (2006), Primary Social Studies, Oxford: Macmillan. Boswell, C. and S. Cannon (2009), ‘Introduction to Education’, Conflux Journal of Education, 1 (6): 1–9. Boylan, H.R. and B.S. Bonham (2007), ‘30 Years of Developmental Education: A Retrospective’, Journal of Developmental Education, 30 (3): 2–4.

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Freedman, S. W., D. Kambanda, B.L. Samuelson, I. Mugisha, I. Mukashema, E. Mukama, J. Jean Mutabaruka, H.M. Weinstein and T. Longman (2004), ‘Confronting the Past in Rwandan Schools’, in E. Stover and H.M. Weinsten (eds), In My Neighbor, My Enemy: Justice and Community in the Aftermath of Mass Atrocity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gasanabo, J.D., F. Mutanguha and A. Mpayimana (2016), ‘Teaching about Holocaust and Genocide in Rwanda’, Contemporary Review of Middle East, 3 (3): 1–17. Gruenewald, D.A. (2004). ‘A Foucaldian Analysis of Environmental Education: Toward the Socioecological Challenge of the Earth Charter’, Curriculum Inquiry, 34 (1): 71–107. Haer, R. (2017), ‘The study of child soldiering: issues and consequences for DDR implementation’, Third World QuarTerly, 38(2): 453–68. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2016.1166946 (accessed 19 November 2017). Haller, T. (2001), ‘Rules which Pay are Going to Stay: Indigenous Institutions, Sustainable Resource Use and Land Tenure among the Ouldeme and Platha, Mandara Mountains, Northern Cameroon’, Bulletin De La APAD, 22: 2–12. Harris, J. (2007), ‘Glocal/Glocalisation’, in A. Mooney and E. Besty (eds), Globalisation: The Key Concepts, London: Routledge.  Hughes, J.N. and Q. Chen. (2011), ‘Reciprocal effects of student–teacher and student– peer relatedness: Effects on academic self efficacy’, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 32 (5): 278–287. Ingelaere, B. (2007), ‘Does the truth pass across the fire without burning?’ Transitional justice and its discontents in Rwanda’s Gacaca courts. Antwerp: Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerp. Izadinia, M. (2012), ‘Teacher Educators as Role Models: A Qualitative Examination of Student Teachers’ and Teacher Educators’ Views towards Their Roles’, The Qualitative Report, 17 (24): 1–15 Jegede, O. (2001), ‘Producing Teachers for UBE through Open and Distance Learning’, UBE FORUM, Journal of Basic Education, 2 (4): 45–59. Kamboly, D. (2007), ‘Teaching Genocide in Cambodia: Challenges, Analysis and Recommendations’, Documentation Center of Cambodia. Mafeza, F. (2003), ‘The Role of Education in Combating Genocide Ideology in PostGenocide Rwanda’. Kigali: National Commission for the fight against Genocide (CNLG). Mgbako, C. (2005), ‘Ingando Solidarity Camps: Reconciliation and Political Indoctrination in Post-­genocide Rwanda’, Harvard Human Rights Journal, 18: 201–24 Monteiro, S., L. S. Almeida and R.M. Vasconcelos. (2012), ‘The role of teachers at university: What do high achiever students look for?’, Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 12: 65–77. MINEDUC. (2003), Education Sector Policy. Kigali: Republic of Rwanda.

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Mutamba, J. and J. Izabiliza (2005), ‘The role of women in reconciliation and peace building’, in Rwanda: Ten years after Genocide 1994–2004, Kigali. New Times. (2008), ‘Cultural Education Centres for Leaders, Teachers Coming,’ The New Times. Retrieved from http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/2481/. NIC. (2001), National Itorero Commission Strategy, Kigali: National Itorero Commission. NURC. (2009), Strategic plan 2009–2012 of Itorero ry’Igihugu: Marking National and Community Service Work in Rwanda, Kigali: National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. Obura, A. (2003), Never Again: Educational reconstruction in Rwanda, Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning. Prasad, G. (2013). ‘Plurilingual children as co-ethnographers of their own language and literacy practices: An exploratory case study’, Language & Literacy: An E-Journal, 15(3): 4–30. Prunier, G., 1995. The Rwanda crisis: history of a genocide. Columbia U ed. New York. Purdekova, A. (2012), ‘Civic education and social transformation in post-genocide Rwanda: forging the perfect development subjects’, in M. Campioni and P. Noack (eds), Rwanda fast forward: social, economic, military and reconciliation prospects, 192–210, Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. RGB (2016), National Umushyikirano Council: A Decade of Delivering Democracy and Development to Rwandans, 2003–2014, Kigali: Rwanda Governance Board Rutayisire, J. (2004), ‘Education for Social and Political reconstruction: The Rwandan Experience from 1994–2000’, a paper presented at the BAICE Conference, University of Sussex, September 2004.  Rutazibwa, P. (1999), Les Crises des Grands Lacs et la Question Tutsi: Réflexions sur l’idéologie du génocide dans la sous-­région, Kigali: éditions du CRID Rwabyoma, A. S. (2016), ‘Terrains of Glocalisation Struggles: Home-grown initiatives and endogenous development in Rwanda,’ Humanities and Social Sciences Review, 5 (2): 317–25. Sarkin, J. (2001), ‘The Tension between Justice and Reconciliation in Rwanda: Politics, Human Rights, Due Process and the Role of the Gacaca Courts in Dealing with the Genocide’, Journal of African Law, 45 (2): 143–72. Smith, G. (2002), ‘Place-­based Education: Learning to Be Where We Are’, Kappan, 83 (8): 584–95. Sundberg, M. (2012), ‘Training for Model Citizenship: An Ethnography of Civic Education and State making in Rwanda’ (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), Sweden: Uppsala University. Wentzel, K.R. and L. Looney (2007), ‘Socialization in School Settings’, in J. Grusec and P. Hastings (eds), Handbook of Social Development, 382–403, New York: Guilford. Wielenga, C. and G. Harris (2011), ‘Building Peace and Security after Genocide: The Contribution of the Gacaca Courts of Rwanda’, African Security Review, 20 (1): 15–25.

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Building Teachers’ Capacity for Inclusive Education in South Africa and Zimbabwe through CPD Colleen Howell

UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK and Centre for International Teacher Education(CITE), Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Judith McKenzie

University of Cape Town, South Africa

Tsitsi Chataika

University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

Introduction The provision of education in both South Africa and Zimbabwe has been strongly shaped by the inequalities of their colonial pasts and the efforts by their post-­liberation governments to build new education systems where all children have equitable access to quality education. Although milestones have been reached in both countries towards realizing these goals (UNESCO 2016), it has been increasingly recognized in each nation that patterns of inequality continue to be reproduced within and outside their education systems that result in the marginalization and exclusion of many learners from the system. Such effects occur when children are unable to access the provision that exists and, equally importantly, when they are unable to participate equitably within the learning process in the classroom and thus benefit fully from what the education system has to offer. In most cases, the barriers that lead to the marginalization of particular learners are strongly related to existing forms of discrimination in both societies, such as those related to gender, class, disability and HIV status. This reality has meant that the global move towards increasing access to education, mainly through the United Nation’s Education for All (EFA) initiative, has been increasingly linked to notions of inclusivity and, more specifically, the

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building of inclusive education systems (UNESCO 2009; Ainscow & Miles 2008; Miles & Singal 2010; Rouse & Lapham 2013). It is argued that inclusive education forces a more careful engagement with understandings of what is meant by quality education for all, raising uncomfortable debates about the purpose of education and issues of social justice, compelling EFA to mean more than just ‘bums on seats’ (Miles & Singal 2010). For some, then, building inclusive education systems has become the biggest challenge facing education systems throughout the world, both in developed and developing countries (Acedo 2008). But what does this all mean for teachers? What is required of them to become ‘inclusive practitioners’, and what is the role of continuing professional development (CPD) in this regard? This chapter explores these questions through a consideration of two case studies of pilot initiatives, one from Zimbabwe and one from South Africa, that have focused on teachers’ CPD in the building of inclusive education. The case studies are framed within a conceptualization of what inclusive education means, the critical role that teachers are recognized as needing to play towards its development, and the nature of the professional growth that is required of them. While both case studies take as their starting point the conceptualization of inclusive education discussed in this chapter, they have a specific focus on disability, recognizing that in the two countries – and as is the case across sub-Saharan Africa – access to good-­quality education for children with disabilities remains a significant challenge (Nairobi Declaration 2014). However, despite the synergies in the objectives of the two initiatives, each uses a different approach or methodology to teacher learning. The chapter discusses each of these initiatives, considering in particular how they have sought to build teachers’ understandings of what inclusive education means, as well as to facilitate the acquisition of practical competencies required to meet the needs of all the learners in their classrooms. The discussion of the case studies also brings together in conclusion some reflections on their value for teacher learning within the two country contexts.

Conceptualizing inclusive education and building inclusive practitioners through CPD In both Zimbabwe and South Africa, the imperative towards inclusive education has formed part of a broader range of education reforms aimed at addressing historical inequalities in access to education and ‘enhance(ing) the citizen rights for people with disabilities’ (Mpofu et al. 2007). In both countries these intentions

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are taken forward in their domestic education policy frameworks (MoPSE 1987; DoE, 1996, 2001) and through specific policies on the realization of the rights of people with disabilities.1 Moreover, these commitments, at least symbolically, are reinforced through the obligations the two countries have accepted as signatories to a range of international instruments and associated initiatives, such as the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals and the more recent Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). What is important in the context of this chapter, therefore, is that CPD initiatives in both countries, undertaken by government as well as other role-­ players and aimed at enhancing the capacity of practising teachers to become more inclusive, have been orientated to supporting the implementation and realization of these policy intentions. However, what is actually required from teachers and thus CPD to take the ‘project’ of inclusivity forward is more complex. It requires exploring broader understandings of what is meant by ‘inclusive’ education, the critical role of teachers in this initiative, and the kinds of professional growth that they may require to fulfil this role. Barton (2002: n.p.) has argued that: ‘the question of inclusive education, is both complex and contentious and is shaped by historical, cultural, global and contextual factors.’ His assertion suggests that the concept of inclusive education is one that is highly contested and underpinned by different understandings that shape its meanings (Ainscow, Booth & Dyson 2006; Acedo 2008). However, his assertion also suggests that these different understandings are influenced by context, where specific contextual factors shape how inclusive education is understood and enacted in that context (Ainscow & Miles 2008). These conceptual and contextual differences thus have implications for the nature of the educational change processes that are embarked upon towards the realization of the goal of inclusive education (Slee 2011). The case studies discussed here draw on understandings of inclusive education that position it as a political ‘project’ of educational change informed by particular educational imperatives in both countries. Central to this is the recognition that – typical for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and arguably the broader Global South – large numbers of learners remain excluded from these educational systems and from the benefits they impart. Thus, despite rhetorical commitments to EFA and associated gains in improving access to education (UNESCO 2014), particular groups of learners continue to remain especially vulnerable to such exclusion, with children with disabilities and those from the poorest households always the most affected (World Vision 2007; Miles & Singal 2010). But why is it

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that specific groups of learners always remain the most vulnerable to exclusion? It is only by trying to answer this question, that is, by ‘mapping’ patterns of exclusion (Slee 2011), that we can begin to understand what inclusive education is all about and what it seeks to achieve. Answering this question involves recognizing the importance of two interrelated factors that are central to understanding ongoing patterns of exclusion within our education systems. The first is recognizing that existing forms of discrimination and inequality in our society continue to strongly influence who is able to gain access to the education provision that exists. The second, and often less obvious, is the continued failure of our education systems to respond adequately to the different ways in which learners engage with and access the curriculum – what Corbett and Slee (2000) refer to as the diverse learning styles of learners, or put another way, the different learning needs of learners in the classroom (DoE 1998). This recognizes that what learners may require from the teaching and learning process to participate to their full potential and access the curriculum is shaped and informed by a range of factors, including but not limited to the existence of a disability and what this may mean for how the learners engage in the learning process. So learners with a disability may require the use of a particular assistive device to participate in the learning process, but may also face ongoing challenges related to poverty and gender discrimination that impact on their learning experience and the kinds of support that they may need to fully participate. Understanding exclusion in this way, then, means recognizing that building inclusive education systems: . . . is a process that involves the transformation of schools and other centres of learning to cater for all children – including boys and girls, students from ethnic and linguistic minorities, rural populations, those affected by HIV and AIDS, and those with disabilities and difficulties in learning . . . Its aim is to eliminate exclusion that is a consequence of negative attitudes and a lack of response to diversity in race, economic status, social class, ethnicity, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation and ability. UNESCO 2009: 4

On the one hand, developing such capacity must involve identifying and addressing those systemic barriers that render particular learners vulnerable to such exclusion. However, it must also involve ensuring that the system is able to respond to the diverse learning needs of all learners. For Slee (1996: 27), developing such capacity is about ‘valuing of differences in a new set of social

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relations’, where necessary change includes both attitudinal change towards issues of diversity, as well as the development of new processes and practices across the system that will enable the active and equitable participation of all learners in the classroom (Howell 2007). It is within this nexus that the critical role of teachers in building inclusive education is located (Oswald 2007; Muthukrishna 2008), with Ainscow and Miles (2008: 21) going so far as to argue that ‘teachers are the key to the development of more inclusive forms of education’ (our emphasis). It is recognized that for teachers to effectively undertake this role, new competencies are required of them. Building such competence involves changes to dominant beliefs or understandings, to existing attitudes and to teachers’ actions or practices (EADSNE 2012). The latter is recognized as including having the ‘pedagogical capacities necessary to make diversity work in the classroom’ (UNESCO 2009: 17) and assuming fundamentally different responsibilities (Oswald 2007). The Teacher Education for Inclusion (TE4I) project of the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education (EADSNE 2012) argues that it is in the building of such competence that CPD becomes so important. It becomes a critical lever in acquiring the new knowledge, attitudes and skills required, as well as in enabling teachers to engage in the ongoing learning they will need in order to competently and confidently respond to the different learning needs of the learners who enter their classrooms. CPD is therefore an essential part of the development of education systems where teachers are supported and challenged ‘to keep exploring more effective ways of facilitating the learning of all students’ (Ainscow & Miles 2008: 21). This latter assertion reinforces the notion that building inclusive education systems is never an end in itself, but rather a continuous process of ensuring that all children within a particular educational context are able to access the existing provision and participate to their full potential within the classroom (Booth & Ainscow 2002). Ongoing learning by teachers through appropriate CPD forms an essential part of this continuum. A key issue that emerges in discussions on building teachers’ capacity for inclusive education is persuading them to actively value learner difference ‘as a resource and an asset to education’ (EADSNE 2012: 10). Mpofu et al. (2007: 66), drawing on their work in Zimbabwe, argue that issues of inclusivity in this context are underpinned by the philosophy of unhu (Shona) or ubuntu (Ndebele/ Nguni), where ‘participation in family and communities is valued more than individual differences from disability or other human attributes’. A similar argument is made by Dart (2007: 13) in the context of Botswana and the government’s assertion of kagisano as the principle that should inform education

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provision, an ‘expression of social harmony’ that aligns with an inclusive education model. Mpofu et  al. (2007) argue, however, that while these philosophical influences are important to valuing diversity, whether it always translates into inclusive practices in educational settings is ‘open to debate’. Instead, they suggest, looking at the issue from the perspective of learners with disabilities, ‘historical and deep-­seated cultural prejudices towards people with disabilities’ significantly impact on the extent to which children with disabilities are able to access, and participate equitably within, the education system (Mpofu et al. 2007: 72). Citing research with teachers working in the rural areas of South Africa, Muthukrishna et al. (2007: 39) argue that encouraging teachers to value diversity is undermined by the dominance of a discourse of difference as deficit’ which teachers draw on to construct learners. They argue that ‘deficit thinking and pathologising the lived experience of learners’ shape how teachers make sense of why some children fail or are unable to cope in the classroom, contributing to these learners being ‘inadequately supported academically, socially and emotionally in schools’. They also suggest that the valuing of difference is further undermined by a tendency for teachers to homogenize particular groups of learners. This argument is especially important if it is related back to the arguments already made around learning needs and, in particular, the learning needs of children with disabilities. Put simply, homogenizing particular groups of children in the classroom situation fails to recognize the complexity of factors that come together to shape their learning needs. However, as already noted, these changes in attitude and thinking have to be complemented by new or refined pedagogical practices that are able to support the academic participation of all learners in the classroom. Central to this is once again an acknowledgement of heterogeneity among learners in the classroom (EADSNE 2012) and the application of ‘flexible teaching and learning methods adapted to different needs and learning styles’ (UNESCO 2009). These imperatives for building teacher capacity clearly have important implications for CPD initiatives aimed at building inclusive practitioners. A key issue here is the persistent inability in many countries, including those in subSaharan Africa, to provide pre-­service teacher education programmes that tackle effectively issues of learner diversity. This means that ‘in many countries student teachers still enter the profession with little understanding of inclusive values and what these mean for teaching and learning in schools’ (Oswald 2007: 11). Moreover, when it comes to disability in particular, the historical separation of learners with disabilities through systems of special education, means that many

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teachers coming into the profession do not see themselves as being responsible for learners with disabilities, as these students have traditionally been ‘taken care of ’ by a separate system of provision. While this trend has dominated education provision in a number of sub-Saharan African countries (Engelbrecht et al. 1999; Englebrecht & Green 2007) and has been integral to their colonial histories, the last twenty years have seen significant shifts in government thinking, particularly through the ratification of international treaties such as the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO 1994) and the UNCRPD, which is unequivocal in its promotion of inclusive education (United Nations 2006). While these shifts are important, this legacy appears to still have a persistent influence on the extent to which diversity is grappled with in pre-­service teacher education programmes, especially around disability. In such a context, effective CPD opportunities for teachers become even more important.

Promoting inclusive primary education projects in Zimbabwe Background and context Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 resulted in policy changes and reforms in many areas, which promoted growth with equity (Zvobgo 1997). Included in these was an increase in the number of schools and in levels of enrolment. Important here was the 1987 Education Act, which stipulated (among other things) that every child should have the right to education, and that Zimbabwean education would be compulsory and free at primary school level. It further recognized education as a fundamental human right and as a vehicle for social transformation (MoPSE 1987). Although the Act is underpinned by a strong commitment to overcoming inequality and discrimination, it does not specifically address the issue of inclusive education. This is a concern that has been highlighted as an important challenge towards building inclusive education in Zimbabwe (Mutepfa, Mpofu & Chataika 2007). However, despite this policy gap, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE)’s mission refers specifically to the provision of inclusive education. It states that the Ministry’s intention is: To promote and facilitate the provision of high quality, inclusive and relevant Early Childhood Development (ECD) Primary and Secondary Education, Life-­ long and Continuing Education, Sport, Arts and Culture. MoPSE 2016

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The MoPSE also oversees the Schools Psychological Services and Special Needs Education (SPS & SNE) department, which is decentralized in every District Education Office with a remedial tutor in charge of its day-­to-day activities. These measures demonstrate the government’s commitment to the rights of people with disabilities and align with other policies and legislation that have been put in place, such as the Disabled Persons Act (1992). This commitment was further solidified through Zimbabwe’s ratification of the UNCRPD in 2013. It has also been supported by sentiments expressed by government ministers. These have reiterated MoPSE’s vision and acknowledged some of the important challenges to providing inclusive education in Zimbabwean schools. Similarly, there has been strong support from the government for working in partnership with NGOs in order to build inclusive education across the country. The case study presented here draws from one such partnership, a partnership with Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD) and its global alliance partner in Zimbabwe, Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe Trust (LCDZT). The case study discussed here is a specific initiative towards teacher capacity development that emerged out of a larger project initiated by LCD in Zimbabwe in 2010 through LCDZT. This larger project, called the ‘Schools for All – Inclusive Education Project’, aimed to take forward Article 24 of the UNCRPD (on inclusive education) in twenty-­one selected schools across ten education districts. It was supported by a broad stakeholder approach that brought together key role-­players from government, the selected schools, disabled people’s organizations (DPOs), college and university lecturers, traditional (i.e. community) leaders and children with disabilities and their parents (Chakuchichi, Nyaruwata & Chataika 2015). While a number of important objectives were realized through this project, what emerged from an initial evaluation of the project was a concern that the teachers in the selected schools would require more training on teaching methods than originally envisaged if inclusive education were to be properly realized. It was also felt that, in addition to the development of targeted CPD for teachers in the schools, a module on inclusive education should be developed and introduced at the pre-­service level for all teacher trainees in Zimbabwe (Chakuchichi, Nyaruwata & Chataika 2015). In addition, the evaluation recommended that the inclusive education project be carried out in one district or province covering all mainstream schools as a prototype for easy impact analysis, thereby creating a model that other provinces or districts could follow. Thus, the evaluation of the ‘Schools for All – Inclusive Education Project’ gave

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rise to the implementation of an extended, re-­engineered project in Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe, entitled ‘Promoting Inclusive Education in Mashonaland West Province’. The case study presented here discusses this smaller project and its particular emphasis on teacher capacity building.

Promoting inclusive education in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe Mashonaland West Province was selected as the project site because it was found to have the lowest representation (0.4 per cent) of children with disabilities in school when compared with the country’s other nine provinces (Chakuchichi, Nyaruwata & Chataika 2015). The project aimed to support thirty primary schools across four districts within Mashonaland to become model schools in inclusive education and thus become a prototype for a cluster of schools around them. The project’s duration was thirty-­six months, beginning in January 2013 and ending in December 2015. As the project unfolded, it provided a total of twenty-­three schools with resources, and these became the focal centres (model schools) for approximately four schools around each one of them that formed a school cluster. Drawing on an Inclusive Education Teacher’s Handbook that had been developed by LCDZT in 2011 as part of the broader project, a focused process towards teacher capacity development was initiated within the schools. In addition to ongoing sensitization and awareness-­raising initiatives within the project that included teachers, specific CPD workshops were conducted between June 2013 and October 2015 with teachers from the model schools as well as the cluster schools. These workshops were run by staff members from MoPSE, who in turn were supported by lecturers from various universities and teachers’ colleges. The workshops ranged in duration from three to five days and the topics covered included: l

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understanding concepts and principles of inclusive education; policies and legislation on inclusive education; disability awareness raising; types of impairments; identification, assessment and placement; effects of impairments on teaching and learning; methods of teaching children with different impairments; an ideal school for children with disabilities, which responds to the diverse needs of all learners;

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child protection committees and child abuse; basic sign language.

Some of the most valuable feedback on the impact that the training was having on teachers, and thus on their learners, came from parents of children with disabilities in the model and cluster schools. Some parents in particular noticed changes in the way their children responded to their family and community. Two parents said the following about the teachers and the impact of what they had learnt: Now my child can talk audibly, teachers are doing a good job. Parent 1 The teacher has taught my daughter to help in washing plates and cleaning the house. Parent 2

The above quotations demonstrate that teachers in these schools were now able to undertake some basic speech therapy with the children who required this support and also teach them daily living skills, which are very important to the children’s own independence and their active participation in their families and communities. Children with disabilities were also appreciative of what was taking place at their schools, which in turn made them feel part of their school and community: I am glad that I can spend the day at school learning. At home, I used to do nothing except play by myself. Now I also do housework and I now have lots of friends. Disabled girl in a focus-­group discussion Since I started coming to school, people in my community know that I am good at something. At least I now know that it is my right to be at this school. My teachers are trying hard to making sure that I learn what other children without disabilities are learning. Disabled boy in a focus-­group discussion

A central concern for the project as it unfolded was putting in place mechanisms that would facilitate ongoing support to the teachers in the chosen schools and avoid burnout, a challenge that is recognized as an important concern in initiatives that have sought to build inclusive schools (Stubbs 2008). It was therefore decided to provide teachers with teaching assistants to support them in the classroom. The teaching assistants were recruited on a volunteer

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basis and were responsible for undertaking a range of duties to support the teachers in their daily activities. Many of the classroom assistants recruited were parents of children with disabilities. In addition to drawing on their own knowledge and experience of bringing up and supporting a child with a disability, these volunteers received additional training in developing daily living skills for children with disabilities. This training was provided by staff from the Schools Psychological Services and Special Needs Education (SPS & SNE) Department and by the Ministry of Health. Although it is difficult to accurately assess the impact that the classroom assistants had on strengthening teacher support, teachers interviewed in the evaluation emphasized that the presence of the assistants had improved the attendance and retention of children with disabilities in their classes. These teaching assistants therefore provided the teachers with a level of ongoing support as they translated their learnings into practice, an imperative that is acknowledged as especially important for effective teacher learning (Steyn 2008; 2009). Moreover, they also emphasized that the assistants had ‘lessened the burden’ on them, especially when they felt overwhelmed by the large classes that were the norm in most of the schools (Chakuchichi, Nyaruwata & Chataika 2015). One teacher commented: My greatest fear and that of my colleagues was the high teacher–pupil ratio. Now that we have the services of a classroom assistant, this has removed all my fears. The classroom assistant is very helpful when it comes to daily living skills such as assisting the disabled children with toileting as well as with group work. This allows me to concentrate on the teaching and learning process.

Another important initiative undertaken as part of teachers’ capacity-­building was a push to facilitate collaboration between the teachers in the project schools. To this end, exchange visits were organized to enable teachers to share their experiences with their peers and discuss how the project was being rolled out at their own school. These exchanges took place between model schools as well as between model schools and cluster schools. While the sharing of knowledge between model schools was important, these visits were especially valuable for the cluster schools, which were able to see real-­life examples of inclusive practices and the active participation of children with disabilities in classrooms. This increased their awareness of the importance of enrolling students with disabilities and the kind of adaptations that were possible. This collaborative learning increased the capacity of school heads, teachers and school development

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committees and provided them with the relevant skills and knowledge needed to transform their schools into more inclusive learning environments.

Reflecting on the case study There is no doubt that the project had a positive impact on the provision of education for children with disabilities in Mashonaland Province. By the end of 2015, 1,089 children with disabilities were enrolled in the model schools and 1,843 in the cluster schools. Equally important is that 951 teachers received CPD that focused on improving their capacity to meet the needs of learners with disabilities in their classrooms and thus respond to a greater diversity of learning needs. The level of awareness of all role-­players in the school also improved with children with disabilities and their parents actively lobbying and advocating through pupil-­to-pupil groups and parent-­to-parent groups in their surrounding communities for the strengthening of inclusive education. At a national level, the project has also managed to make an impact. Following its completion, Save the Children International engaged LCDZT to implement the programme on their behalf in eight further districts of Zimbabwe. At the same time, MoPSE is becoming more responsive to the education of learners with disabilities and now has an officer responsible for making public examinations accessible to learners with disabilities across the country. The project has also had a valuable impact from a teacher-­training perspective. The initial teacher-­training handbook mentioned above has been revised twice and is recognized as an important resource to support teachers. Similarly, the imperative to develop a dedicated module on inclusive education as part of the teacher-­education curriculum has been formalized by the University of Zimbabwe’s Department of Teacher Education. It has developed a mandatory inclusive education module that will be used by all teacher-­training colleges in Zimbabwe as part of promoting LCDZT’s inclusive education initiative. In addition to forming part of the formal curriculum for pre-­service training, it is envisaged that the module will also be drawn on within the formalized post-­ graduate programmes that are in place for practising teachers. While these are important results for the project, it would be remiss not to acknowledge that important challenges still remain. Critical to these is the lack of teacher-­capacity development; this may be due to the absence of an inclusive education policy, which is capable of promoting professional development of teachers. Similarly, the inclusive education movement in Zimbabwe still remains strongly dependent on donor funding. It is therefore crucial for the government

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to actively adopt inclusive education as a national strategy and find sustainable ways to take forward the gains of the LCDZT programme. Central to this is sustaining and expanding the teacher-­capacity development initiated through the project, which will involve deepening the provision of appropriate CPD for the teachers in the cluster schools and spreading it across the country.

Education for All: Disability, diversity and inclusion, University of Cape Town, South Africa Background and context A central concern for South Africa’s first democratic government in 1994 was the transformation of the country’s education system, a system that had been shaped by South Africa’s colonial and apartheid past and intentionally designed to maintain and reproduce white privilege (Mothatha 2000). The new government therefore recognized that building a new education system able to serve the needs of the post-­apartheid country would have to address the inequalities of the past and create opportunities for all children to have access to quality education. This understanding included realizing the high levels of exclusion that learners who had been categorized as having ‘special needs’ had experienced. While this category of learners comprised a large spectrum of students, most of whom were defined in relation to the inability to cope with the existing mainstream system (Howell 2000), it also included children with disabilities. While some separate provision in special schools existed for mainly white children with disabilities, the majority of children with disabilities in South Africa had no access to any educational provision (Office of the Deputy President 1997). As part of its commitment to redressing these inequalities, the new government set up two Ministerial Commissions to look at the provision of ‘special needs in education and training’ as well as ‘education support services’. These highly consultative policy processes resulted in a groundbreaking report which challenged many of the assumptions that had previously defined education provision in South Africa, especially for children with disabilities (Muthukrishna & Schoeman 2000). The report also created the framework for the government’s subsequent ‘White Paper 6: Special Needs Education: Building an inclusive education and training system’ (2001), the main policy vehicle driving the development of inclusive education in South Africa.

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Both the Commission’s report and White Paper 6 drew attention to the critical role of teachers in building inclusive education. The White Paper went so far as to emphasize their centrality to the objectives of the policy and recognized the importance of CPD. It stated: Classroom educators will be our primary resource for achieving our goal of an inclusive education and training system. This means that educators will need to improve their skills and knowledge, and develop new ones. Staff development at the school and district level will be critical to putting in place successful integrated educational practices. DOE 2001: 18

This imperative is confirmed in the National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development (2007), which states that: All teachers need to acquire skills in recognising, identifying and addressing barriers to learning and creating inclusive and enabling teaching and learning environments for all learners, including those with disabilities and other special needs. DOE 2007: 16

Since then, a series of guidelines for managers and teachers has been developed by the government to guide the development of such capacity. Although South Africa thus has a strong, enabling policy framework in place to build inclusive education, a number of challenges have hampered its implementation. These challenges relate to gaps and weaknesses within the policy itself (Howell & Lazarus 2008) as well as to its implementation within a deeply unequal, complex and constantly changing education environment. The depth of the challenge that remains is evident in the Department of Basic Education (DBE)’s country report to the United Nations on the implementation of the UNCRPD. The report estimated that in 2010, despite some important gains having been made, approximately 480,036 children with disabilities of compulsory school-­going age were still excluded from the system. Of those that were in school, 118,490 were enrolled in ordinary schools and 104,633 in special schools, totalling 223,123 learners with disabilities, approximately 1.7 per cent of the total school-­going population (RSA 2014). The report also suggested that these challenges were exacerbated by a disjuncture at times between national policy imperatives and provincial-­level provision, a clash that resulted in changes that were not always fully aligned with the overarching policy intentions (RSA 2014).

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At the same time, despite several large CPD projects that have been implemented by the government towards the implementation of inclusive education, the lack of sufficient teachers with the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to meaningfully implement inclusive education in their schools continues to bedevil the process. The government has recognized this challenge, arguing that the success of inclusive education within South Africa is therefore inextricably bound to the development of large-­scale CPD programmes (RSA 2014). The case study presented here provides an example of one university’s response to this challenge through Massive Online Open-Source Content, or MOOCs.

The Education for All online course In this case study, teacher learning has been enabled through a free online course offered by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa as part of a range of newly developed MOOCs that people voluntarily register for. The aim of the course was to provide a basic introduction to inclusive education in low- to middle-­income countries that could reach a broad audience of parents, people with disabilities and teachers. It was recognized that teachers in particular may have specific practical needs in the learning process and additional resources were therefore provided on the online platform to support them. More than 80 per cent of respondents to a post-­course survey were teachers or educational administrators. While this course was offered on a global scale through UCT’s online platform, FutureLearn, participants were encouraged to contextualize their learning within the education policies of their own country. They were tasked with tracking down relevant national policies, comparing them with international policies such as the UNCRPD, and critically considering their implementation to date. A key focus of the course was on the concept of inclusive education (particularly with regard to the inclusion of children with disabilities), policies that underpin it and sociocultural approaches that could facilitate the inclusion of these children in schools. Each week, therefore, the theoretical foundations of inclusive education were explored and numerous examples were supplied to create an in-depth understanding of the issues surrounding the subject. This broad thrust was explored through the following specific topics: ‘Why inclusion?’ (the child, legislation and policies on inclusive education); ‘Education begins at home’ (the family); ‘Creating an inclusive school’ (the school); ‘Community

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partnerships for success’ (the community); ‘Changing classroom practices’ (the adaptation of the curriculum and practical tips for teachers); and ‘Building networks’ (combining all the role-­players). These topics follow Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model moving from the child to family, school, community, classroom and finally how all of these role-players work together as a network that enables inclusion. The quotations below capture some of the participants’ thoughts on inclusive education drawing on what they had learnt on the course: The concept of inclusive education is very interesting and it is needed everywhere, because some children need more help or time for learning than others and all of them have the rights for learning. Inclusive education is a philosophy that should be understood and acknowledged by school stakeholders, also the policy-­makers, so that the negative stigma of children with disability in parents and community perception can be changed into positive opportunity for children with disabilities or other vulnerable conditions. Inclusive education must be one of the teacher’s goal in every context, as we help human beings to perform their humanity in society; society is diverse, the world is diverse, so how can some people expect education wouldn’t be diverse?

The course took place over six weeks with each week divided into four ‘activities’, with three to five ‘steps’ (video or audio with accompanying text, articles, discussions or assignment instructions). The activities followed a process of moving from an introductory/exploratory activity to conceptualization and content provision and then an opportunity for applications in practice. Each session concluded with a ‘wrap-­up’ in the form of an audio interview, conducted by one of the educators and a weekly challenge, which gave participants the opportunity to apply the learning of the week to their own context. A list of resources was also provided for each week, allowing the participants to explore further according to their own needs and available time. At two points in the course a comprehensive peer-­review assignment was included, giving learners the opportunity to ask questions which the educators would then answer the following week. These responses by the educators are video-­recorded and thus become resources for the course.

Reflecting on the case study A review of the quantitative data on participation in the 2016 course is illuminating. 9,104 people were registered but only 41 per cent of these actually

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went on to start the course. 75 per cent of the 41 per cent were active; that is, they started to use the ‘Mark as complete’ button offered at each step which allows a learner to tick things off their ‘to do list’. Returning learners constituted 37 per cent (who marked steps complete in more than one week) and 19 per cent were fully participating learners who completed the majority of the steps. 724 people finished the course and 147 certificates were issued to learners who completed, which is a relatively high number for UCT’s courses. This may be because of the professional value of the course, where a certificate would count as evidence of learning. Interestingly, some student teachers also joined the course and found it very helpful as a supplement to their training. A Facebook page was also started which contributed to ongoing discussion and sharing of resources. The quotations below capture some of the participants’ perceptions about the course and what they had gained from it: I really enjoyed it and learnt a lot, even from having discussions with other learners and getting feedback and ideas from them. I will be looking at developing my knowledge even further in this topic and this course has provided me with a very good foundation to start on. Thank you very much for these great tips and practical strategies that we can employ in inclusive classrooms. Certainly, we have to create our ideal learners in our respective classrooms as teachers.

A key concern in the context of this chapter is considering whether this course could be developed into an accredited CPD programme in South Africa, a request that was expressed by some of the teachers. While a recognized need exists, the key challenge here is to acknowledge the possibilities offered by online learning technologies, that is, what these technologies enable students and facilitators to do in the online teaching and learning environment. Online learning should not be seen as second-­best or just a cheaper alternative to face-­ to-face teaching (Garrison & Kanuka 2004). In fact, used thoughtfully, drawing on a constructivist pedagogy and a clear learning design, it is possible for teachers to benefit significantly from the various features of online learning. One of the clear benefits is that it is asynchronous – that is, teachers can do it in their own time and over a longer period than might be feasible for face-­to-face teaching. Similarly, the online environment allows for activities to be presented in multiple ways and, if carefully constructed, enables valuable interaction with other students, building a community of practice regardless of location. Given the limited expertise that exists nationally and globally to teach on inclusive education and the diverse understandings that exist on the topic, another

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attractive feature of online learning is that it enables expert teachers to bring together different perspectives and contextual insights. The use of online resources by teachers also builds digital literacy, a competency required by teachers and their students. With careful design and some investment of additional resources, ongoing support and practical activities can also be facilitated. However, there are also disadvantages to online learning for teachers. Access to ICTs remains a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, where bandwidth is slow, data is very expensive and not all teachers have suitable electronic devices such as computers. Although smartphones can be used (as one of the teachers on the course demonstrated), they can be quite difficult to use for an entire course. However, and perhaps most importantly, online learning is predicated upon a certain familiarity with how the digital environment operates (van Dijk 2006), a level of familiarity that many teachers in sub-Saharan Africa may not have. Although these challenges are important, the experience of this case study suggests that it is important to find innovative ways to manage them and enhance the possibilities for teachers’ learning. In this regard, the combination of online learning with face-­to-face teaching, as in a blended learning programme, probably offers the greatest possibilities (Garrison & Kanuka 2004). The structured linking of online activities with group meetings in person in a convenient venue may allow for ongoing support and the development of a community of practice. These face-­to-face activities may include specific support activities by the facilitator with the teachers, or teachers from nearby schools coming together to share their experiences and knowledge – an approach that builds on the recognized value of collaborative peer learning for teachers (Singh 2011). Similarly, assessment activities can be set for facilitator and peer evaluation and quality assurance where necessary. In a context such as South Africa, where teachers are required to acquire CPD points, their attendance and performance can be monitored through data-­tracking tools.

Conclusion In their work for the South African Ministry of Education’s Ministerial Committee for Teacher Education, Morrow and Samuels (2005) argue that the value of CPD lies particularly in its capacity to address the complexities of translating policy reforms into practice. The two case studies presented here were designed to enable such value to be added in the development of inclusive

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education in Zimbabwe and South Africa. They were both designed to contribute to a national imperative to build inclusive education as key to the provision of quality education for all learners and to address those inequalities that continue to lead to the effective exclusion of many learners from their education systems. While it has only been possible within the constraints of this chapter to briefly describe the two initiatives and their different approaches, they both demonstrate the value and importance of CPD in building the capacity of teachers to be inclusive practitioners. Both initiatives responded to a need for new knowledge, skills and understandings among teachers so that they can respond adequately to the challenges of the educational contexts of which they are part, especially with regard to the provision of quality education for all children. Although addressing these challenges has been acknowledged to a certain extent in government policy and practice in the two countries, albeit to differing degrees, how they play themselves out in the classroom, and thus what is needed from teacher training at the pre-­service level, has not yet been fully recognized. Although important progress is being made here, it is likely that CPD will continue to feature as the primary vehicle through which teacher capacity for inclusive education is built. Its importance, however, should not only be assessed in relation to these weaknesses in the system. As the chapter suggests, if understandings of inclusive education are built on the recognition that in any educational setting, especially those attempting to overcome the inequalities noted above, there will always be a diversity of learning needs, then teachers will always require ongoing learning to be able to respond to such diversity and, most importantly, enhance the value that such difference brings to the learning experience. This suggests that for both countries to make real their commitment to quality education for all learners, especially learners with disabilities, effective CPD provision that seeks to build and sustain inclusive practitioners must be prioritized. Both case studies suggest that partnerships between government and education role-players within the broader civil society that aim to provide such provision must continue to be pursued and strengthened.

Note 1 See especially the Disabled Persons Act (1992) (Zimbabwe) and the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2015). (The South African Constitutional Framework and the legislation emanating from it address the rights of persons with disabilities.)

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References Acedo, C. (2008), ‘Inclusive Education: Pushing the Boundaries’, Prospects, 38: 5–13. Ainscow, M. and S. Miles (2008), ‘Making “Education for All” Inclusive: Where Next?’, Prospects, 38: 15–34. Ainscow, M., T. Booth and A. Dyson (2006), Improving Schools, Developing Inclusion, London: Routledge. Barton, L. (2002), ‘Inclusive Education and Teacher Education: A Basis for Hope of a Discourse of Delusion’, Professorial Lecture, Institute of Education, University of London. London: IOE. Booth, T. and M. Ainscow (2002), ‘Index for Inclusion. Developing Learning and Participation in Schools’, retrieved 5 July 2016 from http://www.eenet.org.uk/ resources/docs/Index%20English.pdf Chakuchichi, D., L. Nyaruwata and T. Chataika (2015), Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD): Promoting Inclusive Primary Education in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe: An End of Evaluation Report, Harare: Leonard Cheshire Zimbabwe Trust (Leonard Cheshire Disability International). Corbett, J. and R. Slee (2000), ‘An International Conversation on Inclusive Education’, in D. Armstrong, F. Armstrong and L. Barton (eds), Inclusive Education: Policy, Contexts and Comparative Perspectives, London: David Fulton. Dart, G. (2007). ‘Inclusive Education in Botswana’, in P. Engelbrecht and L. Green (eds), Responding to the Challenges of Inclusive Education in Southern Africa, Pretoria: Van Schaik. Department of Education (South Africa) (1996), South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996). Pretoria: Government Printer. Department of Education (South Africa) (1998), Quality Education for All: Overcoming Barriers to Learning and Development. Report of the National Commission on Special Needs in Education and Training and National Committee on Education Support Services. Pretoria: Government Printer. Department of Education (South Africa) (2001), Education White Paper 6 on Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System, Pretoria: Government Printer. Department of Education (South Africa) (2007), The National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa, Pretoria: Government Printer. Department of Social Development (South Africa) (2015), Draft First Periodic Country Report on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (uncrpd), Pretoria: Government Printer. Engelbrecht, P and L. Green (eds) (2007), Responding to the Challenges of Inclusive Education in Southern Africa, Pretoria: Van Schaik. Engelbrecht, P., L. Green, S. Naicker and L. Engelbrecht (eds) (1999), Inclusive Education in Action in South Africa, Pretoria. Pretoria: Van Schaik.

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European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education (2012), Teacher Education for Inclusion: Profile of Inclusive Teachers, Brussels: EADSNE. Garrison, D.R. and H. Kanuka (2004), ‘Blended Learning: Uncovering Its Transformative Potential in Higher Education’, The Internet and Higher Education, 7 (2): 95–105. Howell, C. (2000), ‘Learners with “Special Educational Needs” ’, in T. Mda and S. Mothata (eds), Critical Issues in the South African Education System: After 1994, Kenwyn: JUTA. Howell, C. (2007), ‘Changing Public and Professional Discourse’, in P. Engelbrecht and L. Green (eds), Responding to the Challenges of Inclusive Education in Southern Africa, Pretoria: Van Schaik. Howell, C. and S. Lazarus (2008), ‘White Paper 6: A framework for change or limiting new possibilities?’, in N. Muthukrishna (ed.), Educating for Social Justice and Inclusion in an African Context: Pathways and Transitions, New York: Nova Science. Miles, S. and N. Singal (2010), ‘The Education for All and Inclusive Education Debate: Conflict, Contradiction or Opportunity?’, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 14 (1): 1–15. Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Zimabawe) (2016), ‘Vision and Mission’, retrieved 5 July 2016 from http://www.mopse.gov.zw/index.php/about-­us/mission-­ vision Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Zimbabwe), Education Act no 5 of 1987 (as amended). Morrow, W. and M. Samuels (2005), ‘Conceptual Issues About Teacher Professional Development’, unpublished report prepared for Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education (South Africa). Mothatha, S. (2000), ‘Developments in Legislation and Policy in the Education and Training System’, in T. Mda & S. Mothatha (eds), Critical Issues in South African Education: After 1994, 1–19, Kenwyn: Juta. Mpofu, E., J. Kasayira, M. Mutepfa, R. Chireshe and L. Maunganidze (2007), ‘Inclusive Education in Zimbabwe’, in P. Engelbrecht and L. Green (eds), Responding to the Challenges of Inclusive Education in Southern Africa, Pretoria: Van Schaik. Mutepfa, M.M., E. Mpofu and T. Chataika (2007), ‘Inclusive Education in Zimbabwe: Policy, Curriculum, Practice, Family, and Teacher Education Issues’, Journal of the International Association for Childhood Education, International Focus Issue, 83 (6): 342–46. Muthukrishna, N. (ed.) (2008), Educating for Social Justice and Inclusion in an African Context: Pathways and Transitions, New York: Nova Science. Muthukrishna, N. and M. Schoeman (2000), ‘From “Special Needs” to “Quality Education for All”: A Participatory, Problem-­centred Approach to Policy Development in South Africa’, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 4 (4): 315–35. Muthukrishna, N., A. Ramsuran, J. Pennefather, J. Naidoo and J. Jugmohan (2007), ‘Sense-­making Frameworks: Dominant, Discursive Constructions of Learners and Communities By Teachers in the Context of Intersecting Barriers to Basic Education’, Perspectives in Education, 25 (1): 31–44.

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Nairobi Declaration: Inclusive Post 2015 Development Agenda for Persons with Disabilities in Africa. Retrieved 12 September 2016 from: http://www.cbm.org/ article/downloads/82788/NAIROBI_DECLARATION_INCLUSIVE_POST_20 15_8march2014.pdf Office of the Deputy President (South Africa) (1997), White Paper on an Integrated National Disability Strategy, Pretoria: Government Printer. Oswald, M. (2007), ‘Training Teachers to Become Inclusive Professionals’, in P. Engelbrecht and L. Green (eds), Responding to the Challenges of Inclusive Education in Southern Africa, Pretoria. Van Schaik. Rouse, M. and K. Lapham (eds) (2013), Learning to See Invisible Children: Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Central Asia, New York: Open Society Foundations. Singh, S. (2011), ‘The Role of Staff Development in the Professional Development of Teachers: Implications for In-­service Training’, South African Journal of Higher Education, 25 (8): 1626–38. Slee, R. (1996), ‘Inclusive Schooling in Australia? Not Yet!’, Cambridge Journal of Education, 26 (1): 19–32. Slee, R. (2011), The Irregular School: Exclusion, Schooling and Inclusive Education, Routledge: London. Steyn, G. (2008), ‘Continuing Professional Development for Teachers in South Africa and Social Learning Systems: Conflicting Conceptual Frameworks of Learning’, Koers, 73 (1): 15–31. Steyn, G. (2009), ‘Teachers’ Perceptions of Continuing Professional Development Programmes in South Africa: A Qualitative Study’, Acta Academica, 114–37. Stubbs, S. (2008), Inclusive Education Where There Are Few Resources, Oslo: The Atlas Alliance. UNESCO (1994), ‘The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education: Adopted by the World Conference on Special Needs Education – Access and Quality’. Salamanca, Spain, 7–10 June 1994, Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO (2009), Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education, Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO (2014), ‘Wanted: Trained Teachers to Ensure Every Child’s Right to Primary Education’, Policy Paper 15/Fact Sheet 30. Retrieved on 5 July 2016 from http://www. unesco.org UNESCO (2016), ‘Statistics’. Retrieved 5 July 2016 from: http://www.uis.unesco.org/ DataCentre/Pages/BrowseEducation.aspx United Nations (2006), Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Retrieved 5 July 2016 from http://www.un.org/disabilities/ van Dijk, J.A.G.M. (2006), ‘Digital Divide Research, Achievements and Shortcomings’, Poetics, 34: 4–5. World Vision, UK (2007), ‘Education’s Missing Millions: Including Disabled Children in Education Through EFA FTI Processes and National Sector Plans’, London: World Vision. Zvobgo, R. J. (1997), State Ideology and Education, Gweru: Mambo Press.

Literacy, Numeracy and CPD

8

Mathematics Teachers’ CPD Experience and Classroom Practice: Is CPD Improving Learning in Uganda’s Primary Schools? Charles Obiero

UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States, Lebanon

Betty Akullu Ezati

Makerere University, Uganda

Introduction Using the experience of mathematics teachers in primary schools in Uganda, this chapter discusses provision of continuing professional development (CPD) and the extent to which such training addresses teachers’ needs. DarlingHammond (2000) reports that the most important variable in student achievement is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. In the same way, Rhoton and Stiles (2002) explain that teacher expertise accounts for about 40 per cent of the variance in students’ learning in reading and in their mathematics achievement. This is more than any other single factor, including student background. Given teachers’ significance, it is important to update their content and pedagogical practices in order for them to implement the changes in curriculum, assessment and other socio-­economic changes in society in general. CPD concerns practices aimed at employees’ development beyond that derived from their initial training. It is the updating of professional knowledge by means of formal, short courses and learning through everyday work practices intended to develop professional expertise as well as professional experience which generates learning without learning being an express objective (Heijden et al. 2012). This chapter focuses on a formal form of CPD. One CPD goal is to equip teachers with a personal education that will improve on their professional competence and understanding of education

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principles and techniques (Earley & Bubb 2004). According to Hoyle and Megarry (2006), professional development is the process by which teachers acquire the knowledge and skills essential to good professional practice at each stage of their career. This is why Desimone (2009) asserts that effective CPD results in teacher satisfaction, changes in attitude, and a commitment to innovative teaching practices. The overall aim is to gain relevant pedagogical skills that result in engagements with pupils which facilitate their acquisition of relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes during classroom instruction (Cobb 1994; Cai et al. 2009). These classroom engagements are in the form of spoken discourse, visual representation and social interactions that include monitoring and use of feedback. Effective learning takes place in small groups, in pairs and via whole-­class interactive work that includes extended dialogue and higher-­ order questioning (Westbrook et  al. 2013). Each school within the education system has a facilitative role of enhancing CPD uptake and its application in the classroom (Earley & Bubb 2004; Leithwood 2007). Crucially, however, a well-­ designed CPD must develop the mathematical skills, knowledge and understanding required for better teaching (Cai et al. 2009). The provision of CPD is being pushed by the numerous changes and reforms in the education sector. Altinyelken (2010) reports on the reforms taking place in Uganda regarding curriculum and assessment. Through the Uganda Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), the country initiated a new thematic curriculum from lower primary (Primary 1 to 3) in 2007 and for P4 to 7 in 2010. The focus of the new thematic curriculum was to improve pupils’ achievement in literacy, numeracy and life skills. These curriculum reforms required that teachers upgraded their competencies (Approved Five-Year Strategic Plan 2012/13–2016/17 Institutional Repositioning to a Centre Stage in National Development, 2016). Compounding the adaption to new changes are the challenges of handling large classes. Since the 1990s, many African countries have focused on increasing access to education but there have been dire consequences in terms of quality (Penny et al. 2008; Eilor 2005). It is due to the changes taking place in primary schools that governments have shifted focus to the role of teachers with a call for professional training programmes to retrain teachers in both content and pedagogical skills (Sayed & Ahmed 2015). In Uganda, the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) 2007–15 prioritized the quality and relevance of education and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the education sector. This chapter presents findings on CPD opportunities for primary school teachers, the ways in which they used the skills gained from CPD training, and

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the extent to which CPD met the teachers’ training needs and areas of learning concern. The chapter argues that although CPD opportunities are available, few teachers benefit from it. In addition, the training does not adequately address their training requirements. Many teaching challenges are not addressed, and teachers have little say about the content of the training. Second, the cascade CPD model adopted in Uganda presupposes that tutors will pass on skills and competences to teacher trainees, which often does not happen (TISSA 2013).

Contextualization Uganda’s education system is structured across five levels:

1. pre-­primary, the least developed level with enrolment of only 6 per cent. Provision is largely left in the hands of the private sector actors (MoES 2007), and mainly concentrated in urban areas; 2. primary, which takes seven years for children aged six to twelve years; 3. four years of lower secondary for children aged thirteen to sixteen years, (leading to the Uganda Certificate of Education); 4. two years of advanced secondary education, leading to the award of the Uganda Advanced Certification of Education; 5. tertiary and university education are also available. This chapter focuses on CPD for teachers at the primary level. Primary school teachers are trained in Primary Teachers’ Colleges (PTCs), of which there are forty-­seven across Uganda. Of the forty-­seven, twenty-­three are ‘Core’ PTC, providing both pre-­service and in-­service teacher education. In addition, Core PTCs run outreach activities through their Coordinating Centre Tutors (CCTs), such as community mobilization, continuing professional development for all primary teachers and support to and supervision of teachers in the field (MoES undated). The students join the PTC after obtaining the Uganda Certificate of Education. The training takes two years and graduates are awarded a certificate in primary teaching. The education policies are guided by the government white paper of 1992 and education sector strategies. The 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, for instance, makes provision of primary education for all school-­age children a legal requirement (MoES, 1999). In 1997, Uganda adopted Universal Primary Education (UPE). The guidelines were clearly outlined in the Education Strategic Investment Plan (ESIP) 1998–2003.

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Rolling out UPE entailed abolishing tuition fees and levies in primary education. Consequently, when in 1997 the Ugandan government introduced tuition-­free primary schooling, the ensuing enrolment surge was dramatic. Total primary school enrolment actually tripled from about 2.7 million in 1996 to 8.4 million in 2013 (MoES 2013) to over 9 million as of 2015. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) too progressed from 86 per cent (89 per cent for boys, 82 per cent for girls) in 2000 to 93 per cent (96 per cent for boys, 90 per cent for girls) in 2009, before hitting 96.1 per cent in 2013 (NDP 2010/11–2014/15; MoES 2013). In addition, Uganda experienced demographic pressure, with a high population growth of 3.3 per cent (in 2004–2014); as a result, the school-­age population (six to eighteen years) is projected to reach 20.6 million by 2025. The high growth of population exerts pressure on education provision, a factor that increases demand on infrastructural development and teacher recruitment. In line with increase in enrolment, education sector expenditure rose, in nominal terms, from UGX 250 billion in 1997/98 to UGX 1.4 trillion in 2012/13 – which translates into an increment of 460 per cent within a fifteen-­ year period (MoES 2013; Okurut 2011). As of 2016, the primary sector had the highest recurrent budget allocation of 53.90 per cent, followed by secondary education at 30 per cent, but teacher education allocation amounted to a dismal 2.5 per cent (MoES 2016). So in short, the implementation of UPE led to a surge in enrolment, teacher shortages and ultimately massive over-­recruitment of under-­qualified teachers. In response, the government then established the Teacher Development and Management System (TDMS) in 1997, to coordinate pre-­service and in-­ service training, and to equip the teachers with the required pedagogical skills by means of upgrading and intensive courses (Eilor 2005). Through TDMS, unqualified teachers underwent initial teacher preparation as an in-­service course for three years and qualified with a primary teacher certificate Grade 3. By 2011, the level of untrained teachers in public primary schools was just 3 per cent. In 2004, TDMS was restructured and renamed the Primary Teacher Development and Management Programme (PTDMP) to coordinate continuing professional development with a focus on improved subject-content knowledge and increased practical skills. Despite the restructuring, the PTDMP did not manage to increase opportunities in teacher education as intended (Penny et  al. 2008; Robinson & Murphy 1996: 21). In most cases, the professional development programmes focused on developing generic teaching skills or introducing new curricula (Pryor et al. 2012) instead of on skills required for teaching specific subjects. Thus, the National Development Plan (NDP)

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2010/11–2014/15 reports that primary education in Uganda was characterized by outmoded pedagogy, high levels of teacher absenteeism, and uneven distribution of teachers across school areas.

Description of the study This chapter is based on a study conducted in Uganda in rural schools from the Wakiso district and urban schools from the Kampala district. CPD in Uganda is decentralized to the PTCs, each of which is in charge of a network of Coordinating Centres (CCs). There are currently 539 CCs compared with the 570 planned. The CCs are managed by a Coordinating Centre Tutor (CCT). There are twenty-­three CCs in Kampala, and thirty-­four in Wakiso. CPD is implemented through the CCs, and each Centre is responsible for supporting a cluster of approximately eighty primary schools. The CCTs are expected to play a critical role in engaging the schools’ teachers and creating a learning community, especially by engaging teachers in CPD modelled on experiential learning. A key task of CPD is to encourage and develop ‘learning teachers’ and to facilitate planned learning and professional development activities. The CCTs are supposed to observe the teaching practices, and where necessary give guidance. Using the CC administrative structure, and in collaboration with CCTs, development partners also provide CPD. (Although it is an obligation of the government to provide professional development, due to limited capacity, a number of development partners play a crucial role.) Therefore, the Department of Teacher Instructor Education and Training (TIET) has put in place a coordination mechanism to support joint collaboration between the government and development partners on the professional development activities for teachers taking place in Uganda. The CPD initiatives are subject to review within the planning and management system of the Ministry of Education and Sports, and approval granted if appropriate. In order to enable CCTs to conduct training to a good standard, MoES ran a series of courses, and during 2008/09, a total of 541 CCTs were facilitated to support 129,000 teachers in the CPD programme within the cluster of schools (MoES 2010). A cascade approach was used to reskill the teachers, whereby tutors from the Primary Teachers’ Colleges were trained with a view to equipping primary school teachers with the appropriate expertise. This model does not, however, fully integrate the concept of social justice in teacher quality, except in addressing equity in the

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distribution of trained teachers. The emphasis has to be on enhancing diverse pupils’ life chances, utilizing varied teaching strategies and assessments that foster critical thinking and multiple perspectives, and working from an asset, rather than a deficit, perspective on learning and schooling (Shakman et al. 2007). CPDs employ a combination of distance education and short residential face-­to-face sessions during holidays to deliver training. The use of alternative models that include mentoring, observation and professional discussion is also common and if they take a modular approach, they are equated to in-­service training. This cascade approach worked well when there was sufficient funding from the government to sustain country-wide training, and succeeded in reducing the proportion of untrained teachers.

Methodology This chapter is a result of a research conducted in 2015. The study epistemology is cognizant of the contribution of CPD towards overhauling teachers’ skills, attitudes and values in classroom practices. That is made possible when assessing the teachers’ real-­life experiences of CPD (Frid 2000; Miller & Salkind 2002). The social reality is that a teacher’s CPD experience is based on what is learnt and the extent to which a learner is proactively engaged in the process and has his or her needs met.Therefore the study employed a qualitative,phenomenological approach focusing on the experiences of nine Grade 6 mathematics teachers who underwent CPD training. Phenomenological research allows for a socially constructed and subjective focus on the meanings derived in a CPD setting, and requires five to fifteen respondents who meet the appropriate criteria. According to Smith, Flowers and Larkin (2009), detailed data from three to nine respondents is sufficient for a phenomenology study. As noted above, the study was conducted in the Wakiso (rural) and Kampala (urban) districts in Uganda. The participants were drawn from nine primary schools that had been purposely selected from a total of thirty schools that participated in the 2012 National Assessment of Progress in Education (NAPE). A mathematics lesson observation was conducted in each of the nine teachers’ classes and in one of the CPD workshops organized by the development partner. In addition, interviews were conducted with education officials (two), head teachers (nine), CPD manager (one), facilitators of the development partners in CPD, and also with the teachers who participated in NGO-organized CPD. In addition, a focus group discussion was held with sampled Grade 6 pupils.

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Table 8.1  School sample size and number of interviews Respondents/data collection tools

Wakiso

Kampala

Total

No. of schools

5

4

9

Interviews Grade 6 Mathematics Teachers Head Teacher Education Officials NGO CPD Participants NGO CPD Facilitator Teachers who attended NGO CPD

5 5 1 2 1 2

4 4 1

9 9 2 2 1 2

5

4

9 1

Observations Grade 6 Mathematics NGO CPD Workshop

Education officials referenced in the study included one from TIET and a CCT responsible for provision. A summary of the primary schools and interviews conducted is illustrated in Table 8.1. The research explored the following research questions: l

l

l

What are the CPD opportunities for mathematics teachers in primary schools? Did the teacher utilize the CPD knowledge and skills in their classes? To what extent did the CPD meet the teachers’ training needs and pupil learning requirements?

The data was analysed using an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to determine the teachers’ CPD experience and their classroom practices. The data was also compared with findings from the analysis of the 2012 National Assessment of Progress in Education.

Analysis and discussion CPD opportunities for mathematics teachers in Ugandan primary schools Findings from this study show that CPD opportunities are provided by both government and NGOs. The Ugandan government of Uganda recognizes CPD

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provisions as a cornerstone of quality education. In line with this, the Department of Teacher Instructor Education and Training is responsible for the Teacher Development Management System framework coordination, and at regional level, has twenty-­three core teacher training institutions that provide outreach teacher professional development across the country. The core teacher training institutions cover several districts and in each district, a cluster of primary schools is placed under the responsibility of the Coordinating Centre Tutors. The three levels of management are responsible for supporting the provision of CPD. An analysis of the CPD interventions available to teachers, how it is organized, its content and the follow-­up support is discussed below.

CPD interventions available to primary school teachers Interviews held with teachers on their experiences of CPD give a helpful account of the types of CPD interventions they have attended during the previous three years. In summary, the CPDs available to primary school teachers are either pedagogy- or subject/content-­based. Other forms of CPD available to the teachers were self-­sponsored, offered in teacher training institutions, and typically led to higher education qualifications such as diploma and degree programmes. As such, they are not discussed in this chapter. Pedagogy-­based CPD usually takes place in a workshop setting and often lasts from one day to two weeks. That said, some programmes have extended support to schools on a termly basis for up to two years. This approach is mainly used by the TIET and development partners/NGOs. The interviews with the teacher and education officials revealed that the development partners and NGOs regularly identify priority areas based on pupils’ learning challenges and thereafter schools and teachers are selected in consultation with the TIET officials and CCTs. In this situation, the main goal of the CPD is to improve teachers’ pedagogical and classroom skills. Similarly, development partners – in collaboration with TIET – have developed targeted pedagogical courses to enable teachers to address their training needs. Some of the programmes involve a set of schools and teachers undergoing modular training for up to two weeks and subsequently benefiting from follow-­up support for anything from one month to two years. Most of the programmes address learning gaps targeting sub-regions that reported poor performance in numeracy and literacy, with CCTs closely involved in the implementation and follow-­up.

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Subject-/content-­based CPD focuses on training teachers in new developments in the curriculum or upgrading of subject content, including specific curriculum learning areas. While used rarely by development partners, this approach is often used by education officials, typically from the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) and the Core Primary Teacher Colleges’ (PTCs) outreach department. The duration of the CPD varies but is usually between one and five days. The interviews conducted with mathematics teachers in nine schools indicated that only seven of nine teachers had accessed CPD in the last three years. As shown in Table  8.2, only four teachers reported attending CPD arranged by CCTs, while two participated in CPD organized at the national level (MoES) and five attended those implemented by the development partners and NGOs. According to one of the CCTs, the CPD interventions were designed to meet teachers’ specific requirements but due to limited resources were not carried out country-­wide. Table 8.2 gives a summary of CPD attendance of the interviewed teachers. Findings presented in Table 8.2 implied that although the CPD framework was well structured, there was no guarantee that all teachers would be able to access the training. Also not all the teachers benefited equally in the CPD supported by the government or by the development partners.

Organization of CPD training and follow-­up support CPD interventions were mainly organized by two actors: the government; and development partners/NGOs. Within the government framework, the policy Table 8.2  Teacher-­attended CPDs by type and provider in the last three years Initiator of CPD Ministry of Education and Sports • CCTs (cluster-based – Regional) • National level Development partners Total

Pedagogy SubjectPedagogy and Total CPD Content CPD Subject CPD –

2

2

 4

– 4 4

2

– 1 3

 2  5 11

4

Note: Teachers could have experienced more than one type of CPD intervention (N=9): two out of nine teachers reported not having experienced any

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requires that CPD is conducted onsite in schools or at a training centre within the CCTs’ cluster area. The CCTs work in collaboration with head teachers in order to implement teachers’ CPD, and the CCTs are trained so that they might themselves train the teachers in turn. This ‘cascade model’ did not ensure accessibility of CPD to all the teachers, however, even though it has been highlighted in other studies as the most effective form of professional development, principally because it must be based in schools and related to the daily activities of teachers and learners (Darling-Hammond 2006; 1998). Timperly (2008) has argued in favour of context-­specific approaches, as they not only promote effective teaching practices but also systematically assist teachers to translate those principles into locally adapted applications. The teachers reported receiving CCT training on good teaching practices; some had more than one course. One head teacher said: ‘. . . The school is asked to identify areas of weakness that the teachers have and share them with the CCT. The training sessions take place at the beginning of term.’ Due to limited resources for the CCTs to conduct school-­based CPD, in Wakiso and Kampala some of the head teachers have pooled resources to allow the CCTs to conduct pedagogical training for the teachers. This is a new and evolving practice in these areas, but means that up to five CCTs are able to offer communal training and support supervision. The CCTs have also collaborated with those tutors responsible for outreach programmes for PTCs with regard to the induction and mentoring of teachers. For instance, master trainers drawn from the core PTCs and Kyambogo University train the CCTs, mentors and the head teachers. One education official said: . . . we have mentoring system going on in a number of identified colleges where we have international mentors working together with national mentors to support the college, including the principal, the deputy principal outreach and the CCTs.

The use of international and national mentors who are mainly drawn from experienced teachers was meant to leverage their experience and also increase the CCTs’ capacity to support the teachers. The CPD framework allows for support supervision for teachers by the CCTs in their jurisdiction or by the CPD provider. The CCTs are equipped and facilitated to conduct support supervision and pedagogical training at school level. The aim is to equip newly qualified and experienced teachers with effective classroom practices. According to education officials, the planning and reporting

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of the progress in the CPD was done quarterly during a stakeholder forum of the Teacher Education Working Group (TWEG). The teachers confirmed that follow-­up support was conducted for the pedagogy-­based CPD. However, that support did not necessarily cover all schools, with some teachers reporting that they had not been visited by the CCTs for three years. Some of the teachers were frustrated not to have participated in CPD nor have been visited by the CCTs, while others felt that the support supervision was inadequate. This situation was confirmed by an education official, who reported that ‘. . . the CCTs are not adequately trained and resourced to effectively provide professional support to the teachers’. Indeed TISSA (2013) points out that CCTs face challenges that tend to undermine the effectiveness of their support, including inadequate transport, which makes school visits difficult (not all have a motorbike, and fuel allowances are also thin on the ground). Some CCTs have limited skills, which in turn makes the quality of the support offered to teachers poor. At school level, the head teacher and senior teachers are meant to offer supervision support, but that support is often patchy in terms of both regularity and quality. Head teachers and senior teachers often have too heavy a workload to supervise others, while the classroom teachers tend not to view supervision feedback positively. In Uganda, teachers are supervised only very rarely after gaining their initial qualification from training institutions – indeed they often resist attempts at supervision where these are made – thus making it difficult to assess their learning needs.

Content of CPD interventions The objective of the pedagogy-­based CPD was to equip teachers with the appropriate skills for instructional planning, classroom management and creativity in their use of active teaching and learning (ATL). The training content covered lesson-­planning techniques, time management and classroom interaction, including imaginative ways to create an accessible classroom environment. The teachers reported learning techniques for test item development and handling large classes. The teachers started understanding the importance of introducing learning objectives to unlock pupils’ learning processes. They learnt fascinating approaches for captivating learner interest in the use of teaching strategies such as brainstorming, jigsaw-­making, writing and learning, and creating a ‘spider map’, graphic organizer that helps learners to organize their thoughts around particular topics and sub-­topics. One teacher described the spider-­map strategy as:

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. . . a strategy whereby learners are put into groups and a topic assigned to them. Afterwards each group discusses the subtopic and then they come together to present [the information].

Although CCTs would often undertake a review of the schemes of work and lesson plans, according to the teachers, they rarely observed lessons, even though doing so would have provided a better opportunity for identifying any skill or knowledge gaps that impacted the lessons. This may explain why most of the teachers reported not having benefited from any support in their mathematics lessons. One teacher said: ‘. . . we need continuing professional development to acquire the up-­to-date approaches of teaching and strategies required in the classrooms.’ Studies on the features of CPD that result in effective professional development include integrating new knowledge into teachers’ classroom practice, learning together with colleagues, and being actively engaged in meaningful discussions (Van Veen et al. 2012). Quattlebaum (2011) identified nine standards that all professional development should follow, including: content knowledge and quality teaching; research basis; collaboration; diverse learning needs; student learning environments; family involvement; evaluation; data-­driven design; and teacher learning. The head teachers were instrumental in identifying the main areas of professional development for their teachers. In addition, the tutors from core PTCs and CCTs supported peer learning and mentorship programmes in schools. The CCTs were master trainers for the outreach programme to promote the application of twenty-­first-century skills. Subject-­based CPD involved training on subject content and tasks in mathematics during the learning process. The teachers were equipped with the subject knowledge and skills relevant to the application of concepts in mathematics with which learners typically had difficulties. The teachers indicated that they received training on the use of assessment related to the national examination and national assessment items. None of the teachers reported having been trained on the new thematic curriculum, but such training was integrated with the cascaded approach from the CCTs, who planned for subject training in their clusters. Most head teachers stated that their staff had weak pedagogical skills in mathematics teaching. Training in this subject was sought from the examiners of the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB), and the subject-­based CPD offered gave the teachers opportunity to improve their subject-­content knowledge in addressing challenging tasks in curriculum topic areas.

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Primary teachers’ utilization of CPD knowledge and skills The ways in which CPD knowledge and skills are applied are crucial to successful outcomes for teachers and learners alike. To that end observations were undertaken to establish teachers’ application of the CPD knowledge and skills gained during training, including how best to advocate for social justice in the classroom. The intended learning of a CPD intervention, as noted above, is to improve the pedagogical skills required for effective teaching practices across four key areas: planning; relevance and content; delivery; and assessment and evaluation.

Planning In this first phase of teacher lesson preparation, it was observed that two teachers did not have lesson plans and schemes of work; yet another had a poorly prepared lesson plan that did not fulfil the required steps for a good-­quality class.

Relevance and content Some of the teachers did attempt to build on mathematical concepts, however; indeed one took the pupils through mental exercises in multiplication to capture the process of repeated addition, while another engaged pupils in critical thinking and building of learning ideas. This helped pupils to develop their own reasoning and thus enhance their mastery of mathematical concepts. That said, some teachers found it challenging to handle those learners who had not been able to grasp certain concepts, and just as Altinyelken (2010) says, regardless of CPD provisions, there is no certainty that teachers will be able to successfully make use of the Child-Centred Approach (CCP) as intended.

Delivery Lesson delivery training involved guidance on a range of instructional strategies that include whole-­class, group and individual tasks. During whole-­class tasks, some teachers wrote out and solved problems on the blackboard, while another engaged pupils by allowing them solve the problems on the blackboard while others watched and asked them to justify the answers given, thus helping pupils reflect and check their understanding. Two teachers introduced singing to capture pupils’ attention, while questions were answered through chorus in the classroom or by picking individual pupils to respond. However, only two teachers used small-­group tasks, with one teacher asking pupils to work in pairs. In one school, a teacher used a group of pupils in a class demonstration of a mathematics

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concept. In general, the focus and coherence of maths teaching varied: in some schools lessons were poorly defined, did not meet students’ learning needs and failed to explain key tasks and concepts adequately. Overall, only two teachers demonstrated an effective use of classroom practices. The use and availability of teaching aids appeared to be a challenge for some of the teachers. One teacher said: Yes, for some time in the lesson on the topic of construction, I had no blackboard ruler and divider, so I had to improvise. I had to explain to the pupils so that they could understand what to do. But after a while the school purchased the teaching aids for drawing.

Some schools had pupils making use of individual mathematical set instruments (ruler, compass and dividers) to construct the line segments. Another teacher used coloured chalks to explain the concept of probability, while another demonstrated the concept of fractions by cutting up oranges and cassavas. The majority of the teachers used chalkboards for teaching and learning with various mathematical concepts demonstrated, pictures drawn and problems solved as pupils watched. Other teachers found it tricky to handle large-­class situations.

Assessment and evaluation The fourth and final phase observed was on assessment and evaluation. Here, the teachers gave the pupils exercises from textbooks, observed the pupils performing the tasks and then marked their work. In several cases, the teachers discussed with the pupils mistakes they had spotted, and corrected their work. In some of the schools, the pupils shared textbooks and this delayed the individual tasks provided in the classroom. Some of the teachers actively involved learners in solving the problems. They also made use of probing questions to engage learners in solving the mathematical problems. In addition, pupils were given homework. The pupils stated that they were supported in their homework by their parents, siblings and other relatives at home. However, one pupil said she prefers to work alone and will ask her teacher for support if required: ‘. . . I want to work [questions] out alone so that I know it was my brain [that answered them]. I don’t want to get answers without working for it. Therefore, I work out answers myself and then ask the teacher to correct me when I get back to school.’ Although assessment formed a strong component of CPD workshops, discussion with education officials indicated that when it comes to preparing tests, the teachers rely on purchasing test papers and in class they rely on textbooks for assessment. This were also observed by the researcher as the

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individual tasks were all drawn from the core textbooks used in the classroom. Despite the national implementation of the CPD programmes in Uganda, there were gaps in meeting the training needs of the teachers, especially in mathematics. The observed gaps in CPD competences may be attributed to no systematic approach to professional training for teachers of mathematics (Kyeyune et  al. 2007). Given that the focus of the Education 2030 agenda is on inclusive and quality education that builds on literacy and numeracy as foundation skills, teachers’ classroom practices must be addressed urgently. In Uganda, as in many other developing countries, teachers must contend with overcrowded classrooms and scarce classroom resources (EFA 2014).

The contribution of CPD to teachers’ professional needs and pupils’ learning requirements The contribution of CPD to teachers’ professional needs and pupil learning outcomes is the cornerstone of effective teachings. The analysis makes use of the teachers’ stated changes in attitude and challenges in pedagogical skills acquired when attending the CPD described above. This analysis looks at the: adequacy of the CPD to teachers’ pedagogical needs; the appropriateness of CPD follow-­ up support and facilitation; and relevance of CPD to the weak areas of pupils’ learning outcomes.

Appropriateness of the CPD to teacher pedagogical needs Despite attending the CPD interventions outlined above, teachers still require regular support to improve their teaching practices and to regularly upgrade their skills. The research noted that CCTs did encourage head teachers to give teachers opportunities as part of on-­the-job experience, mentoring and attending continuing professional development. The main challenges teachers have is that they must prioritize completing the syllabus over individual learner needs. Most teachers in the two districts still found it difficult to use Bloom’s Taxonomy. The research revealed teachers struggle to set tests that suit their learners’ needs; other challenges include poor lesson preparation, the inability to use teaching aids, and sharing of textbooks between more than two pupils at school level. One head teacher said: ‘The teachers just go to class unprepared: they do make schemes of work, but lessons plans are rarely prepared. The teachers have serious challenges.’

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Another difficulty is that pupils, parents and teachers alike regard mathematics as a hard subject, and the situation is exacerbated when teachers display weak pedagogical skills. The upper-­grade teachers are required to incorporate the concepts students may have missed in the lower grades, and issues regarding large class sizes continue to be troubling. As one teacher put it: ‘Though I feel I incorporated what was learnt during the CPD attended, I still have challenges. The main problem is the large classroom [size] and we were not taught how to handle it well . . . there are also challenges within adequate teaching materials.’ The teachers also cited other problems around school-­based CPD opportunities, including: the limited transfer of CPD knowledge; inadequate CCT support supervision; and lack of financial support regarding transport needed to attend cluster meetings. In addition, the teachers did not have entirely positive experiences of the CPD attended, principally because allowances were not given for CPD attendance. In addition, many teachers complained that the training was too short; some had already requested a booster session. Furthermore, in some instances the CPD sessions had not had the appropriate or sufficient training materials. Most of the school-­based training took one to two days, with a possibility of a follow-up. An appropriate CPD framework is one which allows teachers to have life-long access to a high-­quality experience that enhances teaching for teachers and learning for learners (Day 1999; Earley & Bubb 2004). Teachers require a career-­long entitlement to professional development opportunities at different stages of their career. Short and fragmented in-­service training does not meet the standards for teachers to acquire the necessary pedagogical skills. All the CPD opportunities were non-­residential workshops with a duration of one to five days, while some took up to two weeks. The two-­week CPD programmes offered detailed modular courses, and one of them included a two-­year classroom follow-­up.

Adequacy of CPD follow-­up support and facilitation Another limitation is lack of regular support supervision from CCTs and head teachers. According to a 2016 MoES report, some coordinating centres do not have substantive and full-­time CCTs but made use of caretakers who work on part-­time basis. This means some CCTs are in charge of more than one coordinating centre in addition to teaching in colleges where there is inadequate staffing. However, there is no extra payment for this increased workload. In total, Uganda has a shortfall of 154 CCT officials to cover the whole country. Of these

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Table 8.3  Staffing gaps in the Wakiso and Kampala districts S/N

Core PTC

No. of CCs

CCTs staffing gap

1 2 3 4 5 6

Ndegeya Bulera Kabulasoke Busuubizi Kibuli Shimoni Total

10 41 24 24 13 22 134

12 18 5 7 1 3 46

Source: TIET 2016

forty-­six are in the Wakiso and Kampala districts. Table 8.3 presents the staffing gap of CCTs in coordinating centres in these areas. The successful incorporation of CPD would require a full facilitation of teaching and learning materials. All the schools had pupils sharing textbooks; in some cases, one book was shared by three pupils, while in others five pupils were sharing. In one school, pupils at some desks did not have a textbook, prompting the teacher to write the problems on the blackboard. At school level, and after attending the CPD, some teachers stated that they could not implement effectively what they learnt due to the inadequate provision of textbooks and teaching aids. In one instance, the teacher had to persuade the head teacher to procure a blackboard set to be used in a geometry lesson, although pupils had to provide their own. According to Hardman et al. (2011), the CCTs lack technical capacity as they receive only short-­term onsite and refresher skills training. They have capacity gaps in addressing the mentoring/coaching type of training, among other aspects. The Teacher Development Management System (TDMS) framework was established with the lowest administrative units being the Cluster Centres with CCTs responsible for supporting a cluster of primary schools, but the CCTs were not adequately trained and resourced to effectively provide professional support to the teachers.

Relevance of the CPD to the weak areas of pupils’ learning outcomes An analysis of the 2012 National Assessment of Progress in Education (NAPE) indicates that the majority of the pupils had acquired the desired proficiency in the

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operation of numbers, number systems and assigning value and graphs. However, a significant proportion of the pupils had weak competencies in the operation of three-­digit (and above) numbers for multiplication and division. In addition, the pupils had difficulties in applying the concept of BODMAS in the operation and the use of symbols (>,