Training teachers as key players in poverty alleviation

Abstract

This article presents several questions, reflections and suggestions on pre-service and in-service teacher training that arose during the project “Curricular innovation and poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa”. While recognizing that the situation in the nine countries taking part in the project, and in many other countries in the southern hemisphere, is marked by a huge lack of teachers, with the attendant urgency and pressure, it must also be stated that the economic and social status of teachers is not always equal to the needs of the schools and societies. In this project on the place of the school in poverty alleviation and the promotion of peace, the role of the teachers was soon seen to be crucial. The analysis of the common areas of the demands made on teachers from the northern hemisphere and of the specific needs and realities of the countries from the south enabled us to start building possible responses in the short and medium term in the countries where Education for All (EFA) is not yet a fully fledged reality.

Annex

 

Pre-service and in-service teacher training
Country/organization	1) Aspects	2) Content	3) Methodology
ANGOLA	Pre-service training (PST): Introduce good practices into the training curriculum Interaction between trainers at teacher training colleges of ADPP model with trainers from public institutions Strengthening policy dialogue between the various teacher training institutions In-service training (IST): Can be introduced at the level of the individual school, independently of national and provincial planning New issues: - How to adapt a good practice (GP) in IST for use in PST - How to train while taking into account the principles of equity and quality in a context of mass admission of teaching staff	PST: No comment IST: Teachers must be trained on how to use textbooks Use of textbooks to be included as a training topic	Any new methodology introduced must be activity-based to challenge the pupils with practical rather than theoretical questions The focus should be on group work in the new methodologies used in PST and IST teacher training
BURKINA FASO	Training issues linked to: - social mobility - identification of children’s specific difficulties and needs - management of the system - an “integrative” school New issue: What areas must PST and IST cover to enable teachers to face new challenges	The training contents must enable the teacher to: - be a player in socio-economic development - go beyond learning activities to ensure care and support for the pupils at school - ensure the link between the school and the main concerns of the local community - be a critical observer of society - learn how to learn New issue: Which competencies need to be identified to enable teachers to carry out their new duties?	The choice of methodology and techniques should enable: - the trainee teacher to be creative and innovative - ensure in both PST and IST a permanent two-way process between practice and theory - the teachers to assess the efficiency of their actions New issue: Arrangements, strategies and technical means to be implemented in order to reach the new goals.
BURUNDI	PST should be sufficiently long to enable proper learning of methods and techniques PST should be balanced professional training that alternates theory with practice, in response to present challenges The link between PST and IST must be a logical continuum, with IST getting PST into gear New issues: - Harmony between the teacher and the pupil - Putting the learner at the centre of education, and preparing him or her to adopt positive values - Orienting attitudes and behaviours towards the child’s social welfare	In addition to training linked to a professional career: - the psychological and social care of vulnerable children - organizing community activities - education on peace and human rights - HIV/AIDS and development - good administrative and pedagogical management - giving the pupils a sense of responsibility - a flexible curriculum worked out in collaboration with the local community - fostering equity New issues: - The curriculum and activities should integrate the values of peace and human rights - The local curriculum must be worked out in a spirit of mutual aid and social cohesion	A participatory, interactive approach Differentiated pedagogy Case studies
CONGO	A policy for teacher training and supervisors drawn up with respect to their: - needs - lacunae - expectations - questions on the teacher’s role and status New issues: - The teacher’s role is becoming more and more complex; in primary school, where there is a high proportion of female teachers, how to take on this role - How to reconcile this new role that appears to be demanding with the weight of social and cultural traditions - How to handle taboos on certain issues such as the spread of HIV/AIDS and other underlying problems	Encourage teachers to: - adopt all of the techniques to teach and transmit knowledge - master the thematic modules on education for peace and education on human rights - build up personal competency on issues concerning HIV/AIDS and malaria - integrate a culture of assessing learning, teaching guides and running a school - develop a school canteen programme
MALI	The necessary reduction in the number of teachers needed requires several initiatives, some of which include alternative ways of action: - renewal of PST system - increase in the number of teacher training institutions - alternative recruitment strategies - recourse to teachers from the local communities - non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to take part in PST to handle specific problems linked to recruitment and training Nearly all of these initiatives are confronted with a lack of resources in the countries concerned that have to rely on the generosity of the technical and financial partners (PTF) New issues: - Mobilize the countries around the design and servicing of national teacher training policies - Reflect on a retention policy for teachers by improving their status - Mobilize the countries to build and share the GP and the lessons learned	The curricula and pedagogical innovations must be linked to teacher training	-Training by attending courses -Training by distance learning, in particular over the radio -Training by guidance and follow-up on the job -Setting up a proper mechanism for IST -IST to be developed by the schools themselves with the teachers identifying their training needs themselves and looking for answers New issues: - Training to be carried out by alternating theory and practice - How to make the teachers more professional
MAURITIUS	Teacher training is a strategic factor for a school that brings together quality and equity New issues: On IST: - How to provide for more quality and equity - How to create a closer relationship and more regular contacts with the local communities - How to design tools to assess the teachers’ profile in their new role of citizenship to show that they are reflecting on their actions and showing empathy towards the pupils	New issue: On IST: - How to make room in teacher training for this new vision of the “school for tomorrow” with new roles for teachers	New issues: On IST: - What must be done to ensure that the teachers puts into practice the theories learned during training, that is, the transfer into real-life situations? - How to “follow” the teachers after their IST (partnership between the schools and teacher trainers) - With globalization and the knowledge economy, how to make available to the teachers the new technologies with respect to their training, the practice of reflecting on their work, and their responsibilities concerning their new roles
MOZAMBIQUE	Today, school is an essential factor in poverty alleviation, particularly in rural areas School functions must go beyond those of traditional pedagogy and include social aspects The main aspects for PST and IST are: - the teacher as change agent and promoter of development - the teacher as intermediary between the school and the local community - the teacher as an example and model for pupils and community alike The reality and context impose the need for PST and IST New issues: - What is the role of the teacher training institution as a leader and initiator of change in the traditional school? - How to ensure quality PST that covers all pedagogical and social dimensions	The curricula must include content that responds to the concerns of the population, such as HIV/AIDS, first aid, tolerance, education for peace, human rights and democracy, ethics, reproductive health, nutrition, reasonable use of natural resources, fight against drug abuse and alcoholism, etc.	-Give priority to practice over theory -Need to equip teachers with strategies for lifelong learning -Ability to observe and critically analyse reality to be able then to act on it
NIGER	- Take into account the innovations concerning the GP, in the regulations and national policies for teacher training - Mobilize all partners in education and, if need be, make a case to foster the GP as a solution to poverty New issues: - Emphasize the strengthening the competencies of the head teachers to provide guidance and supports to teachers in post - Implement a system to motivate teachers and improve their living and working conditions	- Review and reorganize the current programmes or integrate into the new curricula the GP depending on the context and reality of each country - Integrated into the IST programmes the dimensions concerning the GP New issue: - Put special emphasis on techniques for group leadership, mobilizing the school’s partners, taking initiative and moral integrity	New issue: - Challenge the current arrangements for PST and IST with respect to the duration of PST and the content and organization of both PST and IST
RWANDA	PST in its present form does not satisfy the needs of education today; it focuses mainly on knowledge and does not take into account the real problems of the learners and the society in which they must live IST is not properly structured; some people consider that there is no official policy adopted by the authorities and the roles of all concerned in IST are not clearly defined	PST should take into account the reforms and methodologies introduced into the basic education curriculum IST should enable close collaboration between the institutions responsible for teacher training IST should be coordinated to ensure that the teachers receive coherent information that will help them properly carry out their duties	PST should allocate much more time to teaching practice and be adapted to dealing with real-life situations The teacher trainer institutions should provide follow-up to newly qualified teachers, not only on how to adapt the theory to the real-life situations on the job, but also to help those teachers who are having difficulty
TTISSA	The traditional dividing line between PST and IST can turn into a flexible, interactive zone depending on the objectives chosen The balance between PST and IST is less a question of numerical proportion than a response to an analytical approach that is dependent on the goals to be achieved and the barriers to be overcome One goes with the other, and both must converge to build the school that we want to set up New issue: At the institutional level, unite the PST institutions with the IST departments in the same vision of a school for all, including the issues and requirements attached	The curricula are the backbone of PST and IST, but they are of use only if they give the teachers in the exercise of their duties the tools with which to identify and respond efficiently to the pedagogical and extra-pedagogical problems in their context and time frame Any aspect of Education for All (EFA) that is not taken into account in the curricula will be integrated with difficulty into the teacher’s sphere of competence New issue: Convey in the syllabus such intangible concepts as the fight against poverty or education for peace, without getting caught in a cosmetic operation that has no real effect or substance	With respect to PST/IST methodology, there is no unique approach, but rather several aspects that remain constant, for instance, the permanent link between theory and practice and the need to contextualize theoretical learning PST/IST methodologies should be methodologies in action, that is, leading to the acquisition of competencies that the multiple and changing situations on the job require of the new teacher, supported by a sound and coherent theoretical base New issue: Integrate the component on anticipation skills to help the teachers to take on their new roles serenely and confidently
IBE (collected notes)	PST should be enriched by what is happening in the field PST and IST should interact in a constant flow Links between the teacher training institutions must be set up Mauritius: Strengthening the commitment of the head teachers is a major necessity Mali: PST is carried out by teacher training institutions using an alternating strategy, that is, 90 days of training and guidance when they start teaching IST is designed to meet the needed up-skilling of teachers having different profiles IST is carried out in the schools, under the name of “learning communities” that are found in one-third of the schools in Mali Republic of the Congo: There is synergy between the training college for primary school teachers (National Institute of Research and Pedagogical Action/INRAP) and the one for secondary school teachers, with emphasis on the innovations in PST The up-skilling of all the teachers is achieved through IST, at the rate of one month a year, every year Head teachers and teacher trainers also undergo IST Burundi: There are two PST systems IST is carried out by: - experienced teachers - the educational radio service - a platform for training consisting of classroom courses, face-to-face sessions and distance learning through the educational radio service (2007–2010) - schools on the child’s friend pilot project address the HIV/AIDS issue There is no budget line to finance IST, which depends on the support of the PTF There is no university institution for IST; it is carried out at the level of educational offices Burkina Faso: Two institutes are responsible for PST The link between training and practice is done on the job. IST is designed by the Ministry of Basic Education during the summer Angola: The desire to design training to enable the passage from four to six years of primary schooling (the 10th to 13th years are allocated to the training of teachers) has led to the introduction of an entry examination that can discourage candidates, but also leads to teachers with a higher level of training Teacher training institutes have been opened in the provinces Over 60,000 teachers and teaching assistants with very little training have been recruited The National Institute for Research and Education Development (INIDE) and the management training institute have designed subject-based methodologies; eighteen centres have been opened for all those who reach at least the 9th year, using distance education (UNESCO/IICBA-UNISA)	When the curriculum changes, it is also necessary to take action on the training of teachers with several possible concomitant strategies that aim to: - include the training of trainers - make the link with real-life situations and send the trainers out to observe innovations in the field - include the resource persons involved in these initiatives Mozambique: Including transversal themes in the training Mauritius: Developing the dimension of “commitment and involvement of young teachers” and strengthening IST while at the same time giving on-the-job support to teachers working in the priority education zone (ZEP) schools. The need to draw up a list of competencies for teachers in terms of subjects, teaching practices and classroom management	Linking theory and practice in PST Mozambique: Give teachers the opportunity to reflect on their practices Make the teachers autonomous so that they can act independently on the job when they are confronted with the practice of teaching As the time spent on PST is often short (one year) and the need for new teachers remains huge, PST and IST must be connected because one has to work from the real situation, with what one has Mauritius: Support for teachers is based on classroom visits (teaching supervision) and on training during the holidays, organized around needs observed in class during the year (pre-professional) School inspectors have a major role to play Burundi: The teaching of large groups must be improved in order to face up to the problem of pupil numbers The training of head teachers, with the support of the PTF, two to three weeks to one month, remains sporadic and insufficient The importance of the link with the innovations, such as twin streaming, multilevel classes and bilingual schools Burkina Faso: Plans to improve the classrooms and the schools are carried out with the support of school teams