The Challenge of Numbers

Transcription

1 The Challenge of Numbers 23 July, 2005 Challenges for Teacher Training in Africa with Special Reference to Distance Education Paper presented by Fay King Chung at DETA Conference, Pretoria, 8 August 2005 It is estimated that 40% of primary school age children in Sub-Saharan Africa are not at school. At the same time the school age population is increasing at about 16% per annum. Of the existing 2.08 million primary school teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa, approximately half are either paraprofessionals or have no training as teachers. In order to achieve universal primary education by 2015 an additional 3 million teachers will be needed. 1 Even amongst those teachers who are considered to be qualified, a large proportion only have primary or lower secondary education. Whilst Africa has made monumental efforts to achieve universal primary education, the birth rate has generally been higher than the rate of educational expansion. On average only 45% of Sub-Sahara s children are able to access lower secondary school education, and in some countries the rate is as low as 10% of the age group. At upper secondary level the average is 29%. 2 Research indicates that primary education for all and secondary education for a significant percentage are essential pre-requisites for modern forms of economic development. 3 Low primary and secondary school enrolments are well known to have deleterious effects on social and economic development, with consequences such as high population growth, high infant mortality, low productivity, poor nutrition of children, poor forms of governance, etc. It is clear that illiteracy and low levels of educational attainment amongst a high proportion of the population have a negative impact on governance including fewer rights for women, as many people may not be able to access and control democratic processes both politically and economically. The Challenge of Quality The issue of quantity is closely related to quality. One of the reasons for low enrolment is the quality of education: both parents and pupils recognize poor quality when they see it, and therefore avoid it. Being a street kid may be more educationally stimulating than being in a class of 100 pupils with a poorly motivated and poorly qualified teacher with no textbooks and teaching materials. 1 Data from Albert Motivans, Primary teachers count: ensuring quality education for all, UIS Policy Research Note No 1, September 2002, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Montreal, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Making the transition to secondary education, Results from the UIS Education Digest 2005, Fact Sheet No 4, April Marlaine E. Lockheed and Adriaan Verspoor, make the case for universalizing primary education in Improving Primary Education in Developing Countries, World Bank and Oxford University Press, Oxford,

2 Quality education is based on a number of factors which include: The academic level of the teacher The pedagogical skills of the teacher The motivation and dedication of the teacher The relevance of learning to pupils The availability of good quality textbooks and educational materials Parental and community support for learning, including participation in decisionmaking in the school Safe and reasonably comfortable school facilities in line with the construction technologies and financing available within the school environment Dedication and technical capacity of national and local governments to provide resources, training and supervision to the school system The pupil teacher ratio such that pupils are able to receive some degree of personal attention within the school environment. This can be complemented by para-professional, parental and community participation. Education and Development Teachers generally comprise the largest pool of educated professionals in a country, and as a country modernizes, other sectors tend to draw upon this pool of education professionals. There is therefore a serious need to double or even treble the number of teachers being trained, in order to cater not only for the needs of the education sector, but also for the personnel needs of other sectors. Teachers are also seen as the agents of change. Goals which have been identified for education include gender equity and equality; inclusive education; education for democracy, peace and social cohesion; multi-grade teaching; increased accountability for achieving learning targets; the development of learners who are self-managing and independent, skilled in critical thinking and problem solving, equipped with life-skills; the preparation of learners who are competent for knowledge-based economies, capable in the use of information technology; and the expansion of teachers roles to include social work in communities where child-headed households and orphans are common as a result of HIV/AIDS. In transition countries, society is expecting teachers to change their approach as education itself is being reformed, within the context of social change. And these changes in the role and changes in expectation are likely to affect both the initial education of teachers and programmes of continuing professional development. 4 Teachers, for various reasons, are amongst the most affected by HIV/AIDS in many countries. HIV/AIDS education, which includes not only the practical and medical aspects, but also individual and societal values, and the relationships within the society, offer a challenge to teachers and to teacher education. 4 From Hilary Perraton, Charlotte Creed and Bernadette Robinson, Teacher Education Guidelines: Using Open and Distance Learning, UNESCO, Paris, 2002, p.7. 2

3 Moving towards a Global Village A noticeable modern phenomenon is the development of the global village. This is happening through the media revolution which makes it possible for incidents and developments anywhere in the world to become known worldwide in a very short space of time. Cultural influences are able to flow across borders through satellite television and the internet. And of course the influence of global economic developments is well known. It is imperative for educational systems to prepare its students to cope with the global village. Teachers are important players in this phenomenon. Globalization can be advantageous or disadvantageous to Africa, particularly to the many small rural communities which still live on subsistence agriculture. One can speculate on what will happen to such communities in a time of genetically modified agriculture. At present globalization has been disadvantageous to Africa. The so-called "brain drain" is a symptom of globalization, with professionals from Africa flowing to the West, very often to work as carers for the aged or as cleaners. In reverse Africa receives "aid", aid workers and NGOs. Few African countries have been able, so far, to benefit from globalization. Africa's response to these global developments necessarily includes education, and necessarily includes teacher education. It implies that teachers themselves are able to understand globalization, and able to prepare their students to work within the global village. Such an approach has major implications for teacher training. Teacher Training and Distance Education From the quantitative, qualitative and developmental points of view, teacher education necessarily plays a pivotal role. Over the next two decades there is need not only to produce more qualified teachers, but also to improve and update the quality of teacher education. One common characteristic of teachers is their desire to upgrade themselves. Opportunities for continuous self-improvement can increase teacher motivation: they contribute to better conditions of service. It is to be emphasized that conditions of service include professional as well as salary issues. Teacher education includes a number of elements such as: improving the general education background of the teacher trainee or teacher; increasing their knowledge and understanding of the subjects they teach; pedagogy and understanding of children and learning; the development of practical skills and competencies; improving their professionalism and code of ethics; and providing knowledge and skills linked to the ever changing needs of a dynamic society. 5 Thus teacher training must include both preservice training and in-service training. It can be closely linked to school supervision. 5 Based on Hilary Perraton, Charlotte Creed and Bernadette Robinson, Teacher Education Guidelines: Using Open and Distance Learning, UNESCO, Paris, 2002, p. 8. 3

4 Another challenge facing Africa is the need to include para-professional teachers recruited from within the community as an important strategy for achieving Education for All. Importing teachers from cities to remote rural areas may have many negative side effects, which include demotivated teachers who feel their career prospects are worsened when they are located in remote rural areas; the alienation of urban educated elites from the rural masses which may include lack of understanding of the local language and culture; and lack of accountability to the local community when outsiders are appointed by a central authority without any input from the local community. The spread of HIV/AIDS by teaching staff is one of the effects of the tragic cycle where local communities have no control over the staffing of their schools, with the resultant sexual exploitation of their children. Para-professionals have also been utilized as a strategy to lower the unit cost of education. Generally para-professionals are paid salaries which are more closely linked to the earnings of local communities rather than to the higher salaries offered to city professionals. In Ethiopia a para-professional may earn between half and a third of the salary of a qualified teacher. A judicious mix of qualified teachers and paraprofessionals as has happened in Guinea and Burkina Faso can enable the State to factor in the cost of providing Education for All over several years, as a sudden increase in educational investment may prove to be unaffordable. The utilization of paraprofessionals, or teacher aides, can also help to lower the pupil teacher ratio to more manageable sizes. However, whilst the utilization of para-professionals is an important and immediate strategy that will make Education for All achievable within a few years, it can lead to a lowering of educational standards unless there is an on-going teacher education programme which will enable para-professionals to become fully qualified teachers in due course. It is important to avoid setting up an inferior and lower-cost system for the rural poor, whilst maintaining a higher cost and superior system for the elite. Such a policy can prove to be counter-productive in the medium and long run. The BRAC programme in Bangladesh provides an excellent model of pre-service and inservice training for para-professional teachers recruited from within the society. An initial two three month pre-service training is followed by three days a month of inservice training. Distance education can be defined as a combination of methodologies through which education can be provided to students by teachers who may be separated from them by distance. Methodologies include print, radio, television, videos, video-conferencing, audio-casettes, CD ROMs and DVDs, computers, computer games, , discussion boards and chat rooms, face-to-face courses, etc. Generally distance education combines a number of different methodologies, suited to the needs of the learner and of the situation. When there is a serious shortage of high level skills, for example in physics or in genetic engineering, a single highly qualified and gifted teacher could teach millions of students. 4

5 The wide reach of information and communication technology can enrich distance education substantively. Whilst few schools and not many teacher training colleges can as yet access the internet, there are ways in which the wealth of the internet can be made widely available to students. These include the use of videos, CD ROMs, and DVDs, which are now extremely low cost, and can be used to download materials which cover a wide range of subjects ranging from policy issues to actual classroom teaching. UNESCO Bangkok has developed an excellent website that can be utilized. The UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa has developed some electronic libraries which can prove a useful way of introducing information technology in schools which have limited access to electricity and to the internet. The Commonwealth of Learning, World Links and a host of other educational websites have also developed useful materials which can be in the classroom. However teaching necessarily involves two-way communications between teacher and student; it also entails group interaction among peers. A well planned and implemented distance education programme would therefore need to combine ways through which students can interact with the teacher: locally based tutors and provide effective ways of doing this. Isolation of the student in a distance education programmes is well known as a reason for high dropouts: students may not be able to continue in a demanding programme when they are totally isolated from their teacher or their peers. A number of ways of providing student support and feedback have been developed, such as clustering teacher trainees and involving local teachers, heads and education officers in the training programme; telephone and contact on a regular basis; frequent written assignments with some feedback; establishing local discussion and study groups; weekend and holiday courses; school visits; etc. Distance education can contribute substantially to both initial and in-service training. It can include the many aspects already identified as components of teacher training such as increasing subject knowledge and skills; improving pedagogical skills; developing knowledge and skills linked to developmental goals; developing teacher ethics and values; enabling teachers to work more closely with parents and communities; etc. An important advantage of distance education is that it is not necessary to take teachers out of schools in order to upgrade them. Distance education can be utilized advantageously to upgrade teachers within school hours or by running holiday courses. Thus in-service training does not need to disrupt the education of the children. It is not possible to embark on curricular reform without ensuring that such reform is supported by the majority of teachers. Curricular reform and diversification can take place without unnecessarily disrupting the school through distance education.. Wider Coverage and Lower Unit Costs Distance education has the potential of reaching larger numbers of students in widely different localities, possibly with lower unit costs. A good example is the Chinese television university education programmes which cater literally for million of students. 5

6 However these students are supported by local colleges and education authorities, so that the television broadcasts serve only as one aspect of the programme. Unit costs can be lower through economies of scale. Initial costs for developing an educational computer game or a television programme may be very high, but when this programme is made available to thousands or even millions of students, the unit cost may become very low. This is also true of radio programmes. Distance education is particularly suited to students who are not able to take time away from their jobs or away from their family responsibilities. It enables them to benefit from further education opportunities that they would not have been able to access otherwise. This is particularly true of mothers of growing children. Thus distance education can be of specific benefit to women. It is to be noted that women form a minority of primary and particularly secondary school teachers in Africa. Greater Future Demands on Teachers The future of Africa, especially in the next few decades, is likely to demand ever higher levels of education and of technology, as global competitiveness will lead either to a further marginalization of Africa or to Africa breaking through the chains of past colonial and neo-colonial frameworks for underdevelopment. Africa s future is now in the hands of Africans, and the formation of its future population is in the hands of the teachers and of the education system. Teachers will have to learn to cope with even greater challenges than in the past or present. Not only is greater motivation and dedication needed from teachers, but teachers must also have the academic, technological and ethical edge that will ensure that education is able to mould the human power that can transform Africa. These demands are likely to make increasing demands on teacher education, and of necessity on distance teacher education. In particular regional communities are likely to play a more important role in the near future, with the need for greater regional collaboration in curriculum and teacher education. Most African countries are too small to cope effectively in isolation within a global economy and a global village, and will need to work more closely with their immediate neighbours. Of particular import will be the way in which African countries can bridge the transition period between when the majority of the population is illiterate to the next stage where the majority of the population have secondary and tertiary education. Illiterates generally adhere to more traditional and feudal world views, which may be very different from more modern world views. Disjunction between world views, the so-called clash of civilizations, can cause social upheavals which can disrupt social cohesion and harmonious development. 6

7 Feudal world views are linked to dependency on clientelism, which in the modern context may be equated to corruption. Feudal followers expect to gain advantages from their loyalty to a feudal lord, to whom they are prepared to give gifts. Such a social framework is very different from the meritocracy which generally underlies modernity. Thus education does not only deal with skills training, but also with the underlying values of a society. Nations and regional communities will need to move beyond economic communities to shared systems of values. The United Nations has developed a framework in the Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, with subsequent developments outlining women s rights and child rights. The human rights approach to governance offers a system of universally shared values which could help to bridge this gulf. In conclusion, the demands for larger numbers and better teachers will continue to be unrelenting, in the areas of general education, technology and ethics. This is a challenge that we need to rise up to. References Keith Lewin and Janet S. Stuart, Researching Teacher Education: New Perspectives on Practice, Performance and Policy, DFID, London, Marlaine E. Lockheed and Adriaan Verspoor, Improving Primary Education in Developing Countries, World Bank and Oxford University Press, Oxford, Albert Motivans, Primary teachers count: ensuring quality education for all, UIS Policy Research Note No 1, September 2002, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Montreal, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Teachers for Tomorrow s Schools: Analysis of the World Education Indicators 2001 Edition, UIS, Montreal, Hilary Perraton, Charlotte Creed and Bernadette Robinson, Teacher Education Guidelines: Using Open and Distance Learning, UNESCO, Paris. Maria Teresa Siniscalco, A Statistical Profile of the Teaching Profession, International Labour Office, Geneva, and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, updated UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Making the transition to secondary education, Results from the UIS Education Digest 2005, Fact Sheet No 4, April UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Primary teachers count: ensuring quality education for all, UIS Policy Research Note No 1, September UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Global Education Digest 2005, UIS, Montreal,

8 UNESCO Bangkok, ICT Portal for Teachers, Pretoria DETA Chung 23 July