SAl
Africa Education Initiative
AN INTERIM ASSESSMENT OF AEI TEACHER
TRAINING: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Cover photos: (Top left) Teachers at Dixinn Centre 2 School, Conakry, Guinea.
Photo, Exegesis Consulting, January 2006
(Top right) Instructional Supervisors (OSEE) of communes (districts) in
Conakry, Guinea. Photo, Exegesis Consulting, January 2006
(Middle left) For the first time, every student has a storybook. Primary
School, Guinea. Photo, Norma Evans, EDC, 2005
(Middle right) Learners washing hands, School Health and Nutrition
Program, Magweru Standard School, Chipata District, Zambia.
Photo, Exegesis Consulting, January 2006
(Bottom) Training of Literacy teachers in the Northern Cape, South Africa.
Photo, Exegesis Consulting, December 2005
Prepared by:
Prepared for:
Exegesis Consulting
Silver Spring, MD, USA and Johannesburg, South Africa
U.S. Agency for International Development
Africa Bureau
Office of Sustainable Development
Education Division
Washington, D.C.
August 2006
AFRICA EDUCATION INITIATIVE
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES
ACRONYMS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.0 INTRODUCTION
ii
iii
v
vi
1.1
1.2
1.3
Background
De'flnitions
Guiding Principles and Framework
1
4
5
2.0 DESCRIBING AEI TEACHER TRAINING ACTIVITIES 5
2.1 Activity Design Strategies 7
2.2 Topics of Training 7
2.3 Training Delivery Models 9
2.4 School-Based Support Mechanisms 10
2.5 Summary of Case Study Findings 12
2.5.1 The Contextfor Teacher Training 12
2.5.2 Preliminary Results from Teacher Training Activities in the Case Study Countries 14
2.5.3 Cross-Country Comparisons 15
3.0 MEASURING AND COMPARING THE SUCCESS OF PROGRAMS 17
3.1
3.2
Measuring Educational Outcomes
Monitoring Inputs: Counting Trained Teachers
17
18
4.0 MEASURING AND COMPARING COSTS
5.0 INVESTIGATING LINKAGES TO OTHER PROGRAMS
19
22
5.1
5.2
The AEl's Cross-Cutting Themes
Linkages to Other AEI Program Components
22
24
6.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
APPENDICES
A. AEI Teacher Training Activity Index and Monitoring Report
B. An Analysis of Five Country Case Studies
C. Interim Teacher Training Assessment Terms of Reference
D. List of Informants
E. References
26
29
47
63
69
73
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AFRICA EDUCATION INITIATIVE
An Interim Assessment of Teacher TrainJng: Looking to the Future
LIST OF FIGURES &TABLES
Figure 1. AEI Teacher Training Countries
Figure 2. Topics of Training
Figure 3. Training Delivery Models
Figure 4. The Use of AEI Funds
Figure 5. AEI's Cross-cutting Themes in Teacher Training Activities
Table 1. Summary of Teachers Trained and Funds Obligated
Table 2. De'fining Elements of AEI Funded Teacher Training Activities
Table 3. Activity Design for AEI Funded Teacher Training Activities
Table 4. Challenges of Delivery Models and Possible Solutions
Table 5. School-Based Support Mechanisms
Table 6. Attention to Educational Outcomes In-service
Table 7. Data on Teaching Effectiveness in Nigeria (LEAP) and Ghana (EQUALL)
Table 8. Student Achievement Results in Nigeria (LEAP) and Ghana (EQUALL)
Table 9. Opportunities to Redefine Counting Teachers
Table 10. Example of Weighted Priorities
3
9
10
21
23
6
6
7
11
12
17
18
18
20
22
11
ACRONYMS
AEI
AGSP
BEPS
BES
BESO
BTL/BTE
CAli
CEP
CHANGES
CUC
COMPASS
CRS
CSMC
CST
DHS
DRC
ECD
EDC
EMSI
EQUAll
FIER
FQEl
FY
HIV/AIDS
IEP
IFESH
INRAP
IRI
lEAP
M&E
MCl
MEABED
MEPU-EC
METFP
MKEZA
MOE
MOES
MOECS
MRC
MTTA
AFRICA EDUCATION INITIATIVE
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Africa Education Initiative
Ambassadors' Girls' Scholarship Program
Basic Education and Policy Support
Basic Education Support
Basic Education Strategic Objective
Breakthrough to Literacy / Bridge to Employment
Creative Associates International Incorporated
Complementary Education Program
Community Health, Nutrition, Gender and Education Support
Community learning and Information Center
Community Participation for Action in the Social Sector
Consolidated Reporting System
Community Sensitization and Mobilization Campaign
Community Support Teachers
Demographic and Health Surveys
Democratic Republic of Congo
Early Childhood Development
Education Development Center
Education Management Strengthening Initiative
Education Quality for All
Programme de Formation Interactive des Enseignants par la Radio
Fundamental Quality and Equity levels Projects
Fiscal Year
Human Immune-Deficiency Virus/Acquired Immune-Deficiency Syndrome
Integrated Education Program
International Foundation for Education and Self-Help
National Institute for Pedagogy and Action Research
Interactive Radio Instruction
Literacy Enhancement Assistance Program
Monitoring and Evaluation
Multi-channel learning
Monitoring and Evaluation for the Africa Bureau Education Division
Ministry of Pre- University Training and Civic Education
Ministry of Technical and Professional Training
Mradi ya Kuendeleza Elimu Zanzibar "Improving the Quality of Education"
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education and Sports
Ministry of Education Culture and Sports
Madrasa Resource Center
Malawi Teacher Training Activity
iii
NGOs
,ODL
OPIN -
OVCs
-PDC,
, PEPFAR
PTA
"PTC
QUESTT
RIPE
RTI
SHAPE
SHN
SIEEQ
SITT
SMT
SSA
TAP
TLMP
TOR
TT
UNESCO
UPHOLD
U.S.
USAID
USAID/AFRISD/ED
USG
WoH
AFRICA EDUCATION INITIATIVE
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Non-Governmental Organizations
,Open Distance Learning~· ., .
Online Presid,ential Initiative Network
:Orphans and Vulnerable Children
Professional Development Center
President's Emergency. Plan forAIDS RelieL
Parent TeacherAs'sociation'
PrirTlary'TeacherCollege' , .
Quality Education Services Through Technology
Reading Improvement in Primary Education
Research Triangle Institute
Strengthening HIV/AIDS Partnerships in Education
School Health and Nutrition
Strategies Integrees pour une Education Equitable et de Qualite
Senegal's Improved Teacher Training
School Management Team
Sub-Saharan Africa
Teacher's Advancement Program
Textbooks and Learning Materials Program
Terms of Reference
Teacher Training
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Uganda Program for Human and Holistic Development
United States
U.S. Agency for International Development
USAID/Africa Bureau, Office of Sustainable Development, Education Division
United States Government
Window of Hope
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AFRICA EDUCATION INITIATIVE
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The U.S. Agency for International Development, Africa Bureau, Office of Sustainable
Development, Education Division (USAID/AFRISD/ED) developed this assessment through a
contract with Science Applications International Corporation and Exegesis Consulting. A Terms
of Reference (TOR) for the Interim Teacher Training Assessment was developed and research
launched in October 2005.
USAID/AFRISD/ED wishes to thank the USAID country missions, implementing partners, and
individuals involved in the Africa Education Initiative's (AEI) Teacher Training activities for their
cooperation in conducting the Interim Teacher Training Assessment. In addition, a special thank
you to the interviewees at the 'five country case study sites, especially those who participated in
the often very frank conversations about teacher training. Also, we appreciate the assistance of
the AEI coordinators in the USAID country missions for the five case study sites for their insights
and assistance. Your willingness to participate and to share information for the assessment was
invaluable.
The Interim Teacher Training Assessment authors take full responsibility for the findings,
recommendations and conclusions in the assessment. The research team has tried to capture
accurately the dynamic and constantly changing activities of the participating countries.
However, given the complexity of many of the activities, if there are any inaccuracies please do
not hesitate to contact us with comments, new information or clarifications.
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AFRICA EDUCATION INITIATIVE
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The President's Africa Education Initiative (AEI) is a $600 million, multi-year initiative that
focuses on increasing access to quality basic education in Africa through the provision of
scholarships, textbooks, teacher training programs and other innovative education activities.
Announced in 2002, the AEI responds to the enormous need for improved education in the
countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where primary and secondary school enrollments and
literacy rates are among the lowest in the world.
Adequate numbers of competent teachers are critical to the effective delivery of quality
education. However, the pursuit of universal access to education combined with the loss of
teaching staff to HIV/AIDS and socio-economic factors has placed enormous stress on already
burdened education systems in Africa. Recruiting, training, and supporting enough teachers to
provide quality learning poses a major challenge for rebuilding, developing and transforming
countries.
The AEI Teacher Training Program initiated in FY 2002 responds to this challenge. Over the life
of the program, the AEI plans to provide pre-service training for more than 160,000 new or
untrained teachers and in-service training for 260,000 existing teachers in order to improve
teachers' content mastery and classroom instructional practices in ways that contribute to
enhancing the overall education quality in some of the poorest countries. Approximately $48
million has been obligated for teacher training. AEI has made significant progress in attaining its
teacher training goal with nearly 400,000 teachers in 17 countries trained under the AEI as of
March 31, 2006.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, Africa Bureau, Office of Sustainable
Development, Education Division (USAID/AFRISD/ED) commissioned an interim assessment of
AEI Teacher Training Activities to guide USAID programming and to assist the AEI team to
refine guidelines for teacher training funding as the AEI continues. Thirteen countries
participated in the assessment, including 18 discrete, in-service teacher training activities and
15 discrete, pre-service activities. The 13 countries were Democratic Republic of Congo,
Djibouti, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania,
Uganda and Zambia. Five country case studies (Ghana, Guinea, South Africa, Uganda and
Zambia) and a document review of all 13 participating countries were undertaken as part of the
assessment. The key 'findings, conclusions, and recommendations are as follows:
KEY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
1. Mapping and Descriptive Analysis: Teacher training activities are designed to meet the
needs of teacher education in particular country contexts and thus vary from country to country.
Despite the country variations, all teacl1er training activities have four elements in common￾VI
AFRICA EDUCATION INITIATIVE
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
activity design, content of instruction, delivery models and support mechanisms-which enables
_cqmpa.risonsacrqss countries. _, _
<'2. Act'ivity'Design Strategies:AEfsupp~rtedfeachertr~ining acthiities'target multiple levels of
--' the teacher preparation system, often 'prioritizing 'interventions at' the level at-which-the greatest
-:need is identified, or where'an'in'fusion ofresou'rces:"can-impaGt the educational system most
effiCiently. In addition to formal training, resources 'are also allocated to efforts to create an
enabling E:}nvironment ,fQr- teachers (e.g.,materlals,development,- establishing,Teacher Resource
-, Centers; etc.). The diversity o(teacher training" and:,teacher -support ,activities increases the
potential ot'teacher training funds to improve the'quality of instruction olJtside formal training.
3. Training Delivery Models: Four international non-governmental organizations manage the
majority of teacher training activities, employing primarily three training delivery models: direct
training, cascade training, and multi-channel learning (including interactive radio instruction).
The use of three training delivery models may reflect a convergence in professional thinking
about effective practices and the application of lessons learned from other experiences. Within
the country contexts, however, the implementing partners foster highly innovative teacher
education activities.
4. School-based Support Mechanisms: All teacher training activities have context-specific
support mechanisms in place at the school level to ensure the transfer and application of new
skills and knowledge though the extent to which these support mechanisms are incorporated
into the training activity varies. While some activities fully integrate school-based support into
overall project design and implementation, others added the school-based support during the
implementation phase. Follow-on, school-based support enhances teacher performance,
appears to be as or more important than the particular model used in training delivery and is
often crucial to the success of the training.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Processes: The implementing partners of seven out of
17 in-service activities have documented that they expect to monitor the outcomes of their
activities by collecting data on the extent to which teacher training has led to improved
pedagogical practices in classrooms. The implementing partners of 10 out of 17 in-service
activities have documented that they expect to monitor the outcomes of their activities by
collecting data on the extent to which teacher training has led to changes in pupil learning. Most,
however, have not collected baseline data that will assist in activity level M & E. The gap in
baseline data will limit an assessment of the impact of teacher training activities on both
teachers and students.
6. Counting Teachers Trained: All USAID missions and their implementing partners provide
data on their teacher training activities as prescribed by AEl's teacher training operational
guidelines. However, data collected and reported is inconsistent across countries, in part
because there are different definitions of "training events", different methodologies used to count
teachers trained and no standardized set of indicators or consistent reporting requirements.
Without consistent data and common definitions and indicators, aggregating data and
conducting comparative analysis across countries at the initiative level at the end of AEI Phase I
will be challenging.
7. Determining Cost-effectiveness: Little cost data has been systematically collected on
teacher training activities. Without cost data for all training activities it will be difficult to assess
the cost effectiveness or sustainability of these efforts.
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AFRICA EDUCATION INITIATIVE
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
8. AEI Funds: AEI teacher training funds are often merged with other funding streams to
support larger, on-going teacher training initiatives despite the AEI guidelines that require
separate tracking of AEI funds. It is difficult to attribute AEI-specific funds to particular training
outcomes.
9. Linkages with Other AEI Components: While there is no existing requirement for
countries to coordinate AEI components, 13 countries with AEI teacher training funds also
receive funds for at least one other AEI component. There are few formal linkages between
teacher training activities and other components in these multi-component countries.
Opportunities to maximize the impact and capture the synergy of AEI activities in a given
country may be missed because of the absence of intentional linkages between various AEI
components.
10. AEI Cross-cutting Themes: Thirty out of 33 (91 percent) in-service and pre-service
activities address at least one of AEI's cross cutting themes, HIV/AIDS education programs and
community participation; 12 out of 33 (36 percent) address both themes; eligible countries
offered selected support to Marginalized Communities.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Undertake selected case studies to document which combination of elements in teacher
training activities and school-based support mechanisms are the most effective in particular
types of educational environments.
2. Organize a meeting with AEI staff and contractors on data collection and reporting issues and
options.
3. Determine whether assessments of teacher training impacts on teachers and students are
desirable and necessary. If so, require the implementing partners to collect the data in FY07
that will enable such an assessment.
4. Expand and refine existing reporting guidelines to facilitate uniformity in data collection on
teacher training activities. Such guidelines would include supplementary definitions of key
terms, how to count teachers trained and identify specific data to collect, including cost data.
5. Develop quarterly and annual reporting forms for implementing partners that will standardize
data collection and reporting at the activity level.
6. Conduct a rapid appraisal of teacher training partners in the first quarter of FY 2007 to identify
in greater detail the different methodologies used for defining training events and counting
teachers.
7. Determine whether cost-effectiveness studies should be undertaken. If so, require the
implementing partners to collect the data necessary for such a study.
8. Enhance the impact of teacher training activities by establishing linkages, where feasible, with
other AEI activities in a given country. Improve the synchronicity among all stakeholders in
teacher training activities by creating opportunities for communication among all parties
regarding promising practices, success stories, innovative approaches, etc.
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Africa Education Initiative (AEI) was launched as a way to support and strengthen
education systems across sub-Saharan Africa, with particular emphases on increasing pupil
access and improving the quality of instruction. Activities within this component seek to improve
teachers' content mastery and classroom instructional practice. Considerable research and
international experience supports the focus on teacher preparation as a way to improve pupil
learning.
Teachers are widely regarded as the
single most important determinant of
educational quality and frequently operate
as gatekeepers of educational reform.
They mediate the introduction of new
practices, shape pupils' time spent
learning tasks, and control the adoption of
innovative procedures in education.
Sponsoring interventions that strengthen
teachers' content knowledge and improve
their pedagogical practices is one of the
most important ways that U.S.
development assistance can improve the
quality of education across the developing
world. At the same time, teacher training
interventions are some of the most
expensive approaches since teachers,
once trained, command higher salaries,
thereby increasing the recurrent cost of
education. If teacher training is successful, then the investment is well spent. However, if the
teacher training efforts are not successful, those programs may only consume resources that
could be allocated to interventions that are more effective.
In addition, AEI activities provide an opportunity to experiment with different ways to strengthen
teacher preparation. Partners implementing teacher training activities across AEI are
experimenting with a wide variety of strategies for improving teacher performance. While local
context always matters, their current experience may suggest strategies that are particularly
successful (or not) as a basis for guiding the design of activities under future AEI programs.
1.1 Background
President George W. Bush's Africa Education Initiative (AEI) seeks to increase African
children's access to quality education. Initially funded at $200 million for five years, Fiscal Years
(FY) 2002-2007, the Initiative includes three main components: Teacher Training; the
Ambassadors' Girls' Scholarship Program (AGSP); and the Textbooks and Learning Materials
Program (TLMP). A fourth AEI program component, Innovative Activities, funds innovations and
pilot programs across a broad range of programmatic areas. Some activities under the
Innovative Activities component involve teacher training. However, teacher training activities
funded under this component were not examined for this assessment.
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An InterillJ Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Cross-cutting themes integrated across the three programs include HIV/AIDS mitigation through
education and increasing community and parental involvement in education. A focus on serving
marginalized communities is a cross-cutting theme in select AEI countries. As the AEI enters FY
2007, the Initiative's funding will be increased by $400 million and its life extended through FY
2010. Currently, the AEI is supporting in-service and pre-service teacher training in 17 countries
highlighted in the map of Africa in Figure 1.
The ultimate goal of this Interim Teacher Training Assessment is to provide data and
information that can guide USAID programming and assist the AEI team to re'flne guidelines for
teacher training activities that will maximize the long term benefits and impact of the teacher
training program. Further, the assessment identifies focal areas for the summative evaluation.
This study had four primary objectives:
1. Map or describe the set ofAEI teacher training activities in participating countries
2. Determine effective ways to measure and compare the relative success of programs
across the life of the AEI
3. Determine the most viable way to measure and compare costs
4. Investigate the inter-connectedness of the AEI components and cross-cutting issues and
their inter-linkages with other United States Government (USG) and country education
programs as described in the Teacher Training Terms of Reference (Appendix C).
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Figure 1, AEI Teacher Training Countries
IMorocco
I
,western Sahara
Senegal
Burkina Faso
COte d'ivoire
Ghana---.../
ogo
Benin --~ sao Tome e Principe r
Cameroon ------'
Equatorial
Gabon
Guinea gm
Central African Republic
Republic of Congo
Botswana --------1
Zimbabwe ---------'''-"
Tunisia
c::=J 13 countries participating in the assessment
c:=J 4 countries receiving teaching training funds, but not participating in the assessment
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
1.2 Definitions
To avoid confusion regarding commonly used terms, definitions of several key terms used in the
materials are important to maximize understanding of the report. This assessment uses several
of the teacher training operational definitions issued by the AEI in June 2005.
Activity: A technical assistance intervention associated with a contract or grant. An
activity can implement one, or several, sub-activities. When a pre-service activity and in￾service activity are both within a thematic objective in a project (such as school health
and nutrition), they are considered as two different activities in this report. Activity is the
unit of analysis for this assessment.
Sub-Activity: A set of interventions within a project or activity with a discrete theme or
objective. (e.g. professional development, teacher resource centers, school capacity
building).
Participating Country: Countries (13) that provided activity level data for the report.
Teacher training activities in Kenya, and Sudan are in early stages of implementation,
thus data was not provided. Activity level data for Djibouti and Benin was supplied after
this analysis was completed.
In-service Teacher Training or Education: In-service training is defined as training for
existing teachers with the goals of upgrading knowledge in subject areas, introducing
new instructional practices or training in new content areas. In-service Teacher Trained:
A trainee counted as in-service under USAID's Consolidated Reporting System, (CRS),
(previously known as the Online Presidential Initiative Network, or OPIN).
Pre-service Teacher Training or Education: Under the AEI guidelines pre-service training
is defined as training directed to individuals who have received no prior training,
including those who may already serve in a classroom (untrained or uncertified
teachers). Pre-service Teacher Trained: A trainee counted as pre~service under USAID's
CRS.
Training Event: A module, course or workshop with a discrete thematic objective
delivered directly, through a cascade model, or through technology-based systems such
as radio or video broadcasts. Trainees can include faculty at teacher training institutions
(TTls), new or existing classroom teachers, community volunteers or mentors,
supervisory agents (head teachers, principals or district education officials), and parent￾or community-based management committees.
Training Support: Non-training interventions that augment training. These include
materials and curriculum development, policy reform, teacher resource centers, and
school-based post-training mentoring and professional development.
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
1.3 Guiding Principles and Framework
Each AEI component employs a different model of
administration and implementation. For Teacher
Training, decentralized administration and
implementation is driven by USAID country mission
education teams. These teams receive funds
annually from Washington according to broad
guidelines 'first developed by USAID/AFRISD/ED in
April 2002, and updated annually. These guidelines
also provided the structure for reporting in order to
meet the requirements of the semi-annual
Consolidated Reporting System for all initiatives
under the Bush Administration. The guidelines,
indicators and definitions for reporting formed the basis of the assumptions used in this report.
AEI funds may support a teacher training project in its entirety, or for select activities within a
broader education project. In several cases, the broader education project covers teacher
training to the extent that AEI does not directly support all training-related elements. However,
rather than assessing only those specific elements of the teacher training activities that involve
AEI funds directly, the study considered the entire training activity as a whole. For example, if
AEI funds are only used to pay for residential elements of an activity, but school based support
and materials development are inextricably linked, the assessment team considered the entire
teacher training intervention.
The numbers of teachers trained under IFESH are included in Appendix A. However, no other
information or data on the IFESH program or on teacher training activities funded under the
Innovative Activities component of AEI were included in this study. This is because these.
activities are implemented on a smaller scale using a variety of administrative mechanisms.
However, many of these activities use similar delivery models and train on similar topics and
thus could be included in future assessments.
The assessment team collected data through an extensive document review covering 13
countries and field visits to five countries (Zambia, South Africa, Uganda, Ghana, and Guinea).
Both quantitative and qualitative analysis was used to generate findings and conclusions in
relation to each of the four objectives identified in the TOR (For a complete list of documents
reviewed, see Appendix E). For this document review, the research team developed a coding
scheme to analyze documents provided by USAID country missions and implementing partners.
Results from this analysis are presented throughout the report and in the descriptive country
maps presented in Appendix A, AEI Teacher Training Activity Index and Monitoring Report. A
follow-up survey was administered via e-mail. Field research teams gathered data through focus
groups, interviews, and classroom and training observations. Data from field visits was analyzed
and reported in draft case studies circulated among the participating country missions and
implementing partners. A complete analysis of the five case studies is included in Appendix B.
2.0 DESCRIBING AEI TEACHER TRAINING ACTIVITIES
Since 2002, AEI has obligated nearly $48 million dollars and has trained nearly 400,000
teachers in 17 countries. Table 1 is a summary of funds obligated and the number of teachers
trained (from March 31, 2006 CRS report). In the 13 countries participating in this study, AEI
funds support 18 in-service and 15 pre-service activities. All 33 activities are designed to meet
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
the needs of teacher education in a particular country context and thus vary from country to
country. A total of 17 international and 10 local contractors/grantees are directly involved with
government counterparts and USAID country missions implementing these activities.
Table 1. Summary of Teachers Trained and Funds Obligated
Pre-service/ln-service Funds Obligated Teachers Trained
In-Service $30,800,000 313,241
Pre-Service $16,950,000 84,534
Total $47,750,000 397,775
(The number of teachers trained includes teachers trained under the IFESH program.)
Despite the country variations, all teacher training activities have four elements-activity design,
topics of training, delivery models and school-based support mechanisms that enable
comparisons across countries. When paired with impact data, mapping teacher training
activities according to these elements may establish a basis for determining at the end of AEI
which combination of elements are the most effective in particular types of educational contexts.
These elements are summarized in Table 2 and discussed further below. Appendix A includes
an index of all activities and sub-activities by country and individual country flow charts which
map teacher training activities by country.
Table 2. Defining Elements of AEI Funded Teacher Training Activities
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
2.1 Activity Design Strategies
The AEI teacher training activities were developed from one of three design strategies -
centered on the needs of institutions, the needs of teachers, or the needs of pupils. While
logically activity design takes into account all three groups, the design approach tends to
prioritize its focus on one of the groups. Table 3 describes the three types of activity design
strategies and provides a country example for each.
Table 3. Activity Design for AEI Funded Teacher Training Activities
Activity Design Description Example
Improving teaching quality by Senegal: The teacher training activity provides training
Institution-centered strengthening the institutions that train to Ministry of Education district officials on developing
teachers and monitoring teaching standards.
Improving teaching quality by addressing Ghana: The EQUALL project offers distance learning
the needs of teachers as individuals, opportunities for uncertified teachers, trains community
Teacher-centered such as oversized classes, teacher volunteers to assist in the classroom, and trains
certiFIcations, and mentoring/support uncertified teachers to address asevere lack of
mechanisms teachers in the northern provinces.
Improving teachers' ability to address Zambia: The in-service training on health and nutrition
Pupil-centered specific needs of pupils, such as instructs teachers to administer drugs and vaccinations malnutrition, out-of-school youth, or and to use public health cards to screen pupils. illiteracy
Given the systemic view of improving the quality of education, teacher training activities target
multiple levels of the teacher preparation system, often prioritizing interventions at the level at
which the greatest need is identi"fied or where an infusion of resources can make the most
effective impact. The result is a broad spectrum of trainees, including Ministry of Education
(MOE) officials, faculty at Teacher Training Institutions (TTls), supervising teachers (principals,
head teachers), practicing classroom teachers (certified and uncertified), and community
volunteers. Furthermore, in addition to formal training, resources are also allocated to efforts to
create enabling environments for teachers such as developing curriculum and materials,
establishing Teacher Resource Centers, strengthening TTls, or mobilizing the community to
provide support and accountability for teachers. The diversity of teacher training and teacher
support activities increases the potential of teacher training funds to improve the quality of
instruction outside formal training.
2.2 Topics of Training
AEI teacher training activities are designed within a systems perspective that recognizes
effective teacher preparation depends on the successful integration of a series of sub-activities
(e.g., leadership training for teachers and administrators, teacher resource centers, materials
and curriculum development, and the provision of school-based support.). A review of AEI
activities suggests that the topics of the training offered in AEI teacher training activities can be
grouped into six main areas:
Pedagogy: Instructional methods, approaches, or techniques used to share knowledge
and/or manage the classroom.
Subject Area Skills: Subject area skills address the content knowledge of a subject,
which may include core-subject areas such as literacy, science, mathematics, or non￾core subject area skills such as Life Skills or HIV/AIDS education.
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
School Management: School management includes the supervision, handling, or
control of school operations, which are most often managed by principals and other
educational leaders. School management as a topic of training may include leadership
skills, fiscal management, school policy development, etc.
School and Teacher Support: Activities and tools that support teacher instruction as
well as the management and institutional capacity of the greater school environment fall
into this category. For example, this may include training principals on how to support
teachers and/or mobilizing and training local Parent Teacher Association members to
enhance school management.
National Education Policy: This refers to any country-wide standards, curricula or
policies implemented by a country's national educational offices.
IiJJ. Materials and Curriculum Development: Activities related to design, writing,
production, and/or distribution of curriculum and learning materials. As a topic of training
instruction, it refers to training teachers how to design and use materials and curriculum
and often includes training them to use effectively resources available locally during
classroom instruction.
Pedagogy is the most common training topic offered as
part of both in-service and pre-service activities. Subject
Area Skills training is found more in pre-service training,
while School and Teacher Support is more prominent for
in-service training. Interestingly, instruction in School
Management is only a topic in in-service activities. Figure 2
shows the percentage breakdown of training topics.
Appendix A, AEI Teacher Training Activity Index and
Monitoring Report lists activities by country and includes
the topic of the training for each activity. The activity maps
that follow the index also list the topic of training for each
sub-activity.
Within the Subject Area Skills topic type, core and non-core skills are equally likely to be the
topic of training delivery in both pre-service and in-service teacher training. Core-subject areas
refer to subjects that are required by national education administrations to be taught and tested
according to pre-determined standards and curricula. Core-subjects include Science, Literacy,
Mathematics, French, and English, among others. Non-core subject areas include subjects that
provide important content knowledge but are not standardized or required nationally. These may
include, but are not limited to, School Management, School Guidance and Counseling, School
Health and Nutrition, HIV/AIDS and Life Skills, and Early Childhood Development.
Of non-core Subject Area Skills, HIV/AIDS is the most common subject type for both in-service
and pre-service training activities while Mathematics and Literacy are the most common core
subject types in both in-service and pre-service activities.
AEI teacher training activities provide instruction to teaching professionals on subjects that have
the potential to improve pupil performance, (Pedagogy, Subject Area Skills, Materials and
Curriculum Development), improve teacher retention and pupil access to education (non-core
subjects such as HIV/AIDS, School and Teacher Support, and School Management).
8
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Figure 2. Topics of Training
In-service Pre-service
~Pedagogy
o School Management
EI Sub·ect Area Skills
2.3 Training Delivery Models
• Materials and Curriculum Development
B School and Teacher Support
n1 National Policy
The AEI supported teacher training activities use one or more of three training delivery models:
direct training, cascade training and multi-channel learning. Often they are used together in a
mixed-model approach. Definitions of the three general training delivery models are as follows:
Direct Training. A workshop, seminar or course during which knowledge is
directly transferred from trainers/instructors to trainees. 1 The most common
example is where the AEI funded activity trains non-central government
officials such as district supervisors, teacher support teams, or field-based
teacher training college instructors/tutors to train targeted teacher beneficiaries
in residential, cluster or on-site setting.
Cascade Training. A training model where a "first generation is trained or
educated in a particular topic or aspect of teaching or subject matter, and after
a certain amount of time (this generation) becomes the educators of a second
generation."2 These groups of trainers are not necessarily civil service
personnel principally tasked with the training of teachers who are trained
specifically for implementing the targeted training programs.
Multi-channel Learning. A training model where the interaction between
learning sources and the learner takes place through a variety of
communication channels (for example, print, TV, e-mail, Internet, radio and
video).3 Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) is incorporated under this model.
Multi-channel learning can be a way of facilitating distance education, or "an
1 Villegas-Reimers describes this as ''traditional" professional development. Villegas-Reimers, Eleonora. 2003. Teacher Professional Development: An
International Review of the Literature. Paris: UNESCO, page 93.
2Villegas-Reimers, Eleonora. 2003, page 115.
3 UNESCO. "Technology and Learning Definitions." http://www.unesco.orq/education/educprognwf/doclportfolio/definitions.htm (Accessed on April 13, 2006); See
also EDC's Multi-channel Learning Center website at http://ies.edc.org/about/mcl.htm.
9
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
educational process in which a signi'ficant proportion of the teaching is
conducted by someone removed in space and/or time for the learner.,,4
Among in-service training activities, the most common delivery model is a mixed model
approach (11 out of 18 activities, or 58 percent). A training strategy that uses a combination of
models may signal a diverse group of beneficiaries as different models may be applied to
different groups. For example, direct training may be used to deliver instruction to principals
while cascade training and multi-channel learning may be used to deliver instruction to teachers.
Direct training is the most common among pre-service activities (6 out of 13, or 43 percent).
Figure 3. Training Delivery Models
In-service Pre-service
26%
In-service and Pre-Service
21% 0%
II Direct Training • Cascade Trainin~
Multi-Channel Learning E3 Mixed Model
The use of mixed training delivery models indicates a broad recognition of both the efficiency
and limitations of the cascade model. While the dilution of training content down the cascade is
a commonly-cited limitation in the literature and echoed by implementing partners in the case
study countries, the majority of the AEI teacher training activities are addressing this by
augmenting the training with additional multi-channel learning interventions and school-support
mechanisms.
The use of three training delivery models may reflect a convergence in professional thinking
from the implementing partners about effective practices and the application of lessons learned
from other experiences. Within the country context, however, these approaches have fostered
highly innovative teacher education activities.
Table 4 presents a selection of the most pressing and frequently observed challenges
encountered during the implementation of teacher training in general, the direct training,
cascade and multi-channel delivery models, and applying new skills in the classroom.
2.4 School-Based Support Mechanisms
AEI activities pair the delivery of training with school-based support mechanisms - a non￾training activity that augments training, such as post-training coaching/mentoring, teacher
resource centers, and community mobilization. These support mechanisms are implemented at
the school level to ensure the transfer and application of new skills and knowledge, though the
4 Perraton, H. 1996. "Distance education for teacher training: international experience." In Howard, R.: McGrath I. (Eds.) Distance Education for Language
Teachers: AUK Perspective. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters, p. 25.
10
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Table 4. Challenges of Delivery Models and Possible Solutions
Some trainees are still required to travel
significant distances despite the fact that
time and financial costs commonly
contribute to low attendance and
exclusion of communities that are
further from training centers. Many
trainings and meetings are designed to
take place at centralized and accessible
locations.
Possible Solutions
• • Engage teacher and education officials
as much as possible in the design
decisions prior to launching an activity
so that challenges surrounding travel
can be identified and addressed in
advance.
Tanzania: Trainees reported that daily
transportation costs from more remote
areas were prohibitive and were the
primary reason trainees left the program
before completion. The program is
aware of this challenge and is trying to
find ways to redress this issue in the
program implementation.
Implementation of the Direct Training Delivery Model
Direct training curricula is often
designed and implemented by outside
professionals and agencies that are far
removed from the local classroom
context. Consequently, these trainings
often do not renect the needs,
environments, and realities of local
teachers nor present practical solutions.
Involve teachers in the curricula and
workshop planning and design
processes so that their needs are
addressed, and they are more likely to
implement training curricula and
content.
Uganda: This program has adopted a
"whole schoolleaming" theory based on
increased partnerships among pupils,
parents, teachers and administrators.
District education officials, teacher
training institutions, and primary school
teachers work together on the design
and implementation of new training
• • Implementation of the Cascade Training Delivery Model
As training content is cascaded,
knowledge is often diluted and is
therefore less robust as it reaches the
second generation of trainees.
Consequently, teachers at the end of
the cascade are not as well-prepared
and confident in applying newly learned
knowledge in their classrooms.
Make trainings more participatory and
interactive so trainees gain confidence
and have the opportunity to apply
knowledge in trainings. Introduce
opportunities for teachers to network
with each other, reflect on their practice,
and receive additional support from
mentors or supervisors after they have
completed their trainings.
South Africa: In the in-service teacher
training program, master trainers serve
as mentors or coaches to teacher
trainees and visit them in their schools
to provide follow-up support. They also
orient school leaders in the content of
the training so that teachers have on￾going support in their schools.
Implementation of Multi-channel Learning Delivery Model
In the case of Interactive Radio
Instruction (IRI), teachers do not always
use the model because they are not
prepared at the time of broadcasts. In
the initial few months of implementation,
Teachers often struggle to incorporate
new technologies in their classrooms.
Consider on-going monitoring and field
visits to assess whether teachers are
using new models. If not, how could
they be assisted in adapting new
technology into their schedule and
classroom.
Mali: Monitoring sheets have been
designed to monitor use of IRion a
regular basis. Educational officials and
leaders visit teachers that are in the first
stage of implementing IRI in their
classrooms to monitor their progress.
extent to which these support mechanisms are incorporated into the training activity varies.
Often of more importance than the use of a particular training model, school-based support
mechanisms appear to enhance teacher performance and thus are critical to the success of
teacher training activities. The country flow charts in Appendix A indicate which sub-activities
provide teachers with school-based support and which activity topic's focus on how to support
teachers in the application of new skills.
The analysis led to the broad categorization of six types of school-based support mechanisms
through application of these mechanisms varied in implementation, suggesting contextualized
11
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
responses to local issues. Table 5 presents the types of school-based support mechanisms
identified during this assessment, along with a definition and an example from an AEI supported
activity, which highlight promising practices of school-based support.
Table 5. School-Based Support Mechanisms
Type of
Support
Coaching
and
Mentoring
Reflective
Practices
Innovative
Technologies
School
Management
Community
Participation
Teacher
Resource
Centers
Educator
Networks
Definition
Coaching and mentoring takes place when two
teachers work one-on-one to improve practice.
Mentoring implies the pairing of a novice and an
experienced professional. Coaching, in contrast, is a
learning process for people of all experience levels.s
Reflective practices are opportunities where teachers
pay particular attention to their daily classroom
experiences, or changes and experimentation that are
occurring and document the impact and effect these
changes have on pupil learning and teaching
practices.6
Incorporating technology into training, for example,
radio broadcasts that connect listening groups or
video-supported teaching, engage teachers from
different schools in common dialogues.
School management includes the supervision,
handling, or control of school operations which are
most often managed by principals and other
educational leaders.
Participation by parents, parent associations,
community members and leaders, and other individuals
that can help improve school management and support
networks for teachers and pupils.
Resource centers are designated repositories where
learning materials, innovative technologies, and other
tools useful in improving teacher instruction and
student learning can be accessed.
Professional communities of practice where teaching
professionals meet formally or informally to exchange
ideas and to coach and support each other.
Example
South Africa: The master trainers/facilitators of
trainings from the implementing non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) mentor the trainees after the
training has taken place. Mentoring provides teacher
trainees with school-based support in their
classroom and allows them to receive feedback from
an outside professional.
Democratic Republic of the Congo (ORC): Video is
used for classroom observation and reinforcement,
which gives teachers an opportunity to observe their
classroom practices for self-reflection and
assessment and provides peers with an opportunity
to learn from the strengths and weakness of their
colleaQues.
Zambia: Radio is used to broadcast lessons on
literacy, numeracy, English, and life skills to centers
across the country in order to enhance lessons and
provide teachers with greater access to teaching
resources.
Uganda: The Education Management Strengthening
Initiative is a collaboration between ministry offices,
program staff, and teacher training institutions that
focuses on participatory planning for school quality,
leadership training, and other activities key to
strengthening school management.
Ghana: The Community Support Teachers (CST)
Program trains community members to serve as
support teachers in order to fill gaps and to help
support teachers.
Mali: Community Learning and Information Centers
(CLlC) have been established at teaching training
institutions to support student teachers and
education faculty in a variety of innovative
technologies, such as Internet use, database
management, and materials and curriculum
development.
Guinea: Reinforcement circles to bring teachers
together to discuss educational topics facilitated by
local school principals and educational leaders.
2.5 Summary of Case Study Findings
2.5.1 The Context for Teacher Training
While each of the five case study countries has unique historical and social contexts, they all
face many of the same challenges in their attempts to provide quality education for all children.
As is the case in many African countries, Universal Primary Education policies, including
5 National Training Partnership. School Health Program News Insert. "Coaching and Mentoring: Opening the Classroom Doors." 6.1
http://WNW2.edc.org/ntp/shon/ntp101.pdf(Accessed on April 13, 2006)
6Villegas-Reimers, 2003, 104·106.
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teach~r Training: Looking to the Future
reduction in school fees, have resulted in increased enrollments in most of the case study
countries. In Guinea, for example, enrollments in primary school increased by 11 % in the 2001-
2002 school years;? Zambia saw a 14.70/0 increase in net enrollment between 2000 and 2004.
These increases in enrollment are not matched by parallel increases in resources, materials,
and teachers to meet the needs of the larger numbers of students. As a result, there are simply
not enough qualified teachers often reflected in large class sizes, double-shifting and decreases
in pupil/teacher contact hours.
The high prevalence of HIV/AIDS is a serious challenge in all of the case study countries and
has two major impacts on education. First, it is contributing to a shortage of qualified teachers,
as teachers are dying from the disease - sometimes at a higher rate than among the general
population. In Zambia, the number of deaths from HIV/AIDS each year is higher than the
number of new teachers entering the workforce. 8 In South Africa, 12.7% of the teaching force,
approximately 45,000 teachers, is HIV positive. The second effect of the HIV/AIDSepidemic on
education is the impact on pupils - whether they have been orphaned by the disease, are living
with sick parents, or are sick themselves. These pupils impacted by HIV/AIDS have greater
educational constraints which range from missing school due to their own or a family member's
illness to lacking basic needs and support at home.
Problems encountered in the education sector in many of these countries, such as poor
facilities, low teacher salaries, and distances pupils must travel to school, are in all cases
compounded in the rural areas. Even in South Africa, which has nearly a 100°J'o enrollment rate
and a matriculation pass rate of 70%, there is a large disparity in educational resources such
that many rural schools lack basic infrastructure, includi"ng access to clean water and sanitation.
In Guinea, the difference in access is stark, with a ·790/0 enrollment rate in the capital, Conakry,
and only 23°J'o enrollment in the rural central and northern regions. 9 Similarly, in Ghana, an
estimated 500,000 school-aged children are out of school. Schools in poor rural communities
are less likely to have basic amenities such as latrines, water, and sufficient classrooms for the
numbers of pupils.
While not all of the case study countries have large disparities between boys and girls in terms
of enrollment and achievement, this was found to be a problem in Guinea, Zambia, and Ghana.
In these countries, traditional cultural practices work against girls' education. There is a
tendency for girls to miss school or drop out early due to early marriage or because they are
needed for domestic or farming labor at home.
The result of the many challenges facing education in these five countries includes frequent
grade repetition, high drop-out rates, and low levels of pupil performance. In Uganda, for
instance, only an estimated 250/0 of pupils reach competency levels of literacy and numeracy
after six years of schooling. 10 Similarly, in Ghana, a national achievement test performed in
2002 suggested that only one out of ten pupils who completes six years of primary schooling
masters the English curriculum and only one out of 20 pupils completing primary school
achieves mastery levels of performance in mathematics. In South Africa, average performance
is much higher, but large disparities in resources mean a large difference in pupil performance
as well.
7 USAID Guinea/Education &Training, www.usaid.gov/gn/education/background/
B AVERT, HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe, http://www.avert.org/aids-zambia.htm
9 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) EdData-www.dhseddata.com/or the World Bank Education Notes; Guinea: A Steady Path to Achieve Education for
All, www.1.worldbank.org/education/pfd/EdunotesGuinea.pdf.
10 Government of Uganda. 2002. National Assessment of Progress in Education.
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Futur~
2.5.2 Preliminary Results from Teacher Training Activities in the Case Study Countries
Preliminary Results in Ghana:
Preliminary impact data from the AEI
activities in Ghana underscore the
success and importance of these
teaching innovations. Children sampled
from classrooms taught by uncertified
volunteer teachers trained through the
Complementary Education Program
(CEP) achieved local literacy standards
at a higher rate than did children
sampled from regular classrooms (23% compared to 13%). The percentage of grade 1 pupils
receiving BTLlBTE instruction reaching basic literacy standards is notably higher than their
counterparts in non-participating schools (29% compared to 1%). The Window of Hope
HIV/AIDS curriculum has been mainstreamed and is an examinable subject in pre-service
teacher education institutions throughout Ghana. Other donors are now supporting the delivery
of the curriculum through a national in-service training program.
Preliminary Results in Guinea: Assessments of FQEL
II and Links have shown higher levels of enrollment,
attendance and academic achievement and found that
rural and urban pupils who had access to the project's
learning and teacher training materials improved
significantly in French and Mathematics. Perhaps the
most profound impact on teachers is the
institutionalization of regular in-service training sessions
at the local level. These "reinforcement circles" for
reading and active learning have become established
means of providing professional development, not only
with USAID supported activities, but also for the entire
national in-service teacher training program. In-service
"professional development days" and "reinforcement
circles" have fostered a culture of active and continuous learning and professional development
among teachers.
Preliminary Results in South Africa: Follow-up support visits to cluster training workshops are
conducted where the trainer/facilitators observe Master Teachers and their peers in the
classroom. These observations have shown that that the residential, in-service training is having
an impact on improving the quality of classroom instruction and teacher skill levels. Following
the Revised National Curriculum Statement, trainings are aimed at retooling how teachers teach
and how pupils learn. Conversations with educators, teacher trainers and district education
officials involved in this program indicate that they have fully grasped the transformative nature
of education. They see the potential for what happens in the classroom to help develop creative,
critical thinking individuals in the new South Africa.
Preliminary Results in Uganda: AEI funded training in teacher effectiveness has helped to
shift instructional approaches from traditional "chalk and talk" methods to methods that more
actively engage children in the learning process, thereby building creative problem solving and
14
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training; Looking to the Future
social skills in addition to enhancing learning. During the case study research, teachers attested
to improved pupil learning and social development. For example, when asked, "How do you
know pupils learn more using the cooperative learning method?" a trained teacher reported, "If
you give them a book, they can read. Last year this wouldn't have happened." There were also
repeated testimonials that children taught through interactive approaches were better disciplined
and more mature. All of the positive testimonials suggest that the new methods were successful
in stimulating a child's reasoning and creative problem solving abilities. When teachers are able
to apply the interactive sessions in their classrooms, teaching effectiveness and efficiency is
improved.
Preliminary Results in Zambia: QUESTT conducted
a six-month study in the government pilot schools and
observed the delivery of radio lessons to see how well
the teachers were integrating IRI. There is preliminary
evidence that IRI is well received in government
schools and that teachers are able to teach effectively
using IRI. The six-month monitoring study found that
almost 90% of the 36 pilot schools had acceptable
radio reception. Overall 70% of teachers report that
they now spend less time preparing for the lessons. In
addition, 70% of teachers responded that they are able
to integrate IRI into the new literacy curriculum. EDC
has also conducted measurements of pupil
achievement. Although the results based on the EDC
measurements are not yet available, the teachers report that pupils are learning more with IRI.
AEI funds help support QUESTT activities.
2.5.3 Cross-Country Comparisons
As the country-specific descriptions demonstrate, there is great variation in certain aspects of
implementation, while convergence can be found in other areas. As such, it will be useful to
highlight some of the common themes and points of difference among the various activities
across countries.
Multi-Faceted Activities: In each of the five countries, AEI-funded teacher
training activities are connected to similar strategic goals including increasing
access and improving instruction and pupil learning. In all five countries, the
15
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
AEI funds support a number of teacher training activities, which are in turn
components of larger, multi-faceted approaches to meeting those goals.
Pre-Service Teacher Training: There are two models for targeting pre-service
teacher training: Providing training for unqualified practicing teachers (Ghana)
and supporting pre-service teacher education in established institutions
(Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia). As this breakdown indicates,
Ghana has both types of pre-service activities. There are also two models for
supporting pre-service teacher training in established institutions: Increasing
numbers through scholarship provision (South Africa), and providing trainings
and support for integrating speci"fic content into pre-service education (Ghana,
Uganda, and Zambia).
Support for Policy and School Management: In four of the five countries,
(Guinea, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia) AEI funds help to raise
awareness of national education policy. All of these countries target teachers
and school administrators for this awareness-raising, while Uganda also targets
parents and the public. Four countries (Guinea, South Africa, Uganda, and
Zambia) provide training oriented towards improving school management,
paralleling support for teacher development. Three countries (South Africa,
Uganda, and Zambia) support management training that includes methods for
encouraging community participation.
Training Delivery: The cascade approach, with varied modifications, is the
most common model for delivering teacher training, used in some form in all
five case study countries (Ghana, Guinea, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia).
Differences in the modification of the cascade approach lie mainly in school or
cluster level support. Three countries have some form of this lower-level
support (Guinea, South Africa, and Uganda). Examples include: Instructional
materials tied to trainings, interactive radio instruction, and "reinforcement
circles" (Guinea); local sub-contracting NGOs provide support at the school
level (South Africa); a network of teacher resource centers and field-based
outreach tutors (Uganda).
Topics of Training: Training topics can be categorized into three main areas:
Pedagogy; Subject Area Skills; and special cross-curriculum content (life skills,
HIV/AIDS, etc.). All five countries include Pedagogy as a topic of training and
are focused on developing teachers' ability to use more learner-centered,
active-learning approaches. Subject Area Skills are also included in the training
of four of countries. The subjects most commonly included are Mathematics
(Guinea and South Africa), Science (South Africa) and Reading (Ghana,
Guinea, South Africa, and Uganda). Special cross-curriculum content is offered
in four countries and includes HIV/AIDS education (Ghana and South Africa),
girls' education (South Africa and Zambia) and counseling (Uganda). Zambia
features several such topical areas, including HIV/AIDS education, health and
hutrition, girls' education, and community mobilization.
It is important to reiterate that the various approaches and foci discussed are integrated into
multi-faceted, sometimes complex, programs. Each of these programs has been developed,
and often i.mproved or enhanced, in the context of a particular cultural and historical
environment and with a specific set of challenges to be addressed. In such circumstances,
16
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
caution must always be used when trying to identify whether particular activities may be
replicable or transferable.
3.0 MEASURING AND COMPARING THE SUCCESS OF PROGRAMS
3.1 Measuring Educational Outcomes
AEI seeks to improve the quality of basic education in sub-Saharan Africa. Teacher training is a
means to that end. Ultimately the success of teacher training activities will be reflected in
improved pedagogical practices, content mastery and classroom management which in turn
should improve student performance and achievement. While acknowledging this longer term
goal, teacher training programs have focused primarily on providing learning and training
opportunities for teachers. To date, there has been no requirement to measure improved
teacher performance or increased pupil learning though some of AEI's implementing partners
plan to measure these outcomes and have collected baseline data. These approaches,
combined with the development of a more standard set of indicators and reporting formats for all
teacher training partner organizations will provide the basis in the future for some limited
analysis of the impacts of teacher training activities in selected countries. This analysis will, in
turn, offer insights into the combination of teacher training strategies that are most effective in
different educational environments.
Ten out of 17 in-service activities have a documented their intent to measure teacher
performance and seven out of 17 in-service activities have documented their intent to measure
pupil learning. Ideally, to know whether the training is having the desired effect on teachers (or
pupils), activities need to collect baseline data (as a basis for measuring change over time) and
use a comparison group (as a basis for determining if the observed change would have
happened even without the project). However, of the ten activities with a plan to measure
teacher behavior, six have collected baseline data and only one is using a comparison group. Of
the seven in-service activities planning to measure pupil learning, five have baseline data and
four are using a comparison group. Table 6 summarizes the attention to educational outcomes
for in-service activities.
Table 6. Attention to Educational Outcomes In-service
Number of Percentage
Activities of
Activities
Demonstrated or plan to measure pupil learning 7 41%
Demonstrated plan to measure chanQe in teacher behavior 10 59%
Baseline data on pupil learning has been collected 5 29%
Baseline data on teacher classroom practice has been collected 6 35%
Demonstrated plan to use a comparison group of pupillearninQ 4 24%
Demonstrated plan to use a comparison group of teachers teaching to assess impact 1 6%
The gap in baseline data limits any assessment at this time of the impact of teacher training
activities on both teachers and students. However, impact data will be needed to inform USAID
and participating governments in the future on what works well in the field of teacher education
in the African context.
Additionally, implementers are not using a detailed, standardized set of indicators nor are they
using comparable instruments and data collection procedures. Specifically, some activities
17
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
invest heavily in developing teacher observation instruments while others rely on national
performance measurement systems. Similarly, some activities design assessment tools that are
directly aligned with the trainings' content of instruction, while others integrate their tools into the
general school assessment protocols, which mayor r1laynot be aligned with the trainings'
content of instruction. The differences in measures and methods limit the utility of findings from
those countries where attention to impacts on teachers and pupils are being assessed. Thus,
the possibility for comparative analysis across countries at the end of AEI will be curtailed. A
standardized set of teacher training indicators would facilitate the comparison of data from
implementing partners.
Outcome data is available for two teacher training activities, Nigeria LEAP and Ghana EQUALL.
(See Tables 7 & 8) The absence of additional outcome data is due to the interim nature of the
assessment and partial plans to measure education outcomes at the activity level. However, the
results reported by two partners on teacher and pupil effectiveness show positive changes in
teaching and pupil gains in achievement. Classroom observations were used to assess change
in teacher behavior in both activities. Both studies show significant improvement in teachers'
classroom instructional behavior.
Table 7. Data on Teaching Effectiveness in Nigeria (LEAP) and Ghana (EQUALL)
Country and Activity Activity Indicator Baseline or Impact Comparison Group
Nigeria LEAP %using "pupil centered practices" as 6% 72% measured throUgh classroom observation
Ghana RIPE %grade 1teachers judged as "effective" 17% 89% (BTUBTE) measured throuQh classroom observation
Table 8. Student Achievement Results in Nigeria (LEAP) and Ghana (EQUALL)
Baseline or
Country Activity Indicator Grade Comparison Target Group
Group
Pupil learning gains in mathematics 3 15.4 16.3
(in %change units) Pre- and Post- 4 8.6 9.4
test design with acomparisons 5 7.3 7.6
Nigeria LEAP group 6 7.3 9.6
Pupil learning gains in literacy (in % 3 14.1 15.0
4 7.8 9.4 change units) Pre- and Post-test 5 13.6 13.7 design with acomparisons group 6 5.6 8.9
%of pupils achieving Local CST 13% (Grades 1-3) 23% (Grades 1-3)
Ghana EQUALL Language Literacy Standards RIPE (BTUBTE) 1% (Grade 1) 29% (Grade 1)
%of pupils achieving English CST 18% (Grades 1-3) 29% (Grades 1-3)
Literacy Standards RIPE (BTUBTE) 4% (Grade 1) 16% (Grade 1)
3.2 Monitoring Inputs: Counting Trained Teachers
All the USAID missions, in collaboration with the implementing partners, provide data on their
teacher training activities. AEl's teacher training operational guidelines describe the required
indicators and the data to be collected and submitted, i.e., money obligated, teachers trained
18
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
and qualitative information. However, the data collected and reported is inconsistent across
countries.
Guidelines for collecting data on the number of teachers trained currently consider "teacher
equivalents" to define a trained teacher. This means that by definition, an individual teacher can
be counted every time a minimum of 24 hours of training is completed. While counting teacher
equivalents is necessary for the Consolidated Reporting System (CRS), the data does not
inform how many individual teachers have benefited from training. In order to do this, individual
teachers receiving training need to be tracked.
The number of AEI teachers trained is reported through USAID's Consolidated Reporting
System. Data indicate that 313,241 in-service and 84,534 pre-service teachers received training
through March 31, 2006. Interpreting these numbers is more complicated than might be
assumed since there has not been a uniform definition of what it means to be "trained." The AEI
Teacher Training guidelines state that a teacher training unit should be at least 24 hours. A
sample analysis conducted for the assessment indicates that a teacher is counted as "trained"
after participating in a training event that lasts from one to twenty days, with five days as the
most common. Moreover, regarding uncertified (but practicing) teachers - sometimes the lines
are blurred between in-service and pre-service training. Since the method for counting a teacher
as "trained" differs across countries (though within any given country the methods may be
sound), the aggregate totals may over- (or under-) state achievements in teacher training.
Table 9 highlights a few examples where additional guidelines and definitions could impact the
numbers of teachers trained reported.
Without consistent data and common definitions regarding training events and counting
teachers it will be difficult to aggregate the data across countries at the Initiative level at the end
. of AEI Phase I. To facilitate uniformity in data collection and enhance the meaning of the data,
existing teacher training reporting guidelines need to be reviewed and refined. Such guidelines
would include supplementary definitions of key terms, how to count the number of teachers
trained, and additional information to help monitor implementation.
4.0 MEASURING AND COMPARING COSTS
Measuring and tracking costs of teacher training activities is important for donor and host￾country government alike. Both are interested in cost effectiveness. African governments, in
particular, want a clear understanding of the recurring cost of teacher education as it affects
their willingness to adopt and sustain a particular activity.
AEI teacher training funds are often merged with other funding streams to support larger, on￾going teacher training initiatives, despite the AEI guidelines which require separate tracking of
AEI funds. In addition, activities do not always collect and disaggregate cost and expenditure
data required for tracking and comparing costs of the teacher training activities. As a result, it is
challenging to attribute AEI-specific funds to particular training outcomes. Without adequate cost
data it will be difficult to assess the cost effectiveness of AEI's teacher training activities.
19
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Table 9. Opportunities to Redefine Counting Teachers
Type of
Training Considerations in Counting Teachers Trained Example of Current Counting Practices
Activity
Many activities occur in adynamic learning Mali uses radio broadcasts to deliver in-service environment where the precise training event is hard training and one day face- to-face (direct)
Distance to identify. Training via Multi Channel Learning training to reinforce the radio the broadcasts.
Learning methods, for example, often depends on the While teachers attending each face-to-face beneficiary to initiate the training by turning on his/her training is adiscrete activity and can be counted, radio, going to a computer lab, etc. The training valuable radio training is not currently counted. delivery cycle is therefore fluid and difficult to define.
The widespread use of informal networks among Guinea conducts various training sessions and teachers and/or school administrators within schools
and school clusters are, designed to support the main developed aformula to count teachers trained.
Informal teacher training event. Informal meetings are either The formula observes the AEI guideline and
Meetingsl spontaneous or planned and are include activities counts teachers based on teacher training
Networks equivalents. For example, 12 hours of training is such as discussing and reflecting on teaching the equivalent of training one-half of the 24 hour practices, knowledge sharing, and collaborating for requirement. future lessons.
Teacher training activities define beneficiaries South Africa and Uganda use acascade model
differently, depending on the country context and the to deliver teacher training. South Africa tracks
Beneficiaries of specifics of the activity. The cascade model is and counts the Master Teachers, but not the
aCascade delivered in two, three or four levels, based on the training of the teachers at the cluster level.
Model activity. While bene'ficiaries in all levels are counted Uganda, however, counts the training of all
for some activities, others count only the first or trainers and teachers throughout the cascade
second level. system.
The definitions of apre-service and in-service teacher Senegal counts "unqualified" teachers as pre￾Pre-service vs. service, while Tanzania counts them as in￾In-service vary across activities when dealing with uncertified service. In Ghana, community support teachers. volunteers are considered pre-service teachers.
County missions and implementing partners were surveyed on how AEI funds are utilized in the
implementation of teacher training activities. Data was submitted for ten activities. Nine out of 10
countries report using AEI funds for training materials, teaching support materials and travel,
and transportation, while only three report using AEI funds for school support mechanisms. Two
activities are solely funded through AEI. For the other activities, however, it was inconclusive
whether the budget items shown in the figure below are funded exclusively by AEI. Figure 4
summarizes the use of AEI funds.
20
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Figure 4. The Use of AEI Funds
"'"o
...
Q)
:::J
Z
10-r--------------------------------------. 9 -t-----
8 -t------,---
7 -t----'-----
6 -f-----
5
4
3
2
1
o c
-i~ .~ c ~~JQ -g -g -g .Q
15 == L. :E .~
~~ 15
~"§. .~ .~ - '5 J§~~ m :J 15 > f/J I-~ ar 0 ~(J)~
c c. fa Q) 'c "E 0 co ~c. C .~ co 0 f/J
I- (J) i::i
Budget Items
Cost-utility Analysis: comparison of the costs of
alternative approaches against multiple, wejghted
outcomes.
Cost-effectiveness Analysis: comparison of the·costs
of alternative approaches against a common unit of
effectiveness.
If cost-effectiveness studies are important for AEI, implementers of AEI teacher training
activities need to be required to collect the data necessary for such a study. Activities should
align their budgets according to a standard format, and establish a common effectiveness unit
with the criteria for reaching it clearly defined. The following cost units were identified through
discussions with implementing partners. 11
Program Design, Stakeholder Buy-in, and Technical Assistance (to MOE or TTl) Costs
.. Materials Development Costs
.. Training Events Costs
.. School-Based Support Costs
.. Monitoring and Evaluation Costs
.. Administrative & Management Costs
The difficulty lies in defining a single effectiveness unit for programs that are addressing an
array of challenges to teaching and learning and are working within a range of local contexts at
varying stages of reform and development.
An alternative to cost-effectiveness analysis is a
cost-utility analysis. 12 A cost-utility analysis
would accommodate the variances across
activities and local contexts by first developing
a number of effectiveness units and then
weighting the units according to priorities
identified by each country program. 13 An
example of multiple outcomes that cover a broad spectrum of activities and the weighted
priorities by country can be seen in Table 10.
11 Renuka Pillay (BEPS, Uganda); Kay Leherr (EQUALL, Ghana); Michael Craton, Megan Thomas, and Dorothy Angura (UPHOLD Uganda)
12 Levin, Henry and McEwan, Patrick. 2001. Cost-Effective Analysis: Methods and Application.2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage
Publications, page 10.
13 Levin, Henry and McEwan, Patrick. 2001. Cost-Effective Analysis: Methods and Application. 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage
Publications, page 19.
21
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Table 10: Example of Weighted Priorities
Effectiveness Unit
New Pupils with Access to Education
Country A Country B
Weig~ted Priorities Weighted Priorities
40% 10%
Teacher Traiiing Institution Improved 20% ;
10% t
School Management Improved 20% 20% II
Teacher Performance Improved 10% 20% l
r
I
I Pupil Performance Improved 10% 40%
A cost-utility analysis is the most appropriate approach to measuring and comparing costs
across activities given the structure of the teacher training programs that encouraged varied and
localized approaches and objectives. A cost-utility analysis would also be less disruptive to
implementers as it would not require them to alter their program approaches just so they would
be able to accommodate a certain effectiveness measure (such as pupil performance). Steps
toward conducting a cost-utility analysis include:
Identify cost units to be tracked, such as those listed in Table 10. Communicate the
definitions to USAID country missions and implementers, and request that they align
their FY2007 (and beyond) budgets to accommodate tracking costs against such units.
Identify three to six effectiveness outcomes' that represent the range of teacher training
contexts and country priorities. Communicate the definitions to USAID country missions
and implementers and request that they assign percentages for each outcome based on
program priorities.
Request that implementers collect data based on the effectiveness outcomes that can
be aligned with the teacher performance and pupil performance monitoring efforts
outlined above.
5.0 INVESTIGATING LINKAGES TO OTHER PROGRAMS
5.1 The AEI's Cross-Cutting Themes
The AEI supports a focus on three cross-cutting themes: supporting HIV/AIDS mitigation
through education, increasing community participation and parental involvement in education,
and serving marginalized communities in select countries. Activities under these themes are
described below. Figure 5 indicates the number of teacher training activities undertaken for two
of the themes.
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Education: The AEI increases the capacity of African
education ministries to strengthen their focus on prevention and mitigation of HIV/AIDS
to help reduce and compensate for the loss of skilled teachers, and other factors that
affect educational delivery and implementation, because of the epidemic. Guinea,
Senegal and South Africa train teachers, other educators and sometimes community
members in HIV/AIDS awareness programs. Mali uses IRI radio broadcasts to impart
information to teachers and principals on subject-matter themes such as HIV/AIDS.
22
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Community Participation: The AEI encourages parent and community participation
through activities such as sponsoring reading programs, building parent associations,
and inquiring about school finances, which in turn, will help schools and school systems
become more transparent and responsive to the needs of civil society.
Marginalized Communities: An AEI program that supports interventions to address
educational issues within Muslim populations.
Thirty out of the 33 activities address at least one of AEI's cross-cutting themes, while 12
address two (HIV/AIDS and Community Participation). For pre-service activities, HIV/AIDS
education is the most commonly addressed cross-cutting theme (11 out of 13) and for in-service
activities community participation is the most frequently included cross-cutting theme (15 out of
18). While the majority of in-service activities incorporate HIV/AIDS education, community
participation is seldom addressed in pre-service activities.
Figure 5. AEI's Cross-cutting Themes in Teacher Training Activities
r-------------------------------------,
20 ...---------1':""::8:-------------------:-:18:-----,
18 +-------r----.....-----------------...----......-I
16 +---------'-'-''----------1
14
12
.~ 10
~~E'- 8 :Jz 6
4
2
o
A"e-service In-service A"e-service In-service
HIV/AIDS
Cross Cutting Themes
Comm unity Participation
Several countries implement pre-service and in-service teacher education activities serving
marginalized communities (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda are formal
participants in the Marginalized Communities Program).
Uganda (BEPS)
Marginalized Communities
For the past two years, AEI funds have assisted in establishing two Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centers
that offer training and peer support to teachers from ISlamic communities, the Madarasa Resource Center in
Kampala and an ECD Satellite Center to provide access services to teachers from rural, Islamic communities. In
addition, USAID funds provide staff from these two centers with information on how to deliver ECD training, engage
communities in discussions about ECD education and facilitate on-site training and outreach to Islamic schools
and communities.
23
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Guinea and Senegal
Community Participation
In Guinea parent and community support for teacher
training has become institutionalized. The parents and
'friends of the school provide the meals at the cluster
trainings during the professional development days. This
voluntary support helps defray the costs of training and
builds a sustainable link between the teachers, parents
and community.
AEI funds help support ~s educational action
research activity in the Fatick area. Local community
members, teachers and principals are equipped with the
tools and expertise 'needed to' identify pedagogic
problems and develop action-oriented solutions that can
be carried out by the community, possibly as part of the
school's improvement plan.
Zambia
HIV/AIDS Education
While USAID places an emphasis on these
themes in all programming, the data
collected suggests that implementing
partners may not be aware of the themes'
central role in the AEI. Reports do not
necessarily specify how each of these
themes is addressed in the implementation
of training activities. The unintentional data
gap results in a partial understanding at the
Initiative level of the ways in which AEI
themes are integrated into teacher training
activities. This could be remedied by asking
implementing partners to document
qualitative evidence of how AEI cross￾cutting themes are integrated into teacher
training activities via standardized quarterly
and annual reporting forms.
AEI/Zambia's teacher training funds support the CSMC for Girls' Education and HIV/AIDS and SHN programs. The
CSMC is a social mobilization campaign, that focuses on sensitizing and mobilizing communities (1) to send their
girls to school (and to keep them in school) and (2) to understand HIV/AIDS, the socio-cultural, economic, religious
factors that promote its spread, and how to take measures to prevent its proliferation. The SHN focuses on
improved delivery of school-based health and nutrition interventions to support pupil learning.
Both programs use a cascading teacher training model, whereby trainers, who attend Training of Trainers (TOT)
workshops, return to their Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs), schools or communities and conduct subsequent
trainina for ore-service and in-service teachers. and communitv members.
5.2 Linkages to Other AEI Program Components
In addition to Teacher Training, AEI has three other components: The Ambassadors' Girls'
Scholarship Program, Textbooks and Learning Materials Program and Innovative Activities.
These components are expected to achieve the following results:
The Anlbassadors' Girls' Scholarship Progranl: The AGSP will provide 550,000
scholarships by 2010 for African girls at the primary and secondary levels to encourage
them to assume greater participation in the educational, political, and economic sectors
of their countries. By September 2005 AGSP partners reported over 120,500
scholarships had been awarded. The AGSP is administered through three
USAID/AFR/SD/ED-managed contracts with U.S NGOs.
Textbooks and Learning Materials Program: The TLMP facilitates the development,
production and distribution of 15 million textbooks and learning materials through
cooperative agreements with U.S Minority Serving Institutions which collaborate with
African education institutions and USAID country missions. By September 2005 TLMP
partners reported over 1.8 million books had been delivered.
24
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim"Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Innovative Activities: This program supports activities that encourage innovations in
educational programming in a number of countries. Activities are administered through a
combination of USAID/AFRISD/ED-managed and USAID country mission-managed
contracts and grants.
Given the differing implementation models among AEI program components, synergies are not
automatic. While there is no existing requirement for countries to coordinate AEI components,
13 countries with AEI teacher training funds also receive funds for at least one other AEI
component. There are few formal linkages between teacher training activities and other AEI
components in these multi-component countries though there are a number of examples of
informal, and promising linkages as listed below. Future opportunities to maximize the impact
and capture the synergy of AEI activities in a given country may be missed because of the
absence of intentional efforts to create linkages between various AEI components. The
paragraphs below highlight some of the other AEI activities currently being carried out in
countries with teacher training programs.
In Namibia, an International Foundation for Education and Self Help (IFESH)
activity volunteer, who is placed at a TTl facilitates the follow-up support activities
between faculty and newly-trained teachers entering the classroom.
The AGSP scholars in Mali are from schools where the FIER teacher training
activity targets its radio broadcasts. Both AEI components benefit from another
USAID/Mali activity focused on increasing community participation in these same
schools.
• There are concerted efforts at USAID/Senegal to ensure that as many schools as
possible have AGSP scholars, receive TLMP materials and have teachers being
trained by the AEI teacher training activity.
The International Book Bank (under the AEI Innovative Activities program) in
Zambia is working with the teacher training partners to provide 25,000 books to
the teacher training colleges and to improve the schools' library resources.
In Ghana, AEl's support in purchasing BTL/BTE materials laid the foundation for
a partnership between USAID/Ghana, the MOES, the University College of
Education Winneba and Chicago State University to develop a Ghana country
program for the AEI TLMP. This AEI activity will provide new teacher support
materials in literacy, numeracy, and environmental studies for grades 1-3.
The AGSP activities in both Zambia and Malawi were initially implemented
through sub-grants under the projects that also implement the AEI teacher
training activities. Though the AGSP sub-grants are now allocated through the
AGSP contracting mechanism based in Washington, the activities are still able to
foster synergies.
25
Ghana SHAPE
HIVIAIDS Education
Seventeen thousand teachers have benefited from the AEI
supported Window of Hope (WoH) Curriculum utilized in
Ghana's teacher education' institutions. The WoH Curriculum
aims to prevent teachers from contracting or spreading
HIVIAIDS and to mobilize HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. The
MOE is now enhancing the curriculum to include effective
ways teachers can openly communicate with their students
about HIVIAIDS and incorporate HIV/AIDS and Life Skills
education across the curriculum in primary and secondary
schools. This is a USAID investment that will be sustained; the
course is now required in the teacher training college system
and IFESH volunteers incorporate aspects of the WoH
curriculum into their teacher training workshops.
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
The impact of teacher training
activities could be enhanced by
fostering linkages such as those
described above. The synchronicity
among all stakeholders could be
improved by creating opportunities for
communication among all the parties
regarding promising practices,
success stories, innovative
approaches, as well as by targeting
the same beneficiary group with
interventions from multiple AEI
components. Additionally by design,
all teacher training activities are linked
to the national education strategy and
to at least one USAID strategic
objective in the countries in which they
operate. This suggests that implementers are working closely with USAID officials to coordinate
with the Ministries in the host country and that training content is aligned with national
standards. However, in practice this varies across countries.
6.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Africa Education Initiative (AEI) supports and strengthens education systems across Africa,
with special emphases on increasing pupil access and improving the quality of instruction. Key
to achieving this goal is enhancing the capacity and expanding the numbers of classroom
teachers. To this end, AEl's Teacher Training component has trained nearly 400,000 teachers
in 17 sub-Saharan African countries. Just over half of the USAID missions and their
implementing partners are integrating AEl's cross-cutting themes into both pre- and in-service
training activities.
Activities within the AEI Teacher Training component seek to improve teachers' content mastery
and classroom instructional practice. The Interim Assessment of Teacher Training reveals the
creativity and complexity of the activities in the 13 countries that participated in this study. While
each of these countries facilitates in-service and/or pre-service training activities as a part of
their overall educational objective, they are also using a combination of other approa,ches and
support mechanisms to improve the quality of instruction. These include, but are not limited to,
coaching and mentoring programs for new teachers, improving school management and
administrative capacity and developing teacher resource centers at local teacher education
institutions.
The diversity and multi-layering of programs and activities reflect innovation within the country
context. However, the variety of approaches and structures employed make it challenging to
effectively monitor and measure the impact such programs have on instructional quality at the
Initiative level. Evaluating the effectiveness of teacher training across programs requires an
understanding of the way that teacher education programs shift the attitudes, teaching practices
and commitment of teachers within each program and ultimately the impact these shifts have on
pupil performance.
The Interim Assessment provided an opportunity to initiate a reflective process of identifying
success stories, promising practices and some important mid-course adjustments in the
26
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
program. The recommendations below are based on the findings and conclusions identified in
the foregoing report. Implementing some or all of these recommendations will provide USAID
with insights and data that will enable a more compre~ensive understanding of the impact of
, AEl's teacher :training activities atthe end of AEI Phase'l. "
Undertake selected case studies to document which combination of elements in teacher
training activities and school-based support mechanisms are the most effective in
particular types of educational environments.
Organize a meeting with AEI staff and contractors on data collection and reporting
issues and options.
Determine whether assessments of teacher training impacts on teachers and students
are desirable and necessary. If so, require the implementing partners to collect the data
in FY07 that will enable such an assessment
Expand and refine existing reporting guidelines to facilitate uniformity in data collection
on teacher training activities. Such guidelines would include supplementary definitions
of key terms, how to count teachers trained and identify specific data to collect,
including cost data.
Develop quarterly and annual reporting forms for implementing partners that will
standardize data collection and reporting at the activity level.
Conduct a rapid appraisal of teacher training partners in the first quarter of FY 2007 to
identify in greater detail the different methodologies used for defining training events
and counting teachers.
Determine whether cost-effectiveness studies should be undertaken. If so, require the
implementing partners to collect the data necessary for such a study.
Enhance the impact of teacher training activities by establishing linkages, where
feasible, with other AEI activities in a given country. Improve the synchronicity among all
stakeholders in teacher training activities by creating opportunities for communication
among all parties regarding promising practices, success stories, innovative
approaches, etc.
27
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
28

AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
APPENDIX A: AEI TEACHER TRAINING INDEX AND MONITORING REPORT
Country Activity Years of Sub-Activity Pre- In- Teachers Topics of Training Operation service service Trained 1
Benin ABE LINKS FY 2005-2006 Teacher Training x x 29,355
Democratic Strategies Integrees pour une Teacher Training
x Pedagogy, Materials
&Curriculum
Republic of Education Equitale et de Qualite FY 2004-2006 Community Support Training
x 2,199 Development School
&Teacher Support, School Congo (DRC) (SIEEQ) School Capacity
x Management
Professional Development
x
Pedagogy, National Education Policy,
Djibouti Project AIDE FY 2005-2006 English Language Audio Program x 370 School Management, Materials and
Teacher Resource Centers
Curriculum Development
x
Teacher Training x x Pedagogy, School
&Teacher Support,
Ethiopia Basic Education Strategic Objective" FY 2003-2006 40,583 School Management , Materials
&
(BESO II) School Capacity Building
x Curriculum Development, School￾based Support
Complementary Education Program
x
Community Support Teachers
x
Education Quality for All (EQUALL) FY 2005-2009 Open Distance Learning
x
Ghana 29,907 Pedagogy, Materials
&Curriculum
Reading Improvement in Primary Education Development, Subject Area Skills
(Breakthrough to Literacy/Bridge to English) x x
Strengthening HIV/AIDS Partnerships in FY 2003-2007 Window of Hope
x Education (SHAPE) Project
Professional Development Days
x
Fundamental Quality and Education FY 2001-2005 Teacher Support and Mentoring
x Levels (FQEL) "
In-Service Teacher Training
x
Professional Development Days
x Subject Area Skills, Pedagogy, School
&Teacher Support, Materials
& Guinea Teacher Support and Mentoring
x 110,224 Curriculum Development, Subject
Guinea Links FY 2005-2006 In-SerVice Teacher Training
x Area Skills, National Policy
Pre-service Training x
National Education Policy and Curriculum
Strenqtheninq
1 From AEI Teacher Training Results, March 31, 2006
29
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Country Activity Years of Sub-Activity Pre- In- Teachers Topics of Training Operation service service Trained 2
Kenya Kenya Education Sector Support FY 2005- In-Service Teacher Training
x Program (KESSP)
Malawi Malawi Teacher Training Activity FY 2004-2007 In-service District Level Training
x Subject Area Skills, National 41,414 (MTTA) Pre-service Teacher Training
x Education Policy, Pedagogy
Teacher Training Radio Broadcasts
x Pedagogy, Materials
& Curriculum
Mali Program de Formation Interactive des FY2004-2007 Virtual Training Centers
x 10,530 Development, Subject Area Skills Enseignants par la Radio (FIER) School-Based Support Teacher Support Radio Broadcasts
x
Continuous Professional Development
x Pedagogy, Subject Area Skills, Namibia Basic Education Support II FY 1999-2007 Cluster and Circuit Professional 9,341 Student Assessment
Development Training
x
In-Service Training
x
Literacy Enhancement Assistance
Program FY 2002-2005 Community Support Training
x Pedagogy, Subject Area Skills, (LEAP)
MOE Support Materials
& Curriculum Development
Nigeria In-Service Training
x 24,854 School
& Teacher Support, School
Management, National Education
Community Participation for Action in FY 2005-2009 Community Support Training
x Policy, Subject Area Skills, National
the Social Sectors (COMPASS) School Health and Nutrition
x Health Policy
Pre-Service Training
x
Unqualified Teacher Training
x
Senegal's Improved Teacher Training In-Service Teacher Training
x Pedagogy, Subject Area Skills, School
Senegal (SITT) FY 2003-2007 2,230 Management, National Education School Management Training
x Policy
School Council Training
x
Advanced Certificate in Education
x
Accelerated B.Ed Math, Science
x
South Africa Integrated Education Program (IEP) FY 2004-2007 B.Ed Honors
x 3,091 Subject Area Skills, School
& Teacher
Support, School Management
Residential Training
x
School Management Team Training
x
Sudan Southern Sudan Interactive Radio FY 2005-2006 Teacher Training 147 Instruction x x
Mradi wa Kuendeleza Elimu Zanzibar Teacher's Advancement Program
x Pedagogy, Subject Area Skills, School
Tanzania "Improving the Quality of Education FY 2004-2006 Professional Development Center
x 650 Management, School
& Teacher
Zanzibar" (MKEZA) Zanzibar Madrasa Center
x Support
2 From AEI Teacher Training Results, March 31, 2006
30
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Country Activity Years of Sub-Activity Pre- In- Teachers Topics of Training Operation service service Trained 3
Cooperative Learning x x Uganda Program for Human and FY 2002-2007 Education Management Strengthening Holistic Development (UPHOLD) x x Pedagogy, School Management,
Community Involvement in Education x School
&Teacher Support, National Uganda 52,489 School Guidance and Counseling Program x x Policy, Materials
&Curriculum
Basic Education Policy Support (BEPS) FY 2002-2006 Early Childhood Development x x Development
Reading Pilot x
Community Health and Nutrition, School Health and Nutrition x x
Gender, and Education Support FY 2002-2004 Community Sensitization and Mobilization
(CHANGES I) Campaign x x Subject Area Skills, School
&Teacher
Zambia Community Health and Nutrition, 18,684 Support, Pedagogy, Materials
&
Gender, and Education Support FY 2004-2009 Teacher Professional Development x x Curriculum Development, National
(CHANGES II) Education Policy
Quality Education Services Through FY 2005-2009 Interactive Radio Instruction x x Technology (QUESTT)
15 Pre-service Activities (included in the 18 In-service (included in the analysis) 23 Pre-service Sub-activities analysis)
3 From AEI Teacher Training Results, March 31, 2006
31
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
IFESH and Innovative Activities Implementing Teacher Training (Not included in Analysis)
Country Activity Type of Training Activity Year of Initial Sub-Activity Teachers Operation Trained
Benin IFESH Pre-Service
& In-serVice 2002 1,916
Democratic Pre-Service Pre-service IT Training
& Credentialing
Republic of Deaf Education Teacher Training In-service 2002 In-service Teacher Support Mentoring Congo
Djibouti IFESH Pre-Service
& In-service 2002 471
Ethiopia IFESH Pre-Service
& In-service 2002 2,712
Ghana IFESH Pre-Service
& In-service 2002 6,841
Guinea IFESH Pre-Service
& In-service 2002 2,471
Kenya Deaf Education Teacher Training Pre-Service
& In-service 2005 Deaf Teacher Certification
Malawi IFESH Pre-Service
& In-service 2002 2,556
Namibia IFESH Pre-Service
& In-service 2002
Centers for Excellence 2005 4,740
South Africa Mobile Task Team on HIV/AIDS In-service 2002
Mindset Television Network 2004
At least 9 Additional Pre-Service Activities
At least 10 Additional In-Service Activities
AEI Mission .Level Teacher Training 376,068
IFESH Teachers Trained 21,707
Total 397,775
32
USAID
Contracting
Office
Activity
(Partner)
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USAID/Djibouti
Project AID (Academy of Educational Development)
Sub-Activities
Topic of Training
In-Service
Trainees
Pre-Service
Trainees
Pupil
Beneficiaries
Institutional
Beneficiaries
Professional Development Program
Pedagogy, National Education Policy,
School Management
• In-service (cascade) training
• In-service (direct) training
• Materials and Curriculum Development
Pedagogical Advisors
School Directors
Teachers
Head Teacher
English Language
Audio Program
Materials and Curriculum
Development
Pupils
Schools
Teacher Resource Centers
School and Teacher Support
Head Teachers
Teachers
33
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USAID
Contracting USAID/DRC
Office
Activity SIEEQ Strategies Integrees pour une Education Equitable et de Qualite
(Partner) (Education Development Center)
Sub-Activities Teacher Training Community Support Training School Capacity Building
Content of Pedagogy, Materials and Curriculum School and Teacher Support, School
Training Pedagogy Development Management
• In-service (cascade) training • In-service (cascade and direct) • Teacher Resource Centers
• In-service (direct) training training • School-Based Support
I Education Officials I I Teacher Supervisors I Teachers In-Service
Trainees
I I I I Teachers Teachers
Pre-Service
Trainees
Pupil Pupils Beneficiaries
Institutional Schools Beneficiaries
34
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USAID Contracting USAID/Ethiopia Office
Activity BESO II Basic Education Strategic Objective
(Partner) (Academy for Educational Development)
Sub-Activities Teacher Training School Capacity Building
Content of Training Pedagogy, School Management, School and School Management, Materials and Curriculum Teacher Support Development, School-based Support
• In-service (cascade and MCL) training • IRI Materials and Curriculum Development • Pre-service (cascade) training • School-based support clusters • School-based support
Principals and Education Officials Education Officials 3 days
I In-Service Trainees
I Teachers School Administrators 5 days
Teachers
Teacher Institution Instructors
& Trainers
Pre-Service Trainees
I Student Teachers I
Pupil Beneficiaries Pupils
Institutional Teacher Education Institutions, Schools MOE, Schools Beneficiaries
35
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USA 10
Contracting USAIDIGhana
Office
Activity SHAPE Project EQUALL Educational Quality for All (Education Development Center) (Partner) (World Education)
Sub-Activities Window of Hope (WoH) Complementary Education Community Support Teacher Open Distance Learning Reading Improvement in HIVIAIDS Instruction Program (CEP) Training (CST) (ODL) Certification Primary Education (RIPE)
Content of Subject Area Skiffs, Materials Pedagogy Pedagogy Pedagogy, Materials and Pedagogy Training and Curriculum Development Curriculum Development
-TA in Materials and Curriculum -In-sel"\lice (direct) training -In-sel"\lice (direct) training -TA in Materials and Curriculum ·In-sel"\lice (direct) training
Development -Pre-sel"\lice (direct) training -Pre-sel"\lice (direct) training Development to Ghana -Materials and Curriculum
-(Indirectly) pre-sel"\lice training -Materials and Curriculum -Materials and Curriculum Education Sel"\lices Development Development Development -Pre-sel"\lice (direct) training
I I I I District Trainers Trainers Trainers 30 days
I
Head Teachers
I
Head Teachers
In-Service 21 days 30 days
Trainees
Head Teachers and
Teachers
20 days or 5 days
I I
Volunteer Teachers Volunteer Teachers
I I Student Teachers 21 days for 1st training 21 days for 1st training Student Teachers Pre-Service 20 days for refresher 28 days refresher Trainees
I Community Leaders I I Tutors
I
Pupil
I
Pupils : Beneficiaries
Institutional Ghana Education Service Schools Ghana Education Service Schools
Beneficiaries
36
USAID Contracting
Office
Activity
(Partner)
FQEL II Fundamental Quality and Equity Levels Projects II
(Education Development Center)
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USAID/Guinea
Guinea Links (Education Development Center)
Professional Teacher Support and In·Service Teacher Professional Developmen Teacher Support and In-Service Teacher Pre·Service Teacher National Educational Sub·Activities Policy and Curriculum Development Days Mentoring Training (IRII Days Mentoring Training (IRII Training Strengthening
Subject Area Skills, Subject Area Skills,
Pedagogy, School and School and Teacher Pedagogy, Schoot and Pedagogy, School and School and Teacher Pedagogy, School and Pedagogy, Subject Area Content 01 Training Teacher Support, Support, Pedagogy, Teacher Support Teacher Support, Materials Support, Pedagogy, Teacher Support Skills, Materials and National Policy Materials and Curriculum Subject Areas Skills and Curriculum Subject Areas Skills Curriculum Devetopment
Development Development
In-Service Trainees
Pre-Service Trainees
•In-service (cascade)
training
• Mentormg
• Cluster Meetings
Instru<:tional
Supervisors and
Principals
3per year, 1day
Teachers
3 per year, 1day
·Reinlorcement Circles
·PeerObservations
• In-service (MCL-IRI)
training
•Peer Observations
•Pedagogical Meetings
Teachers
mulliple-days
• In-service (cascade)
training
• Mentoring
•Cluster Meetings
Instructional Supervisors
and Principals
3per year, 1day
Teachers
3per year, 1day
·Reinforcement Circles
·PeerObservations
Principals
Teachers
•In-service (MCL-IRI)
training
•Peer Observations
•Pedagogicat Meetings
Teachers
multiple-days
•Pre-service (direct)
training
• Mentoring
Student Teachers
•TA in Materials and
Cumculum Development
·Reinlorcement Circles
Student Beneficiaries
Institutional
Beneficiaries
All primary pupils In government schools
Schools
All primary pupils in government schools
Nationallnstilute for
Research and Pedagogy
37
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USAID Contracting Office USAID/Malawi
Activity MTTA Malawi Teacher Training Activity (American Institutes for Research) (Partner)
Sub-A ctivities In-Service District Level Training Pre-Service Teacher Training
Content of Training Subject Area Skills, National Education Policy, Subject Area Sk ills, Pedagogy Pedagogy
• In-service (cascade) training • Pre-service (direct and MCL) training
• School-Based Support • School-Based Support
• Materials and Curriculum Development • Materials and Curriculum Development
I
Master Trainers
I
In-Service Trainees
I I
Teachers
Teacher Institution Instructors
Pre-Service Trainees
Student Teachers
Pupil Beneficiaries
Institutional Beneficiaries MOE, Malawi Institute of Education Teacher Education Institutions
38
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USAID Contracting Office USAID/Mali
Activity FIER Programme de Formation Interactive des Enseignants par la Radio (Agency for Educational Community Learning and Ministry of Education
(Partner) Development, Education Development Center) Information Centers (CLlC) (MOE) Direct Transfer of Funds
Teacher Support Radio Community Learning and Ministry of Education Sub-Activities Teacher Training Radio Broadcasts Virtual Training Centers Broadcasts Information Centers (CLlC) (MOE) Direct Transfer of Funds
Pedagogy. Materials and Curriculum School-Based Support, Content of Training Development. Subject Area Skills Materials and Curriculum School-based Support School-based Support Local Language Pedagogy Development
• In-service (MGL & direct) training • In-service and pre-service • Pre-service Teacher Resource • Teacher Resource Centers
Centers • Materials and Curriculum • Materials and Curriculum • Teacher Resource Centers training
• Materials and Curriculum Development Development • Curriculum and Materials
Development Development
I
Education Officials
I
School leaders &
Teachers Administrators
In-Service Trainees
I Teachers
I I Teachers
I
Training Institution Training Institution Instructors Teachers Instructors
Pre-Service Trainees
I
Student Teachers
I I Student Teachers
I
Pupil BeneficilJTies
I
Pupils
I
Institutional Beneficiaries Teacher Education Institutions, MOE Teacher Training Institutions MOE
39
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USAID Contracting USAID/Namibia Office
Activity BES III Basic Education Support 3 (Academy for Educational Development) (Partner)
Sub-Activities Continuous Professional Development Modules Cluster and Circuit Professional Development Training
Content of Training Pedagogy. Subject Area Skills Subject Area Sk i//s, Pedagogy, Student Assessment,
• Pre-service (direct) training ·In-service (cascade) training
• Materials and Curriculum Development 'School-based Support
Circuit SUf)port Team Members
10-15 Days· at least once per school term
In-Service Trainees Principals and School Managers
Teachers
Pre-Service Trainees
I Teacher Institution Instructors
I
Pupil Beneficiaries Pupils
Schools
Institutional
Beneficiaries
Teacher Education Institutions Circuit Level Offices
40
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: looking to the Future
USAID Contracting Office USA! DINigeria
Activity LEAP Literacy Enhancement Assistance Program COMPASS Community Participation for Action in the Social Sector (Pathfinder, Creative Associates International Inc.) (Partner) (Education Development Center)
Sub-Activities In-Service Training Community Support MOE Support In-Servlce Training Pre..service Training Community Support School Health and Training Training Nutrition
Pedagogy, SUbject Area Teacerher and School Pedagogy, SUbject Area Pedagogy, Materials and School and Teacher Subject Area Skills, Management, National Sk iUs, Materials and Support, School School and Teacher Content of Training Skills,Materials and Support, School Education Policy Curriculum Development Cum'cu/um Development, Management, Maten'als and Support, National Health Cuniculm Development Management National Education Policy Curriculum Development Policy
• In·setvice (Mel and • Materials and Curriculum
cascade) training Development • (Direct) training • In-service (MGL and • School-Based Support • Materials and Cum'culum • National Education • (Direct) training
cascade) training School Management Development Policy • School-Based Support • Implement schoof
• Teacher Resource • Pre·service (direct) health policies
Centers training
National, Stale, and State Master Trainers Parent Teacher Parent Teacher
Master Trainers Association (PTA) Cluster Trainers Association (PTA)
Members 2 days per activity Members 4 days In-Service Trainees
I I
Teachers & Head Teachers & Head Teachers Teachers Teachers Teachers
1 day per sub activity 4 days
Teacher Institution
Instructors
Pre-Service Trainees
I Student Teachers
I
Pupil Beneficiaries
Public Schools, Islamlya Teacher Education Public Schools, Islamiya and Qu'ranic Private Public Schools, Public Schools. Qu'ranic Schools. Local Instltudons, MOE, and Qu'ranic Private NGOs, Local Institutional Benenciaries Qu'ranic Private Private Schools MOE Government Education University and College Schools, Local Government
Schools Authority, State Primary Boards and Government Education
Educadon Board (SPEB) Commissions Authority
41
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USAID Contracting USAID/Senega I Office
Activity SITT Senegal's Improved Teacher Training (Academy for Educational Development) (Partner))
Sub-Activities Unqualified Teacher In-Service Teacher School Management School Council Training Training Training Training
Pedagogy. SUbject Area School Management. National Content of Training Skills Pedagogy School Management Education Policy
-Pre-service (cascade) -In-service (cascade) -In-service (cascade) training -In-service (cascade) training training training
Teacher Trainers Principal Trainers Council Trainers
In-Service Trainees 5 Days 2 Days 3 Days
I
Teachers
I
Principals Council Members
4 Days 2-3 Days 3-8 Days
I Master Trainers
I
Pre-Service Trainees
Unqualified Teachers
Pupil Beneficiaries
Schools
Institutional
Beneficiaries National & Regional Teacher Training Systems
42
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USAID Contracting USAID/South Africa Office
Activity IEP Integrated Education Program (RTI International) (Partner)
Advanced Certificate
in Education (ACE) Accelerated B.Ed School Management Sub-Activities Math, Science, and B.Ed Honors Residential Training
Technology Math, Science Team Training
Instruction
Subject Area Skills,
Content of Training Subject Area Skills Subject Area Skills Subject Area Sk ills School and Teacher School Management
Support
-In-service (cascade)
-Scholarships for pre- -Scholarships for pre- -Scholarships for pre- training -In-service (direct)
service (direct) trainings service (direct) trainings service (direct) trainings -School-Based Support training
-Mentoring
Master Teachers
School Administrators
In-Service Trainees
20 days per subject
I Teachers
I
Student Teachers Student Teachers Student Teachers
Pre-Service Trainees
2 years (part-time) 3 years (full-time) 2 years part-time
Pupil Beneficiaries Pupils
Institutional Schools
Beneficiaries
43
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USAID Contracting USAID/Tanzania (Zanzibar) Office
Activity MKEZA Mradi wa Kuendeleza Elimu Zanzibar "Improving the Quality of Education"
(Partner) (American Institutes for Research)
Sub-Activities Teacher's Advancement Program Professional Development Center (POe) Zanzibar Madrasa Center (MRC) (TAP)
Content of Training Pedagogy. Subject Area Skills. School Pedagogy, Subject Area Skills, School Pedagogy, School Management, Subject Area Management Management Skills, School and Teacher Support
·In-seNice (cascade) training in:
·In-seNice (cascade) training in Education Leadership & Management
Advanced Secondary Teachers Certificate in Education: Science ·In-seNice (cascade) training
Certificate Certification in Education: Teacher •Mentoring
·School Management Education
Head Teachers and School School Leaders & Administrators School Management Committees
Committees
12 days 6 months 3 days
I
Teachers
I
Teachers & Head Teachers Teachers & Head Teachers
In-Service Trainees 2 years 6 months 3-5 days
I
Tutors
6 months I
Pre-Service Trainees
Pupil Beneficiaries
I I Secondary Pupils I I Primary Pupils I Pre-school Pupils
Institutional
Zanzibar Ministry of Education, zanzibar Ministry of Education, Culture
Beneficiaries Culture and Sports (MOECS), Six and Sports (MOECS),Teacher Education Pre-schools
Teacher Education Institutions Institutions
44
USAID Contracting
Office
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
USAID/Uganda
Activity
(Partner)
UPHOLD Uganda Program for Human and Holistic Development
(John Snow, Inc with Education Development Center, World Education) BEPS Basic Education Policy Support (Creative Associates International Inc.)
____F_a_c_il_it_a_to_rs 1 1 T_e_aC_h_e_r_s II T_e_a_c_he_r_s _
Sub-Activities
Content of Training
In-Service Trainees
Pre-Service Trainees
Pupil Beneficiaries
Cooperative Learning
Pedagogy
-In-service (cascade) training
'Pre-service (cascade) training
Teachers
9 days
Master and District Trainers
Teacher Institution
Instructors
Education Management
Strengthening
School Management
'In-service (cascade) Iraining
·Pre-service (direct) Materials
and Curriculum Development
Head Teachers and Deputies
Community Involvement in
Education
School and Teacher Support
'In-service (cascade and
direct) trainings
Community Development
Assistants
Parents and Community
Members
Teachers and Head Teachers
School Gu idance and
Counseling Program
National Policy
•In-service Materials and
Curriculum Development
'Pre-service pilot (direct)
trainings
Head Teachers and Deputies
Teacher Institution Staff
Early Child Development
National Policy
·Materials and Curriculum
Development
'In-service (cascade) training
'Pre-service (cascade) training
Head Teachers and Deputies
Teacher Institution
Instructors
Tutors
Student Teachers
Reading Pilot
Materials and Curriculum
Development
'In-service Materials and
Curriculum Development
·In-service pilot trainings
Head Teachers and Deputies
Institutional
Beneficiaries
District Education Office
45
PEPFAR
USAID Contracting
Office
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
----------
USAID/Zsmbia I I￾Activity
(Partner)
QUESTT Quality Education Services
Through Technology (Education
Development Center)
CHANGES I Community Health and Nutrition, Gender and Education Support (Creative
Associates International Inc.)
CHANGES II Community Health and Nutrition.
Gender and Education Support (American
Institutes for Research)
Sub-Activities
Content of Training
Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI)
Subject Area Skills. Pedagogy. School
and Teacher Support
-In-service (direct and MCL) training
-Pre-service (direct and MCL) training
-Materials and Curriculum Development
-Teacher Resource Centers
·School-Based Support
SHN School Health and Nutrition
Subject Area Skills. School and Teacher Support
-In-service (cascade and direct) training
-Pre-service (cascade) training
Community Sensitization and Mobilization
Campaign (CSMC)
Subject Area Skills. School and Teacher
Support
·In-service (cascade) training
-In-service materia's and curriculum
development
-Pre-service (cascade) training
•Teacher Resource Centers
Teacher Professional Development
Subject Area Skills. Pedagogy. Materials and
Curriculum Development. National Education
Policy, School and Teacher Support
'In-service (direct) training
-In-service and Pre-service Materials and
Curriculum Development
'Pre-service (cascade, direct. & MCL) training
•Teacher Resource Centers
-TA to MOE
______H_e_a...;:;...T.::;de.::;a: ..:"'h_e_rs -JII p_r_o_v_In_c_l_a_1_S_ta_ff _ District Education Staff
1 day
Provincial. District
& Zonal Support Teams
3-4 days
In-Service Training Teachers in Pilot Schools
Teachers, Health
& Community Development
Workers
3-5 days
Teachers
& Head Teachers
5 days
Head Teachers
& School Coordinators
3-4 days
Community Volunteers
Community Volunteer Radio Mentors Teacher Institution Instructors
Community Volunteers
3-4 days
Teacher Institution Instructors
II
Teachers
bimonthly
I---- Teacher Institution Instructors
1 S_tu_d_e_n_t_T_e_a_c_h_e_r_s _
Pre-Setviee
Training
(Indirectly) Student Teachers
5 days (Indirectly) Student Teachers (Indirectly) Student Teachers
I MOE Staff
Pupil Beneficiaries
Pupils 11L- P_U_Pi_IS II P_UP_i1_S IIL..- P_UP_il_S .....
Institutional
Beneficiaries Teacher Training Institutions, MOE
Teacher Education Institutions, Schools, MOE,
Ministries of Health and Community
Development/Social Services
Teacher Education Institutions, Schools,
MOE, Ministries of Health and Community
Development/Social Services
Teacher Education Institutions, MOE
46
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
APPENDIX B: ANALYSIS OF FIVE COUNTRY CASE STUDIES
Africa Education Initiative Interim Teacher Training Assessment
As part of the Africa Education Initiative Interim Teacher Training Assessment, five case study
countries were selected for in-depth analysis. These countries were selected on the basis of
location, willingness to participate, number of years receiving AEI funds, variety of teacher
training approaches, and incorporation of cross-cutting themes.
The case study research included analysis of secondary documents and fieldwork. The
fieldwork was guided by detailed interview protocols. USAID country mission staff and
implementing partners were interviewed and field visits were conducted at training sites and
classrooms with participating teacher trainees. Classroom observation sessions and structured,
yet open discussions about education were conducted with teacher trainees.
Teachers and educators discussed their relative commitments to new teaching approaches,
shared what they knew about the impact on pupil learning, and engaged in considerable
dialogue about the constraints to applying new techniques in their classrooms. Conversations
with USAID Mission staff helped to clarify some of the challenges in administering AEI funded
programs. Researchers developed draft case studies about the field work and circulated "the
draft studies to the relevant Missions and implementing partners.
This report summarizes the results of these five case studies4 and has the following parts: a
general context concerning the challenges that these countries face in the education sector; a
description of the teacher training activities that have been supported by AEI in each country;
and selected activity results to date. In addition, the report includes information and discussion
on monitoring and evaluation, cross-cutting themes and linkages and challenges and lessons
learned.
THE CONTEXT FOR TEACHER TRAINING
While each of the five case study countries has a unique historical and social context, they all
face many of the same challenges in their attempts to provide quality education for all children.
As is the case in many African countries, Universal Primary Education policies, including
reduction in school fees, have resulted in increased enrollments in most of the case study
countries. In Guinea, for example, enrollments in primary school increased by 11 0!<J in the 2001-
2002 school year5
, and Zambia saw a 14.7% increase in net enrollment between 2000 and
2004. Given these increases in enrollment, there is often not a parallel increase in resources,
materials and teachers to meet the needs of this larger pupil body. As a result, there are simply
not enough qualified teachers, often demonstrated by large class sizes, and sometimes by
double-shifting and a decrease in pupil/teacher contact hours.
" .
The high prevalence of HIV/AIDS is a serious challenge in all of the case study countries and
has two major impacts on education. First, it is contributing to a shortage of qualified teachers,
as teachers are dying from the disease - sometimes at a higher rate than among the general
population. In Zambia, the number of deaths from HIV/AIDS each year is higher than the
number of new teachers entering the workforce. In South Africa, 12.7°!<J of the teaching force,
approximately 45,000 teachers, is HIV positive. The second effect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on
education is the impact on pupils - whether because the pupils have been orphaned by the
4Complete case study reports are available from the researchers.
5 USAID Guinea/Education &Training, www.usaid.gov/gn/education/background/
47
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
disease, are living with sick parents, or are sick themselves. These pupils impacted by
HIV/AIDS have greater educational constraints, which range from missing school due to their
own or a family member's illness to lacking basic needs and support at home.
Problems that are encountered in the education sector in many of these countries, such as poor
facilities, low teacher salaries and distances pupils must travel to school, are in all cases
compounded in the rural areas. Even in South Africa, which has nearly a 1000/0 enrollment rate
and a matriculation pass rate of 70%, has a large disparity in educational resources, such that
many rural schools lack basic infrastructure, including access to clean water and sanitation. In
Guinea, the difference in access is stark, with a 790/0 enrollment rate in the capital, Conakry, and
only 23% in the rural central and northern regions6
. Similarly, in Ghana there are an estimated
500,000 school-aged children who are out of school. Schools in poor rural communities are
less likely to have basic amenities such as latrines, water and sufficient classrooms for the
numbers of pupils.
While not all of the case study countries have large disparities between boys and girls in terms
of enrollment and achievement, this is a problem in Guinea, Zambia and Ghana. In these
countries, traditional cultural practices work against girls' education, as there is a tendency for
girls to miss school or drop out early due to early marriage or because they are needed for
domestic or farming labor at home.
The result of the many challenges facing education in these five countries includes frequent
grade repetition, high drop-out rates, and low levels of pupil performance. In Uganda, for
instance, only an estimated 250/0 of pupils reach competency levels of literacy and numeracy
after six years of schooling? Similarly, in Ghana a national achievement test performed in 2002
suggested that only one out of ten pupils who complete six years of primary schooling master
the English curriculum and only one out of 20 pupils completing primary school achieve mastery
levels of performance in mathematics. In South Africa, average performance is much higher, but
large disparities in resources mean a large difference in pupil performance as well.
AEI- ACTIVITY IMPLEMENTATION AND FUNDS UTILIZATION
In each of the case study countries, the government has initiated policies in the education sector
aimed at addressing the particular set of challenges faced. In every case, USAID works closely
with the government in order to develop programs that will work in concert with the established
policies to address those challenges. AEI funds are generally used either to enhance teacher
training activities in these USAID programs or to develop new teacher training activities that
complement existing programs. Because each country has a unique context, including the
specific constellation of challenges that must be addressed, the programs being implemented
across the five countries differ a great deal. The following provides a brief overview of teacher
training activities supported through AEI funds in each of the five case study countries.
GHANA
AEI funds in Ghana have been used to support two activities in Ghana: Education Quality for
All (EQUALL) and Strengthening HIVIAIDS Partnerships in Education" (SHAPE).
6Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) EdData-www.dhseddata.com/or the World Bank Education Notes; Guinea: ASteady Path to Achieve Education for
All, www.1.worldbank.org/education/pfd/EdunotesGuinea.pdf.
7 Government of Uganda. 2002. National Assessment of Progress in Education.
48
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Education Quality for All (EQUALL)
Primary Implementing Partner: Education Development Center (EDC)
Subcontractors: The Center for Applied Linguistics; Ghana Social Marketing Foundation
International; The Molteno Project; School for Life; and Yale University
EQUALL's response to the severe teaching shortage in the northern parts of Ghana (Upper
East, Upper West, and Northern Regions), is to reach out to uncertified teacher volunteers to
supplement the educational resources in their communities. Some of these volunteers are
trained to preside over informal classes of out-of-school youth, to prepare them to enter the
formal system, while others are trained to work in the formal system, augmenting the limited
teaching resources in their local schools. Additionally, after the training for these volunteers is
completed, some then qualify to enter into Ghana's distance learning training program for
untrained teachers to further enhance their skills and certifications.
AEI Funds have been used through EQUALL to support a number of pre-service teacher
training activities. Through the Complementary Education Program, volunteer teacher
facilitators are trained to teach out-of-school pupils in a nine-month accelerated learning
program based on the School for Life methodology. In the Community Support Teachers (CST)
Program, AEI funds help to train community volunteers as Community Support Teachers
(CSTs) to fill teacher gaps in lower primary school classrooms, and to help pay for teaching and
learning materials and supplies needed for teacher-made materials. AEI funds also help to
support the Open Distance Learning (ODL) program, a distance learning option for untrained
but practicing teachers to attain the Untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education Programs
(UT/DBEP) while actively teaching in a classroom. AEI funds help to provide technical
assistance to the Teacher Education Department of the Ghana Education Service to improve
the quality of the ODL Program in the form of teaching module design and materials
development and printing of selected materials. Additionally, AEI funding is supporting the direct
training of select CEP and CST volunteers in the ODL program, as well as the direct training of
tutors based in the teacher training colleges.
In addition, AEI funds support in-service teacher training through EQUALL's Reading
Improvement in Primary Education (RIPE) Program, which introduced a tested methodology for
effective literacy instruction in the lower primary grades. The Breakthrough to Literacy/Bridge to
English (BTUBTE) approach is an innovative methodological shift in literacy instruction. The
model assumes if basic literacy can be achieved early in the education cycle (grade 1) in the
mother tongue, then the transition to the official language of instruction (in grades 2 and higher)
will be more effective. AEI's Innovative Activities and Teacher Training components support the
BTUBTE activity's pedagogical adaptations, materials development, and teacher training
elements.
Partnerships in Education II (SHAPE)
Primary Implementing Partner: World Education
Through the Strengthening HIV/AIDS Partnerships in Education /I (SHAPE) project, AEI funds
help to respond to the disturbingly disproportionate HIV/AIDS prevalence among Ghana's
teachers. At almost double the national rate, infection rates among teachers are particularly
significant in a country already facing severe teacher shortages. Through the Window of Hope
(WoH) curriculum, delivered in Ghana's teacher training colleges, student teachers are exposed
to a wealth of awareness and prevention information, as well as pedagogical instruction for
delivering HIV/AIDS information to their future pupils.
49
AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Table 1. Ghana - AEI Funding & Outputs for Pre-service Teacher Training Activities
Funds CEP CST Community WoH
Pre-Service Teacher Obligated Volunteers Volunteers Leaders Trainees
FY03 $500,000 7,977
FY04 $650,000 54 100 246 8,166
FY05 $200,000 349 200 1209 8,968
Total $1,350,000 403 (300) 300 (200) 1,455 25,111
Table 2. Ghana - AEI Funding & Outputs for In-Service Teacher Training Activities
BTUBTE Head WoH
Funds BTUBTE Teachers and CEP CST Teachers Pre￾Obligated Trainers Head Trainers Trainers in CST Service
Teachers Schools Tutors
FY02 $500,000
FY03 $600,000 125
FY04 $700,000 143 235 214 37 50 225
FY05 $200,000 103 665 32 69 130 75
Total $2,000,000 246 900 246 106 180 425
Preliminary Results in Ghana
Preliminary impact data from the AEI
activities in Ghana underscore the
success and importance of these teaching
innovations. Pupils sampled from
classrooms taught by uncertified
volunteer teachers achieved local literacy
standards at a higher rate than did
children sampled from regular classrooms
(29% compared to 130/0). The percentage
of grade 1 pupils receiving BTUBTE instruction reaching basic literacy standards is notably
higher than their counterparts in non-parl:icipating schools (29% compared to 10/0). The WoH
curriculum has now been mainstreamed and is an examinable subject in pre-service teacher
education institutions throughout Ghana. Other donors are now supporting the delivery of the
curriculum thro.ugh a national in-service training program.
GUINEA
In Guinea, AEI funds have been used to support the Fundamental Quality and Equity Levels
Project" (FQEL), as well as its successor, Guinea Links, which began in 2005.
Fundamental Quality and Equity Levels Projects II:
Primary Implementing Partner: EDC
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Secondary Implementing Partners: Creative Associates International, Inc. (CAli); Research
Triangle International (RTI)
Fundamental Quality and Equity Level Projects" (FQEL II) addressed the poor quality of
instruction in Guinea with a mixed model approach to in-service training that includes cascade
training of grade 1-6 teachers, reinforced by improved teaching materials and radio instruction.
FQEL II emphasized pupil-centered, active learning pedagogical techniques and the
development and distribution of instructional materials and interactive radio instruction.
AEI funds supported in-service activities through FQEL II. USAID/Guinea's use of AEI teacher
training funds for in-service evolved from a focus on five-day teacher training workshops to a
program targeted more to school-based support and training of teachers. The AEI funds
developed toolkits and trained principals and instructional supervisors in how to initiate in￾service training at the local level.
Guinea Links
Primary Implementing Partner: EDC
Secondary Implementing Partners: Academy for Educational Development (AED); RTI
The successor to FQEL I and FQEL II, Guinea Links (Links), focuses on the provision of pre￾service and in-service teacher training through the cascade, direct and interactive radio
instruction delivery models, as well as through locally initiated in-service sessions. AEI funds are
also being used to support the development of a teacher education policy that covers both in￾service and pre-service and that focuses on ensuring increased articulation between both
programs. The Guinea Links' activity goals are to: 1) Help revise and refine the draft elementary
competency/criterion-referenced based curriculum for early primary and develop corresponding
materials to support its implementation; 2) Strengthen and synergize pre-service and in-service
training initiatives so that teachers are prepared to implement the new elementary program; and
3) Cultivate INRAP staff's capacity for pedagogical research and analysis so that they can better
create, evaluate and refine pedagogical innovations to support improved teaching and learning.
In addition, with its focus on pre-service and in-service teacher education, Links assists the
Guinean educational ministries with its responsibilities for the continued improvement and
maintenance of management policy and practice. For example, under Guinea Links, principals
and instructional supervisors lead workshops called reinforcement circles, in reading and active
learning. AEI funds help to support Guinea Links' in-service and pre-service activities.
Preliminary Results in Guinea
Assessments of FQEL " and Links have shown higher levels of enrollment, attendance and
academic achievement and found that rural and urban pupils who had access to the project's
learning and teacher training materials improved significantly in French and mathematics.
Perhaps the most profound impact on teachers is the institutionalization of regular in-service
training sessions at the local level. These "reinforcement circles" for reading and active learning
have become established means of providing professional development, not only with USAID
supported activities, but also for the entire national in-service teacher training program. In￾service "professional development days" and "reinforcement circles" have fostered a culture of
active and continuous learning and professional development among teachers.
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Table 3. Guinea - Funding Levels for AEI Teacher Training in Guinea
FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 TOTAL
In-Service $500,000 $600,000 $ 700,000 $200,000 $$2,000,000
Pre-Service $ 650,000 $200,000 $$ 850,000
$500,000 $600,000 $1,350,000 $400,000 $2,850,000
Table 4 Guinea - AEI Participants, FQEL II In-Service TraininglS
Grade1-2 Grade 5-6 Professional Peer Active Reading
Reading Reading and Development Observationl Pedagogy Reinforc
Math Days Reinforce- ement Workshop Workshop Training ment Circles Circles
FY02-03 14,921 10,974 21,529 17,064
FY03-04 23,139 19,618
FY04-05 23,395 21,861 25,300
SOUTH AFRICA
AEI funds in South Africa support the Integrated Education Program (IEP).
Integrated Education Program (IEP)
Primary Implementing Partner: RTI
Secondary Implementing Partners: A consortium of 12 pre-eminent South African educational
organizations
IEP is designed with the goal of improving the quality of primary education; the emphasis is on
learner achievement and systemic improvement in selected districts in the country's four
poorest provinces: Eastern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Limpopo and Northern Cape. The activity
provides support to basic education programs in teacher education, curriculum development,
school management and governance.
The AEI funds help maintain both pre-service and in-service teacher training activities through
the IEP. AEI-funded pre-service teacher training activities support the national strategy for
mathematics, science and technology by providing scholarships in accredited programs at
tertiary institutions in Eastern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Limpopo and Northern Cape. AEI funds
used for pre-service education assist three types of programs: the Advanced Certificate in
Education; which is the minimum qualification for a science or math teacher, a Bachelor of
Education (B.Ed.) Honors; or Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Mathematics and Science.
The AEI funds also support the IEP in-service teacher training program. Specifically, AEI funds
help to pay for the residential, in-service training component (training of the Master Teachers)
using the cascade approach to training. The training is comprehensive and covers content as
well as methodology, and it does so within the context of the Department of Education's
Revised National Curriculum Statement. Under this activity, Master Teacher trainees are
afforded the unique opportunity to become comfortable and proficient with the new leaner
centered approach advocated by the curriculum. Training in the residential workshops for
Master Teachers is based on a "training of trainers" cascade model. Master Teachers attend
four, five-day sessions of residential training (total of 20 days) in a one-year cycle during school
8 The grade 3-4 teacher workshop was held in August 2002, in FY 02-03 without AEI funds, and attended by 7,037 grade 3-4 teachers; 99% of all teachers in
those grade levels.
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holidays. They are then responsible for "cascading" the training to peers and colleagues in
neighboring schools in their "cluster" and at their home school.
AEI in-service teacher training funds also help to support the training that the IEP provides for
school administrators. This course, training of School Management Teams (SMT) in
Instructional Leadership, is designed to complement the training of Master Teachers in IEP
participating schools. School administrators, such as principals and heads of department, must
be aware of the changes in the curriculum and the changing role of teachers in order to provide
true leadership and support for reforms. SMTs are trained in "Managing the Curriculum" which
covers the Revised National Curriculum; planning, teaching and learning; managing
assessment; learning and teaching support materials; developing timetables; inclusive
education; and language policy. The course also includes training on topics such as mentoring,
financial management, and HIV/AIDS. As members of the School Governing Board, the SMTs
provide the vital link between school and the community. In addition, district education officials
receive training to enable them to co-facilitate SMT and School Governing Board training with
NGO facilitators.
Table 5 South Africa - Planned AEI Allocations for AEI Teacher Training in South Africa
FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 TOTAL
In-Service $600,000 $700,000 $800,000 $850,000 $2,950,000
Pre-Service $0 $650,000 $700,000 $710,000 $2,060,000
TOTAL $600,000 $1,350,000 $1,500,000 $1,560,000 $5,010,000
Preliminary Results - South Africa
Follow-up support visits to cluster training' workshops are conducted where the
trainer/facilitators observe Master Teachers and their peers in the classroom. These
observations have shown that that the residential, in-service training is having an impact on
improving the quality of classroom instruction and teacher skill levels. Following the Revised
National Curriculum Statement, trainings are aimed at retooling how teachers teach and how
pupils learn. Teachers were previously told what to do. Now they need to be independent and
demonstrate innovation. Conversations with educators, teacher trainers and district education
officials involved in this program indicate that they have fully grasped the transformative nature
of education.
UGANDA
AEI funds in Uganda help to support two activities in Uganda: Basic Education Policy Support
(BEPS) and Uganda Program for Human and Holistic Development (UPHOLD).
Basic Education Policy Support
Primary Implementing Partner: CAli
Through USAID's Basic Education Policy Support, AEI funds have supported both in-service
and pre-service teacher training activities. A large number of school aged children in Uganda
are ·faced with serious psycho-social challenges, including but not limited to: growing up in
conflict areas; living with a parent who is ill with AIDS; orphaned due to the death of or a missing
parent; chronic malnutrition; living in remote 'or otherwise disadvantaged communities; and lor
suffering from disability or other special needs. In response to the urgent need to provide
psycho-social support to children and teachers, the MOES developed and mainstreamed the
implementation of school guidance and counseling programs in primary schools across the
nation. AEI funding has helped to develop and mainstream Uganda's School Guidance and
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Counseling program by introducing the activity into the curricula of primary teacher training
colleges.
The MOES has ~Iso chosen to invest in early childhood development, recognizing the
importance of Early Childhood Development (ECD) for maximizing a child's chance for reaching
his/her potential. USAID, with the support of AEI funding, has assisted the MOES in developing
and distributing ECD educational materials IIkits" and furniture aligned with the national ECD
Framework, and in training teachers, primary teacher college tutors, and pre-service teachers in
the use of these materials. In addition to supporting the development of ECD training materials,
AEI funds have been used to mainstream the ECD framework into the Revised Primary
Education Curriculum by supporting BEPS materials distribution and training of primary teacher
college tutors and pre-service instructors in five colleges. In 2005 AEI funds were used to help
fund a new ECD activity, an early reading pilot. Uganda's Reading Pilot, targeting children in
grade 1-2 classrooms, operated in 15 schools in each of four districts through the USAID funded
BEPS Activity. The Reading Pilot emphasizes a balanced reading approach, promoting first
language literacy in the early primary grades as a critical bridge to learning to read in a second
language in the later primary grades.
Uganda Program for Human and Holistic Development
Primary Implementing Partner: John Snow International
Secondary Implementing Partners: EDC; World Education
The Uganda Program for Human and Holistic Development (UPHOLD) Project includes school￾based quality reform with an overall goal of improving pupil performance. The program's
underlying premise is that the promotion of active partnerships among pupils, parents, teachers
and administrators with the goal of creating an" effective school environment will lead to
improved pupil learning. Through the USAID funded UPHOLD Project, AEI supports in-service
teacher training in all three inter-dependent components of UPHOLD's School-Based Quality
Reform: Teacher Effectiveness; Education Management Strengthening Initiative (EMSI); and
Community Involvement in Educatiol1. Considering the "whole-school/whole-systems" approach
taken by UPHOLD's education team, AEI funding helps to train district education officers,
primary teacher training college instructors, teachers, head teachers and community
development assistants in all of the inter-dependent program components.
AEI funded in-service teacher training initiatives in Uganda are delivered through variations of
the cascade model, all building upon the Teacher Development Management System (TOMS).
The TOMS consists of a network of core primary teacher colleges (PTCs), teacher resource
centers referred to as Coordinating Centers, and field based outreach tutors or Coordinating
Center tutors who provide cluster-based teacher in-service training, teacher networking through
Coordinating Center hosted peer group meetings, and school based teacher support and
supervision. In addition, all of the USAID funded education initiatives, including AEI funded
training, are reinforced through media campaigns, including the development and distribution of
promotional materials. Some of the USAID funded avenues for informing the public about the
school reforms include newsletters for teachers, parents, and pupils; radio shows; and national
conferences. Finally, Education Management Strengthening Initiative (EMSI) training modules
were developed, with USAID and AEI funding, through a collaboration between the MOES,
Kyambogo University, UPHOLD, and BEPS. EMSI training focuses on participatory planning for
school quality, professional development planning, administration and management and
curriculum leadership. AEI funding is used to train a cadre of master and district trainers
consisting of district education officers, school inspectors, PTC educators and Coordinating
Center tutors. The district trainers, in turn, train head teachers and deputy head teachers within
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the context of monthly peer group meetings held at a Coordinating Center for the designated
school cluster.
Table 6. Uganda - AEI Funds and Pre-Service Teachers and Instructors Trained to Date .' Pre-service Year Funds Allocated Funds Obligated Teachers College Instructors
FY03
FY04 $650,000 $650,000 1,009
FY05 $700,000 $300,000 5,550
Total $1,350,000 $950,000 5,550 1,009
Table 7. Uganda - AEI Funds and Teachers, Head Teachers and Managers Trained in In-Service Programs
Funds Funds Classroom Head Teachers District Managers
Year Allocated Obligated Teachers and Deputies and College
Instructors
FY03 $600,000 $600,000 17,900
FY04 $700,000 $700,000 5,360 1,162 145
FY05 $800,000 $0 6,272 1,212 555
Total $2,100,000 $1,300,000 29,532 2,374 700
Preliminary Results - Uganda
AEI funded training in teacher effectiveness has
helped to shift instructional approaches from
traditional "chalk and talk" methods to methods
that more actively engage pupils in the learning·
process, thereby building creative problem solving
and social skills in addition to enhancing learning.
During the case study research, teachers attested
to improved pupil learning and social development.
For example, when asked "How do you know
pupils learn more using the cooperative learning
method?" a trained teacher reported, "If you give
them a book, they can read. Last year this wouldn't
have happened." There were also repeated
testimonials that children taught through interactive
approaches were better disciplined and more
mature. All of the positive testimonials spoke to the
fact that the new methods were successful in
stimulating a child's reasoning and creative problem solving abilities. When teachers are able to
ap'ply the interactive sessions in their classrooms, teaching effectiveness and efficiency is
improved
ZAMBIA
The AEI funds in Zambia support three activities: Community Health and Nutrition, Gender and
Education Supports I and /I (CHANGES & CHANGES2), and Quality Education Services Through
Technology (IRI/QUESTT).
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Community Health and Nutrition, Gender and Education Support (CHANGES & CHANGES2) 9
Primary Implementing Partner: Creative Associates International, Inc. I American Institutes for
Research
The CHANGES program began in 2001,
with the overall goal of improving education
and preventing the further spread of
HIV/AIDS. Although it was an education
program, CHANGES focused much of its
attention and programming on
communities, with the understanding that
genuine support from communities was
needed to sustain the improvements made
in basic education. Initially, CHANGES
consisted of two main components: School
Health and Nutrition (SHN) in the Eastern
Province and the Community Sensitization
and Mobilization Campaign (CSMC) in the
Southern Province. Both of these
components focused on increasing the
enrollment of girls and other vulnerable
(especially orphaned) children.
In August 2005, USAID/Zambia launched CHANGES2, an expansion and enhancement of the
CHANGES program. The CHANGES2 program provides continued support to the Ministry of
Education for the expansion of the CHANGES programs to new geographic areas, with greater
emphasis on strengthening the professional skills of basic education teachers and tutors. As
this new program is a joint initiative with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR), activities are particularly focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation as well as
providing support to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). The CHANGES2 program
consists of six components:
Teacher Education and Professional Development
HIV/AIDS
School Health and Nutrition
Scholarships for OVCs
School-Community Partnerships and Outreach
.... Sub-grants
AEI funds have been used to support both the CHANGES and CHANGES2 programs for both
pre-service and in-service teacher training. Both programs have utilized a cascading teacher
training model, whereby trainers, who attended training of trainers sessions (TOT), conducted
subsequent training for teachers, health and community development workers and community
members. Both the SHN and CSMC conducted pre-service and in-service teacher training. SHN
materials were developed for incorporation into the pre-service curriculum in the Eastern
Province, and CSMC materials were introduced to pre-service teachers in the Southern
Province.
9 CHANGES was funded through the Basic Education Polity Support (BEPS) activity and implemented by Creative Associates
International, Inc. CHANGES2 is funded through an Education Quality Improvement Project (EQUIP) award with the American
Institutes for Research (AIR) as the Primary Implementing Partner.
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Quality Education Services Through Technology (IRI/QUESTT)
Primary Implementing Partner: EDC
QUESTT is the successor activity to the Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) project that 'first
began in 1999. The previous activity provided training and support to community IRI centers and
volunteer teachers (called mentors) who worked with out-of-school youth. Beginning in 2004,
QUESTT is supporting a pilot project to see how the IRI system works within government
schools, in addition to continuing its support for non-formal schools.
The AEI funds have helped sustain pre-service and in-service training through the QUESTT
program. Specifically, AEI teacher training funds have been used to introduce and train
government school teachers in the use of radio technology, to train mentors in community
schools and to conduct technology workshops and surveys to determine the types of technology
support required by pre- and in-service teachers.
Table 8. Zambia - AEI Funding & Outputs for Teacher Training Activities through FY2005
Funds CHANGES
Obligated CHANGES2 QlIESTT Total
thru FY2005 SHN CMSC
Pre-service $1,350,000 1,584 - 352 1,936
Project
In-service $2,850,000 4,732 5682 started Sep 10,414
2005 Community n/a 319 403 722 Volunteers
Preliminary Results - Zambia
QUESTT conducted a six-month study in the government pilot schools and observed the
delivery of radio lessons to see how well the teachers were integrating IRI. There is preliminary
evidence that IRI is well received in government schools and that teachers are able to teach
effectively using IRI. The six-month monitoring study found that almost 90% of the 36 pilot
schools had acceptable radio reception. Overall 70%> of teachers report that they now spend
less time preparing for the lessons. In addition,·70% of teachers responded that they are able to
integrate IRI into the new literacy curriculum. EDC has also conducted measurements of pupil
achievement. Although the results based on the EDC measurements are not yet available, the
teachers report that pupils are learning more with IRI.
CROSS-COUNTRY COMPARISIONS
As the country-specific descriptions demonstrate, there is great variation in certain aspects of
implementation, while convergence can be found in other areas. As such, it will be useful to
point out some of the common themes and points of difference among the various activities
across countries.
Multi-Faceted Activities:
In each of the 'five countries, AE'~funded teacher training activities are connected to similar
strategic goals, including increasing access and improving instruction and pupil learning. In all
'five countries, the AEI funds a variety of teacher training activities, which are in turn components
of larger, multi-faceted approaches to meeting those goals.
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Pre-Service Teacher Training:
There are two models for targeting pre-service teacher training: Providing training for
unqualified practicing teachers (Ghana) and supporting pre-service teacher education in
established institutions (Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia). As this breakdown
indicates, Ghana has both types of pre-service activities.
There are also two models for supporting pre-service teacher training in established
institutions: Increasing numbers through scholarship provision (South Africa), and
providing trainings and support for integrating specific content into pre-service education
(Ghana, Uganda, Zambia).
Support for Policy and School Management:
In four of the five countries (Guinea, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia) AEI funds help to
develop or raise awareness of national education policy. All of these countries target
teachers and school administrators for this awareness-raising, while Uganda also targets
parents and the general public.
Four countries (Guinea, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia) provide training oriented
towards improving school management, paralleling support for teacher development.
Three countries (South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia) support management training that
includes methods for encouraging community parl:icipation.
Training Delivery:
The cascade approach, with varied modifications, is the most common model for
delivering teacher training, used in some form in all five case study countries (Ghana,
Guinea, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia).
Differences in the modification of the cascade approach lie mainly in school or cluster
level support. Three countries have some form of this lower-level support (Guinea,
South Africa, and Uganda). Examples include: Instructional materials tied to trainings,
interactive radio instruction, and "reinforcement circles" (Guinea); Local sub-contracting
NGOs provide support at the school level (South Africa); A network of teacher resource
centers and field-based outreach tutors (Uganda)
Teacher Training Content:
Training content can be categorized into three main areas: Pedagogy; Subject Area
Skills; and special cross-curriculum content (life skills, HIV/AIDS, etc.).
Pedagogy is included in training in all five countries and is focused on developing
teachers' ability to use more learner-centered, active-learning approaches.
Subject area skills are also included in training in four of countries. The subjects most
commonly included are Mathematics (Guinea and South Africa), Science (South Africa)
and Reading (Ghana, Guinea, South Africa, and Uganda). .
Special cross-curriculum content is included in four countries and includes HIV/AIDS
(Ghana, South Africa, Zambia); girls' education (South Africa and Zambia) and
counseling (Uganda). Zambia includes a number of such topical areas, including
HIV/AIDS, health and nutrition, girls' education and community mobilization.
It is important to reiterate that the various approaches and foci discussed here are integrated
into multi-faceted, sometimes complex, programs. Each of these programs has been developed,
and often improved or enhanced, in the context of a particular cultural and historical
envirolJrnent and with a specific set of challenges to be addressed. In such circumstances,
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caution must always be used when trying to identify whether particular activities may be
replicable or transferable.
CROSS-CUTTING THEMES AND LINKAGES
HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIOS awareness is integrated into AEI funded teacher training activities in all five case
study countries. This integration can be found on two levels such that teachers develop an
awareness and understanding of HIV/AIOS themselves, and they learn how to integrate
information concerning HIV/AIOS into their teaching so that pupils will gain such awareness as
well.
Community Participation
In all five countries, AEI funded teacher training activities also include emphasis on community
participation. In some countries, such as Ghana and Guinea, the inclusion of community
largely takes the form of encouraging community support of programs, whether through
volunteering time or through monetary support. In Ghana, for example, volunteers are recruited
from the community to alleviate the teaching shortage, while in Guinea the parents and friends
of the school provide meals during cluster-based teacher trainings. In other country activities,
trainings include content for school leaders on partnering with the community, and/or work
directly with community members to develop capacity for school-community partnerships. For
example, the IEP project in South Africa includes training for members of SMTs and SGBs,
which link the school and community in a collaborative relationship.
Marginalized Communities
In Uganda, AEI funds that have helped to develop, distribute, and train teachers in appropriate
ECO, practices complement USAIO's program for assisting Islamic primary schools and
communities. In addition to helping to establish the ECO centers, USAIO provides center staff
with information on how to deliver comprehensive ECO training, engage communities in
discussions about ECO education and facilitate on-site training and outreach to Islamic schools
and communities.
Links with other AEI Funded Activities
Ghana has the strongest linkages between the AEI funded teacher training activities and other
AEI funded activities. It appears that AEI's support in purchasing materials for the Breakthrough
to Literacy/Breakthrough to English program laid the foundation for the development of a Ghana
country program for the AEI's TLMP. In addition the IFESH Teachers for Africa Program,
supported by AEI Innovative Activities funds, is linked with USAIO/Ghana's SHAPE Project the
WoH curriculum, which is supported through AEI teacher training funds. Some of the IFESH
volunteers have been able to incorporate aspects of this HIV/AIOS program into their teacher
training workshops and in the Teacher Training Resource Centers established in teacher
education institutions.
There is also a linkage between Zambia's AEI funded teacher training activities and AEI's
Innovative Activities component. The International Book Bank is coordinating with AEI teacher
training to strengthen libraries at the teacher educations institutions through book donations.
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Linkages
In all of the case study countries, AEI funded teacher training activities are part of USAID
funded programs that are closely linked with USAID strategic objectives. In addition, these
programs are directly connected with government education priorities. In most cases, USAID
and or the implementing partner works closely with the government and the ministry of
education to develop administrative and/or training capacity at the local, district, and/or national
levels.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
Monitoring and Evaluation activities across the five case study countries ranges from tracking
numbers of teachers trained to undertaking pre and post-test assessments. Ghana and South
Africa represent the strongest M&E measurements. In South Africa, teacher practices are
monitored through classroom visits and educator assessments, and actual learner progress is
monitored through well developed learner assessment tools. In Ghana, the EQUALL Project has
invested considerably in developing instruments for measuring both teacher effectiveness and
pupil performance and tracks three measures of impact: teacher effectiveness, pupil acquisition
of local language literacy standards and pupil acquisition of English language literacy standards.
All of the countries target improvement of teaching practices and increased pupil learning, and
all countries claim positive results in both of these areas. However, only Ghana and South
Africa have concrete tools for measuring these things, and for linking them to AEI funded
activities. Generally speaking, the case studies indicate that projects need to do more to monitor
the success of their teacher training activities. It is only through valid and reliable data about the
quality of teacher instructional practices (Le., as they relate to targeted shifts in teaching quality
specified by the training) and comparative data on pupil performance that we can learn about
the success of the funded programs in achieving their overall goals.
STRENGTHS, CHALLENGES, AND LESSONS LEARNED
Financing and Sustainability
One commonly reported challenge reiterated during case study research related to financing
and sustainability. In Ghana and Guinea, costs for implementation and sustainability were
mentioned as the biggest challenges. In Ghana, communities and district education offices are
expected to share costs. This approach is contrary to what has generally been the practice in
from education activities, and thus an attitude shift is necessary. In addition, district officials
have voiced difficulty in leveraging funds. The EQUALL project intends to address these
challenges largely through social mobilization and efforts to enhance the sense of ownership in
the programs. In both Ghana and Guinea, there is concern over the cost of producing
educational materials. This is a particular concern when considering questions of sustainability.
In Guinea, there is already a lack of materials and an apparent inability to reproduce sufficient
amounts quickly enough. In addition, in Guinea there is concern over the sustainability of the
IRI, which the government is currently supporting through World Bank credit.
Most of the activities examined in the case study countries considered sustainability largely in
relation to developing capacity, both for training and for managerial and administrative support.
However, financial sustainability is also a factor that needs to be considered. This is a problem
particularly in those cases where training and implementation include considerable costs for
materials, but is also important if quality in-service teacher training is to continue beyond the life
of a particular activity or project.
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Cascade Training
In addition to financing, implementing cascade training was challenging.. South Africa offers a
good example of such challenges. Feedback on the effectiveness of the cascade model was
mixed. Some interviewees reported the quality of the training for the Master Teachers as high,
and that they felt this was an appropriate cost effective delivery system. Master Teachers
testified that the training built their confidence and improved their effectiveness through learning
a variety of new methods, effective planning and implementation of continuous assessment.
Further, they indicated that their knowledge base in the subject areas had improved, and
therefore the teaching was more enjoyable. Educators appreciated the practical approach, and
liked the mentoring and school based support.
However, there were lingering questions about whether the subject matter content of the
training was successfully reaching the peer teachers in the cluster. Master Teachers admit that
they are trying hard to present the material they learned at the cascade workshops in their
clusters, but they are unsure of their effectiveness. One trainer/facilitator said that the biggest
shock he received during school follow-up visits was to observe a master teacher in one
classroom successfully teaching and practicing all the techniques taught during the residential
training, while another peer teacher in the same school appeared totally lost in presenting the
same material - even though the peer teacher had attended a cascade cluster workshop.
Clearly, in order for the cascade model to work, there needs to be substantial work at the school
level, both for master teachers who are to provide the cascade training, as well as for all of the
teachers to implement the changes in their classroom practice. A number of ways for building
this support were presented during the case study visits - some of which are already being
integrated into programs. In Guinea, the FQEL model addresses the issue of content
consistency by ensuring all training is done in pairs and by providing detailed teachers' guides.
Another strength of the program has been to get principals and instructional supervisors to take
an active role in reinforcing the training and in motivating change in the classroom. In Uganda,
case study respondents stressed the need to establish mechanisms for teachers and head
teachers to network and share information with each other on a regular basis. In addition, they
articulated the need to provide an opportunity for trainees at all levels of the cascade to view the
successful implementation of the targeted instructional methods, management activities, or
other school reforms in "real time": the ability to see the successful implementation of targeted
instructional methods or school reforms either by direct observation of "model" classrooms or
schools.
In South Africa, by using local subcontractors as an integral part of the training delivery model,
the IEP program is reinforcing local expertise that the schools and districts can utilize in the
future. The model also allows for changes to take place mid course for the betterment of the
program. For example, there was no provision for school support in the original design of the
program. School visits were added to the cascade training at the schools. Also, the basic
teacher training approach could be adapted to meet the needs of each province. In each
province, an IEP service provider worked with the model and adjusted it to meet local needs.
Given the popularity of using a cascade approach to training, as demonstrated by these case
studies, it is imperative that consideration be given to support at the local level. These case
studies show that such support can make the difference for a successful outcome. As such, if
and when cost benefit analyses are done to compare teacher training models, it is imperative
that local support is included in the cascade model.
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APPENDIX C: INTERIM TEACHER TRAINING ASSESSMENT TERMS OF REFERENCE
TERMS OF REFERENCE
For
Interim Impact Assessment of the Teacher Training Component of
The Africa Education Initiative of USAID
October 11, 2005
We can talk about school buildings and curriculum reform but at the end of the day we're not
getting right the quality and depth of teacher training...and that is why South Africa performs
so poorly in comparison to other countries.
Prof Jonathan Jansen, Dean, University ofPretoria Education Faculty, SA
SAFM Radio Program, June 7, 2005
1.0 ABSTRACT
This assessment will provide a descriptive summary, including quantitative data, about
how different teacher training approaches and teacher training content areas compare in
the quest to increase the number and quality of teachers in Africa. Results of the interim
assessment will serve to provide lessons about how alternative teacher training strategies
translate into improved quality of education in Africa, providing information to the Africa
Education Initiative (AEI) that will lead to maximized benefits of the program overall. One
aspect of the assessment will be to develop some early guidelines about how best to compare
alternative teacher training approaches from both an effectiveness and cost perspective. The
study will take place on two levels. The first will consist of a desk study of data from diverse AEI
supported teacher training components across all participating countries and selected
professional literature on teacher training effectiveness. The second will consist of evaluative
field research in four countries where evaluators interface directly with implementers of teacher
training programs, teacher trainees, and pupil beneficiaries to learn about the effectiveness of
various approaches through interviews and classroom observations. The assessment
methodology will use an applied learning model whereby information from both the desk study
and field visits will be integrated and interpreted through collective thinking and analysis
involving all team members. The report will comprise a synopsis of key findings drawn from the
data of all the AEI countries and the four case studies. The study will conclude lessons learned
for the mid-term evaluation ofAEI and recommendations for the continuation of AEI. The study
will be undertaken by an international team of researchers with international expertise in pupil
and teacher assessment and cost benefit analysis.
2.0 INTRODUCTION
USAID/AFRISD/ED has authorized an interim· impact assessment of aspects of the teacher
training component of the Africa Education Initiative. With the Initiative just over half way
through its five-year life cycle and a continuation planned, USAID/AFRISD/ED management
wants to know the impact of activities in its main components-teacher training, scholarships and
textbooks and learning materials and how they have addressed cross-cutting concerns of
HIV/AIDS, involving communities for accountability, and serving marginalized communities. This
assessment will descriptively map the teacher training activities being implemented under the
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
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AEI across a variety of key dimensions, including but not limited to: focus of activity; intended
outcomes; intended impacts; relative costs for training; and recurrent costs of both training and
targeted classroom reforms. The analysis will document interim results achieved by various
teacher training activities and consider the most meaningful and reliable mechanisms to
compare the relative effectiveness and costs of approaches over the life of the AEI. In addition,
measures for comparing the efficiency of approaches will be considered. Specific information
needs for assessing the cost-effectiveness and cost-efficiency of approaches and for comparing
programs will be identified to help guide these processes in the future. Another important
element of the interim teacher training assessment is to investigate the degree to which the AEI
teacher training component and other AEI components are mutually reinforcing and to
investigate the relations between and among AEI teacher training activities and USG and other
education development assistance programs in the country.
3.0 CONTEXT
Announced in June 2002 by President Bush, the Africa Education Initiative increases access to
quality basic educational opportunities in Africa. AEI activities comprise five components to
improve primary education: 1) teacher training; 2) textbooks and other learning materials; 3)
scholarships to girls; 4) innovative activities; and 5) marginalized communities. Cutting across
all components are efforts to support community involvement and address the impact of
HIV/AIDS on schooling and the education.
This $200,000,000 multiyear basic education initiative is providing 250,000 scholarships for
African girls, training 160,000 new and 260,000 existing teachers, delivering 4.5 million
textbooks and learning materials and increasing the role of parents in their children's education
by making school systems more transparent and open to reforms and incorporating HIV/AIDS
prevention into education. Additional USG resources will be made available for the continuation
of AEI.
4.0 RATIONALE
The need to increase the numbers and quality of teachers in Africa is indisputable. Teacher
training has been a major component of development programs in Africa for decades. Yet,
despite significant investments by the donor community and considerable proportions of many
national budgets for teacher's salaries, insufficient trained teachers and teaching corps with
inadequate or inappropriate skills remain endemic to the profession in too many African
countries.
Ongoing and recent policy initiatives, including Education for All, the Commission for Africa and
strategies to eradicate poverty, all pinpoint lack of quality education as a major barrier t6
successful su~tainable development. The Africa Education Initiative exemplifies education as
the centerpiece of the Bush administration's U.S. development strategy. . .
With pressure on education expenditures and the strategy with AEI to make teacher training one
of three focal components, the question is what works best in teacher training, in settings
including fragile states and to the specifications required to accelerate attainment of
improvement in education quality, how are funds best spent? USAID's '·'Education Strategy:
Improving Lives Through Learning" (April 2005, PD-ACD-232, Foreword) in noting that no
agency has sufficient resources to address all educational needs states, "It is necessary,
therefore, to prioritize, focusing on education approaches that have demonstrated the greatest
returns and promise the greatest results."
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OPIN provides selected data on Presidential Initiatives. This assessment provides fuller
investigation of impact and "paints the pictures" behind the simple figures.
The teacher training component of AEI requires that an education strategic objective already
exists in country.
Types of activities that can be funded under AEI: In-service teacher training
Training teachers in the use of new methodologies, such as: learner centered, active
teaching and learning; pupil assessment. Training teachers in new content areas, such
as: School Health and Nutrition, HIV/AIDS/life-skills, environmental education, peace
education.
Training teachers to be aware of gender interactions in the classroom that can have a
negative impact on either boys or girls and providing teachers with the skills in the areas
of instructional interactions, motivation, management procedures, and learner-to-Iearner
interactions to eliminate gender bias in their teaching and to effectively respond to the
different needs of girls and boys. Or to identify problems and solutions to factors that
influence the classroom participation of boys and girls.
Training teachers in the use of new technologies - such as interactive radio, television
and computer assisted learning.
Support for teacher training resource centers.
Types of activities that can be funded under AEI: Pre-service teacher training
Incorporating active learning/pupil centered teaching and learning methods into the
national pre-service teacher training curriculum
Incorporate methods to develop gender-aware attitudes and teaching behaviors that will
. lead to improved classroom experiences and learning for girls and boys.
Incorporating gender-aware HIV/AIDS/life skills into the national per-service teacher
training curriculum
-.. Training of volunteer community teachers (mentors) to deliver Interactive Radio
Instruction (IRI).
Developing and implementing gender-aware HIV/AIDS or life-skills modules to
incorporate into national pre-service teacher training program.
5.0 OBJECTIVES, SCOPE AND FOCUS, FRAMEWORK
As a result of discussion with the AEI Teacher Component Manager, shared understandings
have developed regarding the purposes, content, design and products of the Teacher Training
component study. The Monitoring and Evaluation for the Africa Bureau Education Division.
contractor (MEABED) team expects the study to yield conceptually sound results presented as
(a) a descriptive report on the AEI teacher training component based on an analysis of data
available from all AEI supported teacher training programs and four country cases; (b) detailed
and coherent operational recommendations; and (c) interim conclusions on the effectiveness of
the teacher training component in improving education quality.
Audience: The main audiences for the case study are AEI staff, USAID Missions, policy makers,
stakeholders such as Ministries of Education, partnering contractors, NGOs, schools and
communities in participating countries. This is the same audience for the interim evaluation of
AEI into which this study will feed. The report will also be of interest to the international
development community involved in improving education in Africa.
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to guide USAID programming. The study will assist
the AEI team to refine guidelines for teacher training funding as the Initiative continues. It will
serve to enhance AEI's effectiveness in promoting education quality by providing information
needed for USAID and participating countries to choose priority areas of foci, define and assess
impact criteria and select among implementation options.
Objectives and Evaluation Questions
1. Map the set of AEI teacher training activities in participating countries.
Research Questions. What are the AEI teacher training activities and how do activities
with similar goals and objectives compare with regard to the following: content of
training; intended outcomes and impacts; applications of whole school concepts (e.g.,
involvement of parents and communities, district offices, and other stakeholders); pre￾conditions for sustainability; number of teachers trained per year; costs of training?
2. Determine effective ways to measure and compare the relative success of programs
across the life of the AEI.
Research Question. What are the most effective ways to measure and compare the
relative success of different teacher training approaches with regard to number of
teachers reached, teaching quality, and impact on student learning?
3. Determine the most viable way to measure and compare costs.
Research Question. What is the appropriate framework and information elements
needed to compare the cost-effectiveness and cost-efficiency of various teacher training
approaches?
4. Investigate the inter-connectedness of the AEI components and cross-cutting issues and
their inter-linkages with other USG and country education programs.
Research Question. How do AEI teacher training activities relate to' other AEI
components and how do they complement or add value to other USAID education
programs, national strategic investment programs for education, and international
education reform initiatives?
Scope: The study provides a descriptive comparison of the pre-service and in-service teacher
training activities in all 17 participating countries based on desk research and four country case
studies. The case study countries, Ghana, Guinea, Uganda, and Zambia, were selected from
among those first participating in the AEI program.
6.0 ANTICIPATED METHODOLOGY
The study will use a combination of quantitative and qualitative information. Available
quantitative data will be used to describe, for example, numbers of teachers trained, program
costs and where available, pupil learning and retention outcomes. Descriptions of teacher
training activities and related observations of changes in teaching and learning will utilize
qualitative methods. The final methodology will be determined byMEABED staff in consultation
with the investigators recruited to lead the study. .
The monitoring and evaluation system of AEI relies on data collected by Missions, contractors
and partners implementing each of the three components in AEI countries. Most of these
contractors have monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements that MEABED can draw on.
Some Missions have internal monitoring and evaluation staff or consultants. MEABED will in
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
large part rely on data collected by these partners, working with them where possible to
generate information that they may not be collecting that is required for this study.
MEABED will conduct some primary research for this study, and to yalidate findings of
contractors. Standards for measuring performance of teachers and pupils will reference relevant
international benchmarks and USAID data validation guidance.
An e-mail discussion group or listserv to inform "mega team members" about the study, gather
some information and elicit feedback as the study unfolds is a consideration. These "mega team
members" would be the monitoring and evaluation contact person in each African case country
(usually contractor staff), program contact person (contract or Mission staff person) and
education strategic objective leader in each case study country and would be appropriately
credited in the final report.
Using a purposeful sample of countries to do detailed case studies, MEABED will engage
Mission staff and implementing partners in dialogue and discussion about interim results based
on existing data.
This assessment will be highly participatory in keeping with current international development
best practice. Mega team members playa part in helping to define research questions that can
hav~ multiple answers, such ,as, what are ways to assess effective teacher training, and ways
that the activity benefits can be sustained beyond USAID funding.
7.0 ASSESSMENT, MANAGEMENT AND PERSONNEL
Exegesis Consulting, through a subcontract with SCience Applications International Corporation
(SAIC), has been commissioned by the USAID Africa Bureau Office of Sustainable
Development Education Division (USAID/AFRISD/ED) to provide monitoring and evaluation
services for AEI. Exegesis Consulting has offices based in the Washington area, U.S. and in
Johannesburg, South Africa. The activity has been tagged the Monitoring and Evaluation for the
Africa Bureau Education Division Project (MEABED). The M&E services provided by MEABED
are designed to be distinct, but complementary to the activity-level M&E systems managed by
AEI's contractors and implementing partners.
8.0 CASE STUDIES
In order to construct a manageable sample that still reflects key program variations, countries
will be selected for site visits. The case studies will provide photographs and concrete
descriptions of country context. Selection will be based on several factors including:
-.. Location - West, East,. and Southern African countries will be included in the sample
International priority - Countries that have been designated programming priorities by the
Bush administration (MCA qualified countries) or the World Bank (Education For All Fast
Track countries) will be rep'resented in the sample. '
At least two countries serving Muslim populations should be included
-.. Teacher training type - a variety of teacher training approaches, balancing direct training
and "Master Teacher" models, cluster, radio, training of community volunteers training
-.. AEI cross-cutting themes - all case study countries should have either community
involvement or address HIV/AIDS
An activity monitoring and evaluation system in place to provide data preferably to
include pupil learning
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Contractor and Mission personnel willing to cooperate in providing data for the case
study and participating in a workshop.
Preliminarily, case study candidates are: Zambia, South Africa, Malawi, Ghana, Mali, DRC and
Ethiopia. Case study countries have been finalized as Ghana, Guinea, South Africa,
Uganda and Zambia.
9.0 DISSEMINATION PLAN
Since the principal purpose of this report is to guide USAID programming, the report will be
distributed to AEI personnel and USAID policymakers. A distribution list will be developed in
consultation with AEI. A workshop will be convened in Washington D.C. to discuss the findings
of the study. A Power Point presentation will be prepared. If an AEI or other USAID education
workshop occurs, we propose a presentation on the study since representatives from AEI
teacher training country programs will likely be present.
10.0 PROPOSED TIMETABLE &DELIVERABLES
The interim impact assessment and dissemination of the AEI teacher training component will be
conducted from October 2005 to June 2006.
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AFRICA INITIAriVE EDUCATION
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APPENDIX D: LIST OF INFORMANTS
Interim Assessment of AEI Teacher Training
Case Study Countries' Informants
Ghana
Name Organization Title/Responsibility
Lawrence Dolan, Ph.D. USAID/Ghana Team Leader Basic Education
William Osafo USAID/Ghana CTO, EQUALL
Nicole Tobin USAID/Ghana CTO, SHAPE
Kwezi Dzidzienyo IFESH Director IFESH/Ghana
Kay Leherr EQUALLI Education COP, EQUALL Development Center (EDC)
Kingsley Adu EQUALLIEDC Deputy COP, EQUALL
Stan Kadingdi EQUALLIEDC Open Distance Learning (ODL)
Coordinator
Marian Markin-Yankah EQUALLIEDC BTL,BTE Coordinator
John Yanulis World Education COP, SHAPE
Lucy Aklaku World Education Window of Hope Coordinator, SHAPE
Teacher Education
Stephen Adu DepartmenUGhana Education Deputy Director
Service (GES)
Director of Teacher Education GES Director Department
District Director, W. Akim District
David Mah PTC, Akropong PTC Tutor, HIV/AIDS
17 Pre-service Teachers PTC, Akropong 17 Pre-Service Teachers
Principal PTC, Akropong Principal
Deputy PTC, Akropong Deputy
Community Support Teacher Kananto Presbyterian School
Andani EQUALL, Tamale Office CEP/CST Coordinator
Jewa Adam Sinsina Village, West Gonja CEP Facilitator Teacher District
Enunto Mercy West Gonja District CEP/CST Coordinator, West Gonja
District
Alhassan Anderatu Domango Village, Jackpa P3 BTE Teacher Primary
Sulimana Wuriya Domango Village, Jackpa P2 BTE Teacher Primary
Abudu Matilda Domango Village P1 BTL Teacher Jackpa Primary
Eugene Mills West Akim District Circuit Superviso.r.
Kingsley Adu West Akim District Circuit Supervisor
Harriett Antwi BTL Teacher Kofi Village, Kyere LA Primary School
Lillian Ofori Adjei· West Akim District BTLlBTE Coordinator
Samson Poakwa Head Teacher KO'fi Village, Kyere Primary School
Peter Misa Sasu West Akim District District Training Officer
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
Guinea
Name Organization Title
Jack Winn USAID/Guinea Mission Director
LeAnna Marr USAID/Guinea Education Team Leader
Ahmed Tidiane Diallo USAID/Guinea Senior Education Policy Advisor
Marisol E. Perez USAID/Guinea Education Program Advisor
Thelma Khelghati FQELlLinks, EDC Chief of Party
Norma Evans FQELlLinks, EDC Senior Technical Assistant
Louise Filion DevTech Systems USAID/Guinea S03 Evaluation
Mike Midling DevTech Systems USAID/Guinea S03 Evaluation
Amadou Oury Bah IFESH-Guinea Country Representative
Myriam Agustin IFESH/Guinea Technical Advisor
Alpha Oumar National Institute for Pedagogy Liaison, National Service for
and Action Research (INRAP) Professional Training
Alpha Mahmoudou Diallo INRAP Director General
Assiatou Sampil Soumah INRAP Professor
Amadou Diallo INRAP Head of Multimedia Division
Faoura Thiam Ministry of Technical and National Director of Education for All Professional Training (METFP)
Baba. Diane METFP Head, Pre-Service Teacher Training
Division
Adama Camara Negueya Elementary School in Principal Dubreka Dubreka
Ministry of Pre-University Head SN FP is the National Service EI Hadj Bah Alpha Mamadou Training and Civic Education for Professional Training under (MEPU-EC)
MEPU-EC (Ministry of Pre- Inspector General of Elementary Soulemane Sangare University Training and Civic
Education) Education
MEPU-EC (Ministry of Pre- Deputy Inspector General of Almamy Samba Camara University Training and Civic
Education) Elementary Education
M. Bakary Traore Prefecture of Forecariah DPE( Education Delegate)
South Africa
Name Organization Title
Lawrence Sithole COUNT Maths Trainer
Sindi Motefe COUNT Numeracy Trainer
Bonga Strydom PROTEC Science & Technology Trainer
Siphiwe Mabizela PROTEC Science and Technology Trainer
Bongani Dlamini READ Literacy Trainer
Nozipho Zuma READ Literacy Trainer
BechiHadebe Research Triangle Institute RTI-IEP Project Manager (RTI)
John Burmeister RTI-IEP IEP Limpopo Provincial Coordinator
IEP Kwa-Zulu Natal Provincial
Deva Govender RTI-IEP Coordinator and Senior Program
Manager
BhekiHadebe RTI-IEP Senior Program Manager
Deva Govender RTI Project Coordinator
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
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Eric Radebe RTI Administrator
Melinda Taylor RTI Chief of Party for IEP, SA
Cynthia Chassy USAID Education Advisor
David Farirai USAID Project Development Specialist
Higher Education
Richard "Wick" Powers USAID Education Advisor
Sibusiso Sithole National Department of Head of Department, Quality
Education, South Africa Promotion and Assurance
Uganda
Name Organization Title
Renuka Plllay Creative Associates COP, BEPSII International (CAlI)
Michael Cacich EDC UPHOLD Education Advisor
David Bruns USAID Education Officer
Dorothy Aanyu USAID UPHOLD Senior Education Advisor
Elizabeth Jawoko USAID UPHOLD Teacher Effectiveness
Advisor
Megan Thomas USAID UPHOLD Resident Education
Systems Advisor
Zambia
Name Organization Title
Rick Henning, Ed.D. USAID/Zambia Education Advisor
Cornelius Chipoma, Ph.D. USAID/Zambia Education Program Specialist
Edward P. Graybill, Ph.D. CHANGES2 (American
Institutes for Research (AIR)) Chief of Party
Institutes for Research ( AIR)
Joy du Plessis CHANGES2 (AIR) Teacher Education Advisor
Josias E. Zulu CHANGES2 (AIR) Grants/Community /Capacity Building
Advisor
Catherine N. Phiri CHANGES2 (AIR) School Health &Nutrition Advisor
Richard Trewby QUESTT Project, EDC Chief of Party
David Anderson QUESTT Project, EDC Teacher Education Advisor
Jasper Hatwiindwa QUESTT Project, EDC Monitoring &Education Coordinator
Thomas Grotkjaer Nielsen QUESTT Project, EDC Monitoring &Education Advisor
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training: Looking to the Future
APPENDIX E: REFERENCES
An Interim Assessment of Teacher Training:
Looking to the Future
References and Documents Used
(October 2005). Africa Education Initiative Interim Teacher Training Assessment Terms of Reference.
Charlick, Judith A. (n.d.). Accelerated Learning for Children in Developing Countries. Washington D.C.:
USAID.
Consolidated Reporting System Report ending September 30,2005.
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) EdData. http://www.dhseddata.com. (Accessed on April 13,
2006).
Dock, A., Helwig, J. (1999). "Interactive Radio Instruction: Impact, Sustainability, and Future Directions."
Education and Technology Technical Note Series. 4,1.
Government of Uganda. (2002). National Assessment ofProgress in Education.
Hayes, D. (2000). "Cascade Training and Teachers' Professional Development." ELT (English
Language Teaching) Journal 54(2): 135-145.
Levin, Henry and Patrick McEwan. (2001). Cost-Effective Analysis: Methods and Application. 2nd
Edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
National Training Partnership. School Health Program News Insert. "Coaching and Mentoring: Opening
the Classroom Doors." 6.1 http://www2.edc.org/ntp/shpn/ntp101.pdf (Accessed on April 13, 2006)
Perraton, H." (1997). The cost effectiveness of distance education for primary teacher training. United
Kingdom: International Research Foundation for Open Learning.
Senge, Peter et.al., (2000). Schools that Learn. Doubleday, New York, p.11-19.
UNESCO. "Technology and Learning Definitions."
http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/lwf/doc/portfolio/definitions.htm (Accessed on April 13,
2006); See also EDC's Multi-channel Learning Center website at http://ies.edc.org/aboutlmcl.htm.
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). (2005). Africa Education Initiative Teacher
Training Operational Guidelines. Washington D.C.: USAID
U.S. Agency for International Develo"pment (USAID). Guinea/Education & Training.
http://www.usaid.gov/gn/education/background/ (Acce:ssed on April 13, 2006).
Villegas-Reimers, Eleonora. (2003). Teacher Professional Development: An International Review of the
Literature. Paris: UNESCO.
World Bank Education Notes. Guinea: A Steady Path to Achieve Education for All.
http://www.1.worldbank.org/education/pfd/EdunotesGuinea.pdf. (Accessed on April 13, 2006).
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
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DOCUMENTS USED
Country Component Document Used Date of Document
Democratic n In-Service ProQram Description November 18, 2005
Republic of Quarterly Report July 1,2005 Congo
TT In-Service Annual Report July 2003 - June
Ethiopia TT Pre-Service AEI Teacher Training OPIN September 30, 2004
Annual Report July 2003 - June
TT In-Service Memo from Kay Leherr, Team Leader December 1,2005
EQUALL AEI Implementation Schedule January - June 2006
Ghana FY 2005 Annual Report November 2005
TT Pre-Service FY 2005 Annual Report, November 2005 November 2005
EQUALL AEI Implementation Schedule
Memo from Kay Leherr, Team Leader December 1, 2005
TT In-Service 1 Twenty-eiQhth Quarterly Report October - December 2003
Twenty-ninth Quarterly Report January - March 2004
Thirtieth Quarterly Report April - June 2004
Thirty-first Quarterly Report July - September 2004
Guinea Thirty-second Quarterly Report October - December 2004
Thirty-fourth Quarterly Report April - June 2005
TT In-Service 2 AEI Teacher Training Evaluation December 2005
First Quarterly Report July - September 2005
Extracts fro EDC's Technical Proposal July 1,2005
Revised Program Description and
TT In-Service Quarterly Report July - September 2005
Malawi Annual Report September - December 2004
Quarterly Report January - March 2005
Quarterly Report April - June 2005
n In-Service Annual Report 2 December 2004
Mali Annual Report 1 February 2004
TT Pre-Service Rebecca Rhodes (EDC project December 10, 2005
TT In-Service EQUIP2 Website - AED/EQUIP2/BES3 September 29,2005 2006 Annual
Basic Education Support, Phase II, No Date
Namibia Basic Education Support: BES November 2004
Namibia Basic Education Support: BES November-2004
SO: 6.1: Performance Indicator January 28, 2005
Reflective, Critical Practitioner Inquiry: May 2003
Namibia USAID/Namibia, Country StrateQic No Date
Basic Education Support Proiect October 24, 2005
.AED BES3 2005 Annual Workplan No Date
TT Pre-Service Basic Education Support Proiect October 24, 2005
SO: 6.1: Performance Indicator September 29, 2005
AED/EQUIP2/BES3 2006 Annual January 28, 2005
EQUIP2 Website￾AED BES3 2005 Annual Workplan No Date
Senegal TT In-Service PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report January 31, 2005
Africa Education Initiative - SeneQal April 2005
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Work Plan, Year AUQust5,2005
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT - Work Plan, Year AUQust 31 , 2004
Work Plan - SITT - Year 1 - 2003-2004 January 26, 2004
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report October 31,2005
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report July 31,2005
PAEM/CLASSE Quarterly Report #2 - April 30, 2005
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AFRICA INITIATIVE EDUCATION
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PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report October 31, 2004
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report July 31, 2004
SITT Quarterly Report #2 - Year 1 - April 15, 2004
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report January 15, 2003
TT Pre-Service SITT Quarterly Report #2 - Year 1 - April 15, 2004
PAEM/CLASSE Quarterly Report #2 January 15, 2003
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report April 2005
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Work Plan, Yea August5,2005
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report October 31 , 2004
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report January 31,2005
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report April 30, 2005
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report July 31,2005
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT Quarterly Report October 31,2005
Work Plan - SITT - Year 1 - 2003-2004 January 26, 2004
PAEM/CLASSE/SITT - Work Plan, Year AUQust31,2004
Africa Education Initiative - SeneQal July 31,2004
IT In-Service Consolidated AWP Schedules 2005 No Date
IEP Annual Work Plan - 1 June to 31 No Date
IEP Annual Work Plan - 1 June to 31 No Date
IEP Third Quarter Report - 1 April to 30 No Date
IEP Fourth Quarter Report - 1 July
IEP First Quarter Report - 1 October
Africa Education Initiative Interim December 30, 2005
IEP Third Quarter Report - 1 April to 30
IEP Fourth Quarter Report - 1 July
IEP FY2005 Fourth Quarter Report
South Africa IEP Second Quarter Report - 1
IEP Third Quarter Report - 1 April to 30
Africa Education Initiative Interim December 30, 2005
Consolidated AWP Schedules 2005
IEP Annual Work Plan - 1 June to 3
IEP First Quarter Report - 1 October
USAID South Africa Technically September 10, 2003
IEP Third Quarter Report - 1 April
USAID South Africa Technically September 10, 2003
IEP Annual Work Plan
IEP FY2005 Fourth Quarter Report
IEP Second Quarter Report
Tanzania IT In-Service Quarterly Technical Report; Draft July - September
IT In-Service AEI ProQress Report October - March 2005
AEI ProQress Report April - September 2004
Final Technical Report June 2005
Zambia Rebecca Rhodes, email December, 1 2005
TT Pre-Service AEI ProQress Report April - September 2004
AEI ProQress Report October - March 2005
Final Technical Report June 2005
75