One of the four major programme areas of IICBA in the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan period is Teacher Policy Development and Capacity Building. This programme area has three sub-programmes under it. These are: i) Teacher Policy Development and Implementation, ii) Capacity Building for Management of Teacher Education Institutions, and iii) ICTs for Education and Distance Teacher Education.
IICBA intends to assist Member States in Africa in developing comprehensive teacher policies that take into account the recruitment, training, deployment, career development, welfare, discharge and retirement issues of teachers. The Institute also would like to contribute to the improvement of the management of teacher education institutions in the continent through its capacity building training workshops. Moreover, IICBA has been working to introduce and integrate ICTs within the education system of African countries. The ICTs for Education and Distance Teacher Education sub-programme deals with this aspect of IICBA’s work (more information is provided on this under the ICTs for Education and Distance Teacher Education programme component – see link on the left).
Under the Teacher Policy Development and Implementation sub programme, the Institute has planned to carry out five activities. These are: i) Diagnostic Studies of Teacher Issues in the Regional Economic Communities in Africa Using the TTISSA Methodological Guide, ii) Capacity Building for Teacher Policy Development and Implementation, iii) Capacity Building of Teacher Trainers at All Levels in Innovative Ways of Teacher Development, iv) Analysis of Teacher Education Curriculum, and Development of Qualifications Framework, v) Bridging the Gender Gap in Teacher Policy Development and Implementation.
The purpose of the Diagnostic Studies of Teacher Issues in the Regional Economic Communities in Africa Using the TTISSA Methodological Guide is to gather empirical data on the teacher situation within the countries of the RECs, and develop a database to guide the policy dialogue that should precede the development of comprehensive teacher policies in the respective countries within the region, for those that do not have such a policy at present. This activity is motivated by the fact that there is scarcity of verifiable data on the various aspects of the teacher situation in many African countries.
The Capacity Building for Teacher Policy Development and Implementation activity is designed to support Member States in Africa to develop comprehensive and harmonised teacher policies to guide their actions in relation to teacher issues. As part of this intervention, IICBA plans to develop a set of training modules for building the capacity of relevant ministry of education personnel and other stakeholders in the process of teacher policy development and implementation.
The third activity under this sub-programme, Capacity Building of Teacher Trainers at All Levels in Innovative Ways of Teacher Development, aims to document exemplary practices in and outside Africa in innovative ways of training teachers at the basic and higher education levels that reflect contextual, contemporary and futuristic perspectives. It is believed that work in this area will foster delivery of quality education at the basic and higher education levels in Africa through better trained teacher educators.
Analysis of Teacher Education Curriculum and Development of Qualifications Framework is an activity that is planned to analyse the teacher education curricula in the RECs in order to contribute to the development of teacher qualifications framework for the RECs, and facilitate harmonisation of teacher training curricula. This is expected to result in enhanced mobility of teachers and students within the sub-regions.
The fifth activity under the Teacher Policy Development and Implementation sub-programme, Bridging the Gender Gap in Teacher Policy Development and Implementation, deals with the identification of the unique challenges female teachers encounter in teacher development, including recruitment, training, deployment, retention and promotion. The activity intends to assess existing policies, structures, and processes in teacher development from a gender perspective and propose policy options for countries to consider.
One of the two activities under sub-programme 2, namely Capacity Building for Management of Teacher Education Institutions aims at equipping teacher education management staff with knowledge, skills and attitudes in the area of financial management, staff management, and space management of teacher education institutions in the RECs in order to enable them use the limited resources at their disposal in a more efficient and effective manner. The activity also has a component on the use of open source software in the management of TEIs.
The second activity under sub-programme 2 deals with quality assurance of teacher training institutions and programmes. The activity intends to assess the capacity needs of basic and higher education teacher training institutions and national quality assurance agencies in quality assuring teacher education, and support Member States in Africa with the development of minimum standards for teacher education in the continent. It is expected that teacher education management targeted by this intervention will acquire modern methods of conducting programme and institutional self assessment and audit.
While the foregoing are activities planned for 2011-2015, IICBA has been actively engaged since 1999 with African teacher education colleges and faculties of education to improve the quality of teacher education in Africa. The Institute utilised two major modalities for this. One of them was sponsoring distance education degree and diploma level courses through partnerships with content providing institutions in Africa and beyond. Teachers’ colleges and faculties of education in various countries in Africa participated in these programmes through negotiated agreements with IICBA, with the expectation that they will integrate the sponsored programmes of study in their curricula at the end of IICBA’s intervention. This was believed to be a preferred way of building the capacity of African teachers’ colleges and faculties of education and assuring the sustainability of the programmes. Accordingly, IICBA has sponsored the following programmes offered by the institutions shown.
• The Post-graduate Diploma in Distance Education (PGDDE) of the Indira Gandhi National Open University; (IGNOU);
• The Master of Art in Distance Education (MADE) of the Indira Gandhi National Open University; (IGNOU)
• The Postgraduate Micro-programme in Education of Montreal University (in French);
• The M. Ed. (with special emphasis on ICTs) of Montreal University (in French);
• The M. Ed. in Critical Practitioner Inquiry Methodology of Umea University, Sweden;
• The Advanced Certificate in Educational Management (ACEM) of the University of South Africa (UNISA);
• The M. Ed. In the Teaching of Mathematics of the University of South Africa (UNISA);
• The M.Ed. in ICTs for Education of the University of Pretoria (UP).
• The MEd in Teaching Math and Science of Pearson Skylight of the USA
• The BEd in Education of the University of South Africa (UNISA)
• The BInf in Library Science and Information of the University of South Africa(UNISA)
In addition to sponsored programmes, IICBA has also been offering short targeted courses on various aspects related to teacher education, and the capacity building of teacher educators, school heads and ministry of education personnel in Member States in Africa.
Programme 1: Teacher Policy Development and Capacity Building
Sub-programme 1: Teacher Policy Development and Implementation
Activities:
1.1.1 Diagnostic Studies in the RECs using the TTISSA Methodological Guide
1.1.2 Capacity Building for Teacher Policy Development and Implementation
1.1.3 Capacity Building of Teacher Trainers at all Levels in Innovative Ways of Teacher Development
1.1.4 Analysis of Teacher Education Curriculum and Development of Qualifications Framework
1.1.5 Bridging the Gender Gap in Teacher Policy Development and Implementation
Sub-programme 2: Capacity Building for Management of Teacher Education Institutions
Activities:
1.2.1 Capacity Building in the Management of Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) for Heads and Deputy Heads of TEIs from Countries of the RECs
1.2.2 Capacity Building for Quality Assurance of Teacher Training Institutions and Programmes
Sub-programme 3: ICTs for Education and Distance Teacher Education
Activities:
1.3.1 Development of ICT-enhanced Teacher Standards for Africa
1.3.2 Enhancing the Capacity of Teacher Education Policy Makers in Mapping and Planning for Implementation of National ICT in Education Strategies
1.3.3 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in Teacher Development
1.3.4 Online Certificate Training Programmes in Teacher Development