Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Closer Perspectives

In the drive to achieve universal primary education as one of the Millennium Development Goals, there is an increasing recognition of the urgency of focusing on teacher education to both meet the demand for more than one million qualified teachers required to achieve this goal within sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to combat the sometimes poor quality educational experience reported in the school. Currently, approximately only one third of teachers are qualified to teach. This dearth in qualified teachers also means that secondary and tertiary education need to be improved upon to provide an educated cohort of graduates. This in turn will ensure that the quality of teacher trained and retained within the profession is of a sufficiently high standard to ensure sustainable progress. This volume focuses on the various aspects of teacher education which need to be addressed in order for the wider Millennium Goals to be achieved, but more importantly, so that each African child living within sub-Saharan Africa will have the right to a quality education: ensuring they too experience their right and entitlement as children to reach their full potential--often taken for granted in Western countries--giving African children the necessary tools to build a better future for themselves. Of particular interest to the education researcher and policy maker, this volume's contributors look at the various issues and challenges around the teacher profession, particularly in relation to resources and practices within sub-Saharan Africa. The contributors examine the issue of building research capacity for educational research within teacher education Colleges and explore the concept of education for sustainable development with the view to improving the development of quality teacher education within the global South. In this volume, research reports are presented highlighting the various challenges within the structure and provision of teacher education within certain national contexts, including assessment and curricula issues, which need to be addressed. This volume goes from the global to the local and examines teacher educator teaching, learning and reflective practice issues within different contexts, as well as exploring alternative pre-service experiences for western teachers who wish to work within the sub-Saharan context as well as some teacher educator exchange programmes between the South and North. Case countries explored include Lesotho, South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar, to mention but a few. Of particular value to the education researcher and policy maker, this book provides a timely resource focusing on an area of neglect, highlighting the central role of the teacher and teacher education towards sustainable development within the sub-Saharan African context. This book is divided into three parts. First, International and National Discourses on Teacher Education, contains the following: (1) Education as a Humanitarian Response as Applied to Teachers and Their Training in Sub-Saharan Africa (Colin Brock); (2) Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Issues and Challenges around Teacher Resources and Practices (Bob Moon & Freda Wolfenden); (3) Contradictions in Teacher Education and Teacher Professionalism in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of South Africa (Clive Harber); (4) What Hope for the Dakar Goals? The Lower Levels of Education in Lesotho and Uganda since 2000 (James Urwick & Rosarii Griffin with Veronica Opendi & Matemoho Khatleli); (5) A Critical Overview of Education for Sustainable Development with Particular Focus upon the Development of Quality Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (David Stephens); and (6) Building Capacity for Educational Research in Sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities, Constraints and Lessons in the Context of Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda (Peadar Cremin, Mary Goretti Nakabugo & Eimear Barrett). Second, Case Country Research Reports on Aspects of Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, contains the following: (7) Towards a Holistic Understanding of Special Educational Needs (Jacqui O'Riordan, James Urwick, Stella Long & Maria Campbell); (8) The Teaching and Learning of Mathematics in Ugandan Secondary Schools: Poised for Change? (Paul Conway, Elizabeth Oldham, James Urwick, Sarah Kisa, Justine Otaala & Anne Mugwera); (10) Implementing the Thematic Curriculum in Uganda: Implications for Teacher Education (Marty Holland, Louise Long & Laura Regan); and (11) How Much Is Enough? Investigating Mathematical Knowledge for Primary Teaching in Lesotho (Dolores Corcoran & Anne Dolan). Third, Teacher Education at the Chalkface: Closer Perspectives, contains the following: (12) Teacher Educators and Teaching, Learning and Reflective Practice among the Turkana Nomads of Kenya (Thomas G. Grenham); (13) An Account of the Alternative Education Experience Africa Programme in Transition: Irish Pre-Service Teachers' Experience in Zambia and the Gambia (Fiona Baily & Deirdre O'Rourke); and (14) Teacher Educator Exchange Partnership in Uganda and Ireland: Closer Perspectives on Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (Patricia Kieran, Carmel Hinchion, Doris Kaije, Ruth Kyambadde & Paddy Bradley).

an: ED532744; source: Symposium Books; docTypes: Book; pubTypes: Book;