THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING

IN-SERVICE EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STRATEGY FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS

2009-2013

1stDRAFT

March, 2010

Foreword

The development of an In-service Education and Training (INSET) Strategy for teachers is an important undertaking in the process of improving quality and effective element for quality improvement in any education system. Through In-service Training programmes teachers are kept abreast on the ever changing teaching and learning needs, making them effective.

The Education and Training Policy (ETP 1995) clearly stipulates that In-service Training and re-training shall be compulsory to ensure teacher quality and professionalism. Apparently, this requires provision of a well co-ordinated and systematic In-service Training accessible to all teachers.

In 2008 the Government approved the implantation of the Teacher Development and Management Strategy (TDMS) 2008- 2013 as a means to address quality aspects and professional support of teachers in order to realise the national goal of ensuring equitable access to quality basic education. It was observed that INSET provision for teachers is inadequate in terms of co-ordination, consistency and coverage. The Government is now committed to address these gaps by putting in place an INSET Strategy for implementing a systematic and well co-ordinated system for teachers

Although it is challenging to provide Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to all teachers, there is need to have modalities that will ensure sustainability and cost effectiveness. However, effective implementation requires change in mind- set, commitment and improved practices by all actors. This is a challenge to all teachers who are the key actors to effectively engage in this INSET programme for their own professional growth and quality improvement in our education system as a whole.

Furthermore, implementing this intervention requires combined efforts and support by all stakeholders. I therefore urge all concerned parties to continue tosupport and cooperate with the government in order to realise the intended results.

Hamisi. O. Dihenga

Permanent Secretary

March, 2010

Table of contents

Foreword

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

1.0INTRODUCTION

1.1Background and Rationale

1.3INSET Strategy for Primary School Teachers

1.4Goal

1.5Main Objective

1.6Expected Outcome

2.0STRATEGIES, OBJECTIVES, OUTPUT AND ACTIVITIES

2.1INSET Strategies

2.2INSET Objectives

3.1Central Level

3.2Zonal Level

3.3Regional Level

3.4Council Level

3.5Ward Level

3.6School Level

4.0INSET ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

4.1School Level

4.3Ward Level

4.4Council Level

4.5Regional Level

4.8Central level

5.0MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE STRATEGY

6.0FINANCING

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The In-Service Education and Training (INSET) Strategy was made possible by the support and contributions from a number of stakeholders including experts and development partners, in education. The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) would like to thank all of them for their inputs.

Special appreciations go to UNICEF for their financial and technical support throughout the process of developing the INSET Strategy.

The Ministry would also like to thank the three consultants, namely Dr. Mike Wort from Pedium Education Consult, Sweden, Prof. Frank Hardman from York University and Mr. Joseph. Mmbando, a retired officer from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training for their invaluable technical support and advice.

Further, the Ministry would wish to thank the Task Team that worked with the consultants and came up with this comprehensive INSET Strategy for Primary School Teachers (INSET-PST).

Last but not least I would like to thank Mrs Brenda Martin, for typing the manuscript.

It is my great expectation that this intervention will greatly contribute to enhanced quality of education through improved classroom teaching and learning practices by our teachers.

R.C. MASSENGA

DIRECTOR FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ADEM / Agency for Development of Education Management
CBO / Community Based Organization
CPD / Continuous Professional Development
DEO / District Education Officer
DP / Development Partner
DUCE / Dar es SalaamUniversityCollege of Education
EQUIP / Education Quality Improvement through Pedagogy
ESDP / Education Sector Development Programme
ETP / Education and Training Policy
FBO / Faith Based Organisation
HIV and AIDS / Human Immune Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
HR / Human Resource
IAE / Institute of Adult Education
ICT / Information and Communication Technology.
INSET / In-Service Education and Training
INSET-PST / In-service Training for Primary School Teachers
LGAs / Local Government Authorities
MoEVT / Ministry of Education and Vocational Training
NECTA / National Examination Council of Tanzania
NGO / Non Governmental Organization
NSA / None State Actors
NTEAB / National Teacher Education Accreditation Board
OUT / Open University of Tanzania
PEDP / Primary Education Development Plan
PMO-RALG / Prime Ministers’ Office-Regional Administration and Local Government
PRESET / Pre-Service Teacher Education
PSLE / Primary School Leaving Examination
QITWG / Quality Improvement Technical Working Group
REO / Regional Education Officer
RS / Regional Secretariat
SEDP / Secondary Education Development Plan
TC / Teachers Colleges
TC / Tender Colleges
TDMS / Teacher Development and Management Strategy
TIE / Tanzania Institute of Education
TRC / Teacher Resources Centre
TTU / Teachers Trade Union
TWG / Technical Working Group
UDSM / University of Dar es Salaam
UNESCO / United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organisation
UNICEF / United Nations Children’s Fund
UPE / Universal Primary Education
VETA / Vocational Educational Training
ZSI / Zonal School Inspector

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1.0INTRODUCTION

1.1Background and Rationale

The commitment of the Government of Tanzania to realise both international and national goals for quality basic education for all has necessitated reforms in the education sector. As a first step, the Government adopted a sector-wide approach to education development that launched the Education Sector Development Programme (ESDP), 1997 to harmonise and guide the implementation. The sub-sector development plans including the Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP I) 2002-2006; (PEDP II), 2007-2011 and the Secondary Education Development Plan (SEDP I), 2004 -2009 and (SEDP II) 2010-2014; and the Teacher Development and Management Strategy (TDMS, 2008-2013) are still being implemented.

On one hand, PEDP and SEDP aim at improving quantitative and qualitative aspects of the respective sub-sectors. TDMS on the other hand, is a strategic tool to realise the PEDP and SEDP objectives in areas of teacher demand and supply. Both PEDP and SEDP have significantly improved quantitative aspects such as school infrastructure and enrolment to school. Efforts also have been made under PEDP and SEDP to improve quality aspects such as relevant curriculum; improving internal efficiency such as teacher pupil ratios through expanded teacher training; and provision of appropriate teaching and learning resources.

As a tool, TDMS embraces both qualitative and quantitative aspects of demand and supply of teachers at primary and secondary school levels. Quantitatively, the training of teachers has significantly increased to meet the demands of PEDP and SEDP. Looking at the following table, the training of primary school teachers for the period 2002-2006 more than doubled the training in the same period 1997-2001. Training of secondary school teachers for the period 2004-2009 was equally expanded to meet increasing demands of secondary education. However the qualitative aspects of teachers’ preparations and professional support were inadequately addressed.

To ensure quality and effective teaching and learning, it is of paramount importance to give teachers and teacher educators inservice training regularly and systematically. Through In-Service programs teachers are kept abreast with the ever-changing socio-economic, environmental and technological advancement as reflected in the national policies, curriculum, school, society and individual needs. Moreover TDMS describes the provision of In-Service education as inadequate for teachers, tutors and education managers. It further describes the provision as ad-hoc and not adequately coordinated at the all levels. It concludes that, provision takes on the characteristic of being irregular and is not continuous and that there is an absence of any overall strategic plan/policy to coordinate INSET provision. It is from this situation that the need rose for a systematic and well coordinated INSET provision for all teachers in order to realise equitable access to quality education in Tanzania.

To address these gaps, TDMS sets among the priority objectives to ensure the development of adequate quality primary school teachers through continued in-service education and training and professional growth. Thus the development and implementation of the INSET Strategy for Primary School Teachers (INSET-PST) is an effort of the Ministry to realise this priority objective.

Enrolment of Teachers in TCs. for the Period 1997-2009.

Year/Level / Certificate / Diploma / Total
1997 / 5848 / 2621 / 9136
1998 / 2968 / 1910 / 6134
1999 / 2492 / 1948 / 8252
2000 / 3303 / 2511 / 11073
2001 / 8906 / 3600 / 15561
2002 / 7136 / 4925 / 12648
2003 / 22487 / 4693 / 27700
2004 / 24873 / 5079 / 30892
2005 / 16758 / 6282 / 24015
2006 / 11609 / 7411 / 19084
2007 / 9557 / 5959 / 15516
2008 / 8884 / 6739 / 15623
2009 / 11177 / 8372 / 19549

Source: BEST 1993-2001, 2002-2006, 2005-2009.

1.2 In-service Education and Training (INSET)

Teaching and learning is a complex process which requires teachers to make informed decisions about teaching strategies and ways to support pupils’ learning. Where as Pre-Service Education and Training (PRESET) opens the way to teaching, In-Service education and training (INSET) is meant to enhance the skills, knowledge and understanding of teachers for effective classroom practices. It further provides opportunity for professional development to teachers in order to raise their academic qualifications to competently address the educational challenges and compete effectively in the open labour market. From this perspective INSET of teacher is a life long learning process which begins with the initial preparation that a teacher receives at a teachers’ college and continues until retirement. It is an ongoing process of education, training, learning, and support activities that takes place in either external or work-based settings (School-based) of the teacher.

The demand for INSETat all levels of education has been increasing each year. This follows a number of reforms in the Tanzania education sector. Massive enrolment in schools and teachers’ colleges were realised as a result of successful implementation of PEDP and SEDP. While quality education is mostly a factor of presence of adequate qualified teachers, the demand for teachers to fill PEDP and SEDP requirements leads to employment of new teachers some of whom were untrained (licensed) and under-trained. Through INSET these teachers will have an opportunity to upgrade and acquire professional qualifications in teaching. However this does not replace the requirements for PRESET programs. Also there are those who have been teaching for a long time without any INSET.

To enable teachers acquire and develop appropriate competencies needed for efficient delivery of primary education PEDP II states the provision of Tshs. 40,000 per each teacher every teacher to cover INSET.

Curriculum changes to competency-based demand all teachers to be well informed of the changes and equipped with relevant mind-set and skills to effectively and competently deliver the changed curriculum.

The potential and power of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the teaching and learning process is another area that press demand on INSET for teachers. Also INSET will keep teachers competent and qualified to acquire jobs from the regional and sub-regional co operations including the SADC and EA regional co operations.

The teaching force for primary schools is currently 157,185 (BEST, 2009). Provision of INSET to such a huge number of teachers requires systematic planning in terms of resources, addressing training needs of individual teacher, increasing teacher’s effectiveness in school, administration of the program, monitoring and evaluation of the learning process to ensure effective implementation to obtain the intended results.

Taking into account the above needs and challenge, the INSET education and training strategy is put in place to systematically guide regular and continued learning of all teachers, starting with primary school teachers.

It is expected that through INSET, teachers will be able to implement valued changes in their teaching and leadership behaviours, enabling them to educate their pupils more effectively and achieve agreed balance between individual, school and national needs.

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1.3INSET Strategy for Primary School Teachers

Before embarking on the processes to formulate the INSET Strategy, MoEVT with support from UNICEF conducted a baseline study to collect valid and reliable data (both qualitative and quantitative) to assess the quality of teaching and learning in public primary schools in Tanzania. The main purpose of the study was to identify key issues and set priorities that need to be addressed when developing the strategy and operational plan.

Classroom observations revealed that despite attempts to enrich teaching repertoires through pre-service training, classroom teaching was predominantly “teacher chalk and talk”. Experience shows that this type of teaching approach leads to rote learning contrary to the currentcompetence-based curriculum and assessment. Despite these challenges, the study also revealed that the majority of teachers had not had appropriate INSET opportunities to improve the quality of their interactive teaching. In addition, the study revealed that teachers face difficulties in the preparation of teaching and learning materials; managing large class sizes and pupils with varied learning needs, mastery of subject matter specifically science, mathematics and language subjects.

It was generally learnt that the existing teaching and learning conditions do not easily support learner centred methods. Thus, development of an INSET strategy was necessary to address the existing gaps in the teaching and learning process. This strategy is proposed to be implemented in two phases to ensure national coverage. The Phase one will focus on putting in place a strong structure that will support the implementation of the plan at the school level. This will include preparations and piloting of the program in 14 councils 2009/2010- 2010/2011. The second phase will commence in 2011/2012 and will cover the whole country. A detailed operational plan will follow to outline the national roll out process.

For the sake of clarity, INSET for primary teachers is meant to improve the teaching and learning skills of teachers and not upgrading their qualification.

1.4Goal

The overall goal of the INSET Strategy is to promote continuous improvement of primary school teachers to effectively teach in pre-primary and primary schools. It is anticipated that the National INSET Programme will contribute to effective classroom teaching and learning in schools and ultimately improve the quality of education in the country.

1.5Main Objective

To ensure a systematic in-service education and training and professional growth of primary school teachers.

1.6Expected Outcome

The expected outcome is improved quality of primary education through effective classroom teaching and learning.

2.0STRATEGIES, OBJECTIVES, OUTPUT AND ACTIVITIES

2.1INSET Strategies

The main strategy focuses on improving the quality of teaching and learning through school-based INSET using open and distance learning approach. The mode encompasses a mentorship, self-study and face-to-face sessions for effective Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of all primary school teachers. It is intended to enhance and provide support to the professional learning development of teachers in ways that strengthen their practice, support professional leadership and ongoing improvement within the education sector. Both Local Government Authorities and schools will have greater roles in the implementation, while the Central Government shall be concerned with policy, planning, development of INSET modules, monitoring, evaluation of implementation and designing incentive mechanisms. Financing of INSET will be done both at national and local levels.

To ensure success, the Government will improve the school environment to sufficiently support teachers taking part in the INSET. The following change management principles will be emphasized for effective implementation:

  • create a new sense of purpose and accountability;
  • develop strong communication line for broader understanding of the system and expected outcome;
  • create greater ownership of the system, especially at council and school level;
  • strengthen education leadership and accountability at all institutional levels; and
  • involve all teachers so that they can benefit from INSET through providing a variety of learning opportunities suited or matched to their needs and resources.

The main strategic objective is to provide Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for teachers in a collaborative manner. This embraces the concept of a professional development framework that covers all aspects of professional development for all teachers and link PRESET and INSET programmes.

A School-based Development Model of INSET will be implemented to assume greater responsibility of the teachers for INSET activities and networking. The adoption of a Professional Development Framework will ensure that all those involved in INSET are accountable for the work they have been assigned. The important issue is to raise the quality and standards of the education system.

For the changing pedagogic practice in the classroom, CPD will be implemented. The programme will pay attention to the following needs: extending teachers’ knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities. A framework for CPD based at the school/school clusters will comprise three areas that are:

  • Individually focused – activities focusing on individual needs and career plans;
  • School based–activities in areas that are decided upon by the school using National guideline/programme to tailor their own specific needs; and
  • National (MoEVT) / Council-focused – activities that meet the demands of national initiatives.

The linkage between school/cluster-based CPD components is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Framework

School clustering model will be used and school-community linkages will be established. The teachers in these schools will meet at a particular convenient place (study centres) such as TRCs and cluster centres where INSET will be provided.