Teacher Needs in Education in Displacement

Mical NatoniewskiTeacher Needs in Education in Displacement

Mical Natoniewski

Revised February 8, 2008

Teacher Needs in Education in Displacement

International law has long established education as a basic human right. But only recently has the issue of teacher quality and its direct link to student performance gained more recognition[1]. Marginalized populations, such as refugee populations, should be offered the best attainable educational system. However, who defines ‘best’is key to the issue[2]. In this paper I aim to answer the following questions: What are the particular needs of teachers in education in displacement? How can their motivation, support, and development be attended to?

Education in displacement has been established as a priority according to three principles: the right of a child to an education, protection of the child and the priorities of the community (Nicolai, 2003). International law[3] mandates education to primary-age children as not only an unalienable human right, but as particularly important to the vulnerable populations of refugees. The training of teachers, who also play the role of psychologists, parents, instructors, lawyers and providers of these children, must also be a priority as the quality of said education is dependent on them. A crucial area that research has yet to adequately explore is the characteristics that make a good teacher(OECD, 2005); furthermore, the preparation and developmental programs that foster a quality educator in a more stable environment and that of a refugee population should be examined.

Throughout this paper, I will address teachers’ needs in a thematic progression following two contexts, Pre-service and In-service as well as compensation. Consideration will be given to the two main approaches and preconditions they entail. I will summate by offering policy recommendations based on evidence presented in the paper.

There are two main approaches to developing an educational system in a post-conflict situation. One is the community-based approach, whereby all stakeholders are involved in a ‘bottom-up’ process to incorporate their participation and dedication to the system. The second is the intervention approach, typified by UNESCO’s ‘school-in-a-box,’ whereby rapid response brings a ready-made educational system to refugees quickly.

There are multiple considerations for the two approaches to developing an education in a post-conflict situation. The following table outlines some of the assumptions and problematic aspects of these two approaches.

Community-based / ‘School-in-a-Box’[i]
Assumption / There is a sense of community within the refugee population and that they are ready to unite. / Inherent in the second intervention approach is the idea that the community will rally around a cause they did not create or that a pre-existing sense of community is not absolutely necessary.
Problem / -This ‘community’ was just shattered by conflict
The term ‘community’ is hard to define.[4]
-In order to enter into a contract such as an educational system, stakeholders need incentives to trust each other in the long or short-term - conditions might not necessarily present.
- Developing an educational system could be a step towards building a sense of community, but assuming that community exists when building a school system could be a mistake.
-Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) are also a stakeholder – How do their incentives and priorities factor into the ‘community’ / -Lack of appreciation or ownership that may develop amongst the various stakeholders.
-The educational system may not be aligned with the priorities or prior understanding of what education means to the population it is set to impact.

There are also assumptions made concerning the teachers, including their background, qualifications and willingness to changeinherent in both of the approaches. Often the needs of the teachers are not considered when resources are invested to improve the quality of education. In a paper entitled ‘Defining Quality’ presented by UNICEF at the meeting of the International Working Group on Education, it was determined that teachers need an environment where they can be effective and that “whether a teacher uses traditional or more current methods of instruction, efficient use of school time has a significant impact on student learning” (UNICEF, 2000). The study found that there are significant gaps in the research regarding teacher policies that desperately need to be explored. In a recent OECD report, Teachers Matter: Attracting, Retaining and Developing Effective Teachers, “quality [is] defined not just by the teacher, but also the environment in which they work (OECD, 2005). In considering education for students in refugee situations, like teachers everywhere, teacher needs ought to be met to better ensure quality education.

Pre-service Training

There have been numerous suggestions, considerations and requirements made to meet the needs of teachersin displacement during pre-service training, however, one blanket solution will not adequately meet all the needs of all the teachers. Some teachers may have experience in the classroom, while others are new to the profession; some teachers may need help coping with their own situation (financial, psychosocial, and family) before they can attend to their students. The following suggestions are aimed to help develop strategies, but given the variety of possible situations, backgrounds and factors of education in emergencies each situation will be different.

One method of pre-training preparation is to initiate mentoring and leadership of experienced teachers during pre-service to help guide new teachers. In Education in Emergencies: A Toolkit for Starting and Managing Education in Emergenciesby Susan Nicolai published by Save the Children suggests considering different options when deciding the who, what, where, when and for how long of pre-service training including:

Introductory course for new teachers or volunteers, followed by mentoring. In-service workshops for experienced teachers on specialised topics. Training 'master-teachers' to mentor or train other teachers. Mobile teacher trainers who support clusters of schools. Workshops supporting youth to take on role of peer educator or youth leader(Nicolai, 2003).

Although the author does not claim that these practices equate to a traditional teacher preparation program, “in times of emergency the priority rests on flexibility and responsiveness” (Nicolai, 2003).

An additional factor that has been suggested is the incorporation of psycho-social training of pre-service training as well as the conveyance of clearly constructed expectations and lesson plans. The INEE Good Practice Guide on training and capacity-building for teachers emphasizes the need for psychosocial training to help teachers cope as well as better assist their students. Teacher training should also: “assist them to communicate new material, advise them on good techniques, and to review familiar subject areas” (Good Practice Guides); but,also cautions that expectations should be realistic and permit time for teachers to attend to other aspects of their lives outside of school (Good Practice Guides). In 2002, Margaret Sinclair articulated that training should “emphasize clearly structured lessons and activities to help children concentrate, and there should be two-way communication to involve them actively in the in teaching/learning process” (Sinclair, 2002).

One method to help with the psycho-social preparation of teachers in pre-service training is presenting case studies to stimulate their preparedness of a variety of situations they may encounter in the classroom. In a guide for teachers and teacher educators in Creating Healing Classrooms, an initiative implemented by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), through training teachers are presented withexamples typifying potential emotional responses of children in crisis and post-crisis recovery situations to help them respond appropriately, positive teacher-student relationships, lessons and activities as well as stress-management and support for teachers (IRC, 2006).

An overarching theme is that of pre-service training being one part to an on-going series in teacher development that is individually responsive to teacher needs. In Teacher professional development: an international review of the literature, Eleonora Villegas-Reimers refers to the teaching environment in which there are teachers at different stages of their development with different needs and “the kinds of professional-development programmes and activities designed by and for teachers must respond to: their professional needs, their personal and professional interests, the stage of professional development attained at that particular time, and the stage of the education system in force in their place of work (Villegas-Reimers, 2003). The same review reported that in many studies (Bush, 1999; Clement and Vandenberghe, 2001; Fernandez, 2000; Moore, 2000; Marshall et al., 2001 as cited in Villegas-Reimers, 2003) when centering on teachers’ needs, leadership by principals was central to their professional development. A study was cited of Canadian schoolteachers and principals:

Fernandez (2000) identified certain characteristics that are common in all supportive principals (even though the principals had quite different personalities and work styles). These common characteristics were “visibility, modeling, support, high expectations, and decisiveness and courage (Fernandez, 2000, p. 241 as cited in Villegas-Reimers, 2003).

Apart of this recurrent theme in responsive teacher training is its flexibility to respond continually to teacher needs. Two-way communication presented by Margaret Sinclair is also advocated by the current model of the IRC Healing Classrooms Initiative though in the early stages their “teacher development model was more of a ‘banking’ one, in which the under-qualified teachers were ‘filled’ with new knowledge and skills by the trainers” (IRC, 2006).

Although the methods presented in pre-service training are not by any means, ‘all-inclusive,’ they could serve as a loose framework to develop an individual strategy. To be effective, pre-service training should strive to meet the needs of teachers of varying levels of experience, from total novices to expert teachers. It should give them concrete lessons, but be flexible and adaptable to the situation while not overburdening teachers. Furthermore, the pre-service training needs to train teachers in psychosocial support for their students as well as deal with teachers’ own psychosocial needs. Taking lessons from a cumulative review of professional development, pre-service training needs to be not only responsive to teachers, but provide strong leadership role models in principals. One of the most important points is that pre-service training must be interactive using previous knowledge and contexts to model teaching as ‘learner-based.’

Recommendations for Pre-Service Training:

• Meet the needs of teachers are varying levels of expertise – provide leadership roles for the more experience teachers such as being a mentor to less experienced teachers
• Give concrete lessons, but be flexible and adaptable – provide a sample lesson plan and have teachers create their own in a structured environment
• Must not overburden teachers and keep their outside needs in mind
• Psychosocial training and support for teachers – such as case studies mentioned by the Healing Classrooms Initiative
• Strong leadership roles – principals need to be knowledgeable and confident
• Interactive and learner-based examples – modeled by teacher trainers

In-Service Training

In-service training recognizes the continuing needs of teachers for support. I will define teacher development as the: “professional growth a teacher achieves as a result of gaining increased experience and examining his or her teaching systematically” (Glatthorn, 1995 as cited in Villegas-Reimers, 2003). Professional development includes “formal experiences (such as attending workshops and professional meetings, mentoring, etc) and informal experiences (such as reading professional publications, watching television documentaries related to an academic discipline, etc) (Ganser, 2000 cited in Villegas-Reimers, 2003).

Another consideration specific to the plight of teachers in refugee situations are the different situations in the classroom they do not know how to approach. This perspective is as follows:

Another difficulty is that teachers may be immersed in the culture of their own ethnic or other social group and hold unconscious prejudices or lack empathy with those who are different. They may never have though [sic] seriously about the causes of conflict and the skills needed to minimize it. They may never have studied human rights or much of the content of citizenship. They may never have considered gender issues, or the plight of the disadvantaged children. They may feel that talking about HIV/AIDS is wrong or unbearably embarrassing. Since such matters impinge on one’s daily life, one’s self-image and opinions and how one fits in with those around one, teachers take time to digest and internalize new themes of this kind, ready for teaching. Ongoing periodic teacher training and support are needed, not just one-off trainings …” (Sinclair, 2004)

A suggestion for in-service training has been to model it as trainers would like the teachers’ own classroom to be conducted. Thus training should embody an interactive ‘learner-based’ approach where participants are respected and their participation is encouraged. Furthermore, incentives for participation in in-service training could be recognition of time spent that could impact certificates or accreditation to a teacher incentive scales for a future date. There is also the recurrent theme of continuing mentor relationships initiated in pre-service training. In an evaluation, the IRC Healing Classrooms initiative found “low levels of self-confidence and motivation of the teachers in school” (IRC, 2006a). Therefore, The Healing Initiative Project now tries to provide ongoing support to better professional skills as well respect; “they use a variety of methodologies that engage the student as an active participant in the learning process, and not merely a passive recipient of information” (IRC, 2006a). The INEE Good Practice Guides states that “mobile trainers com[ing]e regularly to schools, training a senior teacher as a mentor for all new staff and regular in-service training (e.g. weekly discussion of problems encountered and strategies to manage them)” (Good Practice Guides) and also awards recognition in the way of certificates for teacher participation. Margaret Sinclair also points out that in-service training should be formulated in a way that it will potentially be recognized and counted towards teacher status at a later time (Sinclair, 2002).

To maintain consistency in training, in-service training should be aligned with pre-service training continuing to account for knowledge accumulated. Villegas-Reimers, in Teacher professional development: an international review of the literature, highlights that there must be a connection between pre-service and in-service training,for educators not necessarily in displacement, emphasizing the role of teachers as lifelong learners: “they must also help to create new structures and opportunities, both outside of schools (for example, teachers’ networks, inter-professional partnerships, etc.) and within schools; they must also support new systems of evaluation, accountability and promotion” (Villegas-Reimers, 2003). Mentoring has become a popular support mechanism for new teachers, both in the refugee and non-refugee contexts (Nicolai, 2003) (Good Practice Guides) (Ballantyne and Hansford, 1995 as cited in Villegas-Reimers, 2003).

However, in order for professional development to work, a ‘culture of support’ is a prerequisites and Liberman (1994) describes in detail five factors that are necessary to build such a culture in schools and education systems. They are: developing norms of collegiality, openness and trust; creating opportunities and time for disciplined inquiry providing opportunities for teachers’ learning content in context; re-thinking the functions of leadership, and redefining leadership in schools to include teachers; created and supporting networks, collaborations and coalitions; Bush (1999) adds a sixth factor: preparing teachers to become leaders of their own professional development. (Villegas-Reimers, 2003).

The need for concrete lesson plans and objectives continue to be a necessity for in-service training. In the OECD studyTeachers Matter the most influential forms of professional development were those with “clearly articulated priorities, provide ongoing school-based support to classroom teachers, deal with subject matter content as well as suitable instructional strategies and classroom management techniques, and create opportunities for teachers to observe, experience and try new teaching methods”(OECD, 2005). The study also recognizes the importance in school leadership, not only recognizing opportunities for professional development for teachers but rewarding teachers who are innovative, share with their colleagues and work towards school goals (OECD, 2005).

In order to continue support for teachers, in-service training is necessary to solidify the goals and techniques established in pre-service training. Mentoring of new teachers by more experienced teachers is a popular and arguably successful technique in refugee as well as non-refugee situations. As Margaret Sinclair stresses, teachers in refugee situations may be confronted with varying situations that challenge their preexisting norms of teaching, children, beliefs and world; and, these situations as well as techniques to manage them need to be addressed. There are many ways to achieve in-service training including: formal workshops, meetings, mentoring, forming teacher networks, on-line professional development, etc. From the OECD study I am reminded of how clear goals are both powerful and necessary.

Recommendations for In-service Training:

• Must solidify goals and techniques introduced in pre-service training – retrace steps of training and to monitor and evaluate impact and efficiency
• Mentoring – reaffirming experienced teachers knowledge by assisting newer teachers
• Meet the changing needs of teachers as they confront new ideas, situations and beliefs – providing a forum or community meeting time for teachers
• Reiterate clearly the goals of school
• Many different techniques (Examples: formal workshops, meetings, mentoring, forming teacher networks, on-line professional development, etc.)

In-school | Teacher compensation

Numerous compensatory methods are elucidated other than salaries; nonetheless salaries are a key component to validating and ensuring the continued commitment of teachers in a post-crisis situation. One perspective is that teachers should receive compensation as an incentive for their service of teaching. In Planning Education In and After Emergencies, Margaret Sinclair highlights that teachers should “receive compensation (an ‘incentive’) for their services” at a fair level according to the community (Sinclair, 2002). She justifies the teacher compensation as payment to teachers so that they can maintain a standard of living equal to their neighbors, and the level of compensation should be take into account the potential continuance of the refugee situation (Sinclair, 2002). In the IIEP Guidebook for Planning Education in Emergencies and Reconstruction it is recommended that salaries are not thought of as the only compensation as teachers are also motivated by other factors including: