PBworks
Contextualization and Piloting of ICT Competency Standards for Teachers in Tanzania
“Teacher Development for 21st Century (TDev21) pilot initiative”
Needs Assessment and Situation Analysis Report
April, 2011 (DRAFT)
For the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training
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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - 1 -
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT - 3 -
Introduction - 3 -
Context: Education system and challenges in Tanzania - 3 -
Trends in ICT and Education in Tanzania - 4 -
A Focus on teachers - 5 -
Focus of Needs Assessment and situation analysis - 6 -
Findings of the study - 6 -
CHAPTER 2: OVERVIEW OF THE TANZANIA EDUCATION SYSTEM - 10 -
General Overview - 10 -
Management of the education system - 10 -
Early Childhood Education - 11 -
Primary Education - 11 -
Secondary education - 12 -
Special Education - 12 -
Teacher Education - 13 -
Challenges in Teacher Education - 13 -
Adult and Non formal Education - 14 -
Technical and Vocational Education and Training - 14 -
Higher Education - 14 -
Challenges in the Education and Training Sector - 15 -
Access - 15 -
Quality - 15 -
Equity - 16 -
CHAPTER 3: ICT AND EDUCATION LANDSCAPE IN TANZANIA - 19 -
National ICT Education and Development Policies - 19 -
The Framework for ICT Use in Teacher Development in Tanzania (2009) - 23 -
Status of ICT Integration across the Education system - 23 -
Mapping Stakeholders in ICT and Education in Teacher Development - 27 -
Stakeholder Analysis - 34 -
CHAPTER 4: ICT COMPETENCY STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK - 38 -
Agenda - 38 -
Some Definitions - 40 -
A Conceptual Framework for ICT Integration - 41 -
A review of existing ICT Competency Standards for Teachers - 42 -
Methodology for this Study - 44 -
Methodology for Conducting the Needs Assessment - 45 -
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS BASED ON QUANTIATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM INSTITUTIONAL SNAPSHOT - 46 -
PART 1: PROFILE of ICT Education Activity Systems and NEEDS ANALYSIS - 46 -
PART 2: ICT Competency Standards for Teachers: IMPORTANCE & PRIORITY ANALYSIS - 58 -
PART 3 - Infrastructure ANALYSIS - 65 -
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS - 68 -
REFERENCES - 75 -
APPENDIX 1: ICT IN EDUCATION ACTIVITY SYSTEMS - 81 -
APPENDIX 2: STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS AND ENGLISH SUBJECTS FOR CERTIFICATE IN SECONDARY EDUCATION EXAMINATION (CSEE) FROM 2005 –2008. - 82 -
APPENDIX 3: ICT INFRASTRUCTURE QUESTIONNAIRE - 83 -
APPENDIX 4: LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS INTERVIEWED 87
APPENDIX 5: FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS 91
List of Figures
Figure 1: Activity System Interview Protocol - Sources: Engestrom 2003 - 5 -
Figure 2: A Continuum of ICT Integration Approaches in Teacher Development - 10 -
Figure 3: UNESO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers Framework, Source: UNESCO 2008 - 12 -
Figure 4: Activity System of National Vision for ICT Integration in Tanzania - 52 -
Figure 5: Multi-level ICT Activity Systems of Tanzania Education Sector - 76 -
List of Tables
Table 1: Key statistics in the education and training sector - 18 -
Table 2: Summary challenges at each level of the education system - 20 -
Table 3: Activities vs. Outputs of the MoEVT/Sida project - 29 -
Table 4: Stakeholder Analysis of the Key National Counterparts of the TDEV21 Pilot Project - 39 -
Table 5: Profile of the respondents - 54 -
Table 6: ICT Competency Standards for Teachers framework - 56 -
Table 7: Lecturer and Teacher Priorities - ICT Competency Standards for Teachers - 58 -
Table 8: Scenarios for Piloting Competency Standards for Teachers in Tanzania - 66 -
Acronyms
ADEM Agency for Development of Education Management
BEST Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania
COBET Competence Based Education and Training
COSTECH College of Science and Technology
CST Competency Standards for Teachers
EFA Education for All
EFE Education for Empowerment
EMIS Education Management Information Systems
ESDP Education Sector Development Plan
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GeSCI Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative
HEI Higher Education Institutions
IAE Institute of Adult Education
ICBAE Integrated Community Based Adult Education
ICT Information and Communication Technology
LGAs Local Government Authorities
MoEVT Ministry of Education and Vocational Training
NECTA National Examination Council of Tanzania
NFE Non-Formal Education
NSGRP National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty
OUT Open University of Tanzania
PEDP Primary Education Development Plan
PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
PSLE Primary School Leaving Examination
PMO- RALG Prime Ministers’ Office Regional Administration and Local Government
SEDP Secondary Education Development Plan
SED Secondary Education Department
SEMP Secondary Education Master Plan
SIDA Swedish International Development Agency
SUA Sokoine University of Agriculture
TanEdu Tanzania Education Services
TBT Tanzania Beyond Tomorrow
TCRA Tanzania Communication and Regulatory Authority
TEA Tanzania Education Authority
TED Teacher Education Department
TEHAMA Teknolojia ya Habari na Mawasiliano
TERNET Tanzania Education and Research Network
TIE Tanzania Institute of Education
TLS Tanzania Library Services
TC Teachers’ College
UDSM University of Dar es Salaam
UN United Nations
VETA Vocational Education Training Agency
ZAIN Mobile telephone line provider
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Tanzania has seen an acceleration of growth since implementation of economic reforms in the 1990s, and its economic growth rate has averaged 5.1% since 1990, higher than the sub Saharan average of 3% in the same period. The source of this growth has been public investments rather than private sector’s robustness. Growth has increased the average income of a Tanzanian from US$ 301 to US $ 439, yet, overall development achievements have not corresponded fully to the experienced growth, in part because of population expanding at a rate of 3%. The country recognizes in Vision 2025 that a higher level of growth supported by a broad based human development strategy is needed.
A major challenge before Tanzania, as recognized in the MKUKUTA poverty reduction strategy (2010-15) is the high unemployment level of 12.9%, and that “unemployment is worse among the youths, including educated youths.” Tanzania’s overall competitiveness is also low, at 113th position among 139 nations. The government realizes that the goals of broad social development and competitiveness cannot be addressed without aligning Tanzania’s skills base to the needs of 21st century economy in which technology’s use, notably the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is dominant.
For improving human capital base, the government’s focus, justifiably, has been on increasing education attainment through its Primary Education Development Program (PEDP). As a result, Tanzania has met milestones in enrollment rates and spread of literacy. The nation’s literacy has increased from about 60% in the 1990s to 73% in 2009. Primary completion rate increased to 106.4% in 2010.
Success at primary level has created a crunch at secondary level. The first problem is of sheer numbers, how to give schooling to all the primary school leavers? The second is of quality: how to ensure good learning outcomes? There is a cause for concern on quality because students have performed poorly in Certification for Secondary Education Exams in Science, Math, and English subjects (See appendix 2). A major bottleneck in transition from primary to secondary is shortage of teachers: the exponential growth of primary school cohort has created a shortage of 45,000 teachers at secondary students.
To boost access and quality, and to meet the broader goals of growth and competitiveness, the government has started modernizing the education system. The National ICT Policy of 2003 recognizes how ICTs can ‘enhance education, including curriculum development, teaching methodologies, simulation laboratories, lifelong learning and distance learning.”Tanzania is also a signatory to the World summit on the Information Society (WSIS), with a target of integrating ICT in education and training at all levels by 2015. To create a more specific framework for ICT and Education “ An Information and Technology Policy for Basic Education (2007)” is in place.
This has resulted in a significant push for ICT integration in secondary schools. Two initiatives are noteworthy, the e-Schools forum aimed at 2000 secondary schools and the NoPC pilot at 200, bringing ICTs to classrooms with an aim to improve math, science, and English teaching. To make the work coordinated, a new strategy “Tanzania beyond Tomorrow (TBT)” is being produced to define e-Education Program for Basic Education for 2011-2020.
At higher education level too ICT is being introduced. All universities have computer centers for students, and many have high bandwidth connections through satellite (VSAT). A 'shared mechanism' has been created as a platform for all Higher Education Institutions to share information, systems, and knowledge.
Recognizing that teachers are at the heart of any modernization process, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training has undertaken to computerize all teacher training colleges. Between the years 2005-2008 all 34 governmental colleges of education were computerized and connected to the internet. Now teacher colleges are offering ICT training to teachers, but by most accounts the training is for basic ICT skills. There is no broad based pedagogical stress on how ICT can be applied by teachers for quality and innovation in education. This is where the present initiative becomes significant.
The aim of the Teacher Development for 21 Century (TDev21) pilot is to introduce globally- benchmarked standards for ICT competency for teachers. The underlying framework is derived from global standards captured by UNESCO’s ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (ICT-CST) developed with industry partners Microsoft, Intel, and Cisco, and also by international, regional and national ICT competency frameworks for teachers from the USA, Europe, Ireland, and Africa.
What the standards framework will do is map continuum-based competency levels, starting from basic ICT skills for teachers to a more sophisticated proficiency in application and innovation.
The first step in contextualizing standards for Tanzania is a needs and situation analysis. The study undertaken in Tanzania in February 2011 was to understand: What is the landscape for ICT and education in Tanzania? At what level (primary, secondary or tertiary including vocational training) standards can be piloted? And in what teacher training institutions can they be piloted?
The needs assessment study finds that there is an ongoing body of work in ICT and Education in Tanzania and a distinct opportunity for TDev21 to add value:
▪ The country is shifting from content-based to competency-based education system. Entire curriculum at every level has been reviewed and revised. Teacher capacity will also have to shift from the old model to new.
▪ There is a significant push to integrate ICTs in secondary schools with an aim to increase access and quality. To harmonize ICT and Education initiatives, the government has developed the “Tanzania beyond Tomorrow” (TBT) strategy.
▪ There is an ongoing nation-wide effort to modernize teacher colleges. The colleges are equipped with basic ICT infrastructure, have a curriculum in place, and 95% of their tutors have undergone technology literacy programs. Now there is need to go beyond basic skills and develop competencies for holistic application of ICTs in teaching and learning.
▪ The government is also making an effort to systematically build teacher capacity in ICTs. In 2009, the Framework for ICT use in Teacher Professional Development in Tanzania” was developed.
Going forward, the study recommends:
▪ In pilot phase ICT Competency Standards for Teachers can be targeted at the secondary school teachers in the 34 pre-service teacher training colleges in Tanzania.
▪ The initiative should be anchored with the MoEVT and the Morogoro Teachers College, and aligned with ongoing computerization, curriculum development, and training programs.
▪ Contextualization of standards should be done in a participatory, hands-on way. Master trainers from teacher training colleges and national curriculum specialist should be included.
▪ Based on pilot results, standards can be rolled out at nation-wide scale at pre service level in the first stage and in-service and continuous professional development levels subsequently.
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT
Introduction
This study presents the findings of a Needs Assessment and situation analysis conducted for the Teacher Development for 21st Century (TDev21) pilot program in Tanzania—a joint effort of the World Bank[1] and Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI). The goal of the program is to build teacher capacity for mainstreaming ICTs in education, and to support the development of teachers as change agents in the education system as it faces the pressures and demands of the 21st century. The program recognizes that teachers are a vital link in the education chain. How prepared are the teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa classrooms to deliver 21st century education? The challenge is not only shortage in the availability of teacher who are that ICT-competent, but wherever there is ICT training available for teachers, it is usually ad-hoc and short-term, and there is an absence of a comprehensive framework of standards that guides quality and learning outcomes.
The program’s goal is piloting a framework of teacher competency standards for ICTs in Tanzania and also in Tanzania—a relatively new exercise for Africa, and indeed for developing countries in general. ICT standards for educators have only recently started to emerge, and no such standards have been adopted in Sub-Saharan Africa yet. The framework used by this program is the ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (ICT-CST) developed by UNESCO and a host of educational and private sector partners in 2008 (see section 3.3 for details). The framework covers six areas of standards, taking a holistic view of ICT competencies that go beyond basic e-literacy. A country can contextualize and use this universal framework. It is also possible take a regional approach to this universal framework.
In support of this goal, the program has three phases:
• Phase 1 – Needs assessment and mapping the landscape through situational analysis
• Phase 2 – Contextualizing ICT competency standards for teachers in Tanzania
• Phase 3 –Building hands-on capacity for implementing the standards
Context: Education system and challenges in Tanzania
Tanzania has made significant progress in education. The literacy rate for the nation has increased from around 60% in 1980 to 73% in 2009. Biggest gains have been made at primary level. Gross enrolments in the primary education were recorded at 106.4%, in 2010 with a comparative 47.3% in secondary schools. This is also evidenced by the fact that there are 4,266 secondary schools with 1,638,699 students as compared to 15,816 primary schools with 8,419,305, pupils (BEST, 2010). In addition to expansion in the formal system, the Government implemented two main Adult and Non-Formal Education programs, viz. ICBAE and COBET. According to the National Report of the United Republic of Tanzania on the Development of Education (MoEVT, 2008) more than half a million out-of-school children have been able to get primary education through the COBET program. The same report states that “more than one million adults above 19 years of age have improved their literacy skills, established income generating projects and credit schemes through ICBAE.”
Despite the success in enrollment, problems persist at primary levels. According to the National Report of the United Republic of Tanzania on The Development of Education one of the major challenges in primary education is “that unequal attention has been paid to enrolment expansion and other objectives, namely quality improvement, capacity building and institutional arrangements or management” (MoEVT, 2008). Other challenges are: congestion in classrooms, lack of teaching and learning materials, high student: teacher and student: learning materials ratios and lack of adequate infrastructure. As a result of under-qualified teachers in the system, teachers are sometimes unable to teach topics that are otherwise deemed difficult to teach due to lack of subject content knowledge.
Access
The rapid increase in access to primary education as a result of the successful implementation of PEDP resulted in a very high demand for secondary education. Access to secondary education has been addressed to a large extent through SEDP I (2004-2009) which has been extended to SEDP II (2010-2014). The challenge of access has further been addressed through offering education courses by the various universities and also the adoption of licensed teachers. However, all these measures have not been able to counter the effect of dropping standards of education which have resulted to poor quality. This is especially the case in secondary education and in particular in the Science and Mathematics subjects. This can also be explained by the fact that secondary education teachers specialize in two subjects whereas, primary teachers can teach all subjects.
Quality
The standard and quality is reflected in the progression rates, repetition rates, poor performance in the science and math subjects, limited access to textbooks a large number of under-qualified teachers and high student to teacher ratios in the sciences especially in secondary education These challenges are progressively being addressed with notable improvements. As noted in the Tanzania Human Development Report (UNDP, 2000), one of the goals of BEMP was to raise performance, decrease student to teacher ratios, rationalize teacher workloads for greater efficiency, and shift the salary: no-salary spending from 93:7 to 80:20 by 2002. This was to be achieved through redeployment of teachers, devolving authority and resources of school to Local Government Authorities and involvement of communities in the development of school infrastructures. The devolvement of education resources has taken place according to findings during this study. However the student to teacher ratios have remained high especially in the science subjects for a number of reasons: (1) the uptake of science subjects is very low in secondary schools and as such the system as a whole is highly starved in those who can take science as a subject in teacher training colleges or universities (2) the science teachers often leave the teaching profession especially because of the high demand of those who have science backgrounds in all sectors; and (3) a large number of teachers are furthering their education in various institutions where the mode of training employed is largely in-campus based. This means that most of the teachers are absent from schools.
Trends in ICT and Education in Tanzania
There is a strong policy focus on ICT and Education. The National ICT Policy of 2003 recognizes the role of ICT can play to ‘enhance education, including curriculum development, teaching methodologies, simulation laboratories, life-long learning and distance education and for teaching of not only ICT, but of all subjects and specializations.’ Furthermore, a distinct framework for linking ICT and Basic Education has been developed in the form of ICT Policy for Basic Education (2007). A multi-stakeholder consultation process for providing policy advice on technology integration resulted in an ICT guideline (also referred to as ‘White Paper’) called ‘Thinking through the use of ICT in Secondary Education in Tanzania - Deliberations of a multi stakeholder work group on education.’. This policy framework presents guidelines for system wide ICT integration in basic education covering pre-primary, primary, secondary, and teacher education as well as non-formal, adult education and university education. Tanzania is also a signatory to the WSIS Declaration of Principles and Action Plan that aims to build a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society.
At secondary level, several ICT and Education initiatives have been launched. These include: the e-Schools forum formed in 2005 which had proposed a phased approach for ICT in secondary schools, starting with 200 schools in phase 1, followed by a large scale roll out covering 2000 schools in phase 2 in a period of 5 years with a target of having all schools with ICT in 2015. Another planned intervention is through the NoPC pilot project which targets the provision of ICT to 200 secondary schools which are close to Teacher Colleges to improve the teaching of Math, Science and English. According to NoPC (UK), the NoPC solution transforms traditional computing, taking “thin” to a whole new level, greatly reducing the need for maintenance, support and upgrades. This solution has been said to be energy and cost-efficient PC substitution, eliminating high failure components, requiring little bandwidth and using under 100 watts for five workstations. With over 3,500 secondary schools in Tanzania, NoPC hoped to install computer systems in all of them providing Internet for over 1.2 million children to improve their academic experience. Other initiatives have been listed under the stakeholders section (5.4). It is hoped that the latest strategy under the TBT will centrally anchor all these and future ICT in education initiatives under the MoEVT.
To harmonize various ICT and Education initiatives at basic level, “Tanzania Beyond Tomorrow” is a new strategy being developed by MoEVT to define an E-Education Program for Basic Education for 2011-2020. The TBT mission is to improve access, equity and quality in the delivery of basic education through integration of ICT in teaching and learning. Key objectives of TBT are: to identify all initiatives of ICT in basic education in order to harmonize and integrate them into a unified framework, to enhance the use of appropriate ICT in education, and to provide and improve appropriate ICT infrastructure to support teaching and learning in basic education.
A Focus on teachers
A shortfall of 45,000 teachers is estimated at secondary level. Qualified Teachers for secondary education are those with diplomas from Teachers’ Colleges and above. Teachers in secondary schools can only teach two subjects whereas those in primary schools can teacher all the subjects. The ratio of qualified teacher to student is 1:40 per subject with some regions having a ratio of 1:80. The low teacher to student ratio is mostly in the Science and Mathematics subjects in the rural and remote areas. There is an uneven distribution of teachers in the regions and in the different schools. Teacher attrition rates in secondary education are at 3.8%. Out of this 67.3% leave the profession because of termination whose causes include dismissal, change of employment, illness and resignation.
To build teacher capacity, government has prioritized teacher training as a focus area. The implementation of ICTs in Teacher Colleges was started in 2005 as a joint undertaking MoEVT and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). The project’s main goal was to improve on the quality of pre-service and in-service teacher education by using ICT.In the first phase, all 34 Governmental colleges received 30 thin client computers and a server including peripherals and accessories, ICT training for education administrators, all tutors were trained in the use of ICT for teaching and learning which according to interviews translated to basic literacy skills. 2-4 tutors in each college were certified in CISCO IT essentials. A commercial ISP supplies the required bandwidth to all the colleges on contract basis.
There are also other initiatives to use ICTs for teacher training. For example, an ICT-based in-service teacher education project for secondary school teachers providing training on pedagogy and subject specialized education was developed by the Mid Sweden University (MiUn) which has a vast experience of distance education, flexible learning and teacher training and the MoEVT. The project is also supported by the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) and the University of Dar Es Salaam (UDSM). The overall purpose of the project was to enhance the performance of the secondary teachers by providing training on pedagogy and subject specialized education. The teachers will be trained through ICT-based short courses which will be tailored to the needs of teachers in particular subject areas.
The government has made an effort to define a roadmap for integration of ICT in teacher training. In this context, MoEVT has developed a Framework for ICT Use in Teacher Professional Development in Tanzania (2009), mapping how to address teacher shortages in key subjects (Mathematics, Science and English), teacher quality and teacher support using the existing ICT infrastructure in the Teacher Colleges (TCs) for pre-service and in-service programs and on-going learning of teachers. But there is no comprehensive framework of standards to guide capacity building of teachers in ICTs.
This is where the present intervention becomes important.
Teacher Colleges, with improved ICT infrastructure, are offering ICT training for trainee teachers. But most accounts suggest that training is for basic ICT skills. There is no focus on broader competencies that allow teachers to apply ICTs in teaching and learning. Teacher Development for 21st Century (TDEV21) is a potential vehicle for addressing this next step.
Focus of Needs Assessment and situation analysis
The objective of needs assessment and situation analysis study was the following:
A. A scan of the ICT teacher development landscape looking at existing ICT teacher training policies, strategies, programs, standards (if any), curriculum, content, delivery mechanisms, evaluation and assessment among others both at in-service and pre-service levels. This scan will be used to determine the contribution of ICT competency standards in Tanzania
B. A stakeholder analysis and determination of key national counterparts for the initiative in consultation with the Ministry of Education
C. Determining at what level (primary, secondary or tertiary including vocational training) to pilot the competency standards
D. Identifying teacher training institutions to target for piloting the competency standards and assessing the ICT infrastructure and systems in these institutions
The analysis was conducted in two phases: a desk study followed by a field study in Tanzania in the period of January 31-February 11, 2011. For the desk study, the team has made use of existing information/data already developed, collected and disseminated by government partners as well as other publicly available documents on ICTs and teacher development in both project countries.
Findings of the study
A. There is a strong policy and programmatic focus at national level on ICT and Education
• The National ICT policy describes a continuum approach for developing technology competencies from teachers: from basic literacy skills to ICT use in management and administration to content development and the pedagogical integration of ICT in practice. ICT should be used as a tool to facilitate learning. Newly graduated teachers should be able to design and present their lessons using ICT. Practicing teachers should also be able to use ICT equipment for lesson preparation. All teachers should be able to move to other levels of ICT utilization beyond technology literacy levels.
• The Primary Education Development Program (PEDP), Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP), Complementary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET), Integrated Community Basic Adult Education (ICBAE) and the National Higher Education Policy are the major programs undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to operationalize the national education policy.
• The ICT Policy for Basic Education presents an approach that raises the bar on the model for ICT integration in the Education system. It is an approach that moves beyond technology literacy towards knowledge-based (knowledge deepening & knowledge construction) approaches for ICT integration. It is an approach that is focused on educational transformation - to make educational provision more relevant and responsive to national development needs for producing technologically literate citizens who can boost the economic engine and contribute to a learning knowledge society.
• The Tanzania Beyond Tomorrow” (TBT) is a new strategy in development under MoEVT that will define an E-Education Program for Basic Education for 2011-2020. Identify all initiatives of ICT in basic education in order to harmonize them, enhance the use of ICTs in education, and improve ICT infrastructure to support teaching and learning in basic education.
B. The proposed intervention can compliment ongoing effort to shift education from a content-based to competency-based
▪ The entire curriculum at every system level has been reviewed and revised to move from teacher-directed content based to learner-centered competency based delivery. The ICT policy outlines a framework for ICT integration in the revised curriculum as a subject and as a pedagogical tool for teaching and learning across all subject areas. The shift in the curriculum from a content-based to a competency-based approach redefining the role of the teacher as facilitator forms an integral part of the agenda for ICT integration to facilitate student centered and discovery learning approaches.
▪ The proposed initiative can serve as an opportunity to link the contextualization of the ICT-Competency Standards for Teachers in Tanzania to the national policy vision for moving teachers from ‘technology literacy’ to ‘knowledge-based’ approaches. This would in turn support national education objectives for moving teachers from ‘knowledge gatekeepers’ to ‘knowledge facilitators’. It would also provide a yardstick that can be used to measure the progression of teachers from one level of competency application to the next.
C. The intervention compliments ongoing work on building capacity on teacher development pre-service and in-service
▪ The Teachers Colleges are already equipped with basic ICT infrastructure, have a curriculum in place and 95% of their tutors have undergone technology literacy capacity building programs. The infrastructure comprises of 30 thin client computers and a server including peripherals and accessories in all the 34 colleges. A commercial ISP supplies the required bandwidth to all the colleges on contract basis. 30 of these colleges are connected to the national electrical grid and 4 of the colleges use generators and solar panels. Capacity building included basic ICT training for education administrators, training of all tutors in the use of ICT for teaching and learning which according to interviews translated to basic literacy skills. In the first phase of the deployment of ICT in TCs, 2-4 tutors in each college were certified in CISCO IT essentials. Previous attempts to have the infrastructure used for curriculum delivery fell short of the mark because it was not clear what it was that teachers were expected to know and be able to do in as far as the use of ICTs for classroom practice goes. TDEV21 presents a good opportunity to bring this value add.
▪ Recognizing that teachers need systematic competency development, in 2009, the government developed the “Framework for ICT use in Teacher Professional Development” elaborating a development path with vision, goals, resource requirements and outcomes for ICT integration in teacher development.
▪ The dual challenges of school expansion and acute teacher shortages have placed new demands on teacher colleges. Government estimates a requirement of 45,000 additional teachers to meet demand resulting from the exponential growth in student populations from primary to secondary level. College capacity to meet teacher demand is inadequate with high attrition rates exacerbating the problem particularly in rural zones. Colleges are attempting to address shortages and stem the tide of attrition by exploring the use of technology for providing in-service and distance education programs.
▪ The project pilot presents an opportunity to build capacity in colleges for enhancing outreach programs to support school communities in practice-based on-going professional development for technology use within the resources and constraints afforded by real classroom contexts.
Recommendations going forward
▪ There is the opportunity to focus the TDev21 project on the pre-service and in-service training of secondary school teachers – situating the project in Teacher Colleges (TCs) (pre-service) and a sample of secondary schools (in-service) and zones linked to the TCs. The project pilot would be conducted under the leadership of the Teacher Education Department supported by Secondary Education Department with built-in mechanisms for sustainability from the onset.
▪ TDEV21 should be anchored in the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training with the involvement of the following Departments and Ministries for strategic reasons:
o The Teacher Education Department at the Ministry of Education should be involved as the overseer of the project initiative so that the standards are integrated into national processes and are given a high level of recognition after the pilot phase at the pre-service level.
o The secondary education department would have to work closely with TED. This would also ensure that there would be inbuilt sustainability and avenues for scaling up the project through SEDP II which has a component of in-servicing of teachers. The competencies would strengthen and complement this component which is funded by the World Bank office in Tanzania.
o The Morogoro Teachers College (MTC) should be the main institutional counterpart of the program, given the national-level role of College to lead on ICT integration in pre-service and in-service. Working with MTC will allow a proof of concept trialing of the contextualized competencies operationalization for systematic mainstreaming of standards across all teacher education institutions, instead of an ad-hoc adoption of standards.
▪ The focus of the pilot should be on pre-service training standards, but with an extension into in-service through the involvement of practicing teachers. To do this, the curriculum for the contextualized ICT competency standards should be developed in modular format so as to flexibly address pre-service and in-service training. This will allow the standards to be implemented in a continuum, covering student teachers, beginning teachers as well as practicing teachers. It will provide authentic grounds for testing the standards in real teaching and learning contexts, which are typically more constrained in resources and technology.
▪ The pilot will cover teachers under training to teach at secondary level and those who are already practicing from a sample of secondary schools. This is in keeping with the mandate and scope of the MTC. Standards should be contextualized through a participatory process. Teacher trainers and trainee teachers in the Teacher Colleges and Secondary Schools visited during the needs assessment should be involved in informing the pilot development of the contextualized competencies and modules. The focus would be to not simply develop contextualized competencies, modules and tools, but also to produce new knowledge from the practitioner communities of teacher educators and teachers who are applying the competencies and exploring different modalities for technology use in their professional practice.
▪ It is recommended that the School Inspectorate Department and the Ministry in-charge of Local Government Authorities (PMO-LARG) should be represented in the next two phases of the project. The school inspectorate department is in charge of inspection of secondary schools and teachers colleges and although they are aware of what to inspect in conventional education, they do not know what a teacher should know and be able to do with and through ICTs in a technology enabled environment. Their contributions would add value to the process during this pilot phase and any eventual scaling up of the project.
CHAPTER 2: OVERVIEW OF THE TANZANIA EDUCATION SYSTEM
General Overview
Tanzania has an average population of 40 million inhabitants and occupies 945,087 (sq km) (State , 2011) with an annual growth rate of 2.9% as per the census of 2002 (BEST, 2010). The United Republic of Tanzania is a result of the political union between mainland Tanganyika and the off-shore islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. Zanzibar has its own government and its own Ministry of Education. Administratively, the country is divided into 25 regions with 133 districts (CIA, 2011). Dodoma is the official capital and home to Tanzanian Parliament while the government ministries and major institutions and diplomatic missions are located in Dar Es Salaam. Swahili is the official language with English being used as the official primary language of commerce administration and higher education.
In Tanzania, 43.5% of the population is between 0-14 years, 53.7% between 15-64 years and 2.8% above 65 years of age with a projected annual growth rate of 2.07% in 2008 (Index Mundi, 2010). The literacy level for the total population has been recorded at 69.4% (Worldbank Factbook, 2002). The Tanzanian economy is heavily dependent on agriculture which employs 80% of the workforce and accounts for half of the GDP (e-Notes, 2011).
The main feature of Tanzania’s education system is the bilingual policy, which requires children to learn both Kiswahili and English. English is essential, as it is the language which links Tanzania and the rest of the world through technology, commerce and also administration. The learning of the Kiswahili enables Tanzania’s students to keep in touch with their cultural values and heritage. English is taught as a compulsory subject in the primary education whereas at it is the medium of instruction at post primary education. Kiswahili is the medium of instruction at primary education, compulsory subject at secondary education and as an option at tertiary education.
The formal system involves 7 years of primary education, 4 years in lower secondary (Ordinary or O Level), 2 years in senior secondary (Advanced or A Level) and a minimum of 3 years in tertiary or university education.
Basic education in Tanzania includes pre-primary, primary, secondary and teacher education, as well as non-formal and adult education (MoEVT, 2007). Higher education encompasses diploma, higher diploma colleges and universities.
Management of the education system
The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) is responsible for the education sector. It is headed by a Minister and Deputy Minister, a Permanent Secretary and Deputy Permanent Secretary, a Commissioner for Education and Directors in charge of Primary Education, Secondary Education, Teacher Education, Policy and Planning, School Inspection, Administration and Human Resource, Technical Education and Higher Education. The MoEVT includes a number of semi-autonomous agencies: Agency for Development of Education Management (ADEM), Institute of Adult Education (IAE), National Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA), Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE), Tanzania Libraries Services Board (TLSB) and Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) and the Tanzania Education Authority (TEA).
The day-to-day management and administration of primary and secondary schools is under the Prime Minister’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG) whereas Teacher Education and Universities are under MoEVT. The PMO-RALG is also involved in the posting of teachers to the various schools. The remuneration of teachers is under the Ministry of Finance alongside all other civil servants.
A Regional Education Officer coordinates all regional education matters. A District/Municipal Education Officer heads the District/Municipal education office. Whereas the Ministry has overall responsibility for running the education system, each district/municipal office is responsible for school buildings in its area as well as for the supply of equipment and materials to the schools. The Ministry has a national inspectorate whose task is to conduct a full inspection of each school in the country once every two years. Each district office also has a team of school inspectors whose task is to visit/inspect pre-primary and primary schools in the district at least twice a year and to advise and help all teachers with their teaching. There are no regional school inspectors but rather zonal school inspectors who mainly visit secondary schools, and teachers’ colleges.
Early Childhood Education
Early childhood education lies partly with the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children and partly with the Ministry of Education with the latter focusing on the pre-primary level of education. According to statistical data from the Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania (BEST 2010), the total enrolment in pre-primary education stood at 925,465 in 2010 as compared to 896,146 in 2009. With a population of 2,344,242 children between the ages of 5-6 years, the enrolment in 2010 depicts a NER of 37.5% and a GER of 39.5%. In 2010, 81% of the teachers were qualified for pre-primary education giving a ratio of 1:74 against the recommended ratio of 1:25. The Education and Training Policy of 1995 states that all children between the age of 5-7yrs should have pre-primary education before joining primary education. However in 2010, only 60.2% of primary school entrants had pre-primary education.
Primary Education
Under normal circumstances, primary education in Tanzania takes seven years. Primary education is universal and compulsory for all children from age 7-13yrs. However, Tanzania is also addressing illiteracy challenges in the country through two programs. These are the Integrated Community Based Adult Education (ICBAE) and the Complementary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET). While ICBAE targets the traditional crop of adult illiterates, COBET aims at giving a second chance to orphans and children of single parents especially girls, who for one reason or other, could not continue with formal education.
The COBET curriculum has been compressed to fit into just a three-year period after which the children qualify for entry examinations into secondary schools just like those who went through the seven-year period. Developing the COBET curriculum brought together experts from MoEVT, the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE), the Institute of Adult Education (IAE), the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and the National Examinations Commission of Tanzania (NECTA). The children attending COBET are divided into two cohorts: those aged between 8 -13 years old and those in the 14 -18yrs bracket. Their study materials also differ accordingly. The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is administered at the end of the primary school cycle and is used for selection of students into secondary education.
Primary school enrolment has increased by 5.8% between 2006 and 2009 with a slight decrease in total enrollment of 0.3% in 2010 (BEST 2010). In the same year, the NER was 95.4% and the GER was 106.4%. This shows that there was enough capacity in primary schools to absorb all primary school going age pupils.
The number of primary schools in 2010 stood at 15,816 (BEST, 2010) with an enrolment of 8,419,305 pupils and 165,856 teachers with 156,733 of these being qualified teachers. The qualified teacher to pupil ratio in primary schools is 1:54. 94.5% of primary school teachers were qualified in 2010.
However disparities in teacher to pupil ratios exist from region to region with the rural and remote areas have ratios of up to 1:74.
The Primary Education Development Program (PEDP), Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP), Complementary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET), Integrated Community Basic Adult Education (ICBAE) and the National Higher Education Policy are the major programs undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to operationalize the national education policy.
Secondary education
Secondary or second level education has Ordinary and Advanced level of secondary schooling which comprises of 4 years of Junior Secondary (ordinary Level) and 2 years of Senior Secondary (Advanced Level). Selection and enrollment in Senior Secondary is based on prescribed performance level in the relevant A-level subject combinations after attainment of appropriate credits in the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSEE).
The total enrollment in secondary schools in 2010 was at 1,638,699 students in 4266 secondary schools. Out of these, 3,397 are government owned. BEST 2010 further indicates that there was 186% increase in enrollment in government secondary schools between 2006 and 2010. This, it is reported, has been as a result of the government construction of secondary schools in every ward all over the country. GER increased from 20.2% in 2006 to 47.3% in 2010 and NER from 13.4% to 30.8% in the same period. Although transition from primary and secondary education has increased astronomically between 2006 and 2010, transition to A-level education was reported to be decreasing in between 2007-2009.
Qualified Teachers for secondary education are those with diplomas from Teachers’ Colleges and above. Teachers in secondary schools can only teach two subjects whereas those in primary schools can teacher all the subjects. The ratio of qualified teacher to student is 1:40 per subject with some regions having a ratio of 1:80. The low teacher to student ratio is mostly in the Science and Mathematics subjects in the rural and remote areas. There is an uneven distribution of teachers in the regions and in the different schools. Teacher attrition rates in secondary education are at 3.8%. Out of this 67.3% leave the profession because of termination whose causes include dismissal, change of employment, illness and resignation.
To address the education challenges in secondary education, the MoEVT initiated the Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP) in 2004. The main objective of SEDP was to enroll more children in secondary schools by increasing the transition rate from primary to secondary to 50% by 2010, increase the number of students for upper secondary to 25% of those who complete Form 4, increase retention of students in the schools, ensure quality and relevant education, and achieve better management and delivery of secondary education services through devolution of authority to regions, local authorities, school boards and institutions.
With reference to SEDP Phase I (2004-2009) objectives, remarkable achievements have been realized in access and equity whereby enrolment in Form I-VI increased from 675,672 in 2006 to 1,638,699 in 2010. The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) improved from 20.2% in 2006 to 47.3% in 2010 while Net Enrollment Rate (NER) increased from 13.4% in 2006 to 30.8% 2010. The number of schools increased from 2289 in 2006 to 4,266 in 2010 (BEST, 2010).
However, improved access and equity in schools has posed a number of challenges related to the provision of quality secondary education. One of the main challenges is the low quality of teaching and learning of Science, Mathematics and English particularly in ordinary level secondary education.
Special Education
Special Education is offered as part of the formal system through: Special schools which cater for children with special learning needs; Integrated units, which cater for children with special learning needs but are attached to regular schools; and Inclusive schools which cater for children with special learning needs in a regular classroom but children with special learning needs being assisted by a specialized teacher.
Teacher Education
Teachers’ Colleges offer courses leading to a certificate in teacher education or diploma in teacher education. The certificate course is offered to teachers to teach in primary schools and the diploma for teachers to teach in secondary schools. The Government Teachers’ Colleges are 34 in number while Non Government Colleges are 53. The graduates from these institutions are usually posted to primary and secondary schools. The colleges graduate about 10, 0000 teachers annually. The Government and Non Government Universities also contribute in the teacher training. UNESCO (2002) identifies four elements that have to be included in Teacher Education if the objective of education for all is to be achieved by 2015. These include: (1) improving the general education background of the trainee teachers; (2) increasing the knowledge and understanding of the subjects that they teach; (3) pedagogy and understanding of children and learning; and (4) development of practical skills and competencies.
The enrollment increased by 18.8% (from 43,446 to 51,628) between 2009 and 2010 in Government Teachers’ Colleges according to BEST 2010. Out of the total enrollment 63.3% (16,334) are Diploma Students destined for secondary schools, 34.95% (9,022) are Grade A students for primary school absorption and 1.7% (458) were destined for Special Education. The total enrollment in 2010 was 25,814 in Government Colleges and 10,834 in Non-governmental Colleges (BEST 2010). The enrollment in Government and Non-Government Colleges was 36,648 with enrollment in Sciences constituting 44.1% (16,160), Arts constituting 55.1% (20,197) and Special Education 0.8% (291). Some 95% of the tutors in teachers colleges had relevant qualification and the qualified tutor to student ratio was 1:20. There were 9 (27.3%) colleges with science laboratories. The figure would explain the Government training strategy to address the huge challenge in teacher shortages in secondary schools and in particular the shortages in Science teachers.
Teacher Education has been reported to be a major area of concern in the documentation and during the field visits. This is generally in relation to secondary schools and specifically in the teaching of mathematics and science subjects to the extent that the entire system and nation is starved of scientists. The following challenges can be drawn at this early stage in regard to Teacher Education.
Challenges in Teacher Education
• High Attrition levels of teachers in secondary schools especially because of the mushrooming of universities in the system which has meant that there are more opportunities for further education and this is luring teachers away from classroom practice;
• The policy for primary and secondary school (PEDP and SEDP) expansion was demand driven in Tanzania and did not cater for an equivalent rise in the number teachers in the system;
• Enrollments have been rising in primary and secondary schools posing huge challenges in quality of education provision at this level;
• Huge strides in relation to quantity resulting in compromised quality with 50% failure rate in ordinary level examination in junior secondary;
• Policy implementation for the retention for two years of teachers in the profession is ineffective resulting in mass migration of teachers immediately after graduation;
• Serving in the rural areas is another big challenge where high proportions of graduates drop out due to lack of accommodation, communication, basic amenities and increased isolation;
• Severe shortage of Science and Mathematics teachers in the entire system and supply cannot meet demand and;
• Lack of conducive teaching and learning environment in terms of classrooms, teaching and learning resources and science laboratories. Where laboratories exist, there is a lack of equipment and chemicals to carry our practical experiments.
Adult and Non formal Education
Non Formal Education (NFE) is defined by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, as “any organized, systematic, educational activity carried outside the framework of the formal education system to provide selected types of learning to particular sub groups in the population which include adults, youth and children”. The NFE system comprises mostly of adult literacy implemented under the Integrated Community Based Adult Education (ICBAE) and programs targeting out-of-school children and youth offered through Complementary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET) Centres. COBET graduates have the opportunity to join the formal education system at pre-determined levels. The latest statistics from BEST indicate that in 2010, there were 72,799 COBET and 573,174 adult education learners. In 2009, 84.7% of COBET learners were mainstreamed into the formal education system in class five and about 56% were selected to join Form 1 in secondary education.
COBET has a learning cycle of 2-3 years and is offered to school children aged between 11-18 years who may not have joined the formal education system for one reason or another.
Adult education caters for those above 19yrs of age and has a learning cycle of 18 months. The ICBAE includes functional literacy and components of extension services, income generation support and vocational education.
Technical and Vocational Education and Training
Vocational training caters for those who do not follow the formal system of education and runs parallel to the formal sector. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions offer programs which provide relevant knowledge, practical skills and attitudes for gainful employment in specific trade or occupational areas. The quality assurance for Vocational programs are undertaken by the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) while at the post secondary non-university level, the National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) is responsible. VETA is an autonomous government agency charged with the overall responsibility of coordinating, regulating, financing, providing and promoting vocational education and training. BEST (2010) indicates that there are 50,173 enrollments in Technical Colleges and 116,613 in Vocational Education Centres.
Higher Education
Higher Education is provided after Advanced level of secondary education for award of degrees and other certificates. Course in higher education are for three years or more depending on the discipline. The aim of higher education is to equip Tanzanians, with the knowledge and skills for development in social, economic, cultural, scientific and technological fields. The total enrollment in Higher Education Institutions (government and non-governmental) in 2010 (BEST) was 169,124 with a GER of 5.3% in 31 institutions. The total enrollment in Higher Education Institutions is still low with the female being in the minority group.
Table 1: Key statistics in the education and training sector
|Level of Education |No. of institutions |Total Number |
| |Public |
|Primary education |Overcrowded classrooms |
| |High ratio of students to teaching and learning materials |
| |Poor quality of teaching and learning especially in the Science and Mathematics |
| |High student to teacher ratio |
| |Inability of teachers to teach some topics in the new curriculum especially after it was reviewed |
| |Trained teachers do not want to go to rural areas |
|Secondary education |High student to teacher ratios |
| |Trained teachers do not want to go to rural areas |
| |Shortage of teaching and learning materials |
| |Competing priorities when allocating funds as most funds are directed to infrastructure |
| |Few schools have computers installed |
| |No coordination mechanism in the deployment of ICTs in secondary schools |
| |Shortage of Science and Mathematics teachers as most of those trained migrate professionally to |
| |other non-teaching professions |
| |In-service training not coordinated |
| |Science laboratories not enough hampering quality in the teaching of sciences |
|Teacher Colleges |Shortage of Science and Mathematics tutors as most of those trained migrate professionally to other |
| |non-teaching professions |
| |In-service training not coordinated |
| |High costs of internet connectivity |
| |Lack of funds to replace ICT facilities |
| |Ratio of computers to user is high, 1:20 |
| |High attrition rates of trained ICT tutors who move on to greener pastures |
| |Unreliable power supply which increases breakdown of equipment. Blackouts also interrupt established|
| |programs |
| |Lack of experts in ICT Pedagogy |
| |Lack of experts in developing e-content and digital resources |
| |Inadequate funds for ICT related activities |
| |Inadequate bandwidth and support for network systems management |
| |ICT curriculum and syllabus require review to increase relevance |
| |Lack of digital content that is relevant to the Tanzanian context and aligned to the curriculum |
| |Poor motivation, recognition and compensation for ICT personnel |
| |Lack of awareness on the potential of ICT in addressing challenges in education |
| |Organization in the Ministry to spell out roles and responsibility structure does not adequately |
| |cater for ICT integration in teaching and learning |
| |Poor coordination of ICT related activities between the various departments and sharing of |
| |information at the Ministry level is limited |
|Higher Education Institutions |Limited financing and affordability of tuition by students |
| |Low participation rates (1.3%) – one of the lowest in Sub Saharan Africa |
| |Gender parity |
| |Quality Assurance and relevance |
| |Few applicants for Science, engineering and technology fields |
| |Inadequate application of ICT in HEI for enhancing their operational efficiency and advancement |
| |Inadequate funding for research in science and technology |
Intervention level for TDev21: Secondary Education and Teacher Education
Secondary education is crucial for the development process in other key sectors. Whereas primary education is meant to impart literacy and numeracy skills, secondary education equips students with skills which will either help them further their education or to seek employment after completion of secondary schooling. The findings above indicate that the successful implementation of SEDP I has led to an astronomical increase in enrollments as a result of the construction of secondary schools. This has resulted in a parallel dilution of the quality of education provision in schools.
Unlike primary education where one teacher can teach all subjects, secondary school teachers can only specialize in two teaching subjects. Teachers in critical subject areas like Science, Mathematics and Computer Science are attracted to opportunities for further education or industry. This results in serious shortages of science and mathematics specialist teachers in the system.
The system is also starved of students who are motivated to take up sciences and provide a pool for future science teachers and scientists for the nation. As one of the respondents rightly said, “The viscous cycle has to be intervened at the secondary education level. The main thrust should be here. Secondary education has to be done right”. It is clear that secondary education needs intervention prioritization to address issues related to teacher quality, infrastructure and equipment - inclusive of laboratories, teaching and learning materials, management, content and teacher competencies (knowledge, skills and attitudes) for science and mathematics subjects.
Findings further indicate that O-level secondary schooling seems to be the end of education for most of the secondary school graduates with a very small margin progressing to A-levels and Higher Education. This precipitates a challenge to equip these graduates with appropriate skills, knowledge and attitudes that will enable them to enter the marketplace.
The lack of appropriate tools in secondary education especially in the teaching of Science and Mathematics subjects calls for a higher level of teacher innovation in order to not only make use of the scarce resources for teaching and learning but also to deepen their subject matter knowledge. ICTs, when used properly can increase the innovativeness of teachers and can also address some of the challenges in resource scarce environments.
In line with the above analysis, the TDEV21 project intervention for developing ICT competencies should focus on competencies for teachers in the Secondary Education and/or those destined for secondary schools. This would mean working with teachers at pre-service (Teachers Colleges) and in-service (Secondary Schools) levels of education. The pilot project can contribute to the current Government agenda for improving the quality and relevance of education and training delivery in these sub-sectors. The project would serve the purpose by identifying and contextualizing the required ICT Teacher Competencies and building teacher capacity through piloting the standards and training a small pool of master trainers. The trained master trainers could in turn train others on how ICTs can be leveraged to improve the quality of teaching in the critical areas of Mathematics, Science and Language. Scenarios through which this can be achieved are in Chapter 7.
CHAPTER 3: ICT AND EDUCATION LANDSCAPE IN TANZANIA
The aim of this chapter is to review the ICT and education related policies and standards in Tanzania, and to analyze the role of various stakeholders in ICT and Education and teacher development domain.
National ICT Education and Development Policies
The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Policy for Basic Education describes a vision for ICT in Education deriving from a number of national and international frameworks, policies and instruments, namely:
• The Tanzania Development Visions 2025 (2002)
• The National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP) (2005)
• The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)(2000)
• The National Information and Communications Technologies Policy (2003)
• The Education and Training Policy (ETP) (1995)
• The Education Sector Development Program (ESDP) (2007 – 2011)
• The Primary Education Plan II (PEDP II) (2007 – 2011)
• The Secondary Education Department Plan (SEDP) (2010 2014)
• The Education Sector Review (2006)
• The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)(2003)
• The Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Policy for Basic Education (2007)
• The Framework for ICT Use in Teacher Development in Tanzania (2009)
The Tanzania Development Vision 2025
• The Tanzania Development Vision 2025 envisages national development towards a society characterized by five main attributes: high quality livelihood; peace, stability and unity; good governance; a well educated and learning society; and a strong and competitive economy capable of producing sustainable growth and shared profits.
• The Vision accords high priority to the education sector which is considered to be pivotal in bringing about social and economic transformation, as described in the following statement:
Education should be treated as a strategic agent for mind-set transformation and for the creation of a well-educated nation, sufficiently equipped with the knowledge needed to competently and competitively solve the development challenges which face the nation. In this light, the education system should be restructured and transformed qualitatively with a focus on promoting creativity and problem solving (URT 2000:19).
• The Vision clarifies ‘the new opportunities that ICT is opening up’ as well as the need for development of ‘appropriate (ICT) skills and capabilities’ to meet the goals of the Vision. The demand is for ‘adequate investments to improve the quality of science-based education and to create a knowledge society generally’ (URT, 2002 p21).
The National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP) (2005)
• The National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSCRP) (referred to by its Kiswahili acronym: MKUKUTA) identifies education as one of the priority sectors in Tanzania and recognizes ICT as a powerful developmental facilitator in the fight against poverty and in promoting sustainable socio-economic development.
• The NSGRP points to ICT ‘as a critical infrastructure that accelerates productivity in the productive and service sectors, in government, business, teaching and SMEs development’ (URT, 2005 p8).
• The long term impact of the strategy is to have an empowered citizenry being able to use ICT to the benefit of their income generating and private activities and being able to contribute to the achievement of a better life for themselves and their communities. The critical focus is to empower the poor, particularly those living in remote, rural and marginalized urban environments, to access information and to use ICTs as a tool to support their efforts to lift themselves out or poverty.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)(2000)
Tanzania is committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for achieving the eradication of poverty. Of direct relevance to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) are the MDGs to achieve universal primary education and to promote gender equality. The government’s commitment is to use ICT as an important tool in assisting ministries in achieving each of the MDGs inclusive of those directly related to educational objective for improving access, equity and quality of provision (URT, 2007 p15).
The National Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Policy, 2003
• Through its ICT Policy Task Force and a national e-think tank, the Government of Tanzania produced an ICT policy document that was presented and debated by key stakeholders in May 2002. Subsequently, the Cabinet approved the first National Information and Communication Technologies Policy in March 2003. The goals focus on 10 areas, which include strategic ICT leadership, ICT infrastructure, ICT industry, human capital, legal and regulatory framework, productive sectors, service sectors, public service, local content and universal access
• The policy recognizes the strategic input that ICT can have in the education sector. The policy describes the ICT potential as providing new opportunities ‘to enhance education, including curriculum development, teaching methodologies, simulation laboratories, life-long learning and distance education and for teaching of not only ICT, but of all subjects and specializations’ (URT 2003, p13).
• The policy calls for the development of a nationwide e-education system, the teaching of ICT at all levels of education and training and the use of ICT to improve the quality of delivery of education. The policy recognizes challenges in education systems for developing appropriate attitudes, knowledge and skills to support ICT initiatives and programs (ibid., p14).
The Education and Training Policy (ETP)(1995)
• The Tanzanian Education and Training Policy (TEPT) was developed in 1995 as a result of recommendations from report submissions to the government on the Tanzania Education System for the 21st Century (1991). The TEPT emphasizes the teaching of Mathematics, Science and Technical subjects inclusive of computer subjects to promote Science and Technology (S&T) development. The policy advocates the teaching of S&T to permeate across all subjects areas in the school curriculum.
• The policy highlights the need for coordination of Science and Technology integration in Education and Training via intra, inter and extra ministerial cooperation. The National Commission of Science and Technology (COSTECH) was established to promote and coordinate S&T as essential components of education and training across the system (URT 1995, p53).
The Education Sector Development Program (ESDP) (2007 – 2011)
The Educations Sector Development Program (ESDP) for the reform and development of education in Tanzania include the following two major programs in Basic Education:
The Primary Education Plan II (PEDP II) (2007 – 2011)
• The Primary Education aims at offering Universal Primary Education for all children between the ages of 7 – 13 years.
• The plan focuses on seven strategic components at primary sub-sector namely; enrolment expansion with a focus on ensuring access and equity; quality improvement; strengthening capacities; addressing the cross cutting issues; strengthening institutional arrangements; undertaking educational research; and conducting educational Monitoring and Evaluation (URT, 2006 p1).
The Secondary Education Department Plan II (SEDP II) (2010 - 2014)
• The Secondary Education Plan II builds on national and international reforms regarding the education sector.
• The plan focuses on five areas of national goals for secondary education provision namely: improving the quality and relevance of secondary education provision; enhancement of access and equity; improvement of the teaching force and teaching process; improvement of management efficiency and good governance; institutionalization of cross-cutting issues (URT, 2010b pviii).
References to ICTs are prominent in both the PEDP II and SEDP II. The emphasis in both documents is on the need for access to and improved quality of education despite system expansion and increasing numbers of enrolments. Teacher education programs are striving to accommodate the rising demand for more qualified teachers as well as the changing role of teachers into facilitators of learning and problem solving. A major area of reform taking place through PEDP and ESDP is teacher development. The need is for a shift from teacher-centric knowledge transmission approaches with a heavy dependence on text-based static media to exploring alternative student centred approaches for knowledge building and construction that is supported by the integration of electronic-based dynamic multi-media. The use of ICT-mediated training and distance education has been identified as one of the key strategies for access and quality improvement. Both the PEDP and SEDP prioritize ICT-based information management at all levels and the introduction of computer courses into primary and secondary education (URT, 2007 p17).
The Education Sector Review (2006)
The Tanzania Education Sector Review of 2006 reiterates parameters defined in the National Vision, the poverty reduction strategy and the education and ICT policies for the expansion of ICT use to improve the quality in education and training, as in:
• The improvement of school facilities and teaching and learning materials in relation to text-based and electronic materials
• The harmonization of MIS systems in the education sector
• The integration EMIS at different system levels to produce and manage educational data and information (MoEVT, 2007 p17; Hare, 2007 p7)
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (2003)
Tanzania is a signatory to the WSIS Declaration of Principles and Action Plan, the aim of which is to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society; to put the potential of knowledge and ICTs at the service of development; to promote the use of information and knowledge for the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration; and to address new challenges of the Information Society, at the national, regional and international levels (WSIS, 2003; 2005 p1-2).
WSIS targets for education to be achieved by 2015 include targets:
• to connect universities, colleges, secondary schools and primary schools with ICTs;
• to adapt all primary and secondary school curricula to meet the challenges of the Information
• to ensure that ICTs are fully integrated in education and training at all levels, including in curriculum development, teachers training, institutional administration and management, and in support of the concept of lifelong learning (WSIS 2003; 2005; cited in MoEVT 2007 p17)
The Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Policy for Basic Education (2007)
Recognizing the potential of ICT as a significant tool for improving education delivery, outcomes and impact, the MoEVT embarked on the development of an ICT Policy for Education in 2006. A multi-stakeholder consultation process for providing policy advice on technology integration resulted in an ICT guideline (also referred to as ‘White Paper’) called ‘Thinking through the use of ICT in Secondary Education in Tanzania - Deliberations of a multi stakeholder work group on education’ which was submitted to the MoEVT in 2006. The paper provided input to the development of the national ICT Policy for Education that the MoEVT launched in 2007. The national policy document entitled the Policy for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Basic Education presents guidelines for system wide ICT integration in basic education covering pre-primary, primary, secondary and teacher education as well as non-formal, adult education and university education.
The policy considers issues of infrastructure; curriculum and content; training and capacity development; planning procurement and administration; management, support and sustainability and monitoring and evaluation. It defines a broad vision and mission for ICT integration in Education ‘to enhance access, equity, quality and relevance of basic education, while stimulating and improving teaching and life-long learning’ (MoEVT, 2007 p5).
The policy objectives are to:
• Integrate the use of ICT to achieve Education policy objectives;
• Promote the harmonization of activities, approaches and standards in the educational uses of ICT;
• Ensure that there exists equitable access to ICT resources by students, teachers and administrators in all regions and types of educational institutions and offices;
• Ensure the proper management and maintenance of ICT resources and tools;
• Ensure the organized provision of ICT training to students, teachers and educational administrators;
• Facilitate the implementation of communication and information systems for the effective management of the Education Sector;
• Facilitate the use of ICT as a tool for assessment and evaluation of education, as well as administration and management;
• Encourage partnerships between the various stakeholders in the Education Sector;
• Facilitate the use of ICT resources in schools and colleges by the neighboring community;
• Facilitate the development and use of ICT as a pedagogical tool for teaching and learning, and for professional development of teachers, administrators and managers;
• Promote development of local content for basic education and other stakeholders
In order to implement the ICT in Basic Education agenda the policy guidelines stipulate the following
modalities:
• Publication of the ICT policy using a variety of media for dissemination to all stakeholders
• Establishment of an ICT4E Unit and a network of ICT4E Focal Persons in all MoEVT Departments
• Preparation and Implementation of Action Plans by the ICT4E unit
• Establishment of a Steering Committee with representation of key stakeholders, partners and Ministry representatives to advise the ICT4E unit
• Policy implementation via a partnership approach
• Use of good practice models to inform and foster ICT implementation success
• Alignment of ICT policy implementation to all relevant national and sectoral programs in Tanzania
The Framework for ICT Use in Teacher Development in Tanzania (2009)
In 2009 MoEVT with the assistance of the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GESCI) facilitated a multi-stakeholder consultation process for the development of an ICT Teacher Professional Development (ICT-TPD) Framework. The framework would serve as a roadmap to integrate ICT into the teacher education system using the existing ICT infrastructure at Government Training Colleges. The culmination of the consultation process resulted in A Framework for ICT Use in Teacher Professional Development in Tanzania (2009). Embedded within the Framework is an ICT-TPD matrix which draws from the UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (ICT-CST) Project (UNESCO, 2008). The matrix contains six key domains covering policy, curriculum and content, pedagogy, ICT infrastructure, organization & management and teacher professional development for system wide development of ICT use in TPD.
The Framework for ICT use in Teacher Professional Development in Tanzania elaborates on a development path outlining the vision, goals, resource requirements and expected outcomes for ICT integration in teacher development - with a particular focus on the challenges to be addressed over the short term. The framework objectives were developed to address the challenges of teacher shortages, teacher quality and teacher support in the short term, but also over the medium and long term to address requirements for:
▪ Equipping educators through pre-service and in-service training programs with the required competencies (knowledge, skills and attitudes) to effectively use the available ICT infrastructure in the TCs to address the educational challenges related to access, quality, equity and relevance over the longer term
▪ Using the existing ICT infrastructure and capacities to address teacher shortages particularly in core subjects and to upgrade the qualifications of licensed teachers
▪ Developing competent tutors and teachers who will confidently integrate ICTs as pedagogical tools and educational resources to implement the curriculum effectively and to facilitate active student learning
▪ Developing the required e-resources to be used through both online and offline networks
▪ Developing tutors, teachers and trainee teachers who are committed to life-long learning using the opportunities afforded by ICTs to grow professionally
▪ Providing a well-equipped and effectively managed environment for teaching and learning using ICTs.
▪ Developing networks for learning (communities of practice) for sharing knowledge and developing good practices for ICT use in teaching and learning
Status of ICT Integration across the Education system
The Tanzania Beyond Tomorrow (TBT) is a new strategy in development under MoEVT that will define an E-Education Programme for Basic Education for 2011-2020. The TBT mission is to improve access, equity and quality in the delivery of basic education through integration of ICT in teaching and learning. The specific objectives of the TBT programme are to:
▪ Identify all initiatives of ICT in basic education in order to harmonize and integrate them into a unified framework;
▪ Enhance the use of appropriate ICT in education
▪ Provide and/or improve appropriate ICT infrastructure to support teaching and learning in basic education;
▪ Provide capacity building for actors of the programme;
▪ Transform basic education curricula for suitable e-delivery modes;
▪ Develop guidelines for e-education programme;
▪ Integrate and use ICT in educational management functions that supports teaching and learning;
▪ Create partnership for ICT integration in Basic Education provision;
▪ Enhance integration of ICT in teaching and learning through research and development; and
▪ Mobilize financial, physical and human resources to support the development of ICT in basic education.
Currently the use of ICT in Education is more prevalent in urban private schools. In government schools it is mostly confined to secondary schools where there is limited teaching of basic ICT skills and no integration into the teaching and learning process. About half of the government registered secondary schools in Tanzania are in rural areas with poor information and communication infrastructure. According to Tilya (2007), some parents from state-owned secondary schools in which the government could not install ICT equipment showed keen interest in and support to the acquisition of ICT facilities for the schools even when they had to contribute financially to the acquisition of ICT facilities.
ICT in Primary Schools
There are no statistics on ICTs in the primary and secondary school systems. Consequently it remains unclear how many and what types of ICT may be in primary and secondary schools. However, there are plans to have this data captured in the near future through the regular EMIS data capture. It has however been reported that the number of primary and secondary schools with computers and internet access is limited. It is also worth noting that there is an operational computer studies curriculum “Teknolojia ya Habari na Mawasiliano” (TEHAMA) for primary school.
ICTs in Secondary Schools
The MoEVT’s priority when it comes to deploying ICT has been Teachers’ Colleges followed by secondary schools. To this end, there have been disjointed initiatives aimed at the computerization of secondary schools in Tanzania in the last decade through different Development Partners, Private Sector and MoEVT. Examples of these include, the e-Schools forum formed in 2005 which had proposed a phased approach for ICT in secondary schools, starting with 200 schools in phase 1, followed by a large scale roll out covering 2000 schools in phase 2 in a period of 5 years with a target of having all schools with ICT in 2015.
Another planned intervention is through the NoPC pilot project which targets the provision of ICT to 200 secondary schools which are close to TCs to improve the teaching of Math, Science and English. According to NoPC (UK), the NoPC solution transforms traditional computing, taking “thin” to a whole new level, greatly reducing the need for maintenance, support and upgrades. This solution has been said to be energy and cost-efficient PC substitution, eliminating high failure components, requiring little bandwidth and using under 100 watts for five workstations. With over 3,500 secondary schools in Tanzania, NoPC hoped to install computer systems in all of them providing Internet for over 1.2 million children to improve their academic experience. Other initiatives have been listed under the stakeholders section (5.4). It is hoped that the latest strategy under the TBT will centrally anchor all these and future ICT in education initiatives under the MoEVT.
ICT in Vocational Education
The Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) owns 22 vocational training centres and coordinates over 900 other centres throughout the country. The other centres are owned by Non-Governmental Organizations, Government Agencies and individuals. It was reported that 15 of the 22 VETA centres and 190 non-VETA centres conduct computer courses. These courses range from basic ICT literacy to technical maintenance and support and network administration. According to information obtained during interviews, plans to build an ICT centre of excellence by VETA in Dar Es Salaam are underway.
ICT in Teacher Education
ICT deployment in Tanzania was prioritized to start in the Teachers Colleges (TCs) followed by secondary schools and then primary schools. The implementation of ICTs in TCs was started in 2005 as a joint venture between MoEVT and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). The project’s main goal was to improve on the quality of pre-service and in-service teacher education by using ICT.
In the first phase of the deployment of ICT in TCs, all 34 Governmental colleges received 30 thin client computers and a server including peripherals and accessories, ICT training for education administrators, all tutors were trained in the use of ICT for teaching and learning which according to interviews translated to basic literacy skills. 2-4 tutors in each college were certified in CISCO IT essentials. A commercial ISP supplies the required bandwidth to all the colleges on contract basis. Tutors individually prepare e-content materials to enhance teaching. The funding for the teachers colleges is currently from the government through the recurrent budget allocation. 30 of these colleges are connected to the national electrical grid and 4 of the colleges use generators and solar panels. The project was completed in 2008 and has since become a program under the MoEVT. A five member team was formed to oversee the project after the completion of the project and withdrawal of Sida support. The table below outlines the ICT related activities and outputs under the Sida-MoEVT project.
Table 3: Activities vs. Outputs of the MoEVT/Sida project
|Activities |Outputs |
|Procurement and installation of hardware and software in all TCs |Installation of 1,250 networked thin client computers in 34 colleges|
|All tutors to be trained in ICT basic literacy skills leading to |using open source |
|ICDL certification |Personal computers using MS software installed in seven zonal |
|One tutor in each college to be trained in computer installation, |college laboratories for CISCO course |
|maintenance and repair services |Internet connectivity using VSAT installed in all 34Colleges |
|Training in ICT for administration for principals, management and |Training of 80 tutor technicians |
|administrative staff |Tutors with ICDL training in ICT integration skills have been |
|Curriculum to be developed and used for ICT in Teacher Education |trained in management skills and technical skills |
| |ICT in Teacher Education curriculum completed and currently is in |
| |use. |
Teacher Colleges, with their impressive infrastructure, were reported to be offering ICT training for trainees. Teacher educators have received training in the use of ICTs for teaching and learning but all accounts suggest that this training is focused on basic ICT skills.
There are also other initiatives to use ICTs for teacher training. For example, an ICT-based in-service teacher education project for secondary school teachers providing training on pedagogy and subject specialized education was developed by the Mid Sweden University (MiUn) which has a vast experience of distance education, flexible learning and teacher training and the MoEVT. The project is also supported by the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) and the University of Dar Es Salaam (UDSM). The overall purpose of the project was to enhance the performance of the secondary teachers by providing training on pedagogy and subject specialized education. The teachers will be trained through ICT-based short courses which will be tailored to the needs of teachers in particular subject areas.
Despite the government’s efforts to address the teacher shortage challenge, teacher demand remains high as opposed to supply. This calls for a need to explore alternative interventions to train more teachers and to keep those who are trained in the system. Further, there is a compounding challenge on the quality of teachers especially in the science subjects which are direly underserved in the secondary schools, teachers colleges, and in tertiary education. The fact that there are not enough qualified teachers in secondary schools means that the country is forever short of citizens who have the fundamentals of Science, Math and English. During the needs assessment, it was noted that the best place to start solving this problem is through ensuring that the teachers who go to the secondary schools are well equipped in the right knowledge, skills and attitudes so that they can groom a generation of students who have an interest and content knowledge in these subjects.
ICT in Higher Education
The higher education sector in Tanzania has taken and continues to take concrete steps to use ICT to address the main challenges that the sector faces. The sector is making investments in ICT, for example, it has been reported in a status report for higher education institutions in Tanzania (2008), that most universities have dedicated computer centres. Education and research networking activities are also beginning to take off and e-learning as a strategy to increase access is becoming central to many of the higher education institutions.
Findings indicate that the use of digital e-learning environments has not been widely adopted in most of the universities with the exception of the Open University of Tanzania and the University of Dar Es Salaam (UDSM). Although a number of universities offer general ICT Training for teachers and students, it was reported that it is only the UDSM that conducts research into the development of software for teaching and learning purposes
The universities and other tertiary institutions have made significant investments in ICTs. All universities have computer centers available to the student population and many have high bandwidth connections through satellite (VSAT). A shared mechanism has been created for all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the country to share information, systems, and knowledge. The arrival of submarine fiber to Tanzania and the installation of the national fiber backbone are expected to greatly benefit universities and other educational institutions, providing high speed internet connections for research and education.
Similar to the basic education sector, the higher education sector also faces the challenges of access, quality and relevance for which ICT could play an important role. ICT is also critical for research at this level.
ICT curriculum, content and training
Despite the low availability of ICT infrastructure in the basic education system, a curriculum for primary and pre-primary education, “Teknolojia ya Habari na Mawasiliano” (TEHAMA) is already in place. Information gathered during the needs assessment indicates that, ICT as a subject based on this curriculum is taught in only a few schools which are located near district headquarters and urban centres where infrastructural facilities are available. A secondary school ICT syllabus for Form I–IV exists, but it has not been implemented in many schools owing to a lack of ICT facilities and trained ICT teachers. The Tanzania Computer Literacy for Secondary schools Trust Fund (TCLSS) procures computers for secondary schools and helps them to set up computer laboratories. The project also teaches computer literacy and computer maintenance to students and teachers in schools. The project operates in about 20 schools within Dar Es Salaam and outside. Others also provide support such as the Best Education Trust Fund, the Tanzania Education Services Trust and the Distance Learning Educational Services which provide on-line study notes and past examination papers.
Local content development has been found to be inadequate particularly as the need is for Kiswahili more than for English content. In his analysis of the challenges facing ICT4D in Tanzania, Yonazi (2009) notes that there has been progress in developing local content with the government and different sectors attempting to develop and provide citizen-focused content and services. This content is in the form of web portals, improved service delivery through the use of mobile technology through seamless integration and increased information sharing attitudes in the form of blogs, online forums and discussion groups.
Mapping Stakeholders in ICT and Education in Teacher Development
The mandate and ICT related objectives of those involved in Education and Teacher Development in Tanzania are briefly outlined below. These are grouped under three categories: (1) Government Ministries and Agencies (2) International Development Partners and (3) Private Sector and Civil Society organizations.
Government Ministries and Agencies
Ministry of Education and Vocational Training
The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) is responsible for the education sector. It is headed by a Minister and Deputy Minister, a Permanent Secretary and Deputy PS, a Commissioner for Education and Directors in charge of Primary Education, Secondary Education, Teacher Education, Policy and Planning, School Inspection, Administration and Human Resource, Technical Education and Higher Education. The MoEVT includes a number of semi-autonomous agencies: Agency for Development of Education Management (ADEM), Institute of Adult Education (IAE), National Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA), Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE), Tanzania Libraries Services Board (TLSB) and Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) and the Tanzania Education Authority (TEA).
Teacher Education and Universities are under MoEVT. The PMORALG is also involved in the posting of teachers to the various schools. The remuneration of teachers is under the Ministry of Finance alongside all other civil servants.
A Regional Education Officer coordinates all regional education matters. A District/Municipal Education Officer heads the District/Municipal education office. Whereas the Ministry has overall responsibility for running the education system, each district/municipal office is responsible for school buildings in its area as well as for the supply of equipment and materials to the schools. The Ministry has a national inspectorate whose task is to conduct a full inspection of each school in the country once every two years. Each district office also has a team of school inspectors whose task is to visit each school in the district at least twice a year and to advise and help all teachers with their teaching. There are no regional school inspectors but rather zonal school inspectors who mainly visit secondary schools, and teacher colleges.
Prime Ministers’ Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG)
Whereas the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) is responsible for policy formulation, planning, co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation of programs and activities, the day-to-day management of primary and secondary schools is under the PMO-RALG. PMO-RALG operates at the regional level through its Regional Secretariat and Local Government Authorities (LGAs) and it is the implementing Ministry in the decentralized structure of education.
Ministry of Finance
The Ministry of Finance pays teacher alongside all other civil servants. The skills and competencies of teachers need recognition and incentives should be provided if there is going to be progress and implementation of the contextualized standards.
Teacher Education Department (TED)
The mandate of the Teacher Education Department (TED) is the recruitment of teacher trainees, for both primary and secondary and pre-primary, teacher education curriculum, building capacity and teacher educators, and college principals. The main role of the department is curriculum in teacher education with a goal of equipping them with skills to teach in secondary schools.
Secondary Education Department (SED)
The Mandate of the Secondary Education Department (SED) at the Ministry level is policy, program management and design, and quality assurance of secondary education. Secondary schools administration was moved to local government through decentralization. Decentralization is focused on the day-to-day running matters of educational delivery covering employment of teachers, student management and welfare in relation to transfer of students and teachers.
School Inspectorate Department
The School Inspectorate Department functions under MoEVT and is comprised of four sections for educational management, secondary education, basic education and teacher education. Its mandate includes: school inspection with a goal for providing advice to the commissioner for better decision making and planning; inspection, training and advice to school managers, school boards and teachers on good pedagogical practice and implementation of school development plans; improvement of teaching standards in schools; in-service training of teachers; and supervisory visits to improve the quality of teaching in schools.
Agency for Development of Education Management (ADEM)
The Agency for the Development of Educational Management (ADEM) was established by the Executive Agency Act of 1997 in order to provide regular and systematized educational management and administration training for all categories of educational management and administration personnel in the education service.
The Institute's major function is to strengthen the capacity and capability of all serving and future educational managers and administrators who would qualitatively improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the educational institutions in the system. The mission of ADEM is to promote qualitative and quantitative improvement of the Education system through training, research and consultancy in Educational Management and Administration and hence to produce both effective and efficient professional educational managers and administrators.
ADEM focuses on providing professional long courses that lead to the award of management certificates, ordinary diplomas to relevant trainees in the field of educational management and provision of in-service short management courses to educational administrators such as school/college heads.
Education Management Information System (EMIS) Development Plan
The Education Management Information System (EMIS) Development Plan under MoEVT aims at developing capacities in the Ministry of Education to make it more efficient in executing its core functions of policy formulation, monitoring and evaluation, standards setting, providing regulatory frameworks, co-ordination and optimization of resource use through improved access to and use of EMIS at all levels of education. EMIS is currently being used to collect process and disseminate education data to educational institutions on a timely basis.
At the time of writing this report, it was reported that all regional and district offices had been provided with computers and printers. Training of the regional, district, statistical and logistics officers was also reported to be complete. Inspectorate offices at the zonal and district levels had been provided with computers and printers. The result of all these efforts was the timely and periodical production, management and dissemination of educational data and information to educational stakeholders through a publication known as Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania (BEST).
Tanzania Education Authority (TEA)
TEA consists of a Board and team of management. The Tanzania Education Authority is mandated with the management of the Education Fund and is charged with responsibilities of:
• Securing funds to finance education
• Advising the government on new sources of revenue to ensure adequate and stable flow of funds
• Promoting improvement of the quality of education
• Applying monies deposited to the fund for purposes of improvement and promotion of education
• Monitoring use of funds disbursed and ensuring adherence to the fund objectives
• Receiving gifts, donations, grants , bequests or any other forms of contributions on behalf of the education fund.
TEA supports the improvement of the quality of education through the provision of text books, soliciting funds for education, and the provision of ICTs to schools. The priority areas include secondary education, VET centres, TCs and universities. The institutions are required to write proposals to TEA requesting for the above services. TEA is financed by the government, stakeholders and development partners. TEA also provides support in the provision of science laboratory equipment to the stated institutions.
TEA has facilitated the distribution of 20 computers to each of the following category of institutions:
• 12 private universities
• 18 technical training institutes
• 19 private secondary schools
• 20 public secondary schools
• 10 public universities
Challenges registered by TEA include:
• High demand for all the resources listed above which exceeds supply.
• Technical maintenance of the computers provided in the schools especially in the rural areas.
• Lack of coordination in the distribution of the ICT equipment by the various implementing partners
Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE)
The Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) is a Parastatal Organization under the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MOEVT) charged with the responsibility of ensuring the quality of education in Tanzania at the pre-school, primary, secondary, and teacher training levels. This it does through the development of the required curricula at each of these levels. TIE’s achievements in ICT and Education include:
• Development of ICT syllabus for primary education
• Development of ICT syllabus for secondary education
• Development of syllabus for teacher education at certifcate and diploma levels
• Establishment of a recording studio for e-content developmnt
• Establishment of a mini theatre for education related activities
• Currently preparing a proposal for e-Learning under teacher professional development
• Development of an ICT policy and masterplan for TIE
Challenges that have been registred by TIE include:
• Lack of expertise in teaching of ICT and integration of ICTs in schools
• Infrastructure and equipment for TIE and the personnel
• Low bandwidth resulting in slow connectivity speeds
• Lack of awareness on the benefits of ICTs in Education
• Fragmented understanding of e-Learning and its benefits.
National Examination Council of Tanzania (NECTA)
The National Examination Council of Tanzania (NECTA) is responsible for the administration of all national examinations in Tanzania, and awards official diplomas in primary, secondary and post secondary education. The exponential growth of the number of students and candidates has led to an increased need for online registration for examinations. Online registration is facilitated through regional offices in the rural areas where infrastructure and connectivity remain a challenge. It was reported that plans are underway for registration to be taking place through the postal corporation offices to enable the registration of students in the interior parts of the country. Other way in which ICT is being used in examinations include marking with the optical reader technology for primary certification on a pilot basis and releasing of results through the internet.
The recent change to the competency-based curriculum has necessitated a change to competency-based assessments which as meant that there is now a change in the evaluation process. This calls for teachers to evaluate the students at school level. This has been challenging due to the competence of the teachers as teachers tend to award students very high marks.
NECTA is also involved in the analysis of students’ performance each year on a per subject basis in the various levels of education. Reports indicate that there has been a consistent decline in the performance of the science subjects as shown in Appendix 1 resulting in a vacuum of scientists in the country as a whole due to a lack of basic fundamentals in the science subjects.
Vocational Education Training Agency (VETA)
VETA was established as an autonomous government agency charged with the overall responsibility of coordinating, regulating, financing, providing and promoting vocational education and training.
As a regulator, VETA coordinates and supports VET provision to ensure that the training provided is of the required quality and meets the demand of the labor market. VETA therefore develops curricula, occupational unit standards, Training and Learning Elements, and conducts examinations and certification for the vocational training centres.
The Authority coordinates more than 900 vocational training centres in the country, providing training in more than 90 different long course skills and various tailor made short courses. VETA also conducts Labor Market Surveys to determine demand for training. These findings from the surveys are used in revising and upgrading the curricula for vocational training centres.
VETA owns 22 vocational training centres distributed in 20 political regions of Tanzania mainland. In addition there are more than 840 vocational education institutions which are non-VETA owned.
Open University of Tanzania (OUT)
The Open University of Tanzania, which plays a major role in the in-service training of teachers, is a fully fledged and accredited public institution of higher learning autonomous and mandated to conduct academic programs leading to certificate, diplomas, undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. OUT has a Learning Management System (OUTLeMS) -platform which enables access to the various courses offered by the Open University. Registered students gain access to the study materials and other relevant course content. OUTLeMS also facilitates communications between students and their respective teachers. At the time of writing this report there was a pilot project underway for delivery of courses by use of mobile phones in remote and isolated areas. In the in-servicing of teachers OUT has been involved in:
▪ Enhancing the performance of the secondary teachers by providing training on pedagogy and subject specialized education; and
▪ Training teachers through ICT-based short courses which are tailored to the needs of teachers in particular subject areas.
OUT stands out as one of the partners in the TDEV21 project because of its role in the in-serving of teachers who are already in the field. One of the biggest challenges contributing to teachers’ shortage in secondary schools was identified as the migration of teachers to institutions of higher learning to further their education. OUT is one of the institutions that has the required machinery to arrest this situation. In addition, while in-servicing teachers OUT would on one hand greatly benefit from the identification of the ICT competencies for teachers in secondary school and become one of the implementing institutions. On the other hand TDEV21 would greatly benefit from the contribution of experiences that OUT would bring to the TDEV21 project.
International Development Partners
Swedish International Development Agency (Sida)
Sida has been working in Tanzania in Teacher education for more than three decades. In 2005, the MoEVT with support from Sida initiated a program for introducing ICTs in teacher’s colleges. The program was aimed at improving the quality of teacher education in both pre-service and in-service education. The project involved installation of thin client computers with a server and internet connectivity in all the 34 teachers colleges. ``This project was completed in 2008 after which it became a program under the MoEVT. Morogoro Teachers College was nominated as the lead college to oversee the continuation of the program under the Teacher Education department in
Sida and the MoEVT approached GeSCI in September 2009 to facilitate the development of an ICT TPD Framework which would serve as a roadmap to integrate ICT into the teacher education system using the existing ICT infrastructure at TCs. This resulted in A Framework for ICT Use in Teacher Professional Development in Tanzania (2009). This has since been followed by a project under development for improving math, science and English in secondary schools which will be implemented between 2011 and 2013 which is still under Sida funding.
World Bank
The World Bank is currently involved in the implementation of the Secondary Education Development Plan II (SEDP II). SEPD II is a follow-up to SEDP I which was completed in 2008. SEDP II will be implemented between 2010 and 2015 and has 4 components. These include upgrading existing schools infrastructure; improving equitable provision of teachers and the quality of teaching in mathematics, sciences, and languages; ensuring adequate financing to secondary schools and improving utilization of resources and; providing capacity building and technical assistance to implement reforms to strengthen institutional capacity for educational management.
Global eSchools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI)
The Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI) is a global organization offering strategic advice to the education and training sector (primarily Ministries of Education) in developing countries on the effective use of ICTs for Education.
In 2009 GESCI undertook a situational needs analysis to scan the ICT in Education landscape in Tanzania and to develop a general understanding of the main education issues, determine the country’s interest, identify key challenges and opportunities for using ICT in Education (Swarts and Wachira, 2010).
Following dissemination of the needs analysis report, Sida and the MoEVT approached GeSCI in September 2009 to assist the MoEVT in facilitating the development of an ICT TPD Framework which would serve as a roadmap to integrate ICT into the teacher education system using the existing ICT infrastructure at TCs. This resulted in the development of A Framework for ICT Use in Teacher Professional Development in Tanzania (2009).
Bridge IT project
In 2007 the MoEVT and the International Youth Foundation (IYF) launched Bridge -it Tanzania in close partnership with the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Pearson Foundation and Vodacom Foundation. Bridge-It’s goal is to significantly increase the quality of teacher instruction and achievement among primary school students in standards 5 and 6 in math, science and life skills through the innovative use of cell phone and digital technology. The program operates in 150 schools, has reached 20,619 students, trained 1,204 teachers, and developed and distributed 96 videos and 102 learner-centred lesson plans to each school in 2009.[2] The project is about the use of mobile phones to teach Math and Science in class 5 and 6, development of course materials by Pearson Foundation, hosting of the course materials by Vodacom, delivery of the course materials through Nokia phones to the schools and in the classrooms, and use of the content by teachers in the classrooms.
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
The education for empowerment (EFE) project under the funding of CIDA will run from 2009 to 2012 in 12 VETA Institutions. EFE aims at training trainers for the technical and vocational sectors of education.
Rotary Club UK/ British Council – Refurbishment
This is a joint project between the British Council, Rotary Club of the UK and TEA. The goal is to have 700 computers distributed in 35 secondary schools, two teachers trained per school in basic technical maintenance skills and collaboratively develop content with teachers between the 35 schools Tanzania and the UK.
Private and Civil society organizations
Education and Research Networking
Tanzania Education and Research Network (TERNET) is the National Education and Research Network (NREN) for Tanzania. The Tanzania Education Network’s (TERNET) vision is to provide an electronic network that will connect all Higher Education Institutions in the country as well as research facilities and teacher colleges. Specifically, TERNET aims at providing network infrastructure that facilitates Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) support for e-libraries and electronic information access, research databases, and enhancement of e-learning capacity. Most of the initiatives in TERNET are at the nascent stages. Plans to facilitate these existing efforts and initiate joint programs that will be set up to make e-learning resources for teachers and students in Higher Education Institutions are under way.
TERNET funding is dependent on volunteered contributions from member institutions which makes it challenging. While VSAT has provided high bandwidth internet for many higher education institutions, e.g. UDSM, Sokoine University of Agriculture and Muhimbili Medical School, it is hoped that TERNET will take full advantage of the national backbone that is currently being laid to realize its mandate and objectives.
ICT-based In-Service Teacher Education for Secondary School Teachers in Tanzania
This was a partnership between SPIDER, MoEVT, Open University, Tanzania, Mid Sweden University, and University of Dar Es Salaam. The activities that were projected under this project include:
• Equip teachers with basic ICT skills to be able to benefit from the potential of ICT in teaching and learning.
• Develop models for communication and distribution of learning material for different technical environments (broadband, VSAT, mobile phones, CD/DVD, memory cards
etc).
• Support teachers to handle the challenges of using e-resources through knowledge sharing, networking and collaboration for improving teaching.
• Promote equitable access to educational resources through the strategic application of ICT.
• Exploit the interactive potential of ICT in the provision of modern education theory and practice via distance education programs.
• Create strategic partnerships for a sustainable ICT program through collaboration with the public, private and community sectors.
• Establish a school network system for the collaborative sharing of educational
resources and stakeholder participation.
• Encourage head teachers, teachers and students to be involved in the development of applications and to use ICT meaningfully to enhance the teaching-learning process.
• Encourage and facilitate the use of the Internet as a research and communication tool
among students, parents, teachers, principals, other MoEVT officials and members of the community.
Barclays Bank
This is an East African (Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya) project supporting secondary schools with refurbished computers. The implementing partners include Barclays Bank, Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), Tanzania Education Authority (TEA) and Mkombozi Children’s Home. 100 computers distributed in 5 schools in Tanzania by end of 2009.
Tanzania Education Services (TanEdu)
This is a project under the Dutch government funding there the goal is to:
• Create a knowledge society by providing educational information and services to the public through the most efficient means.
• Through the TanEdu website that provides information on schools and colleges in Tanzania, gives access to meaningful, practical, and useful educational resources.
TanEdu prides itself in having achieved the following:
• Raising awareness on HIV/AIDS through multimedia tools
• Providing the latest news on the education sector and is a platform for information exchange
• Produces a newsletter that is distributed in rural areas for purposes of raising awareness on the benefits of ICT.
• Reaching more than 100,000 students, 1000 teachers, 1500 principals, 1000 parents, 100 researchers.
Bright Education Trust Fund
This project is focused on providing training for teachers and school administrators by teaching them how to use ICT for classroom teaching and administrative procedures through working with teams of teachers per school. It has been operating in a few schools in Dar Es Salaam.
Distance Learning Education Services (DILES)
This is an IICD supported program which has been involved in the provision of distance learning tools and services, teaching and learning materials for secondary schools, revision materials, past national examinations paper questions and suggested answers in printed and electronic form.
Where possible, the internet and multimedia facilities are taken advantage of. DILES provides example of how to use ICT to benefit schools located in remote and disadvantaged areas. This was reported to be working in 508 rural schools and 78 schools in the city.
Tanzania Computer Literacy for Secondary Schools (TCLSS)
TCLSS has been operating successfully in 20 schools within Dar Es Salaam and its environs through Cost sharing in operational costs with parents and schools. Its has been involved in procurement of computers for secondary schools, setting up of computer laboratories, and teaching computer literacy, computer maintenance to students and teachers.
Stakeholder Analysis
The rationale for stakeholder analysis is based on the findings presented in the previous chapter on the need to focus the TDev21 intervention at secondary and teacher education levels.
The focus in secondary and teacher education relate to:
▪ challenges of access and quality in Secondary Education provision;
▪ effects of standard setting in Basic Education on other system levels;
▪ the critical role of secondary education for development success in the other key sectors;
▪ The acute shortage of science teachers in secondary schools resulting in a negative impact on the quality of education;
▪ the use and integration of ICT in classroom practice that moves beyond the technical focus on ICT skills
▪ The current focus by the government on secondary education infrastructure expansions inclusive of technology integration creates an enabling environment for the contextualization of the ICT competencies.
Table 5 provides an overview of the effects of a pilot intervention on stakeholder interests and potential influence for advancing the ICT competency standards for teachers in Secondary and Teacher Education in Tanzania
Table 4: Stakeholder Analysis of the Key National Counterparts of the TDEV21 Pilot Project
|Stakeholders |Interests |Effects of pilot intervention on stakeholder |Influence |
| | |interests (High. Medium, Low) | |
|Ministry of Education |Policy and framework formulation |The TDEV21 pilot project is timely |High |
|and Vocational |Standards setting in the entire education |The MoEVT is currently implementing the | |
|Training |system. |Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP | |
| | |II) which is addressing challenging issues in | |
| | |secondary education among which there are the | |
| | |dual challenges of supply and quality of | |
| | |teachers and teaching in Science, Mathematics | |
| | |and English as a priority. | |
|Prime Ministers’ |Management of education institutions under |Identification of institutions to be involved in|Medium |
|Office Regional |the decentralized structure of |the project and implementation of the | |
|Administration and |administration |competencies | |
|Local Government |Local government Authorities are involved | | |
|(PMO-RALG) |in the construction of facilities in | | |
| |secondary schools and have a direct | | |
| |influence on the day-to-day running of the | | |
| |institutions. | | |
|Ministry of Finance |Provision of incentives to teachers who |TDEV21 project would provide a yardstick that |Medium |
| |have acquired certain levels of |could be used to reward and recognize teachers | |
| |certification and competencies |who have attained certain competencies. | |
|Teacher Education |Teacher Education curriculum |The TDEV21 project will strengthen and |High |
|Department |Building capacity of teacher educators, and|complement the ICT initiatives in the department| |
| |college principals. |It will provide competencies against which TED | |
| |Equipping teachers with skills to teach in |can measure teachers progress in the acquisition| |
| |secondary schools. |of ICT skills and integration in teaching and | |
| | |learning | |
|Teachers’ Colleges |Offer courses leading to a certification in|All the Teachers colleges are computerized and |High |
| |teacher education or diploma in teacher |are already implementing the Computer studies | |
| |education and they are posted to primary |curriculum | |
| |and secondary schools |There is an urgent need to utilize the existing | |
| | |infrastructure for more that the acquisition of | |
| | |basic ICT skills | |
| | |Teachers colleges are ready for the development | |
| | |of ICT competencies to enable them integrate ICT| |
| | |in the teaching and learning process. | |
|Agency for Development|Provide regular and systematized |The TDEV21 intervention would support and |Medium |
|of Education |educational management |contribute to whole school planning process | |
|Management |Conduct administration training for all |especially because policy and organizational | |
| |categories of educational management and |management were among the priority areas in the | |
| |administration personnel in the education |Training Needs Assessment | |
| |service. |Piloting the competencies via the revised | |
| | |curriculum would have a wide influence to reach | |
| | |several levels of education under the Teacher | |
| | |Education Department’s mandate | |
| | |The thrust in the pilot phase is moving towards| |
| | |Basic Education on the basis of access, equity | |
| | |and quality focus in the national agenda | |
|Secondary Education |In-Service training of teachers |The project would have a positive effect on SED |High |
|Department (SED) |Program management and design, and quality |interests as it offers an opportunity to pilot | |
| |assurance of secondary education |standards with practicing teachers. | |
| | |It also would provide an opportunity to | |
| | |benchmark the standards for a continuum of | |
| | |professional development from pre-service to | |
| | |in-service | |
| | |It also provides a good avenue for scaling up | |
| | |and hence sustainability | |
|Schools Inspectorate |Secondary education and teacher education |Schools inspectors needs to know what to expect |Medium |
|Department |In-service training of teachers |when they go into a session where ICTs are being| |
| |Quality and standards implementation |used as teaching aids | |
| |through inspection of secondary schools and| | |
| |Teachers’ Colleges | | |
|Vocational Education |VETA coordinates and supports VET provision|The TDEV21 pilot project can bring in a broad |Medium |
|Training Authority |to ensure that the training provided is of |set of standards and a continuum of ICT | |
|(VETA) |the required quality and meets the demand |integration approaches for VET teachers | |
| |of the labor market. |The scope of the project may not be sufficient | |
| |VETA develops curricula, occupational unit |in the pilot phase to develop two sets of | |
| |standards, Training and Learning Elements, |standards for mainstream education and | |
| |and conducts examinations and certification|Vocational Education | |
| |for the vocational training centres. | | |
|Department of Higher |Regulation of higher education |Graduates from universities are posted to |Low |
|Education | |secondary schools and teachers colleges | |
| | |The scope of the pilot project will not provide | |
| | |sufficient parameters for engagement with the | |
| | |department of higher Education | |
|Open University of |Providing wider access to teacher education|Using ICT in the in-servicing of teachers |Medium |
|Tanzania (OUT) |Focusing on flexible and qualitative |through Open and Distance education methods | |
| |provision |Integrating ICT in the provision of its courses | |
| |Integrating information technology media in|Developing ICT materials for instruction that | |
| |the provision |will be used online | |
| |Establishing a network of study centres |Ensure a higher level of retention of teachers | |
| |across the country |in secondary schools | |
| |Expertise in the development of online |Implement competency standards for teachers | |
| |materials for teacher education |during in-service training. | |
| |Expertise in supporting online learners | | |
| |(including in teacher education) | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
CHAPTER 4: ICT COMPETENCY STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Agenda
The Education for All Agenda
The challenge for school systems throughout the world is that of providing an effective education for all children and young people which will prepare them for inclusive participation in the workplace, social environment, and political sphere and sports arenas. Currently over 70 million children worldwide are not in school (UNESCO 2010). Countless millions more are dropping out of school systems due to the seeming irrelevance of education to their lives (Ainscow and Miles 2008).
A quality education is dependent on the development of high quality teachers (Haddad, 2007). The challenge is momentous in a global context of ever more complex demands on systems for educational provision coupled with acute shortages in the supply of suitably qualified and experienced teachers north and south. Eighteen million new primary teachers are needed to achieve Education For All (EFA) by 2015 (UNESCO 2009). Meanwhile regional disparities in quality provision accelerate as richer countries lure qualified teachers from less favored regions with incentive packages. The challenges are in almost all respects greatest in sub-Saharan Africa where there are 32 million children out-of–school and a third of teachers are either unqualified or underqualified (UNESCO 2010). Of the thousands of teachers recruited each year, they largely have inadequate subject knowledge and little if any pedagogic training (Leach 2008; Evoh 2007).
In Tanzania the launch of Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP) in 2001 and Secondary Education Development Plan (SEDP) in 2004 has resulted in remarkable achievements in expanding education access and equity at primary and secondary levels. Between 1999 and 2005 rapid progress has been made towards the attainment of universal enrollment. Gender parity has been largely achieved at primary level and geographic disparities have been decreasing as the education system expanded (UNESCO 2010). Since 2006 enrollment in primary education has increased from 7.96 million to 8.5 million in 2010 , while enrollment in secondary education has increased from 0.68 million to 1.64 million in 2010 (BEST, 2010a). There are however growing concerns of the capacity of the education system to provide inclusive and quality education and to train adequate and competent teachers under the pressures of such rapid expansion. The increase in student enrollment has been unmatched by the number of teachers that graduate from the Teacher Colleges. Government estimates a requirement of 45,000 additional teachers to meet demand resulting from the exponential growth in student populations from primary to secondary level (Hare, 2007). Teachers are unevenly distributed with the greatest shortages occurring in remote rural schools serving the poorest populations. Teachers of Mathematics, Science and Language (especially English) are in particular short supply. Many schools have no teachers for some science subjects, and failure rates for these subjects are high (World Bank, 2010).
In a study of teacher perceptions and practices in Tanzania, Komba & Nkumbi (2008) list overcrowded classrooms, lack of textbooks, lack of competencies to handle critical topic areas and inability to handle pupils with special needs as the key challenges being faced by teachers. The authors report on crash training programs to upgrade the 1 in 3 teachers at primary level who have not attained minimum qualifications. They suggest that the pressure for expansion “requires a re-examination of the mechanisms for the preparation and development of teachers and managers of Tanzania’s education system so that quality of education is not affected negatively” (p67).
Many experts in the national and international fields of Teacher Development and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) believe that the evidence makes clear the incapacity of existing institutional structures to cope with the scale and urgency of the issues (Bakari, 2009; Tedre, Bangu & Nyagava, 2009; Nihuka & Voogt, 2009). In this context they believe that the thoughtful use of new forms of ICTs can be exploited to strengthen and enhance Teacher Development programs, address access and improve the quality of educational delivery.
ICTs can improve access to and promote equity in education by providing educational opportunities to a greater number of people of all ages, including the traditionally unserved or underserved (e.g. those in rural and remote areas, women and girls, and persons with disabilities). ICTs can enhance the quality of teaching and learning by providing access to a great variety of educational resources and by enabling participatory pedagogies. ICTs can be used to support distance learning models for teacher development and address existing constraints and gaps in teacher supply and demand. ICTs can improve the management of education through more efficient administrative processes, including human resource management, monitoring and evaluation, and resource sharing (Unwin, 2004; Ng et al., 2008).
In less advantaged systems where countries like Tanzania are facing dual demands of teacher quality and supply, ICT applications in classroom practice represent a challenging goal. In a World Bank commissioned study of Mathematics, Science and ICT Education in ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa inclusive of Tanzania, Ottevanger et al. (2007) note that that the systematic use of ICT for teaching and learning purposes is low. Students learn mainly basic computer skills and some principles of computer operations. Instructional models in both the teacher colleges and the universities are excessively academic, teacher-centric and remote from the real challenges of classroom practice. The focus of ICT as a means to enhance educational quality is often very vague. Voogt, Tilya & Akker (2009) explain that sound technology integration assumes that teachers need to learn and to relearn: ‘they need to learn the potential of technology for their subject and they need to change their routines and learn to apply new pedagogical approaches’ (p429). It is an agenda for ICT use as a transformational tool for reforming and improving teacher development and educational practices. A deeper agenda for reform is the recognition that traditional educational practices no longer provide prospective teachers with all the necessary skills for teaching students to survive economically in today’s rapidly changing workplace and knowledge-based economies (UNESCO 2008, p1).
The Knowledge Society Agenda
There is a commonly accepted view that education systems need to effect changes in the preparation of its citizenry for lifelong learning in a 21st Century Knowledge-based or Information Society. This view can be characterized as follows:
• Systemic economic growth is the key to poverty reduction and increased prosperity;
• “New Growth” economic models emphasize the importance of new knowledge, innovation, and the development of human capacity as the sources of sustainable economic growth;
• ICTs are engines for new growth and tools for empowering societies to change into knowledge economies or information societies;
• Citizens in these information societies will need to be prepared in new technology literacy competencies inclusive of higher order thinking and sound reasoning skills - the ability to learn how to learn (i.e. to be a life-long learner), the ability to reflect, to analyse synthesize, to find solutions and to adapt – in order to cope with the magnitude and rapidity of changes in knowledge production and world globalization, and to increase their own agency and ability to continue to develop and contribute to the knowledge society in which they will live;
• Education is both a major pillar of a knowledge economy and a human right;
• Through access to an inclusive high-quality education by all – regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, or language – benefits to individual, business, private and public enterprise are multiplied and will lead to economic growth that is more equitably distributed and enjoyed by all.
Burkhardt et al. 2003; Swarts 2008; UNESCO 2008
The shift to knowledge-based economies and societies will require a change in the traditional view of the learning process. It will further require an understanding of how traditional (text based) and new (digital based) classroom technologies can be used to facilitate learning environments in which students are engaged in the kind of team and project work that can enable them to take greater responsibility for their own learning and construction of knowledge (Pelgrum & Law, 2003).
The knowledge-based economy and society view has also influenced a paradigm shift in teacher development programs as the pivotal role of teachers, especially in the effective use of new technologies, is being recognized globally (Davis, 2000). The extremely rapid growth and turn around in new technology and knowledge content mean that this emergent field is changing faster than education personnel can track. The new emerging models for Teacher Development embrace a concept of a “3 I’s” continuum – initial, induction and in-service teacher education. The new trends in professional learning are replacing the prevailing assumption of one-time initial or specialized training with a lifelong learning approach for professional preparedness, development and research (Coolahan, 2002; Haddad, 2002; Dladla & Moon, 2002; Carlson & Gaido, 2003). The new models represent a ‘reconceptualization’ of teacher professional learning for a digital age. The models look beyond how teachers ‘engage’ with traditional and new technology in classroom practice, to how teachers use technology as they work alongside their students to ‘redefine learning itself’ and to become ‘co-learners’ in the process (Butler 2001).
Some Definitions
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
The Ministry of Education and Vocational Education (MoEVT), (2007 p2) defines Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as forms of technology that are used for communication and applied in the process of collecting, storing, creating, editing, sharing or exchanging of information. This broad definition of ICT incorporates older and newer technologies such as: radio, television, video, telephone (both fixed line and mobile), computer and network hardware and software, as well as the equipment and services associated with these technologies, such as electronic mail, text messaging and radio broadcasts.
Teacher Development
Teacher development can be defined as a systematized, initial and continuous, coherent and modular process of professional development of educators in accordance with professional competency standards and frameworks. Teacher development would also include training in the adaptation to the evolution of change of the profession of teachers and managers of education systems (Isaacs 2006). Komba and Nkumbi (2008) present a view of teacher development which they believe fits the Tanzanian context defined as “a process of improving both the teacher’s academic standing as well as acquisition of greater competence and efficiency in discharging her/his professional obligations in and outside the classroom” (p70).
ICT Competency Standards
Competence is defined as the ability to combine and apply relevant attributes to particular tasks in particular contexts. These attributes include high levels of knowledge, values, skill, personal dispositions, sensitivities and capabilities, and the ability to put those combinations into practice in an appropriate way (Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training, 2002).
An ICT competency describes what a teacher should know be able to do with technology in professional practice. An ICT standard is a combination of attributes describing a teacher’s professional performance involving the use of ICT. Tedre et al. (2009) believe that the special characteristics in the developing world require additional skills and competences that teachers in developing countries should have. The authors comment that “the environment—natural, cultural, and technical—of developing countries brings about issues that teachers in developed countries do not know much about” (p101).
A Conceptual Framework for ICT Integration
Approaches for ICT Integration
In planning for ICT integration in education, policymakers need to begin by clarifying overall national education policy, objectives and approaches, as this should serve as the rationale and road map for technology integration in their education systems
Farrell and Wachholz (2003) found three different approaches being used in Asia Pacific countries, for ICT integration in teaching and learning, namely: (i) teaching ICT as a subject in its own right, usually beginning at the upper secondary level, to develop a labour force with ICT skills; (ii) integrating ICTs across the curriculum to improve teaching and learning; and (iii) using ICTs to foster learning anywhere and anytime as part of the development of a knowledge society in which all citizens are ICT savvy.
Ng et al. 2008 identify four broad approaches from the research literature for developing a model for ICT integration in Teacher Development. The adoption model depicts an approach continuum whereby the skills of teachers flow from emerging to applying to infusing to transforming stages of ICT integration. As teachers move through each stage, they develop increasing capability to integrate ICT in their day-to-day activities and master the use of ICT as an effective tool for teaching and learning (Figure 2).
|Ability to use ICT at a basic|Ability to make general and |Ability to make dynamic and |Ability to experiment and |
|level |specific uses of ICT |complex use of ICT |innovate with ICT |
Figure 2: A Continuum of ICT Integration Approaches in Teacher Development
Source: Ng, Miao & Lee (2008)
In the emerging stage, the teacher development focus is on the use of ICT as an add-on to the traditional curricula and standardized test systems. Teachers and learners are discovering ICT tools and their general functions and uses, and the emphasis is usually on basic ICT literacy and skills.
In the applying stage, the focus is on the development of digital literacy and how to use ICT for professional improvement in different disciplines. This involves the use of general as well as particular applications of ICT.
In the infusing stage, the teacher development focus is on the use of ICT to guide students through complex problems and manage dynamic learning environments. Teachers are developing the ability to recognize situations where ICT will be helpful, and choosing the most appropriate tools for a particular task, and using these tools in combination to solve real problems.
In the transforming stage, the learning situation is transformed through the use of ICT. This is a new way of approaching teaching and learning situations with specialized ICT tools. Teachers are themselves master learners and knowledge producers who are constantly engaged in educational experimentation and innovation to produce new knowledge about learning and teaching practice.
Progression through the stages takes time. And the transformation of pedagogical practice requires more than ICT skills training for teachers. Too often the approach taken to teacher development in ICT integration is the one-off crash course on computer literacy. This approach does not enable teachers to integrate ICT in their day-to-day activities and master the use of ICT as an effective tool for teaching and learning. Ministries of Education need to adopt a new framework for teacher development that reflects the prevailing international and regional shifts from ‘training’ to ‘lifelong professional preparedness and development of teachers’ on new modalities of professional development (ibid.).
A review of existing ICT Competency Standards for Teachers
This section presents various national and regional standards, including the standards being piloted through this initiative, the ICT-CST developed by UNESCO. These standards represent a new teacher development paradigm, based on a broad understanding of what teachers (and learners) need to know, do, and learn in a rapidly evolving learning and knowledge society.
United States: ISTE NETS for Teachers Achievement Rubric[3]
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has released National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for students, teachers, administrators, technology facilitators and leaders in the United States. The NETS standards for Teachers Achievement define the fundamental concepts, knowledge, skills, and attitudes that teachers require for applying technology in educational settings. The NETS six standard areas are designed to be general enough to be customized to fit state, university, or district guidelines and yet specific enough to define the scope of a particular component. Performance indicators for each standard provide specific outcomes to be measured when developing a set of assessment tools.
Australia: ICT Competency Framework for Teachers[4]
In 2002, the Department of Education, Science, and Training published a proposal, Raising the Standards: A proposal for the development of an ICT competency Framework for Teachers. The framework proposes five sets of standards for different ICT teacher development targets and entry points:
• Beginning Teachers with modest skills and experience in pedagogy and ICT use require ‘basic ICT standards’
• Practicing Teachers who are beginning users of ICT range of pedagogy and experience but modest ICT competence require ‘basic ICT standards’
• Practicing Teachers who are accomplished users of ICT require ICT standards which encourage teachers to develop professionally and support them to take on leadership, and transformative and innovator roles.
• School Leaders require ICT standards to encourage and support their roles as effective leaders and managers; to foster appropriate role modeling and the development of a vision to support staff.
• Teacher Educators require ICT standards to inform their own practice as teachers and to provide effective role models for their students
EU: Competency and Qualifications Framework (eTQF)[5]
The Teachers Competency and Qualifications Framework in the use of ICTs in Education (eTQF) are designed to help teachers identify their own ICT competencies and the degree to which they can integrate ICT in teaching and learning. It is based on the UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers and has integrated an “Introductory” level to the continuum of approaches for integrating ICT in educational delivery.
European Region: European Pedagogical ICT (EPICT) License[6]
The EPICT courses provide a European quality standard for the continued professional development of teachers in the pedagogical integration of information, media and communication technologies (ICT) in education.
Africa Region: Development of ICT-enhanced Teacher Standards for Africa[7]
The International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) has been conducting since 2009 regional workshops for the development of ICT-enhanced Teacher Standards for Africa that are focused on:
• identifying teacher competencies applicable in the African context
• developing a framework of ICT-enhanced teacher standards for Africa.
• validating the developed framework at regional level
Global: UNESCO ICT-Competency Standards for Teachers[8]
The ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (ICT-CST) were designed by UNESCO and launched in 2008 to help educational policy-makers and curriculum developers identify the skills teachers need to harness technology in the service of education. The Competency Standards were developed in cooperation with Cisco, Intel and Microsoft, as well as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
The framework was created by crossing three approaches to ICT integration in education (Technology Literacy, Knowledge Deepening and Knowledge Creation) with the six components of the educational system (Policy & Vision, Curriculum & Assessment, Pedagogy, ICT, Organization & Administration, and Teacher Professional Development) (Figure 3).
[pic]
Figure 3: UNESO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers Framework, Source: UNESCO 2008
The guidelines recognize that the identification of ICT competencies for teachers should be framed by a clear understanding of a country’s overall approach to ICT use in education. Different countries could adopt one of three approaches: (i) to develop a technology-literate workforce to enhance national economic productivity and competitiveness; (ii) to develop knowledge workers, or individuals who can apply knowledge to add value to the economy and society; and (iii) to develop innovators and knowledge creators for the knowledge society.
Methodology for this Study
A Conceptual Framework for Mapping ICT Integration
An activity systems conceptual framework was adapted to map the ICT Teacher Development landscape from national level to local levels in Tanzania (Appendix 1). Activity systems are currently widely applied to study technology-based learning and working situations (Vygotsky, 1978; Engstrom, 2003; Lim and Hang, 2003). The use of activity systems supports the idea that ICT needs to be studied within the learning environment and also within the broader social, economic, and policy contexts and dynamics in which it is situated.
The purpose for using the activity systems conceptual framework was to build a more detailed account of national and institutional objectives for ICT integration in education and in teacher development in Tanzania, and from this to understand the successes, challenges, needs and opportunities at different system levels.
A survey was developed with broad questions in six key areas relevant to the situational and needs assessment mapping, namely:
• Mandate
• Actors
• Policy and objectives
• Resources
• Regulatory framework
• Communities
| |
| |Tools | |
| |What ICT / non-ICT resources are available for ICT in education and teacher development? | |
| |What resources are needed? | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | |
|Subject | | |
|Who is involved? | |Object Outcome |
| | |What is the object What is the desired |
| | |outcome? |
| | |of ICT integration? |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
|Rules | |Community | |Division of Labor |
|What formal/ informal | |Who are the public/ private | |What is the mandate for ICT integration? What are the |
|policies / regulatory | |partners, networks & communities | |roles and responsibilities for teacher and learner? |
|frameworks influence ICT | |involved? | | |
|integration in teacher | | | | |
|development? | | | | |
|Figure 1: Activity System Interview Protocol - Sources: Engestrom 2003 |
Methodology for Conducting the Needs Assessment
The needs assessment was conducted in a two-stage information gathering process: desk review and field research.
Desk Review: The purpose of this stage was to generate a knowledge base about the general status of ICT in education and teacher development in Tanzania. This stage consisted of reviewing existing literature, reports, comparable work done in other countries, websites and available data.
Field Survey: This stage, conducted over a period of two weeks, collected more in-depth data and information about the ICT in education and teacher development landscape in Tanzania, gathering information through interviews and consultation with actors from the education and teacher development national sectors, agencies and institutions. The key tools used during field research were:
• Interviews conducted with key informants in ministries, national institutions and agencies, state colleges and local schools for a duration of between 45 minutes to one hour.
• Focus group discussions conducted with lecturers, teachers, student teachers and students
• Surveys on stakeholder importance and prioritization ratings of UNESCO ICT teacher competency standards
• Questionnaires to verify status of ICT infrastructure in Colleges of Education and schools
Limitations of the Needs Assessment
• The short duration of the field research to conduct a needs analysis on ICT in education and teacher development from national to district level in the Tanzania education sector was challenging. This report represents a snapshot of the ICT landscape. More in-depth studies would be required to further investigate some of the issues that have emerged.
• Convening all stakeholders. During the consultation period it was not possible to meet all stakeholders in person. For example, the interview arrangements with representative for the University sector had to be cancelled as the logistics of traffic and a tight program time-frame proved impossible to reconcile on the day. Consultation with the University sector has been mainly via email and Skype.
• Small sample of institutions, lecturers & teachers surveyed on competency importance and prioritization during the field research. The accuracy of the stakeholder perceptions would depend on their thoroughness and objectivity in completing the survey. Results from this survey can serve for the pilot project but cannot be generalized to the broader population at this point.
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS BASED ON QUANTIATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM INSTITUTIONAL SNAPSHOT
PART 1: PROFILE of ICT Education Activity Systems and NEEDS ANALYSIS
Institutional Visits from National to Local levels
The introduction of ICT at different levels of education systems will bring about challenges, new opportunities and needs. This section describes findings from interviews conducted from national ministry, institutional and agency level to regional college level to district and local school level of the Tanzania Education system. The interviews provided multiple realities and perspectives on the status of ICT in education and teacher development in Tanzania. The participants were interviewed for approximately 45 minutes each. The interview protocol was open-ended and conducted in a conversational manner following a set of six broad themes exploring the nature of ICT activity systems at each institutional level. It included information about the policy frameworks and objectives for ICT integration, the actors involved in national, regional and local ICT initiatives and teacher development programs, the different types of ICT tools and models in deployment, the experiences and outcomes of ICTs used, the changing roles and responsibilities of teacher and learner, the regulatory frameworks and the public and private partnerships and community networks participating.
Level 1 – Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT)
Primary Education Development (PED), Secondary Education Development (SED), Teacher Education Department (TED)
• The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) is responsible for education and vocational training which includes pre-primary, primary, secondary and teacher education, as well as non-formal and adult education. The Ministry provides policy and financial support for all its departments and agencies. The Primary and Secondary Education Departments have undergone a change in their mandates since the introduction of decentralization policies. At the Ministry level the departmental focus is on policy, program management and design & quality assurance. At the district level the district administration is concerned with day to day issues of primary and secondary education management & organization, which include employment of teachers, student management and student welfare in terms of transfer of students and teachers. The Teacher Education Department is responsible for overseeing teacher recruitment for pre-primary, primary and secondary levels; curriculum and capacity building of teachers, teacher educators and college principals; with an overall goal for equipping teachers and managers with skills to promote pro-active environments for teaching and learning.
• Policy and objectives for ICT integration: The Information & Communication Technology (ICT) policy for Basic Education was launched in 2007 as the culmination of a multi-stakeholder consultation processes. The policy draws from the national ICT policy, is system wide in outlook and has a national socio-economic development perspective. It is aligned to the National Vision 2025 and the Mkukuta national strategy for poverty reduction. The policy is integral to Government commitment to international agreements on MDGs and EFA. The policy looks at the wider scope of old and new technology (radio, broadcasting, TV, mobile technology) to address the challenges of effectiveness and efficiency in teaching and learning in the country. As such ICT is not perceived as a technology solution but as a tool for improving and enhancing education provision and management.
• Curriculum frameworks: Between 2005 and 2007 the entire curriculum was reviewed and revised to move from teacher-directed content based to learner-centred competency based delivery. The ICT policy outlines a framework for ICT integration in the revised curriculum as a subject and as a pedagogical tool for teaching and learning across all subject areas. The policy envisages that the use of ICT “will require adjustments to more learner-centred and interactive teaching methods, thus redefining the role of teacher as facilitator”. In this way ICT is to form “an integral part of efforts to improve the quality and relevance of the curriculum for all levels” (p22).
• Teacher development: Teacher development in primary and secondary education has focused on assisting student and practicing teachers to cope with the paradigm shift in revised national curricula and to develop the necessary pedagogical competencies to facilitate student-centred learning. In ICT the national policy defines a continuum approach for developing teacher technology skills and competencies - from basic literacy skills to ICT use in management and administration to content development and the pedagogical integration of ICT in practice. ICT should be a tool to facilitate teaching. Newly graduated teachers should be able to design and present their lessons using ICT. Practicing teachers should also be able to use ICT equipment for lesson preparation. All teachers should be able to move to other levels of ICT utilization beyond technology literacy levels.
• Facilities and resources: Teacher Development requires the support of many stakeholders at various levels, from national to the school and cluster levels. Pre-service is conducted in several education institutions, public and non government teachers’ colleges and universities. Continuous professional development is conducted through a network of 500 Teacher Resource Centres and 50 Science and Mathematics centres established in the regions and zones. New and old technologies are used from radio broadcasting to technology deployments in colleges, libraries, resources centres and schools.
• Community and partnership networks: The MoEVT works with a network of partners inclusive of but not limited to the EU, Cida, MoEVT, UNICEF and Oxfam, Action Aid, Civil Organizations, USAID, World Bank, UNICEF
Department of the Inspectorate
• The Department of the Inspectorate ensures that education policy, standards, regulations are maintained. The Department function is to assist and advise public and private school owners, managers, boards, committees, heads and teachers on good practice, implementation, management and whole school development. The inspectorate mandate covers MoEVT agencies and agents in pre-primary, primary, secondary, teachers’ education and adult education. The inspectorate also conducts annual research to analyze trends in student attainment and performance. Of late, research has not been carried out due to financial constraints. There are about 1200 school inspectors covering educational institutions across 11 zones and 133 districts. The school inspectorate offices at district level work with pre-primary, primary schools and adult education. The secondary school inspectorate operates at the zonal level.
• Policy and objectives for ICT integration: The general policy is that all school inspectors should have sufficient ICT knowledge to assist teachers to use technology, to integrate it in their daily activities and to employ it in their planning across all subject areas in teaching and learning. Inspectors are the link between national policy in school practice. As such, inspectors need competencies on modeling and using ICT to support curriculum content and pedagogy and promote interactive learner centred approaches that are integral to the revised curriculum. Currently most of the inspectorates do not have ICT knowledge and competencies beyond basic literacy skills.
• Regulatory frameworks: The school inspectorate program involves four modalities for inspection involving: bi-annual whole school inspection; follow-up; visits; specialist inspections. At zonal level, there should be at least one inspector for each subject area but there are zones where there no inspectors for some subjects. The main gaps are in the Science, Mathematics, Business and Technical subjects. There are no school inspectors for ICT.
• Professional development: new inspectors undergo induction training on the principles of how to inspect schools which lasts six months involving mentoring and learning on the job with teams of experienced inspectors. Induction courses include some training in ICT basic literacy. Changes in curriculum require re-training.
• Facilities and resources: Current inspectorate reports indicate major problems in facilities in schools. Laboratories are ill equipped resulting in teachers’ lack of knowledge on how to use and integrate equipment into teaching and learning strategies. For key subject areas in Mathematics, Sciences and Language there is negligible use of educational technology to support teaching.
• Community & networks: All parties linked to school inspection services
Level 2 – National Institutions
Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE)
• The Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) is an agency of MoEVT with a core mandate in curriculum design for pre-primary, primary, secondary and teacher education. TIE education stakeholders include students, parents, teachers, community based organizations, non-government organization and MoEVT personnel.
• Policy and objectives for ICT integration: The curriculum development draws from all relevant national policy inclusive of the National ICT policy for Basic Education and the Education and Training Policy.
• Regulatory frameworks: Curriculum review and revision is carried out in 8 year cycles. The review is based on on-going research to inform curriculum revision and development. The review and revision processes are conducted by subject teacher panels with representation from MoEVT, HEI, teacher colleges and schools. ICT syllabuses have been developed for primary and secondary education. As the current curriculum has shifted from a teacher-directed content based to a learner–centred competency based focus, the ICT curriculum development is shifting from teaching about ICT devices to applying ICTs to support performance focused learning in the revised curriculum.
• Teacher Development: Teachers and student teachers need to become familiar with how technology, pedagogy and content inter-link and work together in the revised curriculum. Curricula for integrating ICT as a tool across all subject domains will be introduced in the teacher colleges next year. The expectation is that college students will graduate with skill sets for ICT use in competency based teaching and learning with benefits spilling over into schools.
• Facilities and resources: Teaching materials and e-content need to be prepared afresh for alignment with the revised competency based pedagogy and assessment. Currently e-content identification for the change in curriculum paradigm is underway.
• Community and partnership networks: TIE is an open system and works with all parties interested in or affiliated with curriculum review, reform and development.
Vocational and Educational Training Authority (VETA)
• The Vocational and Educational Training Authority (VETA) oversees all vocational training programs with a mandate for ensuring that the VETA training system is demand driven and aligned with labour market requirements. The Authority functions as a system regulator for training centre registration, program accreditation, quality assurance and training coordination in the 21 government owned and over 900 privately run vocational centres in the country. Government centres have an average of between 200 - 400 students per institution and a teacher student ratio ranging between 1:16 and 1:20. The privately owned vocational centres have fewer programs and students. The rationale for the 21 VETA government centers is to offer courses and demonstrate models for program delivery in difficult to fund areas such as carpentry and tailoring.
• Other functions include: the promotion of vocational education through stakeholder fora, media, exhibitions, and open days; managing the national vocational education and training fund procured through skills development levy funds for vocational education - a tax requirement constituting 6% of the wage bill of which 2% is dedicated for skills development. Recurrent expenditure is drawn from the levy. Capital expenditures are funded by the government.
• Policy and objectives for ICT integration: The main objective is to have a quality VETA system in place. ICT is seen as a cross cutting tool in VETA. All courses provided in VETA must include ICT. However the application and use of ICT in VETA institutions is fraught with challenges. Teachers have difficulty in using technology for elementary planning of coursework. Centre managers are currently charged with setting up laboratories so that all teachers in vocational schools should acquire appropriate skills.
• Regulatory frameworks: Curriculum development in VETA is carried out by a specific department in the head office. The process involves several stages involving labour market research; curriculum development on the basis of market signals; identifying occupational unit standards and competencies; and validation by trade advisory committees; each cycle taking 3-4 years from research and development to implementation.
• The Vocational and Training system is undergoing modernization involving an item by item analysis of every aspect of a centre’s functioning inclusive of training facilities, infrastructure, training development for the use of ICT in coursework and the integration of modern technology in institutional facilities.
• Professional development: Distance modalities for course delivery are under consideration with the objective of reaching a wider population.
• Bridging programs: Students joining vocational colleges have to undergo bridging courses to close the gaps between the skills acquired in primary and secondary education and those required in the various trade areas in vocational education. VETA has invested considerable resources for bridging courses in low achievement gap areas of Mathematics, English, Basic Science and Communication skills.
• Facilities and resources: While ICT is mandatory there is a technology equipment challenge in VETA institutions. The policy is for a phased establishment of computer labs. The process of infrastructure development is cost intensive. The procurement, maintenance, updating, upgrading and licensing of software and equipment is a constant budgetary challenge for many institutions. VETA hardware computer maintenance course offerings could greatly complement the mandates of other Ministries e.g. computer labs in the rural areas could be maintained by VETA graduates.
• Community and partnership networks: VETA is building a public private partnership model with the mining industry to develop artisan centres dedicated to developing curricula and training programs for producing graduates to enter the industry. There are negotiations with Microsoft to train students for the software industry. Partnership with Industry is a crucial aspect in VETA modernization. The long term objective is to elevate the standards of all course offerings to international standards established by bodies such as City & Guilds. Other partnerships include CIDA and UK institutions.
Level 3 – Colleges of Education
Morogoro Teachers’ College
The Universities and Teacher Education Colleges are responsible for providing training, conducting policy oriented research and providing relevant literature and materials to support teachers in schools.
• The Morogoro Teachers’ College (MTC) was established by Holy Ghost Missionaries in 1926 with a mandate for teaching home crafts and home economics and later for training primary school teachers. In 1970 the College was taken over by the government and was designated its current mandate for training secondary school teachers. The MTC offers courses in Arts (Language, Kiswahili, History and Geography) and Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics) for a Secondary Education Diploma accreditation. ICT cuts across all the subjects. The College has 217 staff (110 lecturers, 91 teachers the primary and secondary practicing schools and 26 non-teaching staff) and 1268 students.
• The demand driven policy for primary and secondary school (PEDP and SEDP) expansion is posing challenges in quality of education provision particularly at secondary school level. The College graduates up to 5000 teachers annually but the attrition level is very high. Policy stipulates that after completing their diploma course student graduates teach for two years after which they are free to join the university. The mushrooming of new universities in the system has meant that there are more opportunities for further education and this is luring teachers away from classroom practice. Many teachers are leaving the teaching workforce to pursue further studies as soon as they are posted into the schools. Serving in the rural areas is another big challenge where high proportions of graduates drop out due to lack of accommodation. Currently there is a severe shortage of science teachers. Thus the College has not been able to supply an adequate number of graduates to meet the growing demand for teachers.
• Policies and objectives for ICT integration: The aim of computerizing all teacher colleges in Tanzania was to leverage the potential of ICTs for addressing education system challenges via pre-service in an initial phase. The focus is to not just to learn about ICT but apply it in classroom practice. However the policy directive for introducing ICT into the school system via pre-service programs has not been fully achieved. Student graduates with ICT skills have nothing to practice with when they go to the schools – there is a gap between teacher education and the reality of classroom contexts.
• Regulatory frameworks: ICT is taught in the college program as a separate subject (for knowledge and skills) and then as one that cuts across all subject areas. In focus group discussions, tutors described how they use ICT in their departments as a resource for preparing notes, for searching and retrieving material, for accessing encyclopedias and Goggle scholar, for preparing notes for student teachers, for preparing PowerPoint course work presentations, for uploading coursework and materials onto a Moodle program for student teacher access, for storing information for the department, and for archiving schemes of work, lesson plans. The tutors considered that the syllabus which defines teaching and learning materials in the different subject areas, seemed to have been prepared in a world where ICT did not exist. The teaching and learning aids mentioned in the pre-service curriculum were for the most part not ICT related according to the tutors.
• The College has a language laboratory with a number of computers which have different installations of software programs. One program is for managing class interaction. Teachers can prepare notes and lesson plans and bring students to the language lab and conduct the class using the technology available – inclusive of CDs, internet, and text-based materials – or content from web-sites that has been pre-pared by lecturers.
• Teacher Development: There have been internal short seminars and training organized by the administration for college tutors. However, once the lecturers are equipped with ICT technology and knowledge, it remains the responsibility of tutors to use that knowledge in practice to build up the practical knowledge on ICT use in their subject areas.
• In focus group discussions tutors spoke of their use and comfort with a number of new technology applications in their course provision. These include: PowerPoint, email, word, Moodle, word, excel, desktop publication, access software, SPSS packages, internet searching and retrieving, multimedia software, and maintenance of the computers. However tutors felt that the training they have received has been generic. There has been little training provided on specific skills for subject area teaching such as in Science and Mathematics. Much of the material content used in training has not been culture specific. The training has not been as regular as would be desired in order to meet lecturers’ needs. Some of the areas where lecturers have been trained, included skills development on providing tests and examinations online, on the use of concept mapping in teaching and learning, on the use of ICT in organization and management, and the use of Moodle software – for posting materials for student coursework and materials access.
• The college is expanding its role to support teachers in in-service and one way of doing is through the use of ICT enabled training methods (distance learning, e-learning, m-learning and blended learning). College tutors can have their skills tapped and expanded through outreach programs in in-service teaching. However the new college role for pre and in-service provision will require re-programming of the college profile and re-training of the college staff.
• In interviews and focus groups, managers and tutors defined the most important competency that a college tutor or student teacher will need in the new college profile for ICT use in pre and in-service is the knowledge and skills to use technology for teaching and learning, to do some minor maintenance, and to use ICT to continually improve their own professional knowledge base.
• Resources: As a lead college for technology deployment and integration, the MTC has integrated, developed programs for and experimented with a range of technology resources inclusive of: 2 computer labs (an English language specialist lab and a mainstream computer lab) with 120 computers in total; laptops for teachers; Moodle for turning in all student assignments.
• The large college population however has limited both student and teacher access and the capacity for real technology integration in coursework. Tutors have their own room for preparing materials and conducting research. Most of the time the college lab is used by the ICT tutors for teaching basic ICT literacy and general materials development. The Computer Studies curriculum is focused on teaching the students to use multi-media to prepare teaching aids for their different subject areas. The topic of multi-media cuts across different subjects and imparts skills on how to integrate ICT in subject areas such as Biology and Physics through simulations. The focus is to train teachers to access the software on the internet and download appropriate content. There is currently no software for development of content. In the Information and Communication Studies students are trained on how to use ICT in teaching and learning with no orientation in ICT communication technologies. The limited access has resulted in a situation where much theory is taught in the classroom with student teachers accessing the lab once a week to apply it in practice. The English lab has internet connection but its use is restricted to English students only. There is a new policy in development to provide language lab access for all students in the college.
• Community and partnership networks: MTC is a lead college in the sense that all ICT related activities in all the 34 colleges are managed from here. It houses the officials of the ICT computerization program which falls under the Teacher Education department in the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training. The college has two practicing schools where student teachers go on attachment during their training. The staff in the college and those in the primary and secondary schools are part of the workforce of 217 personnel directly affiliated with the College. As a lead college, Sida also forms part of the college’s ICT community. USAID is also a part of the community through the contributions and installation of the English laboratory. Other partnerships have included Zain, Digital Links and NOPC.
Morogoro Vocational Teachers College
• The Morogoro Vocational Teachers College is mandated to provide vocational teachers training programs from certificate to diploma teaching level and management training programs in the form of short courses. Graduates from MVTTC go to VETA centres. The college works with teachers, centre managers, industry practitioners. The permanent tutors on campus are 16 and 10 off-campus tutors. MVTTC has 120 full time students and 500 off campus students. The demand for courses has been fluctuating. Trades where there is constant demand include tailoring, secretarial, computer and hospitality courses. New demands have emerged in artisan trades where there is now a need to acquire new skills for the market place.
• Policies and objectives for ICT integration: Institutional policies are derived from the VETA act. VETA has its own ICT policy which is part and parcel of the MoVET national policy. The focus of ICT in VETA is to promote technology use in teaching and learning and in management. For employment one of the requirements is the application of ICT. New technology is integral to most of vocational trades and requires continuous training and retraining to operate new equipment.
• Regulatory frameworks: The curriculum comes from VETA but is developed in consultation with and vetted by industry stakeholders. The teacher education curriculum covers education studies, communication methods, training methods, entrepreneurship, curriculum issues, workshop management, teaching practice.
• The curriculum for VETA centres has 12 broad streams, more than 60 occupations and is competency based. ICT is a specialist subject (content focus on introduction to computers, word, spreadsheets, database) and a cross cutting subject. Each of the VETA modules has ICT components.
• Teacher Development: In-service training that is based on demand and is not regularized. The demand for in-service training can be from the teachers or from MVTTC when it requires its tutors to upgrade their skills. ICT training needs specific to VETA requirements would include: training in production of teaching and learning materials by use of technology productivity and authoring tools; development of computer based training materials; computer based instruction; using the computer in designing specialized packages in engineering and SPSS etc.; VETA skills specific packages for teacher educators as well as those who are going into the VETA centres.
• Resources: The mode of teaching is on campus and off-campus. There are 10 off-campus centres country wide which are also administered from MVTTC. In campus training is in certificate courses. Campus facilities include a media production studio, computer lab, library, classrooms and auditorium. The MVTC studio produces multimedia support materials for use on-campus and for distribution to VETA centres. Written materials are converted to CD and tapes for use and revision. Facilities in the off-campus centres include videos, computers, televisions and libraries. Online course provision is hampered by connectivity and a lack of resources. The campus website is under construction. Resources required for furthering innovative practices and course delivery include cameras, recording equipment, editing equipment, software, video players etc.
• Community and partnership networks: The college community has representatives from industry, academia and government on the VETA board. The college network has partnership links with Nuffic (Royal Netherlands)-entrepreneurship development, and ILO.
Level 4 – Schools
Morogoro Secondary School – Morogoro Municipality
• Morogoro Secondary School was started by the AghaKhan in 1954 and nationalized in 1972. The school offers both 0-level and A-level subjects. A-levels were started in 2001 in the subject areas of Arts and Mathematics. 0-level subjects cover English, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, History, Kiswahili, Physics, Civics, Home Economics, Book Keeping and Commerce. The school is planning to offer more science subject combinations in the A-level stream. There are 66 teachers and 1800 students (A&O-level) in the school. There are 1,200 students in 0-level with a gender ratio of 600 girls: 400 boys and 600 students in A-level with a gender ratio of 500 girls: 100 boys. The high number of girls is due to female hostel provision by the school.
• Policy and Objectives for ICT integration: The MSS has no formal policy on ICT integrated into school development planning. The school has instigated an informal policy for ICT use encouraging teachers and students to avail of the ICT facilities to record examination results digitally or for online applications to university courses.
• In focus group discussions teachers questioned the meaning of Information Computer Technology and discussed the various technologies – new and old - radio, TV, power-point presentations, photographs, mobile phones that could be integrated into teaching and learning programs. Teachers discussed various ways they have used technology informally in their subject areas: some teachers use the computer lab to look for information which is current to increase the relevance of their subject matter and students’ understanding of concepts; one teacher described using her mobile phone to search for online materials when her textbook content requires updating; one teacher spoke about using videos in her English program to show plays in the literature syllabus; some teachers talked of using ICTs for sharing lesson plans and schemes of work. Other teachers declared that they do not use ICT due to lack of awareness. They felt that time was needed to learn how to use ICTs effectively and efficiently in their work.
• Regulatory frameworks: The principles of teaching advocated in the school are for learner centred approaches with the teacher as facilitator supporting learning and enabling the learner to discover by themselves. Teachers see that ICT can enhance new curriculum principles of teaching and learning where the teacher is motivated to move away from chalk and talk and involve the students more actively in the learning.
• Due to limited resources the school is unable to offer ICT as a choice option in form 2 as prescribed in the syllabus. There is no qualified teacher dedicated for ICT. The school is preparing to offer ICT as a subject option in Form 3. The school time table has 10 periods per day and 40 minutes per period. There are no regulations on the use of ICT in school practice in general with no allocation on the time-table for ICT classes or lab use.
• Teacher development: Teachers have attended a month long crash program to introduce them to basic ICT literacy skills on wordprocessing, PowerPoint. The school has organized informal program which was offered after working hours for five days. About 80% of the staff have basic computer skills. Teachers use the school lab to continue with their learning informally - using ICT to communicate with other teachers, to search for materials, get scholarships for personal development. Through the school north-south ‘connecting classrooms’ partnership there has been some brief opportunities for teacher exchange and informal capacity building around ICT. Teacher training will enable the school to offer ICT as a subject. Teacher training priorities would include ICT use in teaching and CT maintenance.
• Resources: The school has a hostel for girls. There are 27 classrooms. The school library was converted to the computer lab and as such students borrow books from the departments. Equipment is maintained by the school through projects that generate income from the teachers. The school has Science and ICT Laboratories. The science laboratory is not in good condition. The ICT room is small with inadequate facilities to meet the needs of the large student and teacher population.
• Teachers saw administration support as seeking partnerships, organization of short courses and sourcing for materials for use in the ICT room. Teachers felt that the school is positive but does not have the financial capacity to provide adequate ICT facilities for the school student and teacher populations. The challenge is in the funding and sustainability of efforts, e.g. budgeting and funding recurrent costs for connectivity, equipment (hardware and software), maintenance, and a computer teacher (the current teacher doubles up as a Mathematics teacher and has a heavy workload in the school). Currently it is not possible to use the technology continuously as the resources are not affordable.
• Community and partnership networks: The school community extends to the Universities of Dar es Salaam, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and Morogoro Teacher College for student internships, teaching practice and for in-service support training including training in the use of ICT. The school is linked to the ‘connecting classrooms’ north-south TAZAWA project connecting classrooms in the UK, Tanzania and Zambia. The objectives of TAZAWA are to exchange experiences and cultures between the different countries.
Nelson Mandela Secondary School – Morogoro District
• The Nelson Mandela Secondary School was started in May 1995. The school has 600 students with a gender ratio of 50:50. There are 35 teachers with 10 teachers on leave of absence for furthering their education in different universities. A 75% majority of teachers have Bachelor Degrees with the remaining 25% of teachers having Diplomas. The Headmaster has a Masters Degree in Education acquired through distance learning in a north-south University collaboration program between the University of Finland and the University of Dar Es Salaam. The school has no Physics teacher and only one Mathematics teacher. The solution is to hire sixth form graduates to offset the shortage of teachers in the sciences. The Open University is trying to offset the mobility of teachers from schools to acquire further education. The Ministry is also trying to keep the teachers in schools while they are studying.
▪ Policy and Objectives for ICT integration: The school vision is to provide an enabling environment for learning and to provide students with knowledge, skills and experience so that they may fit into and take their place in the ever changing global village. The school mission recognizes that computer literacy and technology are critical requirements for life in today’s world.
▪ There is no formal school policy on ICT as it is something new. The government enabling policy for ICT implementation is being complimented with bottom-up synergies and initiatives from school level. In particular the policy of decentralization to the district level is enabling local initiatives where the district officer is working hard to support ICT initiatives.
▪ In focus group discussions teachers described the gradual shift towards a computer culture in the school, identifying informal school policy for encouraging teachers to explore the use of ICT, to digitize planning and examinations as well as school budget allocation for ICT equipment and maintenance.
▪ Regulatory frameworks: The national regulation is to introduce ICT in schools. The policy stipulates that where there are resources, the school can introduce ICT as a subject for examination. All student teachers graduating from Colleges should also be conversant in ICT.
▪ In the focus group discussions teachers identified time, knowledge and confidence as the greatest impediments to their using technology in teaching and learning. Teachers described feeling overwhelmed with the day-to-day challenges of long journey commutes to their school as well as heavy teaching loads, duties and responsibilities. They explained that they do not have sufficient time to learn about, explore and to build confidence for technology use in their classroom teaching.
• One newly appointed teacher talked of his plans to use technology in his teaching but felt that the teaching and learning environment was not conducive for exploring his ideas. Longer serving teachers admitted to not having explored technology in their teaching. The computer lab coordinator described his development of a program which he hopes will help teacher colleagues to feel more confident and comfortable with computer use in their professional practice.
• Teachers discussed what a good teacher using ICT would look like describing teacher ICT competencies for: using technology to simplify abstract concepts and facilitate critical discourse; enabling learners to think critically, to question, to grasp the ‘aha’ understanding, to see themselves as life-long learners; supporting learning in a way that the learner can explore virtual environments, research from different sources, discover and debate different issues among a community of peers based on the information that they find; teachers are guiding students, developing technology based learning activities to engage students at different stages of lesson development; guiding correct and appropriate use of digital resources.
▪ Teacher development: The school administration holds in-house seminars in the school but this is not very frequent and is usually informal. Student teachers on teaching practice, induction students, graduating teachers bring and share new pedagogical practices in the school community.
▪ In ICT two teachers attended a short training in Morogoro Teacher College. One of the teachers has since left the school. Specific ICT training for staff hasn’t happened. Informal training is on-going – as teachers troubleshoot the use of the computer with the ICT coordinator and colleagues. Teachers have also attended courses in their own time. In general teachers felt that learning how to use technology in professional practice needs a support system. It is not adequate for teachers to simply attend demonstration training programs that do not take into consideration the background and challenges of real classroom contexts. Teachers also need e-content materials so that when it comes to training application it will be easier.
▪ Resources: The school has a range of technology resources inclusive of TV, radio, CDs and video tapes, 20 computers with 5 of the computers connected to the internet. Through the Digital Links and NOPC project the school has acquired computer hardware and Mathematics and Science software resources as well introducing open source software (Ubuntu) to support ICT applications in subject teaching.
• Community and partnership networks: The school has engaged with public private partnerships including Zain, Digital links and NOPC for developing its ICT facility and capacity. The school is one of a group of schools selected for an MoEVT ICT Mathematics and Science school based teacher development initiative.
Key Findings – ICT Education Activity System NEEDS ANALYSIS
• Policy and objectives: The MoEVT ICT Policy for Basic Education launched in 2007 presents a broad agenda for ICT integration to enhance access, equity, quality and relevance, improve teaching, promote life long learning and contribute to a vision for a “well educated and learning knowledge society” (MoEVT 2007, p5). This is an agenda that defines a policy thrust for knowledge-based (knowledge deepening and knowledge creation) approaches for ICT integration in the Education System (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Activity System of National Vision for ICT Integration in Tanzania
| | | | |
| |Tools & Resources: | | |
| |University and college links to | | |
| |school – teaching practice & | | |
| |in-service | | |
| |College ICT studio & laboratory | | |
| |facilities | | |
| |Project school ICT laboratories | | |
| | | | |
|Subject: | |Object of ICT integration: |Outcome: |
|TED, SEDP, ETEDP, TEI | |Technology literacy skills; |Technologically literate |
|TIE, VETA | |Pedagogical integration of ICT |citizens who can boost the |
| | | |economic engine and contribute |
| | | |to a knowledge-based economy and|
| | | |a learning knowledge society |
|Rules: |Community: |Division of Labour |
|Curriculum paradigm shift from |Teacher educators, Teachers, |Teacher’s role is redefined as facilitator and guide; |
|content to competency |student teachers, students in |Student transformed from passive recipient of the teacher’s |
|ICT shift from ICT literacy to |schools, colleges & universities|knowledge to active participant in discovering knowledge and a |
|ICT integration |Community, PTA |critical thinker and creator of new knowledge |
| |Public, private partners | |
| |
• A key focus in the ICT policy that was reflected in every conversation with stakeholders from national to district to local levels is a shift in perception of ICT integration from learning about technology to using technology as a tool to improve learning. It is a shift that is aligned to national education policy objectives and the newly revised curriculum paradigm shift from teacher-centred content-based instruction to student-centred competency-based learning. ICT is to be integrated in curricula at every system level both as a subject and as a pedagogical tool to support adjustments in teacher and learner roles for competency-based learning. The teacher’s role will shift from that of knowledge gatekeeper to knowledge facilitator and guide, enabling students with technology support to discover new knowledge from multiple information sources and experiences. The student’s role will move from passive to active participants in the learning process, where they are enabled with the support of technology to work collaboratively, to think critically and creatively and to build and create new knowledge.
• Policy, curriculum and practice articulation: The national policy and curriculum parameters are clear on the requirement to optimize the use of ICT at all education levels and across all subject areas for improving teaching. The policy vision and mission however may be fragmented as they are translated and articulated at various system levels. In focus group discussions and interview conversations stakeholders spoke of the discontent between policy vision and school and classroom realities; teacher educators spoke of an ICT syllabus that seemed to be prepared in a different world – having scant reference to ICT in teaching and learning materials; inspectors spoke of a new teaching generation who have no experience or models for using education technology generally and ICT specifically in classroom teaching; teachers confirmed their lack of confidence and understanding on how technology should be applied in their lesson planning and teaching. In teacher colleges challenges in access mean that ICT theory is taught in isolation from ICT practice; technology skills are taught in isolation from pedagogy, content and the real school contexts in which graduating teachers will teach. At every system level a shared vision among all education stakeholders including teachers and ICT support staff, school and district administrators and inspectors, teacher educators, students, parents and the community needs to be formally articulated and aligned to national policy and vision.
• Curriculum Frameworks: In curriculum development the challenge resides in the alignment of curriculum ICT resources to support the competency-based learner centered approaches defined in national educational objectives. The curriculum will need to embed technology-related learning plans, content and resources more explicitly in the disciplinary subject areas to reflect the technology-across–the–curriculum strategies outlined in the national policy.
• Teacher Development: Most of the teacher educators and teachers in the institutions and schools visited have availed of ICT teacher development programs. The programs have tended to focus on generic technical training that has limited application in classroom practice. There is a mismatch between the ICT skills acquired and the realities of applying these skills in real schooling conditions. The lack of institution/school-based opportunities for professional development and knowledge sharing has inhibited teacher educators and teachers from experimenting with and understanding how to use technology to transform and innovative their teaching and the learning of their students.
• The dual challenges of school expansion and acute teacher shortages have placed new demands on teacher colleges. College capacity to meet teacher demand is inadequate with high attrition rates exacerbating the problem particularly in rural zones. Colleges are attempting to address shortages and stem the tide of attrition by exploring the use of technology for providing in-service and distance education programs.
• Resources: Technology installation designs in institutions and schools visited are based on the laboratory model which students access for one or two lesson periods a week. The computer laboratory represents a static and cost intensive design. The model can relegate technology use to the periphery of pedagogical practices in schools and institutions and under-score national objectives for equitable access. Procurement, maintenance and costs have all presented challenges for the functioning of lab systems in the schools and institutions visited. Much of the focus has been on the initial installation of hardware without adequate budgeting for ancillary costs such as materials, maintenance and professional development.
• In at least one school visited teachers were exploring informal use of mobile phones to support teaching. Mobile telephony presents an emerging dynamic model of technology use that could represent an alternative solution that is appropriate to context and local conditions. The infoDEV surveys of ICT in Education in Africa (2007) and in India and South Asia (2010) report on the growing use of mobile devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), laptops, Pocket PCs, and mobile phones to provide interactive content to previously unreachable and remote locations. The Tanzania OUT and Bridge-IT initiatives described in previous sections are providing models for exploring the use of m-learning as an alternative model for ICT integration in schools and teacher development.
• Content has been limited to generic open source and proprietary applications and software determined by various project initiatives. National content standards and curriculum resources have not been adequately defined or identified to support technology-based approaches across the curriculum.
• Community and networks: Universities, teacher colleges and schools have utilized well-established links and networks for teaching practice, induction and in-service programs to drive forward agendas for curriculum reform and technology integration. The interactive network represents an emerging profile of a professional development continuum for pre-service, in-service, distance education and research to support traditional and new models for technology integration and address challenges of teacher shortages in critical subject areas.
Key Challenges and Opportunities
• The overall challenge is a mismatch between the national policy vision for a knowledge-based (knowledge deepening and knowledge creation) approach to technology integration and the object of ICT use at various system levels which has been primarily focused on a technology literacy approach.
• There is the opportunity to link the contextualization of the ICT-Competency Standards for Teachers in Tanzania to national policy vision for moving teachers from ‘technology literacy’ to ‘knowledge-based’ approaches. This would in turn support national education objectives for moving teachers from ‘knowledge gatekeepers’ to ‘knowledge facilitators’.
• This would suggest a requirement to develop the capacity building program for the ICT Competency Standards within a continuum approach that links pre-service to in-service programs in benchmarking ICT standards for student and practicing teachers.
• The TDEV21 project pilot presents an opportunity to build capacity in teacher colleges for enhancing outreach programs to support school communities in practice-based on-going professional development for technology use within the resources and constraints afforded by real classroom contexts.
PART 2: ICT Competency Standards for Teachers: IMPORTANCE & PRIORITY ANALYSIS
During the field research an ICT Teacher Competency Standards importance-prioritization survey was conducted with lecturers in Morogoro Teachers College and teachers in the 2 Junior Secondary Schools visited in the municipality and district of Morogoro. Thirty four (34) questionnaires were completed and returned to the field team on the days of the visits. Table 6 presents a profile of the survey respondents.
Table 5: Profile of the respondents
(N=34)
|Profile |Course/Subject areas |Colleges/ schools |Type |No of Respondents |
|Lecturers |Tutors in Mathematics, |Morogoro Teachers’ |Public College |15 |
| |ICT, Chemistry, Biology, |College – Morogoro |Lead College for National| |
| |Language, Foundation |municipality |ICT Deployment in Teacher| |
| |Education, Development | |Development | |
| |Studies | | | |
|Junior Secondary School |General JSS disciplines |Nelson Mandela Secondary |Public project school |8 |
|Teachers | |School – Morogoro |with ICT lab facility for| |
| | |District |use in Science, | |
| | | |Mathematics and Language | |
| | | |teaching | |
|Junior & Senior Secondary|Mathematics, English and |Morogoro Secondary School|Public mainstream school |11 |
|School |Computer Science | |with ICT lab facility & | |
| | | |donated equipment | |
The survey involved two questions.
• In the first question, the lecturers and teachers were asked to indicate their perceived level of importance on each of twenty six ICT Competency Standards for teachers drawn from the six domains (policy, curriculum, pedagogy, ICT, management & professional development) of the UNESCO framework. They used a three-point Likert scale (1 for unimportant, 2 for moderately important and 3 for important) to rate the competencies.
• In the second question, lecturers and teachers were asked to identify three competencies that would require priority development. For this question, lecturers and teachers utilized colored sticker codes (red for 1st priority, green for 2nd priority and yellow for 3rd priority) to identify their priorities.
Key Findings - IMPORTANCE ANALYSIS
Lecturer Competency Importance Rankings
• Lecturers ranked the teacher development domain competency for using ICT to enable staff access to e-learning courses for professional development, organization and management domain competencies for using computers, radio, television and other digital resources within the classroom to support and reinforce learning activities and social interactions and for using web resources in support of project/problem-based learning, curriculum domain competencies for using ICT tools in design of teaching & learning activities as the six most important competency standards for a teacher as indicated in Table 7.
• In contrast organization and management domain competencies such as the ability to develop procedures and policies for ethical, responsible and appropriate use of ICT to support teaching & learning and the ability to identify the appropriate social arrangements (whole class, small groups, and individual activities) to use with various technologies, a curriculum domain competency related to the ability to use ICT for formative & summative assessment and to provide students with feedback on progress, a policy domain competency related to the ability to apply national/ institutional ICT policy in the classroom, and pedagogical domain competencies related to the ability to use ICT to design teaching & learning unit plans and activities and the ability to use open-ended tools and subject-specific applications to support student collaboration, were perceived as of less importance by the lecturers.
• A noteworthy finding was the low importance attributed by lecturers to assessment and acceptable use and policy in practice competency domains.
• These findings would suggest that the focus for lecturers in importance attribution is on competencies for the development of teacher skills and their application in the curriculum and less on competencies for the development of learner skills to accommodate policy paradigm shift towards learner centered pedagogy.
• This pattern would seem to be mirrored in the results of the overall weighted mean scores of each of the six competency domains where teacher development competencies (planning, teacher awareness and informal learning) were revealed as the most important while policy competencies (policy awareness and policy in classroom practice) as the least.
Teacher Competency Importance Rankings
• Teachers ranked organization & management domain competencies for using computers, radio, television and other digital resources within the classroom and/ or the school so as to support and reinforce learning activities and social interactions, policy domain competencies for applying national/ institutional ICT policy in the classroom, ICT domain competencies for using ICT to enable staff to actively contribute knowledge and to share information and resources that can be used to support classroom practices and for using ICT to manage, monitor and assess progress of student projects & progress, professional development domain competencies for using Virtual Learning Environments to link to external experts & communities and for using ICT to enable staff to actively contribute knowledge and to share information and resources that can be used to support classroom practices, research and professional development, as the six most important competency standards for a teacher as indicated in Table 7.
• In contrast curriculum domain competencies such as the ability to use ICT resources and assistive technologies to address special educational needs and the ability to use ICT tools in design of teaching & learning activities, pedagogy domain competencies such as the ability to use ICT to identify complex, real-world problems and structure them in a way that incorporates key subject matter concepts and serves as the basis of student projects and to use ICT to design and implement collaborative, project-based unit plans and classroom activities, the ICT domain competency related to the ability to use an authoring environment or tools to design offline and/or web resources and the organization & management domain competency related to the ability to identify the appropriate social arrangements (whole class, small groups, and individual activities) to use with various technologies, .were perceived as of less importance by the teachers.
• A noteworthy finding is the low importance attributed by teachers to the use of ICT resources and assistive technologies to address special education needs.
• These findings would suggest that the focus in importance attribution for teachers is firmly on competencies for building professional capacity for understanding and applying national and institutional ICT policy in classroom practice.
• This pattern would seem to be mirrored in the results of the overall weighted mean scores of each of the six competency domains where policy competencies (policy awareness, classroom practice) were revealed as the most important by teachers while pedagogical competencies (planning, problem based learning, student experience, project based learning and communication & collaboration) as the least.
• It is of particular interest to compare the high importance attribution for the policy competency domain by teachers compared to the low attribution of same by lecturers. The attribution contrast may reflect a mismatch between teacher educator assumptions about policy awareness and application and teacher practitioner actual needs to understand policy and the ‘how’ of policy application in practice. The mismatch between national policy vision and its articulation in practice may well be reflected in the gap between teacher and teacher educator importance perceptions.
Table 6: ICT Competency Standards for Teachers framework
| |Lecturers |Teachers |
| |Mean |SD |Rank |Overall |Mean |SD |Rank |Overall |
|ICT competency standards for teachers | | |(out of 26) |rank | | |(out of 26)|Rank |
|Policy |2.73 | | |6 |2.95 | | |1 |
|Policy awareness |2.80 |0.13 |11 | |2.95 |0.05 |2 | |
|Awareness of national/institutional ICT in education policy | | | | | | | | |
|Classroom practice |2.67 |0.21 |22 | |2.95 |0.04 |1 | |
|Applying national/ institutional ICT policy in the classroom | | | | | | | | |
|Curriculum and Assessment |2.84 | | |2 |2.63 | | |5 |
|Curriculum Planning |2.80 |0.17 |11 | |2.74 |0.19 |10 | |
|Using ICT tools for course design and lesson planning | | | | | | | | |
|Learning Environment |2.93 |0.07 |4 | |2.54 |0.25 |22 | |
|Using ICT tools in design of teaching & learning activities | | | | | | | | |
|Student experience |2.87 |0.12 |9 | |2.79 |0.16 |9 | |
|Using ICT tools to support student understanding of subject | | | | | | | | |
|concepts & their applications | | | | | | | | |
|Assessment |2.60 |0.26 |25 | |2.67 |0.24 |16 | |
|Using ICT for formative & summative assessment and to provide | | | | | | | | |
|students with feedback on progress | | | | | | | | |
|Communication & collaboration |2.93 |0.06 |4 | |2.68 |0.16 |14 | |
|Using ICT communication and collaboration tools to access and | | | | | | | | |
|source information and to connect students to the world outside | | | | | | | | |
|the classroom | | | | | | | | |
|Special Needs Education |2.93 |0.07 |4 | |2.37 |0.34 |26 | |
|Using ICT resources and assistive technologies to address | | | | | | | | |
|special educational needs | | | | | | | | |
|Pedagogy |2.74 | | |5 |2.61 | | |6 |
|Planning |2.71 |0.22 |20 | |2.68 |0.34 |14 | |
|Using ICT to design teaching & learning unit plans and | | | | | | | | |
|activities | | | | | | | | |
|Problem based learning |2.73 |0.21 |16 | |2.41 |0.38 |25 | |
|Using ICT to identify complex, real-world | | | | | | | | |
|problems and structure them in a way that incorporates key | | | | | | | | |
|subject matter concepts and serves as the basis of student | | | | | | | | |
|projects. | | | | | | | | |
|Student experience |2.73 |0.35 |16 | |2.53 |0.35 |24 | |
|Using ICT to design and implement collaborative, project-based | | | | | | | | |
|unit plans and classroom activities | | | | | | | | |
|Project based learning |2.80 |0.17 |11 | |2.71 |0.22 |13 | |
|Using project-based learning and ICT tools to support student | | | | | | | | |
|thinking and social interaction | | | | | | | | |
|Communication & collaboration |2.71 |0.22 |20 | |2.74 |0.20 |10 | |
|Using open-ended tools and subject-specific applications to | | | | | | | | |
|support student collaboration | | | | | | | | |
|ICT |2.81 | | |3 |2.69 | | |4 |
|Productivity tools |2.93 |0.07 |4 | |2.63 |0.25 |17 | |
|Using open-ended software packages appropriate to subject matter| | | | | | | | |
|areas | | | | | | | | |
|Authoring tools |2.80 |0.17 |11 | |2.53 |0.26 |23 | |
|Using an authoring environment or tools to design offline and/or| | | | | | | | |
|web resources | | | | | | | | |
|Internet |3.00 |0.00 |1 | |2.88 |0.11 |8 | |
|Using web resources in support of project/problem-based learning| | | | | | | | |
|Communication & collaboration |2.73 |0.18 |16 | |2.58 |0.37 |20 | |
|Using search engines, social media websites and email to find | | | | | | | | |
|people & resources for collaborative projects | | | | | | | | |
|Administration |2.73 |0.21 |16 | |2.93 |0.07 |5 | |
|Using ICT to manage, monitor and assess progress of student | | | | | | | | |
|projects & progress | | | | | | | | |
|Student learning |2.67 |0.24 |22 | |2.61 |0.25 |18 | |
|Using ICT to enable student communication and collaboration with| | | | | | | | |
|fellow students, peers and the wider community | | | | | | | | |
|Organization & Management |2.74 | | |4 |2.71 | | |3 |
|Teacher understanding |3.00 |0.00 |1 | |2.95 |0.05 |1 | |
|Using computers, radio, television and other digital resources | | | | | | | | |
|within the classroom and/ or the school so as to support and | | | | | | | | |
|reinforce learning activities and social interactions. | | | | | | | | |
|Leading ICT integration |2.80 |0.17 |11 | |2.61 |0.25 |18 | |
|Playing a leadership role in supporting innovation and | | | | | | | | |
|continuous learning in the school community | | | | | | | | |
|Classroom management |2.64 |0.25 |24 | |2.58 |0.26 |20 | |
|Identifying the appropriate social arrangements (whole class, | | | | | | | | |
|small groups, and individual activities) to use with various | | | | | | | | |
|technologies. | | | | | | | | |
|Acceptable & appropriate uses |2.53 |0.41 |26 | |2.72 |0.21 |12 | |
|Developing procedures and policies for ethical, responsible and | | | | | | | | |
|appropriate use of ICT to support teaching & learning | | | | | | | | |
|Teacher Development |2.93 | | | 1 |2.91 | | | 2 |
|Planning |3.00 |0.00 |1 | |2.89 |0.09 |6 | |
|Using ICT to enable staff access to e-learning courses for | | | | | | | | |
|professional development | | | | | | | | |
|Teacher awareness |2.93 |0.07 |4 | |2.89 |0.09 |6 | |
|Using Virtual Learning Environments to link staff to external | | | | | | | | |
|experts & communities | | | | | | | | |
|Informal learning |2.87 |0.12 |9 | |2.94 |0.05 |4 | |
|Using ICT to enable staff to actively contribute knowledge and | | | | | | | | |
|to share information and resources that can be used to support | | | | | | | | |
|classroom practices, research and professional development. | | | | | | | | |
Note: The mean scores in bold represent the weighted average of competencies for each domain
Key Findings - PRIORITY ANALYSIS
Lecturers and Teacher Priorities
• Priorities in the policy (policy awareness and classroom practice) competency domain were identified by lecturers and teachers as indicated in Table 8 as the primary focus areas for the pilot project capacity building. There is also a significant pattern of teacher primary priorities clustered around the curriculum & assessment (curriculum planning, learning environment, student experience & communication & collaboration) competency domain and of lecturer and teacher primary priorities clustered around the professional development (planning, teacher awareness & informal learning) competency domain.
• This would correlate with the importance rankings where the development of teacher awareness and classroom practices around ICT policy, teacher ability for accessing and availing of formal and informal professional development, and teacher ability for ICT application in the curriculum, emerged as the most important ICT competency domains for engagement.
• What is noteworthy is the low priority ranking by lecturers and teachers for ICT, organization & management and pedagogy competencies with the exception of competencies in those domains related to teacher understanding and the curriculum.
• It would seem from these patterns that lecturer and teacher priorities are for acquiring ICT teacher competencies that are rooted in national and institutional policy, formal and informal professional development and knowledge exchange and for applying the acquired ICT competencies, skills & knowledge in curriculum & assessment and pedagogical practices.
• These survey results would challenge the assumptions and emphasis in much ICT teacher development programs (in developed and developing countries) on a techno-centric approach for acquiring ICT technical skills. The survey would suggest that what teachers/ lecturers really need (want) to know and be able to do with technology is to develop their professional capability to both use ICT and apply it in their professional practice.
Table 7: Lecturer and Teacher Priorities - ICT Competency Standards for Teachers
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Key Challenges and Opportunities Identified
• The importance prioritization survey findings would suggest that lecturers and teachers do not necessarily want more ICT technical training. The values and beliefs emerging from their perceived importance and priority rankings would suggest a much greater need for support systems and a conducive institutional and school culture to enable them to explore, experiment with and learn with and through technology in their professional practice.
• Lecturers and teachers have identified national and institutional ICT policy, informal and formal professional development for sharing knowledge and reflecting on emerging good practice and ICT application in the curriculum as critical areas of importance and prioritization in the professional workplace.
• These findings represent a shift in the teacher development focus – from using education to learn about technology to using technology for enhancing learning and educational practice – where lecturers and teachers clearly identify technology as a tool to support their professional practice and not vice versa.
• The findings present an opportunity to develop a broader, more holistic and in-depth approach for teacher development that helps schools and institutions deepen their approaches for ICT integration beyond the technology literacy level.
• The contextualized ICT competency standards that lies at the heart of the TDEV21 project presents a framework for system wide and in-depth teacher development that can be tailored to national and institutional policy and priority frameworks.
• The framework curriculum can be designed in modular format so that institutions and schools can select appropriate elements to meet their institutional objectives, needs, priorities and phases of development for ICT integration.
• In the pilot phase, modules based on policy (awareness and ability to apply ICT policy in practice), teacher development (planning and informal learning) and curriculum (use of ICT for lesson planning, introducing subject concepts and assessment in hard to teach subject areas of Mathematics, Science and Language) can be developed to address prioritization domains and needs identified by lecturers and teachers.
• Based on the priority areas, high quality course materials that have been developed by institutions, publishers and providers locally or adapted from materials developed internationally can be incorporated into the modular development for the pilot to meet the needs and objectives identified by stakeholders and institutions.
PART 3 - Infrastructure ANALYSIS
The objective for assessing the ICT infrastructure and systems was to identify institutions to target for piloting the competency standards. This assessment was conducted in three institutions. Two of these were secondary schools and one teachers’ college. The ICT technician from each of the institutions was asked to fill in the questionnaire in (Appendix 2) which was used to gauge the status of the infrastructure, models of deployment, ways in which ICTs are used, ICT budgets, licensing, connectivity options used, sources of ICTs and existing maintenance schedules. The teachers’ college was Morogoro Teachers College which is the lead college among the 34 Teachers Colleges in Tanzania. It is in the rural region of Morogoro and its infrastructure was representative of what is found in all the other teacher colleges. Morogoro Secondary School and Nelson Mandela Secondary School were sampled as typical rural secondary schools in the same district. Morogoro Secondary School in the municipality of Morogoro offers both junior and senior secondary education whereas Nelson Mandela in Morogoro district offers only junior secondary education.
Key findings - Infrastructure ANALYSIS
The findings from each of the institutions are presented below.
Morogoro Teachers’ College
Morogoro Teachers’ College has a total population of 1268 students and a workforce of 217 personnel. There are two practicing schools attached to the college, a primary and a secondary school where student teachers carry out their teaching practice. The Teachers College has 120 computers which are placed in 2 ICT labs and 6 laptops which are used by teachers. The two labs include an English laboratory which has been funded jointly by the government of Tanzania and USAID and the ICT computer labs which has been funded by the government of Tanzania and Sida. The USAID partnership has installed two other English labs in two other teachers colleges. The Sida partnership resulted in the installation of computer labs in all the 34 teachers’ colleges.
Both labs have equipment that is more than 90% functional with hardware specifications of Pentium IV and above. The computers use Windows, Solaris and Moodle as operating systems and this software is licensed. All the PCs in the labs have access to the internet through either ISDN/ADSL, wireless or satellite. Formal plans in regard to user passwords, security, content filtering, correct use of equipment, user rights and duties, IT technician’s duties and use of ICTs in subject delivery have all been spelt out. There is a monthly preventive maintenance program of the all the equipment and a curative ones when they break down. There is a dedicated ICT technician in the college
Most of the skills acquired by the technician have been through learning by doing, formal training from CISCO certification, and taking private courses.
Projectors, CDs, DVDs, a Digital Camera and Webcam were noted to be the ICT tools available for ICT Integration in the institution. Students and teachers use ICTs for communication, content development, instructional purposes, project-based learning and support for assignments. In addition, teachers were noted to be using ICT to access online courses and for lesson preparation.
It was acknowledged that the computer lab was mostly open for general access after school hours and over the weekends.
There is an ICT budget available for software acquisition, hardware maintenance, hardware acquisition and professional development from the government.
Nelson Mandela Secondary School
Nelson Mandela Secondary School has 600 students and 35 teachers. 10 teachers are furthering their education and as such there are 25 teachers in the schools. As in many secondary schools in Tanzania, there is a serious shortage of science teachers.
The school has 26 computers in one ICT lab with 28% of these being functional. There are five DELLs, 18 Compaq’s and five workstations. The computers have been installed by Digital Links and NOPC (UK). The school has also bought one computer, 1 TV set, DVD, and a Radio with the goal of using these as tools for ICT Integration. 5 computers are connected to the internet through wireless technology. This has been achieved through using a ZAIN[9] modem to connect to the ZAIN servers in Dar ES Salaam. Windows and Linux are used as operating systems. Educational softwares registered were Gcompris, Algebra and Tux typing. There are written policies for user passwords, security recommendations, correct us of equipment, preventive maintenance, IT technicians duties, and use if ICTs in other subjects.
The computers are mainly maintained by an external company and the technician has to contact different providers as the equipment has been received from different sources. The technician has received his training by taking private tuition and also learning by doing.
Computers in the school are used for communication, content development, lesson planning and professional development, support for assignments by teachers and for project based learning by students. The computer lab is not always open when the students are free. There is no budget for ICT in the school.
Morogoro Secondary School
Morogoro Secondary School offers both junior and senior secondary education with a population of 66 teachers and 1800 students. 1200 of these students are in O-level and 600 in A-level.
There are about 50 computers and 1 laptop in the school with 34% being functional. 30 of these are below Pentium III. The computers were donated through a partnership with “connecting classrooms”. This is a partnership between Wilen Hall Sports College (UK), Tanzania and Zambia schools which has been branded as the TAZAWA project. The objective of TAZAWA is to exchange experience and culture between the different countries.
The operating system in the school is largely Windows. It was reported that there are no rules and regulations for computer usage which from observation has resulted in the high level of breakdown of equipment. The lab was also reported to be closed most of the time with the administration fearing that the students will spoil the computers. There was no educational software in use other than Microsoft Office and Publisher. 17 of the computers are connected to the internet via broadband. Computers in this school are repaired only when they break down with no preventive maintenance schedule in place. The IT technician has received his training through self learning Reports indicate that there are not ICT tools for ICT integration in this school. The IT technician is the physics teacher who has taken up extra responsibilities to ensure that the computer lab is put to use. There is no dedicated staff for IT related issues. There is no budget for ICTs in this school.
Key Challenges and Opportunities Identified
Although the data gathered during the field visits is not representative given the diversity and size of the Tanzanian education system, the following observations can be made for the purpose of the TDEV21 pilot project.
▪ The dominant deployment model in the institutions that were visited is the ICT computer lab while some tutors and teachers also indicated use of personal laptops.
▪ Budgetary allocation, institutional policies and leadership, awareness on the benefits of ICT in an educational system as described in preceding sections are very closely linked to the way ICTs are used, deployed and sustained in the institutions as indicated in this section. The effectiveness of the pilot would be intrinsically linked to what is going on in the various institutions at the implementation level. All institutions lack software and content for proper integration of ICT into the curricula and classroom practice. ICTs in the institutions visited are mainly being used for the acquisition of basic literacy skills as exhibited by the software available and the way the computers are being used. The number of devices available compared with the number of students allows only for a very limited access per student/teacher.
▪ The institutions visited would serve as model institutions during the pilot period because they would bring in a variety of experiences from their different setups and environment. These experiences would provide the link between policy and practice.
▪ Depending on the type of desired pilot the identified institutions will certainly require budgets for equipment, software and even IT personnel, though the amount and degree might change for each of them.
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The purpose of this situational and needs assessment was to scan the ICT teacher development landscape to determine the potential contribution of ICT competency standards for teachers in the Tanzania Education System.
The analyses from the findings in this report indicate that the process of contextualizing the UNESCO ICT-SCT standards would be most beneficial to the country at this time. By developing and piloting contextualized ICT competency standards for teachers in Tanzania, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and its agencies can utilize the standards framework in a manner that supports and complements the ongoing initiatives in education that are geared towards quality improvement in the general education system and more specifically in the secondary level of education. This would be achieved through developing the ICT competencies for secondary schools in pre-service and in-service training. The pilot initiative could be carried forward under SEDP II which has a component for teacher training and could thus be up-scaled and replicated nationally.
Findings of the study
A. There is a strong policy and programmatic focus at national level on ICT and Education
• The National ICT policy describes a continuum approach for developing technology competencies from teachers: from basic literacy skills to ICT use in management and administration to content development and the pedagogical integration of ICT in practice. ICT should be used as a tool to facilitate learning. Newly graduated teachers should be able to design and present their lessons using ICT. Practicing teachers should also be able to use ICT equipment for lesson preparation. All teachers should be able to move to other levels of ICT utilization beyond technology literacy levels.
• The Primary Education Development Program (PEDP), Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP), Complementary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET), Integrated Community Basic Adult Education (ICBAE) and the National Higher Education Policy are the major programs undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to operationalize the national education policy.
• The ICT Policy for Basic Education presents an approach that raises the bar on the model for ICT integration in the Education system. It is an approach that moves beyond technology literacy towards knowledge-based (knowledge deepening & knowledge construction) approaches for ICT integration. It is an approach that is focused on educational transformation - to make educational provision more relevant and responsive to national development needs for producing technologically literate citizens who can boost the economic engine and contribute to a learning knowledge society.
• The Tanzania Beyond Tomorrow” (TBT) is a new strategy in development under MoEVT that will define an E-Education Program for Basic Education for 2011-2020. Identify all initiatives of ICT in basic education in order to harmonize them, enhance the use of ICTs in education, and improve ICT infrastructure to support teaching and learning in basic education.
B. The proposed intervention can compliment ongoing effort to shift education from a content-based to competency-based
▪ The entire curriculum at every system level has been reviewed and revised to move from teacher-directed content based to learner-centered competency based delivery. The ICT policy outlines a framework for ICT integration in the revised curriculum as a subject and as a pedagogical tool for teaching and learning across all subject areas. The shift in the curriculum from a content-based to a competency-based approach redefining the role of the teacher as facilitator forms an integral part of the agenda for ICT integration to facilitate student centered and discovery learning approaches.
▪ The proposed initiative can serve as an opportunity to link the contextualization of the ICT-Competency Standards for Teachers in Tanzania to the national policy vision for moving teachers from ‘technology literacy’ to ‘knowledge-based’ approaches. This would in turn support national education objectives for moving teachers from ‘knowledge gatekeepers’ to ‘knowledge facilitators’. It would also provide a yardstick that can be used to measure the progression of teachers from one level of competency application to the next.
C. The intervention compliments ongoing work on building capacity on teacher development pre-service and in-service
▪ The Teachers Colleges are already equipped with basic ICT infrastructure, have a curriculum in place and 95% of their tutors have undergone technology literacy capacity building programs. The infrastructure comprises of 30 thin client computers and a server including peripherals and accessories in all the 34 colleges. A commercial ISP supplies the required bandwidth to all the colleges on contract basis. 30 of these colleges are connected to the national electrical grid and 4 of the colleges use generators and solar panels. Capacity building included basic ICT training for education administrators, training of all tutors in the use of ICT for teaching and learning which according to interviews translated to basic literacy skills. In the first phase of the deployment of ICT in TCs, 2-4 tutors in each college were certified in CISCO IT essentials. Previous attempts to have the infrastructure used for curriculum delivery fell short of the mark because it was not clear what it was that teachers were expected to know and be able to do in as far as the use of ICTs for classroom practice goes. TDEV21 presents a good opportunity to bring this value add.
▪ Recognizing that teachers need systematic competency development, in 2009, the government developed the “Framework for ICT use in Teacher Professional Development” elaborating a development path with vision, goals, resource requirements and outcomes for ICT integration in teacher development.
▪ The dual challenges of school expansion and acute teacher shortages have placed new demands on teacher colleges. Government estimates a requirement of 45,000 additional teachers to meet demand resulting from the exponential growth in student populations from primary to secondary level. College capacity to meet teacher demand is inadequate with high attrition rates exacerbating the problem particularly in rural zones. Colleges are attempting to address shortages and stem the tide of attrition by exploring the use of technology for providing in-service and distance education programs.
▪ The project pilot presents an opportunity to build capacity in colleges for enhancing outreach programs to support school communities in practice-based on-going professional development for technology use within the resources and constraints afforded by real classroom contexts.
Recommendations for going forward
▪ There is the opportunity to focus the TDev21 project on the pre-service and in-service training of secondary school teachers – situating the project in Teacher Colleges (TCs) (pre-service) and a sample of secondary schools (in-service) and zones linked to the TCs. The project pilot would be conducted under the leadership of the Teacher Education Department supported by Secondary Education Department with built-in mechanisms for sustainability from the onset.
▪ TDEV21 should be anchored in the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training with the involvement of the following Departments and Ministries for strategic reasons:
o The Teacher Education Department at the Ministry of Education should be involved as the overseer of the project initiative so that the standards are integrated into national processes and are given a high level of recognition after the pilot phase at the pre-service level.
o The secondary education department would have to work closely with TED. This would also ensure that there would be inbuilt sustainability and avenues for scaling up the project through SEDP II which has a component of in-servicing of teachers. The competencies would strengthen and complement this component which is funded by the World Bank office in Tanzania.
o The Morogoro Teachers College (MTC) should be the main institutional counterpart of the program, given the national-level role of College to lead on ICT integration in pre-service and in-service. Working with MTC will allow a proof of concept trialing of the contextualized competencies operationalization for systematic mainstreaming of standards across all teacher education institutions, instead of an ad-hoc adoption of standards.
▪ The focus of the pilot should be on pre-service training standards, but with an extension into in-service through the involvement of practicing teachers. To do this, the curriculum for the contextualized ICT competency standards should be developed in modular format so as to flexibly address pre-service and in-service training. This will allow the standards to be implemented in a continuum, covering student teachers, beginning teachers as well as practicing teachers. It will provide authentic grounds for testing the standards in real teaching and learning contexts, which are typically more constrained in resources and technology.
▪ The pilot will cover teachers under training to teach at secondary level and those who are already practicing from a sample of secondary schools. This is in keeping with the mandate and scope of the MTC. Standards should be contextualized through a participatory process. Teacher trainers and trainee teachers in the Teacher Colleges and Secondary Schools visited during the needs assessment should be involved in informing the pilot development of the contextualized competencies and modules. The focus would be to not simply develop contextualized competencies, modules and tools, but also to produce new knowledge from the practitioner communities of teacher educators and teachers who are applying the competencies and exploring different modalities for technology use in their professional practice.
It is recommended that the School Inspectorate Department and the Ministry in-charge of Local Government Authorities (PMO-LARG) should be represented in the next two phases of the project. The school inspectorate department is in charge of inspection of secondary schools and teachers colleges and although they are aware of what to inspect in conventional education, they do not know what a teacher should know and be able to do with and through ICTs in a technology enabled environment. Their contributions would add value to the process during this pilot phase and any eventual scaling up of the project
Table 8: Scenarios for Piloting Competency Standards for Teachers in Tanzania
| |
|Overview |
|Pilot project contextualization of ICT competency standards for teachers in Tanzania would be integrated into current national ICT policy and |
|curriculum thrust for pedagogical integration of ICT that is aligned to competency based learning outcomes. |
|The piloting of the standards would explore the following parameters: |
|Development of pilot modules based on the ICT competency priority areas identified by tutors and teachers in the needs assessment |
|“Train the trainer” pilot cascade model focus on the need to |
|address current challenges in secondary education – related to the dual demands of system expansion and quality of provision |
|address specifically challenges in teaching and learning in key subject areas of Mathematics, Science and Language – related to falling standards and|
|learner achievement in national examinations |
|include components on whole school planning and development for ICT integration across the curriculum |
|Shorten the distance between cascade steps from national level to classroom level through involving a cross-section of participants from the |
|different levels of education delivery. |
| |
|The pilot project of prioritized Teacher Competency Standards for teachers would be coordinated through TED in partnership with teachers colleges and|
|secondary schools in in-service programs through the SED. |
| |
|Scenario 1 – pilot in all 7 Teacher Education zones |
|Piloting the contextualized ICT competency standards prioritized during the needs assessments in all 7 Teacher Education zones |
|Work with “Train the trainer” teams composed of 4 trainers from each zone – 1 from the college of education, 2 teachers from secondary schools |
|(Science and Mathematics) and 1 secondary school principal |
| |
|College level Train the trainer team s |
|Teacher College –pre-and in-service - general |
|Teacher College –pre-and in-service – general |
|Teacher College –pre-and in-service - general |
|Teacher College –pre-and in-service - general |
|Teacher College –pre-and in-service – general |
|Teacher College –pre-and in-service – general |
|Teacher College –pre-and in-service - general |
| |
| |
|Zone team – 1 teacher college tutor, 2 secondary teachers (Math & Science), 1 School principal |
| |
|Zone team – 1 teacher college tutor, 2 secondary teachers (Math & Science), 1 School principal |
|Zone team – 1 teacher college tutor, 2 secondary teachers (Math & Science), 1 School principal |
|Zone team – 1 teacher college tutor, 2 secondary teachers (Math & Science), 1 School principal |
|Zone team – 1 teacher college tutor, 2 secondary teachers (Math & Science), 1 School principal |
|Zone team – 1 teacher college tutor, 2 secondary teachers (Math & Science), 1 School principal |
|Zone team – 1 teacher college tutor, 2 secondary teachers (Math & Science), 1 School principal |
| |
|Training – zonal level |
|Zone 1 |
|Teacher resource centres |
| |
|School based planning |
| |
| |
|Zone 2 |
|Teacher resource centres |
| |
|School based planning |
| |
|Zone 3 |
|Teacher resource centres |
| |
|School based planning |
| |
| |
|Zone 4 |
|Teacher resource centres |
| |
|School based planning |
| |
|Zone 5 |
|Teacher resource centres |
| |
|School based planning |
| |
| |
|Zone 6 |
|Teacher resource centres |
| |
|School based planning |
| |
| |
|Zone 7 |
|Teacher resource centres |
| |
|School based planning |
| |
| |
| |
|Outputs |
|7 Teachers college tutors trained |
|14 Secondary school teachers in math and science trained |
|7 school principals trained |
| |
|Pros/ cons |
|Pros: |
|Coverage of all zones for building zonal team capacity |
|Coverage of key subject areas as well as whole school planning |
|Focus on support structure for training follow through from college to zonal level |
|Cons: – |
|Teams at zonal level are small with limited capacity for covering all zonal school clusters |
|Training at teacher college level may not be replicable at zonal level – due to lack of adequate support and follow-up to address real conditions in |
|school settings |
|Scenario 2 |
|Piloting the contextualized ICT competency standards prioritized during the needs assessments in 3 Teacher College zones |
|Identifying “Train the trainer” teams for each zone |
|College level Train the trainer team s |
|Teacher College –pre-and in-service – |
| |
|Science |
|Teacher College –pre-and in-service – |
| |
|Mathematics |
|Teacher College –pre-and in-service – |
| |
|Language |
| |
| |
|Zone team – |
|2 teacher college tutors in Science,2 secondary teachers in Science, 2 School principals, 1 zonal inspector |
|Zone team – |
|2 teacher college tutors in Mathematics,2 secondary teachers in Mathematics, 2 School principals, 1 zonal inspector |
|Zone team – |
|2 teacher college tutors in Language,2 secondary teachers in Language, 2 School principals, 1 zonal inspector |
| |
|Training – zonal level |
|Zone 1 |
|Teacher resource centres |
| |
|School based planning |
| |
| |
|Zone 2 |
|Teacher resource centres |
| |
|School based planning |
| |
|Zone 3 |
|Teacher resource centres |
| |
|School based planning |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|Outputs |
|6 college tutors in science, mathematics and language trained in three zones |
|6 secondary school teachers trained in science, mathematics and languages trained in three zones |
|6 school principals in three zones |
|3 zonal inspectors trained in three zone |
| |
| |
|Pros/ cons |
|Pros: |
|Critical mass of trainers to take the training from college training level down to school and classroom practice levels – in intensive engagement in|
|3 zones – focused on 3 areas of Mathematics Science and Language for pilot phase |
|Development of College of Education profile for pre and in-service in specialist areas of Mathematics, Science and Language |
|Teams at zonal level have peer support to address jointly challenges of implementation in real school contexts |
|Teams include school leadership and inspectorate members to ensure zonal and institutional policy support for teachers in pilot implementation and |
|experimentation around the competencies |
|Cons: – |
|Smaller coverage for pilot phase |
|Scaling up given limited capacity developed |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to all the Tanzanian education stakeholders who participated in this consultative process.
Special thanks to Prof. Hamisi Dihenga (Permanent Secretary, MoEVT), Dr. Binde (Assistant Director, Teacher Education Department), Mr. Issa Bakari (Principal Education Officer, Teacher Education Department) and Mr. Samuel Makundi (Education Officer, Teacher Education Department), Dr. Martin Mwanukuzi (Department of Planning), and Eng. Zebadiah Moshi (Director General, Vocational & Training Authority) for their generous time insights, information, and access to resources. We cannot forget to recognize the role played and the information provided by those who were interviewed and all the insights they provided which greatly enriched this document.
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APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: ICT IN EDUCATION ACTIVITY SYSTEMS
Ministry of Education and
Vocational Training – MoEVT
PEDP, SEDP, TED, DP
National Institutions & Agencies
TIE, VETA, Universities
Mainstream Teacher Colleges,
Vocational Teacher Colleges
Schools
ICT-mediated
Classrooms
[pic]
Assessment, curriculum
classroom management,
Time-tables
Pilot & mainstream schools,
heads, teachers, students,
PTAs, community
ICT pre-service, induction, in-service
continuous professional development
ICT curriculum,
standards, assessment,
accreditation, certification
Education Policies,
ICT Policies & Strategies, Examinations,
ICT4E Unit, ICT4E Focal Persons
ICT4E Steering Committee
Tanzania Beyond Tomorrow
ICT4E national & regional projects
Figure 5: Multi-level ICT Activity Systems of Tanzania Education Sector
Adapted: Lim and Hang, 2003
APPENDIX 2: STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS AND ENGLISH SUBJECTS FOR CERTIFICATE IN SECONDARY EDUCATION EXAMINATION (CSEE) FROM 2005 –2008.
|YR |SUBJECT |SCORERS & PERCENTAGE (%)|GRADES |TOTAL |
| | | |
| |Branded (i.e. |Clones (unbranded) | |
| |Compaq, IBM) | | |
|Desktops Pentium I and below | | | |
|Desktops Pentium II or III | | | |
|Desktops Pentium IV and above | | | |
|Others (i.e. Macs) | | | |
|Laptops, notebooks or netbooks | | | |
|Don’t know | | | |
1 1.2) If you have servers please describe them (brand, hardware specifications)
2 1.3) How were the computers acquired? Through (Select all applicable)
NGO(s) [pic] Private vendor(s) [pic] School [pic]
Church [pic] Private donor(s) [pic] PTA [pic]
Ex-students [pic]
Donations [pic] I do not know [pic]
Other (specify): ______________________________________________________
3 1.4) Which operating Software(s) are in use in the institution? (Select all applicable)
Windows (specify): 95 [pic] 98 [pic] ME [pic]
XP [pic] Vista [pic]
Dual boot operating system [pic]
Linux [pic] Specify distribution(s): ____________
Others (Specify): ______________________________________________________
I do not know [pic]
4 1.5) Which office application software is in use in the Institution?
Office 97 [pic] Office 2000 and above [pic] Open Office [pic]
Others (Specify): ______________________________________________________
I do not know [pic]
5 1.6) Are the operating systems (Software) licensed?
Yes [pic]
No [pic]
Some [pic]
Don’t know [pic]
6 1.7) How were the Operating Systems (Software’s) and Application Software Acquired?
Bought by school [pic]
Donated [pic]
Came with the machine [pic]
Installed by the Technician from a personal copy [pic]
Don’t Know [pic]
Others (Specify): __________________________________________________
7 1.8) Are there any set standards (minimum versions, languages, technical, etc) for software and or digital content? If so, please describe
1.9) Which of the following software are used in your institution?
|Software in use |Yes (Please name some if the answer is Yes) |No` |
|Educational softwares | | |
|School management software | | |
|Statistical software | | |
|Engineering software | | |
|Accounting software | | |
2. Connectivity
2.1) Are the computers networked? _____________________________
If yes, which is the network operating system? ____________________
2.2) Is there a central server or more? YES/NO
If yes, what is it used for? (tick all that apply)
Data storage [pic]
Content and software storage [pic]
Proxy server [pic]
Security [pic]
Data cache [pic]
Centralized network management [pic]
Content filtering [pic]
I do not know [pic]
8 2.3. Internet
Are the computers connected to the internet? YES/NO ________________
All the PCs have access [pic] or Some of the PCS have access [pic]
Only teachers have access [pic]
Only admin have access [pic]
Access is available only some days or for limited time [pic]
I do not know [pic]
If yes, what is the technology type?
|Internet connection arrangement | |Speed/ bandwidth |
|dial up(telephone) |♦ | |
|leased line(fiber optics) |♦ | |
|3G (cell phone) |♦ | |
|ISDN/ADSL |♦ | |
|broadband via cable |♦ | |
|Wireless |♦ | |
|Satellite |♦ | |
3. Policy
2 3.1) Does your department have formal (written policies or plans) regarding:
|Policy, plan or guideline regarding |Yes |No |
|User password, security | | |
|recommendations, etc | | |
|Content filtering | | |
|Correct use of the equipment | | |
|Rules for the use of the equipment | | |
|(i.e. teachers have priority, etc) | | |
|Preventive maintenance | | |
|Users rights and duties | | |
|IT technician duties | | |
|Use of ICTs in other subjects other | | |
|than ICT | | |
4. Maintenance
1 4.1) How often are the computers maintained (tick below as appropriate)
|Routine schedule |Preventive maintenance |Curative maintenance |
|Monthly | | |
|Quarterly | | |
|Half yearly | | |
|Yearly | | |
|When the break down | | |
|Never | | |
2 4.2) Who repairs and maintains the equipment?
Me / My team [pic]
An external company [pic]
The hardware providers [pic]
5. Professional development
3 5.1) What type of training do you have in order to perform your job? (check all that apply)
Self taught [pic]
Learned by doing [pic]
Took Private courses without certification [pic]
Took Private courses with certification (i.e. MS, Cisco) [pic]
Tertiary level diploma [pic]
University level diploma [pic]
4 5.2). How do you keep your skills up-to-date?
Self learning and learn by doing [pic]
TIVET provides training [pic]
Pay for courses privately [pic]
I am doing or continuing my formal education (university level) [pic]
6. ICT Usage
6.1) Do you have ICT tools for ICT Integration in teaching in learning in your institution?
YES [pic] NO [pic]
If Yes which are the tools available?
6.2) In your opinion, How are ICT used by teachers and students for the purpose stated above?
|ICT use in teaching & learning |By teachers |By students |
|Communications | | |
|Content development | | |
|Instructional purposes | | |
|Lesson preparation | | |
|Personal use (emails) | | |
|Professional development (online courses) | | |
|Project based learning | | |
|Research | | |
|Other | | |
|Support for Assignments | | |
| | | |
6.3) Is the computer lab open after schools hours or over the weekends?
| |Yes |No |
|After school hours | | |
|Over the weekends | | |
7. Funding of ICT related activities at the institutional level
7.1 Is there a budget line for ICT related activities? _____________
If yes which ones:
Software acquisition [pic]
Hardware maintenance [pic]
Hardware acquisition [pic]
Professional development [pic]
Other [pic]
I do not know [pic]
APPENDIX 4: LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS INTERVIEWED
|Name |Position |Organization |E-mail |
|Prof. Hamisi O. Dihenga |Permanent Secretary |Ministry of Education and Vocational Training |hodihenga@ |
| | |(MoEVT) | |
|Dr. Binde |Assistant Director |MoEVT |andrewbinde2000@ |
| |Teacher Education Department | | |
|Mr. Issa Bakari |Principal Education Officer |MoEVT |ibakari2004@ |
| |Teacher Education Department | | |
|Ms. Naomi Swai |SEDP – Teacher Professional Development |MoEVT |lubaya1996@yahoo.co.uk |
| |Principal Education Officer | | |
|Samuel Makundi |Principal Education Officer |MoEVT |samuel_makundi@yahoo.ca |
|Martin Manukuzi |Department of Planning |MoEVT |mwanus@ |
|Elia Kibga |Directorate of Secondary Education |MoEVT |kibgaelia@yahoo.co.uk |
|Basilianca C. Mrimi |Teacher Education |MoEVT |basilianamrimi@yahoo.co.uk |
|Jumanne K. Shauri |Primary Education Department |MoEVT |jkiangio@ |
|Tulinagwe Ngonile |Inspector (Physics/Math) |MoEVT | |
|Mchikirwa Kafunu |Inspector (Physics/Chemistry) |MoEVT | |
|Hamis S. Lissu |Inspector (Biology/Chemistry) |MoEVT | |
| | | | |
|Stephen Tsoray |Principal |Morogoro Vocational Teachers Training College |tsoraysl@ |
| | |(MVTTC) | |
|Kiomo |Head of Resource Centre |MVTTC | |
|Sadila |Head of Education |MVTTC | |
|Tuka |Tutor in Multimedia Teaching |MVTTC | |
|Mahugo |ICT Tutor |MVTTC | |
| | | | |
|Arun R. Joshi |Education Team Leader |World Bank |ajoshi@; |
| | | |.tz; |
| | | |+255 783 411 158 |
|Dr. Bob Day |Consultant WB |World Bank |bobdy@non-zero- +27 82 458 9119|
| | | | |
|January Timanywa |Curriculum Coordinator |Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) |jtimanywa@ |
| |(Business Studies for secondary education) | | |
|Joel Nchahoruri |Curriculum Coordinator |TIE |Fjoeln2@ |
| |(Science subjects, - Secondary, Teachers Colleges) | | |
|Thomas Raphael |ICT Manager |TIE |Raphael.thomas@tie.go.tz |
|Raphael A.O. Thomas |ICT Manager |TIE |abokk@ |
| | | | |
|Eng. Zebadiah S. Moshi |Director General |Vocational Education & Training Authority (VETA) |zsmoshi@veta.go.tz zsmoshi@ |
| | | | |
|Paul Kikubu |Principal |Nelson Mandela Secondary School | |
|Labira Ngairo |Deputy Principal |Nelson Mandela Secondary school | |
|Bestina Ngole |Computer Science teacher |Nelson Mandela Secondary School | |
|Rabia Ngaillo |Biology teacher |Nelson Mandela Secondary School | |
|Elimika Gideon Muhulo |Geography/ History/ ICT |Nelson Mandela Secondary School | |
|Otaro Stephen P |Agricultural science |Nelson Mandela Secondary School | |
|Rehema Silayo |Biology & Agricultural Science |Nelson Mandela Secondary School | |
|Angelina Masinga |Agricultural Science |Nelson Mandela Secondary School | |
|Mustapha Mbana |English & Kiswahili |Nelson Mandela Secondary School | |
|Hassan H Warioba |Physics and Chemistry |Nelson Mandela Secondary School | |
| | | | |
|Ngonyani |Principal |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Eddy Mkwambe |Mathematics Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |emkwambe@ |
|Timothy J.H. Nzumbi |ICT |Morogoro Teachers College |Timot.nzumbi@ |
|Jumanne Wimba |Chemistry Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |msagara@ |
|Richard Chiligati |Chemistry Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |Chiligati2008@ |
|Nuran Ibrahim |English Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |nuraibra@ |
|Buheri Thomas |Education Foundation Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |buheri@ |
|Davies Mlay |Development Studies, Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |mlaydy@ |
|Yudith Mahara |Foundation Education Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |maharaj@ |
|Shufaa Salum |Biology Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |esther@ |
|Maria Felician Castor |English Comm. Skills Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |felicianmaria@ |
|Maua Jumbe |Development Studies Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |Jumbe82@ |
|Arafa Saidi |Mathematics Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |arafandosi@ |
|Elisadiki Ndosi |Biology Tutor |Morogoro Teachers College |Ellyndosi@ |
| | | | |
|Fredrick Kalija |Student Teacher (History & English) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Jusuphu A. J. |Student Teacher (History & English) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Tendo Alice |Student Teacher (Geography & English) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Ally Mteketa |Student Teacher (Geography & History) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Linus Philimon |Student Teacher (Geography & English) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Alesius W. Mutakakyahwa |Student Teacher (Geography & Math) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Athamas Shaurita |Student Teacher (Physics and Math) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Abel Nestory |Student Teacher (Physics and Math) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Mossses Chiwala |Student Teacher (Chemistry and Biology) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
| | | | |
|Upendo Sadikibly |Student Teacher (Kiswahili & English) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Sunday Mramba |Student Teacher (Kiswahili and History) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Amaniel Mmary |Student Teacher (Chemistry and Biology) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Zania Laban |Student Teacher (Physics and Math) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Victor Nestory |Student Teacher (Biology and Chemistry) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Christina Mlyomi |Student Teacher (Geography and Kiswahili) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
|Mwatatu Nyenzi |Student Teacher (Geography Biology) |Morogoro Teachers College | |
| | | | |
|Calista Mtamihela |Deputy Principal |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Mwinshe N. |Math Computer Teacher |Morogoro Secondary School |n.mwinshehe@ |
|Josephine J. M |Kiswahili Teacher |Morogoro Secondary School |jsphinejohn@ |
|John Mkami |Math Teacher |Morogoro Secondary School |jobem@ |
|Gaspar Jaka |Physics Teacher |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Eudora Elisali |Biology Teacher |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Mary Magandi |Chemistry Teacher |Morogoro Secondary School |magandimary@ |
|Prisca D. Mbezi |English Teacher |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Twaiba Ally |Math Teacher |Morogoro Secondary School |twaibaa@ |
|Noel Masuki |Physics Teacher |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Rajabu Abdul |Math Teacher |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Tibrusa Mwasi |Geography Teacher |Morogoro Secondary School | |
| | | | |
|Mohammed Manuwar |Form IV |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Klaky Kisanga |Form III |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Floral Leonard |Form III |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Shamsa Rajabu |Form II |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Joesphat Mtema |Form II |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Kmeilembe Godfrey |Form I |Morogoro Secondary School | |
|Ramdahan Hassan |Form I |Morogoro Secondary School | |
APPENDIX 5: FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS
Lecturer / Teacher Focus Group Discussions
|Question 1 - Policy issues |
|What are the most important factors which encourage you to use ICT in your instructional/course activities? |
|Morogoro College of Education |
|Lecturers – 14 tutors participated in the focus group discussion |
|Tutor Specialist areas: Biology, Mathematics, Development Studies, English and Communication Skills, Biology, Foundation of Education, Development Studies, Education Foundation, Physics, |
|English, Chemistry, ICT, Mathematics |
|Tutors have used and are comfortable with a number of new technology applications in their course provision inclusive of: PowerPoint, email, word, Moodle, word, excel, desktop publication, Access|
|software, SPSS packages, internet search and retrieve, multimedia software, maintenance of the computers |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|Teacher Profile – 8 teachers participated in the focus group discussion |
|Teacher subject areas of specialization: English, Agricultural Science, Biology, Science and Agricultural Science, Geography, History and Computers, Biology and Geography, History and Swahili and|
|Computer Science, Chemistry and Physics |
|Teaching experience: ranging from a teacher with just 2 days teaching experience to 12 years, 22 years,25 years and 30 years |
|What encourages the teachers to use technology is prior knowledge, confidence, interest to know, the exposure and the skills needed |
|Teachers need background in technology use |
|Most teachers need to make their own efforts to get enough experience to be confident in using technology |
|Older teachers have very little knowledge on the use of the computer – but there is a need for some kind of introduction to encourage them |
|The teaching load for science teachers in particular is too large |
|Teachers travel a long way to get to schools – transport, weekend concerns with families all inhibit new technology experimentation and uptake in teaching and learning |
|Teachers are overwhelmed with many class periods, duties and responsibilities, to the extent that they have no time to explore technology during school hours and technology is not available in |
|the home for most teachers |
|Teachers with access to computers in the home are using them to enrich their subject teaching and for their personal day to day lives |
|Morogoro Secondary School |
|Teachers – 11 teachers participated in the focus group discussion |
|Teacher subject areas of specialization: Geography, Physics, Mathematics, Swahili, English, Chemistry, Biology |
|Teachers felt that time and knowledge are the most important factors that encourage them to use ICTs |
|The school has instigated an informal policy for ICT use - advising teachers that because there are computers it would be best to record the marks in the computers. It is not mandatory to record |
|the marks but it is encouraged. Not all the teacher have acquired adequate knowledge or competencies to use ICT. |
|Question 2 - Curriculum |
|Have you explored opportunities to use ICT in your curriculum/ for instructional purposes? |
|How do you use it? |
|Morogoro College of Education |
|Tutors use ICT in their Departments as a source of material for preparing notes, for googling scholars, for searching material, for accessing encyclopedias and for preparing notes for student |
|teachers, for preparing PowerPoint course work delivery, for uploading coursework and materials onto a Moodle program for student teacher access, for storing information for the department, for |
|archiving schemes of work, lesson plans etc. |
|The College has a language laboratory with a number of PCs which have different installations of software programs. One program is for managing class interaction. Teachers can prepare notes and |
|lesson plans and bring students to the language lab and conduct the class using the technology available – inclusive of CDs, internet,& text-based materials – or content from web-sites that has |
|been pre-pared by lecturers |
|The curriculum defines the teaching and learning materials that can be used in technology devices. Yet the syllabus seems as if it was prepared in a world where ICT was not there – even the |
|teaching and learning aids mentioned in the curriculum are for the most part not ICT related |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|No exploration for teaching using technology on the part of the older teachers |
|Young teacher newly appointed to the school talked of his plans to use technology – but on observing the school environment felt that his ICT competencies and experience would not be enough to |
|use technology in this teaching environment |
|There was a general consensus that teachers should try to use the computers/ to experiment with technology / to learn how to use technology – but teachers need to be confident to be able to take|
|this step |
|The ICT coordinator explained that there are games for teaching students that enable them to explore technology – games are related to all subjects – with quizzes related to all subject areas |
|Out of the 20 plus computers in the lab – 5 have been connected to the internet by NOPC and using ZEIN for a connection |
|Teachers and students have come to access materials using goggle search engines and educational website. |
|Educational programs have been installed by NOPC in Science and Mathematics |
|Most of the teachers in the colleges and universities do not have access to the computer – |
|Some of the teachers are beginning to explore the computers, to prepare questions for their classes based on search and retrieval and take the course work to the head’s office printer room |
|The computer lab team have been trying to develop a program which will help the teachers to feel more confident and comfortable with computer use In their course work practice. |
| Morogoro Secondary School |
|Teachers question the meaning of Information Computer Technology and discussed the various technologies – new and old - radio, TV, PowerPoint presentations, photographs, mobile phones. The |
|keyword is the use of technologies to communication whether in daily life or in professional practice. |
|Teachers discussed how they use ICTs in teaching and learning as well as the challenges: |
|Some use the printing from soft copy to hard copy. |
|One teacher felt that there is not enough time to use the computers. |
|One teachers used her phone to search for online materials because some teaching materials and content in books may be out of date. |
|Another teacher looked for information in geography which is current for relevance to help/increase students’ understanding. |
|Another admitted that he has not used ICT due to lack of awareness and felt that time was needed in order to be able to learn and use. |
|Another teacher spoke about using videos in her English program to show plays based on the literature. She clarified that the school also borrow materials from other schools to show on |
|television. |
|Some teachers us ICTs for sharing lesson plans and schemes of work |
|Others use ICTs for computing examination results in the computers. |
.
|Question 3 – Pedagogy |
|If you went into a lecture hall/ classroom of a good lecturer/instructor who was using technology, what would you see? |
|Morogoro College of Education |
|Tutor competencies required for tutors/ teachers to use technology effectively |
|Being cognizant with the ICT tools |
|Being able to access various resources which can be used in teaching and learning |
|Being able to identify various resources and how to access them |
|In the curriculum you have concepts (the content of subject areas) and pedagogy (how should the subject be taught) – the lecturer needs two skills content and pedagogy – the lecturer should know |
|how to use ICT themselves and how to model it for student teachers |
|There is a need for communication skills to link teaching and learning in specialist areas with other communities – via video conferencing, skype |
|A good teacher who use technology effectively and efficiently in teaching and learning: |
|has prepared the lesson and focused it on student interaction for higher order skills development |
|is able to meet the objectives beyond what the teacher could do without using ICT – the integration of ICT should be the way to advance his normal professional skills |
|Combines using audio-visual teaching aids with texts to make the lesson more dynamic |
|is able to help the learners integrate what they learn in the classroom with the real life situations |
|is using technology to link subject matter with cross cutting curriculum themes and more integrated approaches |
|is using ICT to involve students in assessing their own learning |
|is showing students how hypothetical knowledge can be concretized |
|is using technology to produce animations and simulations which can support understanding and engage students with complex topics that are difficult to conceptualize is using ICT for reducing |
|the level of abstraction of the content he/she is teaching |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|Skills that a teacher requires: |
|training to help teachers to use technology in the classroom |
|know-how to develop ICT materials for teaching and learning in the classroom |
|Ability to access materials from the internet to make teaching more efficient |
|To bring effectiveness and efficiency in learning and teaching so that the outcome will be to promote critical thinking in the learners and the students to remain lifelong learners. |
|Presenting teachers with a lot of materials, teacher should support the learning and the learner should discover by themselves |
|Learners should discover for themselves |
|In the classroom where the ‘good teacher’ is using technology effectively: |
|Students eager to learn about technology – exploring the use of technology – students who are interested – students are eager |
|Students are also finding some internet material that is not desirable |
|Students are at ease /happy in being in a virtual environment – and will concentrate on what is happening and become more motivated |
|Many students are getting a chance to learn – because every student is concentrated – rather than listening to one teacher |
|Teachers are giving guiding questions – students are researching from different sources – some debate different issues based on the information that they find |
|The technology is enabling the teacher to explore more, to assign group work – so that students can share their work |
|Language teachers are using technology to explore different stages of lesson development from pre-reading discussion, to reading to post reading reflection |
| Morogoro Secondary School |
|Students are well influenced, enjoy the subject because they can see real life experiences with computer simulations |
|The teacher is motivated to teach and moving away from using the chalk and is enjoying involving the students more actively in the learning |
|The teacher is current and updated in what she is providing in the teaching and learning program |
|Teacher is using current teaching aids |
| |
|Question 4 – Infrastructure |
|What are the non ICT/ ICT resources that you use in teaching and learning? What resources that you need? |
|Morogoro College of Education |
|There is one lab in the college to serve over a thousand students. |
|Tutors have their own room for preparing materials and conducting research. |
|In general access is limited. |
|Most of the time the college lab is used by the ICT tutors teaching basic ICT literacy and general materials development. |
|The lab curriculum is focused on teaching the student to use multi-media to prepare some teaching aids for their different subject areas |
|Topic of multi-media that cuts across different subjects – how to integrate ICT in Biology, physics – simulations of pistol engines |
|The focus is to train teachers to access the software on the net and download - software for development of content not available, |
|Information and Communication Studies – training for student on how to use ICT in teaching and learning |
|No orientation in ICT communication technologies |
|There is the English lab which to date has rules and regulations for restricted use for English students only. |
|The language lab has internet connection. |
|There is a new policy in development to provide language lab access for all students |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|There are 28 teachers in the school. |
|Those who frequently access the computers are those who are fresh from the school. |
|Older teachers have been reluctant to explore the devices |
|The school has a TV and CDs and video tapes – where teachers have explored their use mainly in the English Literature and Geography subject areas. |
|Morogoro Secondary School |
|ICT resoruces |
|There are 35 computers, 3 TVs, printers and connectivity |
|Question 5 – Organization & administration |
|How does the administration support ICT use for your teaching function/ your specialized area? |
|Morogoro College of Education |
|The administration has a role to play to mobilize resources within the organization for acquisition of computers, projects, connectivity to the internet |
|There is a need for a budget for professional development |
|To date there have been internal seminars and training enhanced by administration |
|Once the lecturers are equipped with ICT technology and knowledge – it is then the responsibility of tutors to use that knowledge in practice |
|There is a requirement to enable tutors to identify needs to use ICT in his or her teaching. |
|A teacher may not be engaged in ICT issues because he/she is not aware of what he should be able to know and do with technology in their professional practice. |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|The school is shifting towards a computer culture gradually. |
|There is a school policy for encouraging teachers to digitize examinations. |
|There is an ICT budget for anti-virus installation, maintenance of the computer rooms, printing |
|There is goodwill and encouragement for teachers – to arouse their interest to learn about the computers |
|Morogoro Secondary School |
|Teachers saw administration support through seeking partnerships and organization of short courses and source for materials for use in the ICT room. |
|Funds are provided, any teacher is allowed to come into the computer room and there is an open door policy. |
|The school is positive but there is no ability financially to provide adequate facilities for the number of students. It is not possible to use the technology continuously and the resources are |
|not affordable. |
|The school wants to run this lab but the problem is funding and sustainability of efforts. E.g connectivity, maintenance, and a computer teacher ( the current teacher doubles up as a mathematics|
|teacher as well and has a heavy workload in the school) |
|Question 6 – Professional Development |
|Can you get access to ICT specific training support? |
|Have you been on ICT courses for teachers? |
|What further training do you feel you need? |
|Morogoro College of Education |
|There has been training opportunities for students and staff |
|Staff have been trained to use ICT in professional practice – for example in concept mapping in teaching and learning – and in organization and management |
|The internal training is not as regular as could be desired to meet lecturer needs – to help lecturers keep on a par with new technology developments and competencies |
|There has been training in Moodle software – on how to post materials for student coursework and materials access |
|Lecturers have been trained on how to provide tests and examinations online |
|The application of training in practice becomes limited when taking into consideration the student numbers and equipment available |
|Training received has been generic – there has been little training provided on specific skills for subject area teaching – much of the material content has not been culture specific - specific |
|skill training is needed in subject areas of Science and Mathematics |
|Tutors themselves use their own initiative to build up the practical knowledge on ICT use in their subject areas |
|It is difficult to acquire professional skills in the three day intensive hit and run workshop model |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|Two teachers attended external training – one has since left the school |
|A specific training for staff hasn’t happened |
|Informal training is on-going – as teachers troubleshoot the use of the computer with the ICT coordinator and colleagues. |
|Training has been conducted with teachers who have little knowledge of the computer. Teachers have also attended courses in their own time. |
|In general teachers felt that learning how to use technology in professional practice needs a support system. |
|It is not adequate for teachers to simply attend demonstration training that do not take into consideration the background and challenges of real classroom contexts. |
|Teachers also need materials so that when it comes to training application it will be easier. |
|The desired training should focus on a blended mode of learning – which include self instructional materials and follow-up support for school based practice that is focused on enabling teachers|
|to move at their own pace |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|The NOPC connectivity is an issue – where the contact support is based in the UK. The school has been without the internet for two months with no response from UK from the various emails sent. |
|Morogoro Secondary School |
|ICT courses attended |
|Introduction, wordprocessing graphs, powerpoint, has been offered organized by the school. |
|A crash program for a month for the teachers. |
|There is a special program for teachers. |
|This was offered after working hours for five days. |
|About 80% of the respondents have basic computer skills. |
| |
|What further training do you feel you need? |
|Internet to search and retrieve materials, powerpoint, excel. |
|Knowledge in applying ICT in subject areas to enable students to solve problems aligned to new methodologies for learner centered teaching & learning |
|Search and retrieve information that can provide real images and meaningful understanding for students. |
|Teachers should be able to evaluate the online materials for appropriateness. |
|Using devices like projectors and other ICT tools for teaching. |
Student Teacher Focus Group Discussion
|Question 1 - |
|Policy issues on ICT access |
|What do you think about the use of ICTs in teacher education and learning today (Is it a necessity or a luxury?) |
|How important is ICT in teacher development with this in mind? |
|Morogoro Student teachers – 16 1st and 2nd year student teachers |
|Student subject specialist areas - Geography, Biology, Swahili, Chemistry, Mathematics, History, English, Physics |
|For students ICT means the convergence of modern technologies for storing, processessing, accessing information |
|ICTs being using everyday settings – the mobile phone, laptops, radios, television – as well as teaching and learning |
|Students discussed their motivation for choosing teaching as a career – student choose teaching because |
|they have looked at society and its needs |
|they want to give knowledge back to society |
|they want to enable students to acquire knowledge and to use it in society |
|they want to contribute to the development of the country – starting with children – planning a new mentality in order to support new knowledge development |
|Students identified several uses for ICT in teaching and learning which include: |
|The use of ICT can help a teacher to grow professionally – |
|With ICT teachers can plan and store information/ lesson plans. Teaching schemes for future use |
|ICTs can assist teachers in tracking student assessment - make teaching more efficient |
|It is important for a teacher to have ICT competencies so that they can deliver the teaching activities efficiently and with accuracy |
|Teaching with ICT can address issues of gaps in teaching and learning in remote in rural areas |
|ICT assists the teacher keep current and issues that are real abreast – linking teaching and learning to real world issues |
|ICT is becoming a key driver for development – |
|Students will need new technology literacy skills to participate in the 21st Century local and global b societies |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School students – 15 students from forms 1, 2, 3 and 4 |
|4 students have computers at home |
|Two students use computers for studying and for small business enterprises – earning money for printing |
|In studying – students use internet to access information |
|Currently the school is without internet so student use the school computers mostly for saving files |
|All students have accessed the computer lab at school at least once. |
|Morogoro Secondary School Students - 7 students from forms 1,2, 3, 4 |
|Students discussed how people communicate using all kinds of technologies - phones, whistles, sign language long – using these tools long before newer technologies of computers, laptops, mobile |
|phones |
|Today students discussed how people communicate using the computer, sending messages through fax, television, through mobile phones, through the radio |
|Students use mobile phones to communicate with other people , to find out what is happening in other countries |
|Computers are used in schools to help students acquire skills to become better professionals. |
|Students believe that ICTs can help them in their studies, to address hard questions and assignment that they get in class |
|Students believe that it is important to learn about technology – because nowadays computers are everywhere |
|Computers are important for assisting students with their studies and to help them know ore about what is happening in the world. |
|Question 2 - Curriculum |
|Is the ICT curriculum on offer in the College of Education/ school programs relevant to your future needs? |
|Morogoro Student teachers |
|ICT is introduced in the college as a compulsory subject – as a methodology for teaching ICT as a subject and as a tool for use in teaching and learning |
|Some students argued that ICT is a compulsory component of course work for all students |
|Other students contested that ICT is not compulsory – out of 9 subjects there are only 2 compulsory subjects – as there is not adequate equipment to cover ICT as a compulsory subject for all students|
|The focus of ICT is to give student the general knowledge of ICT which can be helpful in teaching and learning |
|Students can get ICT in the college and use the knowledge for their own professional and personal benefit as ICT it is not a subject in the syllabus nationally |
|The ICT course offering in the college is adequate – as it enables the student to access information and know what is happening and prepare them for future government policy for ICT deployment in all|
|secondary schools – |
|Students receiving relevant preparation to shift from chalk and talk towards the use of project work and powerpoint to facilitate more efficient and effective teaching and learning |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|Students felt that computers are important because they provide you with skills that you can use in society |
|ICTs are part of new communication is growing – without the knowledge of the computer – students feel that they will face unemployment |
|While many students are getting an introduction to computers, they feel they eed more advanced skills to contribute to their country |
|Morogoro Secondary School Students |
|Most students have not been to the computer lab |
|Two or three students have used the computer lab only once – mainly to explore the computer |
|Question 3 – Pedagogy |
|Do you use ICT in your courses? |
|What ICTs are used in your courses? |
|Morogoro Student teachers |
|Students use ICTs to search for materials from the website – to find information for addressing coursework questions /assignments |
|Students need more opportunities for practice – and this would require both an increase in the numbers of computers and supervisors to support them during and after class hours |
|Tutors who are technology savvy can help students understand the use of ICT better for subject application |
|Students felt that they are learning how to operate the computers - they are not learning about |
|maintenance – or |
|addressing issues concerning anti-virus – or |
|basic starter programs to acquire typing skills |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|Students have been using the computers to find materials for learning – in all subjects – usually biology, chemistry, English, physics, geography, physics |
|Students have been studying introduction to computers – using the computer to type his assignments and for doing their own research |
|Students have been learning how to use the keyboard, how to open the internet, how to write a letter, how to make tables , typing |
|Students have been learning how to use the computer to find information about topics – on projects about ‘forest’ and ‘human rights’ |
|Stundents mostly use the computer a couple of times a week |
|Morogoro Secondary School Students |
|One student has a computers at home |
|Students have used the computers outside the school to summarize classroom notes, to search for information related to subjects in school, and for reading news around the world, to facebook, to |
|accessing games in the internet café, for drawing pictures |
|Some students have had introductory courses in the use of ICT in their former primary schools |
|Question 4 – Infrastructure |
|How far is it the College of Education’s/schools job to help you to work with technology? |
|Why do you think that? |
|Morogoro Student teachers |
|The number of teachers and the number of computers is not professional – student teachers may be limited to half and hour per week |
|There is not enough opportunity for developing student skills and competencies – with more that 1,000+ computers – for 100 computers in the library – with many peripherals absent - for example for |
|printing |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|The school has policy on lab access – where students can come to the lab during the free periods in the timetable, in the evening and the lab at the weekends |
|Morogoro Secondary School |
|It is important that the school supports the students. |
|Question 5 – Organization & administration |
|How do you think the College of Education/ School should support you in using technology in your learning? |
|Morogoro Student teachers |
|ICT is necessary to facilitate all government workers to be ICT literate |
|The individual must make efforts to improve their capability for ICT use |
|Opportunities for practice in the college are inadequate |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|In form 4 students have made good use of the computers through exploration – particularly if the internet has been available |
|Morogoro Secondary School Students |
|The computer lab is not generally open to students except at weekends |
|Question 6 – Professional Development |
|What technology applications do you understand easily / not understand? |
|Is there any technology in your coursework that you do not get involved with? Why, why not? |
|Morogoro Student teachers |
|Students use Open office, Microsoft word, search engines, excel, powerpoint |
|Competencies that a student teacher should have going out to the schools |
|Use the internet, use different applications and software |
|A teacher should be able to have technical skills to troublshoot |
|Technical skills to connect several computers |
|Nelson Mandela Secondary School |
|Typing a letter is easy, internet, excel, word for writing and storing documents, search and retrieval |
|Using computers for solving problems – calculating Mathematics |
|Morogoro Secondary School Students |
|Students use micro-soft office - word, excel, powerpoint – in their courses |
|Studnets need more help with using software packages like microsoft office because they hear people say it is important |
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[1] World Bank’s New Economy Skills for Africa Program—Information and Communication Technologies (NESAP-ICT)
[2] IYF. Elimu kwa Teknolojia
[3] ISTE at: standards.aspx
[4] Australia ICT Teacher Competency Framework Proposal at:
.au/sectors/school_education/publications_resources/profiles/raising_standards_ict_competency_framework.htm
[5] eTQF at:
[6] EPICT at:
[7] ICT-enhanced Teacher Standards for Africa at:
[8] UNESCO ICT-CST at:
[9] Zain is a mobile telephone provider with wide coverage in Africa. The company has recently changed the name to Airtel.
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Emerging
Applying
Infusing
Transforming
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