{"id":192404,"date":"2021-06-17T15:42:57","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T13:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/why-the-push-to-overhaul-teacher-training-in-kenya-is-a-bad-idea\/"},"modified":"2021-06-17T15:42:57","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T13:42:57","slug":"why-the-push-to-overhaul-teacher-training-in-kenya-is-a-bad-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/why-the-push-to-overhaul-teacher-training-in-kenya-is-a-bad-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the push to overhaul teacher training in Kenya is a bad idea"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kenya is in the fourth year of implementing a new competence-based curriculum<\/a> for all levels of schooling. The new curriculum seeks to develop student competencies including mastery of content, critical thinking and complex problem-solving. <\/p>\n

This new curriculum is the third topdown overhaul of the country\u2019s education system since Kenya\u2019s independence in 1963. The previous curriculum was deemed too academic and examination-oriented<\/a>. It was deficient in hands-on, experiential learning, and practical experimentation to allow for competence. <\/p>\n

The goals of the new curriculum are worthwhile. But a controversial government proposal to radically change teacher training<\/a> is unwarranted. Under new guidelines by the Teachers\u2019 Service Commission \u2013 the government agency which administers public school teachers \u2013 the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) teacher training degree is to be abolished. <\/p>\n

This degree, in place for the past 50 years, emphasises the mastery of teaching (pedagogical) skills during training. The teacher candidates simultaneously take courses in education courses as well as in content areas during their entire undergraduate studies. <\/p>\n

The approach being proposed is identical to the one abandoned<\/a> in 1970. Under this model \u2013 which emphasised subject matter expertise \u2013 prospective teachers enrolled in regular arts or sciences degree lasting three years. This would be followed by a one-year post-graduate education diploma, completing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science (Education Option). <\/p>\n

The diploma covered educational courses in pedagogy, curriculum, foundations, and management. <\/p>\n

In some countries like the US and UK, both approaches are common depending on the institution attended. India and Nigeria, like Kenya, adhere to the Bachelor of Education model only. <\/p>\n

Kenya\u2019s official support for change has met a forecul defence<\/a> of the existing programme. But, in fairness, research is inconclusive on whether student learning is enhanced by the development of teachers\u2019 theoretical professional knowledge or subject matter expertise. <\/p>\n

As such it isn\u2019t definitive which is the best approach for teachers to get their initial training (called pre-service training). Given student learning outcomes aren\u2019t determined by what type of pre-service training teachers get, it is my view that the new teacher training policy initiative isn\u2019t driven by research evidence. Rather, it is informed by political calculations. The public teachers\u2019 commission is seeking to project a reformist stance because it wants to be seen to be contributing to the new education system. <\/p>\n

There is an alternative. Rather than overhauling the existing pre-service teacher training programmes, the commission should pursue a staff development programme for teachers that would focus on collaboration, active learning and problem-solving of complex issues in the new curriculum. <\/p>\n

Just as important, university curricula and how they\u2019re implemented should remain the preserve of the academic institutions. This control would ensure that academic programmes are grounded in the best knowledge available. And it would ensure courses were free of short-term political considerations.<\/p>\n

Back to the future?<\/h2>\n

The Bachelor of Education programme, offered under arts or science, is the most widely offered degree in Kenya\u2019s universities. Some 56 of the 74 public and private universities \u2013 equivalent to 76% \u2013 offer the course<\/a>. The popularity of the programme emanates not only from the ease of mounting the programmes but also the good employment prospects, captured in teacher shortage <\/a> surveys. The degree was launched at the then Kenyatta University College in 1970. <\/p>\n

Prior to this, prospective teachers completed undergraduate studies in the content teaching areas (either arts or science). This was followed by a one-year postgraduate diploma in professional educational studies. Offered at the University of Nairobi, it stressed the mastery of teaching content over pedagogical skills as a basis for effective student learning outcomes.<\/p>\n

But by the late 1960s, teacher graduates from the university were being rated below<\/a> the exemplary teaching records of teachers from two institutions \u2013 Kenyatta University College (arts) and the Kenya Science Teachers College (science). The perceived reason<\/a> was the focus on teacher pedagogical skills rather than content mastery at the two institutions. <\/p>\n

Nonetheless, graduates of the two diploma-awarding institution could only teach junior high school. Only degree holders were entitled to teach the rest of the high school classes. This precipitated the introduction of the Bachelor of Education degree which has remained in place for 50 years.<\/p>\n

The real issue isn\u2019t about whether there is a focus on content mastery or on pedagogical skills. The problem is that many of Kenya\u2019s teachers fail to excel in teaching<\/a> mainly because the pre-service training is disjointed and fragmented. Teacher education scholar Deborah Loewenberg Ball has observed that teacher candidates in universities take standalone professional and subject matter courses with minimal opportunities for integrating this knowledge<\/a> in the context of their work. Such integration, according to Ball, is a complicated task, yet it is assumed teachers achieve it in the course of their work. <\/p>\n

Some will, most won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Content mastery, on the other hand, is important yet there\u2019s little research to demonstrate the connection between this mastery to students\u2019 learning outcomes. As the Ball rightly observes<\/a>: <\/p>\n

\n

what is measured as \u201ccontent knowledge\u201d (often teachers\u2019 course attainment) is a poor proxy for subject matter understanding. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Furthermore, she argues, many teachers with content mastery lack sufficient understanding of how to hear students, select good learning tasks, or help students learn.<\/p>\n

Equally, the benefits of excessive focus on pedagogy, or the method and practice of teaching, are uncertain. Though it elevates teachers\u2019 practice and may improve students\u2019 learning outcomes, research has not identified<\/a> which aspects of pedagogy contribute to this. <\/p>\n

Therefore, a hodgepodge of education courses is offered without a clear justification of their effectiveness in teacher preparation. <\/p>\n

What has been found to be effective<\/a> and help in teacher retention is consistent in-service professional development activities. <\/p>\n

Next steps<\/h2>\n

What the government should focus on is providing school or site-based in-service professional development to improve student learning outcomes.<\/p>\n

It would enable teachers to learn and refine pedagogies in context, it would be content-focused, incorporate active learning, use models of effective practice, and support collaboration between teachers and school administrators. <\/p>\n

This cannot be achieved in any pre-service training. This because opportunities for such collaboration and practical sharing of experience are unavailable in universities and colleges.<\/p>\n

Source: The Conversation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kenya is in the fourth year of implementing a new competence-based curriculum for all levels of schooling. The new curriculum seeks to develop student competencies including mastery of content, critical thinking and complex problem-solving. This new curriculum is the third topdown overhaul of the country\u2019s education system since Kenya\u2019s independence in 1963. The previous curriculum […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":192405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-192404","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa-news-2","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/why-the-push-to-overhaul-teacher-training-in-kenya-is-a-bad-idea.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}