Improving School Work in Challenging Context: Practitioners’ Views following a Participatory Action Research Project from Eritrea

Authors

  • Khalid Mohammed Idris College of Education
  • Yonas Mesfun Asfaha

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.3039

Keywords:

Key words: teaching and learning; teacher professionalism; action research; Eritrea

Abstract

This article is based on 18-month participatory action research (PAR) project conducted with teachers and school leadership personnel with strong backing of the regional education office in one of the remote and most culturally diverse regions in Eritrea. It argues for a comprehensive understanding of managing a learning process in challenging circumstances of schooling. Qualitative analysis was used to interpret 14 semi-structured interview transcripts of project participants from two study schools. A framework for understanding teaching as the intersection of knowledge of learners, processes of teaching and learning and subject matter is used. The analysis based on the interview data, longer term engagements with participants and review of relevant documents enabled authors to synthesize views of participants into five main professional perspectives:  need to overcome transitory nature of teachers, knowledge of learners, proactive guidance, professional commitment, collaborative practices. Those issues arguably constitute quality education in the study schools and beyond.

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Akyeampong, K. (2017). Reconceptualizing teacher education for equitable learning outcomes: Towards a comprehensive approach. In B. Hudson (Ed.), Overcoming Fragmentation in Teacher Education (pp. 231-248). UK: Cambridge University Press.

Alexander, R. (2015). Teaching and learning for all? The quality imperative revisited. International Journal of Educational Development, 40, 250–258. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.11.012.

Anthony, G., Hunter, J., Hunter, R. (2015). Prospective teachers’ development of adaptive expertise. Teaching and teacher education, 49, 108-117. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.03.010

Asfaha, Y.M. and Kroon, S. (2011). Multilingual education policy in practice: classroom literacy instruction in different scripts in Eritrea. Compare: A journal of comparative and international education, Vol. 41 (2): 229 – 246.

Berhane Demoz. (2014). Educational needs of elementary school students and its implications to initial teacher education programs. Journal of Eritrean Studies, VII (1), 95- 143.

Bosu, R., Dare, A., Dachi, H., Fertig, M. (2011). School leadership and social justice: Evidence from Ghana and Tanzania. International Journal of Educational Development, 31, 67-77.

Çiftçi, S. and Cin, F. (2017). What matters for rural teachers and communities? Educational challenges in rural Turkey. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, DOI:10.1080/03057925.2017.1340150

Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2018). Research Methods in Education(8th Ed.). NY: Routledge.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2006). Constructing 21st century teacher education, Journal of Teacher Education, 57 (3), 300-314. DOI: 10.1177/0022487105285962.

Denscombe, M. (2007). The good research guide: for small-scale social research projects, 3rd Ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Elliot, J. (1991). Action research for educational change. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

Harber, C. (2014). Education and International Development: theories, practice and issues. Oxford: Symposium Books.

Hardman, F., Hardman,J., Dachi, H., Elliott, L. Ihebuzor, N., Ntekim, M. &Tibuhinda, A. (2015) Implementing school-based teacher development in Tanzania, Professional Development in Education, 41(4): 602-623. DOI: 10.1080/19415257.2015.1026453

Hennessy, S., Haßler, B. & Hofmann, R. (2016). Pedagogic change by Zambian primary school teachers participating in the OER4Schools professional development programme for one year. Research Papers in Education, 31 (4): 399-427 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2015.1073343

James, F. & Augustin, D. (2018). Improving teachers’ pedagogical and instructional practice through action research: potential and problems. Educational Action Research, 26 (2): 333-348. DOI:10.1080/09650792.2017.1332655

Khalid Mohammed, Yonas Mesfun Asfaha., Mohammed Ali Ibrahim (2017). Teachers ‘voices, challenging teaching contexts and implications for teacher education and development in Eritrea. Journal of Eritrean Studies, III (1), 31-58.

McCarty, T. (2015). Ethnography in Language Planning and Policy Research. In Francis M. Hult and David Cassels Johnson (Eds). In Research Methods in Language Policy and Planning: A Practical Guide (pp. 81 – 93) West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Ministry of Education (2011). National Education Policy. Asmara. Unpublished Document.

Ministry of Education (2016). Essential Education Indicators 2015/2016. Asmara: Eritrea Ministry of Education.

Ministry of Education, Department of General Education (2017). Monitoring Learning Achievement Project, Assessment Report of MLA III. Asmara: Eritrea Ministry of Education.

Ministry of Education (2011). National teaching and learning survey. Asmara. Unpublished Document.

Ministry of Education (2015). Grade eight (end-of-basic education) National Examinations: Annual Report. Asmara: Eritrea Ministry of Education.

Ministry of Education, Gash Barka Regional Office (2017). Annual Evaluation 2016/2017. Asmara. Unpublished Material.

Miyazaki, T. (2016). Is changing teaching practice the mission impossible? A case study of continuing professional development for primary school teachers in Senegal. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 46 (5), 701-722. Doi: 10.1080/03057925.2015.1043238

Munje, P. (2018). The impact of teacher professional conduct on learner experiences and performance in poor school communities in South Africa. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, DOI: 10.1080/03057925.2018.1429253

Naib, M. (2014). The challenge of equitable provision of quality education in Eritrea: A social justice perspective. Journal of Eritrean Studies, VII (1), 21-57.

Nykeil-Herbert, B. (2004). Mis-constructing knowledge: the case of learner-centered pedagogy in South Africa. Prospects, XXXIV (3): 249-265.

Pryor, J. (1998). Action research in West African schools: problems and prospects. International Journal of Educational Development,18(3), 219–228.

Sagor, R. (1992). How to conduct collaborative action research. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Schweisfurth, M. (2015). Learner-centred pedagogy: Towards a post-2015 agenda for teaching and learning. International Journal of Educational Development, 40, 259–266. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.10.011.

Schweirfurth, M. (2011). Learner-centered education in developing country contexts: from solution to a problem? International Journal of Educational Development, 31, 425-432.

Shirley, G. (1994). Action research at the school level: possibilities and problems. Educational Action Research, 2(1): 23-37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09650799400200007

Solvason, C. Cliffe, J. & Snowden, M. (2017). Researching in school – creating a meaningful school/university alliance: a reflection. Educational Action Research, DOI:10.1080/09650792.2017.1388828

Somekh, B. &Zeichner, K. (2009). Action research for educational reform: remodeling action research theories and practices in local contexts. Educational Action Research, 17(1): 5-21. DOI: 10.1080/09650790802667402

Somekh, B. (2006). Action research: a methodology for change and development. Open University Press, England.

Tikly, L. (2015). What works, for whom, and in what circumstances? Towards a critical realist understanding of learning in international and comparative education. International Journal of Educational Development, 40,237-249. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.11.008.

Vavrus, F., Thomas, M. and Bartlett, L. (2011). Ensuring quality by attending to inquiry: Learner-centered Pedagogy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Addis Ababa: UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa.

Vavrus, F. (2009). The cultural politics of constructivist pedagogies: Teacher education reform in the United Republic of Tanzania. International Journal of Educational Development, 29 (3), 303-311.

Westbrook, J., Durrani, N, Brown, R., Orr, D., Pryor, J., Boddy, J. and Salvi, F. (2013). Pedagogy, Curriculum, Teaching Practices and Teacher Education in Developing Countries. Final Report. Education Rigorous Literature Review. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.

Wood, L. & Govender, B. (2013). You learn from going through the process’: The perceptions of South African school leaders about action research. Action Research, 11(2), 176-193.

Worku, M. (2017). Improving primary school practice and school–college linkage in Ethiopia through collaborative action research, Educational Action Research, 25 (5), 737-754. DOI: 10.1080/09650792.2016.1267656

Zeichner, K. and Ndimande, B. (2008). Contradictions and tensions in the place of teachers in educational reformreflections on teacher preparation in the USA and Namibia. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 14 (4), 331-343. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13540600802037751

Downloads

Published

2019-10-30

How to Cite

Idris, K. M., & Asfaha, Y. M. (2019). Improving School Work in Challenging Context: Practitioners’ Views following a Participatory Action Research Project from Eritrea. Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education (NJCIE), 3(2), 72–90. https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.3039