(introduction...)

This chapter examines what happened to the newly qualified teachers after training. The study used cohort 1 students as they were the only cohort who had completed the programme at the time of the our fieldwork. The new teachers had been teaching for six months in different schools. The sample came from five districts, three in the Southern Region and two in the Central Region. The selection of the students was opportunistic in the sense that PEAs had to locate students available in their zones to take part in the study.

9.1 Posting

In all there were 64 NQTs in the sample of which 35 (54%) were males and 29 (45%) were females. Most had MSCE certificates and they had taught in schools for two to five years before joining the course. The majority (81%) had gone back to the schools where they had been teaching as trainees. The others had requested transfer, or been moved at the behest of the District Education Officer (DEO) to newly established schools where there was need for qualified teachers. Some of the reasons for requesting transfer to other schools were family-related, e.g. for women it was mostly to follow their spouses to their work places. In some cases DEOs had placed NQTs in new schools to become heads, or to teach in new secondary schools. The system is in dire need of teachers at both levels, and the NQTs are utilized in various capacities as soon as they qualify, but DEOs interviewed pointed out that funds for moving teachers are not available and therefore most NQTs remain in their old schools.

It is interesting to note that after six months of teaching as NQTs a further 25% wanted to move. There were many varied reasons for seeking transfer, some citing that they had overstayed in one school, others mentioning housing, transport, family or health problems. A few wanted to move to schools where they could find materials to enable them to continue studying. However, the majority of the NQTs said they were happy to remain where they had been before qualifying.

9.2 Utilisation in schools

At the schools the NQTs are employed in various ways. The majority of them were teaching one class only ranging from grade 1 to grade 8. In the sample 19% were teaching in the infant section, 38% in the junior section and 42% in the senior section. A small proportion were required to teach other classes apart from their own. It is noteworthy that a considerable proportion of NQTs are teaching in the senior section which is normally assigned to experienced qualified teachers. The interviews also indicated that the NQTs are holding different management positions in the schools. One NQT in the sample was made head teacher. Almost all NQTs belonged to one or more management committee.

NQTs work under a wide range of classroom and school conditions. In our sample the number of pupils per class ranged from 10 to 412. The number of teaching periods per week for each NQT ranged from 9 to 45. This means that some NQTs are sharing their classes with other teachers, while others are teaching single-handed. Those sharing classes divide up their workload proportionally depending on the number of teachers per class. The number of mathematics and English textbooks available in the classes ranged from none to about one per pupil. In 15% of the cases the teachers had no tables or desks and in 88% of the cases the pupils had no chairs or desks. In 75% of the cases there was no storage space for books in the NQTs' classrooms.

NQTs receive assistance from a variety of sources. Table 9.1 below indicates how much assistance the NQTs said they received.

Table 9.1: Assistance from School Management (% responding)

The picture is mixed. About 30% of the NQTs felt they had full support from PEAs, head teachers and qualified teachers when they were settling in. But the table also suggests that many have only sporadic access to help from colleagues and those responsible for their well being.

At the school and zonal levels organised induction also seemed to occur in various ways. About 40% of the NQTs received some formal induction in the schools. However 69% of the NQTs said they had received induction at the zonal level. This shows that PEAs can reach out to new teachers through the TDCs where MSSSP is being implemented.

At the school those who went through some induction process indicated that the major emphasis was on how to write schemes of work, lesson plans, and record books (though this should have been covered in the MIITEP programme). In other cases head teachers included information about the schools and the communities, giving updates on the development taking place at the schools, or how to do continuous assessment. At the zonal level induction courses included: working with experienced teachers, class preparation, using teaching and learning materials, how to dress as teachers, gender issues, management of examinations and subject content issues. Of those who attended these zonal induction workshops most found them useful, despite the apparent replication of themes with those covered in MIITEP.

In the case of the community around the schools the majority found very little to appreciate and acknowledge. The great majority said they received no help from the surrounding communities. This could be true because the communities are usually not involved in school matters and they usually do not have the necessary resources to influence school matters. All the same most thought their relationship with the communities around them was positive.

The main problems encountered by NQTs can be seen in Table 9.2. They include receiving salaries, accommodation and transport to and from school, and feeding themselves adequately. These basic conditions need to be met if teachers are to perform effectively. About half of the NQTs still had some problems managing their pupils.

Table 9.2: Difficulties Encountered (% responding)

9.3 Views of NQTs on their classroom practice

The performance of NQTs in the classroom is also a reflection of the conditions in which they are operating and the training they have had. About half of the NQTs had all the syllabuses and teachers' guides they needed. Only 5% claimed not to have any. However only 20% indicated that they had all the textbooks they needed. Few felt they had access to materials to make learning aids. Nearly 90% said they constantly referred to the MIITEP materials and other resources they brought from College.

There was some evidence that NQTs were using at least some of the teaching strategies that the colleges promoted. Question and answer, group work and demonstration were apparently used with varying degrees of frequency. Role-play was mentioned by 67% but rarely used. A few individuals said they used discussion and fieldwork as teaching strategies. The majority said they often used 'short answer' and 'filling in blank spaces' strategies to assess progress. About half said they used essays or projects as a means of assessing children. These assessment procedures are imposed upon the NQTs because the curriculum spells out what to use. There is little opportunity for teachers to vary the methods. The format of the end of primary schools examinations also has great influence on the testing procedures adopted by the teachers. On the whole the NQTs thought they were practising what they had learnt in the course. Over 90% thought their lesson planning, the content, teaching strategies, assessment procedures, and the use of teaching and learning aids reflected what had been advocated.

9.4 Concluding Remarks

First, this glimpse into what happens to NQTs after they qualify produces a picture which leaves some things to be desired. Significant proportions either do not return to their training school or desire to move within the first year. This is not perhaps surprising given the condition of many of the schools. The reasons are mixed, and some may be changed by better practice, whereas others may not be.

Second, it is clear that NQTs are quickly integrated into schools as normal teachers and some even receive rapid promotion. The arrangements made at school level vary widely from helpful and supportive to weak. While most receive some induction, either at school level or in zonal workshops, it is surprising that some of the induction topics most valued by NQTs are things that MIITEP should have taught them, such as lesson planning and record keeping. More positively, the student teachers Handbooks appear to be a significant resource for the NQTs.

Third, there were signs of distance between the school and community in many of the responses, suggesting that NQTs often had problems themselves adjusting to the role that they had acquired - assuming that this was one where primary school teachers should integrate at some level into the communities they serve.

Fourth, accommodation, food, transport and salary payments all figured highly as sources of problems. Though predictable, this draws attention to the continuing need to attempt to ease these problems, since they clearly will detract from the effectiveness of any NQT whatever the quality of their training.

Fifth, it appears that only the most basic learning materials are available to most NQTs in their schools and even these are not in adequate quantities. Any more generous provision seems a rarity. The college curriculum needs to recognise this reality of the professional environment of NQTs (and trainees).

Sixth, NQTs appeared to believe that they were utilising new methods and following the MIITEP approaches to learning that departed from the traditional, such as question and answer, group work, demonstrations etc. However, this self-reported data does not seem to match with other classroom observation data, or with the dominant patterns of learning and teaching in primary schools, many of which now have large proportions of MIITEP trainees and NQTs.

Finally, induction and support during the first few years of teaching remain problematic. The MIITEP NQTs mostly return to the schools they have been working in and are therefore presumably less in need of induction than those going to new schools and communities. Nevertheless, induction is not yet universal, and ways of smoothing the transition from student teacher to qualified teacher should be further developed. At the very least print material extending the Handbooks into the first year of teaching might be helpful, especially if direct entry into MIITEP is contemplated as an option for the future. This could easily be integrated with the support the MSSSP or its successors provide for school development.

Critical to future policy and practice for teacher education are issues of supply and demand. We now turn to an analysis of these.