The Malawi Integrated In-Service Teacher Education Project: An Analysis of the Curriculum and Its Delivery in the Colleges (CIE, 2000, 75 p.): Abstract

The Malawi Integrated In-Service Teacher Education Project: An Analysis of the Curriculum and Its Delivery in the Colleges (CIE, 2000, 75 p.)

(introduction...)

Multi-Site Teacher Education Research Project (MUSTER)

List of Abbreviations

Abstract

Chapter 1: Issues and Context

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Some international issues around teacher education

1.3 Analytical approaches used in this report

1.4 Overview of the programme

1.5 Data collection methods

1.6 Context of the Study

Chapter 2: The Curriculum Strategy

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Aims, general objectives, and underlying philosophy of MIITEP

2.3 Content

2.4 Pedagogy

2.5 Assessment

2.6 Teaching and Learning materials

2.7 Teaching Practice

2.8 The curriculum strategy and its coherence

Chapter 3: The Teacher Education Classroom

3.1 Introduction

3.2 English

3.3 Maths

3.4 Science

3.5 Foundation Studies

3.6 Discussion Points

Chapter 4: Evaluations and Conclusions

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Tutors’ views

4.3 Students’ views

4.4 Rest of the course

4.5 The college blocks in retrospect

4.6 How far has MIITEP succeeded in its curricular aims?

4.7 Discussion of ways forward

4.8 Conclusion

References

List of Appendices

Appendix 1: Interview Schedule for Training College Lecturers

Appendix 2: Schedule of Questions for Focus Group Discussions with Student Teachers during Residential Training

Appendix 3: Shulman’s Categories of the Knowledge Base for Teaching

Appendix 4: A Methodological Note on the Classroom Observations

Abstract

This report focuses on the MIITEP (Malawi Integrated Inservice Teacher Education Project) curriculum in Malawi. This is a crash programme designed to certify some 18,000 unqualified primary teachers over 2 years, through a combination of 4 months in a residential college and 20 months teaching under supervision while studying at a distance. It was also intended to introduce more learner-centred and interactive teaching methods in both colleges and schools.

The study describes the programme and the colleges, and analyses the curriculum documents. Observational data is used to illustrate in more detail how the curriculum was actually delivered in the four subjects of English, Maths, Science and Educational Foundation Studies. Interviews are analysed, together with some survey data, to find out how tutors and students saw the programme as a whole.

Findings include the following points. There was a clear tension between the ‘progressive’ aims of MITTEP and the didactic and authoritarian ways in which it was implemented. Some of the reasons include: the lack of basic teaching materials, especially for science or practical work; the failure to support the tutors; the mismatch between the curriculum and student needs, as well as cultural patterns and expectations about teaching and learning. The aims of training a large number of teachers in the shortest possible time are probably incompatible with the aim of producing and supporting innovative teachers equipped to act as change agents.