Teaching in isolation in Eritrean primary schools

Many newly-qualified teachers in Eritrea start work in isolated rural primary schools, far from friends and family. In-service training is essential. Workshops rooted in local experience and involving skills sharing provide the best form of support.

In Eritrea, teachers begin their careers in rural schools with only their colleagues for support, according to new research from Asmara Teacher Education Institute (ATEI) and Leeds University, in the UK. Primary school teachers are in such short supply in Eritrea that teacher training has been reduced to a one year course after secondary school. Young teachers are sent to rural areas to replace older teachers who move back into the towns. This means that in many schools all teachers are young and inexperienced. Support from the regional education office and in-service training is limited by financial and transport difficulties.

The research studied teachers’ progress in these schools from an initial ‘technical’ stage, where their main concern was getting through the lesson plan, to a more ‘interpretative’ or strategic stage, where they adapted the rules learned during training to respond creatively to pupils’ particular needs. It found that some teachers developed the skills to deal with the challenges of their situation more effectively than others.

• More competent teachers were more effective from the start and they developed interpretative skills more successfully over time.
• Less competent teachers blamed their difficulties on outside factors, while more competent teachers saw teaching as a set of complex challenges to be overcome. 
• At the technical stage, both groups were worried about their material but the more competent teachers were also concerned with other aspects of teaching.
• At the interpretative stage, the more competent teachers were already dealing thoughtfully with different learners, changing explanations and giving feedback according to learners’ needs. The less competent teachers had not moved beyond the technical stage.
• Good teachers saw their job as more than teaching. They felt a sense of responsibility to the community and enjoyed watching children learn.
• Both groups wanted in-service workshops and more extended programmes to upgrade their qualifications.

It is clear that the ATEI programme cannot give in-depth practical experience or detailed subject knowledge. In-service training should provide support in a way that helps all types of teacher share experiences, so that those who have considerable practice can show how they teach and how they talk about teaching.

• A video of someone teaching or a live class should form the basis of training. This should be followed by a discussion in which teachers talk about their teaching.
• Discussion should be appropriate to the local context. Universalised methodologies should not be used.
• Teachers can be helped to identify what is innovative in their own teaching and what can be shared with colleagues.
• Workshop facilitators must balance their own knowledge as specialists with the teachers’ experiences of survival in the classroom. They need to prepare workshops carefully and respect local teachers’ knowledge.

Source(s):
‘How Newly Qualified Primary Teachers Develop: A Case Study in Rural Eritrea’, International Journal of Educational Development 27 (6), pages 669–682, by Abraham Belay, Freweini Ghebreab, Tewolde Ghebremichael, Asmerom Ghebreselassie, John Holmes and Goodith White, 2007 (PDF)

Funded by: Department for International Development (DFID)

id21 Research Highlight: 19 August 2008

Further Information:
Goodith White
Director of Studies/Associate Professor in TESOL
School of Education
Faculty of Arts
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
Jalan Broga
43500 Semenyih
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia

Tel: +60 389248272
Fax: 60 389248019
Contact the contributor: Goodith.White@nottingham.edu.my

School of Education, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, Malaysia

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