From baseline assessment to evaluating interventions in teacher education programs focusing on reading and writing instruction in Nigeria and Honduras.

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Wednesday III)

Group Submission Type: Refereed Round-Table Session

Proposal

This panel discusses current practices and trends in international development in the areas of literacy, early grade reading, and teacher professional development in countries experiencing crisis and violence. The discussion centers on issues related to the sustainability of USAID and other donor agencies’ initiatives aimed at increasing overall literacy rates by investing in basic education. The question that arises from examining these efforts is: “Are these initiatives promoting and supporting long-term efforts to build the capacity of teacher training institutions in the target countries?” For the last ten years, we have seen a continuous effort to assess literacy levels worldwide, followed by development projects that intend to improve early grade reading by investing in basic education. The majority of current USAID-funding for EGR programs focus on in-service teacher training, materials development (i.e., reading books, textbooks, teacher’s guides, etc.). However, there are a few programs integrating pre-service teacher development. From a development perspective, the impact of providing support for capacity building at the higher education level may seem low compared to providing in-service teacher training to thousands of teachers within a project’s life. We argue that the long term impact of building the capacity of teacher training institutions to support professional development for a small number of pre-service teachers may be significant as well; engaging teacher educators in best practices research, building their knowledge, skills, and attitudes to better prepare future basic education teachers may yield more sustainable results.
The presenters are both academics and practitioners; they have learned from working in both high and low-income countries; and they are currently engaged in applied research and implementation of educational projects in various countries. The Learning Systems Institute at the Florida State University has a 50-year portfolio of international development projects. In recent years, FSU has worked in partnership with NGOs implementing USAID-funded projects in Africa, Asia, the Middle-East, and in Latin America. Several of these projects involve collaborations with higher education and teacher training institutions. Panelists will discuss current initiatives at various stages from baseline assessment to post-intervention evaluation. The journey will take us to examine current practices in Honduras and Nigeria. We will also discuss the implications of interventions applied in contexts where conflict and crisis situations affect and disrupt schooling and damper opportunities to learn for children and youth. It’s also important to take into account the context in which education reforms and interventions are taking place. Civil unrest, crime, and violence may disrupt a country’s ability to support and maintain the efficiency of its education system. Honduras is threatened by alarming levels of crime and violence, high levels of poverty, and generally weak governance. In a recent article posted by the U.S. Institute for Peace , specialists in the region suggest that the crisis in the Central American region and the “violence that is driving refugees to the U.S. border is fueled by corruption, drug trafficking, gang culture and poverty—an interlocking pathology of ills that must be treated on multiple fronts, like an epidemic disease.” USAID is assessing data and seeking more as it contemplates next steps in the region. The USAID-funded project “De Lectores a Líderes” focus on two regional objectives in areas affected by (1) poverty and (2) crime, including three of the nation’s 298 municipalities where 40 percent of murders occur in Honduras. In Nigeria, the projects discussed address the needs of the formal and nonformal education systems, also in areas affected by decades of development neglect combined with the more recent violence caused by Boko Haram, which has caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.
The presentations will address some of the challenges of working in diverse environments; conducting research and training in multiple languages; and adapting assessment tools and teaching methods to local contexts. Development projects are also limited in their scopes of work and periods of performance. Building the capacity of teacher educators in developing countries through participatory methods and exposure to evidence-based best practices have shown positive results towards sustainable gains in knowledge, skills, and attitudes that can last beyond the life of a project. More research and discussion of these issues are necessary if we really want to see improvements in EGR practices from higher education down to the primary classrooms. A more integrated approach to integration of pre-service and in-service teacher education need to be part of the international development discourse if we are to see improved outcomes of early grade reading and increased literacy rates in the near future. Negotiating the integration of initiatives that support both pre- and in-service teacher training within the context of international development assistance has been somewhat problematic. Pre-service is usually the purview of higher education, whereas in-service teacher training falls under governments’ bureaucracies with a higher sense of urgency in meeting set standards often tied to political agendas and ever changing educational reforms. We have observed certain discrepancies that could be addressed without too much difficulties. For instance, many development projects target educational standards, and produce educational materials to which only in-service teachers and their students have access. Many instructors within teacher training institutions and universities are not aware of or involved in initiatives imparted by international donors in the areas of early grade reading. Sharing best practices and materials, as well as engaging higher education faculty and students in teacher education programs that target in-service teachers in basic education must be part of any sustainability plan that aims to prepare the teachers of the future.

Sub Unit

• SIG: Teacher Education and the Teaching Profession

Individual Presentations

• How do teachers learn to teach reading and writing? Designing and conducting a baseline assessment of pre-service teacher education in Honduras. - Flavia S. Ramos-Mattoussi, Florida State University; ANA HELGA MARTY, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY; Carla Maria Doolin Paredes, Florida State University

• Impacting Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes in Pre-service Teacher Education Programs - Adrienne Barnes, Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University; Helen N. Boyle, Florida State University; Stephanie Simmons Zuilkowski, Florida State University

• Influence of accelerated training in early grade reading knowledge: experiences in Northern Nigeria. - ANA HELGA MARTY, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY