School-based approach to supporting teachers in Uganda and Zambia for quality, inclusive secondary education in low-resource contexts during the pandemic

• In Event: Practical approaches to supporting and empowering teachers and schools to secure quality equitable learning in uncertain times: Lessons from Kenya, Uganda and Zambia

Proposal

Drawing on over 10 years of evidence and experience delivering high quality secondary education, this paper summarises lessons learned by a non-state actor in Zambia and Uganda on supporting teachers during school closures, based on experience at 35 schools in the most remote communities in the countries, with over 15000 students from poor households.

One of the most important lessons learned during the pandemic, is that supporting teachers’ wellbeing is a critical first step toward them effectively supporting students. During school closures, our schools continued to pay teachers’ salaries to ensure their livelihoods were protected. School leaders also supported teachers through phone calls, SMS, and WhatsApp messages to check-in, and by facilitating a psychosocial session when schools reopened, to help teachers prioritise their own wellbeing during a stressful period. We conducted phone surveys with teachers to understand their stress levels and use their feedback to inform appropriate support.

Additionally, we focused on providing teachers with the skills and tools they need to teach their subject, as well as those needed to help students cope during stressful periods. When schools reopened, we provided refresher in-service training on our Top 10 Skills for Teachers, a set of key pedagogical skills that support teachers to facilitate high quality classroom learning, as well as refresher safeguarding training. As schools reopened, we launched a psychosocial curriculum, and provided teachers with lesson plans to help them support students’ wellbeing. Finally, we re-trained teachers on positive behaviour management strategies and how to use these effectively in the classroom to tackle challenging student behaviour.

We found that long-term investment in teachers helps to build commitment and motivation, which impacts learning outcomes and may support them during uncertain periods. Evidence from independent evaluations shows that teachers at our schools are well supported through meaningful training, monitoring and support for accountability and professional growth and development. They are also led and supported by stronger school leaders. Similarly, teachers in our schools are more motivated than those in other schools, and this motivation is positively and significantly associated with better student performance.

Our experience during the pandemic has demonstrated the importance of supporting teachers to build and maintain connections with students, particularly during school closures. It had been our policy that our teachers are drawn from the same communities and from similar backgrounds as our students. This means there is the potential for greater understanding between teacher and student – particularly of the types of challenges students face in their daily lives. This was especially critical during school and post school closures, where teachers’ connection with students through telephone calls, alongside other remote support activities, ensured students’ continued engagement. According to an external evaluation, students found talking to teachers inspired and motivated them to do other educational activities. During school closures, 95% of our students in Uganda were reached through our teacher-led remote response.

Author

• Daniel Kyasanga, Promoting Equality in African Schools (PEAS)