Participatory Teacher Professional Development: Elevating Teacher Expertise in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement

• In Event: Compounding Crises: Impact of COVID-19 on Teachers and Teaching in Conflict-Affected Settings Part I

Proposal

COVID-19 illuminated teachers’ role as frontline responders and protectors for children and youth, and shone light on the sweeping failure to provide teachers with sufficient support to carry out their work (UNESCO, 2021). This failure is felt most acutely by teachers working in crisis contexts, where the pandemic exacerbated educational inequities (Sayed et al, 2021). In these settings, teacher professional development (TPD) is sporadic, uncoordinated, and of varied quality (Burns & Lawrie, 2015), and teacher management policies restrict compensation, benefits, and long-term engagement in the profession (Mendenhall, Gomez, & Varni, 2019), all of which have implications for teacher well-being (Falk et al., 2019). The pandemic also highlighted the failure of education systems to respond to crises when teachers are excluded from decision-making processes, a pervasive issue across stable and crisis contexts alike (Sayed et a.l, 2021). Yet, in the face of these challenges, teachers persisted, often taking action on their own to support their learners (Mundy et al., 2020).

As the world continues to experience complex crises, how do we prepare and support teachers to educate students in uncertain, insecure moments? We argue it is imperative teachers be recognized as educational experts and this paper presents a TPD initiative [blinded] in Kakuma refugee camp and Kalobeyei settlement in northwest Kenya that strived to do just that. We draw on interviews with 78 teachers conducted between 2016-2018, follow up interviews and focus group discussions with 20 refugee teachers during the pandemic, and our own reflections as program implementers and teachers to demonstrate how centering teachers as experts can improve teaching practice and well-being. More specifically, we highlight four principles for quality teacher support: providing relevant and responsive TPD, establishing peer networks, enabling teacher agency, and prioritizing teacher well-being. Further, we argue that these efforts must be bolstered by broader advocacy to strengthen the profession and enhance teacher well-being if we take seriously global commitments to better support teachers in their efforts to contribute meaningfully to education for all.

Burns, M., & Lawrie, J. (2015). Where it’s needed most: Quality professional development for all teachers. New York, NY: Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies, 162.

Falk, D., Varni, E., Johna, J. F., & Frisoli, P. (2019). Landscape review: Teacher well-being in low resource, crisis, and conflict-affected settings. Education Equity Research Initiative.

Mendenhall, M., Gomez, S., & Varni, E. (2019). Teaching amidst conflict and displacement: Persistent challenges and promising practices for refugee, internally displaced and national teachers. Paris, Background paper for GEM Report.

Mundy, K., (2020). Teacher Leadership in Developing Crisis Education responses in Africa and Latin America. Paris, UNESCO.

Sayed, Y., Singh, M., Bulgrin, E., Henry, M., Williams, D., Metcalfe, M., ... & Mindano, G. (2021). Teacher support, preparedness and resilience during times of crises and uncertainty: COVID-19 and education in the Global South. Journal of Education (University of KwaZulu-Natal), (84), 125-154.

UNESCO (2021). Teaching on the front line: National teacher responses to the COVID-19 crisis.

Authors

• Mading Peter Angong

• Danielle Lorber Falk, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Mary Mendenhall, Teachers College, Columbia University