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Session Submission Summary

Strengthening teacher education and practice in Malawi: Data analysis, recommendations, and the importance of genuine partnership

Tue, February 21, 2:45 to 4:15pm EST (2:45 to 4:15pm EST), Grand Hyatt Washington, Floor: Independence Level (5B), McPherson Square

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Over the last several years, the Malawi Ministry of Education (MoE), with support from USAID, has built a strong National Reading Program aimed at strengthening the literacy skills of children enrolled in Standards 1 through 4. The MoE’s approach to increasing learning outcomes reflects a recognition that if Malawi wants to see real improvement in reading, they need to invest in early grade programming that is evidence-based and implemented at a national scale. This includes the need to strengthen pre-service and in-service teacher education.

Building on previous investments to improve early grade reading outcomes in Malawi, USAID recently launched a program that is targeting teacher education and teaching practice providing targeted support to all public and private Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) in Malawi and supporting the implementation of the MoE’s newly developed Continual Professional Development (CPD) program. The first major activity of the STEP program was to support the MoE in the implementation of a baseline situation analysis (BSA) of teacher education and practice in Malawi. The MoE, with support from the STEP Activity, collected and analyzed data from TTCs across the country. This data has been used to identify priorities and inform the design and implementation of evidence-based approaches that will improve the quality of teacher education across Malawi.

This panel of STEP staff and MoE officials consists of four presentations. The presentations will discuss the education system in Malawi, the primary teacher certification process, and how STEP staff and the MoE are working together to collect and use data to improve primary teacher education. The presentations will outline the research methodology of the BSA, present key results and recommendations, and discuss how this data has been used to inform programming. This panel will also outline the STEP Activity’s approach to genuine partnership with the MoE and will discuss how this approach has improved programmatic effectiveness and sustainability.

Sub Unit

Chair

Individual Presentations