Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 9781783504541, 9781783504534

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ANNUAL REVIEW OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2014

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON EDUCATION AND SOCIETY Series Editor: Alexander W. Wiseman Recent Volumes Series Editor from Volume 11: Alexander W. Wiseman Volume 11:

Educational Leadership: Global Contexts and International Comparisons

Volume 12:

International Educational Governance

Volume 13:

The Impact of International Achievement Studies on National Education Policymaking

Volume 14:

Post-Socialism is Not Dead: (Re)Reading the Global in Comparative Education

Volume 15:

The Impact and Transformation of Education Policy in China

Volume 16:

Education Strategy in the Developing World: Revising the World Bank’s Education Policy

Volume 17:

Community Colleges Worldwide: Investigating the Global Phenomenon

Volume 18:

The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Education Worldwide

Volume 19:

Teacher Reforms around the World: Implementations and Outcomes

Volume 20:

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2013

Volume 21:

The Development of Higher Education in Africa: Prospects and Challenges

Volume 22:

Out of the Shadows: The Global Intensification of Supplementary Education

Volume 23:

International Educational Innovation and Public Sector Entrepreneurship

Volume 24:

Education for a Knowledge Society in Arabian Gulf Countries

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON EDUCATION AND SOCIETY VOLUME 25

ANNUAL REVIEW OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2014 EDITED BY

ALEXANDER W. WISEMAN Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA

EMILY ANDERSON The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

United Kingdom North America India Malaysia China

Japan

Emerald Group Publishing Limited Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK First edition 2014 Copyright r 2014 Emerald Group Publishing Limited Reprints and permission service Contact: [email protected] No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-78350-453-4 ISSN: 1479-3679 (Series)

ISOQAR certified Management System, awarded to Emerald for adherence to Environmental standard ISO 14001:2004. Certificate Number 1985 ISO 14001

CONTENTS LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

ix

PREFACE

xiii

PART I: INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION TO THE ANNUAL REVIEW: THE RECIPROCAL EFFECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION ON COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION Alexander W. Wiseman and Emily Anderson

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PART II: COMPARATIVE EDUCATION TRENDS AND DIRECTIONS TRENDS AND ISSUES IN THE TEACHING OF COMPARATIVE EDUCATION Patricia K. Kubow and Allison H. Blosser

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BEYOND PURE FORMS: APPRAISING THE ROLE OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE IN TEACHER TRAINING Trey Menefee and Tutaleni I. Asino

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CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN INCORPORATING COMPARATIVE RESEARCH INTO CONTEMPORARY TEACHER EDUCATION Bruce Collet

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CONTENTS

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION Jayson W. Richardson and Jeffrey Lee

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INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR ALL AS A SPECIAL INTEREST WITHIN THE COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH COMMUNITY Florian Kiuppis and Susan Peters

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TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN GLOBAL MATHEMATICS Deepa Srikantaiah and Wendi Ralaingita

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COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION IMPLICATIONS FOR THE POLICY AND PRACTICE OF TEACHER EDUCATION AND THE TEACHING PROFESSION Chanita Rukspollmuang

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PERSPECTIVES FROM AFRICA: COMPARATIVE EDUCATION RELEVANT RESEARCH AND TEACHER EDUCATION Lillian Katono Butungi Niwagaba and Christine M. Okurut-Ibore

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REFLECTIONS ON COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION, TEACHER EDUCATION, AND THE MIDDLE EAST Carine Allaf

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COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHER EDUCATION IN SOUTH ASIA Radhika Iyengar, Matthew A. Witenstein and Erik Byker

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Contents

THE INFLUENCE OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH ON POLICY MAKING, TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN GREECE Dimitris Mattheou

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PART III: CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS CONCEPTUALIZING TEACHER EDUCATION IN COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT John C. Weidman, W. James Jacob and Daniel Casebeer

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THE SCHOOLING EFFECT ON NEUROCOGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT: IMPLICATIONS OF A NEW SCIENTIFIC FRONTIER FOR COMPARATIVE EDUCATION Daniel Salinas and David P. Baker

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PART IV: RESEARCH-TO-PRACTICE REFORMING TEACHER EDUCATION THROUGH LOCALIZATION-INTERNATIONALIZATION: ANALYZING THE IMPERATIVES IN SINGAPORE Rita Zamzamah Nazeer-Ikeda

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TEACHER EDUCATION IN ANGLOPHONE WEST AFRICA: DOES POLICY MATCH PRACTICE? Kabba E. Colley

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EDUCATION POLICY, TEACHER EDUCATION, AND PEDAGOGY: A CASE STUDY OF UNESCO Anthony Cerqua, Clermont Gauthier and Martial Dembe´le´

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CONTENTS

PART V: AREA STUDIES AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS THE ROLE OF TEACHERS IN QUALITY EDUCATION IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: EXPLORING NEW FORMS OF HORIZONTAL COOPERATION Laura C. Engel, Michaela Reich and Adriana Vilela

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CURRENT CHALLENGES AND FUTURE TRENDS FOR TEACHER TRAINING IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: A FOCUSED LOOK AT BOTSWANA AND LESOTHO Cheryl Hunter and Tsooane Molapo

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INDIA’S ‘CASCADE’ STRUCTURE OF TEACHER EDUCATION: ITS PAST AND ITS FUTURE PROSPECTS Rohit Setty

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TEACHER EDUCATION IN TRANSITION: A REFORM PROGRAM IN INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN Shawana Fazal, Muhammad Ilyas Khan and Muhammad Iqbal Majoka

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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INDEX

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Carine Allaf

Qatar Foundation International, Washington, DC, USA

Emily Anderson

Education Policy Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

Tutaleni I. Asino

College of Education, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

David P. Baker

Education Policy Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA

Allison H. Blosser

Cultural and Educational Policy Studies, Loyola University, Chicago, IL, USA

Erik Byker

Department of Elementary Education, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX, USA

Daniel Casebeer

School of Education, Institute for International Studies in Education, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Anthony Cerqua

Faculte´ des sciences de e´ducation, Universite´ Laval, Que´bec, Qc, Canada

Bruce Collet

School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Policy, College of Education and Human Development, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA

Kabba E. Colley

College of Education, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ, USA ix

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Martial Dembe´le´

Faculte´ des sciences de e´ducation, Universite´ de Montre´al, Montre´al, Qc, Canada

Laura C. Engel

International Education and International Affairs, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

Shawana Fazal

Department of Education, Hazara University, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan

Clermont Gauthier

Faculte´ des sciences de e´ducation, L’Universite´ Laval, Que´bec, Qc, Canada

Cheryl Hunter

Educational Foundations and Research Department, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA

Radhika Iyengar

Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

W. James Jacob

School of Education, Institute for International Studies in Education, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Muhammad Ilyas Khan Department of Education, Hazara University, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan Florian Kiuppis

Faculty of Education and Social Studies, Lillehammer University College, Lillehammer, Norway

Patricia K. Kubow

Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies and Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

Jeffrey Lee

Department of Teacher Education, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA, USA

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List of Contributors

Muhammad Iqbal Majoka

Department of Education, Hazara University, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan

Dimitris Mattheou

Department of Primary Education, University of Athens, Greece

Trey Menefee

Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China

Tsooane Molapo

Educational Foundations and Research Department, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA

Rita Zamzamah Nazeer-Ikeda

Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University, Japan

Lillian Katono Butungi Niwagaba

Office of Global Health, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

Christine M. Okurut-Ibore

Educational Foundations and Research Department, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA

Susan Peters

College of Education, Michigan State University, Okemos, MI, USA

Wendi Ralaingita

RTI International, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Michaela Reich

Organization of American States, Washington, DC, USA

Jayson W. Richardson

Department of Educational Leadership Studies, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

Chanita Rukspollmuang

Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Daniel Salinas

Education Policy Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, Santiago, Chile

Rohit Setty

School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Deepa Srikantaiah

Global Partnership for Education, Washington, DC, USA

Adriana Vilela

Organization of American States, Washington, DC, USA

John C. Weidman

School of Education-ADMPS, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Alexander W. Wiseman Comparative and International Education Program, College of Education, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA Matthew A. Witenstein School of Educational Studies, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA, USA

PREFACE The Annual Review of Comparative and International Education (ARCIE) was first published in 2013 as a compliment to the International Perspectives on Education and Society Series (IPES). Now in its second year, ARCIE has the unique designation of being the only publication forum to systematically and annually review issues and perspectives in comparative and international education research. The often amorphous field of comparative and international education has long searched for a separate and unique identity among the disciplines represented by scholars, students, and professionals working in or with education in international and comparative contexts. As asserted throughout the inaugural volume of ARCIE, one of the benefits of an annual review is that it provides an opportunity to reflect on the historical, future, and ongoing directions of the field and to celebrate the scholarly and professional diversity of its members. It is also an opportunity to reflect, celebrate, and critique those elements and conditions that contribute to the continuous development of research, theory, policy, practice, and evaluation of education both comparatively and internationally. Another hallmark characteristic of the Annual Review of Comparative and International Education is that it continues to be developed under the guidance and recommendations of an experienced advisory board. The Annual Review’s advisory board is comprised of both established and emerging leaders in the field of comparative and international education, who are active in related scholarship and professional practice themselves. We especially would like to recognize and thank the advisory board for giving their time and expertise to support the Annual Review. The 2014 Annual Review of Comparative and International Education advisory board are:

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Monisha Bajaj Teachers College, Columbia University, USA

Diane Napier University of Georgia, USA

David P. Baker Pennsylvania State University, USA Steven J. Hite Brigham Young University, USA

Nikolay Popov Sofia University, Bulgaria Francisco O. Ramirez Stanford University, USA

Lihong Huang NOVA, Norwegian Social Research, Norway

David Turner University of Glamorgan, United Kingdom

Nancy Kendall University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA Daniel Kirk Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, United Arab Emirates

Frances Vavrus University of Minnesota, USA John C. Weidman University of Pittsburgh, USA

Shirley Miske Miske Witt Associates, USA

Shoko Yamada Nagoya University, Japan

Many advisory board members specifically supported the Annual Review by working closely with chapter authors as development reviewers. Development reviewers work with the chapter authors to make revisions to their full manuscript in preparation for sending a complete revised version to the volume editors for final review and publication in the finished volume. This may involve one read through and review correspondence with the chapter author, or it may involve more than one cycle of review. That is left to the development reviewers’ discretion and the limitations of time. We especially thank the many advisory board members who served as development reviewers for chapters in the 2014 Annual Review. These advisory board members supported the Annual Review authors in the critical and constructive development of the following chapters. Shirley Miske and Daniel Kirk served as development reviewers for Shawana Fazal, Muhammad Ilyas Khan, and Muhammad Iqbal Majoka’s chapter on “Teacher Education in Transition: A Reform Program in Initial Teacher Education in Pakistan.” Diane Napier served as the development reviewer for Cheryl Hunter and Tsooane Molapo’s chapter on “Current Challenges and Future Trends for Teacher Training in Southern Africa: A Focused Look at Botswana and Lesotho.” Nikolay Popov and Steven Hite served as development reviewers for Anthony Cerqua, Clermont Gauthier,

Preface

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and Martial Dembe´le´’s chapter on “Education Policy, Teacher Education, and Pedagogy: A Case Study of UNESCO.” Shoko Yamada served as the development reviewer for Rohit Setty’s chapter on “India’s ‘Cascade’ Structure of Teacher Education: Its Past and Its Future Prospects.” And, Lihong Huang and David Turner served as development reviewers for Rita Zamzamah Nazeer-Ikeda’s chapter on “Reforming Teacher Education through Localization-Internationalization: Analyzing the Imperatives in Singapore.” Finally, we are proud to announce that two of our advisory board members contributed chapters to the conceptual and methodological developments section of the 2014 Annual Review. In particular, John C. Weidman (with W. James Jacob and Daniel Casebeer) authored the chapter, “Conceptualizing Teacher Education in Comparative and International Context,” and David P. Baker (with Daniel Salinas) authored the chapter on “The Schooling Effect on Neurocognitive Development: Implications of a New Scientific Frontier for Comparative Education.” As premier experts in the field of comparative and international education, these advisory board members represent the cutting edge of theoretical development and methodological innovation in the field. Again, we extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to the many supporters who made the Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 possible, and who contributed to enhancing the quality and rigor of each chapter, the Annual Review, and the International Perspectives on Education and Society series as a whole. The development of an annual review in the field of comparative and international education is not only important to those of us who do research and professional work relevant to the field, but to all who are invested in youth and dedicated to the development and improvement of education worldwide. It is our sincere wish that this Annual Review and all that follow it will serve the field and all who participate in it as a tool for meaningful reflection, understanding, critique, and development of both scholarship and professional practice in comparative and international education. Alexander W. Wiseman Series Editor and Annual Review Co-Editor Emily Anderson Annual Review Co-Editor

PART I INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION TO THE ANNUAL REVIEW: THE RECIPROCAL EFFECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION ON COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION Alexander W. Wiseman and Emily Anderson ABSTRACT The Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 provides an opportunity for reflection and debate of current issues in the field. Central among these is how comparative and international education (CIE) is defined by scholars and practitioners, and how these understandings contribute to the field’s sense of professional and academic identity. The work of teachers and teaching in classrooms worldwide comprises much of the CIE field’s technical core and focus of policymaking as well as other relevant activity. As a result, the education of teachers and their professional development are key, and often undervalued, components. Based upon this foundation, the 2014 Annual Review

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 25, 3 11 Copyright r 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-367920140000025001

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highlights ways that teacher education and professional development impact CIE research and professional activity, and vice versa. Keywords: Comparative education; international education; comparative and international education; teacher education; professional development; annual review

The Annual Review provides a forum for comparative and international education (CIE) scholars and professionals to define and develop the field’s identity as well as document and critique the ways scholars and professionals participate in or enact CIE. It is important to provide a voice not only to academic researchers, but also to professionals involved in the practice, development, and teaching of CIE worldwide. The importance of professional and scholarly reflection in CIE being both systematic and consistent is a frequent topic of concern and debate among comparativists of education (Wiseman & Anderson, 2013). To implement systematic and consistent reflection, each Annual Review volume emphasizes several themes which the volume editors and Advisory Board members have decided contribute the most to the field. In the 2014 Annual Review, the main area of reflection and debate in CIE is focused on teacher education and professional development, but the themes that are emphasized within the larger topic are as follows: comparative education trends and directions, conceptual and methodological developments, research-to-practice, area studies and regional developments, and diversification of the field.

COMPARATIVE EDUCATION TRENDS AND DIRECTIONS The comparative education trends and directions section provides a dedicated space where leaders in the field publicly reflect on the trends, emphases, and future directions for CIE communities worldwide. The purpose of the discussion essays in this section is to infuse the perspectives, ideologies, and emphases of CIE communities and experts worldwide into the global discourse around CIE. Because the state of CIE often differs depending on the particular regional, conceptual, and political context, this section includes brief statements from CIE society presidents and special interest group (SIG) chairs from CIE societies.

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Discussion essays in this year’s Annual Review came as responses to several broad questions. These questions asked them how CIE-relevant research (1) advances understanding of teacher education and professional development in their community; (2) influences policy and reform related to teacher education and professional development; and (3) influences the professional development of novice as well as experienced teachers, specifically their ability to teach literacy skills and promote youth citizenship. Finally, these leaders in the field were asked to discuss from their unique perspectives how they envision CIE research impacting teacher education, professional development, and classroom practice in the next few years. Teacher quality has become synonymous with education reform movements in national education systems worldwide. Preparing and certifying the most highly qualified and competent teachers in all subject areas of mathematics and science have been elusive goals for most national education systems worldwide (Wiseman & Al-bakr, 2013). Many educators, policymakers, and scholars worldwide have tied what students know to professional standards for teachers, and professional standards for teachers have become increasingly aligned with global norms and expectations, even in the most remote and underdeveloped regions of the world. If there are formal, government-sponsored schools in a country, then teachers are typically expected to uphold professional standards and meet basic competencies in both pedagogical skill and content knowledge. In short, teacher quality through teacher education and professional development is a policy agenda for every educational system worldwide and a key factor in the study and practice of CIE.

CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS The conceptual and methodological developments section provides a systematic articulation of theory and research methodologies, which develops and frames the research and practice related to CIE. The goal is to identify which theories and methods have been borrowed from other disciplines most often and effectively, where and why the disputes in conceptual and methodological approaches to CIE arise, ways to reconcile those disputes or at least respect the different ways that conceptual and methodological approaches can be used in CIE, and provide a framework for including

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these different approaches within the scope of CIE. This section may provide an overview of a particular approach, a review that problematizes that approach, or a synthesis of new or unique conceptual and methodological issues. This section provides a consistent and systematic opportunity to address the theoretical and methodological debates in the field as well as begin to develop a uniquely CIE conceptual framework or method. The chapters in this section offer two distinct perspectives of emergent conceptual and methodological advancements in the field which will inform future research on the ways that teacher education is pursued in policy and practice worldwide. The first chapter by Weidman, Jacob, and Casebeer applies a new conceptual framework to describe the complexities of teacher education in international and comparative perspective. These authors undertake a thorough review of recent CIE scholarship investigating the impacts of the internationalization and globalization of higher education on teacher education curricula and policies. They find that individual countries respond to the challenges associated with creating quality teacher education programs that are contextually relevant and adaptive, while also responding to increased international, and internationalizing, policy expectations. Their framework borrows from a conceptual model of educational change in emerging democracies to highlight ways that national teacher education systems can identify theoretical and policy frameworks to guide their reform and implementation strategies. On the surface, the second chapter in this section diverges from the thematic focus of the Annual Review; it has, however, specific and important relevance for the study of teacher education in CIE as well as for the field at-large. In their chapter in this section, Salinas and Baker discuss the ways that cognitive neuroscience can help to inform and reform education systems worldwide. These authors review developments in cognitive neuroscience research and identify the lasting impacts that schooling has on individuals’ cognitive development. Specifically, this chapter highlights the ways that teaching and learning can be informed by cognitive neuroscience research, and how the cognitive effects of schooling might inform CIE research in the future.

RESEARCH-TO-PRACTICE The research-to-practice section emphasizes the professional and practical importance of the research that scholars in the field produce. Therefore,

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this section emphasizes the importance of translating the research conducted using those conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches highlighted in the previous section to practical applications and situations in educational systems, schools, youth programs, and classrooms worldwide. In particular, there is a strong component related to education for development that runs throughout the field of CIE. The three chapters in this section are focused on teacher education research-to-practice in CIE. These three chapters offer perspectives on the use of research to inform teacher education practice and policy using three different units of analysis a single-country case study, regional trends, and cross-national perspectives. In the first chapter of this section, NazeerIkeda discusses research-to-practice in teacher education from a single country, case study focusing on the National Institutes of Education in Singapore. This chapter offers a detailed analysis of the ways that teacher education policy and practice in Singapore is informed, and reformed, by competing internationalization and localization policy agendas. NazeerIkeda discusses how these global and contextual forces have been “hybridized” in Singapore’s higher education system, and the resulting impacts on teacher education. In the next chapter, Colley reviews teacher education policies and reform across Anglophone West Africa and discusses how globalization and the global financial crisis have impacted teacher education, supply, and demand across the region. She presents findings from a synthesis of research literature on teacher education in Anglophone West Africa and presents rich, descriptions of current trends in the literature on teacher education policy in each Anglophone West African country, and comparisons of existing teacher education policy models in each of the countries of interest. This chapter provides insight on teacher education in Anglophone West African countries, and will be informative for scholars interested in both teacher education policy and practice. The third chapter, by Cerqua, Gauthier, and Dembe´le´, synthesizes interviews and findings from a review of UNESCO’s teacher education policies from the last 15 years to identify the ways that pedagogical practice is conceptualized as practice and pursued as policy worldwide. These authors focus on pedagogy as the core of any teacher education reform strategy because, in their assessment, it includes not only how to train teachers to teach within specific instructional and curricular domains, but a larger conceptualization of pedagogy as “good teaching.” Cerqua and colleagues apply this conceptualization of pedagogy to investigate how international education policy actors, namely UNESCO, shape pedagogical discourse,

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and how this discourse is diffused at the national level in less developed countries, in particular.

AREA STUDIES AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS The area studies and regional developments section is important because it both pays homage to the origins of the field as well as provides important perspectives on the unique social, cultural, political, and economic contexts for education in specific regions worldwide. As much as the field of CIE is about identifying and understanding global trends and international educational phenomena, it all rests upon understanding the balance between globalization and contextualization. In particular, the ways that the local contexts and situations that shape education interact with the pressures and effects of increasingly globalized social, political, cultural, and economic factors is an often debated area in CIE. It is also important to recognize the ways that global phenomena are interpreted in local contexts, which are uniquely defined by culture, location, and social communities. The goal of highlighting area studies and regional developments in the Annual Review is to recognize that the boundaries and characteristics of educational spaces and of previously defined areas are shifting often quite rapidly. Another goal is to recognize the regional developments that are important to the comparative and international examination and application of education. This section on area studies and regional developments, therefore, is a systematic and consistent way to track and perhaps understand how regional dynamics are shifting and what implications this has for the development of CIE. This volume offers five regional and area studies perspectives on teacher education in CIE. These chapters provide nuanced, contextual descriptions of how teacher education is located within these regions, and the issues facing these particular areas as they establish, reform, and seek to improve their teacher education systems. To begin this section, Engel, Reich, and Vilela examine the ways that multilateral education policy and regional horizontal corporation influence teacher education policy in Latin America and the Caribbean. These authors consider the ways that both multilateralism and regional horizontal cooperation affect Ministry-level decision-making and policy implementation across the Latin American and Caribbean region through the Organization of American States’ (OAS) Inter-American Teacher Education Network (ITEN). Following Engel and colleagues’ chapter, the

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next chapter in this section focuses on the similarities and differences in teacher education in Botswana and Lesotho. In this chapter, Hunter and Molapo aim to describe what teacher education “looks like” in both countries of interest, and find that existing training and pedagogical models are stalling quality education reform. These authors locate the history of teacher education and training in Botswana and Lesotho within the legacy of post-colonialism in Southern Africa, and highlight the unique history of Botswana and Lesotho as a justification for comparison. This chapter identifies the common challenges faced by these countries including the need to address urban rural disparities, improve training systems, and attract and retain individuals into teaching. The third and fourth chapters in this section discuss teacher education in India and Pakistan, respectively. In his chapter on India’s “cascade” system of teacher education, Setty describes the increased policy focus on teacher education in India, and the ways that the current system is being reassessed through policy reform. He argues that the renewed focus on teacher education in India is in response to globally normative policy discourse that links teacher education as a salient predictor of student learning outcomes. In this chapter, Setty focuses on first uncovering how the “cascade,” which he defines as the “policies, pedagogies, and procedures” of teacher education are conceived and institutionalized at the national level, came to be in India, and how these structures have responded to an increased focus on teacher education and teacher quality. The fourth and final chapter in this section discusses teacher education in Pakistan within the context of promoting teacher quality. Fazal, Khan, and Majoka highlight recent teacher education reform in Pakistan through a case study of the Teacher Education Project (TEP) initiative supported through a partnership between the government of Pakistan and USAID. These authors highlight the ways that the TEP initiative led to secondary policy reforms in Pakistan, including the establishment of national professional standards for teachers, and presented challenges to the long-term sustainability and scale of the reform.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS Increasingly around the world, internationally legitimized professional standards are required as demonstrated competencies for teacher certification or recertification. But, it remains unclear or at least debatable which

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characteristics are necessary to develop and maintain “highly qualified teachers” in national education systems. There is agreement, however, that preparing and supporting new teachers has an impact on teacher quality. During pre-service preparation programs, national education systems have the most chance of developing cohorts of teachers who consistently demonstrate agreed-upon standards for professional competency and expertise. As a result, establishing internationally normed, nationally approved, and professionally aligned teacher preparation, professional development, and monitoring systems is increasingly emphasized among national education system officials, policymakers, and researchers worldwide (Wiseman & Al-bakr, 2013). There is evidence that teacher education worldwide follows a consistently similar pattern of content and pedagogical knowledge. This pattern emphasizes professionalism, professional development, reflective practice, and both self and external evaluation of teachers. Within this pattern, teacher education content is guided by internationally accepted standards for teacher competency, driven in part by national education policymakers and teacher educators’ awareness of students’ performance benchmarked against peer and target countries’ students. There are no formally agreedupon international standards for teachers that apply in every national educational system worldwide, but several nations have established national standards and certification processes, which align on several key elements across these nations. Furthermore, internationally comparative evidence shows that while significant differences exist in the implementation of teacher education worldwide, there is remarkable similarity in the norms and expectations for preservice and new teachers among educational systems in different countries. These global norms and expectations align with a common set of teacher standards even though those standards may not be prescribed by any international agency or multilateral organization either through coercion or mimicry. Still, these aligned teacher standards have become the de facto international standard, for teacher preparation and professional development programs, as evidenced by the global policy discourse emphasizing the importance of teacher standards.

REFERENCES Wiseman, A. W., & Al-bakr, F. (2013). The elusiveness of teacher quality: A comparative analysis of teacher certification and student achievement in Gulf Cooperation Council

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(GCC) countries. Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education. doi:10.1007/ s11125-013-9272-z Wiseman, A. W., & Anderson, E. (2013). Reflections on the field of comparative and international education, and the benefits of an annual review. In A. W. Wiseman & E. Anderson (Eds.), Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2013 (pp. 3 30). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

PART II COMPARATIVE EDUCATION TRENDS AND DIRECTIONS

TRENDS AND ISSUES IN THE TEACHING OF COMPARATIVE EDUCATION Patricia K. Kubow and Allison H. Blosser ABSTRACT This discussion essay explores trends and issues in the teaching of comparative education. We argue that the field of Comparative and International Education (CIE) must give more attention to the aspect of teaching, as comparative education courses are increasingly being affected by diminishing devotion to social foundations of education programming in many institutions of higher education and schools. Ironically, despite growing pluralism, the rise of economic utilitarianism has led to technicist-driven curriculum and less inquiry about philosophical, historical, and cultural assumptions underlying educational policy and practice. Another challenge in the teaching of comparative education is that students are often ill-prepared to understand and utilize the most basic social science concepts. Recognizing that teaching and research in CIE are inevitably linked, it is argued that a transformational model that advances CIE across disciplines, schools, and departments may reinforce its importance and ensure that the benefits that comparative inquiry affords namely critical reflexivity, insight about school society

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relationships, and possibilities for educational improvement are addressed and safeguarded in tertiary and teacher education. An understanding of cultural and national contexts is important to educational reform and enables educators to view globalization in terms of how it benefits or undermines humanistic aims, namely the importance of individuals and the uniqueness of cultures. Keywords: Comparative and International Education; critical reflexivity; social foundations of education; teacher education; technicization; transformation model

The purpose of this essay is to identify some important trends and issues in the teaching of comparative education to influence the discussion of this topic in the Comparative and International Education (CIE) field. Despite the benefits of comparative inquiry, we argue that CIE is being affected by diminished attention to social foundations of education within education programs and increased attention to technicist-driven, economic utilitarianism at all levels of formal education. These trends raise particular concern for CIE, namely the movement away from that which is unique or individual about cultures, peoples, and systems toward standardized educational policies and practices applied in local and national contexts. The stated objectives of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) are “to promote and improve the teaching of comparative education in colleges and universities” and “to encourage scholarly research in comparative and international studies in education.” We, like Tikly and Crossley (2001), believe that teaching and research in CIE are “inevitably linked” (p. 563). This is because teachers of CIE are also engaged as researchers and scholars in the field, as well as responsible for the orchestration of the teaching of CIE at their respective higher education institutions. Similar to George Bereday’s observation in 1958, CIE at present is most commonly taught at the graduate level and more rarely at the undergraduate level, despite the benefit that comparative perspectives could provide every educator (i.e., administrator, curriculum specialist, and teacher, both pre- and in-service). CIE affords experienced and novice teachers skills in critical reflexivity, helping them to examine the underlying assumptions of educational policies and practices. Because “comparison is indispensable to our thought processes,” as Phillips and Schweisfurth (2007) explain, it is natural for

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comparison to guide decision making in education, wherein teachers must “make all kinds of judgments as to what course of action to take in particular circumstances and at particular times” (p. 13). CIE also encourages teachers of all experience levels to be self-reflective, for the study of educational practices in other societies helps one better understand one’s own practices (Bereday, 1964). Kubow and Fossum (2007) add to that line of reasoning and argue that the ability to inquire comparatively is important for citizenship in pluralistic societies because it enables one to suspend judgment of that which is unfamiliar (people, places, and systems) so as to understand and learn from those differences and similarities. Increasing attention to CIE in both pre- and in-service teacher education can ultimately stimulate professional curiosity of education elsewhere, which is particularly important in the present era of education accountability and standards-based reform that is constraining teacher autonomy and making teaching more parochial in focus (Kubow & Fossum, 2007). Moreover, educators and governments around the world seek to understand the pedagogical practices of other countries, especially that of nations earning top scores on tests like PISA and TIMSS. Understanding such practices requires comparative education knowledge and cultural competencies. CIE affords teachers with the practical ability to ascertain why particular policies and practices work or do not work in specific social, cultural, and political settings. As Tikly and Crossley (2001) explain, “The globalization of education policy has many implications for how continuing professional development can be made relevant to the needs of both home and overseas students” (p. 569). However, governments have also become increasingly concerned with how higher education institutions can make teaching and research relevant to national concerns and economic development, which has led to a kind of teacher education that is practical and technicist-driven. Students, therefore, are keenly aware of the need for qualifications that make them more competitive in the labor market, and this plays a role in constricting formal education’s purposes to that of economic utilitarianism (Tikly & Crossley, 2001). In considering formal education’s purposes as it relates to CIE, Tikly and Crossley (2001) identified three models for teaching CIE: specialization, integration, and transformation. These categories inform our discussion of the trends and issues in the teaching of CIE. Specialization and integration are currently practiced in universities around the world, and transformation is a model for teaching CIE in the future. Specialization refers to the view of comparative education as a specialty or separate subfield of education studies, with distinctive attributes, perspectives, and literatures. Toward

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this end, the question as to whether there is a canon or literature base from which to introduce students to CIE has been the focus of discussion and debate and also the topic of a report by Bergh, Classen, Horn, Mda, and van Niekerk (1998) at the 10th World Congress of Comparative Education Societies in Cape Town, South Africa. Integration, according to Tikly and Crossley (2001), refers to the infusion or integration of comparative perspectives into other courses or programs of educational study. We see integration as increasingly prevalent in both graduate and undergraduate education courses and, accordingly, addressed it in a paper at the CIES 2013 Annual Meeting in which we explored the implications of the integration of CIE into undergraduate multicultural education courses (Kubow & Blosser, 2013). Tikly and Crossley (2001) recognized the limitations of these two approaches and thus proposed transformation, a model that transcends the divide of CIE being located only within educational departments by positioning it within continuing professional development in advanced courses across disciplines, professional schools, and departments. Ultimately, though, we agree that there is a pressing need to consider how CIE should be taught and to what end. In examining the history of the teaching of CIE, Harold Benjamin (1956) explained that for about the first decade of the 20th century, “for every hundred American teachers who had at least one course in history of education during their professional preparation, probably not more than four or five had a course in comparative education” (p. 141). The following decades witnessed increasing attention to CIE courses not only at the advanced level of graduate study, but also at the level of undergraduate teacher preparation, with the field’s greatest period of expansion between the 1950s and the 1970s (Wolhuter, Popov, Manzon, & Leutwyler, 2008). Today, however, the future of CIE looks somewhat bleak. As Wolhuter et al. (2008) found in their study of comparative education in universities in 47 countries, only 8 countries currently require a comparative education course for pre-service teachers at the bachelor’s level. Further, CIE’s place in teacher education is also threatened as teacher education programs place more emphasis on skills and competencies and subsequently less emphasis on the social foundations of education (Kubow & Fossum, 2013; Wolhuter et al., 2008). Thus, from our perspective, CIE research will not significantly impact teacher education, professional development, and classroom practice in the future unless systematic attention is given to the viability of the field as a whole. There needs to be a better articulation of how CIE has practical value for novice and veteran classroom teachers so as to safeguard the philosophical and in-depth approach to inquiry in teacher education

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that the social foundations of education provides. In order to do so, comparativists need to first acknowledge this pressing issue for the field. Foremost, comparativists must address the technicization of schools of education. In 1966, the preoccupation for Noah and Eckstein was to teach students in comparative education courses how “to formulate and test fruitful, non-trivial hypotheses about the relationship between education and society, using cross-national and/or cross-cultural data” (p. 511). Their attention was to “the teaching of a systematic method” (p. 511). Such a focus, in their estimation, provided students with “a tool-kit (however imperfect as yet), which they could in future apply to the comparative analysis of propositions about education and society” (p. 511). The paradox is that while there have been calls for more data-driven, policy-oriented, quantifiable measures to aid educational decision making, the CIE researchers engaged in these studies (via consultancies, educational agency positions, nonprofit and for-profit sector work, and even academic faculty positions) have also contributed to the continued demand for practical-oriented courses, more parochial and prescriptive education reform policies, and utilitarian purposes with technicist interests. Ironically, research efforts aimed at determining patterns of educational organization, curriculum, evaluation, and “best practices” may be the undoing of the humanistic impulse. “The humanist bias,” what Kneller (1963 1964) referred to as, “the emphasis upon the individual and the unique, seems to be waning in the face of systematic empirical investigation” (p. 403). Moreover, as Heyneman (1993) has argued, “The Comparative and International Education Society is faced with a new and similar challenge. It is faced with brand new interests. It is faced with new actors whose main affiliations do not depend at all on our blessing, whose sources of income and support are totally independent from the traditional field” (pp. 387 388). Tikly and Crossley (2001) explain that universities are no longer the only institutions asked to assist in educational development; now there are consulting firms and other organizations designed for just that purpose. This change is also reflected in the career trajectories of CIE graduate programs. Graduates of CIE programs are not necessarily pursuing careers in academia. Instead, they work for think tanks, private consulting firms, governments, NGOs, and other development organizations. To be sure, one only needs to look at the institutional affiliations of CIES attendees. No longer is the society made up of only academics. Therefore, professors of CIE need to begin asking themselves if it is the job of CIE professors to prepare their graduates for such careers, and if so, how they will meet their

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graduates’ needs while also teaching the theories, methods, and concepts central to developing the comparative mind. Another pressing issue concerns the integration of CIE into other education courses as described by Tikly and Crossley (2001). As it stands, CIE has been described as field that is hard to define and ever changing (Wolhuter et al., 2008). These qualities are both a strength of the field and its Achilles heel. On one hand, the field is adaptable to the educational issues and methods of a given time; on the other hand, its lack of definition can result in CIE being overlooked as a necessary component of teacher preparation (Wolhuter et al., 2008). For Eckstein (1970), “no subject can be considered as well-taught unless its characteristic modes of thinking and study are conveyed to students one way or another” (p. 280). CIE research is needed, therefore, to examine what happens to the central concepts and methods of CIE when it is integrated into existing school society or multicultural education courses. CIE’s position as a subspecialty of education, however, also raises concerns for the field. As Tikly and Crossley (2001) assert, “specialization … does not always maximize the kind of cross-fertilization with other disciplines and subfields that is necessary if the comparative and international canon is to advance creatively” (p. 573). Further, Eckstein (1970) laments about how ill-prepared students are to utilize and understand the most basic social science concepts and methods. As a result, “how to help [students] grasp fundamental ideas and general concepts, and still give a course of study which introduces students to the substantive problems in education and society in a comparative context remains the most difficult problem” (p. 282). In the end, until CIE professors and practitioners alike start critically and creatively addressing the changing nature of the field and its impact upon the teaching of the field, the future of CIE in teacher education remains uncertain. Tikly and Crossley (2001) perhaps say it best when they describe “an urgent need for comparativists to become active change agents in the broader transformation of their institutions if they are to better meet the contemporary challenges posed by globalization, changing geopolitical relations, and reform in the higher education sector” (p. 562). One way to do this is by regularly engaging in forums with colleagues that address these issues. And we are encouraged by recent interest in doing so. For example, the Teaching Comparative Education Special Interest Group (SIG) for CIES has quadrupled in size in only two years since its founding in 2011. Top scholars and professors in the field were willing and eager to take up these issues in the SIG’s highlighted sessions for the 2014 CIES

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Annual Meeting in Toronto. Further, we encourage comparative educators to share program and teaching resources via archive projects like CIECAP (Comparative and International Education Course Archive Project), a long-time commitment of Erwin Epstein, and CEIMA (Comparative Education Instructional Materials Archive), now both housed at Indiana University-Bloomington (ciedr.indiana.edu), to be able to improve the teaching of CIE and to keep abreast of the field’s changing interests, methods, and problems. In our view, the words of Bereday (1964), one of the field’s forefathers, are now more important than ever: “That students in the field gain an impression of rigorous scholarship, excitement, and a conviction that their study is worthwhile is vital to the sound establishment of comparative education as a respected discipline” (p. 171).

REFERENCES Benjamin, H. R. W. (1956). Growth in comparative education. Phi Delta Kappan, 37(4), 141 144, 165. Bereday, G. Z. F. (1958). Some methods of teaching comparative education. Comparative Education Review, 1(3), 4 9. Bereday, G. Z. F. (1964). Comparative method in education. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Bergh, A-M., Classen, C., Horn, I., Mda, T., & van Niekerk, P. (1998, July). Teaching comparative and international education. Report on a workshop held at the 10th World Congress of Comparative Education Societies, Cape Town, South Africa. Eckstein, M. A. (1970). On teaching a “scientific” comparative education. Comparative Education Review, 14(3), 279 282. Heyneman, S. P. (1993). Quantity, quality, and source. Comparative Education Review, 37(4), 372 388. Kneller, G. F. (1963 1964). The prospects of comparative education. International Review of Education, 9(4), 396 406. Kubow, P. K., & Blosser, A. (2013, March). Teaching comparative education and multicultural education: A cartographic representation of convergent and divergent epistemological influences and social aims. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society, New Orleans, LA. Kubow, P. K., & Fossum, P. R. (2007). Comparative education: Exploring issues in international context (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Kubow, P. K., & Fossum, P. R. (2013). Comparative education in the USA. In C. Wolhuter, N. Popov, B. Leutwyler, & K. Skubic Ermenc (Eds.), Comparative education at universities world wide (3rd expanded ed., pp. 183 192). Sofia: Bulgarian Comparative Education Society and Ljublijana University Press, Faculty of Arts. Noah, H. J., & Eckstein, M. A. (1966). A design for teaching “comparative education”. Comparative Education Review, 10(3), 511 513.

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Phillips, D., & Schweisfurth, M. (2007). Comparative and international education: An introduction to theory, method, and practice. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Tikly, L., & Crossley, M. (2001, Nov.). Teaching comparative and international education: A framework for analysis. Comparative Education Review, 45(4), 561 580. Wolhuter, C., Popov, N., Manzon, M., & Leutwyler, B. (2008). Mosaic of comparative education at universities: Conceptual nuances, global trends, and critical reflections. In C. Wolhuter, N. Popov, M. Manzon, & B. Leutwyler (Eds.), Comparative education at universities world wide (2nd expanded ed., pp. 319 342). Sofia: Bureau for Educational Services.

BEYOND PURE FORMS: APPRAISING THE ROLE OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE IN TEACHER TRAINING Trey Menefee and Tutaleni I. Asino ABSTRACT Research and debate on the value and deployment of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) has become contentious. While many agree that it is something that is both threatened and valuable, there are enormous conceptual difficulties encountered in framing what, exactly, it is that IK proponents should be fighting to preserve. This chapter uses insights from James C. Scott’s work on legibility and Bruno Latour’s work in the sociology of knowledge to privilege what we call relative epistemological performativity. This framework stands in contrast to attempts to privilege problematic essentialist views of “indigenous,” “Western,” or “scientific” knowledge. With this framework we are able to challenge some of the “antipolitics” implicit in educational development agenda that promote cultural and cognitive homogeneity as well as find space for hybrids like using ICT to strengthen IK. Finally, we conclude that the profound differences in conceptualizing the epistemology and ontology of

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 25, 23 35 Copyright r 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-367920140000025002

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IK should not detract from widespread agreement on the need for pedagogical practices that protect threatened local languages, cultures, and ecological knowledge. Keywords: Local; indigenous; culture; science; epistemology; diversity

There is a fire burning over the earth, taking with it plants and animals, ancient skills and visionary wisdom. At risk is a vast archive of knowledge and expertise, a catalogue of the imagination, an oral and written language composed of the memories of countless elders and healers, warriors, farmers, fishermen, midwives, poets, and saints in short, the artistic, intellectual, and spiritual expression of the full complexity and diversity of the human experience. Quelling this flame, this spreading inferno, and rediscovering a new appreciation for the diversity of the human spirit as expressed by culture, is among the central challenges of our times. — Wade Davis, The Wayfinders

In so much as the Indigenous Knowledge (IK) community agrees on anything, it is what Wade Davis so eloquently communicates in the above statement. There is a fire sweeping the world that is burning down languages, cultures, and entire epistemologies even more quickly than it is rendering the flora and fauna of the natural world endangered and extinct. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to identify who started this “fire” and what, of so many things, sustains it, but it is nonetheless an important brick to lay as an intellectual foundation in understanding where “we” stand. Like Margaret Mead, we share the nightmare that, “the entire imagination of humanity … might become confined within the limits of a single intellectual and spiritual modality” (Davis, 2011). It would be unimaginable to, “wake up one day and not even remember what had been lost” (Davis, 2011). And yet we walk ever more assuredly toward that future every day. The second brick we might lay as a sort of universal concern in the “IK community” is an understanding that education is an important tool in both spreading the fire and conserving some pieces here and there. When “education” is translated as massified schooling, it is among the most decisive variables in determining which traditions, languages, logics, visions, identities, and ontologies are culturally reproduced and which are left to the “scrap heaps” of history. For reasons beyond the scope of this short essay, it is evident that exogenous ontologies and epistemologies can very often be displacive. “Seeing” the world in one way often leads to that becoming the dominant way of seeing it. The rise of English,

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French, Spanish, Putonghua, and other dominant languages has happened in sync with the retreat of other languages. The rise of Western medicine has largely corresponded with a retreat in traditional medical knowledge. There is a rising “World Culture”1 produced by schooling and we are troubled both by its origins and destination. Not all is lost, however, as there are examples of education and schooling being used as a sort of firewall, a place where threatened languages and cultures are given a small room in which to breath and to thrive again. What unites the IK community is a hope that these trends can be slowed by re-politicizing these issues and making them central to comparative and international education discourse and methods. The fear of inevitability expressed by Mead and reflected in the writings of Davis does not have to materialize in a world where respect and appreciation for IK and cognitive diversity are treated as important goals in themselves. There are known methods, which will be shared in this essay, to prevent existing IK from being consumed in this global fire. These methods are reflected in the work produced by various scholars and a movement by indigenous people to take reigns of self-advocacy through available means such as emerging technologies. The third brick that holds the IK community together is a suspicion of scientism and the role of expertise in constructing and sustaining “antipolitics machines” (Ferguson, 1994). One variant of this is instrumental and not dissimilar from the skepticism expressed by pro-market thinkers like Hayek (1945) or Easterly (2007). It is the belief, at an instrumental level, that people at the “bottom” know more than people at the “top.” Scott (2010) aptly calls this the “trouble with the view from above.” Another side of this brick concerns the ethics of this view the rise of Randomized Control Trials and all of the instruments that bring “them” into a synaptic rendering for “us” to understand and manipulate. The mortar between these bricks is more mud than cement. There are serious, and largely unanswered, questions about a number of issues. As Semali and Kincheloe (1999) wrote, “not only are scholars unsure of what we’re talking about, but many analysts are uncertain of what we should be talking about.” How pure and local must something be to qualify as “indigenous”? Is “indigenousness” only found in the oppressed? If it is, how much does this dichotomy reify the epistemological foundation of the would-be “experts”? Where does one draw the line between IK, superstition, faith, and pseudo-science? Does one situate empirically based local knowledge next to, beneath, or above “science”? And where does all of this fit in the “real world” of classrooms, homework, and the training of teachers?

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AGAINST PURE FORMS The position taken by the authors is that much of the debate about IK focuses on “pure forms” on both ends of the spectrum that form a coupled “Othering.” On the modernist end the dichotomy is often unhelpfully framed as one between superstition versus science, tradition versus innovation, and ignorance versus knowledge. It is impossible for many people to conjure this image and not think of instances like the Church’s demand that Galileo renounce his empirical findings supporting a heliocentrism over geocentricism. These mirror opposites could be personified by Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In this sense, something like a “Leviathan” in the form of science needs to sort fact from fiction to make order out of epistemological chaos. We would agree with Fleck (Fleck, Trenn, Merton, & Kuhn, 1981, p. 47) when he writes that even the most postmodern critical theorists commit a “characteristic error [in exhibiting] … an excessive respect, bordering on pious reverence, for scientific facts.” Our critique will be explained in the following section. At the other end, much of the IK literature falls decidedly into an antineoliberal, postcolonial, and anti-domination camp (see Battiste, 2013; Kincheloe, 2011; Ryan, 2008). Horsthemke (2004) writes that, “‘indigenous knowledge’ is commonly contrasted … with ‘knowledge from abroad’, a ‘global’, ‘cosmopolitan’, ‘western’, ‘formal’ or ‘world’ (system of) knowledge.” They might be personified by Rousseau’s images of the noble savage ruined by civilization. This comes with an emphasis on an idealized pure, local, ancient, and “indigenous” culture that stands in sharp contrast to the excessive consumption, environmental wastage, and alienation that has accompanied economic growth and “development.” Drawing from the field of modern anthropology, we could make three general observations: the first is that cultures furthest from modern civilization both chronologically or spatially evolve enormously skilled responses to their socio-ecological niches. We should stand in awe of Balinese agriculture (Lansing, 2006), Polynesian seamanship (Davis, 2011), native Nigerian agriculture (Scott, 1998; Jones, 1936), Guatemalan dump heaps (Anderson, 1967), and Aboriginal Songlines (Watson & Chambers, 1989). Second, these systems of knowledge are embedded in cultural production are so dissimilar from modern “rationality” that their sophistication escapes notice by outside observers (Davis, 2011; Scott, 1998). The third observation is the most problematic: the social and ecological2 worlds in which this knowledge was produced are quickly vanishing and the cultures that created them have been radically transformed and

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hybridized, often far earlier than we are apt to assume.3 This would mean that trying to return to a pre-colonization/globalization baseline is a largely fool’s errand4 in the ways that Mckinley and Stewart (2012) describe of the Māori context. We live in a world of great diversity, but it is shrinking and none of it exists in a “pure” form. IK does not belong to the past nor is it frozen in time (Blaut, 1993) but is instead concerned with knowledge systems that are relevant today.

SULLIED EPISTEMOLOGIES OF ACCURACY, PRECISION, AND CONCERN Within the limited space provided, we hope to shine a light out of some of these entanglements. We start with Horsthemke’s (2004) challenge to define what knowledge is. Contrary to Horsthemke positivist true/false distinctions, we would take the approach of actor-network theory (ANT) in arguing that there is a truth in relations rather than a relativity of truth, and that “truth is not a convention but rather (1) in historical perspective, an event in the history of thought, (2) in its contemporary context, stylized thought constraint” (Fleck, et al., 1981, p. 100). There is no “Western” monopoly in these historical events or stylized thought constraints. We would add ANT’s focus on performativity does the knowledge instrumentally “work” for the diverse purposes in which it is used? Where Horsthemke and others focus on typologies of knowledge that classify the fact itself (e.g., “knowledge that”), the fundamental position of IK is to point to the material, historical, and political origins of different knowledge systems is of fundamental importance. Is it embedded in collective and individual memories5 or in books and reports? In so much as it is the latter type, we might begin by drawing a dichotomy between states and the endlessly complex cultural and ecological systems over which they have considered themselves sovereign. Knowledge being power, the sought to make these socio-ecological systems “legible” for the purposes of mobilization and exploitation. They did not, “successfully represent the actual activity of the society they depicted, nor were they intended to; they represented only that slice of it that interested the official observer” (Scott, 1998, p. 3). In this sense, one could describe the process of “modernization” as states overlaying names, measurements, and straight lines over these systems and then trying to make the “map become the territory.” The state’s “fact” that a farmer’s field is one hectare (and taxed accordingly) is as real as the

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“fact” that one hectare is a nearly meaningless construct for a farmer vis-a`vis what is, or could be, produced on a unit of that size in different socioecological contexts. No “fact” can be divorced of its social settings, no matter how real it might be, and the “fact” performs differently for different people in different contexts. We find it helpful to borrow Scott’s (1998) terms to describe the difference between this “view from above” and its displaced counterpart “on the ground” by using the Greek term metis where our community uses IK, and techne for “other” sort of knowledge that is often called “Western knowledge” or science. The framing is essentially an anthropological and politicized variant of tacit and explicit knowledge debates in the field of philosophy.6 Metis is the, “the acquired knowledge of how to sail, fly a kite, fish, shear sheep, drive a car, or ride a bicycle skills requires hand-eye coordination that comes with practice and a capacity to ‘read’ the waves, the wind, or the road and to make the appropriate adjustments” (p. 313). It is the distinction between the vernacular, which even scientists manage their lives with, and the arcane. It is a “knowledge-that,” but a knowledge that resists transportation out of the particularist contexts and idiosyncrasies that sustain its construction. As it relates to teaching and learning, it “resists simplification into deductive principles which can successfully be transmitted through book learning, because the environments in which it is exercised are so complex and non-repeatable that formal procedures of rational decision making are impossible to apply” (Scott, 1998, p. 316). Metis, then, is about accuracy over precision. It resists quantification, flowcharts, or containment in encyclopedic entries for later citation. It is knowing what to do even if we can’t enumerate or defend the precise reasons why. It is a universal way of organizing life inside laboratory and in jungle. On the other side, techne, the “view from above,” “could be expressed precisely and comprehensively in the form of hard-and-fast rules (not rules of thumb), principles, and propositions” (Scott, 1998, p. 319). It begins to look like science when it, “is based on logical deduction from self-evident first principles” (Scott, 1998, p. 319). In the classroom and elsewhere, “it radically differs from metis in terms of how it is organized, how it is codified and taught, how it is modified, and the analytical precision it exhibits.” We would argue, as Scott does, that techne is largely an administrative knowledge of power and manipulation of the world just as Francis Bacon described of the modernist project four centuries ago, or as Foucault described it half a century ago. Techne is knowledge generated to reshape and change the world and can never be divorced from the politics

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involved in its construction. It prioritizes a precision that often displaces accuracy.

ON TRANSLATION, MOBILITY, AND PERFORMANCE A critical distinction between metis and techne knowledge is that techne travels comparatively well. By removing all but a handful of variables, one can reproduce metis knowledge anywhere from Māori classrooms to Mars because a spectrometer performs the same way in both contexts. The fact that it travels so well tells us something of its contextual weight. The construction and reproduction of techne knowledge requires artificial, highly controlled environments something scientists themselves prize (Latour, 2005). It is also never nearly as solid as it appears from a distance. Were we to take physics, for example, the Newtonian calculus taught in secondary school-level textbooks is “wrong” about gravity in a very important sense as Einstein’s model of gravity replaced it more than half a century ago and String Theory competes with Einstein’s model today. Yet students are taught a simplified form of understanding a “fact” like gravity that is both wrong and right. One can do a lot with this “wrong” math, so much so that its limitations don’t become evident until we approach black holes or run experiments in particle accelerators. This lack of first order perfection in the face of performativity should be noted in context to IK as well. Many appeal to a belief that “facts” rest on first order principles that are, in reality, far from settled. In this sense, one would ask whether or not it matters that a person believes that spirits are the principal antagonists in rainfall patterns if, in their stories and ontologies, they have constructed a system that performs well for them in predicting and describing the local?7 The “wrongness” of spirit-based causality is not categorically different from the “wrong” mathematical foundations of Newtonian physics. The question of performativity allows us to abandon bad “facts,” like the belief that sex with a virgin can cure HIV/AIDS,8 the same way we abandon Newton’s math when analyzing the first moments of the Big Bang. This distinction frees us from less binary true/false forms to make space for something more relational: we should abandon “facts” where they do not perform as advertised, and we can keep them where they do.

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Metis knowledge does not transfer well to techne, nor techne to metis, or from one construction of metis to other forms of metis. In the first case, many problems arise when we try to “freeze” metis to make it more mobile and transferable. One could say, as an example, that many of the problems encountered with traditional Chinese medicine has been its more modern reinterpretation as a “science.”9 Whatever wisdom resides in traditional Chinese medical practice and thought is often lost in translation, such that it loses performativity when forced to take the shape of clinical technemaking science.10 One must also address the misconceptions concerning techne’s universality. Techne is only rarely of instrumental personal value and even more rarely translated over into daily life in pure form. Even in places where clinical science has informed our lives for the better, like bacteriology, the “facts” are translated into personal knowledge in ways that are often very different to the scientific understandings on these topics. It is good and well that we have learned to wash our hands more frequently, but we should be careful extrapolating this to mean that most people understand the science behind what they are doing. We are a lot less “modern” than we would have hoped for. Finally, different forms of metis knowledge do not travel well between each other. This would give us pause in taking approaches like Jared Diamond took in his book The World Until Yesterday (2013), which attempts to identify best practices in “traditional” cultures for use in “modern” societies. Similarly, it is doubtful one will find the “answer” to the sustainability challenges posed by modern economic development by turning our attention toward the lifestyles and beliefs found in those groups that are at margins of this order. Neither their knowledge nor lifestyles can be mobilized well outside their specific niches. Instead, we will can only hope to construct spaces where indigenous knowledges are reassembled, renewed, and adapted for whatever world awaits us as we sprint into a climate “we have never been [to] as a species.”11

WHAT IT MEANS FOR TEACHERS AND THEIR TRAINING It is through the decolonization of our minds and the development of political clarity we cease to embrace the notion of Western versus indigenous knowledge, so as to begin to speak of human knowledge. (Macedo, 1999, p. xv)

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We believe we can draw three broad lessons from the indigenous knowledge debates that would be meaningful to the praxis of both teaching and the teaching of teachers. In order, they are re-politicization, radical sensitivity, and pragmatism. By re-politicization we mean that teachers should appreciate if not encourage an awareness of the power dynamics in the classroom that occur when we teach one reality over another be it through language, identity, history, epistemology, or depoliticized “facts.” Our contemporary flavor of globalization, often catalogued as neoliberalism, and the rise of an increasingly homogenous “World Culture” isn’t just happening it is being made. We should expose the enormous “antipolitics machine” constructed around Education For All12 agenda that masks questions concerning the negative impacts of massified schooling on cultural systems behind a rightsbased discourse. It attempts to mute important questions of political importance, like literacy in whose language? Enrolment in which school using which medium of instruction and whose curriculum? Teaching and learning quality aligning to whose standards? Skills for which type of work, working for whom, and doing what? How much does preparing children and youth for socioeconomic changes we have declared inevitable urbanization, the advancement of capital, the submission of the local to the national and global create that very future? The answers to these questions are not necessarily nefarious, but international educational policy discourse asks us to avoid anything that slows progress in “making rights realities.” The argument for IK in the academy and in teacher education is not a reactionary desire to undo Eurocentricism or “Western” knowledge, but is instead an argument to recognize diverse epistimologies and ways of being: both knowledge created in highly controlled experiments and knowledge and identities that have evolved from centuries of experience.13 It is an awareness that education systems are often structured in such ways that create an adversarial relationships between a privileged framing of “modern” and “knowledge” and a non-Western “Other” something else, sidelined as traditional or indigenous and is meant as the object to be displaced. On a practical level, this might mean teachers opening a space for discussions about the hidden curriculum and the cultural values and visions embedded in curriculum. The debates and discussions themselves should be seen as pedagogical gold mines. The counterpart to politicizing these issues is a radical sensitivity, the need for a sort of ontological plurality and “softness” that Verran (2001, 2007) has identified. The socio-ecological systems in which much of IK is embedded are similar that of a “man standing permanently up to the neck

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in water, so that even a ripple is sufficient to drown him” (Tawney, 1931). Valuing linguistic, cultural, and cognitive diversity would help defuse contexts where students and teachers are forced to “live in conflict and confusion between two incongruent philosophical systems” (Friedmann-Conrad, 2013 it’s online at http://jis.athabascau.ca/index.php/jis/article/view/110/ 117), especially where one system is on the verge of drowning another. We concur with McKinley and Stewart (2012) when they write that, “it could be more productive to continue to hold the notion of IK in tension with the notion of science, as a reminder of science’s own cultural origins and limitations” (p. 551). We can help calm the floodwaters by highlighting these tensions. Sensitivity also means sensitivity to context. Attempts to extract IK from historical contexts and implant it directly into the curriculum have often been problematic, with it being “asked to carry a symbolic weight that is too heavy, and what gets taught under these headings is a representation of IK that is at best inadequate, and often worse” (McKinley & Stewart, 2012, p. 550). The best constructivist practices that show us that the experiences, prior knowledge, and values of our students are something to be valued for their own sake. This would pay a deeper homage to what “indigenous” means it is not a specific group or ancient culture, but rather what already exists here and now. This sensitivity allows us to find hybrids where we might not expect them, like where Winschiers-Theophilus (Winschiers-Theophilus & Bidwell, 2013; Winschiers-Theophilus, et al. 2013) and his colleagues have linked human computer interaction and IK and used mobile technologies to capture endangered knowledge and animate it for a younger generation. Finally, we recognize appeals for pragmatism. As stimulating as these politically and intellectually charged issues are, we risk losing sight of “low-hanging fruit” in debates about the nature of reality, science, and knowledge. While we might disagree with Horsthemke’s (2004) philosophically, we wholeheartedly endorse his argument that, “skills and practical knowledge are worthy of [curricular] inclusion, as are traditional music, art, dance, and folklore” (p. 43). We would add to that list local history, ecology, dialects, and traditional scripts. Focus on indigenous languages might well rank as among the most powerful approach, as they “carry both identity and knowledge, but we are more successful at revitalizing identity than knowledge, whose relevance in the absence of traditional social structures has been, to all intents and purposes, lost” (McKinley & Stewart, 2012, p. 550).

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NOTES 1. See Carney, Rappleye, and Silova (2012) for a critical review of World Culture Theory. 2. Meyer (2006) has a most powerful monograph on the collapse of biodiversity that is defining the Anthropocene. 3. We would highlight Scott’s (2009) groundbreaking work on ethnogenesis in Zomia, for example. 4. Marris (2011) outlines this argument from an ecological perspective in ways that might translate for culture as well. 5. This is often reproduced through stories, religion, cosmologies, and myth. 6. The dichotomy of metis and techne is by no means the only way of framing divergent epistemologies, but it is one of the better heuristics for our purposes here. Alternative dichotomies are useful because so many proponents of IK find the term “indigenous” problematic. The problems become most apparent when what is called techne here becomes labeled and problematized. Another strength of this dichotomy is that it corresponds well with Actor-Network Theory’s framing of the role of “facts,” especially Latour’s (2004, 2005) argument for rethinking “matters of fact” as “matters of concern.” 7. An important follow-up question would be whether or not we have something “better” to replace this heuristic with. 8. See Meel (2003). 9. See Taylor (2012). 10. See Ma, Guo, Qi, and Li (2011), Ma, Lin, Lui, and Cai (2013), Li, Chen, He, and Zhou (2009), Liu, Zhang, He, and Li (2012), Suo, Gu, Andersson, and Ma (2012), and Zhang & Leonard, (2004) for studies on the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine. 11. Guy McPherson, as quoted in Jamail (2013). 12. Which is now rolling into the Post-2015 Agenda. 13. We would resist the notion that the timeframes like this imply greater or lesser amounts of “indigenousness.”

REFERENCES Anderson, E. (1967). Plants, man, and life. Berkeley, CA: University of California. Battiste, M. (2013). You can’t be the doctor if you’re the disease: Eurocentrism and indigenous renaissance. Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) Distinguished Academic Lecture. Blaut, J. M. (1993). The colonizer’s model of the world: Geographical diffusionism and eurocentric history. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Carney, S., Rappleye, J., & Silova, I. (2012). Between faith and science: World culture theory and comparative education. Comparative Education Review, 56(3), 366 393. Davis, W. (2011). The wayfinders: Why ancient wisdom matters in the modern world. Toronto, ON: House of Anansi Press.

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Diamond, J. (2013). The world until yesterday: What can we learn from traditional societies? London: Penguin Books Limited. Easterly, W. (2007). The white man’s burden: Why the west’s efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ferguson, J. (1994). The anti-politics machine: “Development,” depoliticization, and bureaucratic power in Lesotho (p. 320). Duluth, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Fleck, L., Trenn, T. J., Merton, R. K., & Kuhn, T. S. (1981). Genesis and development of a scientific fact. University of Chicago Press. Friedmann-Conrad, B. M. (2013). Education for liberation: One indigenous classroom at the time? Journal of Integrated Studies, 4(1). Hayek, F. A. (1945). The use of knowledge in society. The American Economic Review, 35(4), 519 530. Horsthemke, K. (2004). Indigenous knowledge: Conceptions and misconceptions. Journal of Education, 32, 31 48. Jamail, D. (2013). The coming “instant planetary emergency.” The Nation. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/article/177614/coming-instant-planetary-emergency# Jones, G. H. (1936). The Earth goddess: A study of native farming on the West African Coast. London: Royal Empire Society. Kincheloe, J. L. (2011). Critical ontology and indigenous ways of being. In Key works in critical pedagogy (pp. 333–349). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. Lansing, J. S. (2006). Perfect order: Recognizing complexity in Bali. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Latour, B. (2004). Why has critique run out of steam? From matters of fact to matters of concern. Critical Inquiry, 30(2), 225 248. Latour, B. (2005). Reassembling the social: An introduction to actor-network theory. Polı´tica y Sociedad. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Li, Q., Chen, X., He, L., & Zhou, D. (2009). Traditional Chinese medicine for epilepsy. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (3). Liu, X., Zhang, M., He, L., & Li, Y. (2012). Chinese herbs combined with western medicine for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 10. Ma, B., Guo, J., Qi, G., Li, H. et al. (2011). Epidemiology, quality and reporting characteristics of systematic reviews of traditional Chinese medicine interventions published in Chinese journals. PloS one, 6(5). Ma, C., Lin, W., Lui, S., & Cai, X. (2013). Efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine for benign prostatic hyperplasia: Systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Asian Journal of Andrology, 15(4). doi:10.1038/aja.2012.173 Macedo, D. (1999). Decolonising indigenous knowledge. In L. Semali & J. Kincheloe (Eds.), What is indigenous knowledge (pp. xi xvi). New York, NY: Falmer Press. Marris, E. (2011). Rambunctious garden: Saving nature in a post-wild world (p. 224). New York, NY: Bloomsbury. Mckinley, E., & Stewart, G. (2012). Out of place: Indigenous knowledge in the science curriculum. In B. J. Fraser, K. Tobin, & C. J. McRobbie (Eds.), Second international handbook of science education (pp. 541 554). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. Meel, B. L. (2003). 1. The myth of child rape as a cure for HIV/AIDS in Transkei. Medicine, Science and the Law, 43(1), 85 88. Meyer, S. M. (2006). The end of the wild. Boston, MA: The MIT Press.

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Ryan, A. (2008). Indigenous knowledge in the science curriculum: Avoiding neo-colonialism. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 3(3), 663 702. Scott, J. C. (1998). Seeing like a state: How certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed (p. 464). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Scott, J. C. (2009). The art of not being governed: An anarchist history of upland Southeast Asia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Scott, J. C. (2010). The trouble with the view from above. In Seeing like a state: A conversation with James C. Scott (p. 55). Washington, DC: Cato Institute. Semali, L., & Kincheloe, J. (1999). What is indigenous knowledge?: Voices from the academy. London: Routledge. Suo, T., Gu, X., Andersson, R., Ma, H. et al. (2012). Oral traditional Chinese medication for adhesive small bowel obstruction. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 5. Tawney, R. H. (1931). Land and labour in China. New York, NY: Institute of Pacific Relations. Taylor, K. (2012). Chinese medicine in early communist China, 1945–1963: A medicine of revolution. London: Routledge. Verran, H. (2001). Science and an African Logic. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press. Verran, H. (2007). Metaphysics and learning. Learning Inquiry, 1(1), 31 39. Watson, H., & Chambers, D. W. (1989). Singing the land, Signing the land. Geelong, VIC: Deakin University Press. Winschiers-Theophilus, H., & Bidwell, N. J. (2013). Toward an afro-centric indigenous HCI paradigm. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 29(4), 243 255. Winschiers-Theophilus, H., Rodil, K., Zaman, T., Yeo, A., & Jensen, K. (2013). Mobile technologies for preservation of indigenous knowledge in rural communities. 2013 8th International Conference on Information Technology in Asia (CITA), July 1 4.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN INCORPORATING COMPARATIVE RESEARCH INTO CONTEMPORARY TEACHER EDUCATION Bruce Collet ABSTRACT This essay addresses the issue of incorporating comparative and international education research into teacher education by addressing how the field of comparative education is defined, the essential skills and knowledges that students must have in order to properly “consume” comparative research, the degree to which teacher education is presently equipped to effectively incorporate comparative research into its programming, and the changes needed to bring comparative research more squarely into the domain of teacher education. I argue that the study of comparative education research necessitates a foundational base, formed through serious and rigorous engagement with core courses in the social sciences

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and humanities as well as social foundations course in education. I advance that without this base, we run a greater risk of seeing comparative research become appropriated into a technocratic paradigm that governs much of what presently constitutes teacher education. The essay calls for the introduction of comparative education research into teacher education simultaneously with the advancement of the other social foundation courses, along with aggressive advocacy for a broader liberal arts core. Keywords: Comparative education; comparative theory; teacher education; social foundations; liberal arts; neoliberalism

It is self-knowledge born of the awareness of others that is the finest lesson comparative education can afford. — George Bereday (1964)

In this essay I address the issue of incorporating comparative and international education research into teacher education by addressing four fundamental questions, the first three of which are rather a priori in nature. The first question concerns how we presently go about defining our field, and what might legitimately fall under the banner of comparative research. The second inquires into the essential skills and knowledges that students must have in order to properly “consume” comparative research, and to make meaning of it in ways congruent with the way the field is defined and enacted. The third question asks about the degree to which teacher education, in its present state, is equipped to effectively incorporate comparative research into its programming. The fourth and final question inquires into the changes that are needed to bring comparative research more squarely into the domain of teacher education, and the potential ways that this research could greatly benefit teacher education programs. I argue in this essay that the study of comparative education research necessitates a foundational base, formed through serious and rigorous engagement with core courses in the social sciences and humanities, as well as social foundations course in education, and that without this base, we run a greater risk of seeing comparative research become appropriated into the existing discourse that governs much of what presently constitutes teacher education. This discourse I argue is presently dominated by a technocratic paradigm and a

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perceived urgency to develop ever more “practical” courses that meet the needs of the contemporary classroom. Consequently, we have seen a withering away of foundations courses from teacher education programming, and with it the shoulders upon which comparative education stands. As Gottlieb (2000) writes, comparative education has from its inception been an interdisciplinary field, much like the study of comparative economics, comparative government, or comparative religion. It applies philosophical, social, and historical theories and methods from a variety of disciplines to the study of education worldwide. Comparative and international educational research has over its near 200-year history taken on many forms, from large scale multinational projects employing complex statistical multivariate and multilevel analysis such as the International Association for the Evaluation of Education Achievement (IEA) studies, to country-specific case studies using qualitative and ethnographic research methodologies. What has brought such a span of studies under the umbrella of comparative education research has always been the push toward understanding and insight, rather than satisfaction with simple descriptive accounts of educational practices and behaviors. As George Bereday reminds us, “It is the why rather than the how that permits one to embark upon direct comparisons.” The emphasis on deep understanding of school society relationships across a variety of national and cultural locales has been the principle reason why comparative education has retained and depended on its interdisciplinary identity. It is also why comparative education has been able to contribute not only significant theoretical insights to the education world, but also to maintain a tradition as a social movement, or, in the words of Cowen (2006), as “a set of possibilities for action-on-the-world.” So what essential skills and knowledges must students have in order to properly “consume” comparative research, and to make meaning of it in ways congruent with the way the field has been defined and enacted? As comparative education research is rooted in an interdisciplinary field, so also should students have at least a basic working knowledge of the disciplines informing this field. Minimally, this means some background coursework in philosophy, sociology, and history, as well as economics, political science, and geography. Connected to this, the ability to digest and benefit from comparative and international education research entails understanding of the paradigms within which the field is (or at least has thus far been) based. In her piece “Are We Post-Modern Yet? Historical and Theoretical Explorations in Comparative Education” (in the Routledge International Companion to Education) Gottlieb (2000) provides a nice overview of the

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major theories and theoretical frameworks that have most strongly directed the field in the 20th and into the 21st century. Most centrally these have involved (1) functionalism, and its constituent elements such as modernization theory, individual modernity, and human capital theory; (2) radical theories of comparative education, most notably Marxist, neo-Marxist, and dependency theory perspectives; (3) radical humanists, including the work of Paolo Friere and others; and (4) interpretivist and postmodern perspectives. Without some compass, students who are exposed to such paradigms are likely to get lost in the woods, confounded by an array of unfamiliar historical figures and references, exotic conceptual categories and theories, and a seemingly foreign lexicon. Further, Gottlieb’s delineation makes evident that it is not just any courses in philosophy, sociology, history, etc. that will do, but rather courses that involve content related to the abovementioned paradigms. Fortunately, the paradigms informing comparative education have been broad enough that a large number of background courses in the said areas could well “qualify.” However, on the flip side, students need repeated exposure to such courses to really absorb the material, to get it to stick, and to have it become a lasting part of their interpretive framework. The numbers and kinds of such courses in fact is exactly the issue when it comes to the direction our teacher education programs are taking. So we come to the question of the degree to which teacher education, in its present state, is equipped to effectively incorporate comparative research into its programming. Regrettably, the current scene is not one that generates a great deal of optimism. As Groenke (2009) notes, since the 1980s, social foundations courses have been increasingly eliminated as required or even recommended courses in the professional development of teachers. At some universities, entire foundations departments have been eliminated. Moreover, required courses to be taken outside of colleges of education (the traditional liberal core of a university education) may be marginalized or relegated to the periphery of the degree program, as something to satisfy, to get out of the way, rather than something central to the teaching degree itself. The backdrop to this story involves an interrelated set of actors, institutions, and legislation that have effectively redirected teacher education toward an increasingly technocratic paradigm and a perceived urgency to develop ever more “practical” courses. Behind the scenes (and sometimes very much in front) exists the political and economic discursive frame of neoliberalism, and its associated values of accountability, efficiency, practicality, and productivity. One of the most powerful players in this process

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have of course been accreditating agencies, most notably the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), and their associated standards, which are closely aligned with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation and other national neoliberal reform efforts. Conformity to accreditation standards that privilege methods, pedagogy, curriculum, and technocratically oriented areas such as behavior management and testing necessarily results in marginalizing courses in the social foundations. Groenke for instance documents the 2005 proposed elimination of the three-semester social foundations course requirement by the Virginia Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure, replacing it with courses in “Instructional Design Based on Assessment Data” and “Classroom Management.” She also documents the 2006 decision by the University of Tennessee’s College of Education, Health and Human Sciences to eliminate, “with no discussion or input from faculty,” the threecredit hour cultural foundations requirement, and replace it with additional coursework in such areas as special education. In my own university, teachers in a newly created inclusive early childhood program take upwards to 80% of the courses required for graduation within their very specialized field. The course requirements in the social and behavioral sciences as well as humanities and arts are minimal, and students are encouraged to satisfy those latter requirements before the end of their sophomore year, diminishing the chances that they might take any more challenging and upper level options. As with other similar programs across the nation, the program’s design can only really be made sense of within the larger sets of institutional apparatuses that govern its legitimation. I fear there is a great danger in incorporating comparative research into teacher education programs without providing pre-service teachers with the foundational skills and knowledges required to understand and make sense of this research. I’ve already discussed something of the types of courses necessary (e.g., philosophy, sociology, history) as well as the kinds of paradigms that students should be prepared to engage with (e.g., functionalism or critical theory). A brief illustration I think helps to further the point. The Preschool in Three Cultures landmark study of international early childhood, spearheaded by Joseph Tobin, Yeh Hsueh, and Mayumi Karasawa, explored how historic, economic, political, social, and demographic forces shaped early childhood education systems in China, Japan, and the United States. Two important texts were generated from the project: Preschools in Three Cultures: Japan, China, and the United States (1989), and Preschools in Three Cultures Revisited (2009). Through the use of a “video-cued multivocal ethnographic method” the study captured

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historical change as well as continuity in school sites in the three country contexts, positioning preschools as sites for the establishment of societal values and cultural practices. The texts and the project present an excellent opportunity to integrate comparative education research into teacher education. Pre-service teachers can come to some very important understandings about their own values and practices, through learning about the values and practices of societies very different than their own. However, to really engage with and understand the books, students need to come in with some baseline knowledge. It helps greatly for instance if students have some understanding of globalization, modernization, and economic determinism, as such constructs form the backdrop for the authors’ comparative meaning making. As well, some in-country knowledge would be quite useful. For instance, students would benefit from some prior understanding of Confucianism, the Cultural Revolution in China, or traditional Japanese values. Much of this content can be taught of course while reading and engaging with the texts (as I have done when I have taught the 2009 book myself), however having some prior proficiency with or at least awareness of the larger analytical frames used in the texts makes their deeper insights that much more accessible, and likely more impressionable as well. The greatest danger in not providing students with the background courses that would make something like the Preschool in Three Cultures series that much more accessible and meaningful lies not with students’ not understanding the work, but with their misunderstanding of the work. In teacher education programs dominated by the technocratic paradigm and the preoccupation with practicality, the greatest risk is that comparative research becomes appropriated into the existing paradigm rather than integrated or incorporated in a way that challenges or expands the existing paradigm. Hence, the educational practices of China and Japan may not be understood on their own terms or within their own historical and cultural frames, but rather within the discourse of “best practices” and “professionalism,” within which there are most assuredly right and wrong answers. We can counteract this as compartivists, but I believe only so far. The more effective strategy is to introduce comparative education research into teacher education simultaneously with the advancement of the other social foundations (along with aggressive advocacy for a broader liberal arts core). As the epigraph at the beginning of this essay notes, self-knowledge is the finest lesson that comparative education can offer, as it is through self-knowledge that we can critically self-evaluate, change, and move forward. I only hope that we are not losing this capacity.

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REFERENCES Bereday, G. (1964). Comparative method in education. New York, NY: Hold, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Cowen, R. (2006). Acting comparatively upon the educational world: Puzzles and possibilities. Oxford Review of Education, 32(5), 357 371. Gottlieb, E. (2000). Are we post-modern yet? Historical and theoretical explorations in comparative education. In B. Moon, M. Pen-Peretz, & S. Brown (Eds.), Routledge international companion to education (pp. 153 175). London: Routledge. Groenke, S. L. (2009). Social reconstruction and the roots of critical pedagogy: Implications for teacher education in the neoliberal era. In S. L. Groenke & J. A. Hatch (Eds.), Critical pedagogy and teacher education in the neoliberal era: Small openings (pp. 2 18). Dordrecht: Springer. Tobin, J., Hsueh, Y., & Karasawa, M. (2009). Preschool in three cultures revisited: China, Japan, and the United States. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Tobin, J., Wu, D., & Davidson, D. (1989). Preschool in three cultures: China, Japan, and the United States. New Haven, CT: Yale University.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION Jayson W. Richardson and Jeffrey Lee ABSTRACT Comparative education and international education are central themes in the field of information and communication technology for development (ICT4D). Policies, projects, and practices around technology are often created and enacted based on best practices compared across multiple contexts and disciplines. As such, ICT4D research is at the nexus of understanding how youth can be empowered through technology, teacher pedagogy can be enhanced through technology, and how marginalized communities can leverage technology to leapfrog into the 21st century. In this essay, the authors explore these themes as a way to enforce the synergies among scholars in the fields of ICT4D and comparative and international education. Keywords: ICT4D; ICT; technology; development; citizenship; digital

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Thomas Friedman (2006) described how Globalization 1.0 began when global explorers marveled that one could go west to reach the East. During these early times, the entire world became accessible. Globalization 2.0 introduced mankind to multinational companies that had a global reach. During this era, the size of our world went from large to small. In recent years, technology has afforded the average person access to a plethora of people, information, opportunities, and opinions with a mere click of a button. Through technology, Globalization 3.0 drastically flattened the world and provided opportunities to many who were previously disenfranchised. Through modern digital technology, the small world got even smaller. Within education, information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) focuses on how modern digital technologies are used for teaching and learning in less developed countries. ICT4D is at the core of Globalization 3.0. By understanding how technology is being used in comparative situations, opportunities are created and new futures come to light. While the ICT4D field began with a focus on formal education, it has expanded to include nonformal and informal learning environments. In this essay, we describe how the ICT4D field aligns with the greater study of comparative and international education.

A BUDDING SYNERGY ICT4D research is firmly rooted within the field of comparative and international education. The very act of adopting technologies in less developed countries is enacted vis-a`-vis comparing what others have done. Policy transfer, best practices, educational reformation, and human resource development are major themes in both fields. Traditionally, researchers of ICT4D have learned from researchers of comparative international education. The field of ICT4D however is quickly maturing and bidirectional impact is inevitable, mutually beneficial, and promising. For example, technology policies in less developed countries have traditionally been borrowed from the West and thus have often not been localized to the needs of schools, teachers, and students. Today’s technology policies have evolved and are becoming more reflective of local needs. This has been made possible through the work done by ICT4D researchers who approach their work from a comparative paradigm. Today, there are national and local policies that have been created through a robust process of understanding endogenous needs, and looking

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at lessons learned exogenously. For example, India has been developing its National Policy on ICT in School Education. This has been an iterative and interactive process of receiving feedback from stakeholders, understanding the research that has been conducted in other countries (including Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka, among others), and localizing technology solutions to the stakeholders’ need (e.g., creating the Indian National Repository of Open Educational Resources). Modern digital technologies have undoubtedly changed pre-service teacher education and professional development of in-service teachers and inservice school leaders. Gone are the days when technology was an add-on to the schooling experience. Today’s technologically suffused environments (be it work, personal, or educational) demand that comparative international education researchers not ignore this shift. The synergy between the two fields is inspiring, albeit nascent. One would be hard pressed to find a teacher training program in a less developed country that does not have some focus on technology. These foci may be technology for teaching and learning (Richardson, 2009, 2011; Richardson, Finholt-Daniel, Sales, & Flora, 2012), technology for school management (Heeks, 2011), or technology for national reform (Richardson et al., 2013). The push to implement laptops and handheld devices has created a surge in comparative studies around ICT4D (see Valiente, 2010). Thus the need for more research in this area is growing.

ICT4D RESEARCH: IMPACTING TEACHERS AND PROMOTING YOUTH CITIZENSHIP Research in the field of ICT4D is highly influenced by the need to foster youth citizenship and improve literacy skills. Within ICT4D, we often focus on digital literacy skills and the development of digital citizenship. Modern digital technology affords opportunities for youth citizenship at many levels. The affordances are unparalleled by any innovation of the past. One affordance is the shift of power as exemplified through the Arab Spring which began in Tunisia but was later solidified in the minds of many through the January 25, 2011 Egyptian Revolution. This revolution engaged the youth via the use of social media, which was used to collapse an entire government (Richardson & Brantmeier, 2012). ICTs were used to renegotiate power and allow the general population to communicate to a world of listeners through technologies such as Twitter and Facebook.

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Researchers of ICT4D are comparing these types of events and creating scores of new possible futures. On a smaller scale, we see students engage their communities starting with the smallest of acts. One example is Martha Payne, a Scottish schoolgirl who started a blog called Never Seconds (Payne, 2013). Through this medium, she writes about her school lunches in an effort to bring awareness to the nutritional value of the food. This simple blog engaged the school, community, school leadership, nation, and eventually international media. Through her blog, Martha regularly engages with students from around the world as they send her descriptions of their school lunch. Martha started raising money through this effort for Mary Meals (well over $200,000), a charity dedicated to setting up school feeding projects. These types of student driven, technologically empowered discussions also happen every day in the developed world. These stories also exist in less developed countries but with much less fanfare. Thus, researchers and writers have not done a sufficient job bringing these stories to light. More work needs to be done to understand how ICTs are changing local communities through acts of digital citizenship. Digital literacy and digital citizenship are two areas of concern to many researchers of modern digital technologies and the youth. This issue will become increasingly important to understand as handheld devices and ubiquitous Internet access are available to children around the world. Ribble and Bailey (2007) noted that digital citizenship involves nine facets: access, commerce, communication, literacy, etiquette, law, rights, health, and security. These aspects offer rich comparative research opportunities in less developed countries. Taking a comparative and international approach to digital citizenship might offer unique solutions to problems the field has yet to fathom.

ICT4D AND CLASSROOMS Comparative and international education research is impacting teacher education, professional development, and classroom practices through and around the use of ICTs. ICTs are fostering two major shifts in classroom practices: (1) the shaping and changing of teaching pedagogy through ICTs, and (2) the changing role of the classroom teacher through ICTs. These two shifts are bringing to light the fact that there remains a dearth of education research on ICTs in less developed countries.

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Regarding the first shift, ICTs are shaping and changing teaching pedagogy. Traditional forms of educational pedagogy focus on direct instruction and teacher-centered learning. ICTs however shift the focus of learning to be more student-centered. Comparative and international education offers educators, researchers, and policy-makers glimpses into possible futures. There is no one system of education that can be applied to all contexts. By examining ICTs in education comparatively across contexts, the field is presented with important new lines of inquiry. Evidence from ICT-focused research in less developed countries is beginning to unveil that teachers are not always the best source of information, depending on your research question of interest. In some cases, YouTube and Google are preferred avenues to access relevant content. In a recent ethnographic study by Lee (2013), situated in rural Nepal, one 16-year-old student stated, “the Internet helps me develop many things. If we have questions, we use Google.” Another student stated that, “informal learning is good.” After further investigation, it was discovered that most students at this school refer to what the teachers teach as basic training and the things they learn online are referred to as advanced training. Thus technology is opening up opportunities to extend formal learning into informal learning environments. The flipped classroom is another pedagogical change in education that has resulted in the infusion of ICT-based activities in classrooms around the world. This approach allows teachers to record lectures for students to view as homework. Students come to school and complete labs and engage in discussions based on what they learned at home. According to Bergmann and Sams (2012), under this model students tend to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the material. This practice offers opportunities for schools to capture effective lessons from the best teachers around the world. Regarding the second shift, as ICT in education matures, the role of the teacher will continue to evolve. Today’s teachers do more than teach; they facilitate amazing learning experiences for children. Modern teachers foster a balance of formal and informal learning and are guides, motivators, and mentors. Teachers need a new set of skills to foster unique and personalized learning opportunities for students. They must make learning opportunities rich and meaningful for students. To do this, preservice teacher training and ongoing professional development of in-service teachers must change. ICTs offer opportunities to address the lifelong learning needs of teachers.

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Table 1.

Frequency of Relevant Literature.

Keywords

Frequency

Comparative Education Comparative Education + ICT Comparative Education + ICT + Developing Countries

142,316 327 43

THE FUTURE OF ICT4D IN COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION Researching ICT4D as an extension of comparative and international education is of interest to many stakeholders. However, sound research with this focus is lacking. Since technology fosters a rapid pace of change, researchers in the field of comparative and international education urgently need quality research in the area of ICT4D. This dearth is evident by a scan of peer-reviewed literature. Table 1 details the results of recent queries using EBSCOHost. The literature has not caught up to stakeholders’ needs. This is a significant problem. Many current education initiatives, even those in developing countries, utilize ICTs. The aggressive implementation of computers, laptops, and handheld devices is often a response to local demands that is informed by global shifts. As a result, the lack of peer-reviewed, empirical research in the field of ICT4D may lead to uninformed or ill-informed decisions. As members of the ICT4D community, we believe that creative innovation inspires change, especially in less developed countries. We believe that if used properly, ICTs are the single most significant and powerful tools for change. We also believe that the future will be an exciting one, especially in communities in transition. We welcome further discussions and hold out hope for synergistic ICT4D and comparative and international education projects. We will also continue to engage in empirical research studies that help these communities leapfrog into futures not yet imagined.

REFERENCES Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2012). Flip your classroom: Reach every student in every class every day. Washington, DC: ISTE. Friedman, T. (2006). The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

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Heeks, R. (2011). Information systems and developing countries: Failure, success, and local improvisations. The Information Society: An International Journal, 18(2), 101 112. Lee, J. C. (March 2013). Exploring local definitions of quality in Himalayan technology centers. Paper presented at annual conference of comparative international education society, New Orleans, LA. Payne, M. (2013). Never seconds. Retrieved from http://neverseconds.blogspot.com/ Ribble, M., & Bailey, G. (2007). Digital citizenship in schools. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education. Richardson, J. W. (2011). Technology adoption in Cambodia: Measuring factors impacting adoption rates. Journal of International Development, 23(5), 697 710. doi:10.1002/ jid.166 Richardson, J. W., & Brantmeier, E. (2012). From head to hand to global community: The role of ICTs in catalyzing conflict transformation in Egypt. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 5(4), 254–266. Richardson, J. W., Finholt-Daniel, M., Sales, G., & Flora, K. (2012). Shifting pedagogical space: Egyptian educators’ use of Moodle. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology, 8(2), 92 106. Richardson, J. W., McLeod, S., Flora, K., Sauers, N., Sincar, M., & Kannan, S. (2013). Large-scale 1:1 computing initiatives: An open access database. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology, 9(1), 4 18. Valiente, O. (2010). 1 1 in education: Current practice, international comparative research, evidence and policy implications. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 44. OECD Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/1-1-in-education_ 5kmjzwfl9vr2-en

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR ALL AS A SPECIAL INTEREST WITHIN THE COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH COMMUNITY Florian Kiuppis and Susan Peters ABSTRACT Inclusive Education promotes access to quality education, as well as participation and achievement opportunities for all learners in heterogeneous settings, particularly for those who are vulnerable, have been marginalized, discriminated against, labeled, and segregated in separate schools for “special needs.” Key issues include equal opportunity, and systemic change to accommodate diversity. This discussion essay addresses the question of how comparative and international education research advances understanding of these issues. As a key strategy for school

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 25, 53 63 Copyright r 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-367920140000025005

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reform adopted by UNESCO for its millennium development goal of universal education, implications for research and professional development of inclusive education policy and practices are discussed. Keywords: Inclusive Education; special needs education; education for all; disability; diversity; analysis of meanings

The Inclusive Education “Special Interest Group” (SIG) of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES)—the context in which we met five years ago—began as a small group of scholars interested in mainstreaming the rights of children with disabilities into international development cooperation, and particularly advancing the educational rights of this group. Not only in that organizational context, Inclusive Education (IE) was an idea promoted by special education professionals, mainly from North America (e.g., Stainback & Stainback, 1990), advocating the inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream general education classes and schools. Until a few years ago, contributions grouped together in highlighted paper sessions or panels of this SIG covered primarily disability-related issues. Subsequently, newer submissions encompassed other topics (e.g., multiculturalism), focused on different groups of marginalized minorities (e.g., migrant children and refugees), or dealt noncategorically with heterogeneous populations of learners (cf. Opertti, Brady, & Duncombe, 2009; Peters, 2004). IE gained international recognition and cachet with the Salamanca Statement of 1994 (Kiuppis & Sarromaa Haussta¨tter, 2014). It emerged in the 1990s in connection with a “new thinking” in Special Needs Education (Kiuppis, 2014), arguably distinct from Education for All (Peters, 2007). Today, policy statements emphasize IE as a major component of reform conceptions in education. As both an attitude and a new approach to education, IE is widely recognized and internationally regarded as innovative. In fact, this model was chosen as the theme of the last ministerial “International Conference on Education” (held in Geneva, in 2008), presently one of the foremost international fora for education policy dialogue among stakeholders in education. On that occasion, IE was celebrated as “The Way of the Future” (International Bureau of Education, 2008). Accordingly, nearly all UNESCO member

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states, as well as organizations and professionals in education, appeared to have answered IE in the affirmative. They currently share the global aim to implement the model in respective education systems. As a result, currently “there is no serious national educational agenda organized around exclusive principles in place anywhere” (Ramirez, 2006, p. 440; italics: the authors).

DIFFERENT MEANINGS OF IE Beyond the collective aim to implement IE, there is, however, no shared interpretation of this model (Kiuppis, 2013b). In actuality, the way IE is translated into public policies, reform conceptions, and teaching practices, differs significantly between countries. It is evident, that upon examining the reception of IE on the local level, there remains little consensus regarding the term. Conformity prevails only regarding the vision to reduce barriers to learning and participation. Even regarding the basic question, who are the intended recipients of IE, a wide variety of answers exists: First, some studies consider IE as a noncategorical, all-embracing approach characterized by “ensuring a basic minimum standard of education for all” (Ainscow, 2012, p. 290) and dealing with heterogeneous student populations in which individual differences are not classified according to categories like race, religion, gender, or disability (Dyson & Millward, 2000). Second, some contributions frame IE as a concept directed to all, but in fact focus especially on particular groups that are either considered most vulnerable, marginalized, or with special educational needs, that traditionally have been attributed to people with disabilities (see, e.g., Jahnukainen, 2001). Third, some approaches understand IE as a concept directed first and foremost to people with disabilities—which, when looking at the history of IE, makes sense because it arose in the mid-1990s out of the Special Education unit of UNESCO. This third approach is supported by contributions arguing in line with the UN “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” (2006)—primarily with reference made to Article 24— suggesting that inclusion conceptually advances integration and thus first and foremost is intended for people with disabilities (e.g., Lei & Myers, 2011).

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THE WAY FROM SPECIAL EDUCATION TO IE FOR ALL UNESCO initially developed IE as a theme in a program context with primary focus on disability (see, e.g., Kiuppis, 2014). UNESCO then established further momentum for IE when it adopted it as a key strategy for its Education for All initiative, especially with respect to its Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education. To further the goal of universal primary education, the 2010 Global Monitoring Report had as its theme, Reaching the Marginalized, in which it further specified and operationalized strategies for inclusion. At its heart, IE addresses the need to provide access and equity for marginalized students. Its basic goals are respect for diversity, equal opportunity, and systemic change to meet these goals. In the process of universally adopting this concept, reaching the marginalized through IE has embraced not just students with disabilities, but all students who experience discrimination. The focus of IE has also shifted from the learner to systemic barriers to learning. Responding to these developments, the IE SIG of CIES has grown, as has its membership, “to provide CIES members with a forum in which the research of Inclusive Education, Education for All, as well as Special Needs Education take center stage” and has as its goal “to elicit the participation of scholars dealing with the heterogeneity of learners, and interested in educational issues specific to (but not limited by) children who are marginalized due to special education needs, including disabilities, second language acquisition, poverty, racial and ethnic discrimination, social exclusion, etc.” This widened focus on the heterogeneity of learners was mainly inspired by academics from the United Kingdom who decontextualized the term “inclusion” from US-based research on disabilities, and transferred it to their research on school improvement in connection with a “new thinking” in Special Needs Education. In this context, “inclusion” contrasted with “integration” as a non-categorical approach according to which it avoids distinguishing learners on the basis of particular characteristics attributed to them prior to the educational situation (e.g., being disabled). “Inclusion” often replaces the term “integration” although the content of the term remains the same. In essence, in the United States, debates around IE form part of Disability Studies (cf., e.g., Baglieri, Bejoian, Broderick, Connor, & Valle, 2011), while Disability Studies in the United Kingdom barely deal with education and debates on IE form part of a discourse on school improvement (cf. Kiuppis, 2013a, 152ff.). However, the focus of IE on marginalized

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learners, barriers to their participation and opportunities to learn, situates IE squarely in the sites of research to promote and advance teacher education and professional development, as well as research to influence policy and reform relative to these issues. Qualified teachers significantly influence student achievement. Teachers are the front line in promoting quality education, leading to the questions, what practices make them successful, and what policies support their work?

DIVERSITY OF AMBITIONS CONNECTED WITH RESEARCH ON IE Studies conducted so far on IE and education for all can be roughly differentiated by their different ambitions. Some contributions are quite descriptive (e.g., Miles, 2002); others are explanatory by seeking—some with rather rhetorical use of theory—to clarify the term and put emphasis on a certain way to perceive it (e.g., Hinz, 2004); and yet others are more emphatic, developing concrete ideas for implementing it (e.g., Ainscow & Ce´sar, 2006; for a critique of “finished solutions” cf. Sarromaa Haussta¨tter, 2013) or writing in an ideological tone (for an overview see, e.g., Brantlinger, 1997). Simona D’Alessio and Steven Cowan fueled the discourse on recommendations for research on these issues with their article contributed to last year’s Annual Review of Comparative and International Education (2013). They claim that the two most important issues facing IE—and indeed education writ large—are diversity (of students) and access (equal opportunity to learn). One of the key issues pertaining to diversity has been the identification, classification, and categorization of special needs learners. In this connection, D’Alessio and Cowan maintain the “resilience of special needs education in current discourses of inclusive education,” provide an analysis of the problems inherent in classifying disabilities, and conclude that there is a need “to find a system of classification that does not label and stigmatize some learners as ‘others’ in order to provide them with the same rights of other learners.” They claim that “different conceptualizations of disability indicate that international and cross-cultural studies of inclusive education and special needs education struggle to identify a common ‘target group’ of their studies. Depending on the different conceptualizations of the same phenomenon, the target group can be represented by learners with disabilities (medical/individual model and bio-psycho-social model),

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societal barriers (social model), discriminatory policies and practices (human rights).” However, we would rather see the diverse meanings of IE in different answers to the question if the target group is people with disabilities, marginalized minorities and vulnerable groups (in line with Education for All (EFA), or literally all, understood in the sense of the heterogeneity of learning populations, not classified according to categorical differences. First and foremost, classification and labeling based merely on differences identified on the level of the body does in our view not inform a teacher concerning appropriate practices for learning. Second, labeling on that basis implicitly puts the onus on the student, assuming the characteristic of the student as the cause of difficulties in learning, rather than environmental barriers and teacher practice. Third, classifying students according to attributable features only leads to classifying educational professionals— special education and general education teachers being a prime example. One must ask, if mono-causal classification is so important, why have we not labeled and classified students by level of poverty or ethnic minority status in order to provide an appropriate quality education? Why do we not have teachers labeled as specializing in poverty or ethnicity? Fourth, classifying students as disabled just on the basis of impairments ignores the fact that children have multiple identities (such as gender, ethnicity, language). Classification as disabled independently from situations fails to recognize the full complement of diversity that children bring to the educational setting and thus reinforces the myth of homogeneity regarding those children that are not disabled. Here, the bio-psycho-social model of disability offers itself as a useful tool (cf. World Health Organization, 2001). This model connects classification of health components in a “pentagon” containing five components used to conceptualize disability starting with a health condition: (1) activity; (2) body structures and functions; (3) participation; (4) environmental factors; (5) personal factors (Kiuppis, 2013a; for use of this framework in education cf., e.g., Hollenweger & Moretti, 2012). “Functioning” is, next to Disability and Health, the central term of this framework—i.e., as a whole “[not] only about people with disabilities; in fact, about all people” (WHO, 2001, p. 7). In light of the International Classification of Functioning, Disabiliy and Health (ICF) one could even argue that in certain contexts people without impairments could be considered disabled, however. According to the ICF, disability is neither predominantly a biological issue (as the phrase “people with a disability” would suggest) nor mainly a social phenomenon (which the British “Social Model” in its pure form with focus on oppression suggests) but the

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interaction between health conditions and environmental and personal factors. It can be argued that in writings that deal with people who “have a disability” (e.g., D’Alessio & Cowan, 2013), the treatment of the socialcontextual side of disability seems to be too subtle (cf. Kiuppis, 2013a, p. 154). Accordingly, the human rights approach applied in the United States tends to overemphasize the impairment side of the disability phenomenon. For this reason, UNICEF’s recent statement “See the child before the disability” (UNICEF, 2013) is not acceptable in the academic and political context of Disability Studies within the United Kingdom. One example can be seen in the reaction to a similarly sounding UK government campaign in the 1990s, with the slogan “See the person [and not the disability],” which was opposed by disability activists largely because in their view the term “disability” referred to physical impairment (e.g., Findlay, 1999, p. 7).

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ON ADVANCING RESEARCH WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF IE Research on teacher education and professional development that recognizes the importance to appreciate the diversity of learners and how to successfully teach them, critically advances the IE agenda (Florian, 2014). The way, how, and the extent to which research on professional development and teacher preparation has brought classification into focus mainly serves to perpetuate the idea that some learners are so “special” that they need specialized teachers and specialized training. A shift in research perspective from focus on diverse learners per se, to focus on the practice of teaching diverse learners, as well as removing classroom and systemic barriers to learning, is needed to advance our understanding of teacher education and professional development. In terms of policy and reform, D’Alessio and Cowan (2013) discuss the theoretical underpinnings of comparative and international education research. A primary concern of theirs is the tension between universal human rights and the localized cultural context of policy and reform. They argue that cross-country comparisons and promotion of universal policies are dangerous, in that they stifle country and culture-specific needs. In this regard, CIES researchers have produced a rich body of research on cultural contexts that do much to advance understandings of policy and reform in IE. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,

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promulgated in 2007 and endorsed by numerous nations, came into being because these rights had been ignored. Following this convention, decentralization and localization of policies that support IE must be accompanied by central government policies that provide incentives for innovative and promising practice, build on local strengths, while at the same time safeguard and ensure that universal right of access and participation in IE are applied equally to all learners. To the extent that research on policy and reform has the same goals of access and participation for learners with special needs, IE agenda may be advanced. In respect of these goals, research agendas would do well to incorporate the mandates of Article 24 of the UN Convention, according to which states parties shall ensure that: “Persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary education and secondary education on an equal basis with others in the communities in which they live (2b)” and “Effective individualized support measures are provided in environments that maximize academic and social development, consistent with the goal of full inclusion (2e).” School reform also depends on teachers’ ability to work with and learn from colleagues. The research methods used to study teacher practice make a significant difference to whether or not the results are used in the classroom. D’Alessio and Cowan discuss three strands of research in their 2013 article: single-case studies, small-scale studies, and large-scale studies. They argue that the best way to promote transformative change in policy and practice is through single-cases and small-scale studies that avoid unhelpful comparisons among countries with different needs and cultural contexts. This is a valid point, especially for studies of IE that focus on diversity and local barriers. However, further examination of research methods should take into consideration the particular methods used to perform case studies and small-scale research. Specifically, two types of contemporary research on professional development that have proven effective for transformative policy and practice, are participatory action research (PAR) and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) (Pugach & Blanton, 2014). PAR that includes teachers (and students) in all aspects of the research is empowering, emancipatory, and furthers social activism, increasing the chances for adaptation of practices found to be effective. PAR has also proven an excellent method for developing youth leadership and citizenship. Research developed through and by PLCs is especially fruitful in IE because it provides an opportunity for specialists to work together with classroom teachers to solve mutual problems of teaching and learning. PLCs have proven particularly useful in this regard in relation to inclusive practice and improving

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the literacy skills of learners. PLCs also provide a necessary platform for the intersection between organizational change and individual teacher change, especially when new teacher skills are embedded in program level educational goals. Overall, research in IE has been used in context of systematic program change, with its emphasis on a philosophy of inclusion, and removing barriers to the participation of diverse, marginalized students. The goals of Comparative Education research and IE research are highly compatible and mutually reinforcing. For the future, it is expected that research on teacher professional development, policy, and practice will: 1. make IE a guiding central tenet and philosophy; 2. insure that considerations of marginalized students, including those with disabilities and impairments, are included in research questions; 3. recognize cultural, economic, social, and demographic diversity as not only a given in contemporary schools but also an asset to be cultivated; 4. provide opportunities for emancipatory and PAR on the part of all stakeholders working together. Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals are rich areas for research in comparative and international IE. These areas require investigation and investment in professional development and systematic school reform. We leave our readers with this thought: Some children start school with more advantages than others—advantages of wealth and health among the most influential. Children in poverty and children with impairments, and all marginalized students (whether due to language, religion, race, ethnicity, or gender) do not have to be disadvantaged by their treatment in schools or by their exclusion from schools. If children are denied educational opportunities, then it is the lack of education and not their characteristics that limit them.

REFERENCES Ainscow, M. (2012). Moving knowledge around: Strategies for fostering equity within educational systems. Journal of Educational Change, 13(3), 289 310. Ainscow, M., & Ce´sar, M. (2006). Inclusive education ten years after Salamanca: Setting the agenda. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 21(3), 231 238. Baglieri, S., Bejoian, L. M., Broderick, A. A., Connor, D. J., & Valle, J. (2011). [Re]Claiming “Inclusive Education” toward cohesion in educational reform: Disability studies unravels the myth of the normal child. Teachers College Record, 113(10), 2122 2154.

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Brantlinger, E. (1997). Using ideology: Cases of nonrecognition of the politics of research and practice in special education. Review of Educational Research, 67(4), 425 459. D’Alessio, S., & Cowan, S. (2013). Cross-cultural approaches to the study of “inclusive” and “special needs” education. In A. W. Wiseman & E. Anderson (Eds.), Annual review of comparative and international education 2013 (Vol. 20, pp. 227 261). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing. Dyson, A., & Millward, A. (2000). Schools and special needs: Issues of innovation and inclusion. London: Sage. Findlay, B. (1999). Disability rights and culture under attack. Disability Arts in London, 149, 6 7. Florian, L. (2014). Preparing teachers to work with students with disabilities. In L. Florian (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of special education (2nd ed.). London: Sage. Hinz, A. (2004). From segregation to inclusion in Germany. In V. Heung & M. Ainscow (Eds.), Inclusive education: A framework for reform? (pp. 135 145). Hong Kong: Hong Kong Institute of Education. Hollenweger, J., & Moretti, M. (2012). Using the international classification of functioning, disability and health children and youth version in education systems: A new approach to eligibility. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 91(13), 97 102. IBE (International Bureau of Education). (2008). Inclusive education: The way of the future. General presentation of the 48th International Conference on Education. Retrieved from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Policy_Dialogue/48th_ICE/General_ Presentation-48CIE-English.pdf. Accessed on February 14, 2014. Jahnukainen, M. (2001). Social exclusion and dropping out of education. International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, 1, 1 12. Kiuppis, F. (2013a). “Pedagogikkens pentagon” revis(it)ed: Considerations on emancipation from a disability studies and inclusive education perspective. In J. Steinnes & S. Dobson (Eds.), Pedagogikk under livets tre (pp. 147 160). Trondheim: Akademika forlag. Kiuppis, F. (2013b). Heterogeneous inclusivity, including heterogeneity: On changes in meanings of pedagogical concepts in the course of their development in the institutional environment of international organizations. Unpublished doctoral dissertation (in German). Humboldt-University, Berlin. Kiuppis, F. (2014). Why (not) associate the principle of inclusion with disability? Tracing connections from the start of the ‘Salamanca Process’. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18(7), 746 761. Kiuppis, F. & Sarromaa Haussta¨tter, R. (Eds.). (2014). Inclusive education 20 years after Salamanca. New York, NY: Peter Lang. Lei, P., & Myers, J. (2011). Making the grade? A review of donor commitment and action on inclusive education for disabled children. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15(10), 1169 1185. Miles, S. (2002). Learning about inclusive education: The role of EENET in promoting international dialogue. In P. Farrell & M. Ainscow (Eds.), Making Special Education Inclusive (pp. 51 62). New York: David Fulton. Opertti, R., Brady, J., & Duncombe, L. (2009). Moving forward: Inclusive education as the core of education for all. Prospects, 39(3), 205 214. Peters, S. J. (2004). Inclusive education: An EFA strategy for all children. Washington, DC: World Bank.

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Peters, S. J. (2007). “Education for all?” A historical analysis of international inclusive education policy and individuals with disabilities. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 18(2), 98 108. Pugach, M. C., & Blanton, L. P. (2014). Inquiry and community: Uncommon Opportunities to enrich professional development for inclusion. In L. Florian (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of special education (2nd ed.). London: Sage. Ramirez, F. O. (2006). Beyond achievement and attainment studies Revitalizing a comparative sociology of education. Comparative Education, 42(3), 431 449. Sarromaa Haussta¨tter, R. (2013). In support of unfinished inclusion. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. doi:10.1080/00313831.2013.773553 Stainback, S., & Stainback, W. (1990). Inclusive schooling. In S. Stainback & W. Stainback (Eds.), Support networks for inclusive schooling: Interdependent integrated education (pp. 3 23). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing. UN. (2006). Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. New York, NY: United Nations. UNICEF. (2013). The state of the world’s children. Report on children with disabilities. UNICEF, New York, NY. WHO (World Health Organization). (2001). International classification of functioning, disability and health. Geneva: WHO.

TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN GLOBAL MATHEMATICS Deepa Srikantaiah and Wendi Ralaingita ABSTRACT The Global Mathematics Education Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) provides a forum for researchers and practitioners from around the world to discuss theory, practices, and techniques for mathematics learning from early childhood to tertiary education. Teacher education and professional development is a significant focus of the SIG’s conversations. This chapter discusses and current and future impact of CIE research on teacher education and professional development in global mathematics. A range of factors can undermine students’ performance in mathematics. In many contexts, teacher shortages result in underqualified teachers; teachers trained in other subjects are assigned to teach mathematics; or teacher training lacks adequate focus on teaching mathematics for understanding. While these factors exist in many contexts, they are most acute in low-income countries and communities. Mathematics is widely recognized as a mechanism for economic growth, at individual and system levels. However, low-income countries and marginalized populations

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perform poorly in cross-national assessments. As a result, lowerperforming countries may emulate policy and practice of the higherperforming countries. In such cases there is a risk of superficial “fixes” that ignore contextual factors. There are ways to reduce such risks by combining such assessments with more contextual studies, or by using cross-national assessments as catalysts for examining what is happening locally. Looking forward, there is reason for optimism about the recognition of the importance of early-grade numeracy; recognition of the intersections of mathematics, culture, and language; and potential for reaching across CIE areas and methodologies to develop a more measured and nuanced view of assessment results. Keywords: Mathematics; teachers; low-income; learning; assessments; early grades

As co-chairs of the newly inaugurated Global Mathematics Special Interest Group (SIG), we have been asked to share our views of the current and potential future impact of Comparative and International Education (CIE) research in our field, particularly on teacher education and professional development. The Global Mathematics Education SIG was created to provide a forum for researchers and practitioners from around the world to discuss theory, practices, and techniques related to mathematics learning starting in early childhood to tertiary education. As much of the well-known research in the field has been conducted in high-income countries and Western contexts, we have a special interest in creating a space to give voice to mathematics teaching and learning in communities around the world, particularly communities and contexts that have traditionally been underrepresented in the research space. Teacher education and professional development will form a large part of our SIG conversations. As co-chairs, we also have a particular interest in the learning that can be done around teacher education and professional development in relation to low-income countries and marginalized communities, where there is a great need for evidence-based and culturally and contextually appropriate practices to support mathematics teaching and learning. There are a range of factors that can work to undermine students’ ability to perform well in mathematics, with teacher education and professional development playing a central role. Many factors are exacerbated in

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low-income contexts. For example, beginning at home, when students may be exposed to numbers and mathematics informally before reaching school, the extent of exposure depends on their parents’ vocation and socioeconomic status. In OECD countries, it is common for students to attend kindergarten and even preschool, whereas in low-income countries most children will attend school for the first time in grade one, with little or no preparation. In regards to teacher education, the amount and type of teacher training varies widely between and within countries. In many contexts, teacher shortages result in untrained or underqualified teachers, or teachers who have been trained in other subjects are assigned to teach mathematics. Teacher training that does exist in many places does not include adequate focus on how to teach mathematics for understanding or how to use continuous assessment results to help struggling students. In addition, teachers may feel pressure to keep pace with often overambitious curricula, leaving many students falling behind and increasing the learning gap (Pritchett & Beatty, 2012). In low-income contexts, there also may not be enough resources for ongoing professional development, or even up-grading for inservice teachers. While these factors can and do exist in many different contexts, they are most acute in low-income countries and communities. Matters are made even worse when these issues are combined with sometimes extremely large class-sizes (in numerous countries, class-sizes over 100 are not uncommon), a scarcity of in-class learning materials, and often poor attendance rates among students and teachers. One is left wondering not why students are performing poorly, but how students manage to master mathematics at all. While many teachers of mathematics are left without ample support, this does not mean that mathematics is not valued. In fact mathematics is widely recognized as an important mechanism to further education and enable individuals to improve their job market potential. In addition, it is increasingly being recognized as a foundation for country and system-level growth, in an era where technology, science, and engineering are seen as vital for progress. However, low-income countries and marginalized populations continue to perform poorly in national and international comparisons. For example, low-income countries that have participated in large-scale assessments such as Trends in International and Mathematics Science Study (TIMSS) and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) have consistently fallen at the bottom in terms of performance. In many cases, the average student in the lower-income countries performs worse than the 5th percentile in higher-income countries, and these children

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end up learning basic mathematics skills by grade 6, instead of grades 2 or 3 (Global Partnership for Education (GPE), (2012)). As a result, those countries that have seen their students performing poorly on large-scale cross-national assessments are greatly influenced by them, at least at the level of rhetoric and sometimes on the level of practice. In recent history, this phenomenon has perhaps been the single biggest impact of CIE research on mathematics teacher education and professional development policy. The influence of these large-scale assessments in the United States is particularly prominent, where the performance of United States has been lamented and curricula and materials from other countries has been borrowed in whole-cloth and/or piecemeal. For example, a number of systems, including systems within the United States, have looked at integrating “Singapore math,” which refers to the national curriculum as well as teaching methodology used in Singapore, in their teacher training and curriculum (Martin, Mullis & Foy, 2008). While it is a glaring example, and one close to our hearts as American educators, the United States is not the only country which has reviewed and revised policy and/or based teacher education reform on these assessment results; countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi, and Cambodia have also compared themselves with more “successful countries,” looking to curricula from these countries as examples, undertaking study tours to learn about their methods, and so forth. There is, however, a risk in countries comparing their performance on these large-scale assessments, which sometimes leads to knee-jerk reactions and superficial “fixes” that ignore contextual factors and sometimes even methodological concerns. While such risks of policy borrowing and transferring are well known, as articulated by scholars such as Steiner-Khamsi, (2010) they don’t seem to have outweighed the urge to compare and emulate. The risks involved are possibly going to increase as more developing countries start participating in large-scale assessments, which will make it difficult to interpret results for these countries as they have such drastically different teaching and learning contexts. As a consequence, participation in large-scale assessments creates concerns among education policy reformers, worrying them about not meeting some “international standard,” sometimes without even examining whether that standard is locally appropriate, and looking to higher performers for “good practices.” Results from regional assessments, like The Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) and Program on the Analysis of Education Systems (PASEC), have also raised concerns among policy-makers, without necessarily providing clear information about what

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changes would be needed to improve teaching and learning in their own context. Beyond creating league tables, the potential risks therefore begs the question, how can large-scale assessments benefit countries? One answer to this is the increasing interest in combining large-scale, cross-national assessments with companion studies that examine more contextual information, including instruction and teacher preparation. The collection of videos of instruction during the 1995 TIMSS was groundbreaking in looking beyond the test scores to try to examine instruction itself. More recently, recognizing the importance of mathematics teacher quality, the Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M1) examined how different countries prepared their teachers in mathematics (at both the primary and secondary level). TEDS-M studied the main characteristics of mathematics teacher education programs and how they vary across the countries and what level of mathematics content and looked at teaching experience teachers had. Seventeen countries participated in the TEDS-M study and teacher education policies, practices, and outcomes were studied in these countries. Although research highlights that results from TEDS-M show how mathematics teacher knowledge is a direct proxy of the teacher’s cultural context or a country’s national policies (Blo¨meke, Suhl, & Do¨hrmann, 2013); scholars also note that the study overlooked externalities in the school or community environment which may have had a strong influence over teaching practices (Kennedy, 2010). Another possibility in the use of large-scale assessments, is not to jump immediately to conclusions as to what should be done in a particular context, but to serve as a catalyst for examining more closely what is happening in that context. For example, assessments which focus on the early grades,2 such as the Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA), and assessments developed by India’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)3 and UWEZO4 in East Africa, which target foundational competencies, have been used in over 14 countries. This has helped to reveal that the problem in many countries begins well before the grade-levels typically tested in large-scale international assessments. For example, the ASER (2011) showed that approximately 73% of grade 3 children in rural India could not recognize numbers past 9, and thus they could not do any type of operations required at their level.5 When combined with survey and/or qualitative studies, they may begin to pinpoint some of the context-specific issues that may contribute to the poor results on international assessments. These smaller-scale assessments have begun to influence policy in many of the countries where they have been applied, resulting in changes

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in curriculum as well as efforts to reform teacher education and professional development. For example, in the past three years the EGMA has informed policy dialogue that has sparked curriculum development and teacher training programs, or reforms, in Liberia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Jordan. Thus, data from these assessments has shown potential for influencing how teachers are prepared and how mathematics is taught in lowincome and marginalized contexts. They have also highlighted the importance of starting with the early grades to ensure that a strong foundation is laid. As we look forward and consider the potential for CIE research to impact teacher education and professional development in global mathematics, we choose to be optimistic. While we recognize the possibility of a continued cycle of reactionary responses to the results of cross-national assessments, we look forward with optimism about the growth in realization of the importance of early-grade numeracy; about the potential for an increasing recognition of the intersections of mathematics, culture, and language; and of the potential that reaching across CIE areas and methodologies holds for developing a more measured and nuanced view of the results of large-scale international comparisons. As the focus of education policy in low-income countries has shifted from access to quality, there has been at the same time a realization that the foundations for a quality education must begin in the early grades. This has led in the last few years to increasing interest in and support for international research and interventions that focus on developing curricula and preparing and supporting teachers for teaching and learning beginning from the early grades. While this focus began with early grade reading, most policy-makers and funders recognize numeracy as being just as fundamental to a quality education as reading. In fact, understanding how a student performs in early grade math is a predictor for later school achievement (Duncan et al., 2007). At the same time, there has been an increasing recognition of the importance of mother tongue and multilingual education, as well as of recognizing the benefits of not only respecting, but building on, students’ cultural context. What is particularly interesting about this trend is the possibilities it offers for communities of learning that can benefit teachers and students in both low-income and high-income countries. An increased recognition of how culture, language, and mathematics interact could inform both teacher education in developing countries, as well as teacher education that can better support marginalized communities in high-income countries. Lessons learned, shared, and discussed from research and practice

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about how teachers might support students who are learning mathematics in a second or third language, or who come from cultures with different counting systems, for example, will be just as useful in a diverse city in the United States, England, or France as it will Senegal, Ethiopia, or Nepal. These same communities of learning can also harness the multiple methodologies available in comparative international education to continue the recent practice of combining other sorts of studies together with large-scale assessments that add a wider and perhaps nuance perspective to the results. In addition, collaborating on small-scale studies internationally, or even just sharing and discussing research methodologies that researchers may use in different contexts, can create different ways to talk about mathematics teaching and learning, and mathematics teacher education.

NOTES 1. TEDS-M was conducted through the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). 2. “Early grades” are defined as K-3 (average ages 5/6 8). 3. ASER is a nonprofit organization based in India: http://www.asercentre.org/ #tb18w 4. UWEZO is modeled after ASER and works in East Africa: http://www.uwezo. net/ 5. ASER 2011 Report: http://pratham.org/images/Aser-2011-report.pdf

REFERENCES Assessment Survey Evaluation Research (ASER). (2011). Annual status education report. New Delhi, India: Assessment Survey Evaluation Research Center. Blo¨meke, S., Suhl, U., & Do¨hrmann, M. (2013). Assessing strengths and weaknesses of teacher knowledge in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Western countries: Differential item functioning in TEDS-M. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 11(4), 795 817. Duncan, G., Dowsett, C., Claessens, A., Magnuson, K., Huston, A., Klebanov, P., … Japel, C. (2007). School readiness and later achievement. Developmental Psychology, 43(6), 1428 1446. GPE (Global Partnership for Education). (2012). Results for learning report 2012: Fostering evidence-based dialogue to monitor access and quality in education. Washington, DC: GPE.

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Kennedy, M. (2010). Attribution error and the quest for teacher quality. Educational Researcher, 39(8), 591 598. Martin, M., Mullis, I., & Foy, P. (2008). TIMSS 2007 international mathematics report: Findings from IEA’s trends in international mathematics and science study at the fourth and eighth grades. International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College. Pritchett, L., & Beatty, A. (2012). The negative consequences of overambitious curricula in developing countries. HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP12-035, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Steiner-Khamsi, G. (2010). The politics and economics of comparison. Comparative Education Review, 54(3), 323 342.

COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION IMPLICATIONS FOR THE POLICY AND PRACTICE OF TEACHER EDUCATION AND THE TEACHING PROFESSION Chanita Rukspollmuang ABSTRACT This essay examines the field of comparative and international education (CIE) and its implications for the policy and practice of teacher education and the teaching profession in Asia. Initially, it explores the state and problems in offering CIE in higher education institutions as well as

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 25, 73 85 Copyright r 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-367920140000025007

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research activities in the field. Afterwards, the contribution of CIE in terms of teacher education policy and practices as well as the development of teaching profession are discussed. The conclusion considers implications for CIE-relevant research and its impact on teacher education and professional development. Keywords: Comparative education; international education; teacher education; teaching profession; Asia

COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION (CIE) IN ASIA Comparative education (CE) as a field of study and investigation has a long history. Its main roots are commonly considered to lie in Western Europe, followed by the United States. Subsequently, CE became a significant field of inquiry in other parts of the world. In Asia, growing interest in the field was evidenced by the fact that many universities have offered courses and/or degree programs and also many CE societies were established in the 1960s such as Japan Comparative Education Society (JCES) and Korean Comparative Education Society (KCES) which are foundermembers of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES). Consequently, either national or regional societies have emerged in other countries in Asia such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines (Masemann, Bray, & Manzon, 2007). Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA), for instance, was founded in 1991. Younger societies include Indian Ocean Comparative Education Society (IOCES) and Thailand Comparative and International Education Society (TCIES). The former was admitted as a full member of WCCES in 2011 while the latter is still in its initial stage. In fact, there was attempt in setting up a country-based CE society in Thailand many years ago but it was not successful until 2012. Furthermore, there are also some active research centers in Asia such as the Comparative Education Research Centre (CERC), the University of Hong Kong, and the recently established Centre for Research in International and Comparative Education (CRICE), University of Malaya, Malaysia. After examining academic programs of study, it was noteworthy that there are interconnections between CE, international education, development education, and global education. Degree programs were offered in

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many universities in both Western and Eastern universities, mainly at graduate degree level. For example: • Pennsylvania State University: Comparative and International Education (MA, PhD) • Stanford University: International Comparative Education (ICE) (MA, PhD) • University of Minnesota: Comparative and International Development Education (CIDE) (MA, PhD and Graduate Minor in International Education) • University of Toronto, OISE: Comparative, International Development Education (MA, MEd, PhD) • University of Oslo: Education and Development, Policy and Planning in a Comparative Perspective (international program) • University of Bristol: Comparative and International Education • Beijing Normal University: International and Comparative Education • The University of Hong Kong: Comparative and Global Studies in Education and Development In Japan, programs and courses in the field of CE are offered. However, currently there was a debate over whether the word “international” should be added to the title of CE (Heyneman, 2009). At Kyushu University, CE was offered in the International Educational Culture program, Department of Science of Education, School of Education. The program intends to educate students with broad knowledge and expertise to enable them to take part in various fields in an era of internationalization. The situation in some other Asia countries may be different. In the University of Malaya, CE is also offered as professional specialization courses in Education Management and Policy Program. Students may select courses in “Comparative Studies in Educational Management,” “Comparative Analysis in School Finance,” and/or “Comparative Analysis in Educational Law.” In the same way, universities in Thailand do not offer a degree program in either CE, international education, development education, or global education. Rather, it was offered as a cognate area and/or course of study at graduate degree level. At the Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, our former master degree program in Foundations of Education used to offer a major area of study in CIE. However, as in other countries, there was “up” and “down” of the field. The program was eventually revised by changing its name into “Development Education.” In this revised program, a course in Comparative Development Education is required for master degree’s students. Nevertheless, doctoral

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degree candidates show interest in studying the course as a basis for their research activities. Naresuan University offers cognate areas in CE and education for development in doctoral degree programs in education. Furthermore, CE-related courses are also offered as an elective course in other degree programs such as “Comparative Higher Education” in Higher Education doctoral degree program and “Comparative Nonformal Education” in Nonformal Education program at Chulalongkorn University while Rangsit University offers “Comparative Education” as a foundation course in Master of Education Program in Educational Administration. The courses focus on both content and research methodology. As for the question of what are taught in these courses, I agree with Fry (2009) who addressed in the Third Conference on Comparative Education in Vietnam that the field of CE has gone through four major phases during the past half century: In the first phase, the emphasis was on simply describing the educational systems and structures of other countries. As such the field was boring and not at all popular. During its second phase, the field became more interdisciplinary and analytical. The focus was positive on how education could contribute to economic, political, and social development. In the third phase, the field expanded to include far more critical thinking and seeing education as a force reinforcing serious inequalities and injustices. Among such critics were the Brazilian educator and intellectual, Paulo Freire, who wrote the book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Freire’s work influenced the thinking of the late Dr. Kowit Vorapipatana, the “father of nonformal education in Thailand,” who stressed the importance of khit pen (ability to think). In the fourth and current phase the stress is on education as a response to powerful forces of globalisation and internationalisation. There is strong interest in new skills needed for the 21st century such as intercultural competency, learning how to learn, and becoming a critical and creative user of vast new virtual educational resources. Thus, comparative education now incorporates international and intercultural education. There is also the serious study of educational reforms around the world and how they are related to enhancing equity, access, and the quality of education.

CIE-RELATED RESEARCH AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION AND TEACHING PROFESSION The following questions will be discussed. How does CIE-relevant research (1) advance understanding and/or influence policy and reform related to

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teacher education and professional development? (2) influence teacher professional development? and (3) will have impact on teacher education and/ or professional development in the next few years? Lessons learned from one of the most influential international survey, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), are valuable to teacher and teaching profession. Studies showed that what best school systems have in common is their efforts in “strengthening teacher professionalism.” High-performing countries recruit strong teacher candidates, promote sound subject-matter preparation, offer induction programs that support new teachers during their first few years of teaching, and offer ongoing professional development. Countries vary in the extent to which they use higher salaries as an incentive (e.g., Korea does, Finland doesn’t); open the market to new teacher-training providers (as in England); and make tradeoffs between class size and time for professional development (Barber & Mourshed, 2007). In order to elevate the teaching profession, the governments of China and Japan subsidize teachers’ salaries. The Japanese government pays up to 30% of a teacher’s salary to ensure that all municipalities, especially the smaller ones, can afford to pay teachers a competitive salary. China has a 120 million-person teaching force, and the government invested as much as $70 billion toward teacher compensation alone (Asia Society, 2011). At present, many countries now give more importance to teacher education and professional development in their educational policy and reform strategy.

Policy and Reform of Teacher Education and Professional Development Thailand is a good case to demonstrate the relationship between CIErelevant research and its implications for policy and reform related to teacher education and professional development. The government decided to undergo the latest large-scale education reform when the 1999 National Education Law was promulgated. It is the first time that holistic reform of teacher education and professionalism was considered to be part of the national law. More interesting is that the government has used researchdriven reform as the main strategy in that reform as well as its first (1999 2009) and second (2009 2018) decades of education reforms afterwards. The Office of National Education Commission (ONEC) or the present Office of Education Council (OEC) played an important role as the country’s policy unit. It supported many research projects, most of which

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were either area or comparative studies, in planning education reforms. The researchers were asked to study policy and best practices in other countries in selected topics including teacher education, professional development, and related issues such as teaching licensing. Examples of research projects are: • Pitiyanuwat et al. (1999) examined policies and practices related to teaching license in New Zealand, Australia (New South Wales), Scotland, the United States, Canada (Ontario), Japan, and Hong Kong. • Labmala (2003) studied teacher law of the People’s Republic of China: Decree of the President of the People’s Republic of China. • Rukspollmuang and Madilokkovit (2005) investigated policies and practices concerning teacher shortages in the United States, Australia, England, Canada, Malaysia, and Thailand. • Labmala (2005) compared learning reform between Scotland and Thailand. • ONEC (2006) released book series examining education, including teacher education, in various countries such as Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, etc. • Rukspollmuang (2007) compared educational laws promoting the professional development of school teachers and educational personnel in the United States, England, Finland, Japan, and Thailand. • Limskul (2009) investigated Knowledge-Based Economy and Society (KBE/S) and ICT plans in People Republic of China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. It is noteworthy that, as the result of research-driven education reform, policy related to teacher professionalism was enacted for the first time in both the Constitution and the national education law. According to Section 81 of the 1997 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, the State shall develop the teaching profession. As for the 2007 Constitution, Section 80 indicates that the State shall pursue directive principles of State policies in relation to Social Affairs, Public Health, Education and Cultural Affairs, as follows: (3) to develop the quality and standard of the provision of education at all levels and in all forms in harmony with economic and social changes, bring into existence the national educational plan and the law aimed at the development of national education, provide the development of the quality of teachers and educational personnel to ensure such advancement as to keep pace with changes in the world community and instill into learners awareness of Thai values, disciplines, concerns for public interests and adherence to the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of the State.

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More interesting, the 1999 National Education Law devoted the whole chapter, including six sections (Sections 52 57), on Teachers, Faculty Staff and Educational Personnel. Section 52 requires that the Ministry of Education shall promote teacher education system and support the institutions responsible for production and development of teachers, faculty staff, and educational personnel so that they are ready and capable of preparing new staff and continuously developing in-service personnel. As the result of Section 53, the Teachers’ Council of Thailand or Khurusapha was established as an organization with power and duty for setting professional standards; issuance and withdrawal of licenses; overseeing the maintenance of professional standards and ethics; and developing the profession of teachers, educational institution administrators, and educational administrators. A central organization responsible for administering personnel affairs of teachers was also set up in accordance to Section 54. Higher salary is also used as an incentive as Section 55 states that there shall be a law on salaries, remuneration, welfare, and other benefits allowing teachers and educational personnel sufficient incomes commensurate with their social status and profession. Moreover, a Fund for Promotion and Development of Teachers, Faculty Staff and Educational Personnel shall be established. In Section 56, the law stipulates that development of faculty staff and educational personnel shall be provided by the foundation laws of the respective institutions or other relevant laws. Finally, Section 57 encourages educational agencies to mobilize human resources in the community to participate in educational provision, including teacher education.

Initial Teacher Training Lessons learned from CIE-related researches certainly provide important information for both policy-makers and practitioners. Linda DarlingHammond, one of the leading scholars in teacher education, examined the strategies used to develop and support high-quality teaching in three cities from different nations on three separate continents Melbourne, Singapore, and Toronto. She summarized that leaders in all cities believe that getting the right people into teaching and preparing them well is a critical piece in teacher development. All of these systems have worked to strengthen their capacity to recruit strong teachers. Once selected, applicants for teaching in each jurisdiction go through preparation programs that are guided by professional teaching standards and that are increasingly

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tied to practice in the schools. When new teachers enter the profession, they experience significant induction supports. In addition, each of these jurisdictions provides opportunities and support for teachers to develop their knowledge and skills, to improve their practice, and to grow as professionals. One of the most significant aspects of the educator development systems in Melbourne/Victoria, Toronto/Ontario, and Singapore is their investment in leadership development and support. These systems recognize that high-quality leadership strengthens teaching by providing skillful guidance and creating a school vision that teachers share. There are careerladder programs that help to create a strong profession (DarlingHammond, 2013). Investigation on the selection of teacher education students revealed that leading countries have strategies to attract top students into the profession. For instance: • In Singapore, only the top one-third of a college graduating class may be considered for an education degree, and only one in eight candidates are accepted into the teaching profession. Singapore is an excellent example of best practices. Singapore recruits teachers from the top 30% of each high school class, provides financial support for their initial training, gives teachers 100 hours per year of professional development, and offers a choice of three career paths master teacher, content specialist, or principal (Asia Society, 2008). • In Malaysia, the government has released preliminary report of the Education Blueprint 2013 2025 with the aim to “Transform teaching into the profession of choice.” They envision that teaching will be a prestigious, elite profession that only recruits from the top 30% of graduates in the country. Teachers will receive the best training possible, from the time they enter their teacher-training programs, through to the point of retirement. They will have access to exciting career development opportunities across several distinct pathways, with progression based on competency and performance, not tenure. There will be a peer-led culture of excellence wherein teachers mentor one another, develop and share best practices, and hold their peers accountable for meeting professional standards. • In Finland, Finnish teachers are not highly paid but they are highly respected. Admission to a teacher preparation program includes a national entrance exam and a personal interview. Only 1 of every 10 applicants is accepted into a teacher preparation program; competition to become a primary school teacher is even tougher with 1,789 applicants

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for only 120 spots, for example, at the University of Helsinki in 2011 2012 (Richardson, 2013). In terms of curriculum development, researches showed that many countries have revised their initial teacher education curriculum in response to develop new skills required in the age of globalization, internationalization, as well as “Education 3.0.” In Japan, there was a discussion to regain people’s trust upon teachers’ licenses by improving systems of teachers’ preservice education and licensing. Association of Universities of Education (JAUE) organized a special working group to consider the issues about curriculum model for teacher education. They proposed motto of “Core Subjects for Teacher Education” with emphasis on “Practice at Fields and Reflection at University.” The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) later released statement on “Reforms in Teacher Training” as part of “Reforming Compulsory Education.” The policy included “The establishment of professional teacher training graduate schools” and “The introduction of a teacher certificate renewal system” (Iwata, 2008). As for Thailand, teacher-training institutions have to revise curriculum in accordance with the requirements of the Teachers’ Council of Thailand. The present initial teacher education curriculum at undergraduate level is a five-year program including one year of professional experience in approved schools. In contrast, Finland requires five years of learning but the students receive master’s degree in education. Besides, the Thai universities also give concern to produce teachers in shortage areas such as teachers in science and arithmetic. The Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University is now discussing with the Faculty of Science about the possibility to offer a double degree program in both faculties.

Teacher Professional Development “Investing in teachers” includes bringing and retaining good people in the profession. The Hong Kong education system takes a systems approach to creating that right environment. Teachers are encouraged to “teach less and learn more.” A 21st century curriculum de-emphasizes rote learning and challenges students to be inquisitive problem solvers. In China, educators take part in 360 hours of professional development each year and the teachers need to go through teacher certification every five years. Underperformers must undergo full-time training. Singapore has a wholly professional-led workforce development program. This program is tied to

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the education system’s career advancement framework. Underperforming teachers in Singapore receive constant feedback on what works, what could be better, and what does not belong in an effective classroom. Bad teachers are retrained, and in some cases, redeployed (Asia Society, 2011). Moreover, beginning Singapore teachers will receive induction support. They receive two years of coaching from expert senior teachers who are trained by the National Institute of Education (NIE) as mentors and are given released time to help beginners learn their craft (Darling-Hammond, 2013).

Impact on Teacher Education and/or Professional Development in the Future Sharing and learning from best practices is one of the impacts CIErelated researches can contribute to the development of teacher education and the teaching profession. It is essential for the Asian countries in the age of internationalization/globalization and even more imperative for the ASEAN countries which have set the year 2015 for their achievement and implementation as being the ASEAN Community. CIE is thus one of the most important tools to accomplish their goal to promote unity and mutual understanding among the member countries. Mark Bray summarized that: Globalization is a dynamic process which has major implications for many domains of activities. The field of comparative education is one of these domains. Yet, this is not a passive, one-way influence; comparative educationists can themselves promote and shape elements of globalization. The field of comparative education is arguably more closely related to globalization and any other fields of academic inquiry. Comparative education is naturally concerned with cross-national analyses and the field encourages its participants to be outward-looking. (2003)

In relation to teacher education, there have appeared a number of publications proclaiming the potential value of CE in assisting the teacher to improve his/her teaching practice. School teachers undertake CE for many reasons. Not only it can assist them understand educational forces and impacts indifferent settings but also can help sensitize them to the different needs, experiences and culture of children which thus will improve their teaching practices in increasing multicultural classrooms (Bray, 2007; Planel, 2008 cited in Wolhuter et al., 2011). One of the major problems is the ambiguity of CE and CIE identity and misconception of the field. CIE as a field of study is not popular and not many faculty members/scholars

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get a degree in this field. Many academicians do not identify themselves as CIE researchers and do not see the necessity in training to do so. In Thailand, for instance, there are no positions in government/private organizations which require a degree in CE/CIE. Therefore, the interest in this field is low. As a result, there are limited numbers of trained CIE researchers. Thus, most of the researches are area studies and there are almost no “real” comparative studies. The situation in Korea is interesting. Korean CE has usually been researched by those who major in sociology of education and educational administration. Besides, the main research topics have been related to introducing foreign education policy and system, in particular American education policy and system, while comparison, international education, and non-English speaking countries have been low priorities. Moreover, research methodology has usually been literature review, while analytical framework has not been sufficiently suggested (Sohn & Chu, 2010). Moreover, Fry cited few more problems including lack of texts in the area of CIE research methodology and fragmentation of the field in the sense that there are few comprehensive centers or institutes of CE (Fry, 2009). Nevertheless, there is absolutely the need for more comparative studies of educational policy making and practices and how they are influenced by external forces. CIE-related research which is relevant to the realities of teaching profession and teacher education will be fruitful and can be utilized as a basis for developing educational policies, practices, and reforms.

REFERENCES Asia Society. (2008). New skills for a global innovation society: The report of the Asia-Pacific forum on secondary education. New York, NY: Author. Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/education Asia Society. (2011). How the best school systems invest in teachers. Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/education/learning-world/how-best-school-systems-invest-teachers Barber, M., & Mourshed, M. (2007). How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top. New York, NY: McKinsey & Company. Bray, M. (2003). Comparative education in the era of globalisation: Evolution, missions, and roles. Policy Futures in Education, 1(2), 209 224. Retrieved from http://web.edu.hku. hk/staff/mbray/docs/Bray_PFIE_1_2.pdf Bray, M. (2007). Actors and purposes in comparative education. In M. Bray, B. Adamson, and M. Mason (Eds), Comparative education research: Approaches and methods (pp. 15–38). Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong and Springer.

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Darling-Hammond, L. (2013). Developing and sustaining a high-quality teaching force. Paper prepared for the Global Cities Education Network, Asia Society. Retrieved from http:// asiasociety.org/files/gcen-darlinghammond.pdf Fry, G. W. (2009). The evolution of comparative education: The challenges of conducting rigorous comparative and intercultural research. Paper submitted to the Third Conference on Comparative Education in Vietnam, held by Center for International and Education& Culture Exchange and Research (CIECER), October 16. Retrieved from http://lypham.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=159& Itemid=2 Heyneman, S. P. (2009). The future of comparative and international education. Paper presented to the annual meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society, Charleston, South Carolina, March. Retrieved from http://www.cies.us/newsletter/sept %2009/Heyneman.html Iwata, Y. (2008). ‘Experience’ and ‘reflection’ on teacher education curricula in Japan. Keynote Speech for International Symposium on Teacher Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun China, September. Retrieved from http://www.u-gakugei.ac.jp/ ~currict/about/iwata.info/20080919changchun.pdf Labmala, S. (2003). Teacher law of the people’s Republic of China: Decree of the president of the people’s Republic of China. Bangkok: Office of Education Council (in Thai). Labmala, S. (2005). Learning reform between Scotland and Thailand. Bangkok: Office of Education Council (in Thai). Limskul, K. (2009). A path to practical knowledge-based economy and society in Thailand in related to education reform. Paper presented in the Second Thailand Malaysia Joint Educational Research Conference 2009, “Research-Driven Education Reform: Innovation for Quality Improvement”, November 15 18, Bangkok, Thailand. Retrieved from http://www.onec.go.th/onec_backoffice/uploads/Book/1027-file Masemann, V., Bray, M., & Manzon, M. (Eds.). (2007). Common interests, uncommon goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its members. Hong Kong: Springer. Ministry of Education Malaysia, Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 2025. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.my/userfiles/file/PPP/Preliminary-Blueprint-Eng.pdf ONEC. (2006). The education system of Finland. Bangkok: Office of National Education Commission (in Thai). Pitiyanuwat, S., Bunnim, N., Panapunnung, V., Saensakorn, N., & Choochev, K. (1999). Research report on teacher license. Bangkok: Office of National Education Commission (in Thai). Planel, C. (2008). The rise and fall of comparative education in teacher training: Should it rise again as comparative pedagogy? Comparative and International Education, 38(4), 385–399. Richardson, J. (Editor-in-Chief). (2013). Finland’s secret sauce: Its teachers. Kappan magazine (Phi Delta Kappa International International), May 13. Retrieved from http://www.learningfirst.org/finlands-secret-sauce-its-teachers Rukspollmuang, C. (2007). A comparative study of law promoting professional development of teachers and educational personnel. Bangkok: Office of Education Council (in Thai). Rukspollmuang, C., & Madilokkovit, C. (2005). Shortage of teachers at basic education level. Bangkok: Office of Education Council (in Thai).

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Sohn, H., & Chu, H. (2010). Research trends in Korean comparative education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the 54th Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society, Palmer House Hotel, Chicago, IL. Retrieved from http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p400431_index.html Wolhuter, C. C., O’ Sullivan, M., Anderson, E., Wood, L., Karras, K. G., Mihova, M. … Thongthew, S. (2011). Students’ expectations of and motivations for studying comparative education: A comparative study across nine countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. International Education Research, 2(8), 1342 1355.

PERSPECTIVES FROM AFRICA: COMPARATIVE EDUCATION RELEVANT RESEARCH AND TEACHER EDUCATION Lillian Katono Butungi Niwagaba and Christine M. Okurut-Ibore ABSTRACT The dynamics of teacher education in Africa are complex. To understand their complexities, one has to plow through multiple layers of players that provide funding, policy direction, curricula, teaching methods, and technologies to teacher education systems grounded in divergent philosophies and histories. There is a need to understand how ideas regarding teacher policies and practices are filtered between countries and how those ideas are shaped to fit unique contexts in which they are introduced. Considering the roles played by multinational and bilateral international organizations, national governments, colleges, universities, teacher unions, the private sector, and civil society, it is imperative that data is collected and evaluated to measure impact of reforms and policies that guide teacher training for novices and in-service for professional teachers. As such, the critical role comparative and international teacher

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education research plays cannot be understated. Comparative and International Education (CIE) relevant research serves to advance understanding of teacher education and professional development by highlighting best practices, issues, inputs, outputs, gaps, and differences, the relationships with student learning outcomes, and standardization and harmonization of teacher education curricula in a very crowded arena. CIE relevant research provides the necessary data for examining policies and initiating reforms that lead to positive student learning outcomes. In addition, the research provides benchmarks in novice teacher training and professional development that contribute to teaching efficacy and teacher effectiveness. Keywords: Teachers; research; in-service training; education; professional training; Africa

Educating teachers to educate a nation for economic, social and cultural growth and development is one of the vital roles of governments. There are many important reasons to focus on teacher education research but three deserve special mention. First, research has shown that teachers determine the quality of student learning outcomes. Therefore good teacher training is a condition for quality education. Second, teachers are at the bottom of the implementation continuum of education reforms, therefore understanding their awareness of reforms, policies, and effective implementation of what is planned becomes critical. Third, most of the education recurrent budget is used to pay for teachers, which makes understanding the efficiency of the education system useful (Griffin, 2012; Ministry of Education and Sports, 2013). To understand the dynamics of teacher education in Africa therefore, one has to plow through multiple layers of players that provide not only funding, policy direction, and guidance but diverse curricula, pedagogies, and technologies to teacher education systems grounded in divergent philosophies and histories. The various consortia from the North or West that support teacher training programs across Africa come with equally diverse agendas, and see issues through different lenses (Assie-Lumumba, 2006). As such, the critical role comparative and international teacher education research plays cannot be understated. Comparative and International Education (CIE) relevant research serves to advance understanding of teacher education and professional development among others by highlighting best practices, issues, inputs, outputs, gaps, and differences, the relationship

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with student learning outcomes, and standardization and harmonization of teacher education curricula in a crowded arena. Despite the numerous attempts by the Sub-Saharan African governments’ to reform education, the ghosts of colonialism still haunt most African countries’ teacher training programs. From non-movable desks to theoretically based pedagogy, gender disparities, and static curricula, the teacher education system is still heavily top-down. Teachers take the curriculum handed down from ministries of education with little room for creativity, indigenous research, child development theories based on Western paradigms, and no consideration of the different styles of learning among their students in different sociocultural, economic, and political contexts. In such environments, CIE relevant research provides the necessary data for examining policies and initiating reforms that lead to positive student learning outcomes. In addition, the research provides benchmarks in professional development that contribute to teaching efficacy and teacher effectiveness. There are various examples of CIE relevant research that have contributed to positive outcomes in teacher education quality by influencing policy and enhancing professional development. In the case of Uganda and Ghana, programs like UPHOLD, Teacher Development Management System (TDMS) both from USAID and ESA from UNESCO worked to support teacher training policies and professional development for teachers. Such collaboration was grounded in CIE relevant research. TDMS was intended to be an “integrated delivery system for primary education reform services focusing on improved pupil (student) learning.” Additional research could determine how the three different programs from two different players with diverse agendas coexisted and what measurable student learning outcomes resulted. Similarly, more research examining the numerous innovative teacher education practices that have been tested in Uganda and other African countries could be undertaken to understand why some of these innovations succeed during pilot phases and fail in scaling-up.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF NOVICE AND EXPERIENCED TEACHERS Unlike Finland where teachers are highly respected and rewarded, the teaching profession in most Sub-Saharan African countries has not been highly valued. In Uganda, for example, most students who do not do well

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on their exams end up in the teaching profession. The causes of not doing well on the exams may vary ranging from poor schools and teacher quality to underdeveloped test-taking skills. Nonetheless, the teacher training institutions receive students of different intellectual capacities and it is their role to turn them into good teachers. CIE-related research helps by shedding light on policies and practices that focus the different learning styles and intake standards that teacher training colleges (TTCs) may use to reach these student-teachers in mastering the teaching profession. For novice teachers, CIE-related research has been instrumental in getting teacher training institutions to look at and adopt new pedagogical methods especially those that teach student-teachers how to teach and learn and be excited about both. It is imperative for novice teachers to develop positive attitudes toward learning and student engagement by using context appropriate pedagogy in the classroom, developing strategies in reading and writing across various disciplines, and for supporting indigenous language use in the classroom. Research has shown that not only do these strategies enhance literary skills and civic engagement, they also excite the students through experiential learning which promotes social inclusion and civic pride among students in various communities. Professional development for experienced teachers usually occurs through in-service and upgrading programs that provide them with new pedagogical techniques and other skills necessary for effective teaching. Durodoye, Kafanabo, and Iaeger (2011) using SACMEQ data found that in Tanzania, most of the regions do not provide adequate training for new faculty and men are favored over women for in-service training. Additional analysis found that in-service training increases with increased higher education and the most experienced teachers are the ones that receive in-service training. As with novice teachers, the experienced teachers’ skills are enhanced and their ability to teach literacy skills and promote youth citizenship are enhanced. Through CIE research, these researchers will be partnering with others working on SACMEQ in Uganda to do comparative analysis on current data and the new focus point of pre-service and early professional training.

WHAT KIND OF TEACHERS DO WE NEED FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY? In the next few years, the role of CIE research will increase due to the many players involved in teacher education in Africa. The World Bank

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which always sets the tone for investments in education released their Strategy for 2020 focused on learning for all. Based on the three pillars of “Invest early. Invest smartly. Invest for all.” it sets out an ambitious agenda of “ensuring that all children and youth not just the most privileged or the smartest can not only go to school, but also acquire the knowledge and skills that they need to lead healthy, productive lives and secure meaningful employment” (King & World Bank, 2011, p. v). In addition, technology will play a significant role in scaling-up teacher education programs to build capacity. Among the technology, players on the teacher education landscape the Open University Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) under the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) program stands out for its ability to provide novice and experience teachers alike real time skills development to enhance knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) in and out of the classroom promoting engaged learning. The African Virtual University (AVU) equally provides online resources. However, this is a paradigm shift from more access to learning which has implications to other subsectors of education especially teacher education. We know that reforms are rarely taken in a vacuum but are informed by other countries’ ideas and practices as well as embedded in national and global political and economic dynamics. There is therefore a need to understand how ideas regarding teacher policies and practices are filtered between countries, and how those ideas are shaped to fit unique contexts in which they are introduced. One way of achieving this is by exploring internal and external influences on teacher reforms, considering the roles played by multinational and bilateral international organizations, national governments, universities, colleges, teacher unions, nongovernment (nonprofit) organizations, the private sector, and of course the civil society organizations. Consequently, teacher education reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa require stakeholders at global, national, and local levels critically interrogating reasons/purposes for reforms, for whom the reforms are made, whose reality is reflected, who is involved in decision making, and so forth. One of the weaknesses in teacher education programs in Africa relate to lack of answers to the above questions. CIE relevant research needs to take into account African contexts and players listen to African voices about teacher education based on needs and concerns of teachers and utilizing epistemologies based on those needs and concerns. Communities need to be engaged so that teachers can construct meanings about their roles and affirm their commitment to the teaching profession which will enable them to create

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their own toolkits adaptable to their demographics and contexts. North/South collaborative research is essential in this regard. Comparative research can play a critical role in providing empirical evidence and information that informs teacher education policy processes and practices. We cannot talk about building strong economies, sustainable democracies, and equitable societies without having educated children. We need boys and especially girls who can read, write, calculate, and think critically to lead us to a more peaceful and secure world. This call for a renewed global commitment on learning will help catalyze important actors from around the world to invest time, energy, and resources in improving learning for all. (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia)

REFERENCES Assie-Lumumba, N. D. T. (2006). Higher education in Africa: Crises, reforms, and transformation. Dakar: Codesria. Durodoye, R., Kafanabo, E., & Iaeger, P. (2011). An analysis of in-service teacher training in Tanzania. 55th Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), May 2, Montreal, Canada. Griffin, R. (2012). Teacher education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Closer perspectives. Oxford, UK: Symposium Books. King, E. M., & World Bank. (2011). Learning for all: Investing in people’s knowledge and skills to promote development: World Bank Group Education Strategy 2020. Washington, DC: World Bank. Ministry of Education and Sports. (2013). Teacher issues in Uganda: A diagnosis for a shared vision on issues and the designing of a feasible, indigenous and effective teachers’ policy. Teachers Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa (TISSA), August.

REFLECTIONS ON COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION, TEACHER EDUCATION, AND THE MIDDLE EAST Carine Allaf ABSTRACT In this chapter I address three questions, posed by the editors of the Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014, drawing from my research and practitioner work in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Sudan, Palestine, and Qatar. The questions dealt with international education, teacher education, and the Middle East. First, I set the context of the region before delving into the answering the questions. In examining how comparative and international education (CIE) research has influenced policy reform of teacher education and professional development, I touch on three main trends taking place in the region whose influence is double-edged: positively influencing policy and reform on the one hand, but also resulting in negative consequences on the other hand. I then discuss how CIE research has influenced the ability of teachers to

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promote youth citizenship by discussing my own experience as teacher. Understanding the history of a country or a community is important to inform the development of an education system, especially in the development of its cadre of teachers. In conclusion, I argue that the region needs to take control of its own reforms and fully understand what works and does not work in its own community. The region should better understand where it wants its own citizens to be within a globalized society and let that inform its own policies and reforms. There is no “one size fits all” approach as the region is littered with examples of how such reforms do not and cannot work. Keywords: Teacher education; Middle East; Arab world; youth; citizenship; policy

In reflecting on comparative and international education (CIE), teacher education, and the Middle East, I respond to three questions below, which were posed by the editors of the Annual Review of Comparative and International Education: 1. How does CIE-relevant research either advance understanding of teacher education and professional development in your community or influence policy and reform related to teacher education and professional development? 2. How does CIE research in your community influence the professional development of novice as well as experienced teachers, specifically their ability to teach literacy skills and/or promote youth citizenship? 3. From your perspective, in what ways do you envision CIE research impacting teacher education, professional development, and classroom practice in the next few years? Before I address these questions, I want to emphasize that the Middle East as a whole is not universal in its descriptions and characteristics. The region is not homogeneous and is diverse in terms of socioeconomic status, ethnicities, religions, disabilities, and geography, to name a few. So when asked to reflect on the region as whole, I do so based on some of the main trends that I have noticed in my own CIE academic research and practitioner work in the Middle East and my reflection is not meant to be universalizing or essentializing.

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Over the past few years and in light of the Arab spring, the Middle East has undergone and continues to undergo dramatic change. In my CIE research and practitioner work in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Sudan, Palestine, and Qatar where the contexts vary tremendously and where teacher education and professional development face similar obstacles and have undergone attempted reforms, the education systems still look pretty much the same. Indicators such as primary enrollment rates, gender equality, literacy, investments to education have improved; yet teacher pedagogy, types of examinations, and methods of entry into higher education have witnessed little to no reforms. CIE research has influenced policy and reform of teacher education and professional development in multiple ways but I will address three current themes and trends. First, there has been an increase in the number of satellite university campuses such as New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus in addition to the multiple campuses found in Education City in Doha, Qatar (such as Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown Universities). These campuses have brought Western education standards and opportunities to those who would otherwise not have had such access (e.g., in Qatar this would include women that due to cultural constraints would not be able to travel the United States for education as their male counterparts). Generally, these campuses do not offer the full academic offers that they would offer at their home campuses and as of today none focus on teacher education and preparation. As these campuses are now viable options for students in the region, what is the impact of these branches on the K to 12 education systems including professional development and teacher education? Second, global and international initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals in addition to international conventions such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) have also influenced policy and reform in the region particularly on teacher education and professional development. One example includes the abolishment of corporal punishment that has historically been an acceptable method of classroom management across the region. Although it is still practiced in many settings, its official abolishment is a step in the right direction. When I visited schools across the south of Iraq, flyers admonishing corporal punishment and informing children of their rights were visible on the walls of the schools, yet teachers still carried sticks under their arms. When asked about classroom management techniques, teachers admitted that corporal punishment was not the best way but a method that was unfortunately successful. They expressed that they had no other options for classroom management.

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Global initiatives do impact policy and reform in the region but it is important to ensure that proper training is also in place to support educators. Instead of using corporal punishment, a method they have relied on for years and one that parents have come to expect in schools, what should teachers be using instead? Third, the region has a large number of peoples moving across geographic boundaries, be it migrant workers, economic migrants, or refugees. In the United Arab Emirates, for example, schools for Indian students, such as My Own Indian School, have emerged to address the needs of a specific population. And in other parts of the region such as Lebanon, ongoing discussions are taking place about whether or not refugee Syrian students should be educated in host countries public schools. In Jordan, a royal decree in 2008 opened up its public schools to non-Jordanian students. What does this variety in student populations and restrictions in enrollment mean for teacher preparation? Is anything being explicitly done to help teachers address this? CIE research has definitely played an influential role on teacher education and professional development in the Middle East. In the three examples I have discussed here, this influence is double-edged, positively influencing policy and reform on the one hand but resulting in negative consequences on the other hand. Some satellite campuses have closed. The educational standards and quality of those that persist are in question and as this is a relatively new phenomenon, the lasting impact of such international branches is yet to be known. International covenants and initiatives could also sway policy and reform, especially in terms of teacher education and professional development. However, thought needs to be given on the impact of such conventions on a specific community and what the possible consequences may be. It is necessary that corporal punishment is abolished but if educators are not equipped with the appropriate mechanisms and tools for positive classroom management, then such reforms are ultimately obsolete. And finally, the region will continue to host movements of people be it for economic reasons or resulting from conflict. The education of these populations needs to take a front seat in policy and reform and the professional development of teachers and how to best address the needs of this varied population is necessary. Rather than simply making moves to give access to education of displaced populations, the quality and purpose of their education needs to be examined. In answer to the second question, the region as a whole is young, characterized as experiencing a massive “youth bulge” where approximately 60 percent of its population is under the age of 30. On the one hand, many

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of these young people will become novice teachers and on the other hand, many experienced teachers have taught this large population of young people. Literacy rates are generally on an upswing in the region, but the quality and purpose of education is in question especially with such high unemployment rates plaguing the region. In order to answer this question I will focus on how CIE research has influenced the ability of teachers to promote youth citizenship by discussing my own experience as an elementary school teacher at a private American school in Beirut, Lebanon. The student population at this school was quite diverse and included Lebanese children of affluent families to children of international diplomats and United Nation workers. We were examining the social studies curriculum across the elementary school and a heated debate ensued about whether or not to teach the 15-year Lebanese civil war. The curriculum jumped from the Phoenicians to modern day Lebanon, with no mention of the years between 1975 and 1990. Lebanese teachers and Lebanese parents were torn on whether to breach this topic and if so, how. At the end, the curriculum was left as is. And unsurprisingly the Lebanese civil war is not formerly included in the curriculum across Lebanese schools. How do teachers, then, teach citizenship when a huge chunk of their country’s history is not discussed? During my time in Lebanon, the former prime minister of Lebanon Rafik Hariri was assassinated. Second graders came to school with opinions about the political situation but with no concept of what they were saying and why. They were clearly reproducing what they were learning informally at home and in their communities. Although I dealt with such opinions in my own classroom by encouraging dialogue and packaging these discussions under the umbrella of tolerance, my Lebanese colleagues who lived through the civil war came to the classroom with a whole different perspective and opinions of their own. I was consistently impressed with my colleagues in how they dealt with such political strife that was common place during my time in Lebanon but what does this mean for professional development and teacher education targeting youth citizenship education? CIE research promotes education for citizenship but the nuances and realities on the ground further complicate this. Understanding the history of a country or a community is important to inform the development of an education system, especially in the development of its cadre of teachers. Notions of citizenship, especially in terms of the Middle East, should be part of teacher education programs and professional development. What does citizenship look like in a region that continuously

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experiences tumultuous change and is home to such a variety of ethnicities and religions? Finally, in response to the third question, the region, and its various and diversified contexts, needs to take control of its own reform and fully understand what works and does not work in its own community. Comparatively, it should look at what is working elsewhere but more importantly it should fully understand how and why it is working and figure out how to get similar results by implementing their own adapted reforms in their communities. Internationally speaking, the region should better understand where it wants its own citizens to be within a globalized society and let that inform its own policies and reforms. There is no “one size fits all” approach as the region is littered with examples of how such reforms do not and cannot work. Additionally, CIE research needs to look towards bridging the academic and practitioner gap. What academics are studying could easily inform what is happening on the ground, particularly around teacher education and professional development. Furthermore and on this point, academics in the so-called global south and their research should have more of a presence in the CIE field.

COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHER EDUCATION IN SOUTH ASIA Radhika Iyengar, Matthew A. Witenstein and Erik Byker ABSTRACT This discussion essay provides an overview of teacher preparation programs in South Asia, detailing current innovative practices, challenges and trends regarding teacher education in the region. The chapter presents initiatives in several South Asian countries in terms of the design and implementation of in-service teacher trainings, pre-service teacher education programs, and distance education programs in South Asia. The main concept of the essay is to provide a comparative perspective to learn from field-based initiatives with the aim of improving the quality of the programs. It also highlights new trends such as the English education programs and ICT-based teacher training programs. It acknowledges that culture and context form a large part of the success for any education initiative. While doing so, a more holistic approach to improving teacher quality is emphasized. Finally, the essay concludes by sharing some ideas on developing conducive teaching learning environments in the schools to support teachers. This essay should benefit policy makers and

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practitioners to: (a) obtain an overview of teacher quality programs in South Asia; and (b) comparatively learn from the experiences of countries in South Asia that have both numerous similarities and some differences. Keywords: South Asia; teacher education; teacher preparation; English education; teacher quality; teacher professional development

South Asian educational systems face numerous challenges, many of which are addressed through teacher education and professional development initiatives. This chapter sheds light on these challenges as well as initiatives that have been implemented for improvement in teacher education and professional development through a comparative discussion. In order to begin this discussion, it is important to generate a snapshot of the overarching issues facing the teaching profession in South Asia. UNESCO (2008) identified pervasive issues like teacher gender parity and teacher shortages throughout South Asia. The Annual Status of Education Reports (ASER) further quantified the monumental challenges in the region related to teacher absenteeism and the number of untrained teachers. For example, ASER reported a 15% national average of daily absenteeism among India’s teachers and 13% among Pakistan’s (Annual Status of Education Report, 2013; Annual Status of Education Report in Pakistan, 2013). It is further estimated that one out of every six of India’s elementary teachers are untrained (ASER, 2013). Furthermore, untrained teachers comprised more than 45% of the total number of elementary teachers in some of the rural areas in both India and Pakistan (UNESCO, 2008, 2010). These issues are akin to those faced by other countries in the region as well. Despite the region’s challenges, there is strong interest in providing quality teacher education and professional development through innovative initiatives. The rest of the chapter addresses research and initiatives in teacher education and professional development that answer some of these crucial challenges facing South Asian education.

INNOVATIVE TEACHER EDUCATION INITIATIVES Many South Asian countries have attempted to reform teacher education by altering implementation practices to make it more efficient. Typically,

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they combine different aspects such as curriculum redesign, provision of textbooks, and teacher guides with more teacher training and education. Examples include Bangladesh revising the curriculum for teacher training and the training of instructors at Primary Training Institutes; India and Nepal attempting to improve school infrastructure, provision and creation of teaching learning materials and teacher training; availing a third teacher to schools with more than 100 students in India; providing textbooks for students and teaching guides in the first two weeks of the school in Nepal; using innovative teaching methods in the Maldives; emphasizing changes in curricula, textbooks, teaching methods and teacher evaluation in Pakistan; and emphasizing teacher empowerment through developing teacher-created assessment tools for classroom management in India and Sri Lanka (Nilsson, 2003). Several institutional schemes have been conducted offering mechanisms for improvement in teacher education throughout South Asia. Sri Lanka’s Department of Primary Education at the Curriculum Centre and the National Institute of Education experimented with multi-grade teaching strategies while also exploring possibilities of using this approach in single grade classrooms to encourage differentiation in teaching (Hargreaves, Montero, Chau, Sibli, & Thanh, 2001). The program focused on improving teacher skills like selection and organization of curriculum content; classroom time management; designing, developing and utilizing teaching/learning material; organizing and grouping pupils for learning activities; and, teacher behavior and pupil behavior. Pakistan created a cutting edge Masters in Education through an in-service, two-year teacher education program with a threefold aim creating exemplary teachers, teacher educators, and change agents at the newly minted Masters Degree holders’ schools (Khamis & Sammons, 2004). Offering opportunities for teachers to enhance their career prospects can prove to be empowering. The three-year longitudinal study of a selection of teachers trained at The Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development shows that participants started to take up more opportunities outside classroom and identified themselves as teacher educators as opposed to classroom-based teachers (Khamis & Sammons, 2004).

IN-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION In-service models are key cogs in the teacher education wheel in South Asia. Traditional pre-service teacher training programs have not been

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effective enough while large-scale trainings are unsustainable; therefore, school and cluster-level trainings have proven a solid alternative (Macneil, 2004). This mode engages community participation and contextualizes the training, making it relevant to meet the needs of the schools (Macneil, 2004). Examples include Maldives and Nepal focusing on training untrained teachers to improve regional inequalities in education (Nilsson, 2003); Nepal organizing school clusters and setting up resource centers for academic support (Ali, 2000); building a cadre of Master Teachers in Sri Lanka to provide support (Ali, 2000); and, Bangladesh instituting the position of Assistant Upazilla Education Officer to help with school supervision (Carron & De Grauwe, 1998 cited in Ali, 2000). Banerji (2011) illustrated a particular example from Bihar, India, where two para-teachers ran summer camps in government schools with 25 children each. Marked progress was made in the students’ basic language reading abilities and numeracy skills. While the same school and its teachers were unable to improve students’ reading abilities during the academic year, they demonstrated significant progress in a short alternative program. Banerji (2011) contributed the program’s success to a targeted approach using a specific teaching technique with this common goal at the end of camp, all children should read sentences fluently and be able to do simple subtraction problems. The most prevalent model of in-service training, the “cascade model” is commonly criticized due to “leakage” that occurs during the trickledown stages to the classroom that often result in ineffectiveness (Hayes, 2000). Hayes suggests active participation in teacher training as a key ingredient for success through this model. For example, a United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) funded project implemented in collaboration with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education aimed to improve English language skills of teachers by adopting the cascade model (Hayes, 2000). The project manager trained two coordinators who then trained 120 staff at 30 Regional English Support Centers (RESCs). RESC staff then conducted in-service courses for teachers for their areas. Hayes (2000) points out that the key characteristic is the participation and ownership between the institutional stakeholders. This model can be successful when there is participative project development, context sensitivity; formative re-educative models of training, like examining the effectiveness of existing teaching practices; classroomcentered training that helps teachers and students; collaboration at all system levels; responsiveness toward the teacher’s needs; and continuous professional development.

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DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS Many South Asian countries are utilizing distance education programs to cope with massive numbers of teachers needing training. There are a number of distance education programs leading the way. For example, Nepal utilized radio and television programs broadcasted on a regular basis to support the teachers while special “school outreach programmes” are aimed at recruiting more local teachers (Nilsson, 2003). A unique Sri Lankan program includes formative evaluation, counseling, and feedback from a tutor (Tatto & Kularatna, 1993). The tutor performs dual roles as correspondence teacher and tutor while also serving as course material writer. An in-person component in regional centers complements the program in order to avoid isolation and provide periodic supportive services. Tatto and Kularatna (1993) found the distance education program has the elements of a successful program due to the sustained attention and consistent exchanges between the teachers and the tutors. India’s commitment to the development of open educational resources (OER) started with the National Knowledge Commission recommendation in 2008 to create a “national e-content and curriculum initiative” (National Knowledge Commission, 2008, p. 108 as cited in Perryman, 2013). Perryman’s (2013) research on the contribution by UK Open University’s OER Research Hub towards India OER reveals the potential benefits of the system include the contribution to information and communications technology (ICT)-focused professional development for teachers by broadening the range of the curriculum, providing teachers with the flexibility of creating lesson plans catered to student need, and providing a platform to be reflective about teaching practices (Perryman, 2013). For example, the Bangalore-based NGO IT for Change established how online mailing groups accompanied with state-level workshops can provide a supportive environment for teachers and teacher educators. The literature notes issues regarding challenges using technology and pedagogical needs of teacher educators. However, distance education has the potential to reach out to large numbers. Rennie and Mason (2007) share ICT-related challenges in Bhutan and Nepal such as slow Internet and low cultural awareness regarding the value of open-learning degrees. Jamtsho and Bullen (2007) highlighted the importance of ICT in teacher trainings conducted by the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Samtse, Bhutan. The study shows despite infrastructure challenges, email and Internet use provided meaningful added resources to the project while also helping teachers learn critical ICT skills.

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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS DRIVING TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS In this globalized era, preserving indigenous approaches to learning has become critical (Kanu, 2005). Therefore, teacher professional development programs emphasizing local resources in classroom teaching and strengthening local languages as a medium of instruction in consort with the approved language of instruction need to be taken into consideration. The Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) is leading the way with multiple teacher education programs. Their focus has been to move away from theoretical models to more practice-oriented, contextually relevant models. Ashraf, Shamatov, Tajik, and Vazir (2005) narrate the importance of multicultural context in which the trainings are held to be sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of the trainees. Along with culturally relevant practices, understanding the needs of women teachers and finding ways to include gender-awareness education as a part of the training will help to encourage more women to join the teaching profession (Sales, 1999). Indeed, gender equity and gender parity are both critical issues related to teacher education throughout South Asia (UNESCO, 2008). Programs, like AKU-IEDs, help legitimatize and raise the status of teaching. Another topic often discussed in the literature is the focus on English Education for teachers. Shohel and Banks (2010) research investigates an English in Action (EIA) intervention in Bangladesh, implemented from 2008 to 2017 in cooperation with the Bangladeshi Government, which explores school-based support systems. The results show school-based support systems combined with technology-enhanced open and distance learning contribute significantly to teacher professional development as an inservice training (Shohel & Banks, 2010). The main strands of the project include introducing innovative classroom resources at the primary level and empowering teachers to change their classroom practices at the secondary level. Mobile technologies along with research and monitoring and evaluation play a large role in helping to support English language learning.

CONCLUSIONS Comparative and international education research plays a paramount role in providing a greater understanding of the teaching challenges and

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opportunities in South Asia. Such research will continue to be important for the future. Indeed, many of the innovative programs discussed in this chapter, such as in-service education programs and ICT-based teacher education programs need further research to test the impact of these programs across South Asia. It is also critical to expand the future research agenda to consider not only teacher education, but also the multiple factors that contribute to the quality of teachers. Ongoing professional development and support help to enhance teacher quality. It is not just the education that teachers receive in professional schools, but also the support provided to them in schools that makes them better teachers. Many rural South Asian teachers still need to travel long distances during school hours to get leave applications signed or to receive pending salaries. Many are still challenged with managing 60 80 children per class. With no training on multi-grade teaching, they often work with multiple classes. This is not a simple task! Research has shown clear links between teacher motivation and improvement in student results. Thus, a future research agenda should investigate monetary incentives as well as awards and recognitions by the community in relationship to teachers’ engagement and motivation in classrooms. Teacher autonomy and creativity also need further research. Involving teachers as participants in curricular and textbook design reforms will accelerate their buy-in. Teacher participation is also critical for student assessment development while encouragement from school leadership will provide a nurturing environment at work. Finally, there are many challenges related to teaching and teacher education in South Asia. The region is ripe for researching the many innovative initiatives that have been adopted by the region’s countries. At the governmental level, though, policy reforms are needed towards a more holistic approach to professional development of teachers. Teacher education or pre-service training should be considered as one aspect of this holistic approach. Decentralizing the education system and providing more powers to teachers administratively as well as academically could make classroom teaching and learning more effective in South Asia.

REFERENCES Ali, M. A. (2000). Supervision for teacher development: An alternative model for Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 20(3), 177 188.

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Annual Status of Education Report (ASER). (2013). How far has India come in guaranteeing education? New Delhi, India: Pratham Resource Center. Retrieved from http://www. asercentre.org/education/India/status/p/143.html Annual Status of Education Report in Pakistan (ASER-Pakistan). (2013). Annual status of education in Pakistan report of 2012. Islamabad, Pakistan: ASER Pakistan. Retrieved from http://www.aserpakistan.org/index.php Ashraf, D., Shamatov, D. A., Tajik, M. A., & Vazir, N. (2005). Reconceptualization of teacher education experiences from the context of a multicultural developing country. Journal of Transformative Education, 3(3), 271 288. Banerji, R. (2011). Challenging Bihar on primary education. Economic and Political Weekly, 66(11), 33 39. Hargreaves, E., Montero, C., Chau, N., Sibli, M., & Thanh, T. (2001). Multigrade teaching in Peru, Sri Lanka and Vietnam: An overview. International Journal of Educational Development, 21(6), 499 520. Hayes, D. (2000). Cascade training and teachers’ professional development. ELT Journal, 54(2), 135 145. Jamtsho, S., & Bullen, M. (2007). Distance education in Bhutan: Improving access and quality through ICT use. Distance Education, 28(2), 149 161. Kanu, Y. (2005). Tensions and dilemmas of cross-cultural transfer of knowledge: Poststructural/postcolonial reflections on an innovative teacher education in Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 25(5), 493 513. Khamis, A., & Sammons, P. (2004). Development of a cadre of teacher educators: Some lessons from Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 24(3), 255 268. MacNeil, D. J. (2004). School and cluster-based teacher professional development: Bringing teacher learning to the schools. Washington, DC: US Agency for International Development. Nilsson, P. (2003). Education for all: Teacher demand and supply in South Asia. Education International Working Papers No 13. Belgium Education International, Brussels, Belgium. Perryman, L. A. (2013). Addressing a national crisis in learning: Open educational resources, teacher-education in India and the role of online communities of practice. Buckinghamshire, UK: The Open University. Rennie, F., & Mason, R. (2007). The development of distributed learning techniques in Bhutan and Nepal. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 8(1), 1 10. Sales, V. (1999). Women teachers and professional development: Gender issues in the training programmes of the Aga Khan Education Service, Northern Areas, Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 19(6), 409 422. Shohel, M. M. C., & Banks, F. (2010). Teachers’ professional development through the English in action secondary teaching and learning programme in Bangladesh: Experience from the UCEP schools. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 5483 5494. Tatto, M. T., & Kularatna, N. G. (1993). The interpersonal dimension of teacher education: Comparing distance education with two other programs in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Educational Research, 19(8), 755 778. UNESCO. (2008). The global monitoring report: Regional overview of South and West Asia. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0016/001631/163170e.pdf UNESCO. (2010). Education for all, global monitoring report. Retrieved from http://unesdoc. unesco.org/images/0018/001866/186606E.pdf

THE INFLUENCE OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH ON POLICY MAKING, TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN GREECE Dimitris Mattheou ABSTRACT Teacher training and professional development have been among recurrent issues in public discourse in Greece. International evidence has been systematically utilized in policy making, yet mainly in the form of comparative argument rather than as an element of rational planning. To a large extent, this could be attributed to the limited domestic research infrastructure in comparative education and the marginal presence of the field in university curricula. On the other hand, international research evidence, mainly from international organizations, has been interpreted a

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la carte by policy makers to support pre-conceived policy decisions. To the detriment of this state of affairs, the acute financial crisis the country is going through has turned public concern, academic research and policy priorities to more urgent matters. Keywords: Teacher education; comparative research; policy making; comparative argument; international organizations; comparative education

The matter of teacher education and professional development has always been prevalent in education discourse in Greece. For decades two were the most prominent issues. The first related to the upgrading of the education of primary school teachers traditionally provided by post-secondary institutions at the university level. The second focused on the lack of any substantial professional training on the part of prospective and servicing secondary school teachers. The first issue was resolved by mid-1980s and the debate consequently focused on the upgrading of the academic and professional qualifications of servicing teachers, who were mostly nonuniversity graduates. By early 2000s this issue too was resolved and the education and professional development of primary school teachers lost its prominence in the educational agenda. Developments at this level have had a much welcomed side effect: the gradual emergence by early 1990s of comparative education as a field of study in Greek universities. Many hopes were invested in the nascent discipline, not least the combat against the widespread practice of exploiting fragments of international educational evidence to fabricate comparative arguments in the political arena instead of utilizing well documented research findings as academic props in rational policy making. Despite consecutive attempts, the second issue still remains unresolved. It is in this context that the influence of comparative and international education (CIE)-relevant research domestic and international in policy making and in teachers’ professional development should be examined. Starting from domestic research, one should not fail to take account of the fact that the infrastructure of the field is still in the making. Not all university departments of education offer courses in comparative education. MA courses are limited to only a couple of departments, although the number of dissertations and PhD theses with a comparative dimension are growing. The Greek Comparative and International Education Society on the other

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hand, established in mid-90s, is quite active, having already organized two international CESE conferences in 1996 and 2008. Yet its membership is not growing and its appeal is limited only to educators and not to policy makers. Its journal, Comparative and International Education Review, is respected for its high academic standards and its critical approach of international education and has thus far managed to reach the same circulation with other more established pedagogical journals in the country, which is however limited. Moreover, although things have greatly improved in the area of cross-border co-operation and communication with the international community of comparative educators, difficulties still remain: allowances for participating in international conferences or for organizing international conferences at home are very limited and so are allowances for subscription in academic journals. Taken together, all these weaknesses of the infrastructure undermine the extent and certainly the influence of domestic comparative research on policy makers and the educational sector at large. This situation is further aggravated by the fact that other research areas have taken precedence over teacher education during the last decade. Reorganizing higher education in line with the Bologna requirements, teacher and school work evaluation, curriculum reform, access to higher education, intercultural education and so on are among the matters that preoccupy public concern and consequently attract comparative researchers’ interest. To cite one example, only one out of seven special issues of Comparative and International Education Review was devoted to teacher education over the last ten years and only 12 out of a total of 106 articles published in it referred to the same topic. On a closer look, domestic research on teacher education and professional development focuses mainly on generic ideological/pedagogical and structural issues, like the academic status and the worthwhileness of professional knowledge, the balance between theory and practice and between teaching methodology and curriculum content or the most appropriate organization of courses, their duration and evaluation, etc. On several occasions the comparative element is present in this research. Consequently research on more specific issues, like teaching literacy skills or promoting youth citizenship, is limited, although there are clear signs that interest in both is increasing. However there is no reliable and comprehensive evidence as to the extent this research has been influential in the professional development of teachers. Similarly, there is also lack of substantial evidence as to the exact influence domestic comparative research has had in policy making related to teacher education and professional development. On the

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whole, politicians still tend to treat its findings in terms of fabricating comparative arguments to support pre-conceived policies. Things are rather different when it comes to international CIE-relevant research and especially the comparative work of international organizations, mainly that of the European Union and OECD. Their work seems to have really advanced politicians’ understanding of the significance of teacher education and their awareness on the policies that are being successfully implemented in other European countries. It is certainly not by coincidence that certain important policies concerning teacher education have been recently adopted by the Greek government. In line with the recommendations of international organizations a new law has made the professional training of prospective secondary school teachers a prerequisite for employment in state schools; the evaluation of the quality of school work and of teachers has been introduced; an extensive programme on the in-service training of teachers is already in the pipeline and is likely to focus even more closely on teachers’ professional development. On their part, teacher unions too have become more sensitive on matters concerning their continuous professional development. Their demands and rhetoric are increasingly overwhelmed with arguments drawn from CIErelevant research findings. Perhaps the most popular among them are those included in the EU/OECD 2010 document ‘Teachers’ Professional Development Europe in international comparison’ and in papers that attribute the impressive success of the Finnish education system to the quality of education and professional development of its teachers. While teacher unions understandably focus on the macro-policy level, individual teachers tend to place more attention to classroom practice. To the extent that they have access to international research or to the extent that domestic research has an international dimension, they tend to pay attention, as recent surveys on teachers’ needs indicate, to best practice around the world, mainly in matters of teaching methodology, classroom management and special needs education. To sum up, it would not be far from a realistic appreciation of the existing relationship between CIE-relevant research and policy influence in Greek teacher education and professional development if we drew attention to the following. 1. There is no conclusive evidence as to the character of this relationship 2. The long overdue issue of secondary school teacher education and professional development casts its shadow in prioritizing the domestic

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research and the relevant reform agenda and in utilizing the international research findings For the most part international evidence continues to be used as a comparative argument in public discourse It is the work of international organizations rather than that of academic institutions’ research that pervades public discourse and influences political decisions Compared with the international research in the field, domestic contribution is rather limited and so is its influence on policy making and on advancing understanding of teacher education and professional development Domestic education research focuses mainly on the macro-level

As to what the future keeps in stock in relation to the impact that CIErelevant research may have on teacher education and professional development in Greece it is hard to say; prediction after all even short-term prediction, especially in this turbulent era is always a risky business in human affairs. So, we have no other option but to rely on the signs as they appear in the Greek social and educational context. In the first place, domestic research is not likely to expand and the research infrastructure to improve. The acute financial crisis the country is going through would not most probably allow proper funding of research in education, while at the same time CIE-relevant research in teacher education and professional development does not seem likely to improve its position in the reform agenda and hence to attract a larger share of the limited resources. Future prospects of CIE-relevant research are further aggravated by the fact that comparative education as a field of study has thus far failed to make substantial impact in banishing the truism of the comparative argument from public discourse and establish its position in policy making. However, there are also auspicious signs in the horizon. Individual educators are increasingly becoming more sensitive in matters related to their professional development, especially those concerning teaching and learning. Both the work of international organizations and the findings of CIE-relevant domestic research attract today their interest more than ever before.

PART III CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS

CONCEPTUALIZING TEACHER EDUCATION IN COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT John C. Weidman, W. James Jacob and Daniel Casebeer ABSTRACT There has been a resurgence of interest in comparative and international research on teacher education that has been driven, in large part, by the emergence over the past two decades of comprehensive international studies of student achievement supported by (1) the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and (2) the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). Widely published country rankings that set benchmarks for student achievement suggest the importance of understanding more fully what specific characteristics set highly ranked countries apart, especially quality of teaching and teacher education.

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Recent literature on comparative and international teacher education is reviewed, focusing on special issues of Prospects (Vol. 42, March 2012, “Internationalization of Teacher Education”), sponsored by the UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) in Geneva, Switzerland, and the International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education (Vol. 11, August 2013, “International Perspectives on Mathematics and Science Teacher Education for the Future”), sponsored by the National Science Council of Taiwan. A conceptual framework for describing the complexity of teacher education in comparative and international context is presented, adapting an approach used for understanding educational change and reform in emerging democracies. The chapter concludes with a discussion of theoretical perspectives that have been applied to teacher education in comparative and international education with recommendations for new directions that might inform scholarly understanding as well as practice. Keywords: Comparative education theory; international education theory; international development education theory; teacher education theory; international teacher education

There has been a resurgence of interest in comparative and international research on teacher education as an area for academic study and research as well as a key element in international development. This has been driven, in large part, by the emergence over the past two decades of comprehensive international studies of student achievement supported by (1) the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA: www.oecd. org/pisa); and (2) the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) (www.iea.nl). With the penchant for establishing country rankings that set benchmarks for student achievement has come a desire to understand more fully what specific characteristics set highly ranked countries apart from those in the lower ranks in order to improve national positions. Quality of teaching and teacher education is a key element being considered.

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In this chapter, we review recent literature on comparative and international teacher education (CITE), focusing initially on the 2011 Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) presidential address in which Maria Teresa Tatto (2011) addresses directions for research and policy. We also use as points of departure special issues of Prospects (Vol. 42, Issue 1, March 2012, “Internationalization of Teacher Education”), a journal sponsored by the UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) in Geneva, Switzerland (Sieber & Mantel, 2012), and the International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education (Vol. 11, Issue 4, August 2013, “International Perspectives on Mathematics and Science Teacher Education for the Future”), a journal sponsored by the National Science Council of Taiwan (Blo¨meke, Hsieh, & Schmidt, 2013). We then develop a conceptual framework for describing the complexity of teacher education in comparative and international contexts, adapting an approach used for understanding educational change and reform in emerging democracies (Weidman & Bat-Erdene, 2002). The chapter concludes with a discussion of theoretical perspectives that have been applied to teacher education in comparative and international education with recommendations for new directions that might inform scholarly understanding as well as practice.

RECENT TRENDS IN CITE RESEARCH Special Issue of Prospects

Internationalization of Teacher Education

As internationalization processes, such as the escalation of regional exchanges or the diffusion of social structures across national borders, continue to intensify, the internationalization of teacher education has become a priority in comparative education discourse, especially in the context of those countries in transition or development. The question of whether internationalization should lead to more homogenized policies, however, is fiercely debated, and researchers are working to explain how the power dynamics developing among key players, including governments and international aid organizations, are influencing the worldwide quality of education. According to Sieber and Mantel (2012), to understand how internationalization is affecting teacher education, it is important to be able to distinguish between the phenomenon of internationalization and its implications.

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Drawing on the work of Barbara M. Kehm and Ulrich Teichler (2007), which identifies major trends in research on internationalization in higher education, including student mobility and institutional strategies, they suggest that the pedagogical and political implications of internationalization “can be understood as part of the ‘international education’ of teacher education,” while the phenomenon itself “can be seen as an answer to the internationalization processes, a response to the social reality of internationalization” (Sieber & Mantel, 2012, pp. 6 7). In Serbia, a country where teacher education is being shaped by internationalization processes, Suncˇica Macura-Milovanovic´, Nata ˇsa Pantic´, and Alison Closs (2012) look at how inclusive education, as a generalized mainstream policy, is influencing reform. Even though many local stakeholders, including teachers, see inclusive education as an important component of educational policy, the authors contend that Serbia’s interest in proinclusive education legislation might have more to do with joining the European Union than actually promoting diversity. Furthermore, they suggest that teachers’ narrow understanding of inclusive education, as an integration method for disadvantaged students rather than as a generalized ethic of accommodation, can be problematic. This limited understanding has been shaped not only by external forces, such as the unintentional stigmatization of students with disabilities, but also by internal factors, such as the continued proliferation of historical structures that are not necessarily compatible with imported concepts of inclusive education. As teacher education “plays a crucial role as part of the complex mechanisms of teachers’ change, not just to ensure that student teachers and teachers acquire the competences for social and educational inclusion, but also to inspire teachers to be lifelong learners for whom change is not a threat,” it is important for teacher preparation programs to challenge current understandings of inclusive education in order for Serbia to move closer to its goal of joining the European Union with productive and socially conscious intentions (p. 36). In South Africa, the internationalization of teacher education is fostering tension between a national need for change, in terms of democratization and social justice, and a global demand for competitiveness and the development of human capital. According to Marc Scha¨fer and Di Wilmot (2012), this tension is problematic not only because it encourages the importation of curricular materials, such as the nation’s first standardized curriculum, which has been called the “indigenized foreigner,” but also because the current focus on competency-based teacher education has made it much easier for trained professionals to emigrate to other countries

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once they have been educated in South African schools. In spite of these difficulties, however, the authors contend that “the adoption of an outcomes-based orientation to education and training at all levels of the system have facilitated standards setting, international comparability, and the portability of qualifications. It has also provided flexibility and access, and heralded in a new era of accountability and increased state regulation” (p. 52). This is important because it demonstrates a willingness on behalf of South African policy makers to join the international conversation on the internationalization of teacher education. In Afghanistan, where unstable power structures and precarious relationships between national stakeholders and international aid agencies threaten to usurp educational policy, Mir Nazmul Islam and Arif Anwar (2012) examine a teacher training program in the non-formal primary sector to see how South-South partnerships could improve the overall quality of education. Here, a divide between Northern agencies, which are supported by international organization, such as the United Nations, and Southern agencies, which have stronger ties to the Afghan people, can make progress difficult; however, the authors contend that teacher education programs of Southern origin, such as the Bangladeshi NGO BRAC, which advocates for the recruitment of women in education, have the best capacity for success. “The unique operating space that BRAC enjoys in Afghanistan as a South-empathetic organization gives it a set of tools that it has utilized to full advantage …. In this sense BRAC is given special deference and allowances, not only by the government at the local and central levels, but also by stakeholders” (pp. 68 69). This kind of buy-in from stakeholders is important because it creates opportunities for success where traditional North-South policies have failed. In the Republic of Belarus, which has been trying to develop its own education system since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the internationalization of teacher education has been highly politicized. On the one hand, Belarus is working with former Soviet republics to build a common, albeit “regionalized,” environment for education. On the other hand, Belarus is also working to align its higher education system with that of the European Bologna system in order to participate in the European sphere of education as well. According to Alena Lugovtsova, Tatiana Krasnova, and Anna Torhova (2012), teacher education in Belarus could indeed benefit from the Bologna system, and, as such, efforts should be made to implement strategies that are open to the kinds of change that need to occur to facilitate the integration of the Belarusian system into its more established partners in Europe and beyond. These strategies, which include the need for teacher

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educators to “update their academic competences related to mobility and international exchange” and the need for teacher education programs to “prepare the organizational system and educational materials they will need to implement the Bologna Process,” are designed to develop internationalization in higher education, with the more specific goal of lifting Belarus out of the shadow of the former Soviet Union (p. 88). Finally, in Que´bec, Olivier Be´gin-Caouette (2012) looks at how vocational colleges participate in the internationalization of teacher education vis-a`-vis the professional development opportunities it provides to its lecturers. Unlike Serbia or South Africa, Afghanistan or the Republic of Belarus, Canada does not suffer from some of the same challenges that plague countries in transition or development. Drawing on the work of David Johnson (2006) and Charlene Tan (2010), which situates types of policy transfer along an axis from coercive to voluntary, Be´gin-Caouette (2012) argues that the purpose of international cooperation has shifted from a “selling” model that encourages competition to a “gelling” model that facilitates cooperation. To this end, professional development can be conceptualized as a dynamic process involving teacher mobility and international cooperation. While international cooperation, “motivated by capacity development and efforts to promote the institution,” seems to be dropping in importance, teacher mobility, “motivated by professional development,” is becoming more prominent as institutions attempt to promote more socially just teacher preparation programs (p. 108). The point, however, is not that one kind of activity is more important than another; rather, the point is that training activities are changing to keep up with the kinds of partnerships that are developing between countries, all of which are dedicated to improving the overall quality of education. The worldwide quality of education is influenced not only by the educational policies of individual nations, but perhaps more importantly by the ways in which these nations can work together to provide quality education to as many people as possible. Even though developing countries, such as Serbia and the Republic of Belarus, are still struggling to establish their identities, they are still willing to try programs that might be difficult to implement, such as inclusive education, in order to align themselves with more established systems of education. Elsewhere, even countries like South Africa and Afghanistan, that are historically suspicious of outside influences, are willing to reach out in order to improve the overall quality of education for their people, adopting policies that seem to advance the best interests of their people. While it would be difficult, if not impossible, to advocate for worldwide homogenized educational policies, it is

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important for countries, especially those in transition and development, to look to their neighbors for strategies of teacher education that have proven to be successful. Similarly, it is also important for developed countries to approach these less established nations with policies geared toward social justice rather than exploitation.

Special Issue of International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education: International Perspectives on Mathematics and Science Teacher Education for the Future This special issue addresses the preparation of primary and secondary teachers of mathematics. According to the introduction to the issue, “many components or factors in mathematics and science teacher education cannot be understood without an international perspective, such as what counts as responsive and effective teacher education, what counts as appropriate teaching, or what are country specific strengths and weaknesses.” The issue includes six articles about single countries (Canada, Spain, Taiwan, and three on Germany), one article containing a two-country comparison (Singapore and Taiwan), one with a three-country comparison (Germany, Taiwan, and United States) and two studies reporting data from at least fifteen countries. All but two of the ten research articles are based on data from the Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M), a multi-national set of surveys. Seventeen countries participated in TEDS-M: Botswana, Canada (four provinces), Chile, Chinese Taipei, Georgia, Germany, Malaysia, Norway, Oman (lower secondary teacher education only), the Philippines, Poland, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Spain (primary teacher education only), Switzerland (German-speaking cantons only), Thailand, and the USA (public institutions, concurrent and consecutive teacher education program routes only) (Tatto, 2013, p. 13). The main purpose of the TEDS-M study was to explore “the relationships between teacher education policies, institutional practices, and future teachers’ mathematics content knowledge and mathematics pedagogy content knowledge” (Tatto, 2013, p. 14). The following were surveyed during the course of the study: 1) teacher education institutions and programs, 2) teacher educators, 3) future primary school teachers preparing to teach mathematics, and 4) future lower-secondary school teachers also preparing to teach mathematics. More than 15,000 primary and 9,000 lower-secondary future teachers and close to 5,000 teacher educators in 500 institutions of

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pre-service teacher education were surveyed. These institutions included 451 units preparing future primary teachers and 339 units preparing future lower-secondary teachers (Tatto, 2013, pp. 14 15). This special issue contains rich findings about the education of primary and secondary school mathematics teachers in comparative perspective. Consequently, readers are urged to explore their own particular interests. Several of these articles are used to develop the conceptual framework for understanding teacher education that is presented later in the present chapter. In this section, we will highlight those articles reporting results from TEDS-M surveys in at least two countries. Addressing influences of cultural contexts on mathematics teacher knowledge, Sigrid Blo¨meke, Ute Suhl, & Martina Do¨hrmann (2013) drew on the TEDS-M data from sixteen countries describing the knowledge of primary and lower-secondary teachers at the end of their training. They found that “future teachers from Taiwan and Singapore were particularly strong on mathematics content and constructed-response items, future teachers from Russia and Poland were particularly strong on items requiring non-standard mathematical operations, and the USA and Norway did particularly well on mathematics pedagogical content and data items (p. 795). Feng-Jui Hsieh, Khoon Yoong Wong, and Ting-Ying Wang (2013) also focus on differences in cultural context, comparing Taiwan and Singapore, two countries integrating the Chinese/Confucian tradition in their approach to education. The study shows that Singaporean future teachers are less strong in devising formal mathematical arguments and transforming heuristic ideas into valid proofs when compared with their counterparts in Taiwan. Compared to higher-achieving Western countries, future teachers’ strengths in mathematics teaching competencies from both countries are at the primary, lower-secondary, or upper-secondary levels with relative weaknesses at the tertiary level (p. 819). These results highlight the importance of making comparisons both within and across geographic regions. Analyzing TEDS-M data from 15 countries, Ting-Ying Yang and ShuJyh Tang (2013) explored opportunities to learn (OTL) various topics among future secondary school mathematics teachers, including tertiary level mathematics, secondary school level mathematics, mathematics education and general education. Overall, they found preparation for secondary level mathematics teaching requires intensive and extensive coverage of tertiary level mathematics. Preparation philosophies in mathematics education and general education are widely homogeneous (p. 847). Christin Laschke (2013) uses TEDS-M data to examine the relationship between future lower secondary mathematics teachers’ knowledge and their

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affective cognitive and socio-demographic characteristics while controlling for opportunities to learn (OTL) in Germany and Taiwan. She finds that in Germany, teacher knowledge is more strongly affected by future teachers’ individual characteristics than teacher knowledge in Taiwan. These results are interpreted with respect to cultural differences between “the West” and “the East,” or “individualism” and “collectism,” respectively (p. 895).

A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING GLOBALIZATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION Recognizing the importance of national context for understanding structure and functioning of teacher education systems around the world (Tatto, 2011), Fig. 1 shows a conceptual framework containing key constructs. The figure is intended to illustrate potential inter-relationships among the

PEDAGOGICAL PATTERNS Standards Based Assessment Driven Teacher- vs. Student-Centered Competitive vs. Cooperative

POLITICAL PATTERNS Pluralism Interest Groups Human Rights Decentralization

TEACHER EDUCATION Limited Public Subsidy Market-Based Student Fees Centralization vs. Autonomy Pedagogy vs. Subject Knowledge Pre- vs. In-service Education Student Selectivity

SOCIAL PATTERNS Personal Accountability Social Resource Limits Private Services Social Justice

ECONOMIC PATTERNS Market Economy Human Capital Performance Funding Cost Recovery Donors

Fig. 1.

A Conceptual Framework for Globalization of Teacher Education.

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constructs, but is not a map in a social cartographic sense (Weidman & Jacob, 2011). Rather it represents an array of concepts that may combine in various ways to form the teacher education system of any country. It also is an approach to describing key elements of the national context in which a particular teacher education system exists. The main patterns (social, economic, political, pedagogical, and teacher education) and dimensions associated with each are drawn from research on educational transition (McLeish & Phillips, 1998; Weidman & BatErdene, 2002) because much of the comparative and international research on teacher education includes some consideration of education reform and/ or transformation (Adamson, 2012; Avalos, 2011). This framework is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather to be illustrative of the types of constructs that have been used to inform our understanding of teacher education in comparative and international context.

Political Patterns Pluralism and decentralization are political patterns that tend to be associated with democratic styles of educational provision (Phillips & Schweisfurth, 2007). They are also characteristic of countries transitioning from external colonization such as those gaining independence from the former Soviet Union (Weidman & Yoder, 2010). With respect to pluralism, governments are expected to preserve the rights of various groups and individuals, especially those whose ethnicity and/or religion may differ from the majority population. Underlying pluralism is an expectation that rights of all citizens will be upheld and that a country’s teacher education system should reflect respect for diverse populations as well as commitment to affirmation of universal human rights (Apple, 2011). In a multi-ethnic country such as Uzbekistan, this means providing instruction in languages other than Uzbek, notably Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Russian (Weidman & Yoder, 2010). It also means insuring that people practicing religions other than Islam are not persecuted. Approaches to and models of human rights education are moving increasingly to the forefront of educational discourse (Bajaj, 2011) Democratic political systems also incorporate efforts by groups and individuals with specific agendas to influence government in ways that favor their positions. Also known as interest groups, these entities can employ means that are not always in the best interest of the government, or of others who do not share their beliefs. In addition to providing civic education, teacher education programs are expected to model respect for human

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rights and pluralism, activities that may also require mediating pressure from interest groups. Decentralization refers to the process of moving decision-making from central to local authorities, shifting responsibility to those closest to point at which decisions are implemented. It includes moving responsibility for allocating educational funding for facilities as well as hiring of teachers from national to local authorities (Weidman & Yoder, 2010). At the very least, decentralization requires meaningful involvement in decisions by local and regional educational authorities, even if decisions continue to flow from a national ministry of education.

Economic Patterns Currently, the dominant approach to international development involves using market-based economic structures. Market-oriented mechanisms have been carried over from the industrial sector to the higher education sector (Becker & Toutkoushian, 2013). Donors, a particular category of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), are an increasingly important source of funding for educational reform in both developing and developed countries. Donors may exert significant influence on education systems through provision of often muchneeded supplementary funding. Even though they are obligated to follow country laws and regulations, donors tend to have their own agendas for reform that may or may not correspond with government priorities. For developing countries, external donors may include multi-lateral (e.g., development banks) and bi-lateral (e.g., country aid programs) agencies as well as NGOs (Weidman, 2001). Individual philanthropists have also emerged as key donors (e.g., Gates and Soros Foundations), working in developing as well as developed countries.

Social Patterns Social patterns that have been used to inform our understanding of teacher education in comparative and international contexts include personal accountability, social resource limits (Weidman & Bat-Erdene, 2002), private services (Eckwert & Zilcha, 2012), and social justice (Apple, 2011). Personal accountability refers to the amount of responsibility that individuals bear for social welfare in a class-based society. Social resource limits,

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which are closely linked to private services, are restrictions placed on community and institutional supports, especially in terms of finance, as private providers begin to supply services, such as healthcare, in place of government agencies. And social justice refers to the complex system of human development issues, including race, class, and gender relations, through which individuals can assume productive roles in society. Shifts toward personal accountability are especially overt in those countries undergoing transition and development. Working within the Mongolian context, for example, Weidman and Bat-Erdene (2002, p. 131) suggest that “the fundamental social transitions have involved changes from a collectivist society to one in which individuals are expected to assume increasing responsibility for themselves.” These transitions occur, in part, as developing countries respond to external pressures from a variety of donors, including development banks who may threaten to deny loans or withhold funds, to encourage market-based or market-friendly reforms. Services that used to be provided by the government, such as public transportation, are now shared by the people, and a greater emphasis is placed on individual rather than collective achievement. This, in turn, can lead to system-wide structural adjustments, as formerly “classless” societies struggle with the unequal distribution of income that often accompanies the adoption of a class-based system (Weidman & Bat-Erdene, 2002). Social resources, which include material resources, such as money and possessions, and immaterial resources, such as knowledge and power, are essential for the construction of social capital. Higher education, for example, is important not only because it leads to the generation of personal income, but also because it promotes economic development at the national level (Restuccia & Urrutia, 2004). According to Bernhard Eckwert and Itzhak Zilcha (2012, p. 76), however, “the expansion of higher education has often collided with fiscal pressures, thereby creating a tendency to shift the financial burden of an expanding education sector away from public funding towards private funding.” This suggests that the limits on social resources, such as access to higher education, are often regulated by private suppliers, such as financing agencies, especially in the context of those countries struggling to form a national identity. While some suppliers may be more equitable than others partial risk-pooling, for example, promotes a more egalitarian income distribution than competitive market credits, in terms of student loans private control of social resources almost always leads to inequality (Eckwert & Zilcha, 2012). Unlike shifts toward personal accountability, which emphasize individual achievement, and the privatization of social resources, which encourages the

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stratification of class structures, a shift toward social justice is concerned with navigating human development issues to help individuals assume productive roles in society. For Michael W. Apple (2011, p. 223), “Any discussion of these issues needs to be grounded in the complex realities of various nations and regions and in the realities of the social, cultural, and educational movements and institutions of these nations and regions.” In other words, in order for more equitable structures to emerge, individuals must use whatever privileges they possess, as activists, policy makers, or government officials, to open spaces, especially in the context of education, where people of all cultures and social strata can participate (Apple, 2011; Jacob, 2006).

Pedagogical Patterns Pedagogical patterns, especially those concerning standards, assessment, and content strategies (K. L. Brown, 2003; C. P. Brown, 2010; Schleicher, 2011), are important for understanding the evolving nature of teacher education in comparative and international contexts. As a popular reform movement, standards-based education calls for the alignment of certain competencies, such as literacy and numeracy, that all students in a given system should know and possess. Assessment then, which is an inevitable product of outcome-based reforms, concerns the manner in which students, as well as their teachers, are measured against these competencies. Assessment in teacher education usually occurs through high-stakes testing, and content strategies, which vary from the teacher-centered to the student-centered, the competitive to the cooperative, and describe how students and teachers work together to ensure that the aforementioned standards are met. Standards-based education reforms, such as the United States government’s No Child Left Behind Act, have the capacity to alter, albeit transform, the education sector by redefining not only the work that teachers do in the classroom, but also the teacher preparation programs in which they are trained to teach. According to Christopher Pierce Brown (2010, p. 478), who investigated the impact of participating in standards-based education systems as students on preservice teacher candidates, a shift toward high-stakes reforms creates a challenge for teacher education, namely the need to teach preservice teachers “how to be adaptive experts who can adjust and respond to high-stakes external demands that they and their future students will face.” This is no easy task, requiring “diagnosis,

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intensive assessment and planning to adapt to learners’ needs, and a complex repertoire of practices judiciously applied,” as well as an understanding of how to balance competing influences on teacher candidates’ budding competency of pedagogical strategies (Darling-Hammond, 2006, p. 307; Lloyd, 2007). Assessment strategies, including teacher evaluations and high-stakes testing, are natural byproducts of outcome-based reforms, such as the standards movement. In the context of teacher education, however, there is also a need to assess how preparation programs are addressing the issues identified by classroom teachers as the most salient for improving student achievement. According to OECD (2009), teachers across the world report their greatest professional development needs as those helping them deal with students with special needs, those teaching them how to implement technology in their classrooms, and those providing strategies for managing student behavior. For Andreas Schleicher (2011, p. 219), “Teachers, as professionals at the front line of education delivery, face the increasing weight of demands and expectations. They need and deserve to be equipped to be as effective as possible.” This means that in order to understand how teachers frame their challenges in the classroom, teacher education programs could benefit, in “trickle-up” fashion, from the attention on assessment at the classroom level. Recent shifts in content strategies from a predominantly teachercentered focus to one that is more student-centered have focused on improving learning in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms (K. L. Brown, 2003). Unlike teacher-centered strategies, which give students limited opportunities to match their learning styles to their teachers’ preferred methods of instruction, student-centered strategies immerse students in the learning process by focusing on their individual needs. In order for teacher education programs to measure the appropriateness of teachers’ behavior toward improving student learning, Kathy Laboard Brown (2003) suggests that measures need to be put in place in order to assess how teachers know students are learning and how teachers choose to react when students are not learning. The quality of a teaching program can be determined, in part, by how well it helps teachers meet their students’ needs where they are (see also Milner, 2010).

Teacher Education The core of the framework shown in Fig. 1 is, of course, the teacher education patterns and structures that characterize any particular

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educational system. The first two patterns, limited public subsidy and market-based student fees, are reflections of changing economic and political patterns that have resulted in greater competition for public funding of higher education around the globe (Del Rey & Racionero, 2010). This includes differential tuition rates by major field in some countries (Ehrenberg, 2012), with those majors leading to more highly paid jobs after graduation charging higher fees. Because teacher pay is notoriously low in many countries, teacher education programs are generally not in a position to command high fees from students. Autonomy of preparation programs, at both the higher education (Peck, Gallucci, & Sloan, 2010) and school (Blo¨meke & Klein, 2013) levels is viewed as important for effective teacher education. The structure of teacher education programs may be influenced greatly by the level of external control over curriculum, hiring of academic staff, and instructional activities. Pressures to establish national standards for instruction as well as student and teacher assessment may diminish institutional autonomy and take responsibility for teacher preparation out of the hands of traditional educational settings. Debates about the content and emphasis of teacher education programs are common across the globe. Probably most hotly contested is over the mix of pedagogically versus subject matter oriented instruction in teacher preparation programs. Controversy is fueled by empirical studies in a variety of national contexts (Blo¨meke, Suhl, & Do¨hrmann, 2013; Can˜adas, Go´mez, & Rico, 2013; Ko¨nig, Blo¨meke, Paine, Schmidt, & Hsieh, 2011) as well as philosophical argument (Popkewitz, 2010). Another source of continuing concern is the relative importance of preservice versus in-service practical preparation of teachers. In many developing countries, for instance, teacher shortages make it necessary for prospective teachers with little formal preparation to be recruited and then trained “on-the-job” (Hardman, Abd-Kadir, & Tibuhinda, 2012). There is also the necessity for teachers to be provided with opportunities for continuing professional development (commonly referred to as in-service teacher education) over the course of their careers, as subject matter, teaching methods, and instructional patterns change. According to a recently published review of 111 published studies: … we have moved away from the traditional in-service teacher training (INSET) model. What underlies the thematic emphasis of the studies reviewed, their assumptions and inquiry methods, is a recognition that teaching learning and development is a complex process that brings together a host of different elements and is marked by an equally important set of factors. But also, that at the centre of the process, teachers continue to be both the subjects and objects of learning and development. (Avalos, 2011, p. 17)

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In-service professional development activities for teachers have also taken on a decidedly international focus in some contexts (Be´gin-Caouette, 2012). Selectivity of students for teacher preparation programs is an issue of growing concern. To have high-quality teachers, it is important that the best and highest achieving students be recruited into teacher education programs. In many countries, this is not the case because other types of careers are more attractive. There is a gender dimension to this phenomenon. In countries where access for women to other careers is restricted, teaching still attracts some of the brightest young women. However, in countries where other opportunities have become available, the most academically able young women who might have entered teaching in the past now make other choices (Bacolod, 2007). Family pressures may also gravitate against choosing teaching as a career (Blo¨meke, Suhl, Kaiser, & Do¨hrmann, 2012). Finally, now that international comparisons of student achievement have identified countries with particularly high student achievement levels, case studies of exemplary teacher education systems have begun appearing in the teacher education literature. Examples of such cases from Europe are Finland (Ho¨kka¨ & Etela¨pelto, 2014) and Germany (Kiel, Weiß, & Eberle, 2012). Of course, any efforts at application of principles and structures from apparently highly successful teacher education systems must be adapted to the particular national contexts in which they are to be applied. This process of “educational transfer” (Phillips, 2009) is a particularly relevant theoretical construct for understanding changing patterns of CITE to which we turn in the next section of this chapter.

THEORIES APPLIED TO THE STUDY OF TEACHER EDUCATION International development education theory is also useful for understanding the internationalization of teacher education. Several areas can be addressed to better understand how teacher education has evolved over time, including how it is borrowed, shared, transmitted, and transferred from one nation to another.

Education Transfer/Policy Borrowing The notion of policy borrowing and education transfer is one that has been advocated by David Phillips and others (Barabasch & Watt-Malcolm,

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2013; Phillips, 2009; Phillips & Ochs, 2003, 2004 ) and has an important influence on teacher education in comparative and international contexts. Phillips and Ochs’ (2003) Policy Borrowing in Education Composite Processes Model highlights the role theory plays in policy attraction, decision, implementation, and internalization. Each of these in turn lead to the potential influence theory can have on teacher education programs in local, national, regional, and transnational contexts. Phillips and Ochs argue that policy borrowing processes are in many ways transnational and cyclical, but the success of such educational transfers hinges on comparative and international contexts. In an effort toward continual improvement, teacher education programs often look beyond national local borders in search for better teacher training and professional development in local contexts. Some of these borrowed teaching frameworks, concepts, and methods are appropriate and others fall short when considering them in international settings. Societal obstacles such as customs, cultures, languages, norms, ethnicity, and religions often make what are deemed as good or best practice teacher education programs in one country less or entirely ineffective in others (see, for instance, Brown & Stevick, 2014; Chung et al., 2012; Lewis, 2007; Sperandio et al., 2009). Phillips (2009) later relates how policy borrowing and education transfer occur in one of five general areas mapped out along a spectrum. Dictatorial and totalitarian regimes often impose educational transfer upon societies. Other less stringent policy initiatives include those which are required under constraint or are negotiated under constraint. Dating back to earlier publications on the topic, Phillips notes how education transfer can happen in a purposeful manner. Finally, he recognizes the power of influence in educational transfer through the “[g]eneral influence of educational ideas/methods” (p. 1070). Many scholars support Phillips’ skepticism by emphasizing that policy makers, government planners, and education practitioners should recognize and understand not only the positives that may result in policy borrowing and educational transfer, but also the shortcomings of such practices (see Huse´n, 1989; Schriewer, 2000; Steiner-Khamsi, 2004; Steiner-Khamsi & Stolpe, 2006).

Internationalization/Globalization The internationalization of teacher education is important because of the increased mobility of students worldwide, who receive preservice and inservice training in often more than one country. Many teachers who received

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their teacher certification go abroad seeking opportunities to help broaden their experience and help strengthen the internationalization requirements of local schools and diversity efforts. Native English speakers with teaching credentials from Australian, U.K., and U.S. universities can regularly find employment opportunities to teach English at K-20 settings in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. They often return to their home countries with experience teaching abroad and to students from non-native English speaking backgrounds, which helps them land increasingly competitive teaching positions in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Sieber and Mantel (2012) note how important the internationalization of teacher education is because it provides a starting point not only for an examination of transfer in education, but also for a discussion of the “diversity of teacher education in different world regions and countries, within countries, and even within the same teacher education institution” (p. 10). It is this diversity in the process of internationalizing teacher education that creates the best opportunity for enhancing the quality of education.

Cultural Reproduction Cultural reproduction, the transmission of existing values and norms from one generation to the next, is debated by theorists as one of the possible purposes of education (Feinberg & Soltis, 2009). Functionalists, for example, argue that schools serve to socialize students to the economic, political, and social institutions of a given society, while conflict theorists contend that schools serve to maintain power structures among dominant factions in the social order. In any case, the issue of cultural reproduction becomes especially spurious in the context of diverse classrooms being managed by a culturally homogenous population of teachers. According to Ana Marı´ a Villegas (2007, p. 374), “research shows that prospective teachers generally enter teacher education believing cultural diversity is a problem to overcome and that students of color are deficient in some fundamental way,” which is problematic considering that “teacher beliefs about students significantly shape the expectations they hold for student learning.” This is troubling not only because it suggests that a majority of preservice teachers consider diversity to be an obstacle, but also because it hints at a system rife with internalized racism. In order to create more equitable learning environments, Valerie Hill-Jackson and Chance W. Lewis (2010) suggest that teacher education programs need to help their students develop dispositions for social justice.

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These dispositions, which encompass cognitive complexity, worldviews, intercultural sensitivity, ethics, and self-efficacy, are important because “star teachers understand that they are teaching more than subject matter and are engaged in the business of saving lives, expect students to come with problems and react in a mature manner, and recognize that success is often a measure of effort and not innate ability” (p. 79). While acquiring these dispositions may not solve the cultural reproduction debate, it could go a long way toward helping teachers reach those students whose cultures differ from their own.

Educational Philosophy The role of philosophy in teacher education is experiencing a resurgence as teacher preparation programs begin to reevaluate what it means to provide their students with conceptual frameworks for understanding educational issues and conducting research (Winch, 2012). According to Alis Oancea and Janet Orchard (2012, p. 574), “the values and assumptions that underpin particular conceptions of teaching quality and teacher accountability in particular remain, relatively speaking, under-examined.” They contend that philosophy can be applied, as an “illuminating practice,” to support practical deliberation at all levels of educational practice and policy. Arguing that “the ability to think philosophically is an indispensable component of a teacher’s capacity for professional judgment,” Christopher Winch (2012, p. 306) suggests that the philosophy of education plays several important roles in learning how to teach: (1) it enables teachers to navigate contested views in education; (2) it enables them to reframe debates in their own disciplines (e.g., mathematics, social sciences); and (3) it enables them to understand the connections between practice and research. These roles, which can start to be filled during teacher preparation programs, would allow teachers to start taking ownership of their own judgment, a right that has not been afforded in the context of recent outcome-based reforms. In spite of the benefits, however, there are several challenges including disciplinary distinctiveness, policy rationality, and confidence in the efficacy of policy makers that may dissuade teacher education programs from placing more of an emphasis on philosophy (Oancea & Orchard, 2012). These challenges stem from structural disadvantages, including a historical skepticism of philosophy; however, teacher education programs can begin

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to reinforce the validity of philosophy by introducing it in the context of current debates in the field.

Teacher Education Reform Understanding contexts is essential in the internationalization of teacher education. What works well in one setting may, or may not, be appropriate in other settings. Wang, Odel, Kecka, Spalding, and Lin (2010, p. 399) posit that teacher education reform cannot be successful without a serious understanding of the contexts in which education reform is situated. What are these contexts and their characteristics? How do these contexts influence the process and outcomes of teacher education reform? What are the consequences of these contextual influences for different stakeholders in teacher education reform? These are central questions, the answers to which could lead to understanding better the relationship between teacher education reform and its contextual influences.

In addition to highlighting the importance of context, Wang and colleagues also argue how “[l]earning outcomes [in teacher education] have not been carefully conceptualized into working theories that can be used to guide the design and implementation of teacher education programs” (p. 400). Much more needs to be done to measure the quality and impact of teacher education programs worldwide.

IN SEARCH OF MORE ADEQUATE THEORIES OF TEACHER EDUCATION Conceptually Driven Theories of Teacher Education Regardless of what education foundation is advocated in CITE programs, one that has traditionally stood the test of recent centuries is the conceptual notion that education is for the greater good of children and society. In an effort to conceptualize the theoretical background to teacher education, one has to take into account the notion that teacher education programs are designed to foster students who are individual thinkers, problem solvers, good citizens, and lifelong learners (Popkewitz, 2008, 2010). These characteristics are foundational to most teacher education programs

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worldwide. But other conceptual frameworks are worthy of our attention as well. The notions of equality, equity, and social justice in teacher education are crucial to meeting the needs of all, especially those who are most at-risk, disadvantaged, and who have least opportunities for obtaining any education (Jacob & Holsinger, 2009). Measuring such conceptually driven theories of education can be challenging, but in the context of recent trends toward increased quality and accountability evaluations of such theories are essential. Scholars argue how recent trends that help build on these conceptual theories include the development of Learning Communities and Discourse Communities (Popkewitz, 2008). All the hype and focus on assessments and accountability, however, has transitioned teacher education from being able to reflect and act to one that has an overemphasis on science, English (or the dominant language of respective countries), and mathematics. This overemphasis has in many cases hindered the ability of teachers to adapt the curriculum to individual and local needs, advocating for a more standardized curriculum that is outcome-based on focused on test examination performance (Burns, 2013; Heward, 2003; Ja¨ger et al., 2012; Mahony & Hextall, 2000). The resulting impact on this overemphasis on science, math, and the national dominant language has led to the demise of other traditional areas of teacher education, including in the arts, music, physical education, and other extracurricular programs (Fox & Schirrmacher, 2012; Jacobs, 2010; Tubbs, 2013; Wolfmeyer, 2013). These are disturbing trends as countless studies have shown how the cultivation of arts, music, and meaningful extracurricular activities more often than not help improve individual performance in the areas of current focus (Martin, 2013; Mueller, 2008). The reduced focus, and in some cases elimination of physical education programs, has re-conceptualized the notion of focusing on the development of the whole child to a focus that is rather geared toward teaching to perform well on required courses in state and national examinations. Ultimately, Popkewitz (2010) argues that teaching and teacher education needs to integrate social interaction and real-life scenarios so that the learning of sciences, math, and dominant language can have more meaning in individual and group settings: “The focus on mathematics and science” benefits teacher education because it emphasizes “the intersection and articulation of relations between things of the world and the cultural/social conditions through which disciplinary knowledge is produced” (p. 419). Belleau, Ross, and Otero (2012) also recognize how the effective conceptualized integration of scientific subjects such as physics into everyday

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life can help teachers more effectively teach and students better learn previously difficult-to-learn subjects. Rabinow (2003) supports both of these conceptual frameworks of teacher education, by arguing that knowledge is (or can be depending on the way it is promoted in teacher education programs) “conceptual,” “political,” “ethical,” and “aesthetic” (p. 3).

Research-Driven Theories of Teacher Education In much the same way that some public schools are more effective than others in the preparation of students for productive roles in society, so too are some teacher education programs more effective than others in the preparation of teachers for productive roles in the culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms of the 21st century. In order to determine what components of teacher education programs such as philosophy of education courses or early field experiences produce the most effective teachers, research is being conducted on the outcomes of teacher preparation programs from different countries (Blo¨meke et al., 2012). One such study is Sigrid Blo¨meke and her colleagues’ exploration of teacher effectiveness in primary mathematics education. They begin with hypotheses involving teacher background and opportunities to learn. Teacher background is examined in terms of the experiences that each student teacher brings to the program, especially in terms of “gender, socioeconomic status and language background as well as generic and domainspecific prior knowledge” (p. 45). Opportunities to learn are defined “as future … teachers’ encountering occasions to learn about particular topics during teacher education” (p. 45). While these opportunities are deliberately constructed by teacher education programs to reflect national standards in terms of what teachers should know and be able to do, the pedagogical methods that preservice teachers are exposed to can vary from institution to institution. With respect to teacher background and opportunities to learn, Blo¨meke and colleagues offer two suggestions for improving the quality of teacher education programs: (1) increase entrance selectivity, and (2) increase the amount of opportunities to learn not only in content areas but also in pedagogical methods. While entrance selectivity may be a sensitive subject, the authors contend that increasing the quality of teachers will ultimately increase the quality of education.

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Tools for Conceptualizing and Selecting Appropriate Teacher Education Theories and Initiatives In an effort to a guide policy makers, researchers, and practitioners in the conceptualization and selection processes of which teacher education theories, programs, and methods are most appropriate, we draw from two models that help position teacher education based upon needs, circumstances, and contexts. The first is the Tai-Ji Model for Teacher Education Reform (see Figs. 2(a) and (b)) and the second is the CITE Theoretical Compass (see Fig. 3). Both were conceptualized to examine comparative, international, and development education phenomena and have been adapted to teacher education. Drawing from the works of Jacob and colleagues in previous works (Jacob & Cheng, 2005; Cheng, Jacob, & Chen, 2011), the Tai-Ji Model for Teacher Education Reform enables policy makers and practitioners to select one or more teacher education initiatives (e.g., teacher education program, teaching method, assessment criteria, etc.) based upon the purpose and circumstances. This model is based on a rich history that dates back more than 4,000 years and emphasizes the need for harmony, stability, organization, while at the same time remaining flexible enough to adapt to continually hanging circumstances. Jacob and Cheng (2005, pp. 247 248) note how the Tai-Ji framework draws from the Tai-Ji symbol [which] depicts a circle that represents the universe; within it is a rotating image of two water drop-like shapes. The black (Yin) and white (Yang) seem to feed off each other. As one gets larger the other gets smaller, and as one gets smaller the other increases in size, always maintaining a balance. In essence, the Tai-Ji orientation asserts that the only certainty within this framework is change and the need to adapt, or counterbalance, those changes.

The Tai-Ji framework permits policy makers, government planners, researchers, and education practitioners to see teacher education reform efforts in non-linear and non-traditional viewpoints, while at the same time recognizing that alternative approaches exist and may be more appropriate depending on comparative and international education contexts. The Tai-Ji Model supports an eclectic approach to teacher education reforms in that one, two, or several theoretical approaches may be appropriate for a given situation, depending on the context and nature of the teacher education initiative being conducted. Different or even multiple theoretical approaches may be appropriate. If a specific teacher education reform

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(a) Tai-Ji Model for Teacher Education Reform. (b) Tai-Ji Model for the Improvement of Quality in Teacher Education Reform.

approach is decided upon, it may be important to supplement this with additional approaches, thus maximizing the effect of synergistic teacher education methods, strategies, and assessment techniques. The Comparative and International Teacher Education (CITE) Theoretical Compass enables scholars and practitioners to select an appropriate theory (or set of theories) that can guide their teacher education

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Comparative and International Teacher Education Theoretical Compass.

efforts. The compass is centered around a globe, which emphasizes “the need for individuals to ground their [international teacher education] work in a theory or set of theories depending on the [strategy,] situation, circumstance, need, and context” (Weidman & Jacob, 2011, p. 14). The CITE Theoretical Compass can be used for theory selection or theory generation. Deciding which theoretical framework is necessary to guide a teacher education study, reform effort, or policy initiative, hinges upon the focus of the respective topic. And like the Tai-Ji Model for Teacher Education Reform, the CITE Theoretical Compass suggests an eclectic approach is often best [in teacher education theory selection] because it affords individuals with the needed flexibility to select or create a theory that meets the needs of the researcher, policy maker, or education practitioner. Charting the theoretical course is no easy task for many researchers. Graduate students often struggle to select one or more theories to guide their dissertation research. Experienced scholars may also struggle to build appropriate frameworks. Education programs or policies need periodic evaluations and theory can help guide the evaluation process. Theoretical perspectives may also provide a justification or a rationale for education practices. (p. 14)

Following the work of Rolland G. Paulston (1994), we argue that those involved with teacher education research, program development, and policy

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reform efforts should situate themselves within a social cartographic location (or locations if appropriate) to “generate an awareness of how their own perspectives influence the conclusions that might be drawn or recommendations that might be made” (p. 15).

CONCLUSION Teacher preparation is a key element in furthering the development of nations through the education of their populations throughout the lifecycle. What we have attempted to show in this chapter is that teacher education is carried out through a very complex system of structures and activities that are very much a function of the local, national, and global contexts in which they occur. We have discussed recent manifestations of the burgeoning comparative and international education literature in an effort to identify common patterns and organizing principles, both structural and conceptual. It is our hope that this framing work might be useful not only to scholars but also to policy makers and practitioners as they strive to build effective teacher education programs and systems. We invite our readers to employ the conceptions discussed to build relevant “theoretical compasses” to guide their journeys.

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THE SCHOOLING EFFECT ON NEUROCOGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT: IMPLICATIONS OF A NEW SCIENTIFIC FRONTIER FOR COMPARATIVE EDUCATION Daniel Salinas and David P. Baker ABSTRACT Recent developments in neuroscience have generated great expectations in the education world globally. However, building a bridge between brain science and education has been hard. Educational researchers and practitioners more often than not hold unrealistic images of neuroscience, some naively positive and others blindly negative. Neuroscientist looking at how the brain reacts and changes during mental tasks involving reading or mathematics usually discuss education as some constant and undifferentiated “social environment” of the brain, either assuming it to be a “black box” or evoking an image of perfect schooling and full access to it. In this review, we claim that a more productive and realistic relationship between neuroscience and the comparative study of education can be thought about in terms of the hypothesis that formal education is having

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 25, 147 165 Copyright r 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-367920140000025013

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a significant role in the cognitive and neurological development of human populations around the world. We review research that supports this hypothesis and implications for future studies. Keywords: Neuroscience; cognitive development; schooling effects; brain plasticity; literacy; numeracy

The recent developments in neuroscience, and their applications to cognition, are opening new frontiers in the scientific knowledge of the way we perceive, emote, learn, think, communicate, educate, and socially construct the world we live in. Not only the biological and medical fields but also the behavioral and social sciences are rethinking a wide range of problems in light of new discoveries about the brain. These advancements are the result of the combination of groundbreaking technological developments (the brain-imaging techniques that allowed us, for the first time in history, to observe the human brain in action) with an interdisciplinary intellectual effort that gathered neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists, evolutionary anthropologists, and philosophers of language and consciousness into what today is the field of “cognitive science” (Bennett, Dennett, Hacker, & Searl, 2007; Miller, 2003). For cognitive neuroscientists, understanding how education affects neural and cognitive development is a key ongoing research agenda. Similarly, the comparative international study of education has grown steadily during the lasts decades. Key source of dynamism in the field has been the growing availability of extensive sources of data on students and their academic performance, resources and processes in classrooms and schools, and also about the differences and similarities in school systems and education policies implemented across the world. These new sources of comparative data, combined with an effective integration of recent theoretical and methodological developments in the social sciences, have allowed new generations of comparative education scholars to introduce renewed perspectives and insights into the fundamental questions of the field (e.g., Larsen, 2010; Wiseman & Baker, 2006). What are the effects of the expansion of schooling for individuals and populations around the world is among those questions that have received renewed interest. In this chapter we review and expand these literatures by asking how research on comparative education and cognitive neuroscience might be relevant to one another. We believe that there is much to offer from a

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synergy between these two fields of inquiry, but moving forward will require a more realistic view of each by the other than what exists today. When cognitive neuroscientists discuss education as part of the “social environment” of the developing brain, they either assume it to be a “black box,” without looking at the processes occurring inside the classroom or the school, or they evoke a taken-for-granted image of perfect schooling and full access to it. For comparative education scholars who have systematically explored the historical contingencies of schooling around the world this is an obvious and unnecessary reductionism. Even today, despite decades of persistent expansion and investment in education quality, schools are not available for a large part of the world population, and thus the benefits of quality schooling are unevenly distributed. Currently about 774 million adults are illiterate, two thirds of which are women (UNESCO, 2011). Comparative education research on the scope of education change around the world is necessary to contextualize cognitive neuroscience findings within a realistic educational and social framework. At the same time, educational researchers and practitioners more often than not hold unrealistic images of neuroscience, some naively positive and others blindly negative. In education, early enthusiasm led many to believe that neuroscience would quickly provide teachers with more effective and straightforward techniques for classroom instruction, and not surprisingly substantial amount of educational literature has asked how neuroscience can provide direct orientations to improve the practices of teachers in the classroom (Hall, 2005). While the anticipation is legitimate, the building of a solid “bridge” between neuroscience and educational practice has not been so simple (Baars & Gage, 2010; Bruer, 1997; Mayer, 1998). Many have warned the education community of the danger of pseudo-neuroscience or “neuro-mythologies,” such as those about “leftand right-brained” students or “10% of brain usage,” contained in educational programs that claimed to be brain-based without real scientific support (Geake, 2008). An emergent field that some have called “educational neuroscience,” attempting to produce more rigorous links among neural, cognitive and education processes is instead a promising recent outcome (McCandliss, 2010). Part of the current challenge is to conceptualize the potential relationship between the two disciplines in a more complementary way instead of the unrealistic image that neuroscience can onedirectionally provide easy-to-follow recipes for educational practice. A “two-way street,” in which educational research and cognitive neuroscience reciprocally provide problems, theories and methods is a better conceptualization (De Smedt, Ansari, Grabner, & Hannula, 2010).

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In a previous paper, we have argued that the relationship between neuroscience and education can be thought about in terms of the expanded role of schooling in the neurocognitive development of individuals in contemporary society (Baker, Salinas, & Eslinger, 2012). Neuroscience research supports the hypothesis that academic training of the kind provided by schools expands not only the complexity of the cognitive “software” that individuals use to process information and make decisions but also the “hardware” of brain connections that is the neurological basis of our mental processes. While the acquisition of speech and a basic sense of quantity occurs in most people before the age of five as part of normal social interaction, development of reading and higher mathematical abilities does not occur spontaneously and requires the kind of formal training received in schools. Literacy and numeracy acquisition in turn expands domaingeneral cognitive capabilities (e.g., information gathering, reasoning, decision making skills, etc.), which are associated with a range of positive individual adult outcomes (Ardila et al., 2010; Ceci, 1991; Heckman, 2007; Heckman, Stixrud, & Urzua, 2006; Ross & Mirowsky, 1999; SmithGreenaway, 2013). Further, research on brain plasticity and training effects suggests that these effects of schooling on cognitive development have specific correlates on increased neural networks and structures (e.g., Draganski et al., 2004, 2006; Maguire et al., 2000; Maguire, Woollett, & Spiers, 2006; Taubert et al., 2010). Yet the availability and quality of schooling cannot be taken for granted as a constant characteristic of the social environment of the brain. Comparative education and cognitive neuroscience can thus combine their efforts to enhance our understanding of actual and potential benefits of quality schooling around the world, as well as to assess the policy challenges that lay ahead. We begin by briefly summarizing some findings in comparative education and related studies that are most salient for neuroscience to consider. This is followed by a more detailed review of the major trends in neuroscience that offer new scientific opportunities for comparative education research.

A SKETCH OF WHAT COMPARATIVE EDUCATION OFFERS TO NEUROSCIENCE Two conclusions of comparative education research are most essential for potential research linkages between schooling and cognition and

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neuro-development. The first is that schooling is increasingly the most salient factor in many social aspects of individual and social life in contemporary societies, as shown by the schooling effects literature. The second is that contemporary schooling is, contrary to the naı¨ ve popular conception, significantly more cognitive in its approach to learning and curricular development compared with previous historical periods. Combined, these comparative education literatures provide a relevant socio-educational context for the hypothesis that formal education is having a significant influence in the cognitive and neurological development of human populations around the world. A long-standing, robust interdisciplinary literature on schooling effects demonstrates that educational attainment is an increasingly salient predictor of a wide set of indicators of individual well-being, including adult income and occupational status, physical and mental health, longevity, political participation and social integration, and others (e.g., Baker, 2014; Bills, 2003; Kingston, Hubbard, Lapp, Schroeder, & Wilson, 2003; Montez et al., 2012; Pallas, 2000). As Hout (2012) writes in his review of research for the United States, more educated individuals “find better jobs, earn more money, and suffer less unemployment (…). They also live more stable family lives, enjoy better health, and live longer. They commit fewer crimes and participate more in civic life.” In developing countries, even very few years of schooling can be a significant predictor of adult wellbeing (Psacharopoulos, 1994). This prominent role of formal education is a quite distinctive feature of contemporary society. More precisely, it was the emergent historical outcome of a 150-years old process of institutional change that some have called the “education revolution” (e.g., Arum & Beattie, 2000; Meyer, 1977; Parsons, 1977, 1971). In every known pre-modern society and even in the early modern period, the kind of formal academic training that we take-for-granted today as the basic “grammar of schooling” was available only for restricted elites. The persistent process of educational expansion started in the 19th century with the emergence of compulsory mass public schooling in Europe and the United States, and it was further implemented during the second half of the 20th century when expansion became a phenomenon of global reach that included the developing South (Benavot, Resnik, & Corrales, 2006). The effects of schooling on individuals and society can be understood as resulting from a complex series of cultural, economic, political, and cognitive mechanisms (Meyer, 1977). For the purpose of this chapter, key ones to consider are the cultural and the cognitive mechanisms. In its cultural

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dimension, the effects of schooling are the socially constructed result of a world in which education and schools are represented and perceived as a good thing, and often as a policy “panacea” or solution for almost any conceivable social ill (Hannum & Buchmann, 2005). Advanced educational institutions such as universities possess a cultural authority as the places where scientific knowledge is legitimately created, transmitted, and certified, thus contributing to social progress thorough research, technological development, and the expert training of new generations (Frank & Meyer, 2007; Geiger, 2004). Schools at all levels are also widely regarded as agents for the advancement of social justice and democracy, meant to provide equal opportunities to learn to every child, and to develop in each of them the personal skills needed to grow up as free adults able to choose the kinds of lives they have reason to value (Sen, 1999; Walker & Unterhalter, 2007). This cultural definition of education as an institution for the advancement of science, progress, social justice, and democracy has its most obvious expression in the establishment of education as a human right of every child by an ever-growing number of national constitutions around the world and by international declarations of international organizations such as the United Nations (UNESCO, 2000). Of course, a highly sophisticated intellectual tradition of critical thinking about modern schooling and its international diffusion highlights the limits of a utopian or maximalist view of education (e.g., Bowles & Gintis, 1976; Collins, 1979; Freire, 2000 [1968]). Yet the fact that education keeps expanding even in the face of persistent inequalities and criticisms reveals with even more strength the extent to which schools and universities are, in the words of Stevens et al. (2008), socially perceived as a “temple” where knowledge is legitimated and growing numbers of symbolically charged credentials are produced and allocated for the expected benefit of individuals and society as a whole, conditioning social interaction and outcomes. In addition to being the result of widely institutionalized normative preferences, the schooling effects are the result of pragmatic mechanisms, most importantly, schools are a particularly effective cognitive treatment that enhances a range of individual skills, including the ability to process information and to perform critical thinking. The effect of education on individual cognitive performance is a well-established finding in psychology (Ceci, 1991). Supporting this finding is a long international tradition of studies based on the comparison illiterate and literate subjects that goes back to the early studies of Russian scholars like Vygotski and Luria, and includes contemporary studies in developing countries (Stevenson, Chen, & Booth, 1990; Stevenson & Chuansheng, 1989). For example, Peters, Baker,

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Dieckmann, Leon, and Collins (2010) compared a sample of schooled and unschooled subsistence-level farmers in Ghana and found that schoolenhanced intellectual ability (as measured through assessments on decision making and novel problem solving about health, child rearing, and other everyday activities) was the key explanatory factor of the association between education and adult health. At the population level, the cumulative cognitive impact of mass education is revealed by the secular trend of rising fluid IQ-scores known as the “Flynn effect” (Flynn, 1996, 1987, 1984). It is likely that a major underlying cause of the Flynn effect is the expansion of access to formal education and the intensification of its curricular cognitive demand over the twentieth century (Baker, Leon, Smith Greenway, Collins, & Movit, 2011; Blair, Gamson, Thorne, & Baker, 2005). Research analyzing education policy documents and also instructional materials such as textbooks for several countries and long periods of time reveals that educational institutions are taking an increasingly more cognitive approach to learning and curricular development (Baker et al., 2010). For example, McEneaney (2003) analyzed a sample of science and math textbooks from 57 countries and found that primary school materials depicted students as active learners, able of performing increasingly complex scientific and mathematic activities. Similarly, Bromley and colleagues (Bromley, Meyer, & Ramirez, 2011; Bromley, Meyer, & Ramirez, 2012) conducted a content analysis of a collection of over 400 social science and civics textbooks published in about 70 countries between 1970 and 2008 revealed an increased emphasis on “student-centrism,” human rights, environmentalism. Contemporary schooling provides a new institutional and developmental context for the individual. The extent to which this institutional environment is organizationally implemented in each local setting (e.g., nation, community) is a key empirical variable that must be taken into account by neuroscience studies looking at how the brain and mind interact with its social and educational context.

A SKETCH OF WHAT THE COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE OFFERS TO COMPARATIVE EDUCATION The neuroscience revolution has explored aspects of the brain from basic molecular chemistry to theory of the mind, and among the range are

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several advances that are likely to lead to a bridge between neuroscience and research about education. These include the notions of structural plasticity and training effects, the neuroscience of literacy and numeracy, and the notion of education as a neurocognitive reserve.

The Brain: Structural Plasticity and Cognitive Functions In the 17th century, Descartes asked about the brain bases of consciousness and concluded that the pineal gland was the “seat of the Soul” a famous error that, coming from such a distinguished source, is commonly referred to illustrate the true mystery that the human brain has been across the centuries (Lokhorst, 2011). The introduction of brain-imaging technologies in the 1970s changed overnight our ability to observe the structural and functional complexity of the human brain. Up to that point, experimentation with animals and invasive techniques such as brain lesion studies were among the very limited set of tools available for scientists to study the relationships between the brain and the mind. Lesion studies originated the first theories of localization of cognitive functions, such as those formulated by Broca and Wernicke who, through autopsies in the 19th century, found that localized brain damages were related to specific language functional deficits. This work was important and even today the so-called “Broca’s area” in the frontal region of the left hemisphere is considered a key part of the language region (Baars & Gage, 2010). However, lesion studies did not allow for experimental designs, therefore providing limited sources of evidence. Brain-imaging techniques such as the positron emission tomography (PET) scan and the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provided for the first time in history a non-invasive way to observe the human brain during normal activity. These techniques measure local changes in metabolism and blood circulation (due to oxygen consumption) that occur during brain cellular (neural) activity. Indeed, every time we perform a mental or cognitive task such as speaking, reading, or calculating, neural activation occurs in highly localized areas and interconnected networks of the brain. In fMRI studies, the basic measure of brain activation is the blood oxygen level-dependent or BOLD signal. The colorful brain images that we often find in contemporary mass media or other sources are reporting average BOLD signals across individuals, represented onto a standardized anatomical space (Raichle, 2006). These technical developments provided a propitious context that resulted in the birth of cognitive neuroscience as an interdisciplinary field that combines the new imaging

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techniques with the experimental methodologies and concepts of cognitive psychology to analyze how brain activity supports mental or cognitive processes (Raichle, 2006). In thinking about the neuroscience revolution it is important to have in mind the distinction between neurological evidence about the brain (e.g., brain imaging) and behavioral evidence about cognitive performance (e.g., measures such test performance, reaction time and accuracy of responses to stimulus, behavioral indicators, facial expressions, etc.). Although we are interested in the relationship between brain structures and cognitive functions, they are different levels of analysis that should not be confused. In terms of its macrostructure, the human brain is composed of two symmetrical hemispheres connected by a thick band of nerve fiber called the corpus callosum. Each hemisphere is divided into four “lobes” associated with particular tasks: the frontal lobe with planning and action, the parietal lobe with sensation and spatial processing, the occipital lobe with vision, and the temporal with hearing, memory, and object recognition. Higher order cognitive functions such as vision, language, or memory are located in the cerebral cortex, which is about 2 to 4 millimeters thick. Other important parts of the brain are the hippocampus, related with memory formation, the basal ganglia, related to movement, the limbic system, related to emotion, and the cerebellum, which aids in motor control. At a micro-level, the brain is composed of about 100 billion neurons and trillions of connections or synapses. Growth through formation of new synaptic connections between neurons, or synaptogenesis, is the main mechanism of brain development; other important developmental mechanisms are pruning (reduction of inefficient synapses) or myelinization (protection of efficient synapses). There are critical periods for brain development, more noticeably early childhood (5 years of below), but brain development continues until early adulthood, if not longer, as shown by a variety of studies (Duncan, Burgess, & Emslie, 1995; Duncan, Emslie, Williams, Johnson, & Freer, 1996; Eslinger, Flaherty-Craig, & Benton, 2004; Shallice & Burgess, 1991; Waltz et al., 1999). Together with behavioral studies showing early windows of opportunity for cognitive development (e.g., Diamond & Lee, 2011; Heckman, 2007; Heckman et al., 2006), this research has provided support for global interventions promoting early childhood education. A neuroscience concept that is essential for education is that even after childhood the brain retains a degree of plasticity, this is, the physical structure and organization of the brain can change as a result of training and learning or in response to environmental changes.

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While some of the older evidence on this topic was based on animal studies (e.g., Hubel & Wiesel, 1962; Sperry, Gazzaniga, & Bogen, 1969; Quartz & Sejnowski, 1997), some the most important recent studies on plasticity have been conducted with such unusual subjects as taxi drivers, or whole body balancers. For example, one study analyzed MRI scans of the brains of licensed London taxi drivers and found that, on average, their posterior hippocampus was significantly larger than those of control non-taxi drivers, and that hippocampus volume correlated with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver (Maguire et al., 2000). These findings suggest that this brain region “stores a spatial representation of the environment and can expand regionally to accommodate elaboration of this representation in people with a high dependence on navigational skills” (p. 4398). In a following study aimed to control for confounding factors (Maguire et al., 2006), licensed London taxi drivers were compared with bus drivers matched for driving experience and level of stress, but who followed a constrained set of routes, and found that taxi drivers had greater gray matter volume in the mid-posterior hippocampi. Also, taxi drivers were found to perform better than non-taxi drivers in a test measuring navigational proficiency in entirely new environments, suggesting that brain development does not only support information storage but more general cognitive skills like planning and executing routes (Woollett & Maguire, 2010). In other words, the acquisition, use and permanent update of specialized knowledge required to navigate a big and intricate city such as London led to brain growth to support that function, and to the development of more general cognitive skills. Other studies reporting this kind of activity-dependent neural plasticity (a.k.a. stimulus-dependent, experience-dependent, or training-dependent effects) are those anatomical changes (i.e., gray matter volume increases) in the auditory cortex among skilled musicians (Pantev et al., 1998), in the cortical areas associated with processing and storage of visual motion information among jugglers (Draganski et al., 2004), in posterior and lateral parietal cortex and posterior hippocampus among medical students (Draganski et al., 2006), and in frontal and parietal cortical areas among whole body balancers (Taubert et al., 2010). Given this evidence on training effects and brain plasticity, the question arises of what is the specific role or effect of schooling in the environment of stimulation or interaction that shape the development of the adult brain. This question is addressed by studies of literacy and numeracy acquisition.

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Literacy and Reading The basic findings of the neuroscience of language and literacy acquisition can be summarized as follows. The development of language was a fundamental event in human evolution as it allowed a new level of complexity in communication and cognitive processing. Normal contemporary humans are born with a genetic predisposition to acquire language through social interaction in the early years of life. Particularly, the capacity to speak and understand speech is actualized spontaneously as children grow up in interaction with the social environment without necessity of formal training. Many brain regions support language processing, most noticeably the Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas above mentioned. Yet literacy, on the other hand, is a more recent cultural development and human evolution has provided no genetic predisposition to read or write. The acquisition of basic literacy and of the more advanced intellectual abilities enabled through written communication one of the functions of schooling in contemporary societies is thus a primary research area for neuroscience with important implications for comparative education. Because reading is not genetically wired or natural, there is no single part of the brain which by itself does or is in charge of reading. Instead, the reading brain is a network that borrows from and builds upon three specific cortical regions with specialized visual, auditory, and semantic functions. First, reading requires mapping visual information (e.g., distinguishing the shape of letters), which is responsibility of the so-called orthographic system; second, it requires processing the sounds of letters and words, a task performed in the areas of the phonological system; third, reading requires understanding the meaning of words and phrases, which is responsibility of the semantic system (Brem et al., 2010; James, 2010; Turkeltaub et al., 2003). Comparisons of the brain anatomy and activation patterns of literate and illiterate adults are a basic research methodology to study the development of this “reading network.” A recent example is Carreiras et al. (2009), who took advantage of the “natural experiment” setting opened by the reintegration into mainstream Colombian society of a sizable number of adults who were former members of political guerrilla groups and had spent decades fighting clandestinely with no access to formal education. A sample of these returning illiterates were in their early twenties and took part in a literacy program that taught them to read and write, turning them into late-literates. This group was compared with a carefully matched

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sample of illiterates from the same returning group who had not yet started the literacy program. Using a voxel-based-morphometry (VBM) imaging technique, Carreiras and his colleagues found evidence of significant differences in the brain structure of late-literates and illiterates. First, compared with illiterates, late-literates had more gray matter in five posterior regions of the brain1 that are part of the neural pathways that supports reading activity in normal adults, also known as the “reading network” (Turkeltaub, Gareau, Flowers, Zeffiro, & Eden, 2003). They also found increased amounts of white matter in the splenium, a region of the corpus callosum that usually presents damages in patients with pure alexia, a kind of reading disorder of individuals who can only read letter-by-letter despite otherwise normal language functions (Damasio & Damasio, 1983; Montant & Behrmann, 2000). Previous studies had also found that learning to read and write produced anatomic growth in parietal structures of the corpus callosum (Castro-Caldas et al., 1999). Carreiras et al. (2009) study also explored functional patterns in normal adults who had learnt to read early in their lives (or early-literates), finding that structural enhancements in the reading networks were consistently associated with activation patterns in these regions, suggesting a connection between structural plasticity and functional connectivity. Consistently, studies comparing literate and illiterate individuals in their ability to repeat real words and pseudowords (a task that captures the interaction between oral and written-orthographic dimensions of language) show that while both groups perform similarly in repeating real words, literates perform better in repeating pseudowords, suggesting that literacy acquisition during childhood influences the functional organization of the adult brain (CastroCaldas, Petersson, Reis, Stone-Elander, & Ingvar, 1998). In sum, although links between synaptic density and improved learning is still a matter of research and debate (Hall, 2005; OECD, 2008), this corpus of studies suggest that learning to read, and the continuous practice of reading over the life course, leads to the development and maintenance of specific brain structures or networks to support the cognitive functions associated with reading.

NUMERACY AND MATHEMATICS The acquisition of numeracy that is, the basic understanding of the concept of quantity and the skill to use numbers to perform more complex

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mathematical calculations is another area of cognitive neuroscience with important implications for comparative education. Just as with oral language or speech, a basic appreciation of quantity is developed in normal humans before 5 years of age without any kind of formal training. Yet, the performance of more complex calculations and number processing does require formal mathematical training of the kind routinely offered in schools. Neuroscience studies show that the brain is reorganized through formal training in mathematics. Studies on numeracy postulate the existence of a basic underlying representation or cognitive map called the number line, which is a onedimensional continuum through which we compare quantities. For example, a basic kind of study on numeracy asks subjects to determine which one of two numbers is larger and measuring the reaction time (time between stimulus and response in milliseconds). Studies consistently find a “distance effect”: the farther apart two digits or quantities are in the number line, the larger is the reaction time required for processing a response (Posner & Rothbart, 2006). Studies show that the perception and processing of numbers is associated with a series of specific cognitive tasks supported by highly localized brain areas. For example, Dehaene and Cohen (1997) reports that when numbers are presented to subjects, the visual encoding of numbers activates areas in the right occipital lobe of the brain, whereas the comparison between them activates regions in the right (and to a lesser degree left) parietal lobe. Furthermore, the presentation of numbers to the subjects as Arabic digits (1, 2, 3, etc.) and as spelled words (one, two, three, etc.) reveals different activation patterns. In spelled words activation is found in the left occipital lobe that literacy studies have found supports the visual word form area. A number of brain networks supporting arithmetic processing have been identified in imaging studies (Butterworth, Varma, & Laurillard, 2011; De Smedt et al., 2010; Ischebeck, Zamarian, Egger, Schocke, & Delazer, 2007). Studies on arithmetic processing have emphasized the difference between brain and cognitive processes involved in learning mathematics tasks for the first time and mechanically using pre-learned formulas to solve familiar problems. For example, Ischebeck et al. (2007) exposed adult individuals with a series of repeated multiplication problems and found that after approximately eight repetitions the patterns of activation changed, due to training, from fronto-parietal areas involved in reasoning toward temporo-parietal regions such as the left angular gyrus involved in memory recollection.

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Schooling and the Brain and Cognitive “Reserve” The role of education is also critical in the literature about brain and cognitive reserve. The notion of reserve against brain damage is an explanation to the “repeated observation that there does not appear to be a direct relationship between the degree of brain pathology or brain damage and the clinical manifestation of that damages” (Stern, 2002, p. 448). In other words, people suffering similar measured levels of brain damage (as a result, e.g., of strokes, head traumas, or diseases such as advanced Alzheimer) present very different functional impairment outcomes. Reserve is the hypothesized mediating factor between degree of brain damage and its outcome, and it has two components. First, passive models of reserve show there is individual variation in the “hardware” or neural capacity of the brain to resist damage, for example, through differences in measured brain size or synapse count. On the other hand, active models of reserve show that individuals differ in their “software” or mental capacity to react to brain damage through the more efficient use of brain networks or cognitive strategies, or the recruitment of alternative brain networks. In this context, studies are showing that educational attainment is associated with increases in brain and cognitive capacity. As a result, at equal levels of brain damage, the resulting clinical or functional impairments of individuals with higher educational attainment are lower. For example, studies of dementia find that patients with more years of education need to present higher levels of damage (parietotemporal flow deficit in Stern, Alexander, Prohovnik, & Mayeux, 1992; reduced metabolism in prefrontal, premotor and left superior parietal association areas in Alexander et al., 1997) in order to reach similar clinical level of dementia severity. Education provides individuals both with better reserve of functional “softwares” of cognitive strategies and paradigms, and with a more expanded and plastic brain “hardware” of neural networks to prevent from the consequences of brain disease and damage.

CONCLUSION What changes, and why, when developing societies establish compulsory public schooling so that children and young people spend most of their time attending an external institution where they are subject to new rules

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and to a systematic academic program that includes reading, writing, and mathematics? The question is at the heart of comparative education as a research field. In this chapter we have attempted to show how the schooling effects question can be informed by research in cognitive neuroscience. We have argued that recent neuroscience studies are opening new frontiers in our knowledge about how education works and, by extension, about the consequences of educational expansion around the world. Most basically, these studies show that educational training involved in literacy and numeracy acquisition produces measurable changes in the brain structures that in turn enable functional improvements in adult cognitive performance. For developing countries that still have considerable illiterate population or that are just in the process of expansion educational access to most of their population, these findings illuminate potential changes to come. They also suggest the importance of generating more research not only monitoring the process of educational expansion but also looking at the consequences of the process in developing countries.

NOTE 1. Gray-matter increases were identified in bilateral dorso-occipital areas (associated with visual processing), left supramarginal and superior temporal areas (associated with phonological processes) and in left supramarginal superior temporal areas (associated with semantic processing).

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PART IV RESEARCH-TO-PRACTICE

REFORMING TEACHER EDUCATION THROUGH LOCALIZATIONINTERNATIONALIZATION: ANALYZING THE IMPERATIVES IN SINGAPORE Rita Zamzamah Nazeer-Ikeda ABSTRACT Using Singapore as a case study, this chapter analyzes how the internationalization of teacher education can take place amidst strong national obligations. It discusses qualitative and quantitative data from a study that sought out the features, strategies, and expected outcomes of internationalization in Singapore. Institutional key actors (i.e., institutional leaders, faculty members, administrative staff, and student teachers) from Singapore’s sole teacher education institution, the National Institute of Education, participated in this study. Findings reveal that the internationalization of teacher education is perceived to be important for its expected academic, economic, sociocultural,

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and political benefits. However, due to teacher education’s strong national obligations, the integration of international dimensions is limited and guided by local priorities. As a result, a hybridized form of localization and internationalization can be seen in Singapore’s teacher education. This is a significant finding as teacher education traditionally known to be nationally local is now interested to incorporate internationalized perspectives. Keywords: Teacher education; higher education; internationalization; localization; Singapore

In light of these (current) cultural, political, economic, technological, and demographic shifts, and of the range of research that points to the power of both global and local to shape the work, supports, and discourses of teaching, we need to ask questions about the ways global and local interact in relation to teaching and teacher education internationally. Paine and Zeichner (2012, p. 573)

Globalization has brought about an increased connectedness among nation-states. It has widened the market from local to global, altering financial and industrial production as well as consumption patterns. Consequently, economic competitiveness that was once based on geographically fixed natural resources or cheap labor has shifted to intangible technical innovations and the application of knowledge. The end of the 20th century hence witnessed the emergence of the knowledge economy where “knowledge is created, acquired, transmitted, and used more effectively by individuals, enterprises, organizations, and communities to promote economic and social development” (World Bank, 2003, p. 1). Education systems have inevitably been implicated and entrusted to produce learners who are equipped with specific knowledge and skills that can feed into the global economy of the 21st century. These extend beyond mastery of content to the acquisition of soft skills that include communication, initiative, resilience and group dynamics (Gopinathan et. al., 2008). Such an expectation has provoked responses of reforms in the education sector, accelerating change even in the conservative teacher education sub-sector. Increasingly, teacher education is being pressured to

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move from its nationally localized form to one that strives to include internationalized perspectives (Quezada, 2012). This trend has already been observed in higher education, where internationalization can be seen as a strategy “for higher education (institutions) to prepare individuals for engagement in a globalized world” (Altbach, Reisberg, & Rumbley, 2009, p. 24). Yet, teacher education is unique in that although it is a subsidiary of higher education, unlike internationalization a` la higher education, the imperatives for internationalizing teacher education hold deeper considerations to its professional and national obligations. This is because traditionally and contemporarily, teacher education plays an important role in nation building. It prepares “labor for participation in its economy and … citizens to participate in the polity” (Olmos & Torres, 2009, p. 73). In addition, teacher education also typically supports the conservation and propagation of culture and traditions that in turn shape national identity. It is not surprising then that the two terms “internationalization” and “teacher education” do not appear to have a direct relationship until very recently. Educational borrowing for development (Fraser, 1964) was historically the closest teacher education had been to looking beyond national borders but the rationales, dimensions and strategies differed from the internationalization we now see. Singapore is a case in point. The nation-state, which relies heavily on its human capital development for economic growth, has a nationalized education system. The fact that this system is supervised by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and has only one teacher education institution that trains all the teachers who are serving or are intending to serve in its 356 public schools (Ministry of Education, Singapore, 2012) is a strong signal of this. Yet, Singapore’s education system is far from outdated, as one may deduce from its seemingly bureaucratic national structure (Dimmock & Goh, 2011). The nation-state has received many international accolades for having one of the world’s best-performing and progressive school systems (Barber & Mourshed, 2007; OECD, 2010), with students ranking very close to the top in global assessments such as Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). The central question is then, how does a system remain so nationally local but yet be internationally competitive? In line with this question, using Singapore as a case study, this chapter examines how the internationalization of teacher education can take place amidst strong national obligations.

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INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TEACHER EDUCATION It is only in recent years that discourses in comparative education connect contemporary “internationalization” and “teacher education.” Even so, teacher education policies remain largely nationally rather than internationally oriented, with teacher qualification requirements “still heavily dependent on national degree structures and regulations” (Jaritz, 2011, p. 7). In higher education, however, this trend of internationalization has been widely established and discussed, especially in the last few decades (or even centuries ago, according to Kehm & Teichler, 2007; Nybom, 2007; Teichler, 2004). This is because educational investments that support the global knowledge economy tend to circle around research and development, as well as technology, both of which have been concentrated in higher education (Robertson, 2005). This has been accompanied by streams of institutional and governmental policies that capitalize on global interdependence to produce the most desired form of higher education and thereafter, talent for the global market. It is thus useful to frame this discussion against the backdrop of internationalization of higher education, not only to recognize that teacher education is a subsidiary of higher education but also to situate the discussion within more established academic conversations on the internationalization of education. While comparisons between teacher education and higher education may not always be neatly characterized, parallels between these are very useful to set the framework for further analysis.

Parameters of Study This study has adopted Knight’s (2008) definition of internationalization of higher education. According to Knight, “(i)nternationalization at the national/sector/institutional levels is the process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of higher education at the institutional and national levels” (p. 21). This is often no longer seen as an option but has increasingly become an imperative for countries and institutions to be recognized and relevant in this globalized world. At the same time, although the motivation towards global relevance is widely shared, the rationales driving internationalization of higher education are wide and varied, and include socio-cultural,

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political, economic and academic rationales (de Wit, 2002), both at the national and institutional levels (Knight, 2008).1 Further, theorists of internationalization of higher education expound that the strategies of internationalization can be both “at home” and “abroad” (Knight, 2008; Ninnes & Hellste´n, 2005). Knight explains that “internationalization abroad” emphasizes on the mobility of people, programs, providers and/or projects across national borders. As opposed to this, “internationalization at home” does not involve actual movement. Rather, it refers to the incorporation of international dimensions into the home campus. It can include the integration of strategies within campus such as the infusion of internationalized perspectives in the curriculum. Fig. 1 captures the essence of Knight’s conceptualization of the internationalization of higher education by depicting its features (what it looks like), its rationales (why it is being pursued) and its strategies (how it is being implemented).

Internationalization of Higher Education

Features: Integration of international, intercultural and/or global dimensions

Strategies: May be 'at home' and/or 'abroad' (i.e. may or may not involve mobility of people, programs, providers and projects); Involvement of institutional and national initiatives

Rationales and Expected Outcomes: Academic Institution building International branding and profile Quality enhancement towards international standards Enhancing research and teaching Knowledge production Economic Economic growth and competitiveness Meeting labor market needs Income generation Socio-cultural Social/cultural development and mutual understanding Citizenship development Political Strategic alliances for institutional/ national/regional identity

Fig. 1.

Conceptualizing the Internationalization of Higher Education. Source: Developed by author, based on Knight (2008).

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Knight’s explanation has been useful in structuring the dimensions of this study and in shaping the discussion of this chapter. However, while Knight has made a significant contribution to understandings on the internationalization of higher education, her conceptualization of the phenomenon seems over-generalized without adequately capturing variations of internationalization within higher education. The concept as explained by Knight, albeit based on extensive research on higher education, does not sufficiently consider the situation of teacher education and its national inclinations. In addition, Knight’s framework appears to neglect the influences and motivations of other key actors (i.e. academic and non-academic staff, as well as students) in institutions. This consideration is important for the simple reason that if these key actors do not buy the idea of internationalization, institutional and national initiatives cannot be well implemented. This study acknowledges the inadequacies of the current framework and has modified it for the purpose of data collection to reflect the national obligations of teacher education and include the perspectives of institutional key actors (Table 1). Discussion in this chapter will then use empirical findings of this study to propose a framework (shown later as Fig. 3) that is specific to teacher education and that is built based on the opinions of multiple key actors. Table 1. Analytical Framework of Research Instruments. Internationalization of Singapore’s Teacher Education Dimensions Features

Rationales

Strategies

Components

Guiding questions for analysis

• Integration of • Given national obligations, how salient are internationalization programs the internationalization programs and and activities activities? • (relates to strategies) Do these programs and activities involve cross-border movement? • Why should internationalization be pursued • Expected outcomes of institutionally? internationalization (for the institution) • Beneficiaries of • Who are the perceived beneficiaries of internationalization internationalization? • Personal motivations to • What are the key motivations driving participate in individuals to participate in internationalization internationalization? • Key actors in promoting • How are the key actors involved in internationalization promoting internationalization?

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THE CASE OF SINGAPORE National Orientation of Singapore’s Teacher Education The Singapore government through the MOE “plays a dominant interventionist role in controlling and directing major decisions concerning higher education institutions” (Tan, 2006, p. 164). This stance extends to the whole education system at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. The National Institute of Education (NIE) is Singapore’s sole teacher education institution. It is structured to be part of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) but it maintains a very close relationship with MOE and schools. MOE is NIE’s primary (although not only) source of funds. A bulk of the funds goes to NIE’s initial teacher preparation programs. MOE fully sponsors the tuition of most student teachers in these programs and even remunerates them for a period of one or two years, according to their educational level and prior work experience. In return, upon graduation, these would-be teachers are obliged to stay in the profession for a varying number of years depending on the duration of their studies in NIE (Low, Lim, Chng, & Goh, 2011). In addition, the incumbent MOE’s Permanent Secretary is also always the chairperson of the NIE Council. Other members of the Council include some senior officials of MOE as well as those from other statutory boards of the government. “This has ensured generous and secure funding for NIE’s teaching and research. It has also enabled NIE to customize its program offerings to meet the Ministry’s requirements” (Chong & Gopinathan, 2008, p. 126). Besides supporting its financial needs, MOE is also “the source of overarching policies that inform the direction of NIE’s teacher education model, including the shaping of its programmes and research priorities” (National Institute of Education (NIE), 2009, p. 40). While some may conclude that MOE’s top-down approach appears to be conservative and a mere exertion of power, scholars who have delved into this argue against this misconception (Dimmock & Goh, 2011; Gopinathan, Wong, & Tang, 2008). Historical examinations have revealed that it is MOE which often instigates change through reform initiatives, contributing to the constant realignment of the country’s education system to the changing contextual demands. In addition, it has been recognized that the Ministry gives a considerable amount of autonomy to NIE in its policy implementation.

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International Student Teachers in NIE Singapore is officially promoting the internationalization of higher education both in its local universities as well as in its education hub, the Global Schoolhouse2 (Knight, 2011; Sidhu, Ho, & Yeoh, 2011). Interestingly but understandably, however, even with such a policy push, recruitment of international student teachers remains prudent in NIE. Fig. 2 shows that for the academic year 2010 2011, only 12 out of the 1027 student teachers in the diploma program (1.2%) are from the international community. This trend is observable across board, with 34 international student teachers (out of 1739) in the undergraduate program (2.0%); 101 (out of 1597) in the postgraduate diploma program (6.3%); 5 (out of 61) in the Master’s by research program (8.2%); 138 (out of 1835) in the Master’s by coursework program (7.5%) and 45 (out of 253) in the PhD and EdD programs (17.8%). All in all, with 335 international student teachers amidst the 6512 student teacher population, they make up approximately 5% of the student teachers at NIE. Evidently, despite the wider emphasis on the internationalization of higher education, teacher education remains largely reserved for the locals. How then, is Singapore incorporating the much needed internationalized perspectives in its teacher education? This makes for a compelling case for investigation.

Singaporean Students

International Students

1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Diploma

Undergraduate Postgraduate Diploma

Master’s by Research

Master’s by Coursework

PhD & EdD

Fig. 2. NIE Enrolment Figures by Program for the Academic Year 2010 2011. Source: Author’s compilation, based on data from Office of Teacher Education and Office of Graduate Studies and Professional Learning (NIE).

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Research Methods, Participants and Instruments The data for this study was gathered while conducting fieldwork for a total of eight weeks in October and November 2010, and March 2011. In order to approach this study with both breadth and depth, quantitative and qualitative perspectives were engaged. Through purposive sampling, in-depth semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 19 key participants3 representing institutional leaders (N = 5), faculty members (N = 6), administrative staff (N = 4) and student teachers (N = 4). The profiles of these respondents were varied to provide contrasts in independent variables gender, age group, ethnicity, nationality, department or field of specialization and number of years in NIE. Questionnaires were also administered with responses from 39 administrative staff and 365 student teachers4. Survey respondents for the administrative staff were randomly recruited from the various departments. For the student teachers, random sampling was carried out amongst those in their third year of the Bachelor’s program (N = 303) and second year of the Master’s program (N = 62). It was deemed that these two groups of students had sufficient exposure to the institution’s programs and were able to provide deeper insights on the internationalization process at NIE. Random distribution of the questionnaires had also allowed for a varied profile of the respondents that when collated, showed a fair distribution of characteristics (i.e. gender, age group, number of years in NIE). In addition to the interviews and questionnaires, print and digital documents (i.e. official websites, teacher education reports, newsletters and brochures) were also qualitatively analyzed to further establish records of the internationalization process. The combination of data from the interviews, questionnaires and documents provided for a better understanding of the phenomenon. It also allowed for sound triangulation to ensure that the data is internally consistent and the findings are reliable. The qualitative and quantitative methods were both administered during the same time frame and carried the same weight for interpretation and analysis. Components in the research instruments were aligned with this study’s objective and conceptual framework. These components were guided by three primary dimensions features (what it looks like), rationales (why it is being pursued) and strategies (how it is being implemented) of internationalization.5 Table 1 (shown earlier) depicts the components of these three

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dimensions, which also shaped the questions in the interview guide and in the questionnaires,6 as well as the codes for analysis. Data analysis for this study was done in two stages in accordance to Creswell and Clark’s (2011) framework for convergent parallel design for mixed-methods studies. Stage one processed the qualitative and quantitative data separately, by using the analytical tools that were appropriate for the respective methods (i.e. coding and categorizing of qualitative responses; statistical analysis of survey responses using SPSS). Stage two then merged the datasets to be compared, contrasted and synthesized into emerging themes.

FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS The findings presented here are a combination of the quantitative results and qualitative narratives. It is essential to clarify that given the limited space, not all the interview narratives can be quoted as evidence here. However, the quotes here reflect common perceptions as expressed by more than a single respondent. In addition, of the many variables in each group of the quantitative component, only the ones that are statistically significant and/or substantially backed by qualitative narratives are highlighted.

Features and Strategies of Internationalization Evidence of internationalization can be found in varying degrees in the main features of Singapore’s teacher education. Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics of responses on a 1 5 point Likert scale to the question “How active do you think the following programs and activities are at NIE?” The mean scores to this question ranged from 2.59 to 3.82. This shows that the respondents perceived the internationalization programs and activities to be somewhat active, although some are more active than others. The sub-sections that follow present the data according to the themes that emerged (i.e. recruitment, curriculum, structure, accreditation and standards). Recruitment of International Faculty and International Student Teachers Although the respondents of the survey acknowledged that there are international student teachers on campus (M = 3.37), these student teachers still

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Table 2.

Descriptive Statistics for Degree of Internationalization Programs and Activities (N = 401).a

Internationalization Program or Activity 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Opportunities for student exchanges (NIE to other schools) International collaborative degree programs Incorporating international dimensions into co-curricular activities Opportunities for cross-cultural training for staff Opportunities to participate in seminars by visiting scholars Opportunities for international research collaboration for staff International institutional agreements Incorporating international dimensions into curriculum Promoting a multicultural environment in campus Explicit integration of internationalization elements in documents Acceptance of international student teachers Striving to meet international standards in curriculum development Promoting institutional branding and international reputation Recruitment of full-time foreign staff (includes faculty)

Mean

SD

2.59 2.79 2.90 2.97 2.98 3.03 3.05 3.06 3.24 3.26 3.37 3.39 3.51 3.82

1.12 1.02 1.05 0.92 1.12 0.94 0.98 1.05 1.13 0.98 1.10 1.00 1.02 0.82

Notes: The response categories are coded as 1 = not active at all, 2 = not very active, 3 = somewhat active, 4 = active, 5 = highly active. The author acknowledges the limitation of such a numerical coding. For instance, a program coded as “4” does not necessarily mean that it is twice as active as a program coded as “2”. However, the values presented here are meant to be impressionistic and not evaluative. They serve to give an idea of the degree of activeness as perceived by the respondents. a Three outliers were deleted from the data set. One case had an extremely high Program Activity z-score (=4.81) while two cases had extremely high Expected Outcomes z-scores (=4.18; =3.48); results are presented as a whole sample, grouping the administrators and students together. In many components, there are no significant differences. However, Table 11 will later highlight and discuss the components where the differences between the groups are significant.

make up only 5% of the total population (Fig. 2). This is because the training of local student teachers remains at the core of NIE’s business. As faculty member, Professor Maniam,7 explained, NIE is unique in that it is a single institution. In practically any context that you see in East Asia, there are multiple providers … Here, we have one that basically feeds a singular school system. So the weight of the institution is very national. There’s hardly a foreigner in our teacher preparation classes …

Several reasons from the findings can further explain this situation. These include the need to meet demand for qualified teachers in local schools with the limited resources NIE has and the contextualized teacher education curriculum for Singapore.

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Singapore is perpetually faced with the shortage of qualified teachers in its local schools. As the sole teacher education institution, NIE bears the responsibility of meeting the demand for these teachers. Ms. De Souza, a member of the administrative staff, remarked, … (A)s NIE plays an important role in supplying teachers for the Singapore education system, NIE also has a national duty to first ensure that this primary objective is met.

Given the limited resources the institution has, much of these are focused on meeting its national duty. Faculty member, Professor Tay, explained, I think NIE is very keen to have that international dimension, just like any university would like. However, in terms of having international student teachers as part of our profile of students … the balance between that and places for the locals … we need to balance that quite nicely. NIE’s capacity is limited.

Even upon joining NIE, international student teachers do not always thrive in the environment. A point of disjuncture roots from the nationally contextualized teacher education curriculum in Singapore. Institutional leader, Professor Ang, explained, In the case of NIE, education is very much contextualized to the nation, the locality. So you really cannot train teachers from other places, especially for pre-service training. The values, skills and knowledge,… the desired outcomes of education are very different from one place to another. So you cannot say train teachers in Singapore to help you to achieve desired outcomes of education in Kuwait …

Difficulties were also observed when international student teachers graduate from NIE and teach in Singapore schools. Adjusting to the local system and transmitting local values to students in schools continue to be a challenge for the international teachers. Administrative staff, Mr. Teo, expounded, We have had problems before, making us more careful about foreign student recruitment. There are foreign teachers, whom upon graduation at NIE, cannot fit well into the local system. This can be something as small as incomprehensible accent to … something as big as differing value systems. Our education is at heart, about teaching our young to be good national and global citizens but … if the students cannot understand what the teachers are saying or cannot agree with the teachers’ values, then how is learning going to take place?

Apart from international student teachers, 17% of staff in NIE are expatriates with most being faculty members (National Institute of Education (NIE), 2011a). The institution’s human resource department does the

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recruitment of staff although the heads of the respective departments also participate in the screening. Professor Tay elaborated, NIE as a whole hires from all over the world. Just in my department, we have faculties from the Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong and China. We are also going to have another one who is American but a Hispanic Korean mix and has worked in the UK. So the faculty is quite international. The idea is because they have exposure in other systems. They have exposure in being trained in the US, in the UK, in Australia, in Japan and so on. Having an international profile of faculty also adds that dimension. This is important because in some of our courses, we look at things from comparative perspectives.

Curriculum As of many teacher education institutions, NIE’s curriculum includes general education (i.e. knowledge of Singapore’s values and cultures), specialist subjects (i.e. knowledge of the subject content that student teachers are going to teach), education foundation studies (i.e. knowledge of educational philosophy and principles), professional studies (i.e. knowledge of the practice, including planning, delivering and assessing) and the practicum (i.e. teaching experience in schools). Findings of this study show that elements of internationalization have been incorporated in some aspects of the curriculum but not necessarily systematically (M = 3.06 as perceived by survey respondents). Faculty member, Professor Lim, expounded, At present, in terms of incorporating internationalized perspectives into the curriculum, I don’t think there is a purposeful, systemic approach. It is still up to the various departments to work this out on their own. Some are more proactive than others … It also has got to do with the nature of their subjects.

Apart from specialist subjects, other aspects of the curriculum seem to focus more on localization. A student teacher, Charles, elaborated, The emphasis (of the curriculum) is on knowledge and content. I do not see how the syllabus helps to achieve cross-border understanding. Whether the syllabus prepares the students for living global, I’m not very sure because the national element is still very strong about being rooted, about teaching in Singapore, for Singapore …

NIE’s attempts to incorporate internationalized perspectives are not always apparent in the classrooms. However, beyond the classrooms, student teachers are involved in co-curricular activities. At the same time, given that the survey respondents indicated its relatively low degree (M = 2.90), it can be deduced that not many of the student teachers are involved in these

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activities. One that requires special mention though, is the Service Learning Club, which organizes international cooperation projects and activities. Professor Chan explained, We also have internationalization activities through student club efforts. For example, service learning has been effective. Student teachers involved in this club have been to many developing countries (for community work) … They gained the support from Singapore International Foundation in the past and now, National Youth Council provides some 50% (of funds) or so.

Another program that strives to inculcate internationalized perspectives is NTU’s International Student Exchange Programme or INSTEP (Nanyang Technological University (NTU), 2011). As a part of NTU, NIE student teachers are also eligible to partake in the program and study abroad. However, this program is only open to student teachers in the undergraduate program. Even so, the participation rate is low, with many of the survey respondents expressing that the program is not very active (M = 2.59). This, however, is about to change, as MOE has taken interest and steps to support the expansion of the student exchange program in NIE itself. Professor Lim shared, We are definitely preparing our student teachers to teach in Singapore schools but to a certain extent, we also want our students to have a global understanding of the global issues, global context, what’s happening in the world kind of things … NTU has this INSTEP, so some of our Bachelor’s students will take part in this program but when they go overseas, they learn the content like Mathematics or Physics or Chemistry, not so much of education issues. At present we have not ramped up a lot because there are a lot of logistics … But MOE is now thinking of sending all the Bachelor’s students for at least one semester abroad but there are many issues … But in 4 or 5 years’ time, 100% of our undergraduates will experience a semester abroad.

NIE also forms global connections through Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and agreements with universities, ministries, private corporations and specialized agencies of the United Nations (M = 3.05 as perceived by survey respondents). These connections create “many opportunities for dynamic and fruitful exchanges of intellectual knowledge and collaborative teaching and research activities, which ultimately contributes to raising the quality of teacher education” (NIE, 2011b). Structure NIE prides itself as a thinking higher education institution that is responsive to changes. It conducts periodic institution-wide developmental assessments “to remain relevant and responsive to both seismic and subtle shifts”

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(Lee, 2009, p. 10). NIE has in place, the Programme Review and Enhancement (PRE) initiative, which is a systematic process that enables the institution to continually review its strategies and processes to meet the changing global and national needs. One of the concrete responses of PRE is the Teacher Education Model for the 21st century (TE21). Through its programs and curriculum, TE21 aims to develop 21st century teaching professionals who have the desired values, skills and knowledge. The model “comprises various components unified by the overarching purpose of equipping teachers with competencies that will enable them to respond proactively to the responsibilities of the classroom and the school” (NIE, 2009, p. 34). Some of the desired outcomes of TE21 coincide with those of internationalization. These include valuing diversity, multicultural literacy and global awareness. However, TE21 has not structurally included internationalization as a strategy. As the main institutional structure allows little flexibility for NIE to internationalize, the institution has set up a corporatized private arm named “NIE International” [NIE(I)], which “provides customised teaching programmes and educational management consultancy services by NIE faculty staff and highly-qualified experienced trainers in Singapore (to other countries)” (NIE, 2011c). Institutional leader, Professor Yap, explained, Countries in the Middle East have invited us for their education system. So we had one (consultation team) in Abu Dhabi and we had one in Bahrain but we don’t want to do too many because you lose your cachet when you try to replicate … NIE provides turnkey consultancy with curriculum for the class and for the teacher education. We leave it to them on how to do it because the culture comes in but we give them the basic principles, the template and the guidelines on how we did it. We don’t teach you how to do it but if you think our system can work in your country, you adapt it … Of course, we still guide this process and provide lots of support. This is us as a leader in teacher education.

Apart from making an impact on teacher education beyond Singapore, NIE (I) also generates some amount of income for the institution. Professor Berry, a faculty member, noted, One of the ways that NIE has been basically sort of exerting its influence or having its influence felt internationally, is through the exporting and importing, borrowing and lending kind of phenomenon … From my point of view, there are markets that we are trying to grab on China is obviously one, the Middle East is another. So this effort is largely economic, I think …

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Accreditation and Standards NIE has in place its own internal system of accreditation for both its initial teacher preparation and graduate programs. Increasingly however, the institution is opening up to international collaborations with other universities especially for its graduate programs (M = 2.79 for international collaborative degree programs at present). Professor Maniam explained, We are also starting to have joint degree programs with renowned universities. For example, the joint Master’s program with IOE London and the twinning arrangement with MIT that we have. There are also discussions for a joint degree with Teachers’ College Columbia.

Standards in NIE have been enhanced through international benchmarking over the years (M = 3.39 as perceived by survey respondents). This strategy is not new and has been practiced since the conception of the institution. Professor Yap acknowledged, Through benchmarking with the best teacher education institutes in the world, we adapt the best practices that work for our system. That is one of the main ways we have been progressing over the past sixty years. It will also remain one of the main reasons why we continue to internationalize.

As a member of the International Alliance of Leading Education Institutes (IALEI), NIE itself is also a benchmark for other teacher education institutions. IALEI is ten-member alliance, which was formed in August 2007. It aims to make an impact on educational development both locally and globally by influencing policies and inspiring research (International Alliance of Leading Education Institutes (IALEI), 2013). The alliance “acts as a thinktank which draws together existing expertise and research in education to generate ideas and identify trends, to serve as a collective voice on important educational issues and thus influence policy and practice in education” (Gopinathan et. al., 2008, p. 4). As one of the founding members of the IALEI, Singapore has been and will continue to be benchmarked for international standards and reputation (M = 3.51 as perceived by survey respondents).

Rationales and Expected Outcomes of Internationalization The previous section has shown that for various reasons, internationalization “abroad” through the actual movement of people, programs, providers and projects has been somewhat limited. Internationalization “at home,”

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however, seems to be more active. Even with such limited cross-border activities, respondents in the survey still believed that the internationalization of teacher education is important for Singapore, NIE and themselves. Table 3 presents the descriptive statistics of responses on a 1 5 point Likert scale to the question “How important do you think internationalization is for you, NIE and Singapore?” Further analysis reveals that the respondents’ perceptions of importance of internationalization varied significantly across types of beneficiary (F (2, 589) = 103.42, p = 0.000). As in Table 4, the respondents believed that internationalization would not be as beneficial for themselves (M = 3.95) as it would be for NIE (M = 4.37; F (1, 400) = 81.91, p = 0.000). Further, the respondents believed that internationalization would not be as beneficial for NIE (M = 4.37) as it would be for Singapore (M = 4.55; F (1, 400) = 39.87, p = 0.000). Qualitative data supports this finding. Not only is the internationalization of teacher education important, it is perceived as most important for Singapore. Administrative staff, Dr. Tucson, explained this from an economic perspective, I think it is absolutely critical for teacher education in Singapore to internationalize itself. I think Singapore is certainly a global city and it has been in the crossroads of

Table 3.

Descriptive Statistics for the Importance of Internationalization for Beneficiaries (N = 401).

Beneficiaries of Internationalization Respondent NIE Singapore

Mean

SD

3.95 4.37 4.55

0.97 0.69 0.63

Note: The response categories are coded as 1 = unimportant, 2 = not very important, 3 = of some importance, 4 = important, 5 = very important.

Table 4.

Repeated Measures ANOVA Results for Importance of Internationalization (N = 401).

Source Self vs. NIE NIE vs. Singapore Note: Omnibus F (2, 589) = 103.42, p = 0.000.

F

Sig.

81.91 39.87

0.000 0.000

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both East and West, North and South, developed and under-developed … It only makes sense to continue capitalizing on our human capital as a strength. Given the current context of globalization, internationalization might be the way ahead …

Professor Berry further explained this importance of internationalization of teacher education for Singapore in cultural terms, Teacher education being a core contributor to the development of Singapore … It is important that the perspectives are widened beyond the local because we must understand the world … that the world is not just Singapore. It may sound silly, but many children here have yet to fully understand this concept that the world is bigger than Singapore. Besides the Chinese, Malays and Indians, the world is rich with so many cultures that we can learn from … This becomes more important now because Singapore is a global city and we are becoming more multi-cultural with many more influences coming to our shores. Internationalized perspectives are critical here …

It is not surprising then that the expected outcomes of internationalization, both at the institutional and individual levels, generally show that the respondents believed the listed outcomes to be important. Table 5 presents the descriptive statistics of responses on a 1 5 point Likert scale to the question “How important do you think the following rationales are for the internationalization of NIE?” Further analysis of the findings reveals that the respondents’ perceptions of importance varied significantly across types of outcome (F (7, 2667) = 35.87, p = 0.000) (Table 6). In particular, the respondents indicated that generating income for the institution (M = 3.72) is not as important as Table 5.

Descriptive Statistics for Expected Outcomes of the Internationalization at NIE (N = 401).

Expected Outcomes of Internationalization 1. Generate income for the institution 2. Brain gain for the country 3. Produce graduates to meet Asian educational demand 4. Form strategic alliances with non-Asian institutions 5. Form strategic alliances with Asian institutions 6. Produce graduates to meet global educational demand 7. Enhance international visibility and reputation 8. Produce graduates to meet national educational demand 9. Enhance international awareness and understanding 10. Achieve research excellence with international standards 11. Enhance quality of education with international standards

Mean

SD

3.72 4.10 4.13 4.14 4.19 4.19 4.21 4.26 4.32 4.36 4.39

1.02 0.87 0.84 0.76 0.72 0.79 0.69 0.76 0.64 0.64 0.59

Note: The response categories are coded as 1 = unimportant, 2 = not very important, 3 = of some importance, 4 = important, 5 = very important.

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Table 6.

Repeated Measures ANOVA Results for Expected Outcomes of Internationalization (N = 401).

Source

F

Sig.

Outcome 1 vs. outcome 2 45.59 0.000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Outcome 2 vs. outcome 3 0.47 0.496 Outcome 3 vs. outcome 4 0.00 0.952 Outcome 4 vs. outcome 5 4.81 0.029 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Outcome 5 vs. outcome 6 0.02 0.900 Outcome 6 vs. outcome 7 0.16 0.694 Outcome 7 vs. outcome 8 1.54 0.215 Outcome 8 vs. outcome 9 2.22 0.137 Outcome 9 vs. outcome 10 1.53 0.216 Outcome 10 vs. outcome 11 1.28 0.260 Note: Omnibus F (7, 2667) = 35.87, p = 0.000.

brain gain for the country (M = 4.10; F (1, 400) = 45.59, p = 0.000). In addition, the respondents reported that forming strategic alliances with nonAsian countries (M = 4.14) is not as important an outcome as forming strategic alliances with Asian countries (M = 4.19; F (1, 400) = 4.81, p = 0.029). Given that NIE has a steady source of funds from MOE, it is understandable that generating income is not an important motivation for it to internationalize. Compared to this, brain gain is perceived to be significantly more important, given the fact that the country is consistently faced with a shortage of teachers. However, qualitative data has also added that it is not just about increasing the number of teachers. The quality of international teachers is perceived to be more important. Professor Yap expounded, Singapore we’ve got no natural resources, we’ve got limited land. Human resources is almost all we’ve got and developing this resource (locally and through the import of international teachers) with a global outlook can only be beneficial to our country in many ways, especially in maintaining economic competitiveness.

In addition to brain gain, findings also reveal that it is more important to form strategic alliances with Asian institutions than with non-Asian ones. Many respondents believed that Singapore’s teacher education has been looking too much to non-Asian countries and has ignored the potential that the East has to offer. However, many also perceived the situation to be slowly changing. Dr. Tucson expounded,

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The university has tie-ups all over the world, but the most active ones tend to be with very prestigious universities from the UK, the US and Australia. On the one hand, this is understandable for benchmarking purposes, maybe … .On the other hand, there is a worry that we are not giving enough credit to the universities in Asia … We are already in the alliance, which includes prestigious universities from China and South Korea, and I think there should be more of these. Things are getting better though … Maybe it’s the language barrier, I’m not sure … but Asian universities have so much to offer and cooperating with these universities will benefit NIE institutionally, will benefit Singapore politically and economically, and in many ways, will benefit the individuals culturally …

Internationalization is also perceived to benefit individuals, driving personal motivations to participate in the process. Table 7 presents the descriptive statistics of responses on a 1 5 point Likert scale to the question “How important are the following motivations for you to participate in the internationalization of NIE?” The mean scores ranged from 4.08 to 4.23, thus indicating that the respondents perceived the motivations to be important. Table 7.

Descriptive Statistics for Personal Motivations to Participate in Internationalization (N = 401).

Personal Motivations to Participate in Internationalization 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Enhanced international understanding for career mobility Enhanced personal ties with non-Asian international community Enhanced personal ties with Asian community Enhanced international understanding as a future educator / an administrator Access to the world’s knowledge and best practices Enhanced international understanding for personal development

Mean

SD

4.08 4.09 4.09 4.17 4.22 4.23

0.87 0.83 0.83 0.73 0.70 0.72

Note: The response categories are coded as 1 = unimportant, 2 = not very important, 3 = of some importance, 4 = important, 5 = very important.

Table 8. Repeated Measures ANOVA Results for Importance of Personal Motivations (N = 401). Source

F

Sig.

Motivation 1 vs. motivation 2 0.07 0.786 Motivation 2 vs. motivation 3 0.01 0.931 Motivation 3 vs. motivation 4 4.23 0.040 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Motivation 4 vs. motivation 5 3.08 0.080 Motivation 5 vs. motivation 6 0.16 0.687 Note: Omnibus F (4, 1583) = 7.56, p = 0.000.

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Further analysis reveals that the respondents’ perceptions of importance varied significantly across types of motivations (F (4, 1583) = 7.56, p = 0.000) (Table 8). In particular, the respondents indicated that enhanced personal ties with the Asian community (M = 4.09) is not as important a motivation as enhanced international awareness and understanding as a future educator (M = 4.17; F (1, 400) = 4.23, p = 0.040). Student teacher, Rina, shared, I think the students here at NIE are fully aware of our responsibilities as future teachers. It might be a cliche´ to say that we mould the future of the nation, but the truth is, we do! So, if our perspectives are too narrow or too focused on the local, are we then able to mould our children to be ready for the globalized world? If we cannot do that, then we have in some ways, in some ways … failed as teachers …

Another student teacher, Charles, emphasized on the increasing importance of having such internationalized perspectives because of the increased human mobility across borders, I think it’s critical given the pace globalization is taking place because I think about the movement and mobility of people across borders. I think Singapore is a classic example. If you look at the number of international students and foreign immigrants who are coming here to study or work … So I think it has become a reality … As teachers, we need to teach our students about these international perspectives from all over the world. But before we can teach them, we need to be equipped ourselves.

Importance of Key Actors in Internationalization Findings of this study also reveal that the respondents believed it is important for all the key actors to promote internationalization. Table 9 presents the descriptive statistics of responses on a 1 5 point Likert scale to the Table 9.

Descriptive Statistics for Importance of Key Actors in Promoting Internationalization (N = 401).

Key Actors in Promoting Internationalization Administrative staff Student teachers Faculty members Institutional leaders

Mean

SD

4.10 4.21 4.37 4.51

0.91 0.80 0.70 0.62

Note: The response categories are coded as 1 = unimportant, 2 = not very important, 3 = of some importance, 4 = important, 5 = very important.

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Repeated Measures ANOVA Results for Importance of Key Actors in Promoting Internationalization (N = 401).

Source Administrative staff vs. student teachers Student teachers vs. faculty members Faculty members vs. institutional leaders

F

Sig.

5.24 17.87 18.80

0.023 0.000 0.000

Note: Omnibus F (3, 1086) = 38.17, p = 0.000.

question “How important do you think is the role of each actor in promoting internationalization at NIE?” The findings also reveal that the respondents’ perceptions of importance varied across key actors (F (3, 1086) = 38.17, p = 0.000) (Table 10). They believed that administrative staff would not play as important a role in promoting internationalization (M = 4.10) as student teachers would (M = 4.21; F (1, 400) = 5.24, p = 0.023). Further, the respondents believed that student teachers would not play as important a role as faculty members would (M = 4.37; F (1, 400) = 17.87, p = 0.000). Finally, the respondents indicated that faculty members would not play as important a role as institutional leaders would (M = 4.51; F (1, 400) = 18.80, p = 0.000). Faculty member, Professor Thomson, explained, Each group in NIE has important roles to play in this internationalization process. The leaders set the direction and the faculty members, as academics are, will critique and evaluate the plans before fine-tuning them to be executed … The students, as the bulk of the population in the institution need to execute the plans and give feedback for the planning … Administrative staff? Administrative staff are often forgotten but they, … we cannot live without them, at least not efficiently. They look into the logistics and fine details for the execution … So you see, everybody has a role to play and everybody has to play their roles in one form or another.

Differences in Perceptions between Respondents In order to fully understand the roles of NIE’s key actors in the internationalization process, it is useful to find out if there are differences in perceptions between the respondents. This is so that efforts towards internationalization can capitalize on the strengths and target the needs of each group of key actors. For the questionnaires, in order to determine whether perceptions related to internationalization would vary across the three types of the

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respondents (i.e. administrators, Bachelor’s student teachers and Master’s student teachers), a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted. When the overall F-value was statistically significant, post-hoc Tukey tests were then conducted to determine which of the group comparisons were statistically significant. Table 11 summarizes the results of these statistical comparisons. The explanation that follows elaborates on the two components that show differences in the perceptions. The three groups of respondents differently perceived the degree of internationalization programs and activities (Table 12). The findings reveal that overall degree significantly varied across types of respondent (F (2, 398) = 25.71, p = 0.000). Post-hoc Tukey comparisons indicate that student teachers in the Bachelor’s program (M = 3.01) did not perceive internationalization programs and activities to be as salient as the Master’s student teachers (M = 3.54, p = 0.000) and administrators did (M = 3.46, p = 0.000). A main reason for this is that, the pre-service training program remains largely reserved for local student teachers. There are exceptionally small percentages of international student teachers in the diploma program (1.2%) and in the Bachelor’s program (2%). In contrast, graduate programs at NIE are more open to international student teachers with them making up 8.2% of those in the Master’s by research program, 7.5% of Table 11.

Differences in Perceptions between Survey Respondents.

Component

Statistical Significance

1. Integration of internationalization programs and activities 2. Beneficiaries of internationalization 3. Expected outcomes of internationalization (for NIE) 4. Personal motivations to participate in internationalization

Table 12.

✓ X ✓ X

Descriptive Statistics for Degree of Internationalization Programs and Activities (by Categories).

Key Actor Bachelor’s student teachers Administrators Master’s student teachers Note: Omnibus F (2, 398) = 25.71, p = 0.000.

Mean

SD

3.01 3.46 3.54

0.59 0.46 0.70

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Table 13.

Descriptive Statistics for Expected Outcomes of Internationalization (by Categories).

Key Actor Bachelor’s student teachers Master’s student teachers Administrators

Mean

SD

4.14 4.26 4.41

0.50 0.44 0.54

Note: Omnibus F (2, 398) = 6.18, p = 0.002.

those in the Master’s by coursework program and 17.8% of those in the PhD and EdD programs. Accordingly then, the programs and curriculum for student teachers in the Bachelor’s program place more weight on local elements rather than international ones. The three groups of respondents also differently perceived the importance of expected outcomes of internationalization for NIE (Table 13). The findings reveal that overall outcomes varied significantly across types of respondent (F (2, 398) = 6.18, p = 0.002). Post-hoc Tukey comparisons indicate that student teachers in the Bachelor’s program (M = 4.14) did not perceive the outcomes provided to be as important as the administrators did (M = 4.41, p = 0.003). One reason for this is because administrators perceive themselves to have a higher stake in the institution’s development. As Dr. Chan shared, In terms of internationalization, we all know how important it is for NIE to internationalize itself. Even MOE is encouraging us to be international. Most of the staff here fundamentally believe that if we are not international, if we are inward-looking, we are finished … And all our many years of hard work in NIE will be wasted.

Predictors of Internationalization Programs and Activities Another way to strategize the way forward is by examining the predictors affecting internationalization programs and activities. This was done on the quantitative data through forced entry linear regression procedures. Perceptions of degree were regressed on the composites for the whole sample (Table 14). The findings reveal that the importance of internationalization for beneficiaries positively and significantly predicted degree of internationalization programs and activities (β = 0.16, p = 0.004). This means that the more important internationalization was for the beneficiaries, the more salient the internationalization programs and activities were.

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Table 14. Predictors

Multiple Linear Regression Results for Perceptions of Degree (N = 401). B

SE

β

Sig.

Tol.

Beneficiaries of internationalization 0.28 0.10 0.16 0.004 0.70 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Expected outcomes of internationalization 0.24 0.08 0.19 0.002 0.61 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Personal motivations to participate −0.20 0.10 −0.11 0.061 0.70 Importance of key actors’ roles −0.09 0.10 −0.02 0.336 0.81 Note: Omnibus F (8, 392) = 8.32, p = 0.000; R2 for whole model = 0.145.

Expected outcomes for NIE also positively and significantly predicted degree of internationalization programs and activities (β = 0.19, p = 0.002). The more important the perceived outcomes were, the more salient the internationalization programs and activities were.

DISCUSSION The empirical evidence presented reveals a hybridized form of internationalization and localization in Singapore’s teacher education. This keeps it nationally local but yet internationally competitive.

Conceptualizing the Localization-Internationalization of Teacher Education The features and strategies of localization-internationalization in teacher education are similar to but different from those of higher education in general. While higher education works towards the integration of international, intercultural and/or global dimensions (Altbach, 2006; Knight, 2008), the data here shows that teacher education works towards balancing localization and internationalization. This balance is primarily accomplished by prioritizing local and national needs. Cross-border internationalization activities that involve the movement of people, programs, providers and projects are implemented only if national interests are not compromised. In the case of Singapore, NIE is very cautious in the recruitment of international student teachers because

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the training of local student teachers takes precedence given the limited resources. Accordingly, the curriculum especially in pre-service training is focused on local and national elements unless purposeful effort is made to do otherwise. However, in a situation where no obvious competing demands prevail, NIE proactively seeks to pursue the international dimension. This can be seen in the recruitment of international staff, in the promotion of co-curricular activities such as student clubs, in the international institutional agreements (including MOUs and alliances) and in the benchmarking to international standards. When there is little room for flexibility (in the case of the implementation of TE21), NIE innovates to pursue the international dimension through NIE(I) without interfering with the institution’s core purpose of teacher preparation for local schools. From these, we can see that the strategies for localizationinternationalization are flexible but guided by national priorities. As a result, the internationalization of teacher education in Singapore remains largely “at home” rather than “abroad.” This means that it incorporates more international dimensions into the home campus and conducts less cross-border activities. With regard to the involvement of institutional and national initiatives as strategies for implementation, just like higher education, efforts to internationalize in teacher education are similarly framed. While evidence from this study’s findings highlights the need to strategically include various institutional key actors in the planning and implementation of internationalization strategies, there is no conclusive evidence to show that such is an exclusive case for teacher education and not higher education. As such, I would caution against making such a conclusion. Despite greater emphasis on localization, the internationalization of teacher education is still perceived to be very important for Singapore, the institution and individual key actors (in this order). This is because the internationalization of teacher education is expected to bring about academic, economic, socio-cultural and political benefits, albeit in varying degrees. In comparison to the rationales driving higher education to internationalize (and the market forces it faces), teacher education expects economic outcomes to benefit it the least. In the case of Singapore, generating income for the institution is the least important because its teacher education institution has the financial backing of the government. However, there is a strong expectation that internationalization could bring about economic growth and competitiveness. This is especially the case in the context of the knowledge economy, given the type of knowledge and skills it values. Fig. 3 captures the essence of the discussion thus far. The economic expected outcomes have been placed in brackets instead of being totally

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LocalizationInternationalization of Teacher Education

Features: Integration of international, intercultural and/or global dimensions (i.e. internationalization) but guided by local and national priorities (i.e. localization)

Strategies: Mostly 'at home' rather than 'abroad' (i.e. the mobility of people, programs, providers and projects is tied to national constraints and/or needs); Involvement of institutional and national initiatives

Fig. 3.

Rationales and Expected Outcomes: Academic Institution building International branding and profile Quality enhancement towards international standards Enhancing research and teaching Knowledge production Economic Economic growth and competitiveness (Meeting labor market needs) (Income generation) Socio-cultural Social/cultural development and mutual understanding Citizenship development Political Strategic alliances for institutional/ national/regional identity

Conceptualizing the Localization-Internationalization of Teacher Education.

removed to acknowledge the fact that economic rationales are present but only to a limited extent, as compared to the robust academic, socio-cultural and political rationales.

Realizing the Future: Maximizing the Potential of Localization-Internationalization The findings of this study suggest several ways to maximize the potential of localization-internationalization, so that teacher education can make the most of the strengths of both components. One way forward is to engage the institutional key actors (i.e. institutional leaders, faculty members, administrative staff and student teachers) in the planning and implementation processes. As shown in the data, the respondents believed that it is important for all the key actors to be involved in the promotion of internationalization. This can be done by looking at the perceptions of key actors collectively as a whole sample and separately as groups.

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A key finding of this study is that the perception of internationalization influences the activeness of its programs and activities. In particular, it can be expected that key actors would be more willing to promote internationalization when they are convinced of how it benefits Singapore, NIE and themselves. Capitalizing on this finding, NIE could more overtly and systematically include strategies of internationalization in its policy documents such as TE21. When these policies are implemented through programs and the curriculum, deeper discussions on the importance and benefits of internationalization for teacher education could inevitably be carried out. Due consideration should also be given to understand how and why opinions between the key actors diverge. In particular, the study found that student teachers in the Bachelor’s program did not perceive internationalization programs and activities to be as salient as the Master’s student teachers and administrators did. They also perceived the expected outcomes of internationalization to be least important. As it has been acknowledged that the Bachelor’s program indeed does have a particularly local focus, consequentially, this group of student teachers have somewhat been neglected in the internationalization process. Despite the importance of their role as key actors who operate and benefit from the system, there is a lack of focused attention given to them. It is clear that the needs of the student teachers have to be carefully and strategically addressed. After all, one of the main purposes for NIE to internationalize is to benefit the student teachers who in turn would graduate to serve in the education system. Should NIE leverage on these perceptions, the promotion of internationalization will garner the support of the various key actors. This is not only important in terms of utilizing the available human resources, but also in terms of getting the key actors to take personal ownership in the internationalization process.

CONCLUSION Contextual developments have shaped the imperatives for teacher education to internationalize and yet remain nationally local. With the emergence of the knowledge economy and the importance placed on quality human capital for economic competitiveness and social relevance, pressure is put on teacher education to build world-class education systems. In addition, as a subsidiary of higher education, teacher education also feels the

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pressure to internationalize in order to be part of the international knowledge network that strives towards global prominence and profile. All of these factors require teacher education to transform by opening up its nationally localized form and including internationalized perspectives. At the same time, while teacher education strives to internationalize, due consideration needs to be given to its national obligations which call for localization. These include the need to produce enough qualified teachers to catch up with the persistent shortage of teachers and the duty to conserve and propagate national culture. The fact that teacher education remains primarily funded by the government makes it even more necessary for the sub-sector to prioritize its national obligations. Amidst these tensions, the empirical data in this study has highlighted the existence of a hybridized form of localization and internationalization. Localization-internationalization consolidates the different but related demands from higher education and the nation by incorporating appropriate degrees of elements from both localization and internationalization. In addition, the conceptualization of localization-internationalization as discussed above shows that even though localization is often prioritized, this decision is purposeful and based on the professional obligations of teacher education. Further evidence in this study supports the idea that the localizationinternationalization relationship will intensify over time. This is because the findings point to how strong the motivations to internationalize are, suggesting that internationalization of Singapore’s teacher education will continue to expand at the national, institutional and individual levels even while it remains firmly rooted in localization. In order to maximize the potential of internationalization-localization, findings of this study show that it is critical to engage the key actors by understanding their perspectives and priorities both collectively and separately. Localization-internationalization of teacher education as exemplified in the case of Singapore is evidence that teacher education (at least in one part of the world but possibly elsewhere) is making progress towards being in line with the changing economic, social and political needs. Despite the traditional perception of teacher education as being conservative, its potential to explore internationalization possibilities must not be underrated. With the growing momentum for change that is infiltrating the sub-sector at the moment, systematic and purposeful localization-internationalization strategies offer wide possibilities for teacher education to tap on international resources in order to meet the new needs of teacher education for the knowledge economy in this globalized world.

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NOTES 1. Knight delineates the rationales further into “existing rationales” (social/cultural, political, economic and academic) and those “of emerging importance” (national level and institutional level). For the purpose of this study, however, the two delineations have been merged to streamline the overlaps. 2. As part of the Global Schoolhouse initiative, Singapore hosts several branch campuses of foreign higher education institutions which offer industry-specific programs (http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/post-secondary, accessed December 3, 2013). 3. The recruitment of interview respondents was stopped when the narratives in conducted interviews became consistent across and within the categories. 4. For more valid and reliable findings, it was deemed necessary to provide a wider sample size (as opposed to the interview sample size) of the key actors who operate and benefit from the system. 5. The primary data set also included two additional components “challenges in the process of internationalization” and “risks in the process of internationalization.” However, these components are not presented and discussed in this chapter due to space constraints. 6. Two sets of questionnaires were administered for the survey one for the administrative staff and another for the student teachers. Both sets employed variables that were comparable to each other, some of which were slightly modified to suit the type of respondents. A number of items in the questionnaires were adapted from the International Association of Universities (IAU) Internationalization Survey conducted in 2003 (to IAU members only) and 2005 (to a larger group of higher education institutions, as well as to national and regional university/rector associations) (Knight, 2003, 2006, 2008). The IAU survey was conducted to gather impressions on institutional priorities, practices and concerns about internationalization of higher education. Reference was also made to Nguyen Thuy Anh’s study on the internationalization of higher education in Vietnam, which had similar objectives as this study (Nguyen, 2010). The other items in the questionnaires were constructed based on the review of literature on the internationalization of teacher education and the issues circling Singapore’s teacher education. The language used in the survey was Standard British English (in accordance to the received style in Singapore) and the questionnaires were paper-based. 7. Pseudonyms are used for all interview respondents to protect their anonymity.

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TEACHER EDUCATION IN ANGLOPHONE WEST AFRICA: DOES POLICY MATCH PRACTICE? Kabba E. Colley ABSTRACT This chapter focuses on a study, which investigates the question: How do teacher education policies match teacher education practices in Anglophone West Africa? Teacher education policy in this chapter refers to action statements in verbal or written form made by national education authorities/agencies about teacher education, while teacher education practice refers to the work that teachers do. Using the method of research synthesis, multi-layered, purposeful sampling of various data sources, Boolean and non-Boolean search strategies, qualitative and quantitative analytical procedures, the study identified over a hundred documents. Out of these, 77 documents met the criteria for inclusion in the study. The distribution of research outcomes by Anglophone West African countries were as follows: 18.2% were on Gambia, 27.3% were on Ghana, 10.4% were on Liberia, 24.7% were on Nigeria, and 19.5% were on Sierra Leone. From this research synthesis, it is evident that there is a gap between teacher education policy and practice in Anglophone West Africa. Most teacher education policies are “add-on,”

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 25, 201 233 Copyright r 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-367920140000025015

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meaning that they were formulated as part of a larger national policy framework on basic, secondary and tertiary education. In addition, the research synthesis found that Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone are very similar in terms of their pre-service teacher training models, but differ in their in-service and professional development systems, while Liberia has a slightly different in-service model with varying durations. The limitations and implications of the findings for further comparative and international education research are discussed in the chapter. Keywords: Teacher; policy; supply; education; training; West Africa

INTRODUCTION This chapter is situated within the larger context of globalization and its impact on teacher education in Anglophone West Africa. Anglophone West Africa, like the rest of the developing world, has been impacted by the global financial crisis, the information technology revolution, and the effects of migration from rural to urban and from poor to richer countries of the world. In order to achieve peace, political stability, social, and economic development for the peoples of Anglophone West Africa, governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) must tackle the problem of education. This is because a nation’s educational development is highly correlated with its economic development and prosperity (Gutema & Bekele, 2004; Tilak, 1986). Teachers are at the frontline of the education struggle. However, teacher education is not always a priority, and in some countries of Africa, teacher education policies do not always align with teacher education practices. The objective of this chapter is to investigate teacher education policy and practice in Anglophone West Africa using current and archived documents available in several national, regional, and international databases on education, and published research in international teacher education journals. The guiding research question was stated as follows: How do teacher education policies match teacher education practices in Anglophone West Africa? Teacher education policy in this chapter will be defined as action statements in verbal or written form made by national education authorities/agencies about teacher education, training, professional development, and working conditions. Teacher education practice refers to

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the work that teachers do including, and not limited to instructional planning, teaching, curriculum development, assessment of students’ learning, classroom management, parental and community engagement, and professional development. This chapter begins with a review of the literature on teacher education policy and practice in Anglophone West Africa. Much of teacher education policy and practice in Anglophone West Africa is concerned with teacher supply and demand. Consequently, the review emphasizes this aspect of the literature. In addition, the review covers the relationship between globalization and teacher education policy and practice in Anglophone West Africa. The next section of the chapter provides a detailed description of the research method used and the rationale for it. This is followed by a description of the sampling strategy, data collection, and analysis techniques. The central part of this chapter is devoted to the findings, which are organized around the following themes: distribution of research outcomes by country; teacher education policy research outcomes by country; teacher education practice research outcomes by country; and teacher education policy and practice research outcomes in Anglophone West Africa. This chapter ends by discussing the implications of the findings for comparative and international education research. In addition, it provides suggestions to readers for further research on teacher education policy and practice in Anglophone West Africa.

WHAT DOES RESEARCH SAY ABOUT TEACHER EDUCATION POLICY AND PRACTICE IN ANGLOPHONE WEST AFRICA? Despite increasing attention on teacher education policies and practices in Anglophone West Africa, peer-reviewed research on the topic is very sketchy and the available research is mostly in the form of evaluation reports, government reports, white papers, conference papers/proceedings, and case studies. In addition, many of the publications that are available are by external stakeholders, international NGOs, or bi-lateral organizations that conduct work in teacher education and training in Anglophone West Africa. This section of the chapter focuses on the available research with particular emphasis on teacher education policy and practice, and its relationship to teacher supply and demand, and globalization.

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Teacher Education Policy and Practice A review of teacher education policy and practice in Anglophone West Africa cannot begin without a review of the work of an organization known as Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA). TESSA “represents Africa’s largest teacher education research community, extending across 13 higher education institutions in nine countries. TESSA grew out of a collective understanding about the importance of teachers in achieving the Education for All (EFA) goals, and is concerned with the huge challenges of supplying, training and retaining high quality teachers to meet the needs of expanding primary education sectors across the Sub-Saharan African region” (p. 1). In a report on teacher education in Sub-Saharan Africa titled Pride and Light: Female teachers’ experiences of living and working in rural SubSaharan Africa, Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (2013) focused on the lives of women teachers in rural areas. According to the research consortium “There is very little information available about who these teachers are, what they are challenged by and what motivates them to continue teaching in often difficult environments” (p. 1). Teaching in rural areas of Africa is a major challenge and most teachers try and avoid it if they can. However, women teachers because of their status as women sometimes end of being overrepresented in teaching assignments in rural areas. Using an ethnography case study, TESSA’s Alison Buckler, visited five of the TESSA consortium countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Sudan and spent between two and four weeks shadowing female teachers. Using the concept of “Cameo” as a framework, the research consortium reported their findings around the following themes: influences and inspirations: becoming a teacher; teacher training and early teaching experiences; rural environments: challenges and opportunities; teachers and communities; teachers’ professional learning; and ambitions and aspirations: teachers’ hopes for their futures. In their concluding remarks, TESSA (2013) noted “The ambitions and aspirations of these teachers are molded around their personal, economic and cultural circumstances. Whether they continue to teach in primary schools, whether they work towards promotion, whether they specialize in a particular area of teaching, whether they work their way up through the education system or whether they leave the profession altogether will depend on the limitations and opportunities these circumstances present. Strikingly clear, however, is that every single one of these teachers has an ambition that they hope will raise their self-esteem,

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make their families proud and raise the status of teachers collectively in their countries” (p. 69). The role of UNESCO in teacher education policy and practice in Anglophone West Africa deserve some review here. In 2006, UNESCO formed the Teacher Training Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa (TTISSA), no biological relationship with TESSA, although the two agencies have a collaborative working relationship. According to UNESCO (2007), “TTISSA was launched in 2006. It is a ten-year, high-level initiative that is aimed at improving national teacher policy and strengthening teacher education in 46 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The initiative is designed to assist countries in synchronizing their teacher policies, teacher education and labor practices with national development priorities for Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)” (p. 75). TTISSA work focuses on four main areas and these include, (a) improvement of teacher status and working conditions, (b) improvement of teacher management and administrative structures, (c) development of appropriate teacher policies and (d) enhancement of teacher education and professional development. Since its launching, TTISSA has held different forums and released about a dozen publications some of which focus on education policy in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to review all the publications. However, two of the publications deserve some review here. The first is titled Report of the Teacher Education Policy Forum for Sub-Saharan Africa (UNESCO, 2007). This report is a synthesis of a teacher education policy forum/workshop held in Paris, France attended by representatives from TTISSA member countries and education policy experts. The forum was co-facilitated by Dr. Chris Yates of the Institute of Education, University of London and an Education Consultant, Ms Tara Bukow. The main topics were: development discourses and teacher education, teacher education policy and research, the status and working conditions of teachers, financing teacher development, emerging issues, national teacher policies in Sub-Saharan Africa, lessons learned and way forward. In a paper prepared for the forum, Yates (2007) noted that in the 1950’s teacher education policy in Sub-Saharan Africa was based on different theories of education and development. These included human capital theory, education for liberation and education for human rights. Human capital theory views policy formulation, development, implementation, and evaluation from a basic needs stand point, while education for liberation aims at dismantling colonialism and systemic inequalities. Education for

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human rights is about ensuring the every child receives a proper education regardless of background. What is needed from those who formulate or make teacher education policy in Sub-Saharan Africa is an approach that combines the best of all these theories and this Yates called the 3Cs (teaching for: learning as consequence, construction, and connection). In terms of lessons learned on policy development, the TTISSA forum participants concluded that “The group on policy development agreed that policies relating to teachers often need to be more holistic and inclusive. They suggested that policies should include literacy and nonformal education teachers and address the newly emerging issues of a more globalized world, such as HIV and AIDS, shortage subject areas and ICTs, as well as covering all education levels early childhood, primary, secondary, TVET, and higher education. The group emphasized that policy development should be revisited regularly to take account of contextual changes” (p. 54). The second publication of interest by UNESCO on TTISSA is based on a follow-up forum in 2008 called Teacher Education Policy Forum for Sub-Saharan Africa, UNESCO-African Development Bank (ADB)Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA). According to UNESCO (2008), the purpose of this forum was to implement the main recommendations proposed in 2007 Forum, which included the development of a Toolkit or technical tool to support teacher policy development. The partnership of UNESCO, ADB, and ADEA (part of the Commonwealth Secretariat) indicates that this was a high-profile gathering whose outcomes may have important implications for teacher education policy in Sub-Saharan Africa. The main topics of the forum included the following: overview of teacher issues in sub-Saharan Africa; the ADEA Working Group on the Teaching Profession (WGTP) and its support to Sub-Saharan Africa; African Development Bank’s work in education; policy brief on processes of teacher policy development; country presentations, synthesis and discussion; panel on partner organizations’ support to teacher policy development in Sub-Saharan Africa; group work on processes of teacher policy development; building partnerships for teacher policy development in Sub-Saharan Africa; and developing a toolkit for teacher policy development. Although the forum covered a lot of ground, our focus here is on the Toolkit for teacher policy development. According to UNESCO (2008), “The overriding principle of the Toolkit is that it is to be a tool for Ministries of Education (primarily planning officers), meaning that it must be concise, practical (drawn from concrete experiences) and user-friendly.

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It must also be aligned with both national frameworks (e.g., education sector plans) and broader international structures (e.g., ILO/UNESCO Recommendations concerning the Status of Teachers, Second Decade of Education for Africa) in relation to teachers. In addition, it must be holistic, facilitate capacity building and be an evolving document with room for change and improvement” (p. 33). It is clear from the above that the assumptions surrounding the development of the Toolkit are that teacher education policy is made for teachers not by/with teachers. Despite, this limitation, UNESCO (2008) noted “ In regard to the content of the Toolkit … It should follow a three-part structure and must include: (1) a diagnostic tool to support background analysis of the teacher issue; (2) a policy development processes section consisting of Policy Briefs on costing and financing, processes, etc. and (3) a reference documents section including examples of country policies and case studies, a list of annotated references, a list of contact organizations and reference persons and international frameworks” (p. 33). Bello and Tijani (2011) conducted a study to determine training needs of teachers in school-based assessment in Anglophone West African countries. The researcher sampled 2422 teachers selected from junior secondary and senior secondary schools and 448 heads of schools and educational administrators/officers in Ghana, Nigeria and The Gambia. Using a survey, the researchers found that “assessment tools like essay test, objective test and assignments were frequently used and found easy to score by teachers. Teachers were however found deficient in the use of other assessment tools particularly in the assessment of project work, formative testing, assessment by interviews, and behavioral assessment. The teachers signified their ambition to be trained in these areas as well as in the development of marking schemes/scoring keys” (p. 1). Dembe´le´ and Lefoka (2007) argued that teacher development in Sub-Saharan Africa must be accompanied with pedagogical renewal. They theorized that “(1) teaching is arguably the strongest school-level determinant of student achievement; (2) teaching effect on student learning is reportedly higher in Sub-Saharan Africa than it is in high-income countries; (3) learning achievement is considerably lower in the subcontinent’s schools; and (4) the kind of teaching that takes place in these schools confines students to a passive role and only fosters lower order skills” (p. 531). In order to support their argument they drew on a number of studies that they were engaged in, such as the Challenge of Learning study, the Multi-Site Teacher Education Research (MUSTER) project the Teacher Education, Support and Management in French-Speaking West Africa

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study. The researchers began their discussion by providing well established data that showed increasing demand for qualified teachers and the challenge it poses for pedagogical renewal. Then they reported on the relationship between student achievement and teacher quality, and the limitations of the current methods of teaching. They cited the case of Namibia as an example of how teacher development went hand in hand with the implementation of student-centered pedagogies. They discussed the use of bilingual education as a strategy for renewal. In their concluding statement, Dembe´le´ and Lefoka (2007) noted: Just as student learning is significantly determined by the quality of teaching (of teachers by extension), teacher development (conceived as teacher learning) is in part determined by the quality of the learning opportunities which teachers (prospective, beginning and experienced) engage in … But we have to acknowledge the fact that bilingual education is consistently reported to lead to effective acquisition of early literacy and high performance in L2. (p. 547)

Teacher Supply and Demand According to Haddard and Adubra (2010), “While the central importance of teachers in ensuring quality education is widely acknowledged, even the most developed and stable education systems experience periods of shortages and over-supply of teachers” (p. 1). The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2010) released its annual projections on the global demand for primary teachers around the world. According to the projections, by 2015, the global demand for primary teachers will reach at least 1.9 million teachers. Most of the countries facing a “teacher gap” (i.e., those countries where the number of qualified teachers is insufficient to meet demand by 2015) are in Sub-Saharan Africa. The projections further noted that “Sub-Saharan countries will need to recruit a number of teachers equivalent to 80% of its current teaching force within the next seven years (from 2008 to 2015)” (p. 4). In The Gambia, for example, it is projected that the country will need to double its teaching force by 2015 in order to meet global targets (Voluntary Service Overseas, 2007 cited by Haddard & Adubra, 2010). Sinyolo (2007) conducted a study for Education International to investigate the issue of teacher recruitment, supply and retention in six Anglophone Sub-Saharan African countries, including The Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Using a combination of document analysis, questionnaire survey, follow-up visits, and interviews,

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the researcher looked at a number of variables such as teacher supply and demand, unqualified teachers, teacher attrition, brain drain, teacher remuneration, teacher motivation, teacher absenteeism, and involvement of teacher unions in education policy. Findings from the study showed that four of the six countries studied had teacher shortages, all six countries had shortages of specialists of subject teachers and institutions charged with preparing teachers lacked capacity to prepare teachers adequately. To address the issue of teacher shortage, some countries have introduced crash courses using distance learning delivery methods. In some countries, under qualified teachers were recruited to teach in primary schools. The study also found that teacher unions did not incorporate unqualified teachers within their ranks because of the differential pay that exists between qualified and unqualified teachers. The attrition rate for was found to be 4% across the six countries with AIDS related illness and death accounting for the majority of the cases. Teacher absenteeism was a problem in three of the six countries mainly due to illness and irregular pay. Mulkeen (2010) also looked at the issue of teacher supply, demand and management in Anglophone Africa. Through case studies of eight countries (Eritrea, The Gambia, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and Zanzibar) over a two-year period, the researcher examined the issues of teacher supply, preparation, placement, and management. Analysis of case data revealed similar findings as found in the Education International study. For instance, the researcher found that there was a teacher shortage both at the primary and secondary levels, and in both cases, unqualified teachers were used, although at the secondary level some countries relied on the use of expatriate teachers. In addition, distribution of science and mathematics was not equitable, with rural areas being shortchanged in terms of teachers posted. The researcher also found that all the countries studied had a system of in-service teacher education in place. However, opportunities for professional development for qualified teachers and management of teachers is relatively weak as noted below. Systems for managing teachers were weak. Head teachers were recognized to play important roles in managing, supervising, and mentoring teachers, but in practice head teachers devoted much of their time to relations with administrative authorities outside the school. Training for head teachers was sporadic and did not reach the majority of head teachers. (p. 25)

It is important to note that Mulkeen (2010) also identified the four issues of supply, distribution, quality, and cost as a framework for addressing the challenges identified in the study.

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The South African Council for Educators (SACE)1 (2010) conducted a review of the literature on teacher supply and demand internationally and in South Africa. According to SACE, the purpose of the review was to understand the “key issues in planning for teacher supply and demand” (p. 1). As such, it focused only on “key research rather than on a complete review of the literature.” The SACE review is very relevant to this chapter because some of the educational challenges in South Africa are similar to Anglophone West Africa. In its review, SACE (2010) acknowledged that the issue of teacher supply and demand is a complex and dynamic one and warned that Any analysis of teacher demand and supply should differentiate between the stock, the inflows and outflows of teachers. Inflow of teachers consist of new teachers from institutions of higher learning, untrained teachers who are being recruited, and former teachers who are being recruited back into the profession. The stock of teachers represents currently employed teachers in the system. The outflow is the attrition rate due to resignations, retirement, death and temporary absence. Demand and supply of teachers has to take into account the teacher labor market educators operate within. However this does not mean the economic analysis captures all the dynamics that have bearing on demand and supply. There are sociological and psychological aspects of teacher demand supply that fall outside classical economic analysis that need to be included in analysis of teacher demand and supply. (p. 2)

SACE (2010) went on to review the literature under the following themes: supply side issues, choice matrix to enter the profession, legislative and policy considerations, demand, legislation and country policies, geographic demand, teaching technology, education reorganization, attrition, age attrition, and salary. At the end of their review SACE (2010) concluded with the following suggestions: (a) that stakeholders for teacher education, including SACE, should develop key indicators of teacher quality that does not rely solely on qualifications, (b) that the content that higher education institutions provide should be analyzed to make sure that it matches demand, (c) that it should analyze “the value teachers attach to different development strategies and courses, and which are not relevant” (p. 25), (d) study the professions which are competing with teaching and (e) analyze the quality of teacher candidates entering the profession for the first time. Motivans, Smith, and Bruneforth (2006) conducted an extensive study of teacher supply and demand, looking at teachers, educational quality and the challenges of meeting global demands for teachers by 2015 (the Education for All target that nations set at the UNESCO World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal in 2000). Their report, which was based on global data on teacher quality compiled by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics,

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covers topics such as global trends in teacher supply and demand, teacher training, qualifications, education quality, balancing teacher quantity and quality to improve learning outcomes. According to the researchers, the global teacher supply and demand could be boiled down to three challenges/problems each associated with a particular region and socioeconomic status of the world. For instance, they divided the world into regions with the greatest need of new teachers, regions with moderate need of new teachers and regions without the need for new teachers. Their proposed solutions for addressing the challenges imply that there is no universal solution rather each region must deal with its own unique circumstances. In their concluding remarks, the researchers noted: The challenges and hardships faced by countries with the greatest need to expand teaching forces, found in Central, West and East Africa, cannot be underestimated. This report clearly demonstrates that the quantity and quality of education in these countries has already been compromised. (p. 100)

Speaking about the second region or group of countries, they noted: This group is made up primarily of countries in East and South Africa, Arab States, and South Asia. While the projected demand for teachers is not as extreme as that found in the previous group of countries, the challenges for education quality are still considerable. There is slightly more room for policy trade-offs, although the capacity and qualifications among the existing teaching force are a concern. (p. 101)

And with regard to the third group of countries, In countries where no increase in teacher stock is projected, there are a number of commonalities. In most of the countries: primary school-age populations have been in decline; many countries have achieved or are near universal primary education; and levels of internal efficiency are fair, although this is still a significant issue in some areas, such as Latin America … Several countries in the North America and Western Europe region, e.g. Ireland, Spain and the United States, will need more teachers by 2015; however, it appears that these needs could be met by redeploying teachers or reducing of attrition rates. (p. 103)

Motivans, Smith, and Bruneforth (2006) proposed that for the countries with the greatest need of new teachers (which include Anglophone West Africa), that both traditional and nontraditional routes to teacher qualification should be pursued, including the use of old and new information technologies. In addition, they proposed lowering the qualification for teaching to meet demands “To meet growing demand, they may also decide, either by plan or circumstance, to lower teaching qualifications and introduce parateachers. In any case, they should monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of such schemes” (p. 101). Although, one could see the benefit of using

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alternative routes to teaching, some may find the later proposal of lowering standards, particularly in a context where “quantity and quality of education in these countries has already been compromised” (p. 100), problematic. Coombe (2013) examined the impact of HIV and AIDS on education supply, demand, and quality. Her observations provide a sobering reminder of the magnitude and gravity of the problem. On teacher supply and demand in “high-prevalence countries,” she writes: Isolating and assessing the consequences of HIV for education services in highprevalence low- and middle-income countries is difficult for a number of reasons. There is no way of knowing exactly why children drop out of school. It is only possible to guess at reasons for changes in enrolment, progression, completion and dropout rates by using, with caution, what data are available … Teachers are known to be ill, absent from work and dying, but HIV is rarely named as the reason. There is no official procedure for terminating the services of African teachers who are HIV-positive and who should be pensioned off for medical reasons. Nor is there any way of determining whether teachers who are dying do so because of AIDS, except that as in Botswana and South Africa certain graphic data ring alarm bells for demographers. (p. 3)

Coombe (2013) offer several recommendations that should be taken to address the pandemic, which cover a lot of areas and are beyond the scope of the chapter. However, it is worth noting her final statement on the subject: HIV is, for many countries, the most significant issue in education today, and probably the biggest challenge to development. The need to confront the pandemic responsibly will require a fundamental re-think of development principles and procedures, and of the relationships between governments and their funding partners. HIV is rooted in poverty, and until poverty is reduced, little progress will be made in limiting its transmission or coping with its consequences. (p. 33)

Globalization and Teacher Education While Sinyolo (2007) and Mulkeen (2010) focused on teacher, supply, demand, and management, Richter, van der Walt, and Visser (2004) discusses teacher education in a “new Africa.” According to the researchers, the 21st century is a century of “rebirth” and of “African Renaissance.” Consequently, this process of rebirth and renaissance has far reaching implications for teacher education. In order for teacher education programs to meet the challenges of the 21st century, the authors noted, they should prepare teacher candidates to understand Africa and its unique

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socioeconomic, political cultural realities, that they should empower teacher candidates to serve in diverse, underserved and/or remote communities, that they should prepare candidates to use and apply technology appropriately and creatively, and more critically, teacher education programs should prepare candidates to cultivate and promote “the dignity of the human being, despite the conditions in which the latter might live and eke out a living” (p. 12). The impact of globalization on teacher education has been a hot topic recently as evident in a number of teacher education journals. For instance, Zhao (2010) discusses the challenges that globalization brings and the implications for teacher education. He noted that the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century brought unprecedented changes to the world, and these changes require new thinking and approaches to how we prepare teachers. The researcher identified the key challenges as (1) international testing and globalization of educational standards and practice (2) migration and the changing student population, (3) global competence and (4) global citizenship. According to him, Globalization has already affected our economic, social, and cultural life significantly. The impact of globalization is only going to deepen and the consequences will be more broadly felt. For our children to live successfully and peacefully in this globalized world, we need to help them develop the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitudes, and perspectives. This requires a new generation of teachers who are able to act as global citizens, understand the global system, and deliver a globally oriented education. To prepare this new generation of teachers, we need a teacher education system that is globally oriented. (p. 429)

In a recent editorial article from the Journal of Education for Teaching, Gray (2010) cited teacher education reform initiatives taking place globally and their implications. For instance, he mentioned the Scottish Teachers for a New Era (STNE) initiative which was based on the Teachers for a New Era (TNE) initiative in the United States. He also talked about the 2010 Report on Training of Teachers released by the UK House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee. Gray (2010) also referred to the Stanford Teacher Education Program in the United States and it responded to the challenges of accountability. He went on to briefly outline the different contributors to the Special Issue of the journal noting that it “brings together an international group of scholars based across the four continents of Asia, Australia, Europe and North America to provide international perspectives on research and issues in initial teacher education, drawing from their particular context” (p. 345). It is interesting to note that contributors from Africa, for whatever reasons, where most of

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the countries characterized as “countries with the greatest need to expand teaching forces,” are missing from the debate. According to Altbach (2006), in this era of globalization, higher education is increasingly being viewed as a commodity to be traded on the market. He pointed to the fact that the World Trade Organization (WTO) is “considering a series of proposals to include higher education as one of its concerns, ensuring that the import and export of higher education be subject to the complex rules and legal arrangements of the WTO protocols and free of most restrictions” (p. 23). There are some for-profit institutions of higher education and even the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Service Industries is in support of the idea. Altbach (2006) noted that globalization is not necessarily bad for higher education and could bring with it positive benefits such as technological innovation, faculty, and student exchanges and establishment of research networks to name a few. He reminded us that: Universities were places for learning, research, and service to society through the application of knowledge. Academe was afforded a significant degree of insulation from the pressures of society-academic freedom-precisely because it was serving the broader good of society. Professors were often given permanent appointments (tenure) to guarantee them academic freedom in the classroom and laboratory to teach and do research without fear of sanctions from society. (p. 24)

However, globalization is being used as an excuse to undermine the foundation on which academic institutions were founded upon. The negative effects of globalization are felt the most by academic institutions and educations systems in smaller and poorer countries. According to Altbach (2006), the traditional academic centers of the world such as the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, the larger EU countries, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain have become even more dominant in the global knowledge/academic market place. Consequently, this has led to a situation whereby: The norms, values, language, scientific innovations, and knowledge products of countries in the center crowd out other ideas and practices. These countries are home not only to the dominant universities and research facilities but also to the multinational corporations so powerful in the new global knowledge system. Information technology companies such as Microsoft and IBM, biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms (Merck or Genzyme), multinational publishers like Elsevier or Bertelsmann, among others, dominate the new international commerce in knowledge, knowledge-based products, and information technology. Smaller and poorer countries have little autonomy or competitive potential in the globalized world. Globalization in higher education exacerbates dramatic inequalities among the world’s universities. (p. 25)

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Altbach (2006) goes on to say that with the commercialization of higher education, the notion of “education for the common good” has been replaced with “education for the private good.” The implication being that academic institutions are for those individuals who want to study and conduct research. And if this is the case, why should the public pay for the individual’s service (education). Governments and States have been increasingly unable or unwilling to provide the funding needed to increase access to higher education. He added that the academic community is partly to blame because some large universities have become education conglomerates with for-profit operations in foreign countries and that for change to take place, it must start from within. Altbach (2006) warns if the universities are to survive as vibrant intellectual institutions, they must “pay close attention to their core responsibilities of teaching, learning, and research. Maintaining loyalty to traditional academic values will not be easy, but the costs of growing commercialization are much greater” (p. 28).

METHOD OF STUDY In order to answer the above research questions, this study used the method of research synthesis (Labin et al., 2012; Sadler, Burgin, McKinney, & Ponjuan, 2010). Research synthesis “attempts to integrate empirical research for the purpose of creating generalization. Implicit in this definition is the notion that seeking generalization also involves seeking the limits of generalization. Also, research syntheses almost always pay attention to relevant theories, critically analyze the research they cover, try to resolve conflicts in the literature, and attempt to identify central issues for future research” (Cooper & Hedges, 2013, p. 6). The research synthesis consisted of several steps. Below is a description of the sampling strategy employed, the identification and collection of documents and how these documents were analyzed.

Sampling Strategy The sampling strategy of choice was purposeful sampling because a probability sampling was not practical in the case of this study. In addition, due to resource constraints it was not possible to identify and establish the

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entire universe of documents or research literature to sample from on the topic under study. An extensive search was conducted online using Google Search engine and the author’s University Library online search tools. Searches were conducted at three different stages. The first search focused on the following databases and websites: ERIC, African Union, ECOWAS, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, World Bank, Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWCA), African Education Research Network, Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA), UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Africa (BREDA), the Commonwealth Secretariat, and Teachers Without Borders. The second search concentrated on Ministries of Education for the following countries: Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Liberia. Cameroon was not included due to limited resources and challenges of analyzing documents on teacher education in both French and English. Specifically, the official government website of each of the above mentioned countries was searched for documents on teacher education policy and practice. The final search covered archived and current issues of following journals: Africa Today, African Education Review, Journal of Higher Education in Africa, African Educational Research Journal, The African Symposium, Comparative Education Review, Journal of Teacher Education: International Research and Pedagogy, International Review of Education, International Journal of Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, and Journal of Teacher Education. Table 2 6 shows documents that were retrieved from the search by country.

Data Collection To identify and collect documents, the following search terms were used: “Teacher Education in Anglophone Africa” “Teacher Education in West Africa” “Teacher Education in English-speaking West Africa” “Teacher Education in sub-Saharan Africa” “Teacher Education Policy in Anglophone West Africa” “Teacher Education Policy in West Africa” “Teacher Education Policy in English-speaking West Africa” “Teacher Education Policy in sub-Saharan Africa”

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“Teacher Education Practice in Anglophone Africa” “Teacher Education Practice in West Africa” “Teacher Education Practice in English-speaking West Africa” “Teacher Education Practice in sub-Saharan Africa” “Teacher Training in Anglophone Africa” “Teacher Training in West Africa” “Teacher Training in English-speaking West Africa” “Teacher Training in sub-Saharan Africa”

In using the above terms, the removal and addition of the following terms, “pre-service,” “in-service,” “professional development,” “teacher supply,” “teacher demand,” and the names of the individual Anglophone West African countries were tried out. Altogether the search generated over a hundred documents, and out of these documents, only those that specifically dealt with teacher education, training, policy, and/or practice in Anglophone West Africa were selected. The final count was approximately 77 documents.

Data Analysis The analysis procedure consisted of 3 steps. In step 1, all the research outcomes were sorted by specific Anglophone West African country. Those that do not belong to any specific country were placed into a general category called teacher education in Anglophone West Africa. In step 2, a taxonomic key was developed to code the research outcomes (see Table 1). In step 3, the taxonomic key was used to code all research outcomes. To identify emerging themes, generalities, and particularities (Stake, 2010) in teacher education policy and practice in Anglophone West Africa, the research outcomes were subjected to further coding (open coding). The Table 1.

Taxonomic Key for Classifying Research Outcomes.

Column 1 2 3 4

Descriptors

5

Author(s): person(s) or agency who authored the document Publication type: refers to refereed or none refereed denoted by Yes (Y) or No (N) Status: refers to whether document is published or unpublished denoted by P or UP Classification: refers to whether document is research study (R), evaluation reports (E), presented papers (C) or official government document (G) Method: Methods of study used

NS

NS means not specified

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following themes emerged: basic education, basic education policy, preservice teacher education, in-service teacher education, teacher professional development, teacher supply and demand, gender and teacher education, teacher education and globalization, teacher education and peace building, technology and teacher education, public health and teacher education, and teacher working conditions. The implications of these themes for comparative and international education research will be discussed in the section on implications.

FINDINGS Distribution of Research Outcomes by Anglophone West African Country Fig. 1 shows the distribution of research outcomes by Anglophone West African country. Of the 77 documents reviewed, 18.2% (n = 14) were on Gambia, 27.3% (n = 21) were on Ghana, 10.4% (n = 8) were on Liberia, 24.7% (n = 19) were on Nigeria, and 19.5% (n = 15) were on Sierra Leone. Table 2 shows a list of research outcomes on Gambia reviewed for the research synthesis. As can be seen, most of the documents identified are government publications, with very few authored by NGOs or independent researchers. Of the fourteen documents, only one is referred and in terms of their status, four are categorized as unpublished. Four out of the

19.5%

Sierra Leone

24.7%

Country

Nigeria 10.4%

Liberia

27.3%

Ghana 18.2%

Gambia 0

5

10

15

20

25

Documents (n)

Fig. 1.

Distribution of Research Outcomes by Anglophone West African Country.

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Table 2.

List of Research Outcomes on Gambia Reviewed for the Research Synthesis.

Author(s)1

Pub. Type2 Status3 Class4

Republic of the Gambia (1976) Republic of the Gambia (1988) Republic of the Gambia (2000) Republic of The Gambia (2003) Republic of the Gambia (2004) Taal (2004)

N N N N N N

P P P P P UP

G G G G G R

Republic of the Gambia (2005) His Excellency, President Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh (2005) Republic of the Gambia (2006) Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) 2007

N N

UP UP

G G

N N

P P

G R

Republic of the Gambia (2007) Republic of the Gambia (2008) Adjivon, Touray, Saidykhan, Bah, and Bayoh (2011) VSO (2011)

N N Y

UP P P

G G R

N

P

R

Methods5 NS NS NS NS NS Document review, statistical data review, one to one discussions with sector directors/stakeholders NS NS

NS Qualitative research (focus group discussions, individual interviews and questionnaires) NS NS Case study and survey Qualitative research (interviews, questionnaires)

fourteen documents are research papers/reports, while the rest are government reports. With regards to method of study, most are unstated, although four employed different qualitative research methodology. In contrast, Table 3 (which shows a list of research outcomes on Ghana) shows that half of the documents reviewed were referred, while the other half none-referred. In addition, 16 out of the 21 documents or majority were classified as published research papers/reports. It is interesting to note that in the documents reviewed, the researchers/authors used a variety of research methods ranging from qualitative (e.g., case study and historical research) to quantitative (e.g., experimental and survey). The list of research outcomes on Nigeria (see Table 4) is very similar to that of Ghana, except that the class of research is mixed with a combination of research papers/reports, evaluation reports, conference papers, and government reports. Tables 5 and 6 present lists of research outcomes on Liberia

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Table 3. List of Research Outcomes on Ghana Reviewed for the Research Synthesis. Author(s)1

Pub. Type2

Status3 Class4

Methods5

Sine (1979) Girdwood (1999) Mereku (2000) Mereku (2001) Fletcher (2001)

N N N Y Y

P UP P P P

R R E R R

Eshun and Abledu (2001) Akyeampong (2003) Kadingdi (2004) Amedeker (2005) Cobbold (2007)

Y N Y Y Y

P UP P P P

R R R R R

Agbenyega (2007) Agbeko (2007) Owu-Ewie (2007) Nishimura et al. (2009) Bame (n.d.) Little (2010) Anamuah-Mensah and Wolfenden (2011) Akyeampong (2011) Republic of Ghana (2011) Ntim (2013) Mereku (2013)

Y Y Y Y N N N

P P P P UP UP UP

R R R R R R E

Interviews Interviews and document review NS Survey Questionnaires, interviews and observations Experimental Mixed research method Historical research NS Survey, factor analysis and interview Quasi-experimental, interviews NS Qualitative case study Case study NS Interviews and document review NS

NS N Y N

P P P P

R G R NS

NS NS Interview and Survey NS

and Sierra Leone respectively. Again, the two countries show similar outcome profiles. However, Liberia showed the least number of documents. It should be pointed out that the education infrastructure in these two countries were destroyed in brutal civil wars and the impact that have had on their education systems in general and teacher education in particular remains to be determined.

Teacher Education Policy From this research synthesis, it is evident that teacher education policy in Anglophone West Africa is not a “stand-alone” but an “add-on.” This

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Table 4.

List of Research Outcomes on Nigeria Reviewed for the Research Synthesis.

Author(s)1

Pub. Type2 Status3 Class4

Methods5

Moja (2000) Osunde and Omoruyi (2004) Adelabu (2006) Ololube (2006) Jaiyeoba (2007) Akinbote (2007) Ibidapo-Obe (2007) Osokoya (2007) Egwu (2009) Osuji (2009) Salami (2009) Edelenbosch and Short (2009) Adeosun, Oni, Oladipo, Onuoha, and Yakassai (2009) Kuiper et al. (2011) Aremu and Fasan (2011) Adeosun (2011) Oluremi Fareo (2013) Omera Johnson (2013)

N Y Y N Y N Y Y N Y Y N Y

UP P P UP P UP P P UP P P UP P

E R C R R R C R G R R E R

NS Survey NS Survey and case study Survey Survey (questionnaire) NS Quasi-experimental NS Historical Analysis NS Document review Case study

N Y N Y Y

UP P UP P P

E R R R R

Ajeyalemi (n.d.)

NS

NS

R

Case study Survey NS NS Survey, interviews, and observations NS

Table 5.

List of Research Outcomes on Liberia Reviewed for the Research Synthesis.

Author(s)1 Reed (1975) Nage and Snyder, Jr. (1989) Rodriquez, McLaughlin, and Cummins (2009) Republic of Liberia (2010a) Busacker (2010) Republic of Liberia (2010b) Quick (2011) UNESCO/International Bureau of Education (2010)

Pub. Type2 Status3 Class4 N Y N

P P P

R R E

N N N N N

UP NS UP P P

G E G NS E

Methods5 Surveys (questionnaire) Case study Document review, interviews, and observations Summary statistics Focus group interviews Questionnaire NS NS

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Table 6. List of Research Outcomes on Sierra Leone Reviewed for the Research Synthesis. Author(s)1

Pub. Type2 Status3 Class4

Methods5

Corby (1990) Banya and Elu (1997) Bennell (2004) Alghali, Turay, Thompson, and Kandeh (2005) Harding and Mansaray (2006)

Y Y N N

P P P P

R R E E

NS Interviews and document analysis NS NS

N

P

R

Dupigny, Kargbo, and Yallancy (2006) Campaign for Good Governance (2006)

N

P

G

Case study (survey, focus group interviews, individual interviews, questionnaires, and document reviews) Survey

N

P

R

The World Bank (2007) Nishimuko (2007) Shepler (2010) Republic of Sierra Leone (2010) Republic of Sierra Leone (2011) Novelli (2011)

N

P

E

Focus group discussions, observations, interviews. survey, document review, and secondary data analysis NS

Y N N

P P

R R G

Case study Tracer study NS

N

P

G

NS

N

P

R

Fitzpatrick and Frazier (2011) Amman and O’Donne (2011)

N

Y

E

Interviews, meetings, and fieldwork (site visits and observations) NS

Y

P

R

NS

means that most of the teacher education policies identified in the synthesis were formulated as part of a larger national policy framework on basic, secondary, and tertiary education. It is also evident that teacher education policy in Anglophone West Africa is not monolithic. There is variability across countries and within countries over time. A review of the individual Anglophone West African countries’ research outcomes showed that teacher education policy in The Gambia is focused on three areas: reforming the preparation/training of primary school teachers by restructuring the teacher education program at the Gambia College to include one year of school-based field experience and two years of college-based preparation.

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Similarly, for secondary teachers, restructuring the two-year Higher Teachers Certificate to one year of school-based field experience and one year of college-based training. The synthesis also revealed that teacher education policy is aimed at reforming courses in nonformal and preschool education, multi-grade, and double shift teaching, guidance/counseling, student services, local languages, measurement and evaluation, and school management and administration (Republic of the Gambia, 2003). Teacher education policy in Ghana has a much richer history by virtue of the fact that Ghana was the first African country to gain its independence from British colonial rule. Education in Ghana was given priority by the country’s first president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, whose government instituted Accelerated Development Plan (ADP) for Education of 1951. According to Little (2010), “Under the ADP, Teacher Training Colleges were opened and ‘pupil teachers’ were trained while in service. The ADP introduced tuition fee-free primary education and undertook ‘emergency’ training of large groups of teachers. The emphasis was on an expansion of access to education for all groups in society. The authors of the ADP introduced the term ‘Universal Primary Education’ (UPE) into the policy discourse. Enrolment growth was rapid” (p. 7). During his independence speech, Dr. Nkrumah noted that the independence of Ghana was meaningless unless it was linked to the total independence of Africa. Dr. Nkrumah and the Ghanaian government also implemented a pan-African educational collaboration/exchange that provided educational opportunities for students from other African countries such as the Gambia to study in Ghana. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to discuss the scope and sequence of that period in Ghana’s history. However, it is worth mentioning here to provide historical context. Current teacher education policy tends to focus on teacher disposition, teacher quality, the introduction of outstanding teacher award schemes, increase support for distance learning, incentives for teaching in challenging rural areas, and improving salaries for the teaching profession to achieve parity with other professions. With regards to teacher education policy in Nigeria, the research synthesis identified statements relating to incentive and motivation for pre-service teachers, teacher quality, curriculum review and alignment, use of information and communications technologies, improving the quality of faculty in the colleges of education, teacher pedagogical knowledge and disposition, and increasing course offerings for regular full-time and in service/sandwich programs. The synthesis revealed that in Liberia, teacher education policy is being forged through the partnership with various NGO’s and foreign governments such as the United States, which has historic ties with the country.

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The focus of teacher education policy is on “re-vision” teacher education, target and goal setting, teacher disposition, rehabilitation of infrastructure, rural teacher education, teacher professional standards and teacher education curriculum design. In Sierra Leone, a similar experience is taking place. There are various NGOs and foreign governments working in partnership with the government to implement teacher education policy. However, the government has passed a new basic education policy, which includes policies of teacher development, distance teacher education, rehabilitation of infrastructure, and special education. In addition, there is new legislation (The Sierra Leone Teaching Service Commission Act, 2011) and efforts at peace building and national reconciliation.

Teacher Education Practice The findings on teacher education practices in Anglophone West Africa are summarized in Table 7. There are two parts to the table. The first upper Table 7. Comparison of Pre-Service, In-Service/Professional Development Programs in Anglophone West Africa. Country Gambia Ghana Nigeria Liberia Sierra Leone

Pre-Service

In-Service and Professional Development

1, 2, 3, 4 1, 2, 3, 4 1, 2, 3, 4 1, 3, 4 1, 2, 3, 4

5, 7, 11 5 5, 7 5, 6 5, 11

Key Pre-service 1 = Formal teacher education and/or training at a teacher education/training institution 2 = Duration of 3 years or more 3 = Coursework specified 4 = School-based training/field experience included (1 year or more) In-service/professional development 5 = Multiple delivery systems (on-the-job, workshops, seminars, day, evening, vacation courses, refresher courses, conferences, sandwich, hybrid, distance learning, and online) 6 = Student focused 7 = Teacher focused 8 = Curriculum and instructional materials review and alignment 9 = Evaluation, measurement and assessment 10 = Teacher action research 11 = Leadership training

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part indicates the country, pre-service in-service, and professional development activities. The lower part of the table indicates the scoring keys. An examination of the table by country shows that The Gambia train most of its pre-service teachers at a formal teacher training institutions (The Gambia College), for a duration of three years, with prescribed coursework and one year of school-based training. In terms of in-service training and professional development, the country is piloting multiple method of delivering teacher education, although they are teacher focused. There is also a move to prepare teacher leaders and improve the capacity of school headmasters/mistresses (principals). As can been seen, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone are very similar to Gambia in terms of their in-service teacher training models, but differ in their in-service and professional development systems. Liberia has a slightly different in-service model with varying durations and is school-based. It is interesting to note that their in-service and professional development programs currently focus on student-centered pedagogies.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH This research synthesis has demonstrated that there is no uniformity in teacher education policy in Anglophone West Africa. In addition, it showed that teacher education practice is similar at the pre-service level across the Anglophone West African countries under study. However, this is not true for in-service/professional development programs. Only Liberia showed evidence of student-centered in-service/professional development. There is a huge gap in supply and demand for teachers in Anglophone West Africa. This finding is not new. However, it has major implications for educational development in the sub-region in the future. Most of the documented studies on teacher education policy and practice in Anglophone West Africa seem to come out of Ghana and Nigeria. It is fair to say that there is “loose-coupling” between teacher education policy and teacher education practice in Anglophone West Africa. According to Elmore (2005), the current pool of school principals and superintendents in the United States were trained to manage school buildings, school districts, people and crisis, and to protect or minimize damage to their turf from outside forces. However, most of what they are trained to do has very little to do with curriculum, instruction, and assessment, which is what schools do or are suppose to do. The gap between what these leaders are trained to do and the

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reality on the ground, Elmore (2005) called “loose-coupling.” The theory of “loose-coupling” explains why teacher education policy do not match teacher education practice in Anglophone West Africa because education policy makers rarely talk to or engage teachers in the process of thinking about their work. This research synthesis is limited because it does not include a large sample of empirical, peer-reviewed studies. It relies only on what is available online and accessible via Google and University subscribed electronic databases. However, it has identified new opportunities for comparative and international education research. Some of the opportunities for new research will be discussed below. 1. Of the themes that emerged from the research synthesis, the following are worth considering for further research: gender and teacher education, teacher education and globalization, teacher education and peace building, technology and teacher education, public health and teacher education, and teacher working conditions. 2. In terms of country specific research the synthesis clearly showed that there is a huge shortage of peer-reviewed, published research on all aspect of teacher education and training in The Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. 3. There is a diversity of actors involved in research on teacher education policy and practice in Anglophone West Africa and these include and are not limited to university faculty/researchers, doctoral candidates, postdocs, NGOs, big international development organizations (The World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, EU, USAID, VSO, etc.), continental-based educational research institutions (e.g., Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWCA), African Education Research Network and African Development Bank), African governments, Ministries of Education and independent consultants. Although the synthesis revealed that there is some good research out there, some of the quality of the research outcomes remains to be desired. Some peer-reviewed, published research showed poor methodology and/or language in communicating research results. There is room for improvement and these could take the form of cross-disciplinary collaboration and partnerships between universities in Anglophone West Africa and their counterparts aboard. African universities have a rich research environment and in most cases are interested in collaboration to improve their capacity. Universities aboard have capacity and technology. A mutual, strategic partnership will benefit both. It is

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important to include a note of caution and that is, in any partnership, for it to work, great care must be taken to not reproduce past neocolonial, paternalistic, and exploitative relationships. Tatto (2011) proposed a “comparative-collaborative-reflective approach to policy-oriented inquiry” as a way to “create spaces for the joint construction and contextualization of policy usable knowledge” (p. 510). 4. The synthesis showed that even though there is diversity of research actors, there is little diversity in research methodology. It is fair to say that the most common methods of research used in the reported documents were case studies, surveys, and a combination of the two. Creativity is needed in terms of research design, choice of methodology, and reporting. The advances in computing and statistical software has made it possible to conduct very sophisticated research using national and international databases compiled by UNESCO Institute of Statistics, African Union and The world Bank. There are models out there. For instance, in the United States there is a growing interest in secondary data analysis of state report card data compiled by states and national data compiled by the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics to answer education policy questions. Using secondary data is not only confine to quantitative data. There are huge amounts of qualitative data (images, voice, text, and sound) on the Internet relating to teacher education that could be mined and analyzed to answer research questions. The use of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) in combination with other methods could provide valuable information that could inform policy and practice. The use of documentary films or video journals is a powerful research tool, which when combined with other methods could provide very convincing results. The point is that the current state of affairs could be improved by using mixed research methods, mixed design, Internet resources, advanced statistical software, national, and international databases and related information technologies.

NOTE 1. “SACE is the professional council for educators, that aims to enhance the status of the teaching profession through appropriate Registration, management of Professional Development and inculcation of a Code of Ethics for all educators” (Source: http://www.sace.org.za/).

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Mereku, K. D. (2013). Education and training of basic school teachers in Ghana. Retrieved from http://wikieducator.org/images/1/1b/Education_and_traing_of_basic_school_teachers_in_Ghana.pdf. Accessed on October 8, 2013. Moja, T. (2000). Nigeria education sector analysis: An analytical synthesis of performance and main issues. Washington, DC: World Bank. Motivans, A., Smith, T., & Bruneforth, M. (2006). Teachers and educational quality: Monitoring global needs for 2015. Montreal, Quebec: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Mulkeen, A. (2010). Teachers in Anglophone Africa: Issues in teacher supply, training and management. (Development Practice in Education, No. 52278.). Washington, DC: The World Bank. Nage, J., & Snyder, C. W., Jr. (1989). International funding of educational development: External agendas and internal adaptations: The case of Liberia. Comparative Education Review, 33(1), 3 20. Nishimuko, M. (2007). Problems behind education for all (EFA): The case of Sierra Leone. Educate, 7(2), 19 29. Nishimura, M., Ogawa, K., Sifuna, D. N., Chimombo, J., Kunje, D., Ampiah, J. G., … Yamada, S. (2009). A comparative analysis of universal primary education policy in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda. Journal of International Cooperation in Education, 1(12), 143 158. Novelli, M. (2011). The role of education in peacebuilding: Case study Sierra Leone. New York, NY: United Nations Children’s Fund. Ntim, S. (2013). Exploring the mismatch between teacher demand-supply in subSahara Africa: Ghana as case study. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 4(1), 272 284. Ololube, N. P. (2006). Teacher education, school effectiveness and improvement: A study of academic and professional qualification on teachers’ job effectiveness in Nigerian secondary schools. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Helsinki, Finland. Oluremi Fareo, D. (2013). Professional development of teachers in Africa: A case study of Nigeria. The African Symposium, 13(1), 63 68. Omera Johnson, O. (2013). Teacher’s utilization of secondary school libraries in Idah local government area, Kogi State. African Educational Research Journal, 1(2), 96 101. Osokoya, I. O. (2007). A path-analytic study of teachers’ quality variables as determinants of achievement in secondary school history. The African Symposium, 7(2), 75 86. Osuji, S. N. (2009). Teacher education curriculum in Nigeria in the perspective of lifelong education. The Journal of International Social Research, 2(8), 297 301. Osunde, A. U., & Omoruyi, F. E. O. (2004). An evaluation of the national teachers institute’s manpower training program for teaching personnel in mid-western Nigeria. International Education Journal, 5(3), 405 409. Owu-Ewie, C. (2007). Enhancing thinking skills of preservice teachers in Ghana: The case of Assai Hills training college. The African Symposium, 7(2), 40 47. Quick, D. (2011). Rebuilding education from scratch in Liberia. Retrieved from http://www. fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/EducationSupplement/11.pdf. Accessed on April 30, 2011. Reed, R. J. (1975). Characteristics of teachers; a survey tool for policy making: A descriptive study in Liberia. Berkeley, CA: California University, Berkeley. Republic of Ghana. (2011). The development of education: National report of Ghana. Retrieved from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/International/ICE47/English/Natreps/ reports/ghana.pdf. Accessed on April 2, 2011.

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Republic of Liberia. (2010a). Appraisal of the 2010 2020 education sector plan. Monrovia, Liberia: Government Printing. Republic of Liberia. (2010b). The education sector plan of Liberia: A commitment to making a difference. Monrovia, Liberia: Government Printing. Republic of Sierra Leone. (2010). The new education policy: 6-3-4-4. Freetown, Sierra Leone: Author. Republic of Sierra Leone. (2011). The Sierra Leone teaching service commission act, 2011. Freetown, Sierra Leone: Author. Republic of the Gambia. (1976). Education policy, 1976 1986. Sessional Paper No. 5 of 1976. Banjul, Gambia: Government Printer. Republic of the Gambia. (1988). Education policy, 1988 2003, Sessional Paper No. 4 of 1988. Banjul, Gambia: Book Production and Material Resource Unit. Republic of the Gambia. (2000). EFA 2000 assessment report The Gambia. Banjul, Gambia: Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education. Republic of the Gambia. (2003). Revised education policy 1988 2003. Banjul, Gambia: Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education. Republic of the Gambia. (2004). Education policy, 2004 2015. Retrieved from http:// planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Gambia/Gambia_Ed_Pol_2004-2015.pdf. Accessed on November 24, 2012. Republic of the Gambia. (2005). Education master plan 1998 2005. Banjul, Gambia: Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education. Republic of the Gambia. (2006). Sector report 2006. Banjul, Gambia: Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education. Republic of the Gambia. (2007). Round table conference London: Basic education strategy paper 2007 2011. Banjul, Gambia: Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education. Republic of the Gambia. (2008). Education sector medium term plan 2008 2011. Banjul, Gambia: Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education. Richter, B. W., van der Walt, J. L., & Visser, A. (2004). Teacher education in, and for, a new Africa. Africa Education Review, 1(1), 3 20. Rodriquez, L., McLaughlin, S., & Cummins, P. (2009). Mid-term assessment of the Liberia teacher training program. Washington, DC: USAID. Sadler, T. D., Burgin, S., McKinney, L., & Ponjuan, L. (2010). Learning science through research apprenticeships: A critical review of the literature. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(3), 235 256. Salami, Y. K. (2009). The political economy of Nigeria and the continuing agenda of recolonizaton: A challenge for critical knowledge production. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 3(3), 131 141. Shepler, S. (2010). Does teacher training for refugees contribute to post-conflict reconstruction of educational systems? Evidence from West Africa. Retrieved from http://www. academia.edu/258097/Does_teacher_training_for_refugees_contribute_to_post-con_ ict_reconstruction_of_educational_systems_Evidence_from_West_Africa. Accessed on October 21, 2013. Sine, B. (1979). Non-formal education and education policy in Ghana and Senegal. Paris, France: UNESCO. Sinyolo, D. (2007). Teacher supply, recruitment and retention in six Anglophone sub-Saharan African Countries: A report on a survey conducted by Education International in The

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Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Brussels, Belgium: Educational International. South African Council for Educators (SACE). (2010). A review of teacher supply and demand. Retrieved from http://www.sace.org.za/upload/files/A%20review%20on%20teacher% 20demand%20and%20supply%20in%20South%20Africa.pdf. Accessed on October 29, 2013. Stake, R. E. (2010). Qualitative research: Studying how things work. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Taal, A. B. S. (2004). Medium term sector study: Education sector review and linking education with human resources development and utilization, DOSFEA/ECMBP 111/GAM 53/003/ 01. Banjul, The Gambia: University of The Gambia. Tatto, M. T. (2011). Reimagining the education of teachers: The role of comparative and international research. Comparative Education Review, 55(4), 495 516. Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. (2013). Pride and light: Female teachers’ experiences of living and working in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Retrieved from http://www. tessafrica.net/files/tessafrica/tessateacherslives.pdf. Accessed on October 3, 2013. The World Bank. (2007). Education in Sierra Leone: Present challenges, future opportunities. Africa human development series # 39166. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Tilak, J. B. (1986). Education and its relation to economic growth. World Bank Discussion Paper 46. Washington, DC: World Bank. UNESCO/International Bureau of Education. (2010). World data on education: Liberia. Retrieved from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/ 2010/pdf versions/Liberia.pdf. Accessed on September 6, 2013. VSO. (2007). Teachers speak out: A policy research report on teachers’ motivation and perceptions of their profession in the Gambia. London: VSO. VSO. (2011). Qualifying for quality: Unqualified teachers and qualified teacher shortages in The Gambia. London: VSO. Yates, C. (2007). Teacher education policy: International development discourses and the development of teacher education. Paper prepared for the Teacher Policy Forum for Sub-Saharan Africa, November 6 9, 2007, Paris, France: UNESCO. Zhao, Y. (2010). Preparing globally competent teachers: A new imperative for teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(5), 422–431.

EDUCATION POLICY, TEACHER EDUCATION, AND PEDAGOGY: A CASE STUDY OF UNESCO Anthony Cerqua, Clermont Gauthier and Martial Dembe´le´ ABSTRACT Global governance has granted international organizations a political role of utmost importance. As the search for research-based best practices is the spearhead of these nongovernmental organizations, national decision-makers tend to accept their recommendations willingly. The way decision-makers use research-based evidence has been amply investigated, but few researchers have interrogated how the same international organizations, that claim to establish a bridge between research and policy, use such evidence. This prompted us to analyze the pedagogical discourse of UNESCO, an organization that recently reminded the international community that improving teacher quality is now a major issue for all those who are preoccupied with improving the quality of education (UNESCO, 2014). Teaching and learning: Achieving quality for all. EFA global monitoring report. Paris, France: UNESCO). How does UNESCO deal with the issue of teaching practices? What is the content of its pedagogical discourse? To answer these questions, we

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 25, 235 266 Copyright r 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-367920140000025016

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analyzed the Organization’s publications on teachers in the past 15 years (N = 45) and conducted interviews with a number of its strategic members (N = 5). The results of our analyses of this dataset indicate a tension between the content of the publications and what the interviewees had to say. While the publications timidly but recurrently promote learner-centered constructivist approaches, the interviewees argued that pedagogical orientations are a matter of national sovereignty; that UNESCO should not cross this line. As an intermediary between research and policy and a think tank, UNESCO seems caught in this contradiction. In matters of pedagogy, shouldn’t the Organization be more forceful in counseling its member States by referring to researchbased evidence on teaching effectiveness? Keywords: Evidence-based policy; UNESCO; education quality; teacher professionalization; pedagogy; constructivism

INTRODUCTION So long as the nature of good teaching remains elusive, the design of teacher education programmes will continue to be uncertain. — UNESCO (1998, p. 67)

When thinking about future directions in teacher education, we must, as the quote above suggests, focus primarily on pedagogical content. Indeed, whether during initial education or across teachers’ professional development, the construction or consolidation of a knowledge base for “good teaching” represents a fundamental process in the professionalization of teachers. According to Bourdoncle (1991), this process would result into greater mastery and increased effectiveness of teachers, both individually and collectively. We are currently carrying out research whose objective is to describe, analyze and establish a critical portrait of the scientific basis for the pedagogical choices made by three major international organizations in their teacher education policies: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank. Pedagogy is defined here in its most restricted sense, namely the practices implemented daily by the teacher in the classroom to instruct and educate a group of

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students. In this sense, pedagogy moves away from the field of philosophy and its original purpose of discourse on principles to focus exclusively on issues of methods, techniques, or tools for teaching (Monjo, 2006). In addition, within this interpretation, pedagogy relates not to the teaching strategies of any particular discipline (e.g., mathematics didactics, language didactics, science didactics, etc.), but to teaching strategies broadly speaking. Our perspective is part of the lineage of those who study the use of research evidence by decision-makers. Most of the studies on this topic have been conducted at the national level. Ours draws its originality from addressing this issue at a still less explored level, for example, the international level in a globalized context. Furthermore, it focuses on pedagogy as defined above. The results available at the national level are not yet very encouraging: most of the time, research (empirical and experimental) is not the primary source of evidence in the process of policy-making in education (Nelson, Leffler, & Hansen, 2009). In addition, research evidence on teacher effectiveness is seldom taken into account in educational reforms (Bissonnette, Richard, & Gauthier, 2005) and in teacher education programs (Castonguay, 2011). Is the situation different at the global level, namely within international organizations such as UNESCO, OECD, and the World Bank? More specifically, what is the pedagogical discourse of these organizations? Given the growing influence of these bodies on national educational policies (Charlier, 2005), particularly in developing countries, and the current trend toward improvement of the quality of the teaching staff, this question certainly deserves to be raised. In this chapter, we will limit our analysis on the scientific basis of the pedagogical choices made by UNESCO for developing teacher education policies. The focus will not be a case study of specific countries but will cover the broad institutional perspective of UNESCO, per se. The analysis is divided into three parts. The first part briefly considers the influence of globalization on the educational spheres. It shows that international organizations are now full political actors, having penetrated the inner workings of the decision-making process of nation-states. In this perspective, we describe UNESCO’s involvement in the field of education. We note, particularly, the growing interest in improving the quality of teachers and their training in international political agendas. The second part of the chapter is devoted to the methodology. To carry out this study, we analyzed a set of institutional documents (N = 45) and conducted semi-structured interviews with individuals working in these institutions (N = 5). Finally, the third part presents the results arising from the document analysis and interviews.

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THE CONTEXT This opening section clarifies the reasons that have prompted us to examine the pedagogical foundations of the teacher education policies of these three international organizations. Our analysis is informed by the thesis that, as an effect of globalization, international organizations exert an influence on national education policies, which consequently assign a high priority to concerns over the improvement of education quality. We demonstrate that the imperative of quality depends, in particular, on the professionalization of teaching, which gives rise to a number of challenges in choosing the best teaching practices to integrate into teacher education programs.

Globalization, International Organizations, and Education Policies Globalization is a complex phenomenon that generates social, professional, cultural, institutional, political, and economic outcomes. Over the past two decades, globalization has been the subject of numerous debates, within which nationalist, alter-globalist, and neo-liberal actors continue to exchange opposing views on its meaning and direction. In addition, globalization affects many domains and gives rise to many interpretations, so that it is difficult to elaborate a straightforward or unambiguous definition. For the purposes of our analysis, we will retain the definition developed by Stewart (1996), according to whom globalization means the expansion and consolidation of global connections through the free flow of capital, knowledge, and labor, as well as the implementation of international constraints that increasingly limit the actions of nation-states. Education has long been considered a cornerstone of the preservation of national identity under the exclusive purview of nation-state jurisdiction. But it has not been immune to the effects of globalization, which has impacted on all sectors of education, prompting them to reform. According to Charlier (2005), “all levels of education are affected by international processes that challenge established modes of organization and operating principles” (p. 18). In discussing these same dynamics, Amaral (2010, p. 59), for his part, identifies recent signs of erosion in what he terms “national educational sovereignty.” These signs of erosion translate into profound changes in education policy-making processes. The nation-state is no longer the sole commander on board, so to speak. Nation-states now accept new actors into their decision-making processes actors who both provide the initial

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impulse for reform and later participate in their development. Among these new actors are international organizations. Indeed, international organizations have come to occupy a prominent position within the field of national education policy: “Particularly, IOs advanced to prominent positions during the past decades and today play an important part in the “re-construction” of the education policy arenas […]” (Amaral, 2010, p. 60). International comparative measures of student learning (including IEA, PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS) have significantly increased the sway that international organizations carry in national and local decision-making (Charlier, 2005). Thus, according to Lessard (1998): […] major international organizations, such as UNESCO and the World Bank, produce analytical frameworks, elaborate educational policies, and monitor their implementation, as well as assess educational systems, thereby contributing to the development and the dissemination of a vision of education and training that transcends continents, states, cultures, religions, and languages. (p. 6)

International organizations advocate a number of approaches that today have become an integral part of a majority of national education policies, including theories of human capital and life-long learning, the impact of ICTE, decentralization policies, and the now dominant competence-based approaches. As Charlier (2003) has pointed out, however, the influence of international organizations on education policies may well have become a commonplace, but has been little analyzed. And although efforts have been made to mend the analytical gap, much remains to be understood about the strategies that underpin international organizations’ initiatives, especially in light of the considerable influence these organizations wield in the elaboration of national education policies. In the present chapter, we will focus specifically on UNESCO and its core educational mission.

UNESCO’s Involvement in the Education Sphere: Increasingly Qualitative Directions Since its foundation, UNESCO has made education one of its priorities. Its Constitution (1945) established from the outset the two principles that have since guided the organization’s educational endeavor: collaboration with national governments “to advance the ideal of equality of educational opportunity without regard to race, sex or any distinctions, economic or

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social” (Article I, 2.b) and the promotion of “educational methods best suited to prepare the children of the world for the responsibilities of freedom” (Article I, 2.b). As we can see, UNESCO’s founding document sowed the seeds of both the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of its educational mission.1 On the one hand, the democratization of education has been a primary concern from the outset of UNESCO’s foundation, in the aftermath of World War II. Schools had to be rebuilt and repopulated so that whole generations of children lost to worldwide wars could be replaced. Since then, access to education has become and continues to be a primary objective in the eyes of the global education community. The massive, unprecedented expansion of education during the 1960s and 1970s opened access to knowledge to entire sectors of the population, representing tens of millions of individuals, yet it also engendered numerous problems that it could not resolve. This has been particularly true for many African, Asian, and, to a lesser degree, Latin American countries. In these countries, the scarcity of material, financial, and human resources has made the universalization of education difficult to achieve and, worse yet, has resulted in grave inequalities. For these countries, the main priority has been not to improve the quality of education, but to improve access to education by finding the material and human resources required to cope with the vast expansion of the student population. Unfortunately, it was during this same period that much needed financial resources became particularly scarce. Following a global recession, as well as two major oil crises, governments and international organizations worldwide were gravely weakened by the end of the 1970s. The resulting socioeconomic problems coupled with the rapid democratization of access to education resulted in a decline and a deterioration of education quality in many countries, particularly in underdeveloped regions. This was the first true institutional and economic crisis that UNESCO had to face.2 Deprived of a considerable portion of its resources, the organization narrowed its educational program to focus on three main axes: (1) the universalization of education; (2) the identity, modernity, and development of educational systems; and (3) the design and implementation of education policies (UNESCO, 1985). Improving education quality an issue that had been skimmed over, addressed only partially, and pushed into the background by the imperative of equality of educational opportunities now became the a battle cry for governments and international organizations (Papadopoulos, 1994). Sponsored by UNESCO, the World Conference on Education for All

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(EFA), held in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990, marked a turn in the global dialogue on education. Now, in addition to the promotion of universal education, UNESCO had officially adopted the principle of promoting educational success, as well: Whether or not expanded educational opportunities will translate into meaningful development for an individual or for society depends ultimately on whether people actually learn as a result of those opportunities, i.e. whether they incorporate useful knowledge, reasoning ability, skills, and values. The focus of basic education must, therefore, be on actual learning acquisition and outcome, rather than exclusively upon enrolment, continued participation in organized programmes and completion of certification requirements. (UNESCO, 1990, p. 5)

The EFA goals were reiterated more recently in the Dakar Framework for Action (2000), which called on the international community to fulfill its collective obligations. The strength of the Dakar Framework resides in the fact that the “Education for All (EFA) 2000 Assessment is the most indepth evaluation of basic education ever undertaken”3 (UNESCO, 2000). Among the innovations the Framework introduced, the most salient was its formulation of six objectives that focused international action on education on more clearly and precisely stated goals. Democratization, equality, and quality were for the first time placed on an equal footing; and although they are formulated as interdependent objectives, their achievement requires specific interventions. Improving the quality of education, until then in the shadow of the issues of access and equality, now became an area of investigation in its own right, whose stated goal is: “improving every aspect of the quality of education, and ensuring their excellence so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills” (UNESCO, 2000, p. 8). Since the formulation of the Framework, many documents have addressed the issue of education quality. In the case of UNESCO, important examples to bear in mind include the reports of the Ministerial Roundtable on Quality in Education, held in Paris in 2003, and the 47th session of the International Conference on Education, held in Geneva in 2004, under the title: Quality Education for all Young People: Challenges, Trends and Priorities. As well, a year later, the EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2005 was entirely dedicated to the quality imperative of educational systems (UNESCO, 2005). A reading of that voluminous document proves illuminating. The report outlines UNESCO’s vision of quality in education and the measures to be adopted in order to foster improvement and assess progress. In addition, as we will see, the EFA 2005 report identifies numerous issues as levers to be activated in order to achieve the objective of

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quality among these levers, improving the quality of teachers and their training is central to UNESCO’s vision.

Improvements to the Quality of Teachers and Teacher Training in UNESCO Programs The pivotal impact teachers have on their students’ learning has long ceased to be a point of contention: that impact has been demonstrated time and again by pedagogical research, which has underlined the significant influence of teaching on student learning (Bissonnette, Richard, & Gauthier, 2006; Cusset, 2011). The resulting logic proceeds as follows: one cannot hope to improve the quality of education without raising the quality of teachers; consequently, emphasis must be placed on the improvement of teaching practices and teacher education systems. This alignment of education quality/teacher quality/training system quality propagated quickly to the global stage, notably because such was the discourse adopted by international organizations. UNESCO, too, has participated in the diffusion of this discourse. Since the time of the African independence movements of the 1950s and 1960s, UNESCO has remained at the forefront of international cooperation aimed at the improvement of teachers’ working conditions and training (UNESCO, 2006). This vision was put forward clearly in the action framework formulated at the Jomtien EFA conference (1990): The preeminent role of teachers as well as of other educational personnel in providing quality basic education needs to be recognized and developed to optimize their contribution. This must entail measures to respect teachers’ trade union rights and professional freedoms, and to improve their working conditions and status, notably in respect to their recruitment, initial and in-service training, remuneration and career development possibilities, as well as to allow teachers to fulfill their aspirations, social obligations and ethical responsibilities. (p. 29)

In its World Education Report for 1998, UNESCO once again asserted the view that although “teaching and learning conditions are important, teachers are central to the question of education’s quality and relevance” (UNESCO, 1998, p. 63). Two years later, the Dakar Framework for Action (2000) restated the essential role of teachers in the promotion of quality in education, stating that they are “catalyzers” of change and that, as such, their involvement in decision-making processes should be greater. Echoing these views, Villegas-Reimers (2003) asserts that educators are not

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only a variable facilitating the improvement of education quality, but are indeed the core agents of change in educational reforms. The same year, ministers from member states recognized the indispensable role of teachers as purveyors of knowledge and values, as well as community leaders bearing a responsibility for the future of today’s youth (Villegas-Reimers, 2003). According to the ministers, every available resource should to be directed toward ensuring support for teachers and drawing benefits from their experience. In order to accelerate the achievement of EFA objectives, UNESCO launched the Teacher Training Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa (TTISSA), which is dedicated to improving teacher quality in the region. The initiative’s objective consists in focusing EFA programs and national policies on teachers, on the assumption that education success begins with teachers’ training, motivation, and support (UNESCO, 2006). In 2007, the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) dedicated an issue of its series on Fundamentals of educational planning to teacher education. The document, authored by Schwille and Dembe´le´ (2007), continues to serve as a point of reference in discussions on the policies and practices involved in teacher training programs. The focus on teachers is also discernable among the pages of journals edited by UNESCO. Its International Bureau of Education (IBE), for example, turned to Helen Timperley (University of Auckland) in order to develop a discussion of teachers’ professional development (Timperley, 2008) in the pages of Educational Practices. In 2008, UNESCO instituted the International Task Force on Teachers for Education for All, in order to improve ongoing efforts to remedy a worldwide shortage of teaching personnel. The work of the TTISSA, for its part, has resulted in the publication of the Methodological Guide for the Analysis of Teacher Issues (2010), which addresses various facets of teacher improvement. The growing interest in teachers is now set to culminate in the forthcoming installment (2013) of the EFA Global Monitoring Report under the title Teaching and Learning for Development, which will “focus attention on improving the quality of education, including through reforming teacher training, deployment and motivation” (UNESCO, 2013, p. 1). The foregoing review of various initiatives indicates that the improvement of teacher quality and training represents a key challenge for UNESCO in education system reforms and that professionalization has become the primary focus of teacher training programs. We shall presently examine the significance of this specific choice of focus.

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The Professionalization of Teaching: Improving Teaching Practices Although professionalization had long been an element of many education reform initiatives, “it was only by the end of the 1980s […] that, in many regions of the world, the professionalization of teaching came to be seen as a solution to society’s growing needs for quality education, insofar as concerned both the curriculum and teachers’ working conditions” (Jutras, Legault, & Desaulniers, 2007, p. 96).4 Indeed, Tardif, Lessard, and Gauthier (1998) described the professionalization of teaching as a significant trend and as an international movement transcending national borders. However, professionalizing a trade is no easy task. According to Bourdoncle (1991, 1993), a trade must undergo three difficult processes in order to become a profession. The first, “professionism,” depends on “the position of the profession’s militants and activists who, through common strategies and a shared discourse, seek higher recognition for the value of the services they provide and strive to increase their autonomy, control, and professional monopoly” (Bourdoncle, 1991, p. 76). Bourdoncle identifies the second process, that of “professionalism,” with those who appropriate and implement the norms that emerge from the transformation of an activity into a profession. These first two processes indicate that the professionalization of an activity depends as much on social recognition (professionism) as it does on membership and members’ acknowledgment of the values and norms established by the profession (professionalism). The third and final process is “professionality,” which consists in “the capacity building and knowledge rationalization process operating in the exercise of the profession, resulting in increased individual and collective effectiveness” (Bourdoncle, 1991, p. 75). The effectiveness of a profession that is the capacity of its members to achieve objectives, whether chosen or imposed by others depends partly on classroom formalization of best practices and the training of relevant actors in those practices. In terms specific to our discussion, the process of professionality leads to a conception of teaching as a profession of high standing, drawing on a base of specialized knowledge strongly linked with the context of professional practice and reinforced by the contributions of collaborating practitioners and researchers. The important role of the specialization of knowledge in the achievement and perpetuation of a profession’s status has been emphasized by various approaches to the sociology of professions (Gauthier, Desbiens, Malo, Martineau, & Simard, 1997). Indeed, Bourdoncle (1993) identifies specialization as one of the two fundamental attributes of all professions the other being a service ideal and

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states that “there cannot be a profession without a base of formal knowledge to direct its practice” (p. 105). This conception of teaching has resulted in a refocusing of professional teacher training on practice, that is, on the classroom as the specific site where practitioners exercise the profession and which produces the knowledge that serves in further training (Tardif et al., 1998). This same conception places a high value on experimentation, which allows researchers to assess the effectiveness of pedagogical approaches in the classroom, producing points of reference that make it possible to determine the content of the knowledge base to be taught. Cited by numerous education researchers, these concerns apply first and foremost to an organization like UNESCO that has made the professionalization of teaching a central objective of its education quality improvement policies. A question remains, however, as to whether UNESCO takes into account the requirements of the “professionality” process when it elaborates education policies aimed at teachers and their training. The specific objective of the present study, therefore, will be to discuss the empirical education research that UNESCO cites in support of its policies and which constitutes the “knowledge base” of choice.

METHODOLOGY Our study is based on two types of data. First, we rely primarily on documentary evidence and, second, on semi-structured interviews with strategic UNESCO actors who have contributed to the publication of reports on teacher education. The selected set of documentary sources consists of UNESCO publications addressing teacher education, published during the past fifteen years.5 This includes every guidance document on teacher training for primary and secondary level teaching accessible through the online UNESCO database (UNESDOC), including all TTISSA documents. In order to select our source base of documents, we performed a title search in the UNESDOC database using the search term “teach,” which returned results that included all documents addressing issues in teacher education (teacher training, teacher education, etc.); next, we applied a series of selection criteria to the initial set in order to refine the selection. The first criterion sorted the documents by type. We thus eliminated administrative documents, which were unlikely to provide information on the organization’s pedagogical orientations. Next, we also disqualified working documents and article published by journals edited by UNESCO, since such texts are

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the distinct work of authors, rather than of the organization. In line with our definition of pedagogy, another selection criterion excluded all texts related to subject-specific didactics. We also excluded texts referring to a single country and those addressing overly specialized subjects, such as gender, HIV/AIDS, or equity. This sampling rule averted the potential pitfall of creating additional sample types (by country, continent, teaching level or discipline), less relevant to our research objectives. Ultimately, 45 documents were retained for the study. And although each of the retained documents contains a disclaimer stating that the opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect those of UNESCO, it remains that by publishing these documents, the organization acts as their sounding board. Not having produced the documents in its own name, UNESCO does disseminate them the world over. And this is, in fact, a widespread characteristic of international organizations’ discourses. The recruitment of the five study participants proceeded as follows: we first contacted, by email, persons responsible for initiatives that directly concerned teachers and their training. On the basis of this first contact, we were able to recruit participants currently working with TTISSA and the International Task Force on Teachers for EFA. In addition, we contacted IIPE members who had previously been involved in studies and projects addressing teacher education. It is important to note that the interview data are included in the present study principally in order to validate and complement the results of our comprehensive documentary analysis and do not in any way purport to represent the overall opinions of the organization’s personnel.

THE UNESCO DISCOURSE: TEACHING METHODS AND TEACHER EDUCATION The following section constitutes the core of the present study. Paradoxically, however, it is the one in which we can ascertain the least. The reason is quite straightforward: aside from vague allusions to pedagogy, UNESCO’s discourse does not outline any clear, precise, or detailed position on the pedagogical content that ought to underpin teacher training systems. Nevertheless, among the retained set of documentary sources, one text presented a more sustained discussion of pedagogy: the EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2005. The report’s authors discuss a range of teaching methods they consider to be direct “enabling inputs” and, in so doing, tackle issues of pedagogical content. Pedagogical considerations are not entirely absent from the other documents retained for the purpose of the

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present study, but, when such considerations do appear, it is only in passing, in casual allusions, and in a superficial manner on most occasions. As we will see below, our interview results confirm this observation: all the participants reported that UNESCO indeed does not promote any one teaching approach and does not hold any specific pedagogical discourse. The present section is divided into three parts. The first analyzes in detail the discourse presented by the EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2005. The second explores various perspectives in order to examine the place of pedagogical considerations in the remaining selected publications. The third part presents a detailed discussion of the results of interviews with strategic UNESCO actors.

UNESCO’s Pedagogical Guidelines in the EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2005 The EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2005 is the exception that proves the rule for the selected set of publications. The report outlines a framework (Fig. 1) that elucidates both the meaning of the concept of quality in education and the central position that teaching methods occupy within that concept. The framework comprises four categories of factors that can exert an influence on education quality: the characteristics of learners (1), economic and social contexts at the national level (2), material and human resources (3), as well as the teaching and learning process (4). In addition, the box titled Outcomes (5) presents the objectives and characteristics of a quality education. According to the authors, by “focusing on these dimensions and how they interact, it is possible to draw up a comprehensive map for understanding, monitoring and improving quality” (p. 21). The multi-factorial character of the process that aims to improve the quality of education becomes immediately evident. The complexity of the objective prompts those who wish to work toward its achievement to adopt holistic, strategic approaches allowing for action on diverse factors. An overview of the framework in Fig. 1 shows that the factors it enumerates can be divided into those that result from the school environment, those that are linked with the learner’s family environment, and those that are attributable to a state or religious authority. Moreover, it is interesting to note that all four categories or dimensions of factors are linked to Outcomes (5). This is an accurate reflection of the fact that educational success is not the exclusive purview of schools, which should not burden sole responsibility for the mission to improve education quality. One of the major points of interest of

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Enabling inputs Teaching and learning

4

Learning time Learner characteristics

1

Aptitude Perseverance School readiness Prior knowledge Barriers to learning

Teaching methods Assessment, feedback, incentives Class size

Socio-cultural and religious factors (Aid strategies)

Literacy, numeracy and life skills

Teaching and learning materials Physical infrastructure and facilities Human resources: teachers, principals, inspectors, supervisors, administrators

3

Creative and emotional skills Values Social benefits

School governance

Context Economic and labour market conditions in the community

Outcomes 5

2

Educational knowledge and support infrastructure

Philosophical standpoint of teacher and learner

National standards

Public resources available for education

Peer effects

Labour market demands

Competitiveness of the teaching profession on the labour market

Time available for schooling and homework

Parental support

Public expectations Globalization

National governance and management strategies

Fig. 1. A Framework for Understanding Education Quality. Source: UNESCO (2005, p. 36) in Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2005: The Quality Imperative r UNESCO 2004 used by permission of UNESCO. Note: Numbers 1-5 and bracket added.

this analytical framework is undoubtedly the category of enabling inputs, among which the authors of the report identify two types: indirect and direct enabling inputs. Indirect inputs include human and material resources, as well as issues of governance (3); direct inputs focus on the teaching-learning process (4). By stating that the process of “[t]eaching and learning is the key arena for human development and change” (UNESCO, 2005, p. 40), UNESCO identifies this process as the most fundamental element in the improvement of education quality. The organization thus recapitulates the idea that the improvement of education quality hinges largely on the improvement of the quality of teachers and their teaching methods. One need only examine the components of the teaching learning process to confirm the statement’s accuracy: three out of the four learning time, teaching methods, assessment, feedback, and encouragement are the direct responsibility of the teacher in the classroom. Having identified teaching methods as one of the direct enabling inputs of the improvement of student results, the report’s authors go on to discuss

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them in detail. The document is replete with comments that leave little room for any doubt as to the importance the authors accord to teaching. Among the most explicit among them asserts that: “What goes on in the classroom, and the impact of the teacher and teaching, has been identified in numerous studies as the crucial variable for improving learning outcomes. The way teachers teach is of critical concern in any reform designed to improve quality” (UNESCO, 2005, p. 172). Since the report is particularly copious, at times even opaque, it is sometimes difficult to identify a clear line of argumentation on questions of pedagogy. We can, however, summarize it with the following excerpts: 1. “Many commonly used teaching styles do not serve children well: they are often too rigid and rely heavily on rote learning, placing students in a passive role” (p. 19); 2. “Pedagogical renewal across sub-Saharan Africa has included many attempts to switch to learner-centered, activity-oriented pedagogy and away from teacher-dominated instructional practices” (p. 172); 3. “In most of the countries concerned, however, attempts to institutionalize child-centered pedagogy in schools and teacher-training institutions have produced inconclusive results” (p. 172); 4. “Thus, structured instruction may be the more pragmatic option for providing satisfactory quality in education in situations of severe resource constraints, high pupil/teacher ratios (which complicate classroom management and individual learning strategies) and underqualified or unmotivated teachers” (p. 174). In the first two points, it is easy to discern the classic, dominant line of argumentation of contemporary pedagogical discourse: first, a disavowal of learning by rote, memorization, and frontal teaching; and second, the promotion of humanist approaches, which, because they are diametrically opposed to such methods, will facilitate the transformation of teaching away from frontal teaching, which also answer the need for innovation, and which gains precedence as the concept best adapted to existing needs. It is at point 3, above, that the report begins to take an unexpected turn. UNESCO asserts that humanist approaches and their pedagogy, centered on the learner, prove inoperative and ineffectual in developing countries (implicitly demonstrating that to question the supremacy of these approaches was an unusual stance in 2005). What is more, the UNESCO report praises structured teaching, by stating that “many educational researchers advocate” the method (p. 17). Yet the report’s pragmatic positioning on the side of structured approaches is lost among other

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considerations, making its stance difficult to distinguish and, to put it plainly, confused. An Amalgam: Passivity, Teacher-Centered Methods, Behaviorism, and Structured Teaching The UNESCO pedagogical discourse perpetuates a classical and caricatural opposition, which identifies and denigrates an antagonistic viewpoint in order to promote approaches deemed more promising (Kessler, 1964). The antagonist remains the same: Recent findings on the theme of pedagogical renewal and teacher development in subSaharan Africa conclude that: Undesirable teaching practices persist. They can be described as following a rigid, chalk-and-talk, teacher centered/dominated, lecturedriven pedagogy or rote learning. Such pedagogy places students in a passive role, limiting their activity to memorizing facts and reciting them to the teacher. It is also reflected in classroom assessment practices. Such teaching practices are the norm in the vast majority of classrooms in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere, even in the most affluent countries. (p. 172)

Furthermore, according to the authors, “Experts broadly agree on what constitutes undesirable practice: a teacher-centered pedagogy, which places students in a passive role” (p. 173). From the outset, the authors link teacher-centered education with behaviorist approaches: if “behaviourist theory leads in the opposite direction to humanism” (p. 35), which favors student-centered teaching methods, then strategies in the behaviorist vein are unavoidably centered on the teacher. In addition, the authors also draw connections between behaviorism and structured teaching: “Forms of direct or structured instruction, which have an important place in this Report, share a key element with the behaviourist tradition: the belief that learning achievement must be monitored and that frequent feedback is crucial in motivating and guiding the learner” (p. 36). The result of this amalgam is that structured forms of teaching are linked with behaviorism and teacher-centered approaches. The coherence of this amalgam is debatable and fraught by internal contradictions. Contradictions: The Promotion of Structured Teaching and the Denigration of Teacher-Centered Approaches The report’s most explicitly stated thesis pleads in favor of structured teaching approaches. The basis of the argument is laid out on page 19 of the report, within a box entitled “Better learning.” In terms of pedagogy, the authors content themselves with stating that many education researchers favor structured teaching. Later on, the authors have a number of

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opportunities to provide support for this position, notably in the section entitled “Evidence on instructional effectiveness,” where they outline the stages and characteristics of effective teaching. Citing work by Bloom (1968), Rosenshine (1983), Doyle (1985), Brophy and Good (1986), and Slavin (1996), they conclude that: “structured teaching emerges as being important to pupil performance in many instructional effectiveness studies” (p. 77), summarizing their argument with the observation that “as far as classroom instruction is concerned, general instructional approaches that are relatively structured bring important pay-offs for learning” (p. 79). Thus, while UNESCO’s stance on pedagogy may have seemed firmly delineated, the reader’s grasp on what that stance consists of is severely tested in many instances throughout the document. Rather than provide clarity, the report unsettles definitions by giving voice to the debate on approaches: “Not all education analysts, however, accept the value of the notion of structured teaching. Constructivists, for example, believe learners should be the main instigators and designers of learning processes” (p. 77). By favoring student-centered teaching methods, constructivists adhere to the postulates of humanist approaches. Thus, if constructivists do not recognize the benefits of structured teaching because they consider that the student must be at the center of learning, as the report’s argumentation leads us to believe, then those who favor structured teaching are of a diametrically opposite mindset: that is, they do not place the learner at the center of their concerns. There is, once again, a contradiction in the constructivist disavowal of structured approaches: the report’s authors effectively challenge the very same structured approaches they had earlier espoused. On the basis of this disavowal, the authors direct part of their argument toward support for student-centered approaches, once again compromising readers’ ability to follow the argumentation. The authors state, among other things, that policies aiming to improve learning outcomes must place the learner at the center, shifting the teacher into the background. If we recall the distinctions outlined at the beginning of the report, this position rather lends support to the opponents of structured approaches. As well, in defining education quality, the authors refer to the Dakar Framework (2000) to outline the desirable characteristics of learners (healthy, motivated students), course content (adapted programs), education systems (good governance and equitable distribution of resources), and processes, that is, competent teachers using active teaching methods. Here, once again, the reference to active teaching methods seems to contradict the authors’ initial position in favor of structured teaching methods: generally,

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active teaching is cited in opposition to transmissive approaches centered on the teacher. However, the statement that most plainly goes against arguments for structured teaching is the following: There is also some consensus on the desirability of a participatory, interactive, childcentered, active pedagogy that is characterized by cooperative learning and inquiry and fosters conceptual understanding, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. These desirable practices fall under the general category of “open-ended” instruction. (p. 173)

The report contains another contradiction that further mitigates a clear positioning in favor of structured teaching strategies. In fact, two entirely contradictory views exist side by side in the pages of the report. In promoting structured teaching methods, the authors discuss the scope of the approach. This method is particularly well adapted, say the authors, to learning components such as reading, writing, mathematics, grammar, the mother tongue, the sciences, history, and, to a degree, foreign languages (Box 4.6, p. 174). Thus, “structured teaching emerges as being important to pupil performance in many instructional effectiveness studies, perhaps most strongly for less-able learners in primary schools, but also more generally at higher levels of schooling where more advanced cognitive skills are targeted” (p. 80). This last point, however, seems to counter a preceding statement: Appropriate teaching strategies depend upon the type of learning tasks targeted. For example, those largely depending on memory are most effectively taught with a highly ordered and consistent approach. For acquisition of new understanding, a clear presentation of the information is crucial, as are questions to check whether pupils have absorbed specific insights. With regard to problem solving, evidence suggests that it is desirable for pupils to take much of the initiative. (p. 76)

Let us recall that while the authors discredited memorization at the outset of the report, the statement above assimilates it into structured approaches, by the same token diminishing the contribution of these approaches to the acquisition of fundamental skills in the classroom. More importantly, the authors thereby imply that the more complex the tasks, the more their achievement should be delegated toward the learners, a thesis that is in accordance with constructivist principles, but which is positioned at the antipode of structured approaches. A Strategic Stance: The Principle of Pedagogical Pluralism and Its Corollary Pragmatism The issues discussed above lead implicitly toward a kind of pedagogical pluralism that is without sound empirical foundations, because those who contest

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the value of structured teaching do not demonstrate that what they propose in its stead is at all effective. In fact, paradoxically, the authors of the report fundamentally question the presumed effectiveness of learner-centered approaches in developing countries. The EFA report explains that Africa’s educational renewal consisted in replacing lecture-based teaching practices with teaching methods centered on the learner and on activity: “Such efforts may be explained in part by the current tendency of some international agencies to favour such pedagogies. In most of the countries concerned, however, attempts to institutionalize child-centered pedagogy in schools and teacher-training institutions have produced inconclusive results” (p. 172). Continuing in the same vein, the authors go on to add: “Discoverybased pedagogies have proved extremely difficult to implement on a national scale. Moreover, their success relies heavily on appropriate levels of physical resources, strong support and well-motivated, enthusiastic teachers” (p. 174). Indeed, the authors concede that learner-centered approaches based in constructivism assume levels of learner competency and classroom resources that may not be borne out in resource-poor environments, where many students come from disadvantaged backgrounds and may be illiterate. One of the reasons for this patent failure is also to be found in the epistemological assumptions of African teachers and students, which, the report asserts, prove incompatible with student-centered teaching methods: “for open-ended pedagogies to be successful, significant change in the culture of knowledge acquisition may be required” (UNESCO, 2005, pp. 172 173). Thus, UNESCO states explicitly that constructivist teaching approaches are not well adapted to developing countries, where instead it is structured teaching that can improve students’ results. Given the above, it is difficult to conceive of the authors’ insistent acceptance of constructivist approaches other than as a question of principle in favor of a pedagogical pluralism. Nevertheless, it may yet be possible to find a way out of this labyrinth of arguments in favor of one approach and its direct opposite all at once (pedagogical pluralism) in a number of understated comments throughout the report. One such instance comes in Note 6, which proposes a functional, that is pragmatic, perspective on teaching methods6: The “traditions” discussed here entail different ideas of what constitutes quality in teaching and learning. While each differs in its ideology, epistemology and disciplinary composition, all ask what individual or social purposes education should serve and how teaching and learning should occur. It is important to distinguish between these broad traditions and the more specific pedagogies discussed later in the Report. While few pedagogies are value-neutral, none is restricted to one tradition. Nor do education systems usually reflect a single model of education. Accordingly, this Report will consider

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pedagogies in functional terms rather than from the philosophical perspectives that inform them. (p. 34)

Articulated within a note, this position may appear to be unimportant, yet it posits a fundamental distinction. By emphasizing the functional or pragmatic dimension of teaching, the authors remove pedagogy from the purview of philosophy in order to frame it in terms of effective means to educate and teach a student community. Bearing the above in mind, we can better understand the teaching approaches favored throughout the remainder of the report: “The essential conclusions of this chapter are largely straightforward: […] Support reforms that focus on teaching and learning outcomes: appropriate goals and relevant content; values as well as skills; sufficient and effective instructional time; structured teaching in child-centered classrooms; assessment for learning improvement” (p. 211). In conclusion, the EFA 2005 report must be seen as fundamentally important, since it reveals UNESCO’s philosophy on teaching methods, although it may be more accurate to say that the document illustrates the difficulty of grasping what that philosophy is, precisely. In the following section, we will examine whether other UNESCO documents exhibit a similar tangle of ideas.

The Pedagogical Tenor of Other UNESCO Documents Given the lack of substantial analyses or clearly defined positions, the title of the present section refers to the near total absence of pedagogical considerations in the overwhelming majority of our documentary source base. Thus, the term “tenor” to express the absence in UNESCO literature of any clearly argued pedagogical discourse through which the organization might clearly promote either specific teaching methods or pedagogical pluralism or a pragmatic position, as discussed above. In effect, UNESCO does signal the importance of pedagogical issues in various ways, but does discuss any elements of potential solutions, other than through broad allusions. Repeated like a mantra, these allusions emulate the leitmotif of humanist approaches under various guises in support of learner-centered teaching strategies. In order to illustrate this assertion, the following section presents various perspectives that can serve as points of access to the underlying pedagogical tenor, illustrated, whenever possible, by specific examples of how it “colors” UNESCO’s discourse.

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The first point of access to pedagogical considerations may be qualified as semantic, since it is the simple mention of the word pedagogy. Throughout the selected documents, one encounters various uses of the term and its derivatives: pedagogy, pedagogical methods, pedagogical competencies, pedagogical counselor, pedagogical training, pedagogical supervision, and various others. Certain texts abound in such expressions, thus appearing abundantly to discuss pedagogy, but a closer reading shows that the authors merely mention the terms without addressing their substance. The documents are replete with examples: in discussing target TTISSA results for 2015, for instance, UNESCO stipulates that quality in teacher training institutions must be strengthened by means of better study programs and teaching methods (UNESCO, 2005a). However, the document provides no indication or hint of what such better training methods may represent. In most instances where pedagogical considerations make an appearance in the formulation of objectives or recommendations, the documents provide no information as to the direction that a project or reform should adopt in its pedagogical dimension. Let us cite as a second example the following recommendation of E9 ministers, which established the implementation of “mastery learning and excellence for all” (UNESCO, 2000, p. 71) as one of the challenges of the Dakar framework for action: the phrasing is ambiguous to the point of meaninglessness and indicates nothing of the precise character of the pedagogical initiatives needed to ensure mastery and excellence. The Dakar declaration deserves further consideration, since it continues to frame UNESCO activities today and offers particularly interesting insights into how the pedagogical tenor of UNESCO texts takes shape. The following passage discusses the teaching and learning environment: “We shall develop a learning environment that is safe and intellectually stimulating, and a pedagogy based on [the] learner-centered approach and democratic values and practices in the teaching-learning interaction” (p. 30). Used frequently, the expression “pedagogy based on the learnercentered approach” is part of a discourse that sets approaches termed student-centered in opposition against those termed teacher-centered, without, however, specifying the characteristics of either. Moreover, although they may appear more explicitly defined, the significance of teaching learning interaction practices is no less opaque in the organization’s literature. In discussing the issue of quality in the teaching learning process, the authors enumerate the conditions necessary to ensure the effectiveness of

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training programs. Among these conditions is an allusion to the broad ideal of “well-trained teachers and active learning techniques” (p. 17): Whether or not expanded educational opportunities will translate into meaningful development for an individual or for society depends ultimately on whether people actually learn as a result of those opportunities, i.e. whether they incorporate useful knowledge, reasoning ability, skills, and values. […] Active and participatory approaches are particularly valuable in assuring learning acquisition and allowing learners to reach their fullest potential. (p. 76)

As we can see, a reading of the Dakar framework is not of great utility in attempting to identify the substance of UNESCO’s pedagogical stance. Upon examination, it becomes evident that, in the UNESCO discourse, teaching practices are a sort of receptacle of good intentions, but rarely if ever is anything said about their substance, other than that they must be active and student-centered. Yet another element demonstrating the pedagogical tenor that pervades the selected texts are statements of opposition, which punctuate the UNESCO discourse. As we have seen, the authors of the EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2005 opposed learning by rote and memorization, as well as frontal teaching and teaching by lecture. Such opposition is present, for example, in a text by Carnoy (2004), who observes that many teachers in Latin America “still teach using the ‘chalk and talk’ method, or frontal teaching” and states that this type of strategy “seems to have little effect on how much children learn” (p. 48). Similar observations were also formulated in reference to Africa during a workshop on Quality Education and the Key Role of Teachers (Fredriksson, 2004), culminating in a recommendation to “support progress toward empirical learning instead of memorizing and rote learning in many schools” (p. 16). It is interesting to note the unusual expression “empirical learning,” which seems to imply active learning methods. The same opposition is present in texts by Vavrus, Thomas, and Bartlett (2011), and Cros (2011), as well as in a guidance paper on the publication of the EFA Global Monitoring Report (2013). All these texts promote other pedagogical options that they describe as more suitable, but they do so only tentatively, ultimately conceding the superiority of student-centered active teaching approaches. Another theme contributing to the pedagogical tenor of UNESCO texts is the development of teaching skills. Most of the authors assert that a good teacher possesses not only good levels of training, motivation, and academic knowledge, but also and most importantly demonstrates solid teaching skills: “on the issue of teacher professionalization, the

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countries pledge to provide incentives for teachers to pursue training in order to improve their pedagogy” (UNESCO, 2000, p. 40). However, UNESCO leaves the reader guessing as to the content of such training, with the exception of Torres (1998), who suggests that teachers should develop skills that aim at student-centered, active, dialogue-based teaching. Teacher training can also be designed in accordance with the curriculum orientations of education systems. The idea is taken up by Cros (2011) in the statement that “a number of parameters seem to influence, and allow for a better understanding of, the directions taken by states in response to the shortage of post-primary teachers: the implementation of a new curriculum (notably the competency-based and situation-based approaches, as well as integration pedagogy)” (p. 66). The result is a pedagogical orientation for training, formulated as follows: “This reform requires the abandoning of all references to the pedagogies of imposition thus far employed and experienced by teachers, in order to adhere to a new education that breaks away from what was done before and is backed by current theories of child learning” (Cros, 2011, p. 30). The same idea is present within the pages of one of the TTISSA’s first policy papers: “The aim is to implement new pedagogical approaches, with the introduction of the competencybased approach, followed by objective-based-teaching or the implementation of a new professional training program” (UNESCO, 2005b, p. 20); the same is true of EFA’s 2012 2015 strategic plan for teachers, which states: “Contemporary school curricula frequently refer to active learning, adopt student-centered approaches, focus on outcomes and processes, emphasize competences/capabilities, promote integrated knowledge and cross-curricular dimensions, etc. How well are teachers prepared to face this major paradigm shift?” (UNESCO, 2012, p. 3). Thus, contrary to its stance in 2005, UNESCO not only no longer questions learner-centered approaches, but now even recommends that teachers be trained in such methods. Yet another point of access to the pedagogical tenor of the source base within the domain of teacher training is the assessment of teachers’ pedagogical skills: In professional training, the assessment of theoretical knowledge cannot replace the assessment of practical skills. It is not a question of the candidate’s knowledge of the different pedagogical theories or classroom practices but rather of his/her ability to teach using effective practices that are adapted to a given context. (UNESCO, 2010a, p. 56)

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Throughout the documentation, one comes across a recurring problem: the authors fail to discuss the criteria by which teaching skills are to be assessed. They recognize the importance of such criteria, stating that in order to better prepare teachers to exercise their profession and improve their skills, it is imperative that their effectiveness in the classroom be the subject of appropriate assessment (UNESCO, 1998). They also recognize the complexity of such criteria: “Teacher quality is extremely difficult to define, as it depends not only on observable and stable indicators but also on behaviour and the nature of the relationship teachers maintain with their pupils or students” (UNESCO, 2005, p. 121). But they do not indicate how and, most importantly, on what basis a teacher’s pedagogical skills are to be assessed. According to the authors of the Methodological Guide for the Analysis of Teacher Issues (UNESCO, 2010), “The fact is that the ultimate evaluation lies in the ability of the teacher to enable pupils to acquire the knowledge and skills indicated by the curriculum […] In this respect, education systems usually base their evaluation on the observation of the teacher’s classroom practice” (p. 129). Yet given the lack of precise criteria, trainers’ and inspectors’ judgment is circumscribed by many limitations resulting from variations between assessments, “given relatively diverse judgments of what is good pedagogical practice depending on the person concerned” (ibid., p. 56). Pedagogical research offers another point of access to UNESCO’s implicit message: “The professional development of teachers is a key guarantee of quality education and must be linked to all phases of teacher education and educational research” (Fredriksson, 2004, p. 15). The authors state that solutions to learning difficulties will emerge only when we understand more fully how various teaching methods contribute to student learning. Teaching methods are highly important and, therefore, it is imperative that future teachers be trained in them. However, no systematic information is available at present on the effectiveness of the different methods and approaches followed in various countries in teaching a variety of disciplines or on the qualities the teachers must possess in order to use these methods and approaches efficiently. (UNESCO, 1998, p. 67)

However, “So long as the nature of good teaching remains elusive, the design of teacher education programmes will continue to be uncertain” (UNESCO, 1998, p. 67). Although the authors emphasize the importance of research, their conclusions could suggest that such research has failed to shine light on questions of best teaching practices. The implication is that research may well elucidate, but teaching practices would not benefit from

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such elucidation thus the absence of substantive content in the pedagogical discourse. In conclusion, the remainder of selected UNESCO literature examined through the prism of various points of access seems no longer to echo structured approaches, pedagogical pluralism or pragmatic attitudes. On the contrary, the organization has fallen back onto a discourse of allusion that is suffused by humanist, student-centered, active teaching approaches, notwithstanding the fact that the guidance paper for the latest EFA Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO, 2013) shows that pedagogy is more than ever an urgent issue. But UNESCO only evokes the term pedagogy without ever defining it fully. Yet it is precisely with such a definition that pedagogical thinking should begin. A Brief Review of Interview Data7 We conducted interviews with strategic UNESCO actors (N = 5), who provided insights into the organization’s inner workings in the elaboration of education policies for teacher training, as well as the role of research and of the conceptualization of pedagogy. Their testimonies both complemented and validated the results of our documentary analysis. In the interests of conciseness, this section focuses exclusively on the participants’ views on UNESCO’s pedagogical orientations relative to teacher training. A number of observations emerging from the interviews both confirm the findings of our documentary analysis and supply additional elements to our understanding of the issues at hand. One important element emerging from the testimonials is that, in UNESCO’s view, the elaboration of educational policy is fundamentally the purview of each sovereign state: “No, we do not have any institutional policy directed at teacher education, because we must work with countries that have different policies and we must respect those policies” (P5). Nation-states may adopt diverse strategies in terms of policy elaboration. For instance, a nation-state can inquire with UNESCO to obtain information on good practices in order to adapt them to local conditions. In such cases, UNESCO fulfills a research and consulting role (backstopping), offering guidance for nation-states’ choices. In other cases, nation-states will have made their decisions already: when a policy gains traction with decisionmakers or when an approach carries financial backing for teacher training on a national level. For example, “the CBA does not come from UNESCO [ … ]. I am mainly familiar with the situation in French-speaking countries,

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where this has been the work of French Cooperation. I know that [the consulting firm] CE´PEC de Lyon did a lot to push things in that direction. But as far as I am aware there has been no guidance on the part of UNESCO” (P4). In such cases, UNESCO may participate in the implementation of an approach by a nation-state. In both cases, however, UNESCO seems to offer no specific pedagogical guidance, as one of the participants testified: “Overall, in the sphere of teacher training, I can state without doubt that there are no recommendations for any specific pedagogy” (P1). A second element emerging from the interviews is that a paradigm shift has taken place, in which previous approaches have been supplanted by CBA, humanist approaches, and learner-centered active pedagogies; this dominant discourse also opposes transmissive methods. It would be difficult, in fact, for UNESCO to hold a divergent discourse. Indeed, UNESCO fulfills the role of a conveyance mechanism for the dominant ideology, which goes beyond its initial stance of noninterference. In interviews, even respondents affiliated with the IIEP (P2 and P3), for whom pedagogy is absent from the elaboration of policies, reiterated the overall lines of the CBA discourse and learner-centered pedagogy. Another participant commented on this “inevitability”: “In order to answer the question of why we favor learner-centered approaches in teaching strategies, let me put the question to you: are we not faced with a dynamic in which we ascertain that there has been a paradigm shift, though nothing has been tested or proven?” (P1). Third, despite the fact that UNESCO, in a sense, plays the role of conveyor for the dominant pedagogical discourse, interview participants appeared to confirm the great difficulty, if not the “impossibility” (P2), of implementing CBA in the classroom: “The typical example is the competency-based approach, to which many African education systems allude; I did not see it implemented anywhere, other than in seminars and speeches. I did not come across a single classroom where this approach would have been implemented” (P1). This difficulty of incorporating CBA into practice is, according to us, an apt illustration of the reasons why UNESCO should not be satisfied with adopting a passive stance on pedagogy. Fourth, the place of research in guiding UNESCO in its role as a consulting body to member states seems at the very least ambiguous. Indeed, everything operates as if its role as conveyor took precedence of its research function, thereby limiting its capacity to function as a consulting body. The effectiveness of CBA, for instance, seems not to have been assessed prior to its adoption, as one respondent testified: “were teachers trained in

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competency-based pedagogy? […] was there an opportunity to compare and evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of competency-based pedagogy? […] frankly, technical arguments are lacking […] a serious study of the issue would assist French-speaking countries to better understand what is asked of them in terms of CBA and provide them with clear options” (P4). Fifth, it appears that, in the sphere of teacher training, UNESCO is concerned mainly with issues peripheral to pedagogy, rather than pedagogy as such. Such peripheral issues include length of training, admission requirements, geographical distribution, and questions of gender. In fact, beyond broad calls for the importance of active approaches, pedagogy as the central subject of teacher training does not appear to figure among UNESCO’s deeper preoccupations and, according to one participant of the Taskforce, its absence is noticeable. This observation is also corroborated by participants affiliated with the IIEP, who reported that the question of pedagogy is not addressed in the elaboration of education policies. Finally, it appears that, although it does not advocate an institutional policy on teacher training, UNESCO nevertheless adopts a pedagogical stance in its teacher training programs. In many ways, and not unlike a mirror image, this approach reflects student-centered practices, as the following testimonies demonstrate: “Working in professional training, we work with several approaches focused on the development of competencies and reflexive practice, that is to say not a training [focused on] academic content, but [on] the possibility of establishing a link between theoretical content and teaching practice […]. [We also employ] reflection-in-action, case studies, simulations, and practical exercises, in connection of course with research and the study of up-to-date bibliographies on the latest policy trends” (P5). At the same time, however, participants testified refraining from prescribing specific intervention strategies “we work mainly on debates, decisions, alternatives, and the decisions under discussion” (P5) as if all available options were equivalent. In fact, an implicit general rule of regard for context overrides the demonstrated effectiveness of teaching strategies: “Training must be situated and we must take into account teachers’ practices to design training programs adequately, to promote reflection on practice, rather than say that current practice is wrong and that other strategies should be implemented” (P5). In this perspective, good practice is not what proves effective, but that which primarily emerges from local conditions even if that means reinventing the wheel in each context and erring along the way.

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CONCLUSION Our study has yielded five principal conclusions. First, the pedagogical content of teacher training is not the subject of either careful or sustained examination in the UNESCO literature. The only publication to do so is the EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2005, which discusses the dimension of educational excellence achievement. The remainder of the organization’s body of published work addresses the issue only in broad generalizations. Second, we found that the reiteration of certain stock phrases nevertheless lends the UNESCO discourse a specific pedagogical tenor that favors learner-centered active teaching methods. Third, this pedagogical tenor conflicts with the findings of the EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2005, which promotes, though not unambiguously, the implementation of structured teaching strategies in developing countries and questions the effectiveness of active teaching methods in the same context. Fourth, this schism is a rather timid one: while on the one hand stating that Africa’s pedagogical renewal has been a patent failure, the report’s authors nevertheless continue to promote learner-centered approaches by discussing them as exciting challenges to be undertaken. The fifth and final conclusion is that ultimately the observed schism proves ephemeral: the report explores functionalist and pragmatic perspectives in examining the issue of pedagogical content in educational reform, but these perspectives quickly recede, once again leaving the stage in favor of learner-centered approaches. In light of these conclusions, we wish to put forward several themes for further consideration. First of all, we have ascertained that on matters of pedagogy UNESCO limits its role to reiterating the currently dominant discourse. As we had suggested, UNESCO functions as a sounding board for the dominant pedagogical discourse. The ease with which a pedagogical innovation propagates is a function of its attractiveness to relevant actors. To be sure, child-centered constructivist philosophies of learning promulgate an appealing discourse, which, at least in terms of principles, inevitably attracts a majority of actors. As pointed out by Schweisfurth (2013), the concept of child-centered pedagogy is “a traveling idea” that evokes a rhetoric of justification on three levels, according to which the approach: (1) facilitates learning, (2) favors emancipation (democracy), and (3) prepares individuals for a new and changing world that requires creativity and responsible citizenship. A number of commentators, however, agree that these principles, noble though they are, do not stand up in the face of observable facts (Guthrie, 2011; Tabulawa, 2013). Could it not prove opportune, therefore, to explore

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further the path implicitly traced by UNESCO in the EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2005? In so doing UNESCO could assume an equally important, but different, role. All our respondents indicated that the choice of the pedagogical content of educational reforms at the national level was the sole purview of nation-states, as if UNESCO’s mandate did not reach into the classroom. This stance partially acknowledged, since the UNESCO discourse values active methods is disconcerting. What becomes of the efforts undertaken thus far in order to offer teachers improved working conditions and training programs that meet their needs, if ultimately there is a failure to ensure the effectiveness the pedagogical methods in which they will be trained? In answer, let us cite a proverb recited by one of the participants of the Eighth Meeting of the High-Level Group on Education for All (UNESCO, 2008): “It is better to have a good teacher under a tree than a bad one in a classroom or none at all” (p. 5). Should not UNESCO extend its reach into the classrooms? On the level of pedagogy, its consulting role would thus consist in filtering the constant flow of pedagogical innovation, based on the results of reliable research into teaching effectiveness. In this scenario, UNESCO would promote among its member states only those practices that have proven to be effective in the classroom. The organization would still need to complement this selectivity with a guiding role, whereby it could assist nation-states to adjust the selected effective practices to suit specific national contexts. If the international education community wishes to improve the quality of teaching methods, it will need to consider issues of pedagogy more fully, but this will require it to transcend cliche´s, explore pragmatic approaches, and move in step with current empirical research into best practices.

NOTES 1. The quantitative dimension of UNESCO’s educational mission refers to the democratization of access to schools; the qualitative dimension concerns improving the quality of the system. This distinction is clearly established and frequently acknowledge in UNESCO literature. 2. The crisis was in part sparked by the departure of two member countries the United States in 1984 and England in 1985 whose contributions had represented no less than 30% of UNESCO’s overall budget. 3. Carried out in close to 180 countries. 4. The initial impulse originated in the United States. In the wake of a tide of criticism leveled against US schools and teachers, two major reports sought solutions that would reform education and teaching: A Nation prepared: Teachers for the 21st

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Century, drafted by the Carnegie Task Force on Teaching as a Profession (1986), and Tomorrow’s Teachers, drawn up by the Holmes Group (1986). The arguments put forward by both the Holmes Group and the Carnegie Task Force on Teaching as a Profession suggested that both dimensions of such comprehensive educational reforms should be underpinned by the development of a core of professional knowledge. 5. Two reasons account for the publication date criterion: (1) the emergence of the evidence-based policy movement in education at the close of the 1990s; and (2) the organizations under discussion began to update their databases systematically approximately fifteen years ago. 6. The pragmatism argument appears also on page 174. 7. In this section, participant testimony appears in italics and between quotation marks. In order to identify testimony excerpts with individual participants, each quote is followed by a note, such that (P1) designates participant No. 1 and (P2) identifies participant No. 2 and so forth.

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PART V AREA STUDIES AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

THE ROLE OF TEACHERS IN QUALITY EDUCATION IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: EXPLORING NEW FORMS OF HORIZONTAL COOPERATION Laura C. Engel, Michaela Reich and Adriana Vilela ABSTRACT Against a broader global and regional shift toward “quality education for all,” the chapter explores education policy developments and trends related to teacher education and professional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. We examine how multilateral education policy circulation and regional horizontal cooperation has guided these education policy developments. The chapter is organized into three parts. It first provides a discussion of educational multilateralism and new forms of horizontal cooperation, as it relates to educational development efforts. We argue that these new forms of multilateralism and horizontal cooperation guide the development of policies that seek to enhance both educational equity and quality education, particularly through advancing teacher education and professional development. The second section

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 25, 269 293 Copyright r 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-367920140000025017

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explores several recent education policy trends that relate to teacher education and professional development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the challenges that Ministries of Education face when designing and implementing programs of teacher education and professional development. Lastly, the chapter examines the role of regional organizations in promoting new forms of regional horizontal cooperation specific to teacher education and professional development, focusing on the example of Organization of American States’ (OAS) InterAmerican Teacher Education Network (ITEN). Keywords: Teacher education; teachers; multilateralism; Latin America and the Caribbean; quality education; cooperation

INTRODUCTION The region of Latin America and the Caribbean has made exceptional progress in expanding access to primary education for all, achieving a remarkable regional average of 95% of adjusted net enrolment rate in primary education in 2011 (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2011). Although educational access has improved, there are considerable gaps in equal access, uneven completion rates, and disparities in student achievement across the region’s education systems. International and regional assessments of student achievement, for example, have indicated a significant gap between basic skills in key subjects of mathematics, science, and literacy, which students should develop in school, and students’ performance in the assessments. Moreover, the performance of students in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in international assessments is low compared to countries in other parts of the world with similar indicators of development and investment in education (Gaminian & Solano, 2011). As such, across the region, there has been shifting focus away from simple access to education policies that seek to improve equity and quality of learning, as well as raise student learning outcomes. This shift away from access is also reflected at the global level. Global consultations are being carried out around the world with a diverse group of stakeholders to promote dialogue about the post-2015 agenda in the field of education. The results of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda highlight the importance of quality education guided by principles of equity, relevance, and

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inclusion, and setting common indicators for measuring learning processes (UNESCO & UNICEF, 2013). The Learning Metrics Task Force, co-led by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the Brookings Institution’s Center for Universal Education gathered together over 1,000 participants from over 80 countries (the majority from the global south) (UNESCO Institute for Statistics & the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, 2013; Winthrop & Anderson Simons, 2013). This task force worked toward global consensus on how learning can be assessed, analyzing the skills and competencies required for students to lead successful lives in the future, referring to an “access plus learning” approach. The consultations resulted in the identification of seven domains (physical well-being; social and emotional; culture and the arts; literacy and communications; learning approaches and cognition; numeracy and math; science and technology) and a set of learning indicators that can be applied at the global level (UNESCO-UIS/Brookings Institution, 2013). At the regional level, Ministers of Education from Latin America and the Caribbean met at the Third Regular Ministerial Board Meeting of the Regional Project for Latin America and the Caribbean (EFA/PRELAC), which was held in Mexico in January 2013. During the meeting, Ministers of Education analyzed the specific regional challenges and agreed on key drivers for the post-2015 agenda, including the guiding principle of working together for more inclusive and equal societies in order to offer quality education for all students across the region. Ministers of Education also formally recognized the importance of teacher-related issues as fundamental to enhancing quality education and for improving student learning outcomes (Recommendations Post-2015 Educational Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2013). Within the regional and global education policy shift toward “quality education for all,” there has been growing attention to the role of teachers and teacher-related issues. Educational research and policy literature at national and international levels has increasingly emphasized the teacher as one of the leading factors in determining student achievement (Eide, Goldhaber, & Brewer, 2004; OECD, 2005; Santiago, 2002; Schacter & Thum, 2004). Globally, there has also been a focus on augmenting the teacher workforce to meet the increased demand of students in the system and the retirement of teachers (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2012), as well as to prepare teachers for a diversifying student population. For example, in Latin America and the Caribbean, the teacher workforce as of 2010 has grown to 6.4 million for the primary and secondary level combined (UNESCO, 2012). The population of primary education teachers has

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slightly declined since the 1990s, in contrast to the secondary level, where it has risen. These changes are linked to school enrollment rates, which peaked at the primary education level during the 1990s, and are currently expanding at the secondary level (Louzano & Morduchowicz, 2011). The region will only be required to recruit 1% of the 1.7 million of new primary education teachers that the world will need to achieve universal primary education within the period 2010 2015 (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2012). However, some significant challenges remain, including recruitment of better candidates to the teaching profession, the preparation of preservice teachers, and opportunities for ongoing teacher professional development. These trends are linked to substantial efforts to further enhance educational development across the region. Against this background of the global and regional shift toward “quality education for all” and the increasing cross-national education policy focus on teachers, the chapter aims to explore education policy developments and trends related to teacher education and professional development in Latin America and the Caribbean, examining the role of regional horizontal cooperation in this process. This chapter is guided by the following questions: 1. What are the recent education policy trends related to teacher education and professional development in Latin America and the Caribbean? 2. In what ways is multilateral education policy circulation and horizontal cooperation within the region guiding education policy trends related to teacher education and professional development? Driven by these questions, we first provide a discussion of educational multilateralism and new forms of horizontal cooperation, as it relates to educational development efforts. We argue that these new forms of multilateralism and horizontal cooperation guide the development of policies that seek to enhance both educational equity and quality education, particularly through advancing teacher education and professional development. The second section will broadly explore several recent education policy trends that relate to teacher education and professional development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the challenges that Ministries of Education face when designing and implementing programs of teacher education and professional development. Lastly, the chapter will explore the role of regional organizations in promoting new forms of regional horizontal cooperation specific to teacher education and professional development, focusing on the example of Organization of American States’ (OAS) Inter-American Teacher Education Network (ITEN).

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MULTILATERALISM AND NEW FORMS OF REGIONAL HORIZONTAL COOPERATION Research has explored multilateral cooperation in education, defining it as the coordination of relations between multiple states and organizations at an international level (Jones & Coleman, 2005; Mundy, 1998, 1999; Rutkowski, 2007). Representing an early definition of multilateral cooperation from the field of international relations, Ruggie (1992) explained it as “an institutional form which coordinates relations among three or more states on the basis of generalized principles of conduct” (p. 571). Within this definition is the projection of multilateral policy cooperation as a largely institution-based, hierarchical, and state-centric process. Some of the more recent work on multilateral policy cooperation, particularly in comparative and international education, has explored the intersection of state, nonstate, and the array of international and regional organizations in education policy formation processes (see Dale & Robertson, 2002; Edwards, 2012; Engel, 2009; Jones & Coleman, 2005; Mundy, 1998; Rizvi & Lingard, 2009; Rutkowski, 2007). The platform for education policy formation is now notably complex, with the inclusion of international organizations as independent educational actors. Jones and Coleman (2005) argued that international organizations act as “distinctive components of global power relations and not merely as functional extensions of the systems that give rise to them” (p. 4). They do this by issuing educational recommendations, providing financial support, developing educational assessments that provide cross-national data, sponsoring programs and projects, transferring and circulating information through meetings and conferences, and providing technical assistance with how to use this information (Rutkowski, 2007). Some of the most prominent organizations working internationally to guide multilateral cooperation in education include the World Bank, the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the different United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (Jones & Coleman, 2005; Mundy, 1998, 1999). In addition to international organizations, regional organizations, such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the European Union (EU), and the Mercado Comu´n del Sur (MERCOSUR), are each also actively engaged in the process of guiding education policy formation, both at compulsory and higher education levels (see Dale & Robertson, 2002). Specific

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to Latin America and the Caribbean, many regional and intergovernmental organizations, along with think tanks and civil society organizations are working closely to promote multilateral knowledge exchange and horizontal cooperation in education. Among the leading actors in this process are the OAS, the Regional Office for UNESCO for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO/OREALC), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and the Partnership for Educational Revitalization in the Americas (PREAL). The role of state and non-state actors, as well as international and regional organizations has resulted in considerable multilateral cooperation in education policy formation. Cooperation is not exclusively a top-down or bottom-up process, but rather is now part and parcel of a new complex multilateralism guided by horizontal knowledge flows. As countries in the region face common challenges and seek to pursue education policy responses to address these challenges, national governments seek new opportunities to cooperate and exchange information at a regional level. In consideration of knowledge exchange, it is fundamental to explore who possesses what information, in what format, how to access it in a timely manner, and how to share it effectively (Shaxson et al., 2012). Knowledge transfer often occurs within a process of horizontal cooperation, which is defined as a cooperative initiative among two or more countries, regardless of their relative stages of development. Different from North South traditional cooperation, new forms of horizontal cooperation can be nonhierarchical and involve multiple stakeholders across multiple levels, including South South exchanges. Also distinct from North South cooperative agreements, which can prioritize knowledge transfer in a unidirectional manner, new forms of horizontal cooperation seek to create new partnerships and promote collaboration among different stakeholders, including South South cooperative agreements (Ibero-American General Secretariat, 2012). By sharing education policies, practices, and key information, educational actors involved in horizontal cooperation can collaborate and share knowledge that can be applied to common challenges in different countries. One of the key aims and outcomes of horizontal cooperation is the development of new communities of practice and online networks. Communities of practice consist of “a group of people who interact regularly on a common topic of shared interest with the goal of learning from one another” (Kumar & Leonard, n.d.). The development of these communities opens up new opportunities for key educational stakeholders to engage, interact, and exchange information in a cost effective way. Despite

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the numerous educational actors often involved in these networks, we wish to point out that the horizontal cooperation mechanism often remains unidirectional. This process involves experts on the one side who share their expertise, knowledge, and experience, and partners on the other side who act as recipients in the exchange. This type of cooperation can also be fluid given that the roles of knowledge provider and recipient are often interchangeable, in which stakeholders frequently shift from leadership to partner roles. For instance, one country may have expertise in a topic, acting as a knowledge provider and could simultaneously act as a recipient of knowledge on a different topic (Rosen & Vilela, 2011). In addition, there are different modalities of horizontal cooperation, those which are virtual and on site, and those that involve two parties (bidirectional) or multiple parties (multidirectional). Distinct from earlier definitions of multilateralism as a process involving three or more states (Ruggie, 1992), regional organizations now take an active role in multilateral frameworks. Regional organizations often become catalysts to convene multiple stakeholders and place local and national issues, as well as challenges on a transnational platform in order to seek common solutions through cooperation. In the discussion that follows, we explore the ways in which horizontal knowledge cooperation (both bidirectional and multidirectional) plays a role in the development of new trends related to teacher education and professional development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

TOWARD QUALITY EDUCATION: TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT There has been significant progress in expanding access to education across Latin America and the Caribbean. In relation the Global Millennium Goals (MDGs) and UNESCO’s Education for All (EFA) global mandate, the region has come close to achieving universal access to primary education (UN Economic & Social Council, 2011). Despite these gains, there remain considerable gaps in access between urban and rural areas, as well as between students of different socioeconomic backgrounds and from indigenous backgrounds (UN Economic & Social Council, 2011). Moreover, beyond access, rates of completion of primary education in the region are varied, which in urban areas are 96% and in rural areas, only 85% (UN Economic & Social Council, 2011). Rates of completion also vary by

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ethnic background, in which the rate of completion of primary school is 80% for students of indigenous backgrounds (ECLAC, 2008). Additionally, there are considerable inequities in student learning outcomes across the region, as shown in the recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 study. Nine education systems participated in PISA 2009 from Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay. According to PISA results, although there was variance among these participating systems, the performance overall was consistently below the OECD average, performing in the “bottom third in all subjects tested” and where many students did not reach a basic level of proficiency in the subjects (Gaminian & Solano, 2011, p. 7; UN Economic & Social Council, 2011). Moreover, the average of 15 OAS’ participating member states’ results in the Second Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (SERCE) 2006 illustrates that 38% of third grade students did not achieve the minimum levels of reading comprehension standards. Furthermore, an average of 51.8% of students attending third grade did not meet basic levels in math, including the resolution of basic problems involving addition, subtraction, and multiplication and an average of 48.2% of sixth graders did not achieve basic levels in science assessment (UNESCO, SEP, & OAS, 2011). OAS participating countries in SERCE included Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Against the results of international and regional assessments, and the notable gaps in equal access and completion rates, there has been growing attention globally, regionally, and nationally on enhancing educational quality (UNESCO, n.d.), illustrating a shift from educational access to a focus on quality learning. Indeed, the sixth goal of the global Education for All mandate established at the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000 was “improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy, and essential life skills” (UNESCO, 2000). Further, quality of learning is one of the three United Nations’ Global Education First Initiative priorities. Despite the omnipresence of statements about “quality education” and the widespread commitment of governments and international organizations to achieving “quality education for all,” there is considerable diversity and ambiguity surrounding definitions of quality education (Stake & Schwandt, 2006). There also remains debate over to what extent there is an alignment of definitions of

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quality education with student learning outcomes (Normand, 2008) or whether there ought to be a broader definition inclusive of multiple dimensions, such as structural characteristics, curricular and pedagogical dimensions, and school-based features (Pigozzi, 2006). Regardless of the ambiguity and the debates surrounding quality education, one of the consistent factors associated with “quality education for all” are teachers. The literature has highlighted the importance of teachers in student learning and overall school effectiveness. Evidenced in Coleman’s (1966) publication of Equality of Educational Opportunity (the “Coleman Report”) and more recent research (see Eide et al., 2004; OECD, 2005; Santiago, 2002; Schacter & Thum, 2004), teachers are considered to be among the most influential factors on student learning and school effectiveness. Evidence over the past two decades points to the link between student learning outcomes and effective teaching (Aaronson, Barrow, & Sander, 2007; Hanushek, 1992; Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 1998; Nye, Konstantopoulos, & Hedges, 2004; Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005; Rockoff, 2004). Moreover, the emergence and growth of school effectiveness literature (Normand, 2008), a number of factors are highlighted as key to the development of schools, particularly in disadvantaged contexts. These factors include enhancing teaching and learning, school leadership, school culture, parental and community involvement, external support, and ongoing professional development (Muijs, Harris, Chapman, Stoll, & Russ, 2004). International organizations, such as the OECD, have been particularly in favor of the “school effectiveness” paradigm, looking to develop key indicators and measures of “quality” or “effective” education (Engel, Holford, & Wilson-Pimlott, 2010; Normand, 2008). Despite critics’ arguments against the school effectiveness approach’s lack of attention to the broader social structures and contexts that influence schools, and its limited focus on learning outcomes (Sammons, 2007), the school effectiveness paradigm and its focus on the role of teachers, appears dominant. In the 2005 seminal report issued by the OECD, Teachers Matter, and the OECD’s current Teaching and Learning International Study (TALIS), the concept of “quality teachers” has been emphasized as the leading factor affecting student learning outcomes. In part this is because teachers often hold a distinctive position in student lives, representing consistent adult contact outside of the family and community structure. Beyond a focus on school effectiveness and learning outcomes, studies have also cited the importance of teachers in informing broader social dimensions, such as the inclusion and integration of diverse student populations, increasing a sense of trust of young people in schools, and enhancing student self-worth

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(Banks, 2001). For example, teachers are found to help “students acquire the social skills needed to interact effectively with students from other racial, ethnic, cultural, and language groups” (Banks et al., 2001, p. 5). Teachers are often among the most important figures in the lives of more vulnerable students, who face considerable social and educational barriers (see Benard, 1997; Huntington, 2010). Given the central role that teachers play in education systems, more governments around the world, as well as regional and international organizations, have focused on the development and retention of the teacher workforce. There are a number of broad justifications for the development of policies focused on teacher education and professional development, such as the need: 1. to prepare teachers to respond to the needs of 21st century learners and enhance student learning outcomes; 2. to augment the teacher workforce in order to meet demand resulting from increased educational access, and to fill gaps in the system related to teacher retirement; 3. to enhance the recruitment of new teachers and develop incentives to retain existing teachers; 4. to strengthen the existing teacher workforce through continuing education and professional development; 5. to further develop the teacher workforce to prepare them for an increasingly diverse student population. These justifications underscore many of the recent national and regional initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the following section, we provide a regional policy overview of some of the leading trends, as well as consider some of the key challenges that face Ministries of Education as they review and make decisions regarding policies on teacher education and professional development.

TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A REGIONAL POLICY OVERVIEW Policy dialogue at the regional and subregional level, and common agreements embodied in formal declarations, resolutions, and actions plans, have increasingly highlighted the importance of teachers and their role in the pursuit of quality education in the region. Ministers of Education

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gathered together, for example, for the OAS Seventh Inter-American Meeting of Ministers in 2012, in order to concentrate on the theme of “Transforming the Role of the Teacher in Response to 21st-Century Challenges.” As expressed by the resulting Declaration of Paramaribo (OAS, 2012), Ministers concurred in the importance of providing teachers with quality initial preparation and continuing professional development to promote quality learning and adequate pedagogical practice. At the subregional level, the Council of Ministers of the Central American Integration System (CECC/SICA), which includes Belize, Costa Rice, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, presented a proposal for Central American Education Policy (PEC) that recognizes the importance of teachers in the learning process and the achievement of quality education across Central America. Among the five specific objectives of the PEC, one refers to the commitment of Central American governments to promote policies “to improve the recruitment, preparation, update, and accreditation of the educators for all education levels” (Propuesta 2013 2021. Polı´tica Educativa Centroamericana, n.d.). Countries represented by MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Bolivia) created the Program to Support the Educational Sector (PASEM) that aims to improve initial preparation and in-service professional development of teachers of the MERCOSUR, focusing on the management and design of public policies. As part of the activities of this regional project, a review will be carried out of the different criteria to improve the teaching profession in order to identify common traits among countries, considering the study plans as well as the norms and principles that guide the initial preparation programs in the countries. The program also has a very strong focus in the teaching of the two official languages of the subregion (Spanish and Portuguese) and will research the access and use of information and communications technology (ICT) in teacher professional development. The Caribbean region, through the Caribbean Community Task Force on Teacher Education, has similarly worked in developing Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession in the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), reviewing performance and academic standards (Mark, 2013). These standards aim to define common practices in teaching and teacher education in the CARICOM member states (including Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago), with the objective of removing the obstacles for the circulation of

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teachers and educators in the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) and to inform assessment processes and recognition of qualification for teachers that want to teach in other CARICOM countries. In addition, these standards are expected to contribute to the standardization process in the region and promote the quality of the teaching profession, as they will guide the competencies that are required for teachers. National teaching councils, as well as institutions offering initial preparation, will use them as reference and will also inform the way these standards will be put into practice within each country. A recent UNESCO (2011) study, Background and Criteria for Teachers’ Policies Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, presents an overview of policies related to teachers, indicating that a range of global trends are transforming societies and presenting new demands for Latin America and the Caribbean teachers. These global trends include, for example, the diversification of student populations, different family and community structures, greater accountability, more emphasis on advanced learning targets, and more widespread curriculum, all of which collectively result in the need for new policies related to teacher education and professional development (Vaillant, 2007). Across the region, governments and regional organizations have initiated several education policy changes, including the development of higher quality teacher preparation programs, teacher preparation for diverse student populations, and greater opportunities for professional development of existing teachers. We discuss each in turn below. With respect to the initial preparation of teachers, since the 1980s the region has gone through a process of offering university-level training for future teachers, which is thought to result in higher quality programs. Despite this trend, four countries in the region still offer a secondary-level training for teachers. Among the institutions that offer initial preparation for future teachers are universities, pedagogic universities, higher pedagogical institutes, and secondary-level teacher training schools. The duration of teacher preparation programs varies considerably from country to country in the region, where programs for future teachers can take from 2 to 5 years throughout the region (UNESCO, 2012). The offering of higher level studies or longer study programs does not necessarily mean that future teachers are acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to be applied in their classroom. Across the region, there are concerns about teachers beginning their careers with poor skills due to low quality secondary education or the general disconnect between the content of the initial preparation programs and the realities of teacher practice. Governments are therefore

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looking into how to attract the best candidates for the teaching profession and are also looking into the implementation of content and performance standards linked to graduation exams. Another trend, specific to some of the countries in the region with indigenous populations, is the development of special policies to address the needs of indigenous populations and to develop intercultural education. In this respect, Ministries of Education are assessing how to promote the recruitment of teachers that can teach bilingual and intercultural education (UNESCO, 2012). In addition, many times students from rural populations receive the least qualified and experienced teachers, given that once novice teachers acquire experience, they tend to move to schools located in urban settings. There is a need to respond to diversity and use a flexible approach, particularly in the case of vulnerable and marginalized populations. Many countries are promoting innovative practices that address inclusive education by distributing awards to distinguished teachers that work with vulnerable populations (Vaillant, 2011). When looking into teacher professional development opportunities, there has also been a notable paradigm shift in the ways in which governments envision professional development. Rather than simply focus on teacher education as a preparation and certification phase, recent regional policy trends suggest that governments now view professional development as a continuum that begins from the induction stage throughout the career of the teacher until retirement. This continuum becomes part of the broader “teacher production process” in which there are multiple stages for developing and improving teacher quality: the recruitment phase, induction and preparation phase, and ongoing training (Williams & Engel, 2012 2013). Moreover, professional development in Latin America used to be conceived more often in the form of formal courses, but it is now often thought of in different models, including workshops where teachers reflect about and discuss their classroom practices with other teachers and pedagogical mentors. In addition, many countries are incorporating ICT into the activities of professional development (Terigi, 2010). Continuing education activities in the region take different forms of refresher courses, peer learning processes, specializations, and undergraduate or graduate degrees. The offer of activities is made through different types of institutions at the public and private level which leads to one of the main challenges that Ministries are trying to address: the regulation of these activities and the assurance of their quality (UNESCO, 2012). Professional development opportunities are sought to be diversified and concurrent with new trends; however, many challenges

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remain in this respect, and this is an area in which governments can work together to share successful experiences. Against these policy trends, there are a range of existing challenges related to enhancing teacher education and professional development. One of the leading challenges is the perception of the teaching profession as lacking adequate social recognition and that teacher salaries are thought to be less attractive than other professions. In one regional study, Vegas and Petrow (2008) found that although there is a dominant perception about the lack of teacher pay, teacher pay varied across the region and concluded that teachers may not necessarily be underpaid. In addition to teacher pay, according to PREAL’s (2010) study in seven countries in the region, teachers reported that they felt a loss of social recognition for the teaching profession, which may account for lack of talented professionals who choose a teaching career. Together, these point to the challenge in defining the incentives and the career structure in a way that is attractive to talented candidates and to promote social value and prestige for the teaching profession. In addition to teacher recruitment and induction, there is also a challenge related to high levels of teacher attrition across the region. In response to these challenges, monetary incentives, as well as recognition and nonmonetary awards, are all considered central to retain current teachers. Further, many countries have vertical promotion modalities meaning that a teacher can be promoted to other positions in leadership within the school, causing a teacher to leave their classroom duties if she/he wishes to advance in her/his career. As a result, systems often have less experienced teachers in the classroom, as school leadership positions are often connected to length of service in the system (Terigi, 2010). Some countries in the region are rethinking these education policies and incorporating schemes of horizontal promotion that are more closely linked to promotion based on participation in professional development activities where the teacher is promoted without to leave his classroom duties (UNESCO, 2012). Teacher evaluation is a particularly incipient trend in the region and it often takes place at an informal level. The two main goals of performance evaluation are to guide professional development activities for teachers to strengthen teachers’ practice or to evaluate teachers’ performance to advance or remain in their career. The definition of core competencies that guide teacher evaluations remains contested (Schmelkes, 2013). In those few cases where a formal mechanism is available, there is scarce capacity to use the results of the evaluation to inform the professional development activities. Therefore, teacher performance evaluation appears not to be well

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linked to the teaching career and teacher quality, and remains a challenge for teacher status in the region (UNESCO, 2012). Many of the policy trends discussed above have been part of policy dialogues occurring at regional and subregional levels. High level meetings and regional initiatives provide opportunities for countries of the region to engage in political dialogue but also provide a space for education policy circulation, where Ministries share experiences and discuss different approaches to solve common challenges at the policy level. New forms of horizontal cooperation account for new ways to complement this policy dialogue, to incorporate this knowledge that is being circulated, to take it to the practice, and for new actors to emerge. The following section explores the role of regional horizontal cooperation in promoting policies related to teacher education and professional development, exploring the specific example of the OAS ITEN.

NEW FORMS OF REGIONAL HORIZONTAL COOPERATION: OAS INTER-AMERICAN TEACHER EDUCATION NETWORK The OAS, the world’s oldest regional organization, has been working to support the efforts of its 34 member states to improve quality and equity of education. In 2010, during the Fifth Regular Meeting of the OAS InterAmerican Committee on Education, and based on mandates of Ministers of Education of the Americas, the OAS launched the ITEN. ITEN is a professional network of leaders in education in the Americas who are interested in sharing knowledge, experiences, and good practices in the teaching profession. Based on a strategy of horizontal cooperation, ITEN provides a space for interaction for all stakeholders interested in the teaching profession in the Americas. ITEN has two main audiences: teachers and policy-makers that work in the design and implementation of teacher policies at the Ministries of Education. Stakeholders that participate in ITEN also include a myriad of key actors related to the teaching profession: future teachers, teacher educators, unions, researchers, members of the civil society, among others. ITEN acts as a “knowledge broker” for several types of exchanges and horizontal cooperative actions in the area of the teaching profession. These exchanges are based on three modalities of horizontal cooperation in the field of teacher policies and practices: information exchange, capacity

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building, and technical assistance. In this framework of horizontal cooperation, ITEN offers (1) space and tools to foster effective communication among teachers, administrators, and other educational stakeholders; (2) delivery of collaborative professional development activities for teachers and administrators; (3) international cooperation providing technical assistance missions among Ministries of Education and other key institutions in the field of the teaching profession. By incorporating new ICTs, social media tools, and fostering the strengthening of new virtual networks, ITEN seeks to promote information exchange and sharing of successful practices among teachers and other key stakeholders. At the same time, ITEN provides an incentive for teachers to be exposed to and incorporate the use of these technologies in their everyday practice. Given its regional scope, ITEN facilitates the interaction among teachers from a diverse range of national contexts, which contributes to the richness of the debates that take place among teachers. As highlighted by Vaillant (2007), a recent trend in teacher professional development considers strategies of group work and networking, structured within teacher-to-teacher networks. Among the advantages of using this technology is the provision of opportunities for teachers to reflect on their teaching practice and share experiences among colleagues. What stands out in this specific case study of ITEN is that this teacher-to-teacher network is built at the regional level and provides opportunities for teachers from different countries and education systems to share and collaborate in their teacher practice. Despite their differences, common challenges and practices emerge, and it is often the case that teachers become motivated to belong to this broader network. Furthermore, teacher knowledge can be enhanced through processes of peer exchange. Collaborative Professional Development for teachers fosters innovation and the development of processes to learn how to learn (Calvo, 2013). In this respect, ITEN promotes professional development opportunities, offering courses on collaborative projects utilizing the incorporation of ICTs. The course content centers on the integration of ICTs in the curriculum using a constructive approach through student-centered methodologies, project-based learning, and collaborative online projects. Teachers from different countries build virtual learning communities to promote the exchange of ideas and experiences. Moreover, ITEN seeks to promote capacity building at the country level. Capacity building, understood as “the ability to evaluate and address the crucial questions related to policy choices and modes of implementation among development options” (UN Economic & Social Council, 2006),

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considering the context and the local needs of the countries. Following the needs expressed by Ministers of Education at the OAS’ Seventh InterAmerican Meeting to create a space to function as a regional hub in order to gather policies, programs, and practices related to the teaching profession, ITEN has developed the Inter-American Collaboratory on the Teaching Profession (Co-TEP). Co-TEP is a collaborative online bank of educational resources created to allow governments, researchers, practitioners, and the civil society to share policies, successful practices, experiences, and research related to the teaching profession in the Americas. Co-TEP has been inspired by the UNESCO World Report Towards Knowledge Societies (2005), which makes reference to the concept of “Collaboratory” as a fusion of “collaboration” and “laboratory.” The term is associated with a distributed model of knowledge production and of social relations based on collaboration, sharing, and cooperation for the common good. The mission of Co-TEP is to foster new forms of horizontal cooperation among countries in the region to promote teacher effectiveness by fostering knowledge sharing among stakeholders. Co-TEP was also envisioned in accordance with the United Nations Post-2015 dialogue in education. Based on a perspective that teachers are a key component for achieving this goal, Co-TEP aims to strengthen the teaching profession in the Americas by providing visibility to policies, programs, and practices in this field, as well as technical assistance and support to OAS member states. Co-TEP knowledge bank serves as a support tool for the planning of future cooperation and technical assistance missions. The OAS’ member states have access to a portfolio of policies, practices, experiences, and programs implemented in the region. These resources are categorized by topics related to teacher policies. As member states identify policies of interest, they are able to directly contact individuals and groups sharing resources in Co-TEP in order to plan cooperation initiatives using two modalities: study visits for knowledge exchange or technical assistance missions funded by horizontal cooperation funds. A study visit for knowledge exchange is a horizontal cooperation modality that consists of an encounter among a group of representatives from two or more countries that observe a practice or policy relevant to the teaching profession that is being implemented in the host country. Ministry of Education officials from participating countries visit the host country in order to learn about innovative experiences and new approaches to policy design and implementation. Upon their return to their home countries, officials will apply the acquired knowledge in their local context. A second

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modality of cooperation offered by the OAS is horizontal cooperation funds. Horizontal cooperation funds provide financial support for the implementation and execution of bilateral or multilateral proposals that promote technical assistance between institutions of different OAS’ member states. Technical assistance missions involve at least one governmental institution but other organizations are also invited to participate, including civil society organizations, public and private universities, teacher training institutes, nonprofit organizations, nongovernmental and university networks, and other similar agencies. One of the main challenges of new modalities of horizontal cooperation is to be able to find the support to institutionalize, appropriately apply the new knowledge that is being circulated, and to customize it to the local needs of each country. The institutional framework that multilateral organizations provide is beneficial in this respect, as they provide institutional channels and venues to “formalize” this knowledge. They also act as knowledge hubs and catalysts to give visibility to emerging practices at regional and international levels.

CONCLUSION Teachers and teacher-related issues are of increasing significance for education policy-makers at national, regional, and international levels. On the one hand, the growing focus on teachers may stem from an expanding “school effectiveness” paradigm (Normand, 2008), in which it is frequently argued that teachers are the single most influential factor in determining student achievement (OECD, 2005). From a different perspective, the focus on teachers also seems to result from the shifting global conversation away from “educational access for all” to the provision of “quality education for all,” which places greater attention on teaching and learning dimensions of education. For example, the global community has recently engaged in a dialogue about the aims and objectives of a post-2015 global education agenda, focusing both on ensuring equal access to quality education and equitable learning outcomes. In particular, the Learning Metrics Task Force has advanced an “access plus learning” framework, which includes seven domains of learning, along with mechanisms for measuring these domains at national and global levels, and views teachers as important determinants in creating better quality education (UNESCO-UIS/ Brookings Institution, 2013; Winthrop & Anderson Simons, 2013).

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The growing focus on teachers, and in particular teacher education and professional development, also resonates regionally in Latin America and the Caribbean. Across the region, government officials and policy-makers representing Ministries of Education have increasingly favored the design and implementation of “sound” policies related to teachers, considered to be among the leading contributors to ensuring quality education. Regionally, Ministers of Education from Latin America and the Caribbean have come together to discuss the post-2015 context of education, formally recognizing the importance of teacher-related issues to improving learning outcomes and quality education across the region (Recommendations Post-2015 Educational Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2013). Against the growing global and regional focus on teachers, this chapter explores current developments in teacher education and professional development in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the influential factors in determining these policy developments. The attention of policymakers to these issues illustrates a broader shift toward quality education. In the past, governments in the region have been dedicated to fulfilling their commitments to the UN MDGs and the EFA goals in ensuring access to education and gender parity. Access to education and gender parity were already excellent in Latin America and the Caribbean and therefore, the region achieved universal access to primary education and gender parity quickly. As such, the region was not the primary focus of many of the MDGs and EFA initiatives, which focused more on regions, including Africa and Asia, which had not progressed as quickly. Yet, as evidenced by PISA 2009 data, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are underperforming in education, compared to countries in similar stages of development and investment in education (Gaminian & Solano, 2011). These issues stand to challenge governments in Latin America and the Caribbean. Whereas educational access requires investment in infrastructure, promotion of enrollment, and in turn, results are relatively easy to measure in the short term, enhancing educational quality adds increased difficulty. This is largely because definitions of “quality” become less concrete (Stake & Schwandt, 2006) and educational quality requires a more substantial and longer-term commitment of governments because results from investments in quality education may not be seen in the short term. Against these larger issues related to advancing quality education, the chapter highlighted several existing gaps and challenges in relation to teacher education and professional development. Among them is the need to strengthen initial preparation and professional development programs for teachers; enhance the relevance of these preparation and professional

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development programs to teaching practice; rethink the teaching career in order to make it attractive to recruit and retain qualified candidates; and provide teachers with strategies and tools to address the diverse needs of the student population. As the region faces these challenges, and others related to quality education, many governments across the region have sought new forms of South South cooperative arrangements and participated in horizontal knowledge exchange. One of the leading examples explored in the chapter is the OAS’ launch of the regional teacher-toteacher network, ITEN, aimed at bringing teachers together across the region to share knowledge and practices in the teaching profession. ITEN is a concrete example of a network that promotes new modalities of horizontal cooperation. From within a framework of a regional initiative, diverse stakeholders related to the teaching profession work together to contribute to improving the quality of education in different crossborder contexts. This example shows how the emergence of new modalities of cooperation and networks supported by multilateral organizations can lead to new forms of cooperative work in the teaching profession. In addition to illustrating some of the different models of horizontal cooperation (exchange of information, capacity development, technical assistance), ITEN also creates the space for teachers to become the central actors of this regional process of peer knowledge exchange and reflective practice, both considered central to effective teacher professional development (Vaillant, 2007). The related development of Co-TEP (the Inter-American Collaboratory on the Teaching Profession), also aims to strengthen teacher professional development through online collaboration and knowledge sharing. These opportunities for horizontal cooperation can provide new mechanisms to foster innovative and successful approaches to enhancing teacher education and professional development. Within these frameworks of horizontal knowledge exchange, further comparative and international education policy research is required to better understand these mechanisms of knowledge circulation and their relationship to emergent trends in education policy formation at local and national levels. As new “Collaboratories” emerge, comparative and international educational research has a significant role to play. In one area, comparative and international education can advance the development of new theoretical frameworks for these new cooperative modalities and what they may signal about educational multilateralism. In another area, comparative and international educational research can assist in furthering the understanding of the knowledge exchange process, particularly in relation to teacher-to-teacher peer exchange and reflection on teacher practice.

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Some of the recent literature has focused on best practices in teacher education and professional development in top-performing countries of Finland, Singapore, and others (see Sahlberg, 2011; Tucker, 2011). From this literature, teacher-to-teacher peer reflection is one highlighted “good practice.” Exploring the role and impact of ITEN from a comparative perspective may also yield insights into good practices in cooperative learning and knowledge exchange among teachers, including from more developing contexts.

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CURRENT CHALLENGES AND FUTURE TRENDS FOR TEACHER TRAINING IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: A FOCUSED LOOK AT BOTSWANA AND LESOTHO Cheryl Hunter and Tsooane Molapo ABSTRACT This chapter examines the similarities and differences in teacher education between Botswana and Lesotho to unravel “best fit” strategies specific to the needs of teacher education in different locals or populations within these two countries. We begin with an overview of the social, political, and economic contexts of each country as a lens by which to understand some of the current challenges teachers face within each country. We review the research literature to understand what teacher preparation looks like at the tertiary level and how teachers in the field maintain current knowledge and pedagogical skills in regard the content they teach. We will argue that when teaching pedagogy at the tertiary level maintains an authoritarian model of teaching with content centered, didactic instruction, and teacher-centered pedagogy there is little ability

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 25, 295 328 Copyright r 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-367920140000025018

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for national change in education. Likewise, if teacher education does not embed the concept of life-long learning and is not supported by both a national and local commitment to support teacher’s continued professional development the ability to sustain any change in education is thwarted. Keywords: Teacher education; professional development; rural education; quality in education; Botswana; Lesotho

Teacher education is a direct reflection of what a state intends for the education of its children. How we teach teachers is a reflection of how we want children to be taught and likewise, how we think they learn. Education is both a local and national project with different purposes at each level requiring reciprocal communication and mutual commitments. This chapter uses the research literature focusing on teacher education to examine how teachers are initially trained and subsequent professional development opportunities for teachers in the countries of Botswana and Lesotho. We intend to use these two countries to demonstrate the need for a national focus on teacher preparation and continued professional development when undergoing educational change, such as providing universal or compulsory schooling. This chapter begins with a very brief overview of the role that comparative research plays in understanding educational transformations in Southern Africa during and after colonization. Next, an overview of the social, political, and economic contexts of each country is offered as a lens by which to understand some of the current challenges teachers face within each country. We then review the research literature to understand what teacher preparation looks like at the tertiary level and how teachers in the field maintain current knowledge and pedagogical skills in regard the content they teach. We will argue that when teaching pedagogy at the tertiary level maintains an authoritarian model of teaching with content centered, didactic instruction, and teacher-centered pedagogy there is little ability for national change in education. Likewise, if teacher education does not embed the concept of life-long learning and is not supported by both a national and local commitment to support teacher’s continued professional development the ability to sustain any change in education is thwarted. Comparative research specifically investigates how leaders of postcolonial states made strong efforts to promote democracy using education

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systems as a way to aid the democratization process (Bray & Lee, 1993). This was indeed the case in the African countries of Botswana and Lesotho. We address the specific challenges of teacher supply in response to universalized education, discrepancies between rural and urban regions, and the impact of HIV and AIDS on children and teachers. We then turn to focus on the challenges in teacher education faced in both Lesotho and Botswana in terms of how teachers are initially trained at the college level (pre-service teachers) as well as professional development opportunities for in-service teachers. Comparative education researchers have explored educational transformations in Africa, South East Asia, and the South Pacific during and after colonization and its effects on society and modernization. In essence, comparativists have investigated how education was utilized to prepare these areas for self-governance and independence. In particular, postcolonial educational issues have been studied extensively in South Africa as the most developed country in Southern Africa. Researchers have examined teacher training, curriculum reform, quality versus access, and problems with importing systems and ideas from abroad with mismatch in context (Brook, 1996; Brook Napier, 2003; Chisholm, Soudien, Vally, & Gilmour, 1999; Christie, 1996, 2001; Jansen, 1998; Robinson, 2003; Soudien, 2001, 2003; Soudien & Baxen, 1997). Therefore, the Botswana and Lesotho case will contribute to the overall understanding of problems related to teacher training in Sub-Saharan Africa. Another rationale for using Botswana and Lesotho in order to understand education in Sub-Saharan Africa is dictated by the fact that the two countries share cultural and linguistic roots. On the other hand Botswana and Lesotho are economically and politically different. We can look at the similarities and differences between Botswana and Lesotho and ultimately understand disparities between urban and rural education in both countries and Sub-Saharan Africa as whole. In essence, this holistic examination of similarities and differences (Gul, 2010) between Botswana and Lesotho should give us a deeper understanding of the education context in both countries. By taking into account the similarities and differences we should be able to unravel “best fit” strategies specific to the needs of different locals or populations within these two countries and Sub-Saharan Africa in general. Furthermore, the comparative approach will allow us to “explore, explain, argue, predict and make a recommendation for future” (Fairbrother, 2005, p. 5) practice. Botswana and Lesotho (Bechuanaland and Basutoland Protectorates) are distinctive among African countries because neither was ever colonized

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and their independence was granted through negotiation, not the shedding of blood like many nations in Africa. Sharing this same pattern was Swaziland. Botswana and Lesotho are similar in many ways: they gained independence from the British within one week of each other on September 30, 1966 and October 4, 1966 respectively. Swaziland which is not included in this chapter was the last of the three British High Commissioner Territories to gain independence in 1968 (Bowman, 1968). Moreover, Swaziland possesses a distinctively different political structure from Botswana and Lesotho in the sense that shortly following independence King Sobhuza II assumed all executive and judicial powers and the country remains an exclusive monarchy to this day (Mzizi, 2002). Botswana and Lesotho share the cultural and linguistic roots as mentioned earlier and anthropologist often refer to Tswana-Sotho language and culture (Tlou, 1985; Tlou & Campbell, 1997). Therefore, even though Swaziland shares a common British Protectorate colonial status this chapter focuses on Botswana and Lesotho because of their cultural and linguistic similarities, the common adoption of their protector’s Western form of education, and education as commonly viewed as a human right.

THE CONTEXT OF BOTSWANA Botswana is a landlocked country in Sub-Saharan Africa, about the size of France. There are about 2 million people (Central Intelligence Agency, 2013) with the majority of the citizens residing in the eastern part of the country. The country is divided into nine districts and five town councils. The eastern parts of the country along Gaborone (the capital) to Francistown are more urban and developed while the western parts of the country are sparsely populated and undeveloped. In the 19th century, when hostilities broke out between the Batswana and Boer settlers from what is now known as South Africa, the British Government put Bechuanaland under its protection in 1885 In June 1964, Britain accepted proposals for democratic self-government in Bechuanaland. The country was later granted independence in 1966 and renamed The Republic of Botswana (Colclough & McCarthy, 1980; Merkestein, 1998; Parson, 1981; Ramsay, Mgadla, & Morton, 1996). Colclough and McCarthy (1980) describe Botswana at independence as being “one of the ten poorest countries in the world [and] worse off in terms of both social and directly productive infrastructure than any

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ex-British territory in Africa” (p. 28). This was due impart to the British nominal investment in development. Moreover, at independence the country had very few productive assets and most of the population was uneducated (Hopkin, 1996; Maipose, Somolekae, & Johnston, 1996). It is instructive to note that most of the precolonial and even postcolonial development in Botswana has often concentrated on the more populated eastern regions of the country, along the Gaborone (the capital) to Francistown. Consequently, the thinly populated remote areas in the western parts of the country have often been cut off from resources to assist teachers and reform implementation. Similar patterns exist in Sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, in South Africa remote areas isolation has been identified as major blocking factor to development (Brook, 1996) during and after colonization. Following independence Botswana was fortunate to discover diamonds. The mining of diamonds resulted in considerable increases in both the private and public sectors employment (Tabulawa, 2011). However, Botswana was plagued with skilled labor shortages because of a scarcity of educated citizens during this incipient economic growth. At the time of independence, Botswana had few schools (Meyer, Nagel, & Snyder, 1993) concentrated mainly in the eastern part of the country most of which were established by missionaries. Siphambe (2000) mentions that Botswana had no fewer than 40 college educated people in 1966 and about 100 people with senior certificates. The new country was then compelled to expand schooling as way to address the labor shortages, and to build the new national identity (Tabulawa, 2011). In 1977 Botswana formed a new education policy that would promote learning opportunities for all Batswana (Pansiri, 2008). Essentially, the new country deemed education as a means to address regional educational disparities that existed before and after independence. In essence, educational inequalities were viewed as a threat to the political integration of the newly formed government of Botswana (Tabulawa, 2011). The government of the newly independent Republic of Botswana viewed education in terms of political integration and nation building. Therefore, through primary education Batswana children and “even local communities would derive their sense of belonging to the wider society of Botswana … (Republic of Botswana, 1977, p. 53). Consequently, to ensure educational equity, Botswana developed a centralized system of primary education with standardized curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment that followed the British colonial and postcolonial tradition of centralization of schooling and nationalized curriculum. The rationale for the centralized education system was that it would achieve equity by distributing educational resources fairly and at the same

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time contribute to the building of a homogenized national identity (Tabulawa, 2011). Additionally, Botswana’s adoption of a centralized system was in keeping with the wider British colonial and postcolonial tradition of centralized schooling and national curriculum (Meyer et al., 1993). Precolonial Botswana had a decentralized, tribal/community coordinated education system. Maruatona (2004) calls Botswana a modernist developmental state in which most of the power for decision-making is left to professionals. Meaning all educational programs, including adult literacy program are under the control of the central government officers. Within this centralized education system, Botswana took a further bold stride by formulating and implementing a basic education program (BEP) in 1987. BEP ushered in a new era for education, which meant every child in Botswana would enjoy continuous education for nine years (Tabulawa, 2011). For BEP to function, barriers to schooling such as school fees and lack of facilities had to be addressed. Botswana abolished school fees in primary schools in 1980 as an effort to marshal universal primary education (UPE). Moreover, as a goal to facilitate BEP, the country instituted school improvement projects at the primary and secondary levels from 1981 through 1991 (Tabulawa, 2011). Following these improvements, secondary school fees were abolished in 1989. The inception of BEP and UPE in Botswana was followed by improvements in enrollments at both the primary and secondary schools. Primary school enrollment increased from fewer than 80,000 at independence in 1966 to more than 400,000 in 1990 (Meyer et al., 1993). Moreover, there were 1,531 children enrolled in secondary schools in 1966 and the number grew to 67,167 in 1991 (Weeks, 1993). Siphambe (2000) terms this increase remarkable given the neighboring countries stagnation in school enrollments during this period. It is informative to point out that the government of Botswana became aware of education equity issues in the first few years of being a newly independent country. The government noticed that, due to financial difficulties, many Batswana children were not able to progress further in their schooling (Siphambe, 2000). Therefore, the implementation of BEP and UPE occurred in Botswana before Education for All goals were instituted at the 1990 Jomtien Conference (Tabulawa, 2011). Botswana’s first educational policy called Education for Kagisano (Social Harmony) guided the country’s educational development and administration from 1977 to 1993. In 1994, the Revised National Policy on Education identified: the goal of education as preparing Botswana for the transition from a traditional agrobased economy to an industrial economy in order to compete in the global economy.

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In addition to responding to the demands of the economy, the government considered accesses to basic education a fundamental human right. (UNESCO, 2010, p. 1)

Thus, it could be implied that the 1994 education policy was in response to globalization. The country structured an educational system that could produce a learner with qualities such as creativity, critical thinking, flexibility, innovation, and independent thought. Therefore, the goal of the education system was to produce a worker suited for the new globalized economy (Tabulawa, 2009). The new education policy focused largely on access, equity, quality, and relevance (Republic of Botswana, 1994). In order to achieve this education for all agenda, Botswana had to focus attention on the needs of its remote areas. In addition to the abolishment of school fees, the new policy instigated the building of primary schools in remote areas through the Remote Area Development Programme (RADP) as a school access promotion measure (Pansiri, 2008). In particular, the policy ensured that remote area dwellers (RADs) were not excluded from all education programs. It is useful here to give a brief description of remote area dwellers. RADs are described as minorities who live in “communities that are detached from the mainstream of socio-lingual, socio-economic and socialpolitical activities” (Pansiri, 2008, p. 447). In addition, these settlers often lack opportunities for economic advancement, have low levels of education, and know very little about human rights. Some of these RADs include the San people who are less than 1% of the population in Botswana (Grimes, 1992). The San live in remote areas in the Northwest corner of Botswana (Meyer et al., 1993) where children have to walk long distance to school or stay in boarding schools (Winkle Wagner, 2006). The roads to these remote areas are not well developed thus it is difficult to transport children back and forth between school and home. The national census revealed that the majority of children missing from primary schools in Botswana were largely from the remote areas in the western regions of the country (Pansiri, 2008). Therefore, to address the non-enrollment of some RADS, the government of Botswana and UNICEF partnered to develop a national BEP for RADs. The policy also emphasized and encouraged community, particularly parents’, involvement in decision-making on matters that affect their children (Pansiri, 2008). Additionally, Community Junior Secondary Schools (CJSS) were established in which communities were to provide the bulk of the funding rather than the government (Meyer et al., 1993; Weeks, 1993). The concept of CJSS was viewed as a core strategy to increase partnerships between the communities and the government (UNESCO, 2010).

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Stable multiparty democracy, wise management of natural resources, effective use of foreign aid, and increased revenues from mining and beef exports (Evans & Knox, 1991; Hopkin, 1996; Maipose et al., 1996) have since transformed Botswana into a middle-income nation with a per capita GDP of $17,800 in 2012 (Central Intelligence Agency, 2013). Accordingly, the government of Botswana continues to prioritize education in their national budget as a quest to ensure access and also meet the labor demand. In the past several decades prior to the 2008 2009 recessions, education has been receiving at least 10% of the national budget, which translates into about 7.8% of the GDP (Pansiri, 2008). Today Botswana boasts the highest primary enrollment (107%) in Sub-Saharan Africa (UNESCO, 2010). Botswana’s K-12 education is free but not compulsory.

Teacher Training in Botswana Moswela (2006) depicts the education system in Botswana rather negatively shortly following independence. For instance, in 1951 of all the 487 teachers only 195 were qualified. Later in 1966 the number of primary school teachers had increased to 1,624 and 66 in secondary school. The number of qualified primary teachers comprised of 825 teachers and only 43 of the 66 secondary teachers were qualified. This meant that the country depended heavily on expatriate teachers from other African countries and abroad (Raphaeli & MacKellar, 1984). However, 10 years following independence the number of teachers had expanded by 134% to 3,921 with the percentage of unqualified teacher dropping from 43% to 38% (Weeks, 1993). Botswana opened two teacher-training colleges in the late 1980s and the University of Botswana expanded its teacher-training programs in the late 1970s to the early 1980s as an effort to increase local teacher supply and reduce the number of expatriate and unqualified teachers. The teachertraining colleges (TTCs) traditional role was the training of primary teachers, awarding the elementary teacher certificate, the primary lower certificate, the primary higher certificate, and the primary teacher certificate (UNESCO, 2010). Following the 1994 Revised National Policy on Education, TTCs were upgraded to colleges of education and charged with training of both primary and junior secondary level teachers. The colleges of education award a Diploma in Education after three years while the University of Botswana awards a four-year Bachelor’s degree in education. The establishment of teacher-training colleges and the expansion of the teacher-training program at the University of Botswana contributed to

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the increased number of qualified teachers such that in recent years Botswana has experienced an excess in teacher supply (Moswela, 2006; Republic of Botswana, 1966, 2001). Furthermore, the affiliation of the teacher-training colleges with the University of Botswana has had a great impact on teacher training in Botswana in two distinct ways. First, the University of Botswana validates the programs offered by the colleges by approving courses and overseeing final examinations and monitoring teaching practice (Adeyemi & Hopkin, 1997). Second, if invited by the affiliated colleges, the University of Botswana may offer advice on the delivery of programs. A move to end the use of the Cambridge Oversees General Certificate of Secondary Education to a locally based Botswana General Certificate signaled a change in both the curriculum and pedagogy (Moswela, 2006).

THE CONTEXT OF LESOTHO Lesotho is a small country half the size of the state of Maryland. Lesotho is completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa, making it one of only three countries in the world that are enclaves within another country. The country is 30,355 sq km in area and has approximately 2.2 million people (Central Intelligence Agency, 2013) Three quarters of the country consists of highlands rising to nearly 3,500 m. The country is divided into 10 districts, with most of the population located in the eastern districts of the country along Mafetenng, Maseru (the capital), Berea, Leribe, and Butha-Buthe. The most isolated and remote areas start from the middle of the country to the highlands, which constitute most of the western half of the country. Historically, Lesotho’s economic stability has been closely linked with that of South Africa where many Lesotho citizens have sought employment (Mariga & Phachaka, 1993). The emergence of the Basotho as a nation occurred around 1818 when King Moshoeshoe (1786 1870) formed alliances with an amalgam of clans and chiefdoms of southern Sotho, people who occupied the area which is presently the Northern and Eastern Free State and Western Lesotho from about 1400 AD (Lesotho Government Online, 2013). Missionaries of the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (PEMS) came to Basutoland in 1833, and they later played a vital role in the development of the country. Basutoland became British protectorate in 1868 and later granted independence on October 4, 1966 and renamed Lesotho. The arrival of the missionaries had far-reaching effects on the life of the people. Potatoes,

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wheat, fruit trees, and domestic cats and pigs were introduced. Before long the missionaries had opened schools and printed books in the Sesotho language (Cobbe, 1983; Lesotho, Official Year Book, 1996; Lesotho Statistical Year Book, 2008; Muzvidziwa & Seotsanyana, 2002). Immediately following independence from Great Britain more than 90% of primary and 80% of secondary schools were legally owned by churches. In the mid-1980s the government of Lesotho became more involved in providing teacher salaries, designing curriculum, and improving infrastructure as the churches’ finances dwindled. The passing of the Education Act in 1995 fostered an agreement between Lesotho’s Ministry of Education and the churches to collaborate in the education of the children (Johnstone & Chapman, 2009; Mothibeli & Maema, 2005). Today Lesotho’s formal education functions through a strong partnership between the government, church groups, and the community. Prior to the 1995 Education Act, the churches secretariats were responsible for hiring, firing, deploying, and disciplining teachers. The Education Act has also facilitated an increased participation of parents in the education of their children. This has been achieved through the establishment of School Advisory and Management Committees that are comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), churches, and parents. Moreover, the act has been praised for ending the state church conflict of leadership in the management of schools in Lesotho (Mothibeli & Maema, 2005). Since then the Ministry of Education has been responsible for the pronouncement of policy, the setting of standards, the training of teachers, the formal approval of teachers’ appointments, dismissals and deployment, the administration of examinations, school inspection, and the regulation of the opening and closing of schools. In essence, all schools in Lesotho adhere to the policies of the Ministry of Education even though many schools are still largely owned by the religious groups (Johnstone & Chapman, 2009; Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality, 2013). From 1992 to1996 the government of Lesotho started decentralizing the education system through the building of District Resource Centers and legalizing School Advisory and Management Committees. This meant that school monitoring, evaluation, and supervision are performed at the school level through the Inspectorate. The Inspectorate is a British tradition of school management. According to Holmes (2000), when Inspectors visit schools they look for the following things: First, degree to which the school’s leadership and management is effective and efficient, with emphasis on the “promotion of high standards of teaching and learning; second,

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the effectiveness of the school’s systems of performance evaluation; third, the way the school uses its human and other resources and promotes best value; and, fourth, how the school works with its governing body.” (p. 49)

In Lesotho, the function of School inspectors’ is twofold. First, following a given school inspection, they send their reports to head teachers, school managers, and church secretaries for action. Second, they send their reports to the Ministry of Education for general planning and policy formulation (Mothibeli & Maema, 2005). Other stakeholders in Lesotho’s education system are involved mainly in teacher support roles. For example, the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) provides in-service training about new curriculum while the National University of Lesotho (NUL) administers school-based support for teachers of mathematics and science in secondary schools. Additionally, NCDC develops educational materials and school curriculums in conjunction with a panel of experts, which include a group representing teachers. In essence, decentralization in Lesotho allows teachers to have some input in the national curriculum. Finally, Area and District Resource teacher networks provide the school-based in-service training focusing mainly on teaching methodology, classroom management, and general administration (Mothibeli & Maema, 2005). (Mulkeen, 2008; Pansiri, 2008) describes the decentralization of education management in Lesotho as an example of an efficient free market system. However, because the responsibilities of central officers and district officers have not been explicitly defined, education decisionmaking in Lesotho is still executed at the central level (Mothibeli & Maema, 2005). The government of Lesotho introduced Free Primary Education (FPE) in 1999 as an endeavor to increase access, equity, and improve the quality of primary and secondary education (Mothibeli & Maema, 2005). Fees were later abolished in 2000 in a phase-out period starting at Standard One (First Grade) resulting in a 12% increase in enrollment that year. FEP has been viewed as a great breakthrough mainly for children from low socioeconomic status because school fees made it harder for them to attend primary school. Urwick (2011) reported that general enrollments for primary schools in Lesotho rose from 107% in 1996 to 141% in 2006. Moreover, districts in the highlands, which often had very low primary enrollments, made significant gains in enrollment following FPE. These growing primary enrollments have presented Lesotho with new challenges that need immediate attention. Steiner-Khamsi and Lefoka (2011) declare that the supply of adequate teachers is an ongoing problem Lesotho faces.

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Teacher Training in Lesotho Precolonial training in Lesotho was in the form of informal education by the elders and local leaders in the villages (Ministry of Education, 1982). This training involved “the initiation schools that acted as informal institutions … Boys and girls separately learned cultural values and philosophy, personal and family responsibility and duties to one’s clan and people” (Ministry of Education, 1982, p. 1). In the early part of the 19th century missionaries ushered formal classroom instruction and the first teachertraining college in the country was established (Ministry of Education, 1982). The British colonial government continued to support education in the country all the way until independence by issuing grants to the churches to run the schools. Following independence, teacher education became a chief priority of the newly formed government of Lesotho (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). Lesotho College of Education (LEC) formally known as The National Teacher Training College (NTTC) formed in 1974 was the only supplier of qualified teachers. LEC is the centralized provider of teacher education for both pre-service and in-service teachers (Mothibeli & Maema, 2005; Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). One of the major purposes of LEC is to provide curriculum reform and material production and to link schools to colleges in the internship year (Moloi, Morobe, & Urwick, 2008). The college offers three-year programs leading to the Primary Teacher Certificate (PTC), the Secondary Teacher Certificate (STC), Diploma in Primary Education (DPE), Diploma in Technical Education (DTE), and Diploma in Secondary Education (DSE). The college also offers Lesotho In-service Education for Teachers (LIET) as part-time training for primary teachers. This program also allows unqualified teachers to upgrade their qualifications (Lefoka & Stuart, 2001; Mothibeli & Maema, 2005). Furthermore, teachers holding a degree from LEC have the opportunity to upgrade their qualifications at the NUL by pursuing a Bachelor of Education degree. NUL offers a four-year Bachelor of Science Education (Bsc.Ed) program and Bachelor of Arts Education (BA Ed). In 1988 NTTC Introduced the new 3½ year Diploma in Education Primary (DEP) to replace PTC as a measure to address the short-comings of PTC (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). DEP’s first goal became the recruitment of higher qualified entrants into the program. The program would also enhance the overall academic level of the new recruits by offering a onesemester bridge course in English, Math, and Science. In summary, DEP curriculum would be rigorous enough to produce a teacher “who shall possess mastery of their field and appropriate teaching methodologies … and

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vision to contribute to the development of the primary education” (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002, pp. 278 279). In essence, DEP was viewed as a program that would transform primary education in Lesotho. However, even after the introduction of this new DEP, LEC has not kept up with the demand for new teachers. The number of untrained teachers in primary schools has remained high. For instance the percentage of unqualified teachers rose from 22% in 1999 to 36% in 2004 (Urwick, 2011). Another underlying issue is that teacher training and professional development in Lesotho remains donor-driven and influenced by funding opportunities (Steiner-Khamsi & Lefoka, 2011). For example, in budget years 2006 2007 donor contributions for primary education budget accounted for 19% of funds available (Moloi, Morobe, & Urwick, 2008). This high degree of external assistance presents challenges in teacher training in Lesotho in addition to providing changes in pedagogy.

Impact of AIDS and HIV for Teachers in Both Countries It is important to address the HIV and AIDS pandemic, which has impacted education in both Lesotho and Botswana significantly. The direct effects include loss of children and teachers as well as the need for teachers to address the socio-emotional needs of their students as well as teach about disease prevention. In Lesotho, an estimated 34% of all school age children have lost one or both parents to AIDS and the accuracy of this number remains questionable due to a predominate fear of testing (Wood, Ntaote, & Theron, 2012). Botswana’s estimated number of orphans was 137,805 in 2007, of which 17.2% were below the age of 18 (Government of Botswana, 2008a). Teacher education must prepare teachers to address the psychological and social impacts of HIV and AIDS on children. Children that have lost a parent face an increased risk of malnutrition, illness, abuse, sexual exploitation, homelessness, and behaviors such as limited attention spans, increased anxiety, trauma, and depression manifest in the classroom (Bhana, Morell, Epstein, & Molestane, 2006). Teachers must also cope with the same stress and anxiety of losing loved ones to AIDS while addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. Teachers must go above and beyond a child’s general learning needs, which test the teacher’s endurance and resilience (Wood et al., 2012). There is a dire need for pre- and in-service training programs to train teachers to move beyond basic knowledge of disease prevention to provide resources, support, and appropriate teaching

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methods for children challenged by social contexts such as homelessness, war, poverty, and health disparities. Teachers need support and training on how to connect with community resources and how to adapt the curriculum to meet the learning needs of at-risk children (Wood & Goba, 2011). In the case of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Resilient Educators program (REds) was developed to be a process-based, self-reflective methodology to provide supportive intervention aimed at providing knowledge of local resources and to promote teacher resiliency (Theron, 2008). In Lesotho REds participant teachers reported both personal and professional gains such as knowledge of protective resources, extended teachers supportive networks, a reported decrease in depression, despair, fear and grief, and development of more tolerant attitudes toward the teaching of orphans and vulnerable children (Wood et al., 2012). Clearly teachers need more personal and professional support to develop and maintain resiliency as they serve vulnerable students in the face of injustice and social disparities. Contrary to previous fears about high teacher mortality rates in countries with high HIV/AIDS (Kelly, 2000), teacher mortality rates in Botswana have been relatively low when compared to the population as a whole (Bennell & Molwane, 2008). The availability of anti-retroviral (ARTs) drugs has been attributed to these low mortality rates, because teachers who belong to the Botswana Public Officers Medical Aid Scheme (BPOMAS) have been able to access these drugs since 1998. Over the years the number of BPOMAS member teachers taking ARTs has grown gradually from 62 in 1999 to 1,433 in April 2007 (Bennell & Molwane, 2008). Although mortality rates are lower among Botswana’s teachers, the HIV/AIDS pandemic still impacts the education system. An indirect effect of AIDS and HIV on education results from the relocation of teachers. Many experienced teachers in Botswana are migrating to urban areas with better medical and educational facilities that are often in the eastern part of the country (Keitheile & Mokubung, 2005). Consequently, Botswana’s Ministry of Education often has to address the issue of a higher number of teachers applying for jobs in the vicinity of the capital city where there are better medical facilities. In terms of how AIDS and HIV have specifically impacted teacher education there has been a clear indirect effect that impacts rural areas disproportionally. As teachers opt to live closer to better facilities this serves as an impact upon rural communities where Botswana’s Ministry of Education has found it convenient to continue to send less-experienced teachers (Keitheile & Mokubung, 2005). The indirect effect of teachers opting to live closer to better facilities, thus closer to urban areas, results in the potential for higher professional

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development needs in rural communities where there may be lessexperienced teachers and an additional challenge of recruitment and retention of quality teachers in rural areas. In the next section we address the specific challenges of teacher recruitment and retention in rural areas as well as the focus on teacher-centered pedagogy that impact both Botswana and Lesotho. We suggest both countries share similar rural education challenges even though they differ in where education is managed nationally or locally. However, there are common elements both countries can use to promote teacher recruitment and retention to improve rural education quality. Likewise, both countries share similar challenges in teacher pedagogy a teacher-centered approach which can maintain an authoritarian structure to teaching and hinder implementation of best practices in teaching. Both countries would benefit from new commitments toward student-centered pedagogy at both the teacher education (pre-service) and professional development (in-service) levels.

CHALLENGES FACING TEACHER EDUCATION IN LESOTHO AND BOTSWANA The preference for urban teaching placements results in a growing disparity between rural and urban schools and impacts both the supply and quality of teachers in Lesotho and Botswana. Botswana and Lesotho have clear differences in terms of teacher supply. UNESCO’s Education for All (EFA) initiative reports the need for an additional 4 million primary school teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa (UNESCO, 2007, 2008), with Lesotho having approximately a fifth of the qualified teachers it needs (Lewin & Stuart, 2003; Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). In contrast, Botswana has an adequate supply of teachers from the four training colleges, University of Botswana, and several oversees institutions and Botswana’s projected need of teachers is 50% of the current output of teacher trainees (Bennell & Molwane, 2008). While the percentage of untrained teachers in Botswana increased from 7% in 1995 to 11% in 2000 it then steadily fell to 9.3% in 2002, to 7.5% in 2004 (Carnoy et al., 2009), and currently Botswana maintains a surplus in trained teachers (Moswela, 2006). However, the supply of trained teachers does not mean all trained teachers are high quality. This is an important distinction since research suggests that teacher quality clearly impacts student achievement.

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Rice (2003) identifies teacher quality as a crucial school-related factor influencing student achievement. Using large-scale studies such as Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain (1998) and Sanders and Rivers (1996), Rice explains “while school quality is an important determinant of student achievement, the most important predictor is teacher quality … and the effects of teachers on student achievement are both additive and cumulative” (2003). This is supported by a study in Lesotho that found a strong relationship between students’ academic performance in mathematics and teachers’ qualifications in mathematics (Ogbonnaya & Osiki, 2007) underscoring the importance of teacher quality for student achievement. The qualities of the teacher as well as the qualities of the teaching impact student outcomes. While Botswana and Lesotho have different teacher supply needs both countries have need for quality teachers especially when considering the case of teacher quality in rural education.

Teacher Quality, Recruitment, and Retention in Rural Areas Teachers prefer urban placements because the realities of rural placements include: unstable buildings, buildings are dilapidated or too small; shortage of necessary supplies; lack of electricity or water; unhygienic facilities; lack of suitable teacher housing; and a limit of future life opportunities such as family (Buckler, 2011). Rural locations are perceived as limiting future career opportunity because the rural location includes lack of access to training and professional development, insufficient professional support, and insufficient access to technology (Buckler, 2011). Often the “hidden problem” of rural disparities gets lost in the aggregation of data at the national level masking the inequality between rural and urban education (Mulkeen, 2005). While there may not always be demand for teachers because of adequate supply, there will always be a demand for high-quality teachers since both teacher and teaching qualities impacts student performance (Rice, 2003). Because of the demand for quality teachers, the education sectors in rural areas in both countries consistently recruited less-experienced teachers. For instance, in 2011 in Lesotho 51% of rural area teachers were unqualified (Urwick, 2011). Likewise, in 2008 in Botswana only 5% of rural area teachers had a University degree in primary education, 50% held a DPE, 34% were Primary Teaching Certificate holders, and 11% were untrained and inexperienced (Coultas & Lewin, 2002; Pansiri, 2008). In reality there is a false notion of “oversupply of teachers” because of the large numbers

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of unqualified teachers in rural areas in both Botswana and Lesotho. This uneven distribution of qualified teachers places many rural pupils at a disadvantage because students learn more from experienced teachers than less-experienced teachers (Rice, 2003; Rivkin et al., 2000). Botswana Botswana faces clear inequities between urban and rural areas in terms of education. The western regions of the country are more rural and less populated; whereas the eastern regions are more urban and more densely populated (Moswela, 2006). Currently, placement of teachers is one challenge the Ministry of Education faces. It is more likely that less-experienced graduates are placed in areas furthest from the capital city (Gaborone) and more experienced teachers gravitate to the more developed regions in the eastern parts of the country (Moswela, 2006) which equates to students in rural areas being taught by the more inexperienced teachers. There are two major inequities that Botswana faces in rural education: the mismatch in language of instruction and a less-experienced teaching population. Both of these issues impact the recruitment and retention of quality teachers in rural areas. In the rural areas of Botswana, the language of the school does not necessarily reflect the language of the community. There are multiple minority (approximately 34) ethnic groups in Botswana, such as the Kalanga, the Mbukushu, the Yei, the Herero, and San (Grimes, 1992). However, the Botswana government attempts to view all people as Batswana and therefore the languages Setswana and English are the primary languages used in the schools (Winkle Wagner, 2006). This means that for minority groups that speak their native tongue, the language of instruction in schools would be a second or third language. In many rural areas languages such as Sesarwa, Sekgalagadi, Seyeyi, and Sembukush are not officially recognized and are not permitted on school premises or in the school curriculum (Pansiri, 2008). An overwhelming majority of teachers in rural areas of Botswana, 70%, did not understand or speak the same language that students spoke (Pansiri, 2008). The resulting disconnects between teachers’ and students’ understanding of community culture and language may serve the purpose of forced integration of minority groups into the dominant culture in Botswana (Le Roux, 2000). Teachers without language experience in the native tongue working in ethnic minority regions come to the school with a significant disadvantage in being able to teach both content as well as connect with students and community. The language mismatch in rural schools, unlike urban schools where Setswana or English is the language of

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the majority, makes communication difficult to impossible and makes the recruitment and retention of quality teachers a challenge. Enrollment discrepancies also exist between urban and rural areas. In 2001 nearly 10% of potential students were not enrolled in primary education and a higher percentage in secondary education (Molefe, Pansiri, & Weeks, 2006; Republic of Botswana, 2003) with the majority from ethnic minority populations from western settlements (Pansiri, 2008). Remote area schools are also challenged with a less qualified teaching population. The education sector tends to recruit less qualified teachers those with academic levels at the junior certificate or general certificate of secondary education for remote schools (Pansiri, 2008). For example one study on teacher qualifications found that in rural schools approximately 5% held a Degree in Primary Education, 50% held a DPE, 34% were Primary Teaching Certificate holders, 11% were untrained and inexperienced temporary teachers and those with diplomas were newly recruited teachers with three years or less teaching experience (Pansiri, 2008). This translates to teachers that are less confident in the skills they teach. For example, teachers in urban settings reported more confidence in their skills than their rural counterparts (Nleya, 1999). Botswana’s rural schools face particular challenges of language mismatch and a greater inexperienced teaching force than its urban school counterparts. In part, the language inequity can be seen as a direct effect of a highly centralized educational system that mirrors its British protectorate roots. With a more decentralized system one might expect greater local control and therefore the possibility of local languages being implemented as the language of instruction in schools. This would require identification at the national level of Botswana as ethnically diverse with rich language diversity and the subsequent adoption of both curriculum and teaching methods that support this ethnic and linguistic diversity and/or the relinquishing of control to the locality to determine curriculum and language of instruction. However, a more decentralized education system is not a panacea and while it might result in mitigating some of the language inequity it would not necessarily address the lack of experience or lowerquality teaching force in rural areas. Lesotho In comparison to Botswana, Lesotho also faces inequities between urban and rural areas in terms of education. There are two major inequities that Lesotho faces in rural education: an overall supply of quality teachers and administrative failures. Both of these issues impact the recruitment and

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retention of quality teachers in rural Lesotho. Unlike Botswana, Lesotho suffers first from an overall supply shortage of teachers in rural areas. The impacts of both demand and quality in the teaching force are a direct result of an increase in accessibility in primary education. As a result of the implementation of the FPE program in Lesotho the demand for teachers has resulted in a reliance on unqualified teachers, which increased from 22% in 1999 to 36% in 2004 (Urwick, 2011). The level of student participation in primary education was raised yet this increase depended on localized recruitment of teachers, resulting in 45% of the teaching force being unqualified in the mountain regions compared to 28% in the lowlands (Urwick, 2011). On the individual school level, some had less than a third of teachers with minimum qualifications and in rural areas some schools had no teachers with even minimum qualifications (Phamotse et al., 2005 in Buckler, 2011). The results are manifested in a skewed labor market for teachers with representation of more qualified teachers in the lowlands and representation of more unqualified teachers in the highlands (Urwick, 2011). The implementation of greater access to education has unequally disadvantaged the highlands because of the lack of qualified teachers to meet the demand in rural areas. The supply of a quality teaching force from NTTC, through the DEP diploma, has not met the needs of demands of teaching in Lesotho with an estimated 20 25% of all primary teachers being unqualified with greater concentration in the highland regions (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). Even if Lesotho had an ample supply, as is the case for Botswana, the quality of the teaching force is an additional factor for consideration. The quality of the overall teaching population is a result of the caliber of entrants into the profession. While this is not a unique problem for Lesotho, Ntoi & Lefoka (2002) has identified how overall teacher quality is a reflection of the low-academic caliber of entrants into NTTC partially based on competition from other tertiary institutions for higher quality students (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). As mentioned earlier, qualities of the teacher, including academic ability, and the quality of instruction impacts student outcomes and therefore if rural areas overall attract less-experienced and lower-quality professionals then rural students are at a disadvantage to their urban counterparts. Supply and quality of the teaching force is not the only challenge schools in the highlands areas in Lesotho face. Lesotho rural area teachers are also plagued with many administrative failures. Rural teachers have less access to teacher support services than their counterparts in urban areas, remote areas make it difficult for teachers to attend in-service courses, and many

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rural teachers complain about administrative neglect including: delayed paychecks; rural teachers being overlooked for promotion; and delayed teaching aids and materials (Mulkeen, 2005). Teaching as a profession requires additional education as continued professional development to keep up with both content and pedagogical changes. Administrators are the key players to identifying and implementing professional development opportunities. If rural area teachers suffer overall from less support services as well as from administrative neglect then as a result rural areas are not only less likely to attract but also less likely to retain a quality teaching force. While similar to Botswana where rural areas face a shortage of qualified teachers, Lesotho faces both a supply deficit and quality deficit meaning the rural areas in Lesotho are doubly burdened. To mitigate this requires the Lesotho education system to not only work toward overall recruitment of candidates into teaching but also higher qualifications from those candidates recruited which still may not solve rural disparities. Higher quality teachers may still opt to live closer to urban areas, as is the case in Botswana, and rural disparities may continue to exist. In contrast to Botswana, Lesotho maintains a decentralized education system with greater local control of schools. A more centralized system might work toward solving the rural challenge of administrative neglect by providing more oversight of administration and greater standardization of professional materials and opportunities. As with any complex educational problem, addressing one element or a single solution will not provide the answer. In either country of Botswana or Lesotho, neither a highly centralized nor complete decentralized system of education is the answer for addressing teacher quality. The approach required to moderate urban and rural disparities is to address teacher quality overall and provide incentives for teaching in less-desirable areas. Addressing teacher quality begins on the national and tertiary-schooling level and requires refining the policies and practices employed to build a qualified body of teachers in elementary schools and secondary schools (Rice, 2003) and a means to recruit and retain not only high-quality students but also to incentivize teaching in rural areas. Incentives need to be well-supported at both the national and local administrative levels and maintained with a financial commitment to ensure sustainability. This also requires an understanding of teacher education in terms of pre-service teacher training at the tertiary level, what pedagogies are currently in use in elementary and secondary classrooms, and professional development opportunities for in-service teachers.

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CHALLENGES IN PEDAGOGY USED IN THE ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, AND TEACHERTRAINING CLASSROOMS IN LESOTHO AND BOTSWANA Overall the literature does not offer a thorough picture of how teachers teach children or how teachers are being trained to teach at any level of education elementary, secondary, and teacher education in either country. We piece together what is offered in the literature as a way to identify the potential challenges facing teacher education by looking at how pedagogy at any level has been reported in the literature. We admit the limitations to this section include the ability to generalize within and between countries the current research examples may come from small sample sizes or from research from specific schools. In terms of what is being studied on teaching pedagogy in these specific countries the current literature is limited and may not represent a complete picture of teacher education in either country. However, we believe this does not mean that we cannot use what is offered in the current research to identify potential gaps or challenges which subsequent research should certainly address. In both Botswana and Lesotho teacher training at all levels tend to focus heavily on content rather than teaching methods. Teacher-centered pedagogy is still very prevalent in both countries regardless of new policies promoting more progressive student-centered instruction. One particular challenge is how to make a comprehensive shift at all levels and extend these new pedagogies throughout teacher training and professional development opportunities. Professional development is still a recent addition to education training in Botswana and Lesotho and requires a commitment of time and resources dedicated to helping senior teachers learn new methods of instruction.

Botswana The use of a teacher-centered pedagogical model that reinforces authority of the teacher and subsequently the expertise of the curriculum seems apparent in Botswana. Teachers use a prescriptive national curriculum and prepackaged modules “which reduce teachers to curriculum delivery workers rather than curriculum builders” (Tafa, 2004, p. 757). Maruatona (2002) reports how the highly regulatory national curriculum limits

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teachers from influencing curriculum content, texts, and pedagogies and reinforces the teacher as authority and limits students’ engagement. The purpose of a nationalized curriculum is one of regulation to ensure consistency and accuracy of content across the country and serves the goal of equality of education. The challenge with any standardization of curriculum is what gets missed in the process of generalization as well as how much freedom there is for the professionals to deviate or contribute to what is provided. What Tafa and Maruatone are suggesting is that Botswana teachers’ abilities to move beyond or build upon the curriculum is limited because it is the curriculum that has greater authority than the teacher and authority of the teacher is granted by his/her role as curriculum deliverer. Teacher Training The concept of the teacher as authority seems to be reinforced by current teacher-training models. Tafa (2004) explains how teacher training in Botswana reinforces the authoritarian school socialization process and is unable to engage student teachers in cognitive dissonance, which would normally lead them to a critique of the efficacy of current pedagogy and teaching practices. Using cognitive dissonance in teacher-training requires elements of self-reflection on emotional and philosophical levels and forces teachers to question previously held beliefs or assumptions, which is not a common feature of teacher education programs (Wood & Goba, 2011). In Botswana, teacher training also lacks a formal program of induction and mentoring which forces teachers to sink or swim and results in the reification of traditional ways of teaching (Tafa, 2004). A lack of critique, self-reflection, and formal mentoring in teacher training seems to reinforce the notion that curriculum, be it in the elementary, secondary, or tertiary classroom, is the authority and the teacher’s role is to dispense the materials as opposed to critique or engage with the materials. For example, in a study of teachers-in-training in Botswana, the findings suggest teachers-in-training spend too much of classroom time following didactic lessons and have little time to practice the skills they were learning about in the college classroom (Major & Tiro, 2012). Teacher trainees spend a prescribed number of hours moving through textbooks in a prescribed sequence, which does not address the reality of teaching in a classroom (2012). Likewise, in a study of mathematics teachers, in-service teachers faced difficulty explaining higher level math concepts to students and figuring out some of the syllabus objectives (Garegae, 2008). This example demonstrates how a focus on content, specifically textbook and

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didactic lessons, over pedagogical content knowledge, using the content in conjunction with the methods of teaching, offers few opportunities to practice the skills needed before entering the field. An emphasis on new models of learning, new pedagogical techniques to increase student learning, and a shift to student-centered learning with the teacher as facilitator would shift the power structure currently reinforced in Botswana schools. This shift would necessarily need to begin at the level of teacher training where the behaviorist model still holds sway in Botswana and is just one part of a cycle of authoritarianism from schools to colleges and back to schools (Tafa, 2004). To disrupt the status quo of authoritarian models and teacher-centered learning first begins with teacher training that models to the teacher and curriculum as facilitators of learning. Professional Development When any new curriculum or teaching method is adopted teachers in the field will require training. In-the-field training, or professional development, seems a particular challenge in Botswana. Molosiwa (2010) details in one case where new curriculum was required yet there were no in-service workshops or professional development opportunities to train teachers on the new content or pedagogy (Molosiwa, 2010). In this case, the relevant supervisors assumed that teachers understood what was expected and supervisors failed to provide teachers with relevant resources that could make the infusion of the content and pedagogy easier for implementation (2010). Change at the level of teacher training is not enough. Providing professional development for in-service teachers is necessary but a potential challenge in Botswana because there is an overall deficiency in professional development opportunities for teachers as well as a lack of educational management training for administrators. School principals are responsible for overseeing professional development training and for Botswana a major challenge with this practice is adequate educational leadership training in educational management for school principals (Moswela, 2006). Principals and the in-service coordinators often decide who needs professional development and newer teachers get targeted for training even though newer teachers may have more experience in current methods (Moswela, 2006). Principals require better training in how to identify what professional development opportunities are needed in the school, which specific teachers need greater professional development opportunities, and the specific constraints teachers may face in implementing new initiatives.

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In a study of rural teachers, Buckler found significant limitations to professional development based in social and cultural constraints that intersected with the realities of teaching (2011). Suggestions to mitigate these constraints and make professional development more efficacious included: providing training that did not take teachers away from home; providing child care subsidies to make upgrading courses more accessible and child care at study-centers; providing classroom-based professional development during the school day to practice teaching methods; and to follow-up from courses to support confidence in and practice of the methods learned (2011). Education leadership training in Botswana should include these components as well as recognizing and moderating potential teacher resistance. Any new teaching initiatives which require professional development will increase the complexity of teacher’s work lives by expecting them to learn new content, new pedagogies, or the use of new materials (Johnstone & Chapman, 2009; Spillane, Reiser, & Reimer, 2002) which can either be met by decreasing the level of complexity of the initiative or increasing the incentives to reward the extra effort to meet the requirements (Johnstone & Chapman, 2009). Educational leaders must then be trained to both implement and follow-up with professional development initiatives for effective implementation (2009). In the case of Botswana, the literature provides examples of how educational leaders can moderate the challenges when providing professional development for new teaching initiatives.

Lesotho In comparison to Botswana, the literature on Lesotho offers similar examples of the prevalence of teacher-centered pedagogy reinforced in teachertraining institutions as well as the challenge of professional development for teachers in the field. Teacher training as well as the curriculum used in schools centers around a teacher-centered approach with evidence showing that teachers’ primary focus is on maintaining classroom authority and covering a syllabus as opposed to engaging the learner and developing students’ skills (Moloi, Morobe, & Urwick, 2008). For example, Moloi gives an example of teachers rejecting students’ individual learning methods, even when those methods were sound, which is an example of either a lack of confidence or experience in the use of other approaches to solve problems (Pansiri, 2008).

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The literature available on Lesotho also identifies deficiencies in teacher content knowledge that stems partially from teacher training but also from lack of quality instruction in schools. For example, in the highland region of Lesotho, the rural environment has shown adverse effects upon teacher knowledge regardless of any disadvantage associated with unqualified status potentially due to lack of availability of professional development, lower rates of observations by principals (in some small schools principals may be the teachers themselves), and infrequent inspector visits in the highlands (Urwick, 2011). Deficiencies in teacher knowledge subsequently impact the quality of students entering the teaching profession. Teacher Training In general, secondary academic performance of those who enter the Teacher Training College in Lesotho is generally very poor which has implications on the overall quality of teachers (Ogbonnaya & Osiki, 2007). If those learning to be teachers are generally underqualified and lack depth of content knowledge then tertiary institutions in Lesotho face additional challenges beyond moving toward student-centered models of teaching; teacher education must then also improve upon basic content knowledge for these would-be teachers. Like elementary and secondary schools, the College of Education in Lesotho faces pedagogical limitations including: the use of large group sizes in teacher training; students reporting an unwillingness to buy textbooks; assessment practices are conservative with an emphasis on examination; and there is little monitoring of lecturers’ teaching (Moloi, Morobe, & Urwick, 2008). In an evaluation of the NTTC, what becomes evident is a clear distinction between subject content and teaching methods with a strong emphasis on improving English language competence and clear bias toward subject content in the lecture rooms with content knowledge separated from pedagogy (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). The focus on subject content and improvement of English suggests that teacher candidates in Lesotho must first build content knowledge potentially missed in secondary education before moving on to advanced content knowledge and teaching methods an additional challenge for teacher education in Lesotho. Raising the standards for teacher trainees would not seem to resolve the current problem of poorly qualified students entering teacher education. According to Ntoi, the overall construction of teacher education in the NTTC classroom focuses more heavily on the traditional “banking model” of learning and while group work is common it is often not facilitated appropriately and there is poor closure of lessons (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002).

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The chalkboard is the main teaching resource in NTTC with photocopied handouts and lectures following a model of traditional methods and assessments that reflect teaching methods with the focus on content transmission (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). When students are observed teaching they follow the same teacher-centered methods used predominantly by their lecturers at NTTC (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). Lesotho teacher education faces the many challenges of moving away from a behaviorist model of teaching to a constructivist model. Ntoi argues that the NTTC does not have a formula for successfully integrating course work, teaching practice in schools, and successful supervision which means new trainees are not exposed to progressive models of learning (2002) which suggests any paradigm shift toward a constructivist model has not happened. The NTTC has faced the criticisms of low entry standards, poor English competency, a lack of grounding in academic content, a lack of professional preparedness, duplication of course work, poor delivery of academic content, reliance on content-oriented and teacher-centered methods, and lack of relevant experiences by the teacher educators (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). The NTTC also faces the challenges of training new teachers for large classes, multi-grade teaching, and poorly resourced schools all within a lack of policy direction from the Ministry of Education and rapid changes in leadership (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). Moving away from a behaviorist and teacher-centered model of teacher education would necessarily filter down to elementary and secondary schools and provide teachers greater opportunity to engage with the process of teaching as opposed to merely delivering the content. However, in the case of Lesotho the paradigmatic shift away from teacher-centered pedagogy must compete with a myriad of other challenges including the better preparation of students in schools and the recruitment of high-quality candidates into teacher training. Professional Development The pedagogy that teachers in Lesotho use in the classroom is largely unknown. In one small scale study Moloi, Morobe, & Urwick (2008) offered a view of didactic approaches to teaching and the lack of current best practices in education. In this one case, the teachers’ use of lessonplans revealed insufficient planning, a lack of variance in teaching methods based on difficulty of topic, lack of student activity, lesson objectives that were either too ambitious or unachievable, assessment of student achievement was insufficient or absent, teacher failed to make connection between introduction of lesson and main part, and work predominantly done by the

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teacher (Moloi, Morobe, & Urwick, 2008). We cannot generalize this case as representative across all of Lesotho but it does represent the clear need to reach some teachers in the field with professional development opportunities and provide training in more recent teacher education practices. In the case of Lesotho, the ability to reach teachers in the field through professional development is another particular challenge. In Lesotho, professional development for teachers is based primarily on the distance model. The main initiative in professional development is assisting teachers in acquiring the DEP. This particular professional development opportunity is open to teachers who have taught for more than 2 years and currently hold Cambridge Oversees School Certificate. Accordingly, unqualified teachers cannot participate, leaving them with no access to formal training (Urwick, 2011). The DEP is equivalent to the 3-year full-time training degree and comparability is unknown (2011). The challenge is that the distance model provides little oversight or guidance; rather, it mostly focuses on content knowledge. Few classroom visits are made and no formal assessment is given for practical teaching (2011). The Ministry of Education in Lesotho has also built resource centers around the country to aid in the training and professional development of teachers. In a survey of Standard 6 teachers, some teachers in Lesotho not only did not visit resource centers, but they did not even realize such centers existed (Mothibeli & Maema, 2005). If professional development is focused predominately around providing unqualified teachers with appropriate training there is undoubtedly the need to provide professional development across the board, including opportunities for trained teachers to update current content knowledge and pedagogical models. As is the case in Botswana, professional development opportunities must be seen as a long-term commitment, be financially supported at local and state levels, and sustainable if any new teacher education initiative is to be successful.

CONCLUSION Botswana and Lesotho share common challenges in teacher education which include: a continued focus on teaching quality especially addressing disparities in rural areas; continued effort to address teacher’s content knowledge as well as reflective practice in pre-service and professional development; commitment to building student-centered practices based on

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best practices pedagogy; targeted placements of experienced and highly qualified teachers and principals in areas with the greatest educational disparities; and a balance between local and national management that reflects what each sector can contribute best to the needs of teachers and students. The supply of qualified teachers is never adequate to offset the need in disadvantaged areas be this rural areas or inner cities. As countries adopt free universal and compulsory K-12 education the supply of qualified teachers across all areas will always be a major concern. Moreover, the tension between student-centered instruction and traditional teacher-centered teaching will continue as long as professional development opportunities and educational leadership lack focused attention and adequate resources. There will always be the need to upgrade teacher’s subject knowledge at the level of initial instruction and provide continued professional development opportunities with the purpose of critique and reflection upon current practice. There is an immediate need to acknowledge pedagogical content knowledge and move away from the current dichotomy of teaching content knowledge separate from pedagogical knowledge. Likewise, efforts to adopt student-centered practices by college lecturers is essential as a way to model to pre-service teachers best teaching practices (Ntoi & Lefoka, 2002). A review of current literature offers clear means by which to address educational disparities. To begin, in areas of high need it is necessary to target placements of experienced principals and qualified teachers for a limited term and with suitable incentives to high needs area schools, which would be a step toward breaking the cycle of low standards (Urwick, 2011). Clearly, more intervention is needed in the recruitment and deployment of qualified teachers. Evidence shows that when recruitment is at the local level it is more likely to result in unqualified teachers (Urwick, 2011). Therefore, an appropriate balance between local and national management is critical. Likewise, the improvement of facilities would benefit from more local participation while the localized recruitment of teachers would profit more with central government intervention (Urwick, 2011). For example, a policy that advocates local self-help and offers incentives, such as matching grants, would result in contributions (economic or labor) from all members of the community (2011). The result would be a balance between local and national management that reflects what each sector can contribute best to the needs of teachers and students. Each of these methods serve the need of improving educational disparities yet barely identify the need to address potential change in teacher preparation programs and subsequently the change in professional

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development. As Botswana and Lesotho demonstrate, when teaching pedagogy at the tertiary level maintains an authoritarian model of teaching with content centered, didactic instruction, and teacher-centered pedagogy the ability to change education is stunted. Likewise, if teacher education does not embed the concept of life-long learning and is not supported by both a national and local commitment to support teacher’s continued professional development the ability to sustain any change in education is thwarted. As universal and compulsory education policies are adopted and plans for the infrastructural needs of more students and schools unfolds there is an equally important need for a focus on the current pedagogy employed in teaching and how teacher education is preparing teachers. The move to universal and compulsory education should necessarily include asking the question: about what and how are we going to universally educate? The answer to this question begins at the teacher preparation level and requires critique of the current teacher preparation and professional development system. Instigating research-based teaching practices, moving away from a teacher-centered authoritarian model of teaching, and developing sustained professional development at all levels of education should be high priority when instituting national education change.

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INDIA’S ‘CASCADE’ STRUCTURE OF TEACHER EDUCATION: ITS PAST AND ITS FUTURE PROSPECTS Rohit Setty ABSTRACT The focus and goal of this chapter is to systematically detail how the “cascade” system is organized and how it operates by coordinating current research. To do so, this chapter first builds an understanding of the historical conditions that forged the “cascade” system, then turns to how the system operates charting its affordances and limitations through others’ research and then discusses what opportunities can be leveraged to support teachers’ work. In doing so, this chapter provides relevant information and documentation about the “cascade” system so that readers can understand how this system currently works and what is possible. Two interpretations are made from the analysis of current research. First, the “cascade” is overwrought with voices, and the participants overwhelmed; and second, the “cascade” fosters an untenable view of how people learn and what constitutes teaching. Increasingly, teachers and their education are being widely recognized as central to the fortunes

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 25, 329 356 Copyright r 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-367920140000025019

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of schoolchildren. In India, a significant amount of attention is being paid to teacher education more than ever before. For example, the recent 5-year planning and operations budget is being touted as the “Teacher Education Plan.” Thus, probing the existing system and its norms and practices is vital to ensuring this attention isn’t frittered away and is put toward helping teachers step up to the challenge of providing all students rich opportunities to learn. Keywords: Teacher education; India; cascade; reform; NCFTE; teacher quality

INTRODUCTION Teachers, and their work, have been isolated as the single most important factor in determining the success or failure of student achievement in industrialized nations (Chetty et al., 2011; Hanushek, Rivkin, Rothstein, & Podgursky, 2004; Schleicher, 2012). Although similar findings are yet to be revealed in the industrializing world, this chapter adopts this stance. In India, now more than ever before, a significant amount of attention is being paid to teachers’ education. Notably, the current 5-year planning and operations budget in India is being touted as the “Teacher Education Plan” and calls for Rs. 100 crore, or approximately $160 million dollars, to support teachers’ education (Government of India, 2013). With such discursive and financial focus, probing the existing system and its norms and practices is vital to ensuring this attention isn’t frittered away and is put toward helping teachers step up to the challenge of providing all students rich opportunities to learn. In a recent chapter, Amita Chudgar argued that the passage of the Right to Education has put significant pressure on the teacher education system to “do the heavy lifting” to ensure that all children are provided a quality education and are a part of quality teaching (Chudgar, 2013). Chudgar raises the question, “Is the teacher education system prepared to produce these ‘quality’ teachers?” Such a question is a healthy one to ask. However, to know if the system is prepared, one must first know what are its antecedents, what it is, and what it entails. Thus, this chapter steps into the existing Indian teacher education system commonly referred to as the “cascade” structure in an effort to find ways to reasonably respond to Chudgar’s question.

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The task that I have set for myself requires a three-part argument. First, I attempt to build an understanding of the historical conditions that forged the “cascade” structure, thereby helping to identify the seemingly intractable problems with the structure. Then, I explicate the contours of the “cascade” explore its affordances and limitations by reviewing others’ research on the topic and presenting some of my own. Finally, I propose some ways to manage the predicaments that plague the “cascade” and consider ways to leverage its attributes to support teachers’ work. In doing so, I argue in this chapter that productive possibilities yet remain in the “cascade” structure, and that the teacher education system has the capacity to produce “quality” teachers.

The Landscape for Teachers and Their Education The “cascade” is a system in which policies, pedagogy, and procedures are developed at the national level by experts and specialists, and then “flow” through regional, state, and local authorities down to schoolteachers. This system of teacher education is one that has been, and continues to be, used in Malaysia (Mukherjee & Singh, 1983), Bangladesh (Dove, 1983), Pakistan (Siddiqui, 2007), and parallels other countries’ train-the-trainer models of teacher education. In India, the structure evolved over the past few decades and was instituted more formally when the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) were established in the National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1986 (Alexander, 2008; Dhankar & Smith, 2002; Ramachandran & Pal, 2005). The advent of the “cascade” structure is a logical one. There was huge variation in teaching across the country following independence in 1948, which spurred a need to find a way to level the field and balance the equity. In some parts of Karnataka, for example, one might find teachers with post-graduate degrees in their subject of instruction, such as biology or History. Yet, at the same time one might find a 14-year old teaching in West Bengal with only a 7th standard education (National Council on Teacher Education [NCTE], 2009). Furthermore, the “cascade” system in India developed out of the necessity to keep connections between the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and India’s schoolteachers; of which today there are eight million (National University of Educational Planning and Administration [NUEPA], 2011). Arguably, the system allows teaching innovations devised at the center to be disseminated down through the system and reach the massive amount

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of teachers throughout the country. Grappling with the scale of the teaching population while balancing the range of skill across that population required a structured scalable approach. Although a logical approach, dealing with scale and equity in this manner has come with consequences. There are four numbers that help set the stage for what the “cascade” is supposed to cater to: 1.1 million schools, 130 million students, 6.1 million government schoolteachers, and 48,000 teacher candidates graduating with certification every year (NCTE, 2009; NUEPA, 2011). These numbers overshadow every single discussion on government school education in India today, and when taken from a logistical and organizational perspective, they are nothing less than staggering. Ten percent of such a large workforce is estimated to be untrained (NUEPA, 2011), equating to 600,000 teachers without any sort of teacher education. As a point of reference, the entire state of California in the United States only has 283,836 teachers (Educational Demographics Unit (CA), 2011). The result of an untrained workforce puts overwhelming pressure on the in-service teacher education system to not only support the growth of teachers over time, but also to start from the very beginning of what it takes to teach in many cases. Both are required to ensure some equitable distribution of teaching quality across the country. Numbers only tell part of the story however. An important factor for this discussion is that exponential growth in these categories has come in the last decade. According to the census report for 1961, India had approximately 1.5 million elementary and secondary schoolteachers, of whom about 65 percent were trained and certified. In the sixth All India Educational Survey, conducted less than a decade ago, the teaching force was still close to that number, with approximately 1.6 million teachers. In the decade since then the teaching force has grown to 6.1 million almost five times the number a decade earlier (NCTE, 2009; NUEPA, 2011). During this same time frame, the growth line of government-run teacher education institutions has generally remained flat, moving from 630 to 636 teacher education institutions in the last decade (NCTE, 2009). In the absence of providing teacher education at sufficient scale, market forces demanded non-government run teacher education, resulting in over 15,000 private and NGO teacher education institutes opening up in the last decade (ibid.). Although non-government players make up the overwhelming balance of teacher education institutions, the government sector still maintains the curriculum, the oversight, and the accreditation. Thus, the government still maintains an authority, and responsibility, over teacher education in

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India, positioning the “cascade” structure as the major force tasked with dealing with improving teaching at scale.

Methods of Inquiry and Data The base for this analysis comes from a review of recent literature concerned with teacher education in India, and is informed by my own sixmonth ethnographic study1 of teacher education programs and practices at the NCERT Regional Institute of Education in Mysore. This review, however, does not involve an empirical component; that is, data generated for analysis. Rather, what is discussed here evolved through a review of the pertinent literature, conversations with and observations of teacher educators at work, and sustained thought about what I have been hearing and seeing over my last decade of work with teacher educators in India. To examine the historical antecedents of the “cascade,” how it currently operates, and its affordances and limitations, three questions guided this review: RQ 1. What are the historical antecedents of the “cascade” structure? RQ 2. How does the structure operate? RQ 3. In what ways and to what extent can the structure be exploited? Although a systematic review of the literature found in more common academic outlets, such as JSTOR, Google Scholar, WorldCat, and Proquest Dissertations/Theses was conducted, the bulk of what I have learned and report on here comes from a review of teacher education reports and documents found only in hard copies at the NCERT library in New Delhi, the RIE library at Mysore, and from resources passed along by colleagues and faculty at the University of Delhi, NAAC, and the University of Mysore. These primary sources coupled with bits of information from their owners constitute the “first-order” data (Marton, 1981) that allowed me to assemble the characterizations I present here. In addition, this analysis was fueled by conversations with teacher educators at the national, state, district, and block/cluster levels, and participant observations of teacher education programs at each of these levels as well. Through these methods and from these sources, the analysis reported on in this chapter explored the “cascade” system primarily by accounting for the units within the organization, the ties that bind them, and the norms and practices that afford and limit the fostering of meaningful teacher education. Before unpacking the “cascade” structure in its current form,

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this chapter first steps back to provide an overview of the conditions that precipitated the need for it to exist.

HISTORICAL ATTEMPTS India has been grappling with improving teacher education since Independence.2 Between 1955 and 1958, 94 extension units were chartered and attached to university programs that were emerging across the country. Each extension unit was tasked with supporting in-service teachers in their work, sharing information from the central authority, and supporting schools as they took on a generation of children learning in schools for the first time. In 1961, the NCERT was established as an autonomous agency tasked with coordinating the nation’s educational infrastructure. Part of its charge was to design, develop, and see to the enactment of in-service teacher education at its five regional offices and at its central location in New Delhi. Today, these agencies develop curricula, standards, and set measures of quality. And at any given time a number of agencies can be in direct contact with individual schoolteachers or can be running in-service teacher education programs for cohorts of teachers. These institutions share the resource of a common national curriculum and a common examination system tied to that curriculum. Although, this factor helped facilitate the development of a structure where teachers could be trained under a common curriculum linked to the children’s curriculum, there are other historical events that helped shape the extant system.

PMOST, SOPT, and DIET The “cascade” structure’s antecedents also stem from key activities that occurred in the 1980s. In 1986, India passed for the first time a NPE. Earlier attempts, such as the Kothari Commission Report, the Yashpal Committee Report on Learning Without Burden, The Birla Ambani Report on Reforms in Education, and National Knowledge Commission Report all helped to shape the conversation that led to the articulation of a fully fledged national direction in education. However, the political economy of the NPE comes from the organizational directives enshrined in the policy, which drove the structuring of the “cascade.” In particular, the NPE was

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the basis for three significant milestones that helped to establish the dominance of the “cascade” in India. The first was the introduction of the DIET. The development of the DIET infrastructure was an attempt to uproot the centralized authority and place teacher education and its management back at the local level. With thousands of blocks, clusters, and mandals having been created by the mid-eighties, local-level intermediaries could no longer be avoided. Each DIET was staffed with faculty that were tasked with providing preservice and in-service teacher education the latter which had been absent until this point for the most part (Dyer, 1996) materials development, how to use emerging technologies, and in school-level planning and management support. The second and third milestones in the development of the “cascade” were two attempts at mass teacher education: the Programme of Mass Orientation of School Teachers, or PMOST, and the Special Orientation Programme of Teachers, or SOPT. The goal of the PMOST was to orient the nation’s teachers to several topics: Universalization of Elementary Education, Women’s Empowerment, Minimum Levels of Learning, materials promoted by Operation Blackboard, and the NPE. PMOST was viewed as an attempt to reduce the huge variance across the states in what teachers knew about teaching and educational policies, and it was the first of its kind (Singh, 2003). The total amount of teachers trained was 1,762,000. The trainings took the form of 10,000 10-day residential camps with approximately 100 teachers in each batch. During these residential camps, attendees participated in workshops and activities, and also listened to audio-cassettes and watched satellite TV programming of NCERT officials lecturing on new policies and changes. The whole process lasted 2 years, from 1986 to1988. One of the noted contributions of the PMOST was to create a culture of teacher education based on “packages” (Dyer et al., 2002). The PMOST packages included 29 modules consisting of training materials, worksheets, and narratives about particular policies. Teacher education based on and around packages still pervades in-service teacher education today (ibid.). Five years later, this program was followed by the SOPT. The SOPT was a similar venture. Once again the NPE was the central topic, as were changes and modifications in Operation Blackboard, inclusive education, values education, and how to evaluate teachinglearning materials (Maheshwari et al., 1998; Robinson & Latchem, 2002). Although the DIETs have received much of the attention over the years mostly through Dyer et al.’s work they represent only one part of the “cascade.” The “cascade” is actually a complicated structure

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comprised of multiple invested agencies, stewards, and officials, who work under ever-growing responsibilities. In what follows, I build from this historical backdrop to explicate the “cascade” in its current form, and how it ostensibly works. I do so by providing an example of how a message, created at the national level, works its way to the teachers and classrooms.

HOW DOES THE STRUCTURE OPERATE? In the “cascade” structure a national resource person, or persons, will train key resource persons (KRPs) from the state level, who will in turn train district-level resource persons, who will then train block and cluster level resource persons, who will train schoolteachers en masse in batches of 50 150. These trainings may take up a curriculum reform (e.g., National Curriculum Framework 2005; Environmental Education Curricula and Project Books 2012), a new agenda for teaching (e.g., “Nail Kali” or Activity-based Learning Pedagogies; Constructivist Pedagogy), or new materials (e.g., new mathematics kits for Classes I and II or new NCERT textbooks). An example may help to illustrate the way the “cascade” functions, and Fig. 1 provides an overview of the key steps involved in the work involved in the “cascade.” In 2003, there was pressure to incorporate environmental education into the school curriculum (Shome & Natarajan, 2013). Typically new curricular directions are given by the central government, most likely through the Ministry of Human Resource Development, which manages the education sector, but in this case the Supreme Court initiated the push. The Supreme Court mandated that environmental education be taught in Classes VI through XII, and the NCERT was tasked as the organizing body to consider ways to support the enactment of what was being asked. Upon the Supreme Court order, the NCERT designed and developed feasibility studies within their networks. Based on those studies prototype materials were developed, tested, and reviewed. Then, a professional development program and plan for national discussions were devised. From this point the “cascade” structure was set in motion. Central authorities from the NCERT deliver the message and materials to statelevel authorities, and request the state-level authorities to take it to the district level. The first of these meetings between the national- and state-level representatives (Key Resource Persons, or KRPs) was held in February 2012. The KRPs then host meetings at the regional or state level and

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Step 1: A small group of leaders from NCERT meet with Nodal Officers from across the country to orient them to the topic (e.g., new Science textbooks), and the need. During this meeting Nodal Officers select key resource persons that should attend the strategy development meeting to be conducted by these leaders at one of the five RIEs. Step 2: Key Resource Persons attend meetings conducted at the RIEs, and then conduct their own “Enrichment Program” of DIET Faculty. Step 3: SCERT/DSERTs see to translation of materials, localization of ideas, and request copyright from NCERT. Step 4: Newly produced books and program materials are made compulsory at the state level. Step 5: Students and teachers take up the tasks in the Project Books. Step 6: Exhibition cum competition of student work at local, district, and state levels. 200 students advance tothe state level competitions. Step 7: A national level expo is held. Step 8: SCERT/DSERTs re-tool the materials with student and teacher input and in consultation with DIET faculty. Students are also given a voice in this process, and camps are conducted to discuss emerging, real, and speculative problems. Step 9: Materials are revised and the steps from 5 onwards are repeated.

Fig. 1.

Example of the “Cascade” Unfolding.

provide materials that are then translated and localized for regional relevance. The district-level authorities are then tasked with taking the revised materials to the block and cluster level. At this point, Block and Cluster Resource Persons (BRPs and CRPs) may then choose to hold a seminar or an orientation, or even a workshop on the new curricular materials with

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their constituent teachers. The teachers will then implement the devised program that was passed down through the “cascade” structure with their students, and in a final step offer feedback into the system by way of exhibitions of student work at the local, district, state, and national levels. This feedback is intended to help officials rework any materials for subsequent academic years. Together, Fig. 2 and this brief on the landscape of teacher education attempt to lay out the context in terms of scale and structure that policies, pedagogies, and reforms must navigate to reach schools, headmasters, and teachers. The strength of this system is that it allows a message from the center to reach the lakhs and lakhs of teachers in every corner of the diverse country. The “cascade” ensures that any message developed by the NCERT flows through multiple channels and passes through several agencies before it reaches a secondary or primary school teacher. That message, when a simple one, can be transmitted capably and quickly through multiple new media tools. However, when the message is more nuanced and complex, such as a reform agenda or a pedagogical approach, those same channels shape and determine what the message looks like when it is received, and whether the message is received, if at all. In what follows, this discussion moves toward critiques of the system others’ and my own in an effort to not only illuminate the challenges that persist and face the “cascade” system and the educators within, but also to prepare the ground for a discussion on the prospects and possibilities that the “cascade” structure affords.

NCERT Officials meet with KRPs

States "localize" materials

KRPs train RPs

RPs train BRPs & CRPs

KRP = Key Resource Persons RP = Resource Persons BRP = Block Resource Persons CRP = Cluster Resource Persons

BRP's and CRP's train Classroom Teachers

Teachers teach with new materials Expo's

10–12 years

Fig. 2.

Representation of “Cascade” System for Teacher Education.

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DISCUSSION: WHY THE BREAKDOWN? Over the decades since its inception, the literature about the “cascade” structure has been building and scholars have critically cast the structure in ways that one might expect: the “cascade” has a “diluting” effect (Dove, 1986; Goel & Goel, 2012; Maheshwari & Raina, 1998); it is a “top-down” structure (Saigal, 2012; Sarangapani & Vasavi, 2003); it promotes a “loss of transmission” (Maheshwari & Raina, 1998). It is reasonable to expect that a “trickle down” education system is unlikely to provide the necessary benefits to all teachers, all schools, and all students. For example, a similar failure occurred in the United States during the imposition of “Reaganomics” when it was assumed that tax breaks for the wealthy would benefit the poor (Ackerman, 1982). Trickle-down education is no more likely to be successful than its economic forerunner. However, these possible implications of the system are rarely warranted by logical inquiry or researchbacked evidence. As I read across targeted data sources, three studies stood out in identifying some of the issues that plague the “cascade” based on my own self-imposed criteria.3 To the best of my knowledge, these studies help define some plausible issues that may be hindering the successful diffusion of centrally sponsored ideas and schemes. The first may be a well-known project to some readers. In a longitudinal study of three DIETs in northern India, Caroline Dyer and her colleagues criticized the teacher education structure for the limited success in persistent change in teachers’ practices (Dyer & Choksi, 2004). In their research on teacher education in India over the last two decades, the team identified some of the key issues that have plagued the DIETs in particular throughout their history. First, DIETs are accountable to SCERTs, rather than NCERT or Regional Institute for Education (RIEs). Therefore, according to Dyer et al., DIETs have been unable to assert their autonomy, in spite of their proximity and deep knowledge of local needs. Rather, they are the deliverers of the state sponsored, developed, and funded programs. Typically, DIET faculty are given “packages,” CDs, or models developed by SCERT officials to present to local teachers. Although some DIET faculty are invited to contribute, the vast number of faculty are excluded from this process, and deviating from this norm is looked upon unfavorably (ibid.). Dyer and her colleagues argue that staffing is the second significant problem plaguing DIETs. Part of the staffing problem can be tied to chronic recruiting issues they argue. Dyer and her colleagues found that the nature

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of the work was highly time consuming, underfunded, and poorly regarded. Moreover, programs and support for new entrants into the DIET were rare. Thus, Dyer et al. conclude that the DIETs are “failing to engage with contextual realities” and are not capable of attracting the people who are most likely to do the job well (ibid., p. 51). Prema Clarke through an empirical study of DIETs in Karnataka in the 1990s also showed how the manner in which in-service trainings were conducted rarely attempted to integrate teachers’ existing frameworks and practical knowledge (Clarke, 2003). She argued that the duty-based code of living in India structured the thoughts and actions of teachers. Thus, teachers were willing to adopt unique or new teaching approaches when presented in formal arrangements such as professional development offered by DIET faculty. However, Clarke found that the cultural construction of hierarchy prevented the fundamental changes in practice that were advocated in professional development that took up inquiry-based teaching. Only teachers ask the questions implying the importance of teachers’ authority and command over all valid knowledge. Teachers tend to begin the class by asking the whole class questions and then move on to directing questions to individual students. Their questions are usually “how,” “when,” and “what.” Teachers’ interactions with students rarely contain “why” questions. Teachers respond to students’ answers by saying whether it is correct or incorrect. Rarely do teachers nudge students to provide a rationale for why they have said something incorrect or why they think it should be done in a certain way rather than another. Most significantly, out of the 8000-plus students observed, only 15 students asked a question in class. (Clarke, 2003, p. 36)

For Clarke, the traditional cultural model of teacher having “command over all valid knowledge” impeded the teachers’ capacity to integrate student-centered pedagogy instruction that accounts for the students’ existing knowledge and abilities. Finally, in a recent investigation Rahul Mukhopadhyay and his colleagues observed that during training sessions in-service trainers often discussed the administrative duties of teachers, rather than their instructional responsibilities and possibilities (Mukhopadhyay, 2009). Mukhopadhyay et al. argue the administrative duties often superseded the primary responsibility of providing teachers with academic support in these sessions. In short the bureaucratization of the work of teacher education had led to a paperwork culture, or “babudom,” where stamping and signing forms and regulations the central work of an administrator had taken the place of rich discussion of pedagogical concerns and possibilities. The research illustrates that while government sector teachers undergo ample training and have access to multiple supporters, the efforts are often

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misaligned, ineffective, and in some situations disruptive. Such characterizations are illustrative and illuminating, and revealed to me that there are two key possibilities why the “cascade” might be appropriately being cast as ineffectual. First, the “cascade” is overwrought with voices, and the participants overwhelmed; and second, the “cascade” fosters an untenable view of how people learn and what constitutes teaching. In what follows, I take up both of these points.

Overwhelmed and Widdled Down (A Pragmatic Approach) The “cascade” is much more than the linear structure presented in the section earlier. The NCERT, with its central headquarters in New Delhi, works through five regional arms, with each RIE providing in-service teacher training for teacher-educator trainers, teacher-educators, and sometimes schoolteachers across four to five states. For example, the RIE in Mysore supports the ongoing work in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and other regional territories and unions. With an average staff of 20, the RIEs regularly draw on the support of DIETs and Colleges of Teacher Education (CTEs) to provide in-service teacher training programs for local primary and upper primary schoolteachers and secondary schoolteachers, respectively. In addition to the RIEs’ and DIETs’ in-service teacher training commitments, teacher educators at these institutions also provide research on teacher education in India, develop seminar and workshop materials, and manage assessments of teachers. Furthermore, each of these institutions also provide full-scale pre-service teacher training for a portion of the five million future teachers learning to teach in India. Each RIE is connected to over 100 DIETs, however they have no direct charge or oversight of the DIET faculty. DIET faculty comes under the purview of the District-level Director of Public Instruction. DIET teacher educators can make use of the Block and Cluster Teacher Education Centers to connect directly with the teachers, for coaching, observation, and assessment needs, but they can also bypass the Block and Cluster officials if they see fit, and work directly with the teachers. Any RIE faculty member, or DIET faculty member, can directly work with schools, headmasters, and teachers. Additionally, this structure is flanked by several other institutions and agencies involved with in-service teacher training. Across India, there are 31 Institutes for Advanced Studies of Education (IASE). These institutes conduct educational research and are involved with in-service and

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pre-service teacher education. The focus of the IASEs in the recent past has been to train elementary teacher educators through Masters of Education (M.Ed.) programs. The 110 CTEs that run Bachelors of Education (B.Ed.) programs for future secondary schoolteachers are dedicated colleges that only train future teachers. There are also hundreds of colleges that exist within larger universities that train future teachers as well. Each of these colleges both the stand-alone type and the ones housed in universities support in-service teachers through programs, workshops, and long-term courses as well. Furthermore, each state in India also maintains its own council of education, research, and teaching (known as SCERTs or DSERTs). The SCERTs, similarly to the NCERT at the national level, develop materials, conduct training programs, and evaluate in-service teachers as well. Oftentimes, SCERTs focus their attention on schools and teachers that work solely with the state-sponsored syllabus (SBSE), as opposed to NCERT’s centrally sponsored syllabus (CBSE), and they produce materials and conduct trainings in regional and local languages. The most recent additions to the teacher education landscape in India have been the Sarva Shiksha Abhyan (SSA) and the Rastriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). The SSA and the RMSA are principally concerned with issues of educational access at the primary level and the secondary level, respectively. These institutions garner most of the funding, support, and manpower from the Ministry of Education today (Planning, Allocations and Expenditures, Institutions: Studies in Accountability [PAISA], 2009, 2010). As such, the SSA and the RMSA are better funded, better equipped, and also use the materials and manpower that the functionaries in the cascade structure are supposed to have at hand. Their mandate is to fulfill the UNESCO Education for all requirements and to attain 100 percent universalization of education at both the primary and secondary levels. Both agencies have offices in every state and work directly with schools, administrators, and teachers. These offices are often housed in the SCERTs but have separate governance schemes. What this constellation of institutions has come to represent is a complex and intertwined system that may be complicating, rather than facilitating, the necessary work of teacher education. In Fig. 3, I have tried to visually represent the agencies and institutions that exist in the cascade and the number of exposure points that teachers have. In Fig. 3, I have categorized the national and regional level agencies, such as the NCERT and the SSA, in the top third; the state and local-level agencies in the secondthird; and the teachers in the bottom-third. These three tiers of the “cascade” illustrate the levels that a pedagogical message or policy must travel, however, the multiple agencies presented provides a more nuanced image

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Fig. 3.

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Representation of Involved Institutions in the Cascade Structure (Author’s Representation).

of the filters that exist. From this visualization, one might speculate that the “cascade” as it exists today increases the potential for multiple mixed messages to be presented to individual teachers. Moreover, based on the number of institutions involved in each group; that is, 110 CTEs, arguing for consistency across such a distribution of institutions seems untenable. This assertion, however, requires further scrutiny and analysis. With such an array of organizations, there is as much potential to coordinate messages and ideas as there is scope for the messages to be varied. Much of what is transferrable is contingent on the way that ideas and messages are packaged and relayed; making the practices teacher educators employ key to any reforms being taken up throughout the system. In what follows, I discuss this second concern with the way the “cascade” work in terms of what is being construed as both teaching and the practice of teacher education.

A Thin Perspective on Teachers and Teaching (A Pedagogical Approach) The underpinning of the “cascade” structure is that teacher educators are able to reproduce the training that they are receiving in their own way, for

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their own constituents, and based on their own experiences. That premise, however, hinges on participant-teacher educators being able to draw from their experience of the training and re-create the training in comparable ways. Scholars argue that teaching and teacher education practices have remained “conventional” in spite of reforms, changes in discourse, and increases in financial support over the last four decades (Batra, 2005; Majumdar & Mooij, 2011; Ratnam, 2013). Tara Ratnam, for one, argues that absent from the practice of teacher education has been knowledge and acknowledgement of where teachers come from. She argues, “… it is very essential to know where teachers come from, their position in history and society in order to understand their preconceptions about teaching and learning, and also what helps or hinders their development” (Ratnam, 2013, p. 528). She argues that the goal of education since the colonial era has been to maintain stability; the mode of education has been to situate teachers as “implementers of an alien curriculum” (ibid., p. 528). The “delivery of knowledge” approach, Ratnam argues, has been unsuccessful in establishing and developing a connection between what teachers know and what teachers are being asked to do. The mediating culture, Ratnam points out, is unfit and ill-suited for the demands of teacher education in India. In my own fieldwork, I found the way in which NRPs and KRPs taught about the messages typically were not in line with the message itself. For example, in a training session focused on building awareness about activitybased learning, teachers were lectured to, creating an environment where the awareness of activity-based learning only came through didactic means. Furthermore, scholars argue that India has been grasping for how to inscribe constructivism in its teachers for some time now (Mukunda, 2009), yet in teacher training sessions the mode is rarely collective, or anchored by a core construct, nor one where the learners are positioned so they can generate their own stances on a particular idea or topic. An alternative view on the practice of teacher education to the one that continues to ostensibly dominate educational circles in India may offer some ways to generate tangible ways to consider what it takes to leverage what the “cascade” has to offer. This is occurring in some places within the “cascade.” For example, I attended a Headmaster’s training where collective group work strategies constituted much of the pedagogy. However, the vast majority of the trainings that I was able to attend and participate in at the national, state, district, and cluster levels over the course of six months consisted of the giving of notes, the giving of questions, and explanations. Rarely were interpretive

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skills engaged to analyze and unpack core educational concepts; the kind that scholars argue helps diffuse ideas (Dewey, 1904; Rogers, 2003/1962). My suspicion is that part of this stems from an orientation to teaching and teacher education that divorces practice from theory. What that means is that there may be a stance present in India that the doing of teaching and teacher education has little to nothing to do with the learning of teaching and teacher education. Or, put another way, it may be assumed that learning teaching can be done without actually engaging in teaching. The converse is that practice the doing of teaching is integrally related with the learning of any topic or idea. An orientation to practice is not new in education or in philosophy. John Dewey’s thoughts on practice, for example, have supported this orientation in teacher education in the United States (Dewey, 1904). The theory practice debate has long threads that reach back to ancient India as well. A useful discussion of which can be found in Sheldon Pollock’s article, The Theory of Practice and the Practice of Theory in Indian Intellectual History (Pollock, 1985). In his work, Pollock argues that in Sanskritic culture ´sāstra (“theory”) and prayoga (“practical activity”) were inextricably bound in ´sāstras (pronounced sha-s-thras), such as the Rig Veda, Manusmriti, and the Kāma ´sāstra. The association was not causal in these texts where knowledge of theory preceded practical endeavors rather the two mutually affected, constrained, and informed one another. Pollock argues that the ´sāstras have a mythical aura about them, which has implications on the prioritization of theory. The very notion of a ´sāstra implies that it was conceived primordially and composed in ethereal ways as opposed to through the hands of humans. This implies that knowledge is fixed. If knowledge is fixed, then the practices that depend on it are also set. If practices need not evolve, change, or grow, then experimentation, invention, and discovery are unnecessary. Pollock citing architecture and mathematics notes that he is not arguing that innovation does not exist in India, or that it has not occurred. Rather, he is pointing out that such innovations are viewed through an inverted ideological lens, which claims that these achievements are results of “renovations and recoveries.” Where Pollock’s argument proves helpful is that while these texts are cosmological and highly theoretical in nature, they are nevertheless blueprints for how the cosmic should proceed; that is, guides for everyday practice (Pollock, p. 518). In Sanskritic India, ´sāstras were programmatic. According to Pollock, communities were brimming with extraordinary taxonomies and

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nomological handbooks that made homogeneity conducive for over 2000 years. As the oral became textual, such articulations were seen as devices rather than storehouses of knowledge. For example, the 196 yoga ´sāstras of Patan˜jali detail the aims, intentions, and consequences of yogic beliefs, while also detailing the āsanas (body positions) that aid in harnessing the physical, mental, and spiritual through concentration. And the Ayurveda, derived from the Rig Veda, merges the codified natural laws with natural medicinal treatments. Furthermore, the Kāma ´sāstra the procedural handbook about human sexual conduct also provides treatments of theory in procedural terms. As a result, Pollock argues such ´sāstras need not be interpreted as theoretical treatises, but rather prescriptive systems (Pollock, p. 504). Even though they had emerged from a primordial status explicating how to achieve “the meaning of life,” the ´sāstras developed into specialized texts that present the practical means to reach there.4 Pollock draws on ´ Rāmānuja5 to argue for the basis of this view: “Sāstra is so called because it instructs; instruction leads to action, and ´sāstra has this capacity to lead to action by reason of its producing knowledge” (Rāmānuja in Pollock, p.509).6 Thus, following Pollock, even the most substantial primordial texts in ancient India are manuals. Today, the priority of knowledge from the ´sāstras frame many decisions in India. Some view them as faultless and well defined. But as the ´sāstras themselves are of great importance, Pollock’s analysis that theory and practice have been fused for some time warrants recognition. My comments here on Pollock’s treatment of the theory practice dialectic in ancient India hardly do justice to the complexity of his argument and the issues he raises. What I find compelling is that it echoes modern assumptions that practice can be codified, and to adequately understand such codification it is best not to divorce it from theory. I evoke both Dewey and Pollock, because critics of the “cascade” might argue that an overly systematized way of teacher education impedes the progress that can be gained from more organic growth, and that teacher education is best informed through local truths and firsthand experiences. However, if Dewey’s and Pollock’s arguments are acceptable, then such a view imports provisions for the counterargument that progress in Indian teacher education can still flourish in an intentionally designed system, codified patterns of performance, and a grammar of practices. However, that system can return gains when theory and practice are not disaggregated.

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FUTURE PROSPECTS The argument that I have laid out above may seem familiar, and in truth it is. Almost two decades ago, Speck, for example, argued that seven principles should underlie the design and development of professional development programs: (1) Goals and objectives should be realistic and important to the learners; (2) PD should be a “democratic environment” where teachers feel that they are in control over what and how they learn; (3) PD should provide direct, concrete experiences which are applied to the learning of teaching; (4) PD should be structured to provide support from peers and to reduce the fear of judgment during learning; (5) PD should be practice based; (6) PD should build in opportunities for structured helpful feedback on how they are doing; (7) PD should be composed of small-group activities because they provide opportunities to share, reflect, and generalize learning experiences (Speck, 1996, pp. 33 41). However, while I consent that what I offer here echoes much of what those in the teacher education field normally traffic in, there are nuances in what I am arguing for based on current global research-based trends and agenda in Indian teacher education. At the time that I write this in the winter of 2013, NCERT has begun to launch a robust effort to shift teacher education into on-line media. In an effort to reinvent the organization and recalibrate the way that messages are conveyed, virtual classrooms and other e-learning practices are being called upon to serve as the medium for the “cascade.” Critics caution that this heavy shift into ICT raises concerns about privileging independent learning styles (Sahoo & Chandra, 2013), and it could be argued that doing so accommodates teacher educators and trainers that are already casual in their approach to teacher education. If the PD, whether it be on-line or off, is a “democratic environment,” the content is consonant with the pedagogy, and the PD has the means to support teachers to acquire imagination, then one might see some appreciable consequences. Changing the “nature” of PD in India may not come through a shift in media and more interconnectivity, however. There are issues that lie at the core of the “cascade” what constitutes teaching and learning that if un-redressed will continue to allow the “cascade” to falter. An alternative proposal is to leverage the “cascade” and ICT in deliberately different ways. The low hanging fruit in using ICT is that it can increase the interconnectivity of agencies. However, it could be that ICT can help mediate not only connectivity issues, but also pedagogical ones.

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Teleconferencing can also lead to fundamental changes in the way that people work and think about their work, but to do so requires an investment that not only establishes certain rooms and venues for teleconferencing, but also requires user interfaces at every end point every computer so that RIE, DIET, and SCERT faculty can quickly connect with a colleague face to face, ask each other questions, pose problems that they are facing, and exchange ideas. Such an interface infrastructure might enable teacher educators to learn not only in formal sessions, but also in the interstitial spaces that exist between them. Over the decades in India there have been several attempts to leverage audio visual and ICT technology. The first such large-scale attempt came with the use of satellite television in 1975 to provide intermittent programming for 45,000 teachers across the country. Soon after, Indira Gandhi National Open University launched a distance education program for in-service teacher education as part of their complement of distance learning options. The central authorities launched several program offerings in this era as well. The Gyana Darshan and Gyana Vani were dedicated television and radio channels for teacher education on state-sponsored systems. In spite of these efforts, the usability and utilization of what teachers were exposed to remains unknown (Panda, 2003). Mobile technology and wikis are two other resources that can help bring about the fundamental changes that advocates of ICT desperately seek. Mobile technology, for example, can expedite questions from the classroom and help teachers find answers to pressing questions. DIET faculty can communicate messages from the SCERT or NCERT even in a matter of moments to user groups and constituents with whom they have close relationships. I have seen such work being done in southern Karnataka and in Andhra Pradesh, where DIET faculty members receive text messages about a curricular update from NCERT and immediately they relayed that information to Cluster Resource Persons across the district. Wikis are a second useful tool that has emerged. These web-based portals leverage ICT technologies and provide a venue for teacher educators to collaborate and develop their own ideas. In Karnataka, the Mysore DIET used this vehicle to develop an induction module for incoming DIET faculty (see http:// wikieducator.org/INDUCTION_PROGRAMME_FOR_ELEMENTARY _TEACHER_EDUCATORS). They collaboratively generated a wiki with BRPs and CRPs and brought to bear the expertise of DIET faculty from several DIETs across Karnataka. The wiki covered topics such as the seven departments within all DIETS, to providing resources material for DIET faculty that might be soon leading PD sessions. In doing so, they shifted

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the discourse of induction to one of self-inquiry rather than one of static reception. Critics of this analysis may argue that these three examples are beyond the means of India’s infrastructure and economic limitations. My response is that India is no longer crippled by the limitations of money, manpower, and materials (Setty, 2012). Rather, the constituents of the “cascade” sit poised and very capable of employing the resources they have at their fingertips. Moreover, if the new 5-year plan is indeed the “Teacher Education Plan,” then spending the allocated finances in smart ways that help teacher education in India leap frog into the current century is not only necessary, but possible. Leveraging ICT can help leverage some of the affordances of the “cascade”; however, changing the discourse requires much more than changing the medium. It requires changing the discourse. For real sea change to manifest, I argue that moving toward practice-based models of teacher education may be productive. To be clear, my use of the term practice is wholly different than “micro-teaching,” or field-based teacher education. “Practices” includes what teachers do and more. Practices include larger educational aims for learners and for society, and they include commitments to subject-matter knowledge and the skills that come along with it (Cohen, 2011). As teaching is purposeful, principled, and constituted by relational work, the learner is of central importance in this definition, as are instructional responsibilities. In this view of instruction, technique sits within broader social, educational, and individual aims (Lampert, 2001). This view has been posited by contemporary reformers of teacher education in the United States, where “practices” has come to represent a way of thinking about the work of teaching. Researchers have worked to refine a specific set of “core practices” (Grossman & McDonald, 2008), “generative practices” (Franke & Chan, 2008; Franke & Kazemi, 2001), and “highleverage practices” (Ball, Sleep, Boerst, & Bass, 2009; Hatch & Grossman, 2009) that anchor the curriculum of teacher education. The distinctions are fine-grained. For Tom Hatch and Pam Grossman, high-leverage practices are those instructional approaches that will help teachers face problems that commonly come up while teaching and also are vehicles for their own learning. For example, orchestrating group discussions will lead to opportunities for students to articulate their thinking, which in turn will offer the teacher opportunities to think about issues that come up in terms of content, pedagogy, and student thinking. Members of the University of Michigan’s School of Education have formulated another definition of “high-leverage practices.” In their work, the community of scholar-practitioners identified

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19 practices, such as “Making content explicit through explanation, modeling, representations, and examples” and “Implementing organizational routines, procedures, and strategies to support a learning environment.” In both cases, a set of defined practices constitutes the curricular core of teacher preparation efforts. Anchoring teacher education in and around practice might be a second way to leverage the “cascade.” Following such a course is not out of the reach of Indian teacher educators and is not alien in thinking (see arguments citing Pollock earlier in this chapter). To do so, however, requires a substantive shift in views on what teaching and teacher education is supposed to be. Such a view would center learning about teaching on what teachers do with students in classrooms, and with content. Attention on practice has implications for the content, method, and structure in teacher education practice. The alternative view is that teacher education, which entails commitments, beliefs, dispositions, and theory, is seen as separate from techniques. Teaching, in an everyday sense of the word in India, has come to represent very much, and as a result has come to mean very little. From swim teachers to spiritual teachers, the term for the occupation has been applied to instruction of many sorts. Teaching is thought to be a common part of everyday activity. For example, the work of classroom teaching has been broken out in management terms, such as “best-practices,” thus implying mechanical solutions and standard operating procedures. “How to teach” resides on-line, captured in screencasts, videos, social media, and has been commoditized. Thus, teaching, for many, seems rather simple. It turns out classroom teaching can be quite a complicated endeavor. Negotiating the interface between students, the teacher, and content is not a simple matter (Cohen, Raudenbush, & Ball, 2003). As researchers have shown, to teach in intellectually “ambitious” ways (Franke, Kazemi, & Battey, 2007; Lampert, Beasley, Ghousseini, Kazemi, & Franke, 2010; Windschitl, Thompson, Braaten, & Stroupe; 2012) requires proficiency in subjectmatter knowledge (Ball & Wilson, 1996; Schwab, 1964/1978, 1971), pedagogical knowledge (Shulman, 1986), pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1987), and adaptive expertise (Bransford, Derry, Berliner, Hammerness, & Beckett, 2005; Hatano & Inagaki, 1986). The decades of research that anchors the field of teacher education is unavoidable and compels me to think differently about the work of teaching in India. Learning about teaching is complicated because of what is required and because of what it entails. The type of teaching I describe here is complex, and as others have called it “intricate” (Ball & Forzani, 2009) and its

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constituents “invisible” (Lewis, 2007). Such a view draws attention to whether conventional teacher education that avoids using practices as it curriculum can represent all of these invisible and intricate parts faithfully and foster the quality teaching that stakeholders expect.

CODA There are several other possible ways of leveraging the “cascade” that could be considered, and what I have offered are just a few. For example, reviving Demonstration Schools and formulating ways to structure demonstration teacher education schools, or programs, might be productive. In such a situation, practice could be fore fronted, and an educator’s work with learners might serve as the content to interact over and on as I have argued here. Turning to industry to see how other professions in India are pursuing continuing education might be a second possibility. However, much of this work is well-hidden. Delving into these areas through research and practice will likely yield even more ideas and examples on how to leverage the “cascade.” In considering these, and any other ideas that may emerge, I offer encouragement instead of caution. This chapter, and the ideas presented here, builds from the premise that the “cascade” has promise. By grappling more fully with the “cascade” system, my intention has been for readers to come to know about teacher education in India, and also acquire the necessary background to critique the existing system so that they may be better equipped to posit what is possible. As with most things, breaking up an institution is much harder than building it. Furthermore, given its far reach and the experts that fill the “cascade’s” institutions, it seems that the “cascade” system still has the capacity to foster meaningful teacher education and support quality teaching. The “cascade” has potential. The new National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) provides a strong vision and useful outline of what is possible in teacher education.7 Although just a framework, it stands as an important marker from which to navigate. Furthermore, although the 500 plus DIETs, 110 CTEs, 5 RIEs, and NCERT are small in number compared to the 15,000 plus private teacher education institutions that have come up in the last decade, the government sector still maintains management and oversight of the inservice teacher education sector, and for the most part continues to play the largest part in the ongoing conversation about in-service teacher

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education. These two factors remain important in considering whether the “cascade” has future prospects at all.

NOTES 1. The ethnographic research I conducted has been included in this chapter because of the proximity to practice that it afforded me. Reporting on the practice of teacher education in India by only relying on scholarly articles and published works would only provide part of the picture. Many journals and articles are not carried by major journals that have wide circulation. Limiting my review to only those outlets that do carry research on India’s teacher education could only offer a partial view. The bulk of the research reports, which I found, are articles published by smaller journals and government circulations. Thus, much of what I discuss here will not be novel to those that work in the DIETs, CTEs, and NCERT. However, I do think that what I take up here can help coordinate the multiple views on teacher education that exist outside of those circles, such as Indian scholars at universities, NGOs, and internationally based academics even in those circles, but they may also be advantageous to those that traffic inside them as well. 2. For the purposes of this chapter, I provide a brief sketch of some of the highlights most widely accepted in the field. For interested readers, O. S. Dewal offers a clean presentation of the history of the development of in-service teacher education in India (Singh, 2003). 3. The criteria that I adhered to were: (1) studies needed to focus on a discrete part of the “cascade”, or a particular program, rather than on more general descriptions of structure and (2) interpretive studies needed to include descriptions of data collection and analysis. 4. This did not occur with ease, of course. As an example, Pollock cites a classic account of how the Kāma ´sāstra in its most accessible form came to be. We are told that Prājapati enunciated the “means of achieving the three ends of life” (trivargasādhana) in one hundred-thousand chapters at the beginning of time, when he created them. Svayambhuva Manu separated out the one section dealing with dharma, Brhaspati the one dealing with artha, while Nandi, the servant of Siva, formulated a kāmasūtra in one thousand chapters. Svetaketu, son of Uddalaka, abridged this into five hundred chapters, Babhravya of Pancala into two hundred and fifty chapters with seven topics. Different people thereupon separately reworked the seven topics …. Vatsyayana took up the task of summarizing the whole subject in a single small volume. (Pollock, 1985, p. 513)

5. Rāmānuja was an 11th century scholar. His most famous work is the Brahma Sutra Bhashya a commentary on the Brahma Sutras. 6. For example in the Manusmriti, directives are given on greeting others. While this is practical in feel, it also articulates the theoretical construction of hierarchy. After the salutation, a brahman who greets an elder must pronounce his own name, saying “I am so and so.”… A brahman should be saluted in return as follows: “May

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you live long, sir”; the vowel /a/ must be added at the end of the name of the addressee, the preceding syllable being lengthened to three morae …. A brahman who does not know the proper form of returning a greeting should not be saluted by learned men … To his maternal and paternal uncles, fathers-in-law, officiating priests, and other venerable people, he must say, “I am so and so,” and rise before them, even if they are younger than he. (Manusmriti 2,122 in Pollock, 1985, p. 500)

7. For a more detailed analysis of the language of the NCFTE and its content, interested readers may find Setty (2014) useful.

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TEACHER EDUCATION IN TRANSITION: A REFORM PROGRAM IN INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN Shawana Fazal, Muhammad Ilyas Khan and Muhammad Iqbal Majoka ABSTRACT Teacher Education has been transforming throughout the world to cater to the emerging needs of quality education. Significant developments have taken place nationally and internationally in political, economic, and cultural fields, influencing education in general and teacher education in particular. The quality of education depends to a great extent on the quality of teachers. And, the quality of teachers depends on the way they are educated and trained. Pakistan has a vast education sector and a huge teaching force but teacher education in the country has not been keeping pace with modernization and development globally. Teacher education curricula, dissemination, evaluation and implementation revolved around traditional models for decades. However, there has been a growing realization to reform the teacher education system lately.

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014 International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 25, 357 378 Copyright r 2014 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1108/S1479-367920140000025020

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The education policy (2009) of Pakistan indicates such realization on the part of the stakeholders. This chapter reports on an important teacher education reform program, which is based on collaboration between the government of Pakistan and the USAID. The Teacher Education Project (TEP), assisted by USAID, is a reform initiative that aimed at restructuring and modernizing teacher education in Pakistan. This chapter aims to provide insights into the objectives, importance and achievements of the project in terms of shaping the future direction of teacher education in Pakistan. It reports on the substantial structural and policy changes that took place in teacher education under the project. This chapter also highlights the possible challenges in the way of useful implementation and sustainability of this and similar education reform initiatives in Pakistan. Keywords: Teacher Educational Reforms; USAID Teacher Education Project; teacher training in Pakistan; Associate Degree in Education; Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.-Hons); curriculum development

INTRODUCTION Across the globe, countries are striving to improve education by updating and modifying education to find better solutions to the contemporary challenges of the world. The ultimate aim is how to reform education and to develop standards at an international level (Neophytou, 2013). There are countries that are in the earlier phases of education development and are trying to increase access to elementary and secondary education by ensuring transmission of basic skills. Many countries are making efforts to develop their educational system compatible with the world of work and to equip their students with complex, higher-order cognitive skills that are useful for economic, social and political development. Technological development and enhanced sources of national and international communication have led to the phenomenon of globalization and internationalization of education in terms of aims and means. There is a growing recognition of the fact that teachers play a vital role in imparting quality education and therefore there is sense of realization to strengthen the quality and effectiveness of the teacher workforce (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], 2005, 2012; Stewart, 2009). The quality of teachers is closely linked with students’ learning outcomes. Further, the quality of the

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teachers to a great extent depends on the way they are themselves trained and educated and hence the value of teacher education (Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 2004; Ladd, 2008). Pakistan has seen a series of educational development plans concurring with the various political changes nationally and internationally (Burki, 2005; Kazi, 1987; Mitchell, Humayun, & Muzaffar, 2005). According to Hathaway (2005), the need for international assistance programs has been raised for Pakistan due to the country’s underdeveloped education system and the arguably low quality of education that it provides in comparison to more developed countries. Teacher education is no exception in terms of quality and is in many ways a reflection of the entire education system. Like the education system in general, Pakistan inherited its teacher education system largely from the country’s colonial past. The system seems to be stuck in the past and has not adequately evolved to keep pace with the requirements of a progressively modernizing world. There have been sporadic attempts at reform over the years but on the whole teacher education has been facing issues such as a largely static curriculum practised over the years, infrastructure that lacks the capacity to support necessary changes to keep up with the pace of time, short duration for teaching theory and practice, and complex regulations for adopting innovation, if any. Teacher education courses have been remote from practice, with an emphasis on theory that has little to do with the classroom realities that beginning teachers face once they get into jobs (Khan, 2013). Due to shortterm practicum schemes, traditional pedagogies in practice, and lack of facilities (USAID, 2009), teacher education is failing to produce quality teachers and there has been an urgent need to reform Teacher Education in Pakistan. The current number of teachers in Pakistan stands at around 1.35 million, working in public sector institutions from primary to higher education. There is an elaborate system of training teachers in place in the country. There are both pre- and in-service teacher training institutions. The pre-service teacher training institutions provide certificate and degree courses. The subject matter and curriculum for these institutions are supervised by the Bureau of Curriculum (UNESCO, 2009). The National Education policy of Pakistan (Government of Pakistan, 2009), which is currently in place, emphasizes the importance of providing up-to-date knowledge and skills to teachers in order to prepare them to teach according to the needs and requirements of the 21st century. The most recent reform program in the teacher education in Pakistan was the Teacher Education Project (TEP) initiated by the USAID in

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partnership with the government of Pakistan since 2008. The USAID TEP was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and was implemented by the Education Development Center, Inc., in partnership with Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, and the Pakistani government (USAID, 2013g). This project, aimed at reforms in teacher education in Pakistan, was launched in Pakistan’s colleges and universities in order to strengthen the training programs and to equip teachers with new knowledge and skills, required for successful 21st century classroom practice. It was approved by Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan. Two years Associate Degree in Education (ADE) and four-years Bachelor of Education Honors (B.Ed. Hons.) degree programs have been developed and put in place in teacher education colleges and universities across Pakistan. Teachers associated with these new teaching programs have been provided long-term and wide-ranging training to help them learn new approaches for effective teaching and learning. National Professional Standards for Teachers of Pakistan have been reviewed and updated to achieve better quality teaching. Moving away from teacher-centered approaches, the new National Standards for Teacher Education prepared with the assistance of the USAID Teacher Education program in Pakistan, endorse student-centered learning in Pakistani classrooms. The Standards are “new” in the sense that it is the first time that standards have been developed for teacher education in Pakistan. The Standards comprise a list of 10 Standards: 1. Subject matter knowledge, 2. Human Growth and Development, 3. Knowledge of Islamic ethical values/social life skills, 4. Instructional planning and strategies, 5. Assessment, 6. Learning environment, 7. Effective communication and proficient use of information and communication technologies, 8. Collaboration and partnerships, 9. Continuous professional development and code of conduct, 10. Teaching English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL). Each Standard has three components: a. Knowledge and understanding (content or what teacher knows), b. Dispositions (behavior, attitudes, and values), and c. Performances (Skills, what teachers can do and should be able to do) MOE (Ministry of Education), Government of Pakistan, (2009). The emphasis in the new standards that aim to produce effective teachers is on learner-centered, collaborative learning in classrooms, where students are guided and involved in interactive activities that make learning more engaging, active and meaningful. Prospective teachers in the new degree programs are expected to acquire the knowledge, skills, dispositions and assessment techniques; they need to help children to be successful learners.

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This chapter reports on the recent developments in teacher education programs in Pakistan under the USAID initiative of teacher education reform. The chapter aims to achieve the following objectives: 1. Discuss the origin, aims and objectives of the USAID Teacher Education program, aimed at reform in initial teacher education (ITE) in Pakistan. 2. Evaluate the pros and cons of the program initiatives so far in light of published reports, policy documents and the authors’ personal and professional involvement and assessment of the program. 3. Provide prospects of the future direction of the program and insights in to possible ways and means to improve the program.

RESTRUCTURING AND TRANSFORMATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN Education in Pakistan is divided into five levels: primary (grades I-V); middle (grades VI-VIII); high (grades IX-X, leading to the Secondary School Certificate (SSC)); intermediate (grades XI-XII, leading to a Higher Secondary School Certificate); and university programs leading to graduate and advanced degrees. Most public sector education institutions are run and funded by the provincial governments. The federal government generally assists in curriculum development, accreditation and some financing of research (MOE, Government of Pakistan, 1998). A very important factor that affects the quality and kind of education being provided to students at various levels is the quality of teachers. The quality of teachers is often an outcome of a number of factors including their academic qualification, their professional development, their dispositions and the quality of training that they receive in the beginning and during their teaching career. This means the importance of both pre-service and in-service training for teachers for continuous professional development. Although there exists the policy for in-service teachers for Pakistan, but there have not been a situation to provide proper opportunities to the teachers for professional development (Ali, 1998). The learning environment prevailing in schools does not favor critical thinking skills nor does it develop cognitive abilities (Government of Pakistan, 2002, 2006; Sultana, 2001; World Bank, 2006). And to a great extent this is the case because of the low level of academic and professional competence of the teaching force in educational

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institutions in the country. There is high demand for reform in teaching quality according to National Education Policy (Government of Pakistan, 2009); further it links the poor quality of education to obsolete pre-service teacher training, infusion of malpractices and bad governance. These factors have cumulatively led to a decline in respect for the profession of teaching in Pakistan (DIFSD & USAID, 2006; Nizamani, Malik, & Manzoor-ul-Haque, 1998). The Situation Analysis of Teacher Education in Pakistan by UNESCO (2006) reflected several weaknesses in the teacher training system. This led to recommendations for institutional and policy-level changes, including vigorous pre- and in-service teacher training, and development of up-todate curricula. A review of the history of educational planning in Pakistan indicates that the country has continuously failed to achieve educational objectives and goals over the years and there has been very little qualitative progress. The number of teacher education institutions and teacher educators is incommensurate with the national needs in a country like Pakistan. The anticipated requirement for teachers from elementary to higher secondary level schools, according to UNICEF (2007), stands at around 1.35 million. But the country does not have enough teacher education institution to fulfill this huge need for trained teachers. There are about 275 teacher education institutions in the country with around 3000 teacher educators. This predicts a quantitative gap that needs to be addressed on priority basis (UNICEF, 2007). In the past, there have been different certificate and degree level programs for the in-service training of teachers in Pakistan. The required qualification for teaching in the primary schools (Grades I V) has been the Primary Teaching Certificate (PTC) along with a SSC. Similarly, for teachers teaching at the lower secondary level (Grade VI VII) and secondary level (Grade IX X) required professional qualifications have been Certificate in Teaching (CT) and Bachelor in Education (B.Ed.), respectively. The level of basic academic qualifications required for enrolling into these professional teaching certificates and degrees have now been raised in current National Education Policy (Government of Pakistan, 2009) and PTC, CT programs are phasing out gradually. Keeping in view the important role that teachers play in the dissemination of knowledge and in the provision of quality education, teacher education is considered an important sector for reform that will lead to reform in education at all levels. While the National Education Policy (Government of Pakistan, 2009) was being launched, a focus on the international level also shifted toward reforming teacher education in Pakistan.

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Since 2008 2009 there has been a substantial level of increased coordination between the Pakistani government and international donor agencies to improve teacher education in Pakistan. Influential donor agencies such as the DFID (Department for International Development, UK) and the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) have taken a number of initiatives toward improvement of teacher education in Pakistan. According to Khan (2013), USAID has stepped up efforts to assist in modernizing education in Pakistan by expanding its US$75 million TEP across all of the provinces of the country. One such large-scale reform program has been the TEP, initiated by USAID in 2009 2010 with the Government of Pakistan and the HEC of Pakistan aimed at reform in teacher training in Pakistan in terms of structure, content, and infrastructure and in terms of knowledge and skill enhancement of teachers and teacher educators. As a result of the initiative there have been substantial structural and content changes in the existing teacher education programmes and the development of new undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education programmes. Such developments include the new pre-service two years ADE and the four-years Bachelor’s Degree in Education (B.Ed., Hons) programs that have been initiated to improve teacher education, educational leadership and management and to strengthen policies, and ensure academic standards. The Education Development Centre (EDC) established under the USAID initiative has played a leading role in implementing the program in partnership with TC, Columbia University (USAID, 2013a). EDC is a global nonprofit organization that designs, delivers, and evaluates innovative programs to address some of the world’s most urgent challenges in education, health, and economic development. EDC brings expertise in educational program development, program management, training and technical assistance, and evaluation to the USAID TEP. TC Columbia University is a lead partner on this project and is engaged in both the Policy and Curriculum components (USAID, 2013b). The other important stakeholder and collaborator in the initiative is the HEC of Pakistan. The HEC is striving towards facilitating the development of indigenous Pakistani universities into educational institutions that can compete on the world stage in terms of imparting quality education, promoting and funding research and development to contribute to the building of a knowledge-based economy in Pakistan (USAID, 2013c). The new ADE program is a promising initiative of the EDC in collaboration with the HEC and is expected to bring substantial changes in the teacher education arena in Pakistan. This program has been launched with a more dynamic curriculum and vibrant teaching practice supported by a rigorous training of teacher educators and provision

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of plausible learning resources. The curriculum of this program includes active learning, integration of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) and skills required for living in a globalized world. Traditional teaching practice limited to one month field teaching has been replaced by a practicum spread over a two semesters span. This practicum encompasses a variety of experiences and skills required for elementary teachers. Further, the USAID Teacher Education Program has been supporting provincial governments to develop strategic plans till 2018 according to the reform highlighted in the national education policy (Government of Pakistan, 2009). It has also helped 22 universities and 87 teacher education colleges to develop strategic plans for their institutions. It has paved the way towards sustainable policy for teacher education in Pakistan. The USAID TEP supported 22 Pakistani universities and 75 Teacher Colleges to strengthen teacher education, raising the standards to bring them on par with international standards. One reason for optimism regarding substantial and useful improvement in the teacher education arena as a result of the USAID initiative is the phasing out of the existing traditional and arguable obsolete one year teacher education programs such as the PTC, CT and B.Ed. and the introduction of the new ADE and the B.Ed. (Hons) programs. The teacher education programs being replaced by the new ADE and B.Ed. (Hons) were predominantly theoretical, training institution/university based and remote from the practical life of the school. The new programs are based on more theory-practice interaction and are likely to develop stronger links between schools and teacher education institutions in the coming years. This is likely to make them at par with the teacher education programs in the developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. The ADE is a transitional two-year program of 64 68 credit hours. The degree is aligned with and leads to the new B.Ed. (Hons.) program. The four-year B.Ed. (Hons.) program is a 124 136 credit hours’ course and is composed of eight semesters (four semesters for the ADE) of 16 18 weeks each. The new scheme of studies developed for the program emphasizes practice teaching. Fifteen credit hours are exclusively included to promote practicum and practical work in the new program (USAID, 2011). To date, the new degree has been introduced in 45 colleges and 12 universities across the country (Education Development Center [EDC], 2012). An important way to attract new and aspiring youth into the teaching profession is to offer them financial and career incentives. This has been a significant component of the project as student teachers have been offered scholarships to enroll in training courses. Around 1880 scholarships have also been

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awarded so far during the TEP, for future educators who are studying at colleges and universities in different regions of Pakistan. The financial assistance initiative has proved very useful in attracting young people from urban and rural areas toward the teaching profession. The TEP collaborates closely with the Pakistani government to ensure that the systems and policies that support teachers, teacher educators and educational managers reflect and respond to the needs and circumstances of the area. A policy process is considered a purposive, goal-directed activity (Allison & Zelikow, 1999). The TEP has assisted government education departments in outlining the essential constituents necessary for maintaining the two and four-year pre-service degree programs, which will eventually help to transform these into programs representing their own strategic plans encompassing their context specific priorities. To achieve this TEP has been working in collaboration with provincial departments overseeing fiscal and professional activities of Government Colleges of Education, Bureaus of Curriculum and Training (EDC, 2012). The project is gaining recognition and its scope has been expanded to almost all areas of Pakistan. Shapiro (2012) anticipated that this new degree programs can bring a revolutionary change in the way that children are being taught in the classrooms, where the trained teachers receive a satisfied response from children in the form of their happy faces. The TEP initiative involved curriculum development, faculty development, and infrastructure development in teacher education colleges and universities’ departments of education. The new curriculum has impacted teacher education in terms of aims, objectives, and philosophical orientations and in terms of practical teaching methodology and classroom practices. The National Curriculum Review Committee (NCRC) working under HEC in collaboration with curriculum experts from universities, colleges and provincial education departments have prepared a standard design of studies for four-years Bachelor in Education. According to Khurshid (2013), curriculum reform in Pakistan is going through a historic and significant period. It is considerably different from the annual system pursued by the Colleges of Education. Prior to the reform by the TEP, curriculum design was an inter-departmental exercise. The TEP, which assisted Colleges of Education and Universities in developing 35 new courses aimed at bringing theory and practice together (Sheikh & Jawad, 2013), reformed this. Universal perception and proficiency with global outreach is presented through these programs (Sadruddin, 2013). The EDC (2012) reports that teacher educators perceive the new teacher education programs emphasize the importance of active and collaborative learning. Teacher educators

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report a change in their teaching strategies from predominantly teachercentered lectures to student-centered collaborative learning. It enhanced exposure of the people involved in teacher education in Pakistan to modernization and internationalization of teacher education. The new programs are now being offered in government colleges of education and universities across Pakistan (Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gilgit Baltistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (USAID, 2013d). There have been changes in the science curricula from Grades 5 8 in schools and consequently the traditionally trained teachers are not able to implement curricula in the classroom. Therefore, an urgent need was felt for preparing teachers for implementing the changes in the science curriculum. For this purpose, three compulsory courses of teaching science have been incorporated in the newly introduced B.Ed. (Hons) and ADE programs. This development of science curriculum was useful for professional development of the teachers (Khurshid, Suleman, Malik, & Noureen, 2013). An active curriculum is based on students’ learning interests and life experiences and enables students to participate in educational processes (Yiwen, 2004). The new teacher preparation programs combine deeper content knowledge, pedagogical practice, and flexibility for a continuous professional development process. The knowledge and skills for using ICTs is one of the integral aspects of 21st century education. Realizing the importance of ICTs in Education, the government of Pakistan recommended the integration of ICTs in teacher education curriculum, so as to prepare teachers for efficient use of technology in classroom teaching. To foster this reform, the TEP has taken two steps. First, a course titled “ICTs in Education” has been developed for B.Ed. (Hons) and ADE programs. Secondly, use of ICTs has been integrated in different components of curricula. The integration of ICTs in the curriculum proved to be a big factor in enhancing learning outcomes of prospective teachers (Majoka, Fazal, & Khan, 2013). Teacher educators have been trained through workshops to get acquainted with different types of ICTs. The curricula for these degrees are rooted in the HEC-approved Scheme of Studies and bring together expertise from leading national and international education faculty. In addition to this, a Blended Learning Program has been introduced to increase access to quality learning materials for prospective teachers and to provide opportunities for continued self-study to teacher educators. In a recent study assessing the performance of teachers in ADE Program in Punjab, Rizvi and Qazi (2013) concluded that 90% of teachers had a good level of knowledge about the methods utilized in collaborative learning, whereas assessment techniques acquired through, TEP Workshops

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were practiced by 80%. According to Khalid and Kazmi (2013), in a collegial setting where resources are scarce, collaborative learning can be enhanced through group discussions, jigsaw activity and interactive lectures. A study conducted on government colleges for Elementary Teachers (GCTEs) in Pakistan (Bokhari & Rizvi, 2013) indicated a steady progress in facilitation of computer labs with internet, interactive classroom activities and improved instructional learning objectives for lessons. The TEP has also upgraded the academic offerings of affiliated universities and colleges by preparing teachers for innovative methodologies and the project is contributing significantly to Pakistan’s future by improving the quality of teaching force at the elementary level. Effective teaching is the sign of interactive and meaningful learning (Watkins, 2003). Teachers’ methodologies, their own school experiences, pre-/in-service teacher training programs are all factors to change their beliefs and thoughts about teaching (Chan, 2001). This new program does not only offer systematic curriculum and methodologies but has enabled teachers and teacher educators to re-conceptualize their roles according to students’ learning needs. Developing a sense of hope and expectation for positive change with adequate reward emphasizes the acquisition and use of recent research knowledge regarding improved teacher training and effectiveness; and facilitates teacher self-learning and experimentation. One of the most crucial ways in which the TEP initiative has impacted teacher education in Pakistan both in terms of structure and content is the theory practice interaction. Teacher Education programs in Pakistan in general have been overly theoretical with scant attention to the practical component of a teacher’s job (Khan, 2005, 2013). For instance, in the traditional one year postgraduate teacher education program, the B.Ed., which is being taken after BA/BSc, the practical classroom teaching component has been only around one-tenth of the whole program. Student teachers are lectured in university departments about the historical, philosophical, sociological and psychological foundations of education for about eight months out of the approximately nine-month duration of the program. Although theory is an important component of most teacher education programs, neglecting the practical component is a risky idea. Many student teachers find theory removed from classroom realities with the absence of opportunity to apply that theory in their teaching during training; they cannot establish link between theory and practice. Thus there remains a considerable gap in the knowledge of beginning teachers to understand the complex interaction between theory and practice in a practical teachinglearning situation. This negligence of the practical component has been

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dealt with in the newly developed teacher education programs. With the initiation of the new ADE and B.Ed. (Hons) program a vital change has been brought about in the Teaching Practice (Practicum). The practicum component included in the new programs provides valuable, real life classroom experiences to beginning teachers (EDC, 2012). There has been an enhanced level of communication and collaboration between teacher training institutions and practicum schools and prospective teachers have greater exposure to the realities of the classroom and to the experiences of practitioners (school teachers) with whom they can interact and share theories and practices. Rubrics and portfolios are new concepts that have a great role in the overall practice process. Practicum covers at least two full semesters in ADE program while there is another spell of practicum in the 7th semester in the B.Ed. (4 year) program. The radical shift in the new practicum program is that the examiners do not evaluate prospective teachers exclusively; rather they (prospective teachers) are enabled to evaluate themselves and defend their position based on the rubrics they are supposed to develop during their practice sessions. Thus, there has been a transformation from conventional teaching practice to a more dynamic and sustained link between theory and practice in the new teacher education programs (Saifi, Sherzaman, Shah, Idrees, & Zaman, 2013). The traditional Teaching Practice in the Pakistani context was rooted in the philosophy that considers the practice activity to a very limited extent in which improvement of the classroom teaching was the sole objective. It was not sufficient to adequately prepare the prospective teacher for adopting and assimilating theoretical knowledge in their classroom teaching. In the new practicum a holistic approach to teaching is adopted including: school activities, observations; involvement in the school life from morning to the closing time of the school. The curriculum is interwoven with the activities leading to group work, cooperative learning methods, inquiry method of teaching, problem solving along with sufficient use of ICTs. There are changes in terms of evaluation as well. Where as in the traditional teaching practice the student teachers were evaluated on the basis of their on-thespot performance in an actual classroom situation, the radical shift in the new Practicum Program is that student teachers are not evaluated by the examiners; rather they themselves are enabled to evaluate themselves and defend their position based on the rubrics they are supposed to develop during their practice sessions. At the same time, the practicum in these programs is spread over two semesters backed with structured mentoring and portfolio assessment. Student teachers develop Developmental Portfolios during the third semester, and then prepare Professional Portfolios in the

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fourth semester. They defend their portfolios in a panel consisting of the Cooperating Teachers, and the University/College Supervisor. Hence, the evaluation is more objective than in the traditional method and all the components of new program have reinforced to be more practical in using active learning strategies in the classroom. The new Practicum Program, being more comprehensive in nature and scope is in line with the new trends of the teaching profession. The TEP established 650 practicum schools and trained 354 faculty members, 54 master trainers and 823 teacher educators to provide practical training to pre-service teachers in Pakistan (USAID, 2013e). In order to provide opportunities to academicians and researchers from leading universities of Pakistan for enhancing their research capabilities, three seminars on Teacher Education, titled “Researching Pre Service Teacher Education,” “Data Management and Analysis” and “National Research Academic Writing and Dissemination,” have also been organized as part of the TEP. For improving data analysis techniques trainings have been provided to participants for collection, analysis and interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data. The HEC and the USAID TEP have created a national-level Research, Evaluation and Advisory Committee (REAC), to encourage and fund research that provides insights into the theory and practice of pre-service teacher education in Pakistan. About $400,000 in research grants has been awarded by the USAID over the course of the project. The project has awarded 20 research grants to partner universities, Directorate of Staff Development (DSD), Directorate of Curriculum and teacher Education (DCTE), and HEC to conduct research on effective teacher preparation strategies and their implementation. The DSD manages the in-service training under Department of Education Punjab. DCTEs are responsible for curriculum development and in-service teacher education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. The HEC is the federal level organization that is responsible to control the quality of Higher Education and provide policy guidelines to the colleges and universities at federal and provincial level. A two days research conference was also organized to commemorate the outcomes of research grants for improvement in teacher education by the USAID at the University of Karachi in August 2013. The conference reviewed and assessed how the strategies have affected student-learning outcomes and future education policies. It was concluded that the USAID, TEP has contributed significantly to reform teacher education program in Pakistan both on the policy and implementation level in the country. It was recommended that the HEC, Pakistan, teacher educators and policy

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makers must uphold to sustain and take forward the changes and reforms Introduced by the TEP. The HEC has notified to phase out the traditional B.Ed. (one year) and M.Ed. (one year) programs by the year 2016. For the quality assurance, the HEC has issued notifications to all teacher education institutions to accredit all programs with the National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (NACTE) Pakistan. The TEP also assisted in the development of National Professional Standards for Teachers in Pakistan, curriculum and scheme of studies for In-Service ADE degree as a bridging course for in-service teachers, training of faculty for strategic planning and preparation of 10 years strategic plans for member institutions. Further, inclusion of rigorous practicum scheme for newly introduced programs, developing coordination among stakeholders for redesigning and reshaping recruitment, and National Interchange on Teacher Certification and Licensing (USAID, 2013f) are other significant contributions of the TEP. All these steps are integrated moves towards quality teacher education. National Professional standards are to ensure quality of classroom instruction as well as to provide benchmarks for teachers to reach high levels of professionalism. In-service ADE is to provide a way to the existing lot of teachers for professional development and progress. Strategic planning, besides the skill development is a program to follow the reform for the next ten years. To support this reform, coordination meetings were arranged for reshaping teacher certification, licensing and recruitment policies. In these meetings, all the stake holders were invited for deliberation on these policy measures. In order to practice and implement these reforms, the TEP has provided support in the form of constructing institutional buildings in partner institutions, empowering faculty through training for researching teacher education, and In-Kind Grants for updating learning facilities. The USAID has pledged US$15 million to construct facilities at seven Pakistani universities to offer degrees in education (Khan, 2012).

CHALLENGES IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT RESEARCH Recent research on implementation of the newly designed Teacher Training Programs in Pakistan points out a number of challenges. Teacher education institutions and universities do not have adequate equipment and technical infrastructure to institutionalize and sustain the reforms being introduced during the project. This is a significant hindrance in the way of proper

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implementation of the new curricula for ADE and B.Ed. Hons programs (Ayub & Suleman, 2013).Teachers’ perceptions about preparation of lesson planning, student-centered approaches, use of AV (Audio Visual) aides and modern educational technology are very positive and reflect their willingness to modernize but their application in the classroom has been rarely observed (Akbar, Akhtar, Hussain, & Abiodullah, 2013; Mahmood, Iqbal, Naseem, Khan, & Afzal, 2013). An exploratory study of assessment practices in Punjab (Sheikh, Chohan, Jawad, & Naseem, 2013) showed lack of alignment between proposed curriculum objectives and content and cognitive traits measured through formal assessment practices. In other words there is a gap between theory and practice when it comes to the practical implementation of the reform. Student teachers have got enrolled in the new teacher education programs, that is, ADE, B.Ed. (Hons) not entirely due to a desire to become teachers but also due to extrinsic motivational factors, such as scholarships and other incentives such as better job structure and the possible priority in getting of jobs in the future (Samo, Shamim, Naz, & Zardari, 2013). There will, however, be sustainability issues like retention of the enrolled prospective teachers and attraction for admission to the new programs, once financial assistance and incentives are no more available in the long run. Pakistan has a high unemployment rate, scarce resources and scare opportunities for career progression for teachers are a great challenge for new ADE teachers in securing jobs. Another challenge is the sustainability of programs in various institutions where senior regular faculty is not present (Mahmood, 2013). For example, in many institutions, the educational leaders (Chairmen, Directors or Principals) are retired persons and they will not be in the field in near future to advocate, support and lead this reforming. Similarly, government colleges and Regional Institutes for Teacher Education face issues such as the transfer of trained faculty to schools or other managerial posts on account of promotions or for other political and administrative reasons. There are, therefore, a number of challenges that might potentially stand in the way of long-term sustainability and implementation of the reform program. Further, the realities at the school and the classroom level where there is dearth of modern instructional technology and facilities needed for the kind of teaching that prospective teachers have been trained for, there is danger that they will find it difficult to connect the ideal with the real. Thus, although, there is likely to be a change in the mindset and belief of the prospective teachers due to their exposure to modern theoretical concepts regarding teaching and learning, this might not essentially lead to a change in the educational process at the classroom level

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(Saifi et al., 2013). Still, it is hoped that with the proper implementation of the new Practicum Program, important changes in the teaching-learning process will be brought about in the years to come. These will include changes in terms of theoretical and practical components of the teacher education programs with more emphasis on preparing prospective teachers on a more practical basis, while at the same time having exposure to modern theories on the educational process and pedagogy and enhanced coordination among teacher education colleges, universities and schools.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The recent reform in teacher education in Pakistan supported by USAID TEP is apparently comprehensive and systematic in nature as it encompasses reconfiguration of both human and material resources. It is systematic in the sense that it is a follow up of a detailed situation analysis conducted by UNESCO in 2006 and is characterized by rigorous training of the teacher educators and support in terms of curriculum change, learning resources, and infrastructure to the partner institutions. Available literature shows that the USAID TEP has provided opportunities to the teacher educators and prospective teachers to have access to the quality learning materials that enables learners to learn (Merchant & Tariqa, 2013). Furthermore, this project has supported the reform about Teacher Education indicated in National Education Policy (Government of Pakistan, 2009) by introducing ADE and B.Ed. (Hons) programs along with an in-service teacher training program as a bridging course for working teacher. Following these innovations, the teacher educators have been involved in an extensive process of curriculum development (Sheikh & Jawad, 2013). To make these reforms sustainable, the policy makers from all provinces of the country and the Azad, Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) have been continuously involved to support these reforms by stream-lining the service structure. In this connection teacher educators have been involved in strategic planning focused on strengthening these reforms for the next ten years. Structural and policy changes resulting from this reform have been mostly accepted by policy makers, teacher education institutions and teacher educators. HEC, Ministry of Education and provincial curriculum bureaus and universities have joined hands for implementing ADE and B.Ed. programs. Teacher Educators have enthusiastically attended different events of training intended for professional development. Although

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sufficient measures have been taken to internalize reform, yet it rests upon the will and effort of policy makers and teacher educators to nourish and propagate in future. Sustainability will be an issue specifically for ITE reform programs of longer duration in the absence of adequate financial and career incentives. This will specially be the case in the poorer rural areas where there will be demand for teacher education programs that cost less, both in terms of time and money. However, a policy for better job structure for the graduates of the new programs from the provincial governments as well as commitment from the HEC Pakistan to phase out the traditional B. Ed. (1 year) and M.Ed. (1 year) can minimize this issue. The HEC has shown its commitment to the sustainability of these reforms. In this connection the HEC has recently sent a notification to all teacher training institutions throughout the country to phase out B.Ed. (1 year) and MEd. (1 year) by the year 2016. Along with these measures, policy changes are expected in-service structure for the induction of graduates under the new teacher education programs that may resolve the issue of sustainability.

FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE PROGRAM Implementation of the reforms under the TEP, USAID can bring the Teacher Education Programs of Pakistan at par with those in the more developed countries. However, as Alvarez (1998) argues, the history of educational reforms indicates that reforms cannot improve and strengthen educational systems unless capacity for learning, evaluation and reform is developed on the local and national level. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s local capacity to support the current reform is not adequate. Financial constraints both on the government and on the private level may stand in the way of future sustainability of such programs, which cost more in terms of time and money. Same is the case with other learning resources and infrastructure. It depends upon planners and policy makers to facilitate the teacher education institutions to implement and take forward reforms such as the TEP, USAID. O’Sullivan (2002) rightly suggests that “successful reform depends upon policy makers seriously engaging with the extent to which reforms are implemented in classrooms” (p. 234). Silova and Steiner-Khamsi (2008) argue that in the history of education reforms, some reforms have been successfully implemented, while others were reversed. Failure to implement reforms costs too much in terms of wastage of expensive resources as well as loss of confidence (Mohammed &

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Harlech-Jones, 2008a; Mohammed & Harlech-Jones, 2008b). Sustainability of reforms is, therefore, imperative to avoid such situation. Mohammed and Harlech-Jones (2008a) and Mohammed and Harlech-Jones (2008b) have identified the failure of one such reform in Pakistan that focused on implementing the new learner-centered approach in the classrooms. Thus, for the policymakers, teacher educators and the Pakistani government, it is a great challenge to ensure the sustainability of this reform to build confidence among the international community to continue their assistance of educational reform in the country in the future. Policy makers and teacher educators need to own this reform to accelerate consistent and sustainable provision of quality education. Keeping in view the sustainability issues with similar previous reform programs in Pakistan, the USAID has taken special measures to make this present reform sustainable. By taking into account all the elements of sustainability such as ownership, leadership, capacity development, longterm-vision, alignment with the national teacher education goals, coordination, adoptability, accountability, and systematic approach, maximum possibility to sustain the reform has been established. For example, for ownership, the foundation of this reform has been laid in the National Education Policy (Government of Pakistan, 2009). Educational leadership representing the four provinces of the country as well as the central government have been involved during the key decision making process of this reform. Further, rigorous trainings of teacher educators have been arranged, and long-term planning characterized by alignment and coordination has been made (USAID, 2013f). The hope is that in the presence of all these elements, sustainability of the reform program has been ensured to a great extent.

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Khan, M. I. (2005, May 15). Are all teacher training programmes a complete waste of time? Dawn, p. 25. Khan, M. I. (2013). Initial teacher education in Pakistan: The theory practice divide. Paper presented at Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy, August 20 21, 2013. Khurshid, F. (2013). Impact of institutional facilities and teachers professionalism in determining prospective teachers attitudes towards teaching. Paper presented at the Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy held at University of Karachi Pakistan on August 20 21, 2013. Khurshid, K., Suleman, S., Malik, M., & Noureen, S. (2013). Perception of faculty involved in curriculum development process about teaching of science iii curriculum for B.Ed. (honour) programme. Paper presented at the Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy held at University of Karachi Pakistan on August 20 21, 2013. Ladd, H. F. (2008). Teacher effects: What do we know? In G. Duncan & J. Spillane (Eds.), Teacher quality: Broadening and deepening the debate (pp. 3 28). Evanston, IL: Northwestern University. Mahmood, K. (2013). Teaching Pakistan’s future: Claims and reality of university teacher education institutional capacity. Paper presented at the Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy held at University of Karachi Pakistan on August 20 21, 2013. Mahmood, M. K., Iqbal, M., Naseem, Z., Khan, J. I., & Afzal, S. (2013). Pedagogical practices of teacher educators in bachelors of education (B.Ed.) honors and associate degree in education (ADE) programs. Paper presented at the Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy held at University of Karachi Pakistan on August 20 21, 2013. Majoka, M. I., Fazal, S., & Khan, M. S. (2013). Implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education course: A case from teacher education institutions in Pakistan. Bulletin of Education and Research, 35(2) (Special Issue), 37 53. Merchant, K., & Tariqa, I. (2013). How do students of religious education in centre a in karachi respond to collaborative methods of learning? Paper presented at the Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy held at University of Karachi Pakistan on August 20 21, 2013. Mitchell, J., Humayun, S. & Muzaffar, I. (2005). Education sector reforms in Pakistan: Demand generations as an alternative recipe. In R. M. Hathaway (Ed.). Education reform in Pakistan: Building for the future (pp. 107 122). Washington, DC: International Center for Scholars. MOE (Ministry Of Education). (1998). National education policy 1998 2010. Islamabad, Pakistan: Government of Pakistan. MOE (Ministry of Education). (2009). Government of Pakistan 2009. Islamabad: Government of Pakistan. Retrieved from http://unesco.org.pk/education/teachereducation/files/ National%20Education%20Policy.pdf Mohammad, R F.., & Harlech-Jones, B. (2008a). Working as partners for classroom reform. International Journal of Educational Development, 28(5), 534 545. Mohammed, R. F., & Harlech-Jones, B. (2008b). The fault is in ourselves: Looking at “failures in implementation”. Compare, 38(1), 39 51. Neophytou, L. (2013). Emotional intelligence and educational reform. Educational Review, 65(2), 140 154. doi:10.1080/00131911.2011.648171

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Nizamani, M. A., Malik, M. I., & Manzoor-ul-Haque (1998). Report for the study on critical evaluation of teacher training institution in Sindh. Under the teacher training project, Government of Sindh. No. 5-391-08-004-P March 28, 2008. U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General, Washington, DC. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2005). Teachers matter: Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers. Retrieved from http://www.oecd. org/edu/school/48627229.pdf Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2012). Strong performers and successful reformers in education. Shanghai. Retrieved from http://www.pearsonfoundation. org/oecd/china.html O’Sullivan, M. C. (2002). Reform implementation and the realities within which teachers work: A Namibian case study. Compare, 32 (2), 219 237. Rizvi, H. H., & Qazi, M. R. (2013). The effect of evaluation on the performance of teachers teaching ADE classes in Punjab. Paper presented at the Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy held at University of Karachi Pakistan on August 20 21, 2013. Sadruddin, M. M. (2013). Evaluation of the incorporation of global education perspectives in the curriculum of associate degree of education and the role of the USAID teacher education project in promoting the concept of teacher education in Pakistan. Paper presented at the Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy held at University of Karachi Pakistan on August 20 21, 2013. Saifi, S., Sherzaman, Shah, S. A., Idrees, A., & Zaman, S. (2013). Effect of reformed teaching practicum on professional development of B.Ed. (Hons) prospective teachers. Paper presented at the Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy held at University of Karachi Pakistan on August 20 21, 2013. Samo, M. A., Shamim, K., Naz, F.,& Zardari, N. (2013). A study of the relationship between prospective teachers’ demographic characteristics and motivation to enter teaching. Paper presented at the Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy held at University of Karachi Pakistan on August 20 21, 2013. Shapiro, T. R. (2012). Pakistani teachers visit Fairfax classrooms. Published in The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-schoolsinsider/post/pakistani-teachers-visit-fairfax- classrooms/2012/11/15/92de55c6-2ded-11e29ac2-1c61452669c3_blog.html Sheikh, M. A., Chohan, B. I., Jawad, A., & Naseem, M. (2013). An exploratory study of assessment practices in the B.Ed. (Honors) and ADE programs in the Punjab. Paper presented at the Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy held at University of Karachi Pakistan on August 20 21, 2013. Sheikh, M. A., & Jawad, A. (2013). Reflections on USAID teacher education project teacher’s training workshops on curriculum development for 4-Year B.Ed. (Hons) elementary program. Paper presented at the Education Conference on Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Policy held at University of Karachi Pakistan on August 20 21, 2013. Silova, I., & Steiner-Khamsi, G. (Eds.). (2008). How NGOs react: Globalization and education reform in the Caucasus, central Asia, and Mongolia. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press Inc. Stewart, V. (2009). Learning from international best practice: Building a high-quality teacher workforce. Florida: Presentation to Council of Chief State School Officers.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Carine Allaf, PhD, is currently Director of Programs at Qatar Foundation International. She has more than ten years of experience in education and development as a teacher, scholar, and practitioner in the United States and internationally. As a full time lecturer in Teachers College, Columbia University’s International Education Development program, her courses centered on women in the Arab world, education in conflict and emergency settings, strategic planning in international settings, and international development. These courses are an outgrowth of her research agenda that looks at women’s positioning in development specifically in the Arab world and on education in conflict and post conflict situations. She has also worked at the American Community School in Beirut, Lebanon; for the Center for International Development and Education (CIDE) at UCLA; Save the Children in Iraq; and UNICEF in Jordan, Sudan, and Palestine. In addition, she has served as a consultant for the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) on a variety of projects. Emily Anderson is a PhD candidate in Educational Theory and Policy and Comparative and International Education at The Pennsylvania State University, and Assistant Professor of Education (on leave) at Centenary College. She holds degrees in History with Secondary Social Studies certification (BA, Centenary College), Educational Leadership (MEd, Lehigh University) and Comparative and International Education (MA, Lehigh University). Her research investigates education for women and girls’ empowerment, education and health policy, and the role of social media in international education policy discourse. Tutaleni I. Asino focuses on several areas of research, writing and presentation, which include indigenous knowledge, mobile learning, comparative and international education, and the role of culture in the development and evaluation of learning technologies. He is currently completing a dualtitle doctoral degree in Learning, Design, and Technology within the Learning and Performance Systems Department and the Comparative and International Education Program in the Policy Studies Department at Pennsylvania State University, USA. 379

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David P. Baker, PhD, is Professor of Education and Sociology at The Pennsylvania State University and past President of the Comparative and International Education Society. He studies the role of education in the social construction of modern society and publishes widely on the comparative and historical analysis of schooling and higher education. Dr. Baker frequently assists in the planning of large cross-national studies of academic achievement for multi-national agencies (OECD, UNESCO, World Bank) and national governments. Allison H. Blosser is a doctoral candidate in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies at Loyola University, Chicago. She is a founding member and Co-Chair of the Teaching Comparative Education SIG for the Comparative and International Education Society. Her research interests include the teaching of Comparative Education, religion and education, culturally relevant pedagogy, and the globalization of school choice policies. Erik Byker, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Elementary Education at Stephen F. Austin State University. He has a PhD in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy from Michigan State University and holds a MEd Degree from the University of Virginia. Erik’s research is international and comparative in scope as he has conducted ethnographic field studies in England, Cuba, India, South Korea, and across the United States on how students and teachers use and construct meaning for computer technology. Over the 2010 2011 academic year, he lived in Bangalore, India, and collected dissertation data on how an economic cross-section of Bangalore’s elementary schools was using computer technology in their schools. Erik is the Secretary for the South Asia Special Interest Group at the Comparative and International Education Society. Daniel Casebeer, whose research interests include social cartography and social theories of education, is a Doctoral Student in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also a Program Coordinator for the Institute for International Studies in Education, the Managing Editor for Excellence in Higher Education (http://ehe.pitt.edu), and a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Administrative and Policy Studies. Anthony Cerqua is a doctoral candidate in educational psychology at the Faculte´ des sciences de l’e´ducation at Universite´ Laval (Que´bec, Qc, Canada). Scholarship holder from the Fonds que´be´cois de recherche sur la socie´te´ et la culture, his main research interests focus on teacher training,

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pedagogy and educational policies. Anthony Cerqua is also studentresearcher at the Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur la formation et la profession enseignante (CRIFPE). He is the author of a critical book on the education reform which took place in Que´bec during the early 2000s. Bruce Collet, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Policy as well as the Higher Education Administration program in the College of Education and Human Development at Bowling Green State University. He teaches courses in the social and cultural foundations of education, including comparative and international education, multiculturalism, and the philosophy of education. Collet’s main area of research and scholarship focuses on the intersection of migration, religion, and secular schooling in liberal democratic societies. He is currently an associate editor with the journal Diaspora, Indigenous and Minority Education. Kabba E. Colley, EdD (Harvard University), is an Associate Professor and Department Chair for Secondary and Middle School Education in the College of Education at William Paterson University. He has also served as Academic Vice President and Dean of Goddard College, and held research positions at TERC Inc., and the Northeast Regional Educational Laboratory. Dr. Colley’s research focuses on international education, gender issues in science and project-based learning. Martial Dembe´le´, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations at the Universite´ de Montre´al, which he joined in 2005 after co-directing for four years the Paul-Ge´rin-Lajoie Interuniversity Center for International Development in Education at the Universite´ du Que´bec a` Montre´al. His teaching, research and consultancy have been in the areas of school improvement and teacher development, practitioner research, the comparative study of teacher education and management policies, programs and practices, the qualitative aspects of educational planning, international development in education, and more recently accountability policies and frameworks in education. He played a key role in ADEA’s 2003 Challenge of Learning Study and subsequently coordinated a study designed to investigate primary teacher education and management in Francophone West Africa (2004 2005). He is the co-author, with Jack Schwille, of Global Perspectives on Teacher Learning: Improving Policy and Practice, published by UNESCO IIEP in 2007. He served as co-guest-editor of a special issue of the International Review of Education focused on quality education in Africa (2007, volume 43,

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Nos. 5 6). He co-edited the id21 Insights Education Special Issue on Teachers with Jackie Kirk; published in 2007 and subsequently developed into a book entitled More and Better Teachers for Quality Education for All: Identity and Motivation, Systems and Support, co-edited with J. Kirk and Sandra Baxter (2013). His most recent publications include The Owl of Minerva on a Baobab Tree, Schooling, and African Awakening: Half a Century of Post-colonial Education for Development in Sub-Saharan Africa, a special issue of African and Asian Studies (2013, volume 12) co-guestedited with N’Dri Assie´-Lumumba and Ali A. Mazrui. Laura C. Engel, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of international education and international affairs at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She earned a PhD in Education Policy Studies, specializing in Global Studies in Education, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research in comparative and international education broadly explores globalization of education and educational multilateralism. Her recent research has focused on the education policy influence of international large-scale assessments; education policies and practices that enhance inclusion and equity; and the internationalization of education. Shawana Fazal, PhD Candidate, has over 10 years of experience in Teaching of English as a Foreign/Second language at college and university level. Currently, She is working as lecturer in Education Department, Hazara University, Pakistan. She has Master of Philosophy in Education and Masters in English. Her PhD dissertation is related with integration of ICTs in Communicative-Grammar Translation model (CGT), which she developed to teach English as L2 in Pakistani Classrooms. She has also presented at a number of national and international conferences including CIES 2013, USA, SRHE Annual Conference-2011, UK, and Global Language Convention 2010, Australia. She has supervised number of thesis in Masters of Education. She has publications as first author in national journals and contributed her writings in college/university magazine. She has worked in research project on teacher education in Pakistan funded by USAID and also a member of British Academy Research Project aimed at women empowerment and participation in Pakistan. Clermont Gauthier, PhD, is a Professor at Universite´ Laval (Que´bec, Qc, Canada). He currently holds the Canada Research Chair in the Study of Teacher Training and is researcher at the Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur la formation et la profession enseignante (CRIFPE). He has conducted research on pedagogy, curriculum, teacher training. He has

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published, alone or with colleagues, about 40 books, 150 articles and book chapters and delivered more than 350 international and national scientific communications. He is Fellow of the Canadian Royal Society. Cheryl Hunter, PhD, received her doctorate in History, Philosophy and Policy Studies at Indiana University with a concentration in International and Comparative Education and Qualitative Research Methodology. As a Spencer Fellow at Indiana University, She worked closely with Sociology faculty exploring the national discourse of education policy issues such as vouchers. As a research fellow at the Cleveland Clinic College of Medicine, Dr. Hunter was able to hone her qualitative research skills using a variety of methodologies to explore the areas of teaching pedagogy, assessment, and effective practice within the framework of medical education. Her intersecting interests in sociology, issues of diversity in education, and critical methodology have coalesced in a research agenda focusing on the qualitative examination of the intersections of internationalization and teacher training. Currently, her research focuses on what teachers learn during culturally and linguistically diverse immersive experiences and how those experiences impact their perspectives of culturally diverse students and communities and thus impact their overall teaching pedagogy. Radhika Iyengar, PhD, is the Director of Education, Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development, at the Earth Institute, Columbia University. She is also the Chair for the South Asia Special Interest Group at CIES (2013 2015). She received her PhD in Economics and Education (with distinction) from Teachers College, Columbia University, on her dissertation Social capital as a determinant of schooling in rural India: A mixed methods study. Previously, she earned a Master’s in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, India. Her professional experience includes working in an India-based non-profit organization, Pratham, for multiple years. Her research interests are educational program evaluation and international educational development. W. James Jacob, PhD, is an Associate Professor of International and Higher Education in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. Since 2007, Dr. Jacob has served as the Director of the Institute for International Studies in Education at the University of Pittsburgh. His research interests include higher education management; HIV/AIDS multisectoral prevention, capacity building, and principles of good governance; indigenous education issues of culture, language, and identity as they relate to post-secondary education; quality assurance; organizational development;

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higher education strategic planning; and organizational effectiveness. He is the co-editor of two book series related to the development of comparative, international, and development education scholarship: International and Development Education (Palgrave Macmillan) and Pittsburgh Studies in Comparative and International Education (Sense Publishers). His most recent books include Indigenous Education: Language, Culture, and Identity (with Sheng Yao Cheng and Maureen Porter, Springer, forthcoming in 2014); Community Engagement in Higher Education: Policy Reforms and Practice (with Stewart E. Sutin, John C. Weidman, and John L. Yeager, Sense Publishers, forthcoming in 2014); Policy Debates in Comparative, International, and Development Education (with John N. Hawkins, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011); Beyond the Comparative: Advancing Theory and Its Application to Practice (with John C. Weidman, Sense Publishers, 2011); and Inequality in Education: Comparative and International Perspectives (with Donald B. Holsinger, Comparative Education Research Centre, University of Hong Kong and Springer, 2008). Dr. Jacob has worked with a number of private, public, bi-lateral, and multi-lateral organizations in his research endeavors, including Asian Development Bank, CBT University Consulting, East-West Center, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, The World Bank, USAID, ProLiteracy Worldwide, South Pacific Forum, UNITUS, and many government ministries of education and health. Muhammad Ilyas Khan, PhD, received his doctoral degree in Education at the University of Leicester, UK, in 2012 where he studied during 2008 2012. He has been working as lecturer and being involved in research at the Department of Education, Hazara University, Pakistan, since 2006. Before joining the Hazara University, he taught at the Islamia Collegiate School and the Institute of Education and Research, University of Peshawar during 2001 2006. His teaching and research interests include teacher education in Pakistan and England, reflective practices in teacher education, philosophy of education, curriculum development, collaborative learning, and Teaching of English as a Foreign/Second language. He has presented a number of papers in the national and international conferences in Pakistan and England and is currently coordinating a British Academy Research project aimed at women empowerment and participation in Pakistan. He has also been writing on educational and social issues in leading Pakistani English language newspapers since 2004. Florian Kiuppis, PhD, is an Associate Professor at Lillehammer University College, Faculty of Education and Social Studies, responsible for the Faculty´s English-taught courses in Disability Studies. He graduated from

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385

Humboldt University, Berlin (MA in Rehabilitation Sciences/PhD in Comparative Education). From 2011 to 2014, he served as the chairperson of the ‘Special Interest Group Inclusive Education’ within the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES). From March August 2014, he was the Visiting Scholar at Emory University (USA) in the Sociology Department (financed by the Research Council of Norway). Patricia K. Kubow, PhD, is Director of the Center for International Education, Development and Research (CIEDR) and also Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Indiana University-Bloomington. She is Co-Chair of the Teaching Comparative Education SIG of the Comparative and International Education Society. Her research interests focus on democratic education, cultural/indigenous knowledge, and crosscultural pedagogies applied to teacher education, curriculum development, and educational policy, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Kubow has received national recognition for her international work from the President of the United States/The White House and the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as awards for her scholarship from the American Educational Research Association and the Association for Teacher Educators. Jeffrey Lee, EdD, is a Professor of Education at Brandman University where he teaches courses in educational leadership, technology and research. His research interests converge in the intersection of education, technology and developing countries. He has completed three ethnographic studies focusing on youth culture with technology in Nepal. Currently, he is investigating the impact of technology on indigenous ways of learning in Fijian schools. Muhammad Iqbal Majoka, PhD, received his doctoral degree in Education at Institute of Education and Research, University of Arid Agriculture, Pakistan, in 2004. He is an established academic and researcher who is currently involved in teaching and research at the Department of Education, Hazara University. He has been teaching at the school and the university level since 1988 and is currently working as an Assistant Professor of Education at Hazara University. He has authored and co-authored fifteen research papers on a diverse range of educational issues ranging from collaborative learning, teaching of science and mathematics, teaching and learning methods, school effectiveness, academic performance, educational leadership and gender differences in education. He has also presented a

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number of papers in national and international research conferences. He has been successfully supervising MPhil and PhD research students since 2006. His research projects has also been accepted and funded by USAID and HEC, Pakistan. Dimitris Mattheou, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Education at the University of Athens, president of the Greek Comparative and International Society and editor of the journal, Comparative and International Review of Education. He has served as president of the Departments of Inset (In-service Training of Teachers) and of Research and Innovation of the Greek Pedagogical Institute and as president of The Greek Center of Education Research. His research interests include teacher training, higher education, school evaluation and the politics of education. Trey Menefee, PhD, is a Lecturer at the Hong Kong Institute of Education’s Department of Education Policy and Leadership, a PhD candidate at the University of Hong Kong, and is affiliated with the Comparative Education Research Centre (CERC). His research primarily focuses on the political economy of educational development, especially related to adult and nonformal education. He was the lead author of Education in the Commonwealth: Towards and Beyond the Internationally Agreed Goals, the primary statistical report for the 18th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers, and has been involved in the Learning Metrics Task Force as well as regional and global dialogue on qualifications framework alignment. Tsooane Molapo, MA, was born in Lesotho, Southern Africa. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business and Economics from Iowa State University and Masters’ degree in Public Administration from University of Illinois Springfield. In Lesotho, he monitored school nutrition programs and self-reliance initiatives in disadvantaged rural schools. He has also worked as economic and policy analyst for a state agency. His research interests include comparative and international education, gifted education, and boys’ education, in particular the education of marginalized minority groups. Rita Zamzamah Nazeer-Ikeda is a PhD candidate at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies in Waseda University, with a full scholarship from Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). She has been in the field of education for the past 10 years, both as an educator and a researcher. Her professional and research interests lie

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primarily in the development of teacher education. In particular, she is most interested in why and how contextual pressures are invoking responses in this traditionally conservative education sub-sector. Her work focuses mostly on teacher education in Singapore but extends to its neighboring countries in East Asia. Lillian Katono Butungi Niwagaba, PhD, is the current Chair of the Africa Special Interest Group (ASIG). She is the Director of Education Programs in the Office of Global Health at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. She holds a PhD in Higher Education from the University of North Texas, an MBA from SMU and a BA (Hons) from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. She is a former ADC, Kampala District in Local Government Administration in Uganda. Her recent work has focused on building collaborative partnerships with universities in the global south focusing on higher education development including leadership and research capacity building, student and faculty exchanges, community engagement, resource mobilization and technology transfer. She is a member of the Executive Board for Uganda Christian University Partners, Rainbow Days, Inc. and Sisters Funding Sisters. She is a principal in Iroko Consulting, LLC, an educational services consulting firm. Christine M. Okurut-Ibore, MEd, has more than 20 years’ experience in education profession both in the academic field and program implementation. She has worked at the primary school level as a teacher, at Teacher Training Colleges as a teacher trainer, and a lecturer in Teacher Education. She has experience in curriculum development, implementation and review. She has worked at various positions within education senior management as an education program manager at national regional and international levels in managing education programs for Non-Profit organizations. She holds a Master’s in Education (MEd Primary) degree of Leeds University, UK, a Bachelor of Education degree from Makerere University, Uganda, and a Diploma in Education (Teacher education) Kyambogo University, Uganda. She is currently pursuing her doctoral studies (candidate) in Institutional Analysis at North Dakota State University, USA. Her research interests are in policy analysis and implementation, teacher education, and indigenous research methodologies. Susan Peters, PhD, is an Associate Professor Emeritus from Michigan State University. As a Fulbright Scholar, she undertook extensive fieldwork in Zimbabwe. Her research and publications have focused on international and comparative inclusive education policy and practice, most recently in

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South America. In addition to her scholarly work, Dr. Peters has been an advocate of disability rights for over 25 years and has held various leadership positions in disability rights organizations. Wendi Ralaingita, PhD, is a Senior Research Education Analyst with the RTI International’s International Education unit. She has led the unit’s work in mathematics assessment and intervention and managed multiple projects utilizing the Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Assessments (EGRA and EGMA). Dr. Ralaingita led a team of math experts in the refinement and application of the EGMA instrument, which has been used in more than 10 countries to date. Dr. Ralaingita’s work focuses on teacher learning and instruction in mathematics and reading, and the use of assessment to inform teaching and learning. Her recent research has involved the use of measures of student learning combined with school-based research in order to better understand how efforts to support instruction impact student learning. Previous research examined the relationship between teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning and their instruction. Dr. Ralaingita has conducted school-based and assessment research in Mali, DR Congo, Rwanda, Namibia, Madagascar, South Africa and the United States. She is also an experienced teacher and teacher trainer with experience in mathematics, reading, and English as a Second Language. She is currently the Curriculum and Reading Advisor on the USAID/ Reading for Ethiopia’s Achievement Developed (READ) Technical Assistance project. Michaela Reich, MA, MEd, is an Education Consultant at the Department of Human Development, Education and Employment at the Organization of American States (OAS). Prior to her current position at the OAS, she participated in the Teacher Assistant Program in Toulouse, France, and worked for Accenture a global management consulting and technology company. Ms. Reich holds a Masters degree in Education and Human Development (International Education) from the George Washington University with a specialization in Education and Development and Education of the Marginalized and Masters Degree in International Migration Policies from the University of Buenos Aires. Jayson W. Richardson, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership Studies at the University of Kentucky and a Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE). His research focuses on technology, leadership, and international development.

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Chanita Rukspollmuang, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. She received her bachelor degree in Law (with honor) from Thammasat University and graduated from Michigan State University, USA, with a Doctorate in Socio-Philosophical Foundations of Education. Her areas of specialization include sociology of education, development education, comparative education, education law, as well as education for sustainable development. Before joining the Faculty of Education, she worked at the Center of Educational Policy, the National Commission of Education, Thailand. Her present positions are Dean of the Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand and President of Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA). Daniel Salinas is a PhD (ABD) in Educational Theory and Policy, and in Comparative and International Education, from The Pennsylvania State University, USA. He is a currently a visiting researcher in the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. His research looks at the relationship between the global expansion of schooling and contemporary patterns of educational and social stratification, with focus on Latin America. His published research includes papers on education reform and social movements in Chile, and on schooling effects on HIV/AIDS prevention and adult health in the Global South. Rohit Setty, MA., PhD, is a recent United States India Educational Foundation Fulbright Nehru Fellow with the NCERT’s Regional Institute of Education, Mysore, and a graduate of the University of Michigan. His work centres on the intersections of policy and practice as they relate to in-service teacher education in India and abroad. Currently, his research explores the policies, the practices and the possibilities of Indian teacher education. Rohit earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science and Secondary Education from James Madison University in 1998. He completed his MA in South Asian Studies and PhD in Teaching & Teacher Education from the University of Michigan. He has taught in Virginia, Japan, and New Zealand as a secondary school teacher and has worked with in-service and pre-service Social Studies teachers across Michigan and in India over the last 11 years. Deepa Srikantaiah, PhD, is a Senior Associate, Math Specialist for Creative Associates International where she provides technical assistance on mathematics education for projects on basic education, as well as at the secondary level and for out of school youth was formerly an Education

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Specialist at the Global Partnership for Education Secretariat, hosted by the World Bank, where she initiated and headed the work on early grade mathematics education. Dr. Srikantaiah started her career teaching chemistry and her passion for teaching and education led her to pursue graduate work in education. She has over 10 years of experience working on mathematics, science, technology and engineering education programs in the United States and Internationally. Dr. Srikantaiah has also worked as a research associate with the Center on Education Policy and at the Human Development and Education Network at the World Bank. Dr. Srikantaiah holds an MA and PhD in International Education Policy from the University of Maryland. Adriana Vilela, MEd, is an Education Specialist at the Organization of American States (OAS) and Coordinator of the Inter-American Teacher Education Network. Until November 2007, Ms. Vilela was Executive Director of the Organization World Links, where she had previously served as Director of Programs in Latin America, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe as well as Director for Education and Technology Initiatives in global programs. Ms. Vilela developed teacher training materials, coordinated and conducted training workshops for teachers, and organized ICT education policy workshops in Central America and Southeast Asia. She has also led initiatives on programs assessment involving ICT in education worldwide. Ms. Vilela holds a Masters in Education and Development with a focus on ICT use in education from the Teachers College, Columbia University. John C. Weidman, PhD, is Professor of Higher and International Development Education, University of Pittsburgh, USA, where he teaches courses on education policy, planning, capacity building, and sector analysis. He was Chair, Department of Administrative and Policy Studies, 1986 1993 and 2007 2010; and Director, Institute for International Studies in Education (IISE), 2004 2007. He has held distinguished visiting faculty appointments as Research Fellow (Professor), Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University in Japan (2011); Guest Professor at Beijing Normal University in China (2007 2012); UNESCO Chair of Higher Education Research at Maseno University in Kenya (1993 1994); and Fulbright Professor of Sociology of Education at Augsburg University in Germany (1986 1987). He has consulted on education development projects funded by USAID in Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Kosovo, South Africa, and Zambia; and by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and

About the Authors

391

Vietnam. Results from his international work have been published in refereed journals, edited books, and research monographs. He is co-editor of the Pittsburgh Series in Comparative and International Education (PSCIE) from Sense Publishers and the electronic journal, Excellence in Higher Education (http://ehe.pitt.edu), launched in 2010 in cooperation with the Consortium of Indonesian Universities-Pittsburgh (KPTIP) (http://kptip. uns.ac.id). He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Comparative Education Review. Alexander W. Wiseman, PhD, is Associate Professor of Comparative and International Education in the College of Education at Lehigh University. Dr. Wiseman holds a dual-degree PhD in Comparative & International Education and Educational Theory & Policy from Pennsylvania State University, a MA in International Comparative Education from Stanford University, a MA in Education (and Teacher Certification) from The University of Tulsa, and a BA in Letters from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Wiseman conducts internationally comparative educational research using large-scale education datasets on math and science education, information and communication technology (ICT), teacher preparation, professional development and curriculum as well as school principal’s instructional leadership activity, and is the author of many research-topractice articles and books. He serves as Series Editor for the International Perspectives on Education and Society volume series (Emerald Publishing), and has recently published in the journals Compare: A Journal of International and Comparative Education, Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education, Research in Comparative and International Education, Journal of Supranational Policies of Education, and Computers & Education. Matthew A. Witenstein is a PhD candidate at Claremont Graduate University. His research focuses on comparative and international education issues including the barriers impeding the pathway from primary to postsecondary education for underrepresented populations in developing countries, educational development, immigrant education and international student perspectives. He recently co-authored papers on South Asian American college students in Ethnic and Racial Studies, developed a conceptual model to examine gender inequality in Nepali higher education participation in Asian Education and Development Studies, and adapted Portes and Rumbaut’s modes of incorporation theory to examine educational outcomes of 11 Asian American groups in Teacher’s College Record. Matt currently serves as Program Chair for both the CIES South Asia Special Interest Group and on the Book Awards committee of the Higher Education Special Interest Group.

INDEX Botswana, 9, 121, 212, 295 303, 305, 307 319, 321, 323 Brain plasticity, 148, 150, 156

Access, 46, 48 49, 53, 56 57, 60, 70, 76, 80, 91, 95 96, 109 110, 119, 126, 130, 147, 149, 153, 157, 161, 188, 215, 223, 240 241, 254 255, 257 259, 263, 270 271, 274 276, 278 279, 285 287, 297, 301 302, 305, 308, 310, 313, 321, 340, 342, 358, 366, 372 Anglophone West Africa, 7, 201 205, 207, 209 211, 213, 215 227 Appropriation, 28, 38, 42, 58, 66, 68, 90, 96, 109, 121, 128, 131, 134, 137 140, 178, 197, 205, 213, 244, 253, 254, 258, 286, 306, 307, 319, 321, 322, 341 ASER (Annual Status of Education Reports), 69, 71, 100 Associate Degree in Education (ADE), 358, 360, 363 364, 366, 368, 370 372

Canon, 18, 20 Challenges, 6, 9, 20, 24, 30, 37, 39, 41 42, 81, 99 100, 103 105, 120, 128, 133, 150, 198, 204, 209 213, 216, 238, 241, 255, 262, 270 272, 274 275, 278 279, 281 284, 286 288, 295 297, 305, 307, 309, 312, 315, 318 321, 338, 358, 363, 370 371 Child-centered pedagogy, 249, 253, 262 Citizenship, 5, 17, 45, 47 48, 60, 90, 94, 97, 109, 173, 195, 213, 262 Classroom practice, 5, 18, 48, 94, 104, 110, 257 258, 281, 360, 365 Cognitive development, 6, 147 151, 153, 155, 157, 159 Comparative, 3 4, 6, 8, 10, 15 21, 23, 25, 37 42, 45 50, 53 54, 57, 59, 61, 65 66, 71, 73 76, 78, 82 83, 87 88, 90, 92 94, 99 101, 103 104, 107 111, 115 117, 122, 124 125, 127, 131, 137, 139 140, 147 151, 153, 157, 159, 161, 169, 172, 181, 201 203, 216, 218, 225 227, 235, 239, 269, 273,

Bachelor of Education (B.Ed-Hons), 306, 358, 360 Bangladesh, 101 102, 104, 331 Best Practices, 19, 30, 42, 45 46, 78, 80, 82, 88, 184, 188, 235, 244, 263, 289, 309, 320, 322 Bhutan, 103 Blended Learning, 366 Bologna Process, 120 393

394

276, 288 289, 295 297, 329, 357 Comparative and international education, 3 4, 15 16, 19, 21, 23, 25, 37 39, 45 50, 53 54, 57, 59, 65 66, 73 75, 87 88, 93 94, 99, 104, 107 109, 115 117, 137, 140, 147, 169, 201 203, 218, 225 226, 235, 269, 273, 288, 295, 329, 357 Comparative argument, 107 108, 110 111 Comparative education, 4, 15 21, 37 40, 42, 45, 61, 74 76, 82, 87, 107 109, 111, 116 117, 147 151, 153, 157, 159, 161, 172, 216, 297 Comparative education and policy making, 107 111 Comparative education research, 37 39, 42, 61, 74, 109, 111, 149 150, 297 Comparative research, 37 42, 48, 92, 108 109, 296 Comparative teacher education, 37 42, 73 83, 87 92 111, 115 140 Comparative theory, 38 Constructivism, 236, 253, 344 Content knowledge, 5, 121, 317, 319, 321 322, 350, 366 Corporal punishment, 95 96 Cost recovery, 123 Courses in Comparative Education, 108, 172 Critical reflexivity, 15 16 Cross-border education, 109, 185, 189, 193 Cross-national assessments, 66, 68 70

INDEX

Cultural reproduction, 132 133 Culture, 8, 24 26, 31 33, 59, 66, 70, 75, 80 82, 99, 171, 183, 197, 253, 271, 277, 298, 311, 335, 340, 344 345 Decentralization, 60, 123 125, 239, 305 Developing countries, 50, 68, 70, 120, 125 126, 129, 151 152, 161, 182, 237, 249, 253, 262 Development, 3 8, 10, 17 19, 23, 26, 30, 40, 45 49, 54, 56 57, 59 61, 65 70, 74 82, 88 91, 93 98, 100 105, 107 111, 115 118, 120 121, 125 131, 135, 137, 139 140, 147 153, 155 159, 170 173, 179, 184, 186, 188, 192, 195, 202 203, 205 210, 212, 217 218, 223 227, 236, 239 243, 248, 250, 256, 258, 261, 264, 269 270, 272 275, 277 284, 287 289, 296 297, 299 301, 303, 305, 307 310, 314 315, 317 323, 334 337, 340, 344, 347, 352, 357 366, 369 370, 372, 374 Digital, 45 48, 177 Disability studies, 56, 59 Distance education, 99, 103, 348 Diversity, 24 25, 27, 32, 53 54, 56 61, 118, 132, 183, 226 227, 276, 281, 312 Early grade assessments, 69, 70 Early grade learning, 69, 70 Early grade mathematics, 69 Education, 3 10, 15 21, 23 25, 31, 37 42, 45 50, 53 61, 65 71, 73 83, 87 105,

Index

107 111, 115 140, 147 155, 157, 159 161, 169 187, 189, 191, 193 198, 201 227, 235 251, 253, 255 261, 263 264, 269 289, 295 316, 318 323, 329 352, 357 374 Education City, 95 Education for All (EFA), 31, 53 59, 61, 204 205, 210, 223, 240 241, 243, 248, 263, 269 272, 275 277, 286, 300 301, 309, 342 Education policy circulation, 269, 272, 283 Education quality, 89, 149, 211, 236, 238, 240 243, 245, 247 248, 251, 309 Educational philosophy, 133, 181 Educational transfer, 130 131 EFA Global Monitoring Report, 235, 241, 243, 246 247, 256, 259, 262 263 Egypt, 47 English education, 99 100, 104 Enrollment, 95 96, 272, 287, 300 302, 305, 312 Epistemology, 23 24, 31, 253 Evidence-based policy, 236, 264 Flipped classroom, 49 Future (of the field), 4, 6, 17 20, 24, 31, 46, 48 50, 61, 66, 82, 105, 111, 121 123, 127, 136, 188 189, 195, 204, 215, 225, 236, 243, 258, 271, 280, 283, 285, 297, 310, 341 342, 347, 352, 361, 365, 367, 369, 371, 373 374 Gambia, 201 202, 207 209, 216, 218 219, 222 226

395

Gender, 55, 58, 61, 89, 95, 100, 104, 126, 130, 136, 177, 218, 226, 246, 261, 287 Ghana, 89, 153, 201 202, 204, 207, 216, 218 220, 223 225 Global mathematics, 65 67, 69 70 Globalization, 6 8, 16 17, 20, 27, 31, 42, 46, 81 82, 123, 131, 170, 186, 189, 202 203, 212 214, 218, 226, 237 238, 248, 301, 358 Government of Pakistan, 9, 358 364, 366, 372, 374 Graduate (level) (study) (programs), 16, 18 20, 75, 80, 81, 108, 176, 180, 184, 191, 196, 281, 311, 361, 373 Greek Comparative and International Education Society, 108 Heterogeneity, 56, 58 Higher education, 6 7, 15 17, 20, 73, 76, 90, 95, 102, 109, 118 120, 125 126, 129, 160, 170 176, 182, 193 194, 196 198, 204, 206, 210, 214 216, 273, 359 360, 369 Higher Education Commission, 360 Highlands, 303, 305, 313, 319 History (of the field), 9, 18 HIV and AIDS Impact, 307 309 Horizontal Cooperation, 8, 269 270, 272 275, 283 286, 288 Human capital, 40, 118, 123, 171, 186, 196, 205, 239 ICT (Information and Communication Technology), 23, 45 47, 49, 78, 99, 103, 105, 279, 281, 347 349

396

ICT4D (Information and Communication Technology for Development), 45 50 Inadequate teaching resources, 32 Inclusive education, 53 57, 59, 118, 120, 281, 335 India, 9, 47, 69, 71, 78, 100 103, 329 335, 337, 339 352 Indigenous knowledge, 23 27, 29 31 In-service, 16 17, 47, 49, 79, 87 88, 90, 99, 101 102, 105, 110, 123, 129 130, 202, 209, 217 218, 224 225, 242, 279, 297, 305 307, 309, 313 314, 316 317, 332, 334 335, 340 342, 348, 351 352, 359, 361 362, 367, 369 370, 372 373 In-service teacher training, 99, 129, 225, 341, 359, 362, 367, 372 Institutional, 19, 41, 101 102, 118, 121, 126, 129, 151, 153, 169, 172 174, 177, 179 180, 183, 186, 189 190, 194 195, 197 198, 237 238, 240, 259, 261, 273, 286, 362, 370 Institutional autonomy, 129 Institutionalization, 9, 152 Institutionalize, 249, 253, 286, 370 Integration (model), 17 18, 20, 55, 56, 118, 119, 135, 148, 151, 173, 193, 277, 284, 299, 311, 364, 366 Inter-American Teacher Education Network, 8, 272, 283 International, 3 4, 6 8, 10, 15 16, 19 21, 23, 25, 31, 37 39, 41, 45 50, 53 54, 57 59, 61, 65 71, 73 77, 83, 87 88, 91,

INDEX

93 97, 99, 102, 104, 107 111, 115 121, 124 125, 127, 130 131, 137, 139 140, 147 148, 152, 169 173, 176, 178 184, 186 189, 191 195, 197 198, 201 203, 207 209, 213 214, 216, 218, 221, 225 227, 235 244, 246, 253, 263, 269 271, 273 274, 276 278, 284, 286, 288, 295, 329, 357 360, 362 364, 366, 374 International education, 3 4, 7 8, 15 16, 19, 21, 23, 25, 31, 37 39, 45 50, 53 54, 57, 59, 65 66, 71, 73 75, 83, 87 88, 93 94, 99, 104, 107 109, 115 118, 137, 140, 147, 169, 201 203, 218, 225 226, 235, 263, 269, 273, 288, 295, 329, 357, 366 International organizations, 87, 91, 107 108, 110 111, 152, 235 240, 242, 246, 273, 276 278 Internationalization, 6 7, 75, 81 82, 116 120, 130 132, 134, 169 174, 176 179, 181 198, 358, 366 Internationalization strategies, 194, 197 Knowledge base for teaching, 236, 345 Knowledge transfer, 274 Language, 24, 31, 56, 58, 61, 66, 70 71, 90, 102, 104, 135 136, 148, 154 155, 157 159, 188, 198, 214, 226,

397

Index

237, 278, 298, 304, 311 312, 319, 353, 360 Latin America and the Caribbean, 8, 269 272, 274 276, 278, 280, 287 Learning, 6, 9, 28, 31, 42, 46 47, 49, 55 56, 58 60, 65 71, 76, 78, 81 82, 88 92, 97, 99, 101, 103 105, 111, 128 129, 132 133, 135, 151, 153, 155, 158 159, 176, 180, 182, 203 204, 206 211, 214 215, 223 224, 235, 239, 241 243, 247 258, 262, 270 271, 274, 276 281, 284, 286 287, 289, 296, 299, 304, 307 308, 316 320, 323, 334 336, 341, 344 345, 347 350, 358, 360 361, 364 373 Lebanese civil war, 97 Lesotho, 9, 208 209, 295 299, 301, 303 315, 317 321, 323 Liberal arts, 38, 42 Liberia, 70, 92, 201 202, 209, 216, 218 221, 223 226 Literacy, 5, 31, 47 48, 61, 90, 94 95, 97, 109, 115 116, 127, 148, 150, 154, 156 159, 161, 171, 183, 206, 208, 241, 248, 270 271, 276, 300 Local knowledge, 25 Localization, 7, 60, 154, 170, 181, 193 195, 197, 337 Low-income contexts, 67 Meanings, 54 55, 58, 91 Migration, 202, 213 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 61, 95, 205, 275, 287 Multicultural education, 18, 20

Multilateralism, 8, 269 270, 272 275, 288 National orientation, 175 National Standards for Teacher Education, 360 Neoliberalism, 31, 38, 40 Nepal, 49, 71, 101 103 Neuroscience, 6, 147 150, 153 155, 157, 159, 161 Never Seconds, 48 NGO (non-governmental organization), 103, 119, 223, 332 Nigeria, 201 202, 204, 207, 216, 218 219, 221, 223 225 Numeracy, 66, 70, 102, 127, 148, 150, 154, 156, 158 159, 161, 241, 248, 271, 276 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), 67, 110, 115 116, 128, 158, 171, 236 237, 271, 273, 276 277, 286, 358 Open learning, 103 Organization of American States, 8, 270, 272 Pakistan, 9, 100 101, 331, 357 367, 369 374 Pedagogical knowledge, 10, 223, 322, 350 Pedagogical practices, 17, 24 Pedagogy, 7, 41, 45, 48 49, 76, 89 90, 95, 121, 123, 216, 235 237, 239, 241, 243, 245 247, 249 255, 257, 259 263, 295 296, 299, 303,

398

307, 309, 315 320, 322 323, 331, 336, 340, 344, 347, 349, 372 Policy, 5 10, 15, 17, 19, 31, 46 47, 49, 54, 57, 59 61, 66, 68 70, 73 79, 81, 83, 87 89, 92 96, 99, 105, 107 111, 117 120, 127, 130 131, 133, 137, 139 140, 150, 152 153, 175 176, 184, 196, 201 207, 209 211, 216 218, 220, 222 227, 235 239, 241, 243, 245, 247, 249, 251, 253, 255, 257, 259, 261, 263 264, 269 274, 278 288, 299 302, 304 305, 320, 322, 331, 334, 342, 358 359, 361 365, 369 370, 372 374 Policy borrowing, 68, 130 131 Poor learning environments, 361 Practical (value) (practical-oriented courses), 18, 19 Pre-service, 10, 18, 41 42, 47, 90, 99, 101, 105, 122, 180, 191, 194, 202, 217, 223 225, 297, 306, 309, 314, 321 322, 341 342, 359, 361 363, 365, 369 Professional development, 3 5, 10, 17 18, 40, 47 49, 54, 57, 59 61, 65 68, 70, 74, 77 78, 80 82, 88 90, 93 98, 100, 102 105, 107 111, 120, 128 131, 202 203, 205, 209, 217 218, 224 225, 227, 236, 243, 258, 269 270, 272, 275, 277 284, 287 289, 296 297, 307, 309 310, 314 315, 317 323, 336, 340, 347, 360 361, 366, 370, 372

INDEX

Qatar, 93, 95 Qualified Teachers, 10, 57, 65, 67, 179 180, 197, 208 209, 302 303, 306 307, 309, 311 314, 321 322 Quality education, 9, 53, 57 58, 70, 88, 120, 208, 241, 244, 247, 256, 258, 269 273, 275 279, 281, 283, 285 288, 330, 357 358, 362 363, 374 Recruitment, 119, 160, 176, 178 181, 193 194, 198, 208, 242, 246, 272, 278 279, 281 282, 306, 309 314, 320, 322, 370 Reform, 5 9, 16 17, 19 20, 41, 47, 54 55, 57, 59 61, 68, 70, 76 78, 89, 93 96, 98, 100, 109, 111, 116 118, 124 125, 127, 134, 137 139, 175, 213, 238 239, 244, 249, 255, 257, 262 263, 297, 299, 306, 330, 336, 338, 357 359, 361 366, 369 374 Regional cooperation, 272, 273 275 Regional Organizations, 270, 272 275, 280 Regionalism, 119 Remote Areas, 299, 301, 303, 313 Research synthesis, 201 202, 215, 218 223, 225 226 Reserve (brain and cognitive), 160 Retention, 208, 278, 309 313, 371 Rural, 9, 49, 69, 100, 105, 202, 204, 209, 223 224, 275, 281, 296 297, 308 314, 318 319, 321 322, 365, 373

399

Index

Satellite campus, 96 Schooling effect, 147 149, 151 153, 155, 157, 159, 161 Science education, 306 Sierra Leone, 201 202, 216, 218, 220, 222, 224 226 Singapore, 7, 68, 78 82, 121 122, 169 171, 173 189, 191, 193 198, 289 Social foundations, 15 16, 18 19, 38, 40 42 Social foundations of education, 15 16, 18 19 Social justice, 118, 121, 123, 125 127, 132, 135, 152 Social media, 47, 284, 350 Sociology of education, 83 Sociology of science, 39 South Asia, 99 101, 103 105, 211 Special needs education, 54, 56 57, 110 Specialization (model), 17, 20, 75, 177, 244, 281 Sri Lanka, 47, 101 103 Standards, 5, 9 10, 17, 31, 41, 79 80, 90, 95 96, 109, 119, 123, 127 129, 136, 173, 178 179, 184, 186, 194 195, 212 213, 224, 248, 276, 279 281, 304, 319 320, 322, 334, 358, 360, 363 364, 370 Structured teaching, 249 254, 262 Student-centered, 49, 123, 127 128, 208, 225, 250 251, 253, 255 257, 259, 261, 284, 309, 315, 317, 319, 321 322, 340, 360, 366, 371 Sub-Saharan Africa, 89, 91, 204 208, 216 217, 243,

249 250, 297 299, 302, 308 309 Sustainability of reforms, 374 Teacher education, 3 10, 16 18, 20, 31, 37 42, 47 48, 57, 59, 65 71, 73 83, 87 101, 103 105, 107 111, 115 125, 127 140, 169 187, 189, 191, 193 198, 201 207, 209 213, 215 227, 235 239, 241 243, 245 247, 249, 251, 253, 255, 257 259, 261, 263, 269 270, 272, 275, 278 283, 287 289, 295 297, 306 309, 314 316, 319 321, 323, 329 335, 337 352, 357 374 Teacher education in Africa, 87 88, 90 Teacher education policy, 7 8, 74, 92, 201 207, 216 217, 220, 222 226 Teacher education practice, 7, 89, 201 203, 217, 224 226, 321, 344, 350 Teacher education reform, 7, 9, 68, 91, 134, 137 139, 213, 358, 361 Teacher education research, 7, 88, 139, 204, 207 Teacher preparation, 10, 18, 20, 59, 69, 80, 96, 99 100, 118, 120, 127, 129 130, 133, 136, 140, 175, 179, 184, 194, 280, 295 296, 322 323, 350, 366, 369 Teacher professional development, 61, 77, 81, 100, 104, 218, 272, 279, 281, 284, 288

400

Teacher professionalization, 236, 256 Teacher quality, 5, 9 10, 69, 90, 99 100, 105, 208, 210, 223, 235, 242 243, 258, 281, 283, 309 310, 313 314, 330 Teacher reforms, 91 Teacher supply, 203, 208 212, 217 218, 297, 302 303, 309 310 Teacher supply and demand, 203, 208 212, 218 Teacher training, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 47, 49, 65, 67 68, 70, 79, 81, 87 90, 99, 101 103, 107, 119, 129, 131, 202, 204 205, 211, 217, 223, 225, 242 243, 245 246, 255, 257, 259 262, 280, 286, 295, 297, 302 303, 306 307, 314 320, 341, 344, 358 359, 362 363, 367 368, 370, 372 373 Teacher training and technology, 45 50 Teacher training in Pakistan, 358, 363 Teacher-centered, 49, 127 128, 250, 255, 295 296, 309, 315, 317 318, 320, 322 323, 360 Teacher-centered pedagogy, 250, 295 296, 309, 315, 318, 320, 323 Teachers, 3, 5, 7, 9 10, 16 18, 25, 30 32, 40 42, 46 47, 49, 57 60, 65 67, 69 71, 77 82, 87 91, 93 97, 99 105, 108 110, 118, 121 123, 125, 127 133, 135 136, 149, 169, 171, 175 184, 187, 189 198, 201 213, 216, 222 223,

INDEX

225 226, 236 237, 242 246, 248 249, 251, 253, 256 258, 260 261, 263 264, 269 273, 275, 277 289, 295 297, 299, 302 323, 329 332, 334 344, 347 350, 357 372 Teaching of comparative education, 15 17, 19 Teaching profession, 73 74, 76 78, 80, 82 83, 89 91, 100, 104, 183, 206, 223, 227, 248, 272, 279 285, 288, 319, 364 365, 369 technicist interests, 19 technicist-driven (education), 16 17 Technicization (of schools of education), 19 Technocratic, 38, 40, 42 Technology, 45 47, 49 50, 67, 81, 91, 103 104, 128, 172, 202, 210, 213 214, 218, 226, 271, 279, 284, 310, 348, 366, 371 Theoretical compass, 137 140 Training effects, 150, 154, 156 Transformation (model), 15, 17 18, 20, 124, 244, 249, 296 297, 361, 368 Undergraduate (level) (education) (teacher preparation), 16, 18, 81, 176, 182, 281, 363 UNESCO, 7, 54 56, 89, 100, 104, 116 117, 149, 152, 205 208, 210, 216, 221, 226 227, 235 237, 239 243, 245 251, 253 263, 270 276, 280 283, 285 286, 301 302, 309, 342, 359, 362, 372

Index

UNICEF, 59, 226, 271, 273, 301, 362 United Nations, 119, 152, 182, 236, 273, 276, 285 Unqualified teachers, 209, 302, 306 307, 311, 313, 321 322 Urban, 9, 202, 275, 281, 297 298, 308 314, 365 USAID Teacher Education Project, 358

401

World Bank, 90 91, 170, 216, 222, 226 227, 236 237, 239, 273, 361 World culture, 25, 31, 33 World polity, 171 World society, 98 Youth, 5, 7, 31, 45, 47 48, 60, 90 91, 94, 96 97, 109, 182, 243, 364 Youth bulge, 96