Abstract

Teacher education has an important role in ensuring quality of learning especially for the poorest children. The article draws on a study of teacher preparation for the early primary grades in six African countries – Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda – in reading and mathematics. Initial teacher education had the strongest impact on newly qualified teachers but also induced misplaced confidence leading to standardised teacher-led approaches that failed to engage learners. Learning to read was divorced from meaning while mathematical activities were not linked to learning concepts. We suggest that teacher education is reconstructed as a study of classroom practice that places children's learning at its centre.

Citation

Akyeampong, K., Lussier, K., Pryor, J. & Westbrook, J. (2013). Improving teaching and learning of basic maths and reading in Africa: Does teacher preparation count?. International Journal of Educational Development, 33(3), 272-282. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved December 6, 2019 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/195797/.

Keywords

• Lower grade primary
• Newly qualified teachers
• pre-service teacher education
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• Teaching basic mathematics
• Teaching early reading