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Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in Nigeria10.6.2 Literature on school-based in-service teacher educationCOMPASS, GEP, ESSPIN and <strong>the</strong> NEI have all included school-based in-service teacher educationcomponents in <strong>the</strong>ir programmes, including use <strong>of</strong> detailed lesson plans or interactive radio, aimed atimproving teaching by making it more interactive, ‘child-friendly’ and ‘learner-centred’. However, details<strong>of</strong> what <strong>the</strong>se interventions entail, <strong>the</strong> precise teaching methodologies involved and <strong>the</strong> processes <strong>of</strong>monitoring and mentoring etc. are scarce in <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong>. Evaluation reports (e.g. USAID 2009 andHolfeld et al. 2008 on COMPASS; Breakell 2012 and ESSPIN 2013a on ESSPIN; Gabrscek and Usman 2013on UNICEF’s School-based Teacher Development (SbTD) programme, and UNICEF 2012 on GEP II) tendto be short on specifics and to report one-<strong>of</strong>f classroom observations regarding <strong>the</strong> presence or not <strong>of</strong>particular behaviours/activities, such as group work, use <strong>of</strong> teaching aids, textbooks, teacher praise, etc.(<strong>of</strong>ten in a quantified form), while interview data report teacher and pupil feedback on <strong>the</strong> experience.In addition to <strong>the</strong> observational and interview data, pupils’ attainment is usually measured, although <strong>the</strong>difficulty <strong>of</strong> attributing increases in attainment to specific interventions is acknowledged, as well as <strong>the</strong>likely time lag and less direct link between interventions and attainment.The limited evaluation methodologies implied in <strong>the</strong> above may well be due, to a large extent, tobudgetary and time constraints imposed by donors and <strong>the</strong> pressure to show progress.10.6.3 ESSPIN teacher development supportA small-scale evaluation <strong>of</strong> ESSPIN’s support to <strong>the</strong> Kwara State literacy and numeracy programmequantified behaviours and activities and noted more pupil talking, more group/pair work, less boardwork, more active learning by pupils (although it is not made clear exactly what that entailed) andgreater use <strong>of</strong> textbooks and teaching aids (Breakell 2012). However, <strong>the</strong>se activities on <strong>the</strong>ir own arenot necessarily evidence <strong>of</strong> better teaching/learning (see Box 10.2), although <strong>the</strong> report concluded thatteachers using detailed lesson plans ‘seems to be working’. Similarly, from UNICEF’s 18 20-minuteobservations evaluating GEP II, it was noted that most teachers encouraged pupils to express opinions,gave positive reinforcement and got some pupils to talk among <strong>the</strong>mselves (UNICEF 2012).ESSPIN’s large-scale evaluation <strong>of</strong> teacher competence for <strong>the</strong> project’s mid-term <strong>review</strong> (ESSPIN 2013a)observed teachers in 595 schools across six states, and attempted to assess whe<strong>the</strong>r teachercompetence had improved following up to 16 days <strong>of</strong> teacher development support on basic teachingskills, basic literacy and numeracy skills, classroom organisation, use <strong>of</strong> teaching aids, and encouragingpupils’ self-esteem.Teachers <strong>of</strong> English and/or Maths had to meet three out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> four criteria listed below, whereasteachers <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r subjects had to meet two out <strong>of</strong> three (i.e. excluding <strong>the</strong> first) to be judgedcompetent:Knowledge <strong>of</strong> English or Ma<strong>the</strong>matics curriculum (based on interview);Use <strong>of</strong> at least one teaching aid during lesson observation;Greater use <strong>of</strong> praise than reprimand during lesson observation; andClass organisation: assigning individual or group tasks at least twice during lesson (or for twocontiguous five-minute blocks).Again, observed group work and use <strong>of</strong> teaching aids in <strong>the</strong>mselves do not necessarily signify betterteaching/learning and although it was concluded that an estimated 67% teachers were judgedcompetent on <strong>the</strong>se criteria, a more in-depth supplementary qualitative and observational study mighthave yielded greater insights.EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 123
Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in Nigeria10.6.4 COMPASS teacher development supportThe five-year USAID-funded COMPASS project in Lagos, Nasarawa, Kano, Bauchi and <strong>the</strong> FCT alsoinvolved several teacher education components. The education component included both in-service andpre-service interventions. Pre-service included working with three colleges <strong>of</strong> education in Kano, Lagosand Nasarawa states. It supported: a <strong>review</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Primary Education Studies curriculum; pedagogicaltraining for teacher educators, involving ICT; an additional pr<strong>of</strong>iciency in English curriculum; and <strong>the</strong>establishment <strong>of</strong> a Teachers’ Resource Centre. Students following <strong>the</strong> Primary Education Studies courseswere reported to be among <strong>the</strong> highest attainers in <strong>the</strong> end-<strong>of</strong>-course assessments at <strong>the</strong> colleges,which was attributed to <strong>the</strong> COMPASS inputs. The external evaluation also deemed this part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>project to have been fairly successful, with faculty employing some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> teaching methods <strong>the</strong>y hadbeen exposed to at <strong>the</strong> teachers’ workshops (Holfeld et al. 2008).The COMPASS in-service training at <strong>the</strong> primary school level included workshops on learner-centredpedagogy, and revolved round an interactive radio instruction (IRI) initiative, which involved a series <strong>of</strong>90 programmes per grade. IRI is considered to be an effective form <strong>of</strong> teacher education in a contextwhere teacher quality is low, so <strong>the</strong> teacher is developed to become more <strong>of</strong> a facilitator for <strong>the</strong> radioinstruction than a full-blooded teacher (USAID 2009; Johnson 2010). Despite reported initial reluctanceby schools (especially Islamiyya schools) to become involved, pupils reportedly enjoyed <strong>the</strong> activitiesand teachers reported increased self-confidence and self-esteem (USAID 2009). Slight improvements inattainment in Ma<strong>the</strong>matics and English assessments were also demonstrated, on <strong>the</strong> whole, by pupilswho had experienced <strong>the</strong> IRI (ibid.).However, <strong>the</strong> external evaluation was less effusive; while agreeing that teachers were appreciative, <strong>the</strong>ysaw little evidence <strong>of</strong> change in practice in lesson observations nor evidence <strong>of</strong> teacher understanding ininterviews, and concluded that <strong>the</strong> duration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> training had been too short (Holfeld et al. 2008).Similarly, although <strong>the</strong> IRI was found to have been very popular with LGEAs, schools, communitymembers and pupils, and was said to have increased enrolment, many teachers also noted that <strong>the</strong>programmes were <strong>of</strong>ten difficult to hear, especially in classrooms with large numbers <strong>of</strong> students, andthat <strong>the</strong> radio transmission was <strong>of</strong>ten poor and unclear. Moreover, <strong>the</strong> evaluation team deemed <strong>the</strong>content too limited to be able to attribute <strong>the</strong> pupils’ modest gains in attainment to <strong>the</strong> programme. Incontrast, <strong>the</strong>y concluded that perhaps it was <strong>the</strong> actual discipline <strong>of</strong> teachers and pupils focusing onliteracy and numeracy toge<strong>the</strong>r three times a week that had resulted in <strong>the</strong> slight improvement, anobservation which, if true, has implications for o<strong>the</strong>r in-service teacher education programmes. Given<strong>the</strong> reported high levels <strong>of</strong> absenteeism by pupils and teachers, it is likely that more time in class and ontask for both parties will have some impact.Box 10.3 Learner-centred educationAt <strong>the</strong> heart <strong>of</strong> many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> educational reform and development projects in Nigeria, as elsewhere inAfrica, has been <strong>the</strong> desire to implement ‘learner-centred’ education (LCE). It is important not tocreate a false dichotomy between ‘teacher-centred’ and ‘learner-centred’, and indeed it may be morehelpful to think <strong>of</strong> a continuum or focus on ‘learning-centred’ (O’Sullivan 2004). However, <strong>the</strong>re areclearly certain features <strong>of</strong> classroom practices that are particularly associated with LCE. These includegroup and pair work, use <strong>of</strong> teaching aids, more open questions and encouragement <strong>of</strong>pupils/students to ask questions <strong>of</strong> teachers, and more practical tasks.Recent in-service teacher development initiatives in Nigeria have been directed toward LCE as well asimproving serving teachers’ pr<strong>of</strong>essional content knowledge, particularly <strong>of</strong> numeracy and literacy(e.g. COMPASS, ESSPIN, GEP and NEI). However, detailed studies on <strong>the</strong>se initiatives are lacking (or atleast unavailable). The evaluations have focused on improved learning outcomes and generallyquantified observed teaching practices, while acknowledging <strong>the</strong> limited classroom observation timeinvolved (Holfeld et al. 2008; Breakell 2012; UNICEF 2012). The evaluations have also acknowledgedEDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 124
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