Inspiration and Excellence - Aga Khan University

Our MastersProgrammeThe Master of Education (MEd) is a two-year full-timepostgraduate degree, open to graduate teachers, teachertrainers, school leaders and other education professionals. Itaims to build capacity for effective teaching and leadershipin support of raising the quality of education. We are pleasedthat a range of sponsors work with us in facilitating studentscoming onto the programme. For our intake of 37 studentsin November 2012, 5 students received scholarships fromAWALI-Reads, 8 were funded through the StrengtheningEducation Systems East Africa CIDA-fundedproject, 2 by the Ugandan Government, 1 by the Aga KhanFoundation, 1 was self-sponsored, with the remaining 20 fullysponsored directly by the Aga Khan University itself.Those admitted into the Masters programme specialize ineither Teacher Education or Educational Leadership andManagement. All students engage in a range of core coursesincluding assessment, teaching, learning and curriculum,research methods and school improvement. Those on theTeacher Education specialization choose two courses ofEnglish, social studies, science and mathematics, whilst those onthe Educational Leadership and Management specializationengage in courses including effective leadership, schoolas a learning community, and monitoring and evaluation.Elective courses are offered, giving students the opportunity to13

Our Masters programme hasquickly gained a reputation fordeveloping high calibreteachers and leaders who areadept at proactively respondingto issues that affect the qualityof education in schoolsengage with ICT, gender or logic as they relate to education in somedepth. All students also undertake a substantial piece of their own researchwritten up as a dissertation, enabling them to put into practice the researchskills developed over the programme and to investigate one particular area indepth.The programme at IED importantly has a Practicum component,led by Wachira Nicholas. This requires students to spend twoweeks in each semester in schools in and around Dar es Salaamteaching, conducting small-scale inquiries, as well as conductingworkshops. The Practicum is integrated into the course participants’(CPs) course work and provides an opportunity for CPs to apply andextend the knowledge, skills and attitudes learned in their course workto produce increasingly advanced levels of understanding and skill.The Practicum essentially promotes the integration of academicknowledge with practical experience, and provides CPs with anopportunity for field and real life educational context experience for theirteaching, leadership and research work.The practicum experience is made possible by partnershipsbetween AKU IED, EA and the Regional Education Office of Dares Salaam, the Municipalities of Kinondoni, Temeke and Ilala, and45 schools and a teachers training college where the CPs go for theirPracticum. These schools provide an interesting mix of public and privateprimary and secondary schools. Every semester each CP spends anequivalent of 12% of their semester course work in these institutions as part oftheir practicum activities.Across East Africa – in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda - someof our alumni are now serving in senior leadership positions. Forexample, Bakari Issa has recently been promoted to Director, TeacherEducation, Teacher Education Department, in the Ministry ofEducation and Vocational Training, Tanzania, while Laban Onono wasrecently promoted from a Senior High School Principal toa County Director of Education in Kenya. Others have beenpromoted to head county or district initiatives (e.g. Enos Kiforo, Kenya;Euphrasia Buchuma, now Regional Educational Officer, Mwanza,Tanzania). Others have been appointed to positions of responsibilitywithin schools and teacher colleges (e.g. Dorothy Mhaiki, Head of aTeacher Training College, Tanzania, and Rose Akullo, an experienced tutorat Kotido Primary Teachers College in Uganda. Our graduates are alsoworking in the university sector (e.g. Laura Shayo, Mt. Meru University,Tanzania).A review of our Masters programme is currently underway. Thiswill result in a one-year Masters programme, a wider range ofspecialisms as well as electives. The programme will also beoffered on a part-time basis in each of the three East African countries.Further details of the programme can be found atDr Geoff TennantAssociate Professor and Head of ProgrammesOUR MASTERS PROGRAMMEhttp://www.aku.edu/collegesschoolsandinstitutes/ied/eastafrica/AcadProg/Pages/MEd.aspx.4

RESEARCH AT AKU-IEDThe aim of our research is to contribute to the transformation of policy andpractice of education in East Africa. Our research is concentrated in twomultidisciplinary Research Networks.OUR RESEARCH NETWORKSMulti-Literacies in Multilingual Education (MIME)Schools and classrooms globally are increasingly multilingual in nature sothat monolingual classrooms are not necessarily a norm. While reasonsfor multilingualism vary in East Africa, this is not simply because of thewide range of local/regional African language backgrounds of the teachersand the learners. It is also because the policies pertaining to the languageof instruction in the region mandate that teaching and learning processesbe in the second or the third language of the learners. The MIME networkis the intellectual home for research focused on improving basic educationespecially the development of multiple literacies in multilingualcontexts. Here, literacy is not limited to the traditional notion of reading andwriting of print materials. It is a holistic and complex notion of literaciesthat embrace scientific, mathematical and ICT literacies as well as languageand literacy.7

Inclusion and Equity in Education (InEEd)Improving access to quality education raises issues of inclusion and equity, so that all learnerscan access quality education irrespective of gender, HIV AIDS or other forms of exclusion. Thisnetwork focuses on issues of equity and inclusion within the multilingual contexts of education andmore broadly. Research within East Africa in InEEd is investigating:4 approaches to teaching controversial and sensitive issues4 concerns of social justice in, for example, the language of instruction and effective learning4 gender – boys and girls - issues in classrooms4 school governance and leadership4 students’ experience of seeking teachers’ help in classrooms4 contextually relevant approaches to early childhood care and education, and4 provision for gifted and talented students in mathematics.RESEARCH NETWORKS AKU-IED, EAWithin each Research Network there are thematic Research Interest Groups (RIGs):RESEARCH AT AKU-IEDMulti-Literaciesin MultilingualEducationInclusion &Equity inEducationEarly YearsEducation &DevelopmentRIGICT Research&DevelopmentRIGEducationalLeadership,Gender &WideningParticipationRIGMathematics &Science RIGResearch Interest GroupsSpecial Interest Group in Mathematics and Science Education (SIGMAS) - SIGMAS is a vibrant anddynamic group of professionals and academics, keenly interested in improving the quality of Science andMathematics teaching in East Africa. Research mainly looks at issues of multilingualism and equity inScience and Mathematics education.ICT Research and Development - This group looks creatively at blended learning and othercontextually relevant approaches to integration of ICT in Education with the potential of increasing access toquality education, thereby reducing the deep inequities and inequalities often seen, in particular in rural andurban classrooms in East Africa.Early Years’ Education and Development - The Early Years’ Education Research Interest Group looks atseveral issues for young learners in the community, as they transition into the formal education system andin schools. Research within this theme is around issues of home-school transition and knowledge-exchange,stakeholders’ perceptions and practices of literacy, classroom-based assessment of learning and literacydevelopment, and contextually relevant approaches to early childhood education and care.Educational Leadership, Gender, and Widening Participation - Leadership in education is a contestednotion as it is typically seen as residing in designated roles and positions. However, at IED-EA broader,contextually situated and distributed notions of leadership and their role in transforming schools andother educational institutions are the focus of our investigations. Issues of equity and inclusion embedded inleadership are a special focus of this research group.8

PUBLICATIONS 2012Peer Reviewed Journal ArticlesDachyshyn, D. M. (2012). Children dwelling in the absence of home.Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, Special Edition. 12.Kajoro, P. (2012). Conventionalization of numerals in Tanzania; Considers relationalunderstanding and arithmetic operations. Mathematics Teaching, 227, 15-22.Halai, A., & Karuku, S. (2013). Implementing language-in-education policies in multilingualmathematics classrooms: Pedagogical implications. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science andTechnology Education, 9(1), 167-176.Ngwaru, M. (2012). Parental involvement in early childhood care and education: Promoting children’ssustainable access to early schooling through social-emotional and literacy development.Southern African Review of Education, 18(2), 25-40.Onguko, B. B., Abdalla, M. & Webber, C. (2012). Walking in unfamiliar territory: Head teachers’preparation and experiences in their first year in Tanzania. Educational Administration Quarterly,48, 86 -115.Book Chapters (Refereed)Colvin, G., Dachyshyn, D. M., & Togiaso, J. (2012). Speaking from the margins to the centrein early childhood initial teacher education. In D, Gordon-Burns, A. Gunn, K.Purdue, & N. Surtees (Eds.), Te Aoturoa Tataki. Inclusive early childhood education:Perspectives on inclusion, social justice and equity from Aotearoa New Zealand.Wellington, New Zealand: NZCER Press.Halai A. (2012). Teachers as participants in classroom reform: Promise and perils of actionresearch. In S. Rizvi (Ed.), Multidisciplinary Approaches to Educational Research(pp.141-156). London: Routledge.Published in Refereed Conferences ProceedingsHalai, A., & Barwell, R. (2012). Topic Study Group 30: Mathematics Education in aMultilingual and Multicultural Environment. Official Proceedings of the12thinternational Congress on Mathematics Education ICME -12, Vol. 1, Seoul, KoreaHalai, A., & Karuku, S. (2012). Learning mathematics in multilingual classrooms: policies andpractice. Pre-proceedings of the12th International Congress on Mathematicseducation ICME -12, Seoul, Korea. Available at http://www.icme12.org/sub/sub02_05.aspKajoro, P., & Halai, A. (2012). Transition from Kiswahili to English: experiences fromtanzanian mathematics classrooms. Pre-proceedings of the 12th Internationalcongress on Mathematics Education ICME 12, Seoul, Korea. Available at http://www.icme12.org/sub/sub02_05.aspNgwaru, J. M., & Ngwaru, C. (2012). Education system in Zimbabwe, 1890 – 2008: Victim ofoppressive politics of inequality. In Wolhuter, C. C., (Ed.) (2012). Redrawing theboundaries of difference in the region: Regionalization as a new space for educationalchange. Potchefstroom: Platinum Press.Onguko, B. (2012). Context and appropriate technology: The unavoidable partnership. Theinternational Conference on e-Learning. Hong Kong, China.Onguko, B & Crichton, S. (2012). Making significant change through appropriate technology inrural Kenya: A case study. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Researchassociation. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.Onguko, B., Jepchumba, L. & Gaceri, P. (2012). Reflections on design and implementation ofblended learning for teachers’ professional development. International conferenceon Educational Reform and Innovation in Enhancing Quality and Equity. Kenyattauniversity, Nairobi, Kenya.9

Selected Research ProjectsPartnership Development to ResearchPossibilities for Primary MathematicsTeacher Development in Rural andRemote Communities(SSHRC Canada Award 890-210-0027)Building on her extensive experience of research anddevelopment in mathematics education in developingcountries, Professor Anjum Halai is providing leadershipfrom AKU on this research project set in rural and remoteeducation institutions in Tanzania. Emerging findingsfrom this work in progress provide deep and significantinsights into how universities as partners can work withlocal communities, regional and national institutions,and international organizations to enhance mathematics teacher education in rural and remote settings.Lessons learned from this partnership will contribute to a global understanding of the key role of partnershipswith communities to address complex social issues such as the performance of primary school children inmathematics.What Has Language to do with School Underachievement?Student Performance in National Examinations – The Dynamics of Language(ESRC/DFID Major Research Grant, RES-167-25-0263)The laments and outcries are frequent. Educational standards are falling! Schools are failing studentsand also failing to improve levels of achievement required to develop cadres of professionals andindividuals able to participate in productive economic activity as the basis for economicdevelopment in low income countries. When examination results are released from examinationboards, questions are raised as to why there are so many failures. In a similar vein, internationalor regional surveys, such as the UWEZO or SAQMEQ studies, also lead to a rush of newspapereditorials, letters and articles with contributors positing the reasons behind such failure and poorschool and student performance. Teachers and the lack of resources are frequently cited as keyreasons. Very few commentators would point to ‘language’ being a significant factor in schoolunderachievement. Why, then, do so many children underachieve and what effect, if any, doesEnglish have on children’s achievement in school?The research of Professor Pauline Rea-Dickins – Director, AKU-IED - and colleagues fromthe State University of Zanzibar and the University of Bristol highlights how English languageproficiency may be a major barrier to examination success. In a context where Kiswahili is thechildren’s home language and English the language of school, this research shows three main factorscontributing to examination underachievement. First, the quality of the national examination results aredetermined by the school children attend; secondly, by the level of the children’s English languageproficiency, with the majority of children having exceedingly limited knowledge of basic English wordsessential for learning and being tested through English. Thirdly, there is the quality of examinationdevelopment processes and the examination papers themselves. Overall, this study found that itis the school children attend and their command of English that makes a huge difference to theirexamination results. In other words, children’s underachievement is strongly related to schoolfactors (e.g. teacher qualifications, availability of teachers) and how well they know English. Formore information, see www.bristol.ac.uk/spine;http://www.esrc.ac.uk/fundingandguidance/fundingopportunities/internationalfunding/esrc-dfid/growth.aspx.10

East Africa Quality Learning (Evaluation Study, AKF)This project evaluated the implementation of the Reading to Learn methodology, earlierdeveloped and used in Australia with significant results, and rolled out in disadvantagedcommunities in Kenya and Uganda. The evaluation was led by Dr Marriote Ngwaru,an expert in the field of literacy development and on issues of home school transition inthe early years. It provides valuable lessons with regards to head teacher effectiveness,children’s reading ability, teacher pedagogy and the utilization of learning materials andcommunity libraries.The results show that head teachers were central to the success of theReading to Learn innovation. Where heads were committed proactive managers andleaders, distinct success stories and evidence of improving learning outcomes wereobserved. Also children’s reading abilities were seen to be improving as aresult of this approach which was giving children more exposure to readingmaterials and reading practice during lessons but this needed to be taken further byteacher proactivity. Teachers managed to control large classes by following specificliteracy and numeracy teaching strategies effectively to enable most of the learners tofollow with understanding.This evaluation highlighted that effective use of available materials was moreimportant than just the availability of materials, as in many cases classroomlibraries were not put to maximum use. Community libraries were an importantinnovation that was bringing in new reading attitudes towards reading and books amongboth parents and children but as in all educational innovations, it requires more time toyield sustainable results.A Baseline Study for Investigating Literacy Perspectives and Practices inEarly Years in a Tanzania Rural Public Primary School (funded by the URC).Sponsor: AKU University Research CouncilGrant ID 111002EA PI: Dr. Lilian VikiruThis was a baseline case study study carried out by Dr Lilian Vikiru - alanguage and literacy specialist - in rural Tanzania to investigate the perspectives, andpractices of literacy among teachers and pupils in Mvomero district in ruralTanzania. The study employed a qualitative case study design, to facilitate thecollection of rich and in-depth information through document analysis,face-to-face interviews, lesson observation and focus group discussions. Thestudy revealed that various stakeholders had different but related perceptions ofliteracy. They expected literacy to encompass more than reading andwriting and to include skills that support individuals to acquire knowledge, skills andattitudes to support social and economic advancement. The most common literacypractices among teachers and pupils were the reading of newspapers, holding informaldiscussions and listening to the radio. This study established that there wasminimal parental involvement in the nurturing of pre-literacy and literacy skills amongpre-school children. Schools lacked resources and most teachers neededprofessional development programs for both content knowledge in English andpedagogical content knowledge to make their classes more interactive. Therewas inadequate parental involvement in education and school affairs. This studyprovided IED with insights on the type and nature of educational interventions to bedeveloped for the district and data and materials for our current professional developmentcourses in literacy.111

Student Intake Study Faculty of Health Science andFaculty of Arts and Sciences(Sponsored by AKU Provost Office)A study was conducted by IED-EA as part of a set of projects intended to inform thedesign of a Student Intake Strategy for the proposed Faculty of Health Sciences andFaculty of Arts and Sciences of the Aga Khan University. The project had two aims:a) to compare official and implemented curricula for the main programmes preparingstudents for entry to Higher Education delivered in East Africa in the subject areas ofEnglish, Mathematics and Biology; and b) to make recommendations for the design of astudent intake study that targets academically talented Tanzanian students, including thosebelonging to educationally marginalised groups. On the basis of findings, the study madeseveral recommendations about identifying talented students, the selection of students, andmeeting the needs of the student intake.Upcoming research and developmentprojectsSeveral new exciting and highly contextual projects have been approved for 2013-14. These include the following:Early Literacy development for sustainable schooling in Southern TanzaniaSponsor: Strengthening Education Systems East Africa (SESEA)PI: Dr. Marriote NgwaruThis research project – based in the Southern Region and District of Lindi Rural inTanzania - aims to identify barriers to literacy development in the early years, as thebasis for supporting and strengthening the promotion of knowledge exchange byparent-teacher collaboration through a study of home literacy practices and classroomliteracy development. It will develop appropriate early years’ literacy learning materials.Starting with a baseline survey of all schools in the district, this study includes atraining and development component for the development of locally relevant materialdevelopment to promote early development of literacy.Partnership with University of Victoria and Mapping ECD provision inTanzaniaSponsor: Project for the Advancement of Human Development in Africa and Asia.PI: Prof. Pauline Rea-Dickins (AKU-IED), Co-PI: Prof. Alan Pence, University ofVictoria, Canada, with Shelina Walli (AKU-IED)The main goals of this project are to strengthen the evidence base of national capacityand approaches to interventions for the delivery of effective Integrated Early ChildhoodDevelopment interventions in Tanzania, through the identification and promotion ofeffective practices appropriate to the region, gaps in provision, and the potential forreplication of good practices across Tanzania.12

Mapping the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Landscape inCoastal Kenya and West Nile UgandaSponsor: Strengthening Education Systems East Africa (SESEA)PI: Dr. Darcey Dachyshyn (AKU-IED)Aligning with the Tanzanian study above, the overarching goal of thisproject is to build a comprehensive map of the early childhood care and educationlandscape in Coastal Kenya and West Nile Uganda. This will provide the basis forIED-EA and its AKDN and other partners to contribute to the capacity developmentof carers, teachers, school boards, agencies, day care and pre-school centres, andgovernment expertise to deliver services and programs that strengthen educationsystems in contextually relevant ways.International Commission of Mathematics Instruction (ICMI) – FourthCapacity and Network Project 2014 in TanzaniaSponsor: ICMI & UNESCOPI: Prof Anjum Halai (AKU-IED) and Prof Ferdinando Arzarello, ICMI PresidentThe Capacity and Network Project 4 aims to build expertise in mathematicseducation and create a sustainable regional network with a common goal ofimproving mathematics education. It is anticipated that more than 50 participantsfrom Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda will attend the two-weekprogram to be held at the AKU-IED, Dar es Salaam. Participants will mainly comprisemathematics teachers, teacher educators and curriculum developers. Participants willalso include members of the international mathematics education community. Theprogramme will include a variety of highly relevant activities including publiclecture(s) demonstrating mathematical modeling based on real life issues ofsignificance to East Africa, keynote papers on significant aspects of mathematicseducation in the region, teacher development workshops on mathematicstopics drawn from the regional high school curricula, media engagement sessions, andopportunities for the wider community to participate in mathematical activities.Strengthening Secondary Education in Practice: Language SupportiveTeaching and Textbooks in TanzaniaSponsor: AnonymousLead Researcher AKU-IED: Peter Kajoro – a research project awarded to the University ofBristol UK in collaboration with AKU-IED, the University of Dodoma and the Tanzania Institutefor Education.This study will support transition from primary to secondary for the largemajority of learners in Tanzania who are not fluent in English. The overarching goalis to make textbooks and teaching accessible to second language learners throughpiloting innovations in disadvantaged rural schools and establishing expertise inkey government institutions. The project will support the development of textbooksfor students in the first year of secondary, and in the process establish sustainableexpertise within the Tanzania Institute of Education, the government agencyresponsible for ensuring quality of school learning materials. How textbooksimpact on learning depends on how they are used. The project will also integratelanguage supportive pedagogy that makes use of the textbooks into existing teachereducation programs, working in collaboration with Morogoro Teachers College,one of Tanzania’s largest colleges for training secondary school teachers. Keylearning contributions relate to: how to design textbooks for second languagelearners, how accessible textbooks support interactive classroom learning andlanguage acquisition, and processes of implementation that emphasize formativeevaluation and systemic capacity building.113

Introducing Algebra: A Scoping StudySponsor: AKU-IED EAPI: Dr. Geoffrey TennantAlgebra lies at the very heart of mathematics, giving rise to extremelypowerful tools facilitating generalizability and compact forms of communication. It is,perhaps, algebra’s very power and compactness which means that it can bedifficult to learn. The proposed research is a baseline study, aiming to establish currentpractices in introducing algebra in, initially, a small sample of Tanzanian schools. It isexpected that this research will lay the foundations for future research, including actionresearch projects undertaken by serving teachers on masters programmes, andintervention projects working with teachers and pupils looking to explore waysof bringing algebra to life in the classroom leading to deep learning of concepts,keeping it close to number and looking to ensure strong connectivity of thinking.AKU-IED, EA ANNUAL RESEARCH INSTITUTEAnnual Research Institute 2012The Annual Research Institute 2012 was held from 14November to 16 November 2012. The theme for this year wasInclusion and Equity in Education: Focus on GenderCurrent issues for Research and Practice. We had a total of83 participants.The Keynote Speakers were:Dr. Fatuma Chege: Associate Professor & Dean, School ofEducation, Kenyatta University, Nairobi Kenya.Professor Miriam David: Professor Emerita of Education,Institute of Education, University of London & VisitingProfessor, Centre for Higher Education & Equity Research(CHEER), University of Sussex.Dr Jolly Rubagiza: Acting Director, Centre for Gender,Culture & Development, Kigali Institute of Education,Rwanda.Dr. Anna Obura: International Consultant Specialist,Equity in Education.Dr. Fatuma Chege14

Annual Research Institute 2013ARI 2013 will focus on the topic, ‘Towards ContextuallyRelevant Early Years Care and Education’. Takingplace in October 2013, this ARI will explore the notion thatchildren and childhood are not static nor clearly definedconcepts or lived realities and how in our globalized worldthe evolution of children and childhood is increasinglydifficult to trace.The Research Institute will provide opportunities for:4 Development of collaborative research networks atlocal, regional & international levels4 Sharing of knowledge, experience & expertise in keyareas of social science research especially withreference to early years care and educationProfessor Anjum HalaiHead ResearchProfessor Anjum HalaiHead ResearchLearners, teachers, schools and the community are changing in the increasingly global andtechnological world. Old paradigms framing education are being challenged and raising newquestions. Research has a key role to play in addressing the new questions that emerge. OurResearch Networks and the embedded Research Interest Groups ensure that contextuallyappropriate and significant questions are addressed as IED-EA aspires to be a ‘Research Led’institution of higher learning in the region.Partners IN EDUCATIONAt IED we have a number of local and internationalinstitutional partnerships as well as close working ties andMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) with governmentsin the region.Internationally, we work with the University of BritishColumbia, Canada with Dr Susan Crichton (formerly theUniversity of Calgary) as Visiting Faculty. Susan has beena regular visitor to IED since 2008, providing supportin the area of ICT. Her last visit was in December 2012supporting our use of new technologies in teaching,learning and research. Susan comes to us with a wealthof experience in this area and she was also the doctoralsupervisor of Dr Brown Onguko, now an AssistantProfessor at IED, who successfully completed hisdoctorate in 2012 from the University of Calgary.Brown investigated the use of solar power tablets in thedelivery of Teacher Education programmes in rural Kenya(www.jifunzeni.com).115

INTERNSHIPSInternshipsIED welcomes Interns from its partner universities and in partnership with the Facultyof Education, University of Alberta, it also won the Student for Development Awardfunded by the Association of Universities and Colleges Canada (http://www.aucc.ca/programs-services/international-programs/students-for-development/)This Award enabled Sasha Wittes to join IED in 2012 as an Exchange Student. Sashawas doing her Masters at the University of Alberta and was with us for three months.Veronica Sarungi and Sospeter Kamunyila, both from Tanzania, were MEd studentswho have been studying at IED since 2010. Both took up an internship at the Universityof Alberta for a period of one term from September to December 2012. Veronica’s MEddissertation explored the use of ICT in the teaching and learning of Mathematics. She isalso interested in learning disabilities. Sospeter also works in Mathematics Education.From Intern to Faculty memberAKU has a long standing relationship with theUniversity of Alberta, and in 2011, funded bythe International Internship Programme of AKU,IED welcomed Simon Karuku for a 9 monthinternship. Simon was a doctoral student inthe Department of Secondary Education at theUniversity of Alberta in Canada but after hisinternship applied for a faculty position.Following successful interview, Simon joinedIED as a Lecturer in Mathematics Education.His research interests focus on teacher-studentand student-student relationships in Mathematicsteaching and learning and his doctoral workexplored students’ experiences when seeking andgiving help in Mathematics classrooms.16

POLICY DIALOGUESPOLICY DIALOGUESFaculty have been involved in a number of policy dialogues. For example,Professor Pauline Rea-Dickins (Director IED) and Dr Guoxing Yu (Universityof Bristol, UK) presented the final report of the ESRC/DfID Research Study onStudent Performance in National Examinations: the dynamics of language to theMinistry of Education and Vocational Training, Zanzibar, February 2012. Paulinewas then invited to give a presentation of the findings to the Donor Partner GroupMeeting in Zanzibar, also in February 2012. See also:http://www.esrc.ac.uk/fundingandguidance/fundingopportunities/internationalfunding/esrc-dfid/growth.aspxShelina Walli, one of our specialists in Early Childhood Education hasrepresented IED at a number of meetings in Tanzania, including the ECD Forumthat took place in Arusha 21- 24 Feb 2012. AKU has been involved in discussionsthat have been key to the primary objective of the forum, which was to bringthe ECE agenda on the table for the Ministries in the country. A declaration wassigned by the government to take this agenda forward. The IED has strengths inIntegrated ECE and is positioned to be a key partner in developing a strategic planfor the implementation of the country’s ECE policy.AWALIThe Awali is a Calgary-based philanthropicgroup that supports professionaldevelopment programmes for teachers in EastAfrica and donated very generously to theInstitute for Educational Development in EastAfrica in its initial five years. A delegationincluding some of the founding members ofthe group, namely Jim Gray, Brian Feleskyand Sherali Saju came to visit AKUIED,EA in October 2012. The Awali group hasalso supported a partnership between AKU-IED, EA and Room to Read (RtR), whichis an organization that works in developingcountries focusing on literacy and genderequality in education.17

IED IN THE MEDIAFeaturingEARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ANDDEVELOPMENTOur objectives of working towards buildingcapacity, especially in collaborating with keyproviders of education in the Early ChildhoodEducation and Development context and advocatingearly intervention in the lives of a child, aredirectly aligned to current priority goals of the regionalgovernments and a number of NGOs.THE CITIZEN Tuesday 24 April 2012Integrated Early Childhood Education is a central focus within ourResearch Networks. It is offered as an elective on our Masters programmeand we are introducing Early Childhood Education as a new course onour MEd from 2013. Currently, we also offer a Certificate in Educationin ECED and provide short courses, and workshops in this area crucial tohuman development and well-being.18

RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKScommunity-based sexual knowledge and asks howthese knowledge interact with AIDS educationprogrammes in school. Old enough to knowshowcases the possibilities of consulting pupils usingengaging, interactive and visual methodsincluding digital still photography, mini-videodocumentaries, as well as interviews andobservations. These innovative methods allowchildren to speak freely and openly in contextswhere talking about sex to adults is a cultural taboo.The study also sheds fresh light on teachers’ fearsand struggles with a lack of training and limitedopportunities for reflection on practice. It engagesin dialogue with conflicting voices of communitystakeholders who are both aware of the dangers facedby children living in a world with AIDS and who arealso afraid of the many cultural, religious, and moralrestraints to sex education in Africa.Addressing Issuesof Access andFairness inEducationThrough Dynamic AssessmentEdited by Matthew E Poehner and PaulineRea-Dickins, London: RoutledgeIncreased emphasis in many school systems onformal testing to mark student achievement has begunto heighten concern among many educational policymakers, assessment specialists, and classroomteachers over questions of access and fairness, particularlyfor learners from culturally different backgroundsand those with a history of academic struggles. Thissituation echoes that faced by the Russian psychologistL. S. Vygotsky nearly ninety years ago in his efforts tounderstand processes of development and meet theneeds of all learners. His famous proposal of the Zone ofProximal Development (ZPD) holds that assessmentsmust take account not only of abilities that havefully formed but also those that are still emerging. Thediagnostic value of the ZPD lies in identifying theunderlying source of learner difficulties as well as theirfuture potential. Since Vygotsky’s time, psychologistsand educators have devised a range of practices forengaging with learners in ZPD activity that havecome to be known as Dynamic Assessment (DA).In DA, assessors go beyond observations ofindependent performance and engagecooperatively with learners to both understand andsupport their development.This process is in full evidence in the papers inthis collection, which offers a cross section ofapplications of DA with diverse populations,including special needs learners, immigrant andminority students, and second language learners.While these papers may be read as cutting-edgeacademic research, they also represent acommitment to going beyond manifest difficultiesand failures to help individuals construct a morepositive future.20

HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTIONAKU-IED, EA is expanding its activities within East Africa, and conductingtargeted and relevant research and providing specialist programmes uniquely suitedto the region’s needs. We are increasing the numbers on our Masters and CELLprogrammes, making plans to develop more courses to meet the needs of the region andalso conducting a feasibility study to deliver a doctoral programme in the near future.As part of the strategy for growth we are making a number of senior appointments,which will be a key addition to our existing expertise and will also increase the number ofresearch active faculty. These elements, combined with enriching ongoing partnershipsthat the Institute has with a number of international universities, has positioned the IED asan institution which is prepared to meet the current and future requirements of educationalprofessionals, leaders and managers across East Africa.The Aga Khan UniversityInstitute for Educational Development, East Africa,P.O Box 125, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaTel: +255 22 215 0051, Fax: +255 22 215 0875, Email: iedea@aku.edu, Web: www.aku.edu/iedea