Malawi, Africa

Improving teacher training

Helping teachers become better educators

Teachers in rural Malawi work in difficult conditions. Resources are scarce and class sizes are very large. ARISE conducted a needs-based assessment to identify gaps in training and technical skills of teachers. The results led to the development of a teacher training program that aligns with the country’s primary school curriculum.

ARISE conducted a needs-based assessment in rural Malawi to identify gaps in the training and technical skills of teachers. Based on the results, we established an initiative that aims to improve their training and learning conditions. Training modules for effective classroom management practices and participatory and learner-centered teaching methodologies were developed, and 80 teachers from six ARISE schools received the training. The Malawi Institute of Education, Ministry of Education officials and the District Education Managers for Lilongwe and Ntcheu have all supported the Program’s active participatory approach, and teachers are seeing improvements in student results.

Beatrice Mateyo, teacher at Malikha School, Lilongwe Rural East District says that before the training it was difficult to teach her class of 110 students. Performance levels were low. Having applied the skills learned at the ARISE training she says, ‘I can see that I have improved a great deal. I am now able to vary teaching methods to suit classroom situations and to respond to my learners’ learning styles’. And the performance of her students has improved, with the pass rate on the end-of-term exams in her class jumping from 31% in Term 2 to 69% in Term 3. Beatrice also valued the time she spent with other teachers during the training saying, ‘During the training I was able to meet fellow teachers from other schools, and this gave me the opportunity to learn from experienced teachers and has helped to improve my performance’.

An additional 39 head teachers, deputy head teachers and primary education advisors received training in instructional leadership on how to supervise and mentor teachers and on how to plan for ongoing professional development. To read more about the success of this training, see James’ story on page 24 of the ARISE Annual Review 2014.