TheCA/CRframeworkandimplicationsforEGR TeacherTraining

Given this analysis, a CA/CR Theory of Teacher Practice and Behaviour would posit that teachers’ empirical actions are determined by causal mechanisms (the functionings that teachers value) and how they respond to constraints on these. It thus follows that in order to change teacher practice and behaviour, any intervention should acknowledge teacher’s causal mechanisms that guide behaviour (which are the beings/doings central to the lives teachers wish to lead). In addition to this, interventions must also address constraining conversion factors as they are linked to ‘negative’ practices and behaviours, such as absenteeism, lack of preparation, distraction, etc. Moreover, addressing constraining conversion factors helps to contextualise interventions and often provides pragmatic solutions.

What then, are the implications for Teacher Training interventions in Early Grade Reading? If teacher practice and behaviour is heavily determined by the constraint or expansion of their valued functionings, then the content and structure of EGR training should aim to reduce constraint. Thus, the following discussion will look at the occupational functionings that Tanzanian teachers value, the constraints on these, and the implications this has on EGR teacher training.

7 Occupationalvaluedfunctionings

7.1

#1: Being able to participate in training

During focus group discussions, ‘kujiendeleza’ was the Kiswahili term used to describe the concept of upgrading (it means, ‘to develop myself’); however, it was clear that this phrase was used to describe being able to upgrade practice through in-service training courses. One teacher commented on her valuing of this functioning by stating:

“To get new teaching methods is important because things are changing now and then. It is important to get trained. For example, we did not have certain technologies when I was training. And in the case of these maths subjects, pupils are doing very poorly because teachers did not have seminars or short courses in order to be good academically ”

Rural male teacher

With regard to constraints on teachers being able to upgrade through in-service training, the primary conversion factor is that workshops and short courses are generally not available, or not offered to all teachers, if they are. For example, intensive cascade workshops allow only a small number of teachers to participate, and those teachers who do participate don’t often go on to train colleagues, leaving the weakest teachers overlooked. In addition to this, the costs associated with intensive workshops make them difficult for District Education Offices or Ministries of Education to sustain or bring to scale in the long-run.

Given these problems, what are the implications for an EGR in-service training intervention? Considering the extent to which a majority of teachers value being able to participate in training, reducing constraint would entail a modality of training that would allow all teachers to participate. For example, School-Based EGR training is a modality that allows teachers to conduct group self-study of EGR modules (without reliance on a master trainer), and engage in peer observation and feedback on the application of new skills. With such a modality, teachers do not have to travel to ward or district workshops (thereby saving money and time), and teachers can very immediately try out new strategies in their classrooms. Training can occur on a consistent basis (every two weeks) so that new content can be digested gradually and the application of new skills can occur incrementally and continuously (which is difficult to achieve with intensive workshops).

However, with such a school-based modality there are many risks involved, primarily ensuring the understanding of new technical concepts and ideas (as there is no master trainer), and ensuring teacher engagement and attendance. With regard to the former, risk mitigation occurs during the development of modules whereby EGR content must be designed with group self-study in mind. Therefore modules must be clear, concise, user-friendly, contextual and activity-based. Pre-testing draft modules with teachers allows for a rigorous assessment of these characteristics. With regard to the latter, it is imperative to develop a rigorous monitoring system and support structures that use system actors (such as schoolbased INSET Coordinators, Head Teachers, Ward Education Coordinators and District Inspectors) to ensure attendance and application. In addition to this, incentives can also be embedded whereby teachers sign a contract (that outlines their roles and responsibilities for training) under the proviso that upon successful completion of EGR training, they will receive a certificate of completion issued by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT).

7.2 #2: Being able to help students learn

A number of teachers discussed this topic at length as well as ranked it highly on questionnaires. As one teacher stated:

“I want to see that my pupils understand me. If they don't, I feel as if I cheat people who I came teach. You know, this is my profession, so when I do it, I think it's good to see a good yield. If I don't see it, I feel bad. So in my career, I want to see that students understand what I teach them. Otherwise, if they fail, I feel bad ”

Peri-urban male teacher

This quote demonstrates how ‘being able to help students learn’ can be motivated through a vocational and ethical injunction. At the urban school, another teacher commented:

Dr. Sharon Tao

“You have to make sure every student understands and performs on the exams well. And that they understand what the teacher is teaching in class ”

Urban female teacher

This extract also shows how there is a temporal element to this functioning, whereby immediate achievement is having students understand concepts in class (which was evidenced through classroom question and answer sessions and daily exercises); and the longer-term achievement is seen through students’ performance on exams. Unfortunately, it might prove difficult to convince teachers that national Standard 7 exam scores will improve due to EGR practices. However, immediate achievement in student understanding (through improved question and answer sessions, increased participation and improvements in formative assessments) is much more plausible.

When teachers were asked about constraints on ‘being able to help students learn’, the general discourse of ‘poor working conditions’ was apparent, with complaints pointing to a variety of constraining environmental conversion factors such as lack of teaching materials, textbooks and over-crowded classrooms. In addition to this, many teachers articulated a lack of confidence in their subjects, as they are often assigned subjects they do not know well, due to a lack of thorough training (either pre- or in-service) and/or a lack of teachers at their schools (thereby forcing teachers to cover early grade classes they are not necessarily comfortable with). Teachers often contended with this constraint by following a textbook page by page, almost as if it were an instruction manual. However, textbooks are not designed for this type of use, and when this was compounded by a lack of confidence or content knowledge, a very fractured, routinised and rote method of teaching was used. Thus, we can start to see how ‘being able to help students learn’ was constrained not only in a material sense through environmental conversion factors, but also through the social conversion factors of systems and structures that force teachers to contend with large classes and subjects they do not choose.

Given these constraints, the implications for an EGR in-service training intervention entail reducing constraint through addressing material environmental conversion factors. For example, the provision of requisite resources, such as levelled and decodable readers, as well as the materials needed to make teaching aids such as letter cards, alphabet banners, words cards, teachers’ own read aloud books, etc. With regard to over-crowded classrooms, it is imperative that all EGR strategies introduced in training can be used in, and applied to large classes (of over 100); otherwise, teachers will not think the strategies are relevant to their context. This also includes explicit instructions on how to form groups with 100+ students (if it is necessary to the EGR strategy) as such classroom management techniques are not common and should not be assumed.

With regard to teachers’ lack of confidence in subject knowledge, particularly in EGR instructional practices, EGR modules can offer a great deal of scaffolding through providing practical, explicit strategies and lesson guides (similar to the lesson plans that teachers currently use in their context)1. The EGR strategies that are introduced should also build on what teachers already do and know with regard to the current Standard 1-3 Kiswahili syllabus, and as discussed previously, EGR strategies should also be easily applied in classrooms of up to 100+ students.

7.3 #3: Being able to control class

Tanzanian teachers often value ‘being able to control class’ (in order to help students learn), however unfortunately, corporal punishment is often a result of teachers contending with constraint on this

1 There is a debate regarding the use of scripted lesson plans: Scripted, externally developed lesson plans may give some teachers a sense of security, but there are tensions between the scripts' perceived relevance and the teachers' desire for autonomy. It has been argued that teacher trainers may want to experiment with offering a choice of different instructional models, and that script developers may want to experiment with giving teachers more explicit autonomy, both in choosing scripts and in modifying them.

Dr. Sharon Tao

functioning (Tao, 2015). Teachers are resigned to the fact that short periods and large class sizes are systemic problems that they cannot change, however noisy children who are constraining their capability ‘to be in control’ is something that teachers feel they can contend with. A teacher attested to this process when noting:

“If you punish a pupil and you hurt them very badly, it makes me upset. But that is caused because of the high concentration of pupils in the class. It’s very hard to control them in the class, so sometimes I have to use a stick. It causes me frustration and anxiety…But sometimes the environment forces me to use the stick.”

Peri-urban male teacher

This view – that caning is a ‘forced’ action – demonstrates that teachers do not often have alternative nonviolent classroom management techniques at hand; so even if a teacher does not like to cane, she often feels that is the only way to contend with the constraint of a noisy class. It should be noted that teachers lack preventive non-violent classroom management techniques (those that allow teachers to control class and pre-empt disruption), rather than punitive non-violent techniques (such as making children squat, or do frog jumps and push-ups), which are used a great deal but could still be argued to be violations of students’ physiological and psychological integrity

Given these problems, it seems that implications for EGR training should include classroom management techniques that are grounded in context and experience, and not imposed by a cultural outsider. Such contextualised alternatives are needed, as legislation alone does not stop teachers from caning, nor do interventions that simply demand the elimination of corporal punishment from a rights-based perspective. As a teacher noted:

“...this organisation from Mwanza, they are called Kuleana. They came there with their rules. Children will not do work in the house...they shouldn't be hit. Where do those rules come from? Are these coming from outsiders? When they introduced these rules, did they come in touch with the culture and see if the culture agrees?”

Peri-urban male teacher

Clearly, there is a tension and mistrust of interventions and conventions promoted by outsiders, as there is an explicit imposition of another worldview, an implicit judgement of Tanzanian culture and a lack of sensitivity towards it. Thus, any alternative classroom management strategies introduced for EGR instructional practice must be proven to work in a classroom of 100+. This can be done by collecting classroom management strategies that have been tried and tested by Tanzanian teachers themselves. These strategies can be shared via EGR modules, however, introductory modules prior to EGR content can also be introduced, which entail content on creating a positive learning environment, such as providing strategies for classroom management, gender responsive pedagogy and increasing participation and inclusion.

7.4 Other valued functionings that can affect EGR training

In addition to the occupational functionings that teachers value, it should be noted that there are additional functionings that should be acknowledged by EGR training interventions. For example, teachers are very anxious about the surveillance activities of inspectors and the power they wield in the education hierarchy. This foregrounds the implicit valued functioning of ‘following protocol’, which is valued not because it contributes to the working lives that teachers want, but because their livelihoods are threatened (via transfer or firing) if they don’t. The implications of this with regard to EGR training is that it should be aligned with teacher protocols; more specifically, any new EGR strategies or activities must be aligned with