A-A DIALOGUE RESEARCH PROPOSAL OF NIGER TEAM

Achieving the Quality of Basic Education through Improvement of the Training of Trainers of Trainers in Niger

AMADOU BOUKATA GOZA SANDI NANA AICHA ZOUMARI ISSA KALLEKOYE

March 13 2006

 PRESENTATION OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION CONTEXT OF STUDY STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM RESEARCH QUESTIONS PURPOSE OF THE STUDY GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
FIELD OF THE STUDY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ACTIVITIES SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

INTRODUCTION With an area of 1,267,000 square kilometers, Niger is one of the largest countries in Africa. It has one of the highest population growth rates of 3.3% and a fertility rate of 7.5 children per woman. The population of Niger more than doubled from 5.1 million in1977 to 11.1 million in 2001. Children under 15 years of age represent half of the population, the highest in Sub-Sahara Africa. The school age population (7-24) is presently estimated at 4.5 million and is expected to reach 7.1 million in 2015, a 58 percent increase. Consequently, the potentially very high demand for schooling will put a strong pressure on the education system in Niger. Moreover according to the 2004 UNDP Human Development Report. Niger is ranked 176th by the Human Development Index out of 177 countries reviewed. The last household survey conducted in 1993 found that 63 percent of the population was living below the poverty line, and 34 percent below absolute poverty line. I. CONTEXT In spite of these challenges (expanding demography, drastic economic recession, and a vast territory where the population is unequally distributed), Niger is engaged in vast reforms with a view to improving the performance of its education system and to reaching the objectives of Education For All and of Millennium Development Goals. That is the reason why the country has embarked on a 10-year Program of Education Development (PDDE) 2003-2012 This important program will contributed to reducing poverty by accelerating education, mainly young girls, reducing analphabetic and make better the quality of teaching and training.
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This program aims at improvement of access, quality, equity and universal primary education (UPE). - ACCESS The objective of this component is to improve access by increasing a better education supply -Quality This component aims to increase the completion rate in basic education. II.STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM To meet the requirements set by PDDE, training of 27,723 teachers before 2015 is envisaged, or approximately 3000 per year. Without doubt, trainers constitute a prerequisite for ensuring the good quality of basic education. Therefore, trainers should have a very good training. The analysis of training quality is essentially measured by schooling outcomes in terms of learning acquisitions proxied by the rate of success in end of cycle examination and by indicators of internal efficiency. All assessments conducted in Niger including the PASEC CONFEMEN, the MLA by UNESCO and the SEDEP by MINISTRY converge to show that the level of learning is weak and among the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the year 2000, a UNESCO monitoring of school learning in three disciplines of reading, writing and mathematics showed that only 43 percent of children had the acceptable level of

knowledge; more than half of them did not get the average grade. Their performance was below for the 18 countries of CONFEMEN which are predominantly African countries. Comparative Results of Basic Knowledge Testing, 2000 Average success rate in Reading and Writing Niger 44.2 MLA countries 53.4 Source: World Bank 2005 Average Average success rate success rate in Arithmetic in Life Skills 38.4 47.2 47.7 60.8

Quality teaching is closely linked to the performance of teachers. The performance of teachers in turn is attributable to the competence of their trainers. Unfortunately in Niger there is no policy for the training of trainers. These trainers are recruited on the basis of different academic degrees (Baccalaureate, License), without requirement of pedagogical qualification. This is the reason why the present study will focus essentially on the trainers of trainers. It is they who have a heavy responsibility to train the teachers whose important role in social, cultural and economic development is obvious. The training of teachers must be a professional training and, by consequence, must to be done by professionals. With this

perspective, the present research will focus on the profile of the trainers of trainers. III.RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following questions will serve as a guide for the present study: -Which competences must have the training of trainers to assure quality training? -What are the results of motivation lack of trainers of trainers on the trainees? -Can one assure quality training without didactic/pedagogic materials? -How inadequate continuous training of trainers of trainers can influence their prestations ? To answer these different questions, the study will articulate the following points: *Trainers of trainers - Number of trainers (male/female) - Number of years in profession - Academic training achieved - Level - Mastery of contents - Mastery of teaching technique - Mastering of evaluation methods - Utilisation of pedagoical media - Continuous training - Periodicity of meetings - Subject of meetings - Motivation *Learners ; representation of the trainers of trainers by learners *Administration
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- Absenteeism of trainers - Participation in the practice of teachers IV.PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Niger, with very limited resources and enormous challenges (strong population pressure, vast territory and extreme poverty of population), is committed to achieve the objectives of education for all. The purpose of this study then is to help bring the country to utilize its scarce resources effectively and efficiently. To realize education for all and quality education, the attention should be placed on the training of trainers. In effect, a well-trained teacher is a solution of the problems of repetition and drop-outs, and could promote the integration of school at the center. If the scholastic results are better, the school will regain the confidence of parents and as such will be more economic to the State V.GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY To analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the trainers of trainers with the aim of improving the quality of education, which is the chief concern of the ministry of basic education? Specific objectives - To analyze the classroom practice of trainers of trainers - To identify the gaps to be filled - To place at the disposition of the decision-makers data so as to establish a policy for the training of effective trainers
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- To provide the training institutions (universities) the actual needs so as to put in place an adequate program VI FIELD OF THE STUDY The study will cover the five teacher training colleges (ENI) in the country with approximately 140 trainers of trainers. VII. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches shall be employed. It is going to be based on; - Literature review - Study journey - Investigation by questionnaire - Focus group discussion - Observation of the classroom practice (observation grid and video recording of learning sequences)

-Literature review -The journey of study in one country of under area will permit some interviews with the ministry of education authorities on the educational policy and to visit an institution of training of trainers of trainers and a teachers college with a view to examine: The curricula

The skills of teaching

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The strengths and the weaknesses of teachers

- Methods: classroom observations and interviews. The data collected by the literature review and journey study will permit to develop the instruments of the study. - Interview for the schools administrations and Ministry of basic education;
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select a sample of students and to conduct focus Questionnaire to the trainers of trainers (140); Observation grid (140) and video recorded (2 lessons/

groups discussion (5 FGD);

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trainer of trainers). - Collect and analyse of data

VIII.ACTIVITIES Briefing meeting with the Ministry of basic Education, Faculty of education April 2006 teachers and JICA Niger unesco Constitute of research team Phase I Literature review Journey in others countries May-June /July 2006 Design research instruments Pretest research instruments Finalize research instruments investigate in teachers colleges Data collection Phase II Data analysis Discussion of preliminary findings to the 5 teachers colleges Phase III Write final report Discussion with Ministry of Basic Education University of Niamey, JICA Finalizing of the study January February/ march/2007 April 2007 august/September 2006

October/November/December 2006

May/June July august 2007 September 2007 October/November 2007

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IX.SIGNIFIANCE OF STUDY We hope that the findings of this study will permit on one hand to decision makers to be award of the necessity of a training of trainers policy and on the other hand the direction pre and in service training to have data to improve the quality of its services. It will permit also to the university to elaborate a relevant curriculum of pre-service basing on appropriate profile.

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