TEACHER EDUCATION SUPPORT STRATEGY

CONSULTANCY POSITION

TEACHER EDUCATION SUPPORT STRATEGY

VACANCY#: UNICEF/MLW/2014/001

1. BACKGROUND

The major reform in education in the past decades has been the introduction of free primary education in 1994, which resulted in a 2.8 times increase in primary school enrolments. This sudden increase in enrolment put an enormous strain on the limited physical and technical capacity of the primary education sector. A lot of efforts have been put in place to address the shortage of resources created by the sudden increase in enrolment. Such efforts have mainly focused on infrastructure development, increasing teacher output to reduce teacher pupil ratio, and educational supplies such as teaching and learning materials and school furniture. Despite such significant investments in quality inputs, several reports measuring learning outcomes consistently show poor performance amongst students. For instance, the Malawi National Early Grade Reading Midterm Assessment Report (EGRA) (2012), the Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA), and the Southern Africa Quality Education Consortium (SAQMEC) all indicated poor early grade reading and numeracy levels. Similarly, pass rates for primary school leaving exams (PSLE) have not been that satisfying. Since 2006, the overall pass rate for the Primary School Leaving Certificate in education has been declining from 74.3% to 68.9% in 2011/2012. Increasing the learning achievements as well as transition from primary to secondary education still remains a dominant challenge. Some of the underlying challenges faced by the Malawi education system include: • Unattractive classrooms • Traditional teaching methods that are predominantly teacher centered • Inadequate teaching and learning materials • Absence of an effective and sustainable teacher support system, and • A lack of teacher motivation • Inadequate infrastructure (classrooms, sanitation facilities, water points, teachers houses etc) • Large class sizes

There is need to complement current efforts with strategies that focus on classroom learning processes. Hence, a focus on teacher education may be one of the key strategies that can be used for improving quality given that nearly 80% primary schools fall below the target of effective teaching and learning (CFS baseline survey, 2012). Currently, UNICEF Malawi in conjunction with the Ministry of Education is supporting TTCs and primary school teachers to develop stimulating classrooms and teaching & learning resources from locally available materials through cluster system approach as part of making learning interesting. So far a team of 10 staff members at various levels from the ministry of education have been trained as trainers of trainers. An additional 48 staff were also trained to support the rolling out of the methodology to other schools. A cluster in Malawi is a group of about three schools within close proximity grouped for resource sharing. However, there is need for a comprehensive teacher strategy. The consultant is expected to support this process of the development of the Teacher support Strategy.

UNICEF therefore is looking for an individual consultant to support UNICEF Malawi to develop a GoM/UNICEF strategic support to teacher education and to design a developmental modular training programme for teachers based on the current Malawian situation on teacher education. The consultant will also support Teacher Training Colleges to integrate Early Child Development (ECD) and Special Needs Education (SNE) into the pre-service teacher training curriculum.

1. SCOPE OF WORK

With support from the interdepartmental technical national team and coordinated by Department of Teacher Education (DTED), University of Malawi College of Education, and Teacher Training Colleges. The specific tasks for the consultant are:

1. Conduct a situation analysis on teacher Education in Malawi to document existing context into which teachers operate. The situation analysis should include a bottleneck analysis related to teacher education in Malawi including a mapping of interventions and ongoing Continuous Professional Developments (CPDs) to determine gaps, synergies and suggest possible way forward.
2. Facilitate a participatory UNICEF/GoM strategy and Programme formulation process with all stakeholders. Specifically the selected consultant will work with stakeholders to develop a UNICEF/GoM strategy at all levels: (i) National level, (ii) TTC/District levels; (iii) School/community levels and (iv) including synergies with other Continuous Professional Development (CPD) interventions.
3. Design a developmental modular teacher training programme for both in-service and pre-service in conjunction with University of Malawi College of Education and teacher training colleges based on the identified teacher needs. This will involve determining relevant modules in a developmental continuum based on findings from the situation analysis in (1) above. For instance, in addition to the CFS Module on learner centred methodologies that includes stimulating classrooms, examples of such modules may include: a module on Life Skills based education, a module on learner centred assessment approaches in classrooms and a module on Special Needs Education;
4. Support Ministry of Education to improve learner outcomes and life skills by integrating Early Child Development and Special Needs Education (SNE) into teacher training curriculum through training of all pre-service students and 1000 in service students via 6 public TTCs to increase skills and use of improved methodologies as well as capacity for teacher innovation;
5. Develop a UNICEF/GoM school based teacher support programme based on a school cluster approach for the 10 selected districts. These districts were selected in conjunction with the Ministry of Education based on agreed education indicators. The teacher support programme should include a clear Implementation Plan of the school based UNICEF/GoM Teacher Support programme: Document outlining Implementation plan for the Teacher Education Support strategy. The implementation plan should clearly outline key players, their roles and functions in the implementation of the teacher support through school cluster system including schedule of CPD activities;
6. Define a monitoring and evaluation framework for the teacher education support. The M&E Framework should take into consideration the ongoing action research Programme that is currently implemented by the University of Malawi College of Education in Machinga district. A three year longitudinal action research commenced in October 2012. The purpose of the action research is to implement, monitor and document a needs based CFS results within the School Improvement initiative. A preliminary needs assessment report for the project area has been produced.
7. EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE

• Advanced University degree (Masters or PhD) in one of the following disciplines: Education Social Science and any other relevant fields • At least 5-10 years institutional experience with teacher education and practical experience in teacher education programming. • In depth understanding of the development, socio-economic and political context in Malawi Education system. • Experience in engaging directly with teachers in the context of research and analysis, with proven background in conducting analysis on teachers. • Understanding of the development planning frameworks in developing countries.

1. DURATION

155 working days

How to apply:

1. METHOD OF APPLICATION

Qualified candidates are requested to submit a cover letter, CV and Personal History Form (P-11 form) (which can be downloaded from our website at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_53129.html) Please indicate your daily/monthly rate to undertake the terms of reference above.

Applications should be sent on or before 26 January 2014 to the following address:hrmalawi@unicef.org

NOTE: • UNICEF is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff. Well qualified candidates, particularly females are strongly encouraged to apply. • Only shortlisted applicants will be acknowledged. • Applications sent through the post office or hand delivered is not accepted.

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