Strengthening Primary School Teacher Professional Development in Tanzania: Generating Evidence for Policy and Practice (STEP-STUDY)
How has the introduction of competency-based curricula changed primary education in Tanzania, and how can the professionalisation of teachers be strengthened?
A study on teacher professionalisation and classroom practice in Tanzanian primary schools
To equip learners with essential competencies such as 21st-century and sustainability skills, Tanzania introduced a Competence-based Curriculum (CBC) in primary schools and teacher education colleges in 2005 and 2009, respectively (MoEST, 2019). Achieving this goal requires well-prepared teachers with both the necessary skills and the pedagogical expertise to nurture the same abilities in learners. However, most existing research in Tanzania has focused on secondary education, while studies on primary school teachers remain limited in scale and geographic coverage. This large-scale, systematic study seeks to fill that gap by extensively studying primary school teachers’ professionalisation in Tanzania. The STEP-study maps and analyses how competence-based approaches are translated into teacher professionalisation and classroom practice in Tanzanian primary education. It brings together several interlinked sub-studies, including a large-scale teacher survey, to generate robust, evidence-based insights at multi-level system. The focus is on the implementation of the Competence-based Curriculum in primary schools and teacher professionalisation, with particular attention to critical 21st-century skills and cross-cutting issues such as values, diversity, inclusion, sustainability and digitalisation.
A multi-level study to generate evidence to transform policy and practice
The study aims to generate robust, evidence-based insights at multi-level system. The focus is on the implementation of the Competence-based Curriculum (CBC) in primary schools, teacher professionalization and policy. By identifying systemic misalignments between teacher preparation, curriculum requirements and classroom practices, the study aims at identifying evidence-based recommendations to strengthen teacher education frameworks and continuous professional development, improve the quality and fidelity of CBC implementation in primary schools, and inform national policy reform in Tanzania and possibly other East African countries.
First east-african large-scale teacher survey
The STEP study uses a mixed-methods design, integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches to provide a holistic understanding of teacher professionalism in Tanzania. Policy documentation Review aims at examining the integration of issues related to CBC, sustainability, inclusion, diversity, 21st century skills (4C), digitalisation, values, citizenship, ethics, LLLs tasks etc, of all education policy documents in primary schools in Tanzania. The study aims to generate robust, evidence-based insights at multi-level system. The focus is on the implementation of the Competence-based Curriculum (CBC) in primary schools, teacher professionalization and policy.
Structured surveys are administered to a representative sample of pre-service teachers (n=2,500) and primary school teachers (n=4,000) across multiple regions, generating descriptive evidence on teaching practices and testing models underpinning competence-based curriculum implementation following a cluster-sample design. Novice teachers and upgrading in-service teachers are oversampled to capture early-career and upgrading trajectories in greater depth. School context is assessed through a survey of head teachers (n=400). All survey instruments are linked to the OECD TALIS 2024 (Teaching and Learning International Survey), enabling comparison of teacher characteristics, working conditions, professional practices and professional identity in a global perspective. To examine preparedness, competences, beliefs, classroom practices and perceptions of meso- and macro-level influences, context-sensitive indicators have been developed and adapted. In-depth interviews with key education stakeholders, policy makers and heads of teacher education institutions provide deeper insight into the contextual factors shaping teacher professionalisation in Tanzania. A systematic review of teacher educators’ approaches and resources across all 18 teacher education institutions offers evidence on the quality and coherence of teacher preparation. In addition, secondary analysis of the national database on school and teacher professional development needs, compiled by the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government, sheds light on the effectiveness of recent teacher professional development reforms This study is the first large-scale investigation of teacher professionalisation in East Africa, generating comprehensive data. It produces a unique dataset that will advance education research in the region and support evidence-informed policy and practice
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Management at the University of Graz
Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Heike Wendt
+43 316 380 - 2554
Institut für Bildungsforschung und PädagogInnenbildung
https://bildungsforschung.uni-graz.at/de/