Teacher In-Service Training and Development

For the charity's work to be of lasting value it is essential that the local primary school teachers are well-trained. The charity built Mshiri Teachers' Resource Centre in 2000 and it now serves eight primary schools and provides:

• help to teachers in teaching English
• seminars on teaching techniques
• library and video facilities
• regular visits to the schools to help the teachers with their lessons
• books, posters and science equipment which are loaned out to primary schools

The centre employs local Tanzanian staff. We need as volunteers experienced teachers who can assist the local teachers with teaching methods, and particularly with the teaching of English. We also need funds so that we can run more courses and seminars.

This work is vital. Having better trained teachers leads to improved teacher confidence, more effective lessons and greater pupil participation.

The charity has embarked on a programme of 'whole school development'. This multi-faceted approach to improving the quality of education for primary school children has evolved from the charity's work in primary schools in the last 10 years. The programme is being run as a long-term initiative with the agreement of the District Education Office for Moshi Rural District.

The programme involves in-service teacher-training in teaching methods, training for headteachers in managing their workload and administrative duties and in creating a staff team with delegated duties, working with school committees to address their responsibilities and how they can best be undertaken, and working with parents and the community to create greater awareness of the education of village children and the needs of the local school.

Additionally, it involves working with district education officers and chief inspectors of schools to help them to play an active role in recommending changes for the improvement of the primary education sector as a whole.

See some examples of our educational development work.