TEACHER EDUCATION IN AFRICA

In this chapter, teacher education in Africa generally, and in Liberia specifically is examined. The topical areas of discussion in this review are (1) the training and qualification of teachers, (2) the recruitment and retention of teachers, (3) the curriculum for teacher education, and (4) the quality of instructors in teacher education programs.

The Training and Qualification of Teachers

The training and qualification of teachers was reviewed in two contexts. First, the preservice training of teachers was considered, and, second, inservice training for teachers was considered.

PreService Training and Qualification

Preservice teacher education is the responsibility of ministeries of education in SubSaharan African countries (Draper, 1969, p. 23). In many of these countries, the

38preserviceeducation for primary schools teachers is separate from that for secondary school teachers (Draper, 1969, p. 24). In many SubSaharan African countries, individuals trained to be primary school teachers are not required to have completed their own secondary school education prior to receiving training for duties as primary school teachers (Draper, 1969, p. 24). In Tanzania, as an example, an individual who has completed prima

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llege, thus, are more demanding than are those at the University of Liberia, as is true with respect to applicants for primary school teacher education programs. Few applicants to either the University of Liberia or the Cuttington University College, however, pass all sections of the entrance examinations at either institution. One result of 46this situation, of course, is the low output of graduates. The University of Liberia attempts to compensate for this situation through conditional admission, with the result that many unqualified students eventually graduate as teachers (Florida State University, Howard University, Institute for International Research, and State University of New York at Albany, 1986, p. 44). The seriousness of this situation is exemplified by the 1980 data for the University of Liberia. In that year, only 3.6 percent of the applicants attained the minimum passing score of 50 percent on the English section of the entrance examination, and the minimum 20 percent passing score on the mathemetics section (Florida State University, Howard University, Institute for International Research, and State University of New York at Albany, 1986, p. 45). Both the University of Liberia and the Cuttington Univers
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Approximate Word count = 5454
Approximate Pages = 22 (250 words per page)

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