Training Professionals for Quality ECCD Practice: Lessons from the Madrasa Programme and AKF

1
Training Professionals for Quality ECCD Practice
Lessons from the Madrasa Programme and AKF

• Najma Rashid, Madrasa Programme
• Kathy Bartlett, AKF

2
Quality ECD Starts with..

• Caring, responsive adult(s) who have access to
• Training, mentoring and other supports
• Diverse learning materials that children can use
  directly and often
• Safe, secure spaces

3
Quality Training for ECCD Workers

• Requires skilled trainers grounded in ECD
  practice not just theory
• Ensures multiple opportunities for guided
  practice of new skills and knowledge which is
  built into training and the initial years of work

• Builds on positive local cultural values,
  language, beliefs and strengths
• Incorporates knowledge, skills and understanding
  that promote positive early growth, health and
  development (science- and evidence-based)

4
Training should help ECD staff to assess and
understand

• Local Community Contexts
• Needs and priorities of families and communities
• Cultural beliefs and values (e.g. language,
  stories, child-rearing practices)
• Available resources especially human but also
  material, financial (e.g. females from community
  who can be trained as ECD workers)

5
Quality Training Encourages

• Links to parents
• Reading for Children
• Inviting parents to participate in the ECD
  centres efforts
• Links with health centres
• Growth, Monitoring, etc
• Links with primary schools
• Easing transition for children
• Assisting Grade 1 teachers to use/make teaching
  and learning materials

6
The East African Madrasa Early Childhood Programme
7

• Many early childhood programmes are initiated
  without the understanding of the communities
  actual needs or consideration of culture,
  religious beliefs or traditional values. As a
  result many communities do not participate in the
  programmes as fully as expected.
• Bi Swafiya Said, First Trainer, Director and
• Co-Developer of the Madrasa Programme

8
The Madrasa Programme Key Features

• Two distinctive components- centre and
  field-based training
• Training linked closely with regular visits that
  offer mentoring (not just inspection)
• Materials development rich array using locally
  available items, resources
• Linked work with local management committee and
  parents to ensure consistency for supporting
  active learning and supports for childrens
  development

9
Observation by an External Evaluator

• The mentoring process is the mainstay of the
  teaching success in the learning programme. This
  unique feature distinguishes the training from
  other common training approaches which rely on
  course work training activities alone.

10
Ingredients of Active teaching learning

• MAMACHOLASU represents the five dimensions
• Materials,
• Manipulation,
• Choice,
• Language and
• Support of the Curriculum.

11
MRC Training Evolving to Improve Quality and
Cost-Effectiveness

• Costing-Study Undertaken for all MRCs Training
  Revised
• The MRCs in Kenya and Uganda training coincides
  with regular school holidays. Trainees attend
  3-week sessions 3 x per year. This schedule
  allows candidates to complete their training over
  one year reducing training costs and travel
  expenses. MRC staff are also able to concentrate
  on other activities during the school term.
• In Zanzibar -- the orientation runs for 2 weeks,
  6 hours each day and thereafter each Saturday
  for a whole year while on site support to all
  teachers is done once a week

12
Teacher Training Content.

• Part I Supporting Early Childhood Development
• The Child
• The Teacher
• Transition
• Inclusive Education
• The Integrated Approach
• Planning and Assessment
• Play as an Avenue to Learning
• The Learning Environment
• The Madrasa Pre-school Daily Routine
• Involving Parents and other Stakeholders

13
Teacher Training Content cont.

• Part II Essential Learning Experiences at the
  Madrasa Pre-school
• Islam
• Mathematics
• Language and Literacy
• Interacting with and Caring for the Environment
• Social and Emotional Development
• Creative Arts
• Health Education
• Music (Songs, Poetry and Movement)
• Physical Education

14
Key Features

• Peer Planning Sessions Conducted at the MRC and
  facilitated by the trainer-mentor. They ensure
  all teachers understand how to implement
  curriculum
• Teacher assessment is continuous and involves
  both written and practical aspects
• Material development, usage, storage and
  replenishment is also assessed
• Individual and team project work encouraged
• Teachers receive MRC certificates through
  achieving and demonstrating expected levels

15
Creating and Maintaining Quality

• MRCs encourage continuous teacher development and
  quality improvement
• Nurturing Lead Teachers and Head Teachers
• Developing cluster system and peer support
• Refresher courses -- minimum of 2 in a year
• Providing an avenue for professional development,
  government accreditation
• Offering employment opportunities for local women

16
Creating Sustainability and Local Support System

• Community mobilization and involvement --
  community partnership contracts
• Capacity building and sharing of roles and
  responsibilities across community and School
  Management Committees
• Collaboration with other stakeholders in the
  community towards holistic child development

17
Outreach Work Egypt, Afghanistan and other
non-madrasa teachers

• Emphasis has been on Active Learning
  methodologies, Islamic integration, importance of
  low cost/high value materials and setting up
  learning areas.
• Adapting for new contexts and settings
• Collaboration and partnerships with Government
  and other civil society organisations

18
Examples of Outreach

• Kenya collaboration and joint training with
  DICECEs, NGOs, transition work with lower primary
  teachers
• Uganda collaboration to expand use of madrasa
  approach in West Nile, Northern, Eastern Uganda
  with MoE, transition work with lower primary
  PTTCs
• Zanzibar Training other pre-school teachers and
  trainers, transition work in lower primary
  classes
• Tanzania Expansion thru collaboration with
  District Education efforts Mtwara, Lindi

19
Research Findings

• Children who attended pre-school education were
  more ready than those who stayed at home
• Children in madrasa pre-schools had stronger
  outcomes in terms of language, problem solving
• Using quality scale for pre-school environments,
  madrasa pre-schools were higher link between
  quality of environment and outcomes of children

20
Conclusions

• This programme can be adapted to fit into
  different contexts
• Adults with limited education (Grade 8 10) can
  be trained to deliver quality interventions in
  low income settings
• Mentoring linked to training, leveraging local
  resources, sustaining efforts through
  partnerships are all key

21
Other AKF ECD Programme Examples

• RCC in Pakistan works to set-up pre-school
  classes in primary schools
• Local women are teachers
• Materials
• Mother Teachers in India
• Local women work side-by-side with teachers to
  ensure transition, bring in local songs, games

• Kyrgyzstan
• Revised full-day KG to half day (serves double
  the children)
• Summer yurt KGs for nomads
• Reading for children
• mini-libraries
• Parents, other family members encouraged to look
  at and/or read books they bring home. It helps
  newly literate parents and older siblings