REFORM OF THE TEACHING PROFESSION IN NICARAGUA

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REFORM OF THE TEACHING PROFESSION IN NICARAGUA
NEW APPROACHES TO POLICY AND PRACTICE FOR
TEACHER EDUCATORS IN THE AMERICAS

• Presentation for University of Trinidad and
  Tobago
• Ministry of Education and the OAS
• By Nidia Mejia-Arias
• September 2006

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CURRENT SITUATION REGARDING TEACHER EDUCATION
WITHIN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF NICARAGUA

• The Ministry of Education, Culture, and
• Sports is responsible for teacher education
  at
• the primary school level provided in
  thirteen
• teacher colleges 8 public, 3 private, 2
  subsidized
• The level of training is for middle education.
• Entrance to the Normal schools is for
• -high school graduates and lasts 2 years
• - Basic cycle lasts 3 years
• Degree Master of Primary Education with an
  emphasis in teaching regular primary education

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IMPORTANT ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE MINISTRY IN
TRANSFORMING EDUCATION

• With the intention of offering a quality
  education, we
• have undertaken the following
• National Education Plan 2001-2005
• Transformation of General Basic Education
• MECS education policies (2004)
• Policy Nº 1 Structural transformation to create
  a quality education system.
• Lines of Action
• - Improving teaching conditions
• - Instituting programs for continued training
  and professionalization
• - Transforming teacher training colleges into
  higher
• education institutions

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JUSTIFYING REASONS FOR REFORMING THE TEACHING
PROFESSION IN NICARAGUA

• 1. Initial teacher training does not make
  teachers sufficiently knowledgeable of new
  methodologies.
• Training from evaluation to teaching position and
  professional development was not well
  articulated.
• The transformation of primary education was based
  in competency.
• Training generally does not address different
  modalities for Nicaraguan primary education.
• 5. The current system does not take into
  account quality within primary education, which
  is necessary to meet the needs of Nicaraguan
  society.

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JUSTIFYING REASONS FOR REFORMING THE TEACHING
PROFESSION IN NICARAGUA

• 6. Level of training middle education, does not
  last long enough nor has enough depth.
• 7. Teacher educators from teacher colleges are
  from middle education.
• 8. Training is not contextualized to respond to
  the realities of rural schools in Nicaragua.
• 9. Training not linked to the continuous and
  systemized supervision
• 10. Training provides little, if any preparation
  or
• abilities for life and work.

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ADVANCES IN THE PROCESS OF TEACHER EDUCATION
REFORM IN NICARAGUA SINCE THE YEAR 2000

• Defining and outlining the Master of Primary
  Education (CECC)
• Improving teacher training curriculum as a rule
  for educational standards.
• Introducing a process of specialization for
  teacher educators and for directors of teacher
  colleges.
• Transforming intercultural and bilingual training
  curriculum in the Atlantic Coast.
• Studying the feasibility of institutionalizing
  teacher training at the higher education level.
• Participating in constructing a New Model of
  Initial Teacher Training in Central America (with
  the OAS).

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COMPONENTS OF THE PROCESS OF REFORMING THE
TEACHING PROFESSION-2006

• Academic (European Union)
• Jurisdictional (European Union)
• Economic-Financial (European Union)
• Technical Assistance
• Study of offereings and needs for teaching
  careers
• (IBD)

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ACADEMIC Constructing a new pedagogical model
for initial teacher training at the tertiary
education level in Nicaragua

• Outline Base for drop-outs
• - Based upon competencies.
• - Emphasizes educational transformation of
  primary
• education.
• - Compatibility of transforming initial teacher
  training
• within Central America.
• Designing Curricular Base
• - Designing flexible competencies that
  prepares for
• teaching in different contexts with
  continued levels of
• specialization
• - Plans and programs of study having
  different
• entrance requirements, to reach the same
  title of Professor of Primary Education

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JURISDICTIONAL Study of Legal Rules that support
Initial Teacher Training at the Tertiary Level in
Nicaragua

• Components of a study
• 1. A collection of laws passed which regulate
  initial teacher training at the primary education
  level.
• 2. Analysis of changes, conventions, national
  and
• international legal channels that Minstry can
  use to institutionalize initial teacher training
  at the
• tertiary education level.
• 3. Propose a new legal rule for initial teacher
• training at the tertiary level.

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ECONOMIC-FINANCIAL Study of the financial
implications for MECS in carrying out Initial
Teacher Training at the Tertiary Level

• Sources for financial support, realistic budgets,
  and future implications.
• Increasing institutional budgets in order to
  reconcile salaries.
• Costs of developing human resources.
• Costs of investing in physical restructuring and
  didatic materials for teacher colleges (reference
  study).
• Costs of technical assistance needed in order to
  transfer the role of teacher colleges to higher
  education institutions.

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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Building up higher
education institutions and implementing new
pedagogical models at the tertiary level

• Propose a model to transfer teacher training to
  higher education institutions.
• An operative plan to build up new models of
  initial teacher education at the tertiary level.
• Examining and Accompanying the implementation of
  action plans, taking into account international
  experiences.

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CHALLENGES IN THE COMING YEARS

• Training educational supervisors and directors
• Certify 7,321 teachers in primary education
• Implementing the transformation of normal schools
  into tertiary institutions
• Create a national system of initial teacher
  training, professional development, and
  evaluation
• Teachers specializing in rural education
• Continue to strengthen initial teacher education
  and scientific research in Central America

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• Thank you for your attention
• And support for initial teacher education in
  Nicaragua