1. A Cluster Training Approach In-service teacher training in Ethiopia

2. Educational Challenges • A nearly 40% increase in Gross Enrollment Rate over the seven-year period of the Basic Education Strategic Overhaul (BESO I) • Large (enormous) class sizes in early primary grades - 130 students • Up to 60% drop-out rates in some schools between grades 1 & 2. • Teachers who are overwhelmingly using the “chalk and talk” methodology

3. Improving Teacher Quality • BESO II - USAID/Ethiopia’s Basic Education Strategic Objective focuses on improving • The quality and equity of primary education. • Teacher education -- through improved pre-service and in-service training is a critical component of BESO (Intermediate Result 1)

4. Balancing Pre-Service/In-Service • Pre-service is critical but will impact a minority of the teaching force • In-service is critical to improving educational quality • School administrators and other educational management levels need to be engaged

5. Improving Teacher Education • 123,000 public primary school teachers in Ethiopia • 85% rural/agrarian - dependent on subsistence agriculture • A country that is roughly twice the size of Texas or 1.1 million sq km • 13.2 million children of primary school age

6. BESO I - Piloting of Clusters • Piloting began in the last two years of BESO I -- 14,200 teachers reached in 2001/2 year • Provided resource materials and training kits for two regions of Ethiopia - Tigray and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) • Models “localized” within each region by Regional Education Bureaus (REBs)

7. The BESO II Cluster System • BESO now nation-wide -- active in 8 geographic regions, and 3 administrative zones. • Cluster model important than ever to reach large numbers of teachers using a cost-effective approach • Goal in in-service training is to reach about 58,000 serving teachers by the end of the SO in 2007, to improve teaching quality, using a cascade or ToT model

8. The Goals of Cluster Training • Assist teachers implement new curricula and policies • Encourage experience-sharing, collaborative problem-solving, and peer teaching; • Provide a forum and venue where teachers can work together on skills development through self-instructional kits • Engage other levels of educational management

9. The Mechanics… • The “central” cluster school -- called the Cluster Resource Center (CRC) -- is selected with REBS based on set criteria, which include: • Complete primary school (Grades 1-8) • Central location • Appropriate facilities to accommodate teachers from up to seven “satellite” schools • Strong, qualified, and enthusiastic teachers • Good resource materials (library, pedagogical center, etc.) - supplemented by USAID

10. CRC Coordinating Committee • Composed of all schools’ directors, key teachers, and woreda education officers. • plans CRC activities • identifies specific training needs (in collaboration with teachers) • develops strategies to improve community engagement, girls enrollment, and address other educational challenges • works to constantly improve functioning of cluster

11. Key Teacher • Serves as “in-house” trainer in each school • Has a reduced teaching load • Provides training and support to fellow teachers • Conducts classroom obervations and provides “coaching” • Organizes discussions on specific educational topics to improve teacher skills

12. Tier 1 (TOT) training… • School directors, key teachers, and woreda education officers are trained by staff from AED, the REBs, and Teacher Education Institutes. • Training methodologies are learner-centered, participatory, and focused on group activities so that these approaches are “modeled” in their own training.

13. Cluster Training Topics • Using interactive learning approaches • Applying continuous assessment • Preparation and use of teaching aids • Self-contained classroom methodologies • Integrated lesson plans • Encouraging girls’ classroom participation

14. Self-Instructional Kits • A six-module instructional kit, developed by AED, is distributed to each cluster school • Focuses on: • active learning methodologies (and how to implement them in a large class setting) • using continuous assessment to enhance learning • basic concepts of remediation • gender issues on the classroom • curriculum integration

15. Achievements/Results • Government has adopted model as policy • Increased use of learner-centered teaching approaches, active-learning and increased student engagement • Greater collegiality and joint problem-solving amongst teachers • Improved girls’ retention • School directors/WEOs more engaged/skills improved

16. Challenges • Incentives … not connected to certification or improved chances for promotion • Per diem • Sustainability -- regional governments need to create matching budget • Capacity of some woreda education offices is rather weak