Finding Learning in Teaching : Eritrean primary teacher educators' perspectives on implementing learner-centered and interactive pedagogies

Eritrea has given an increasing policy emphasis on implementing learner-centered interactive pedagogies (LCIP) at all levels of the education system. However, both teachers and teacher educators struggle with implementation of matching school practices. This study attempts to identify some of the gaps between the objectives set in the National Education Policy of the State of Eritrea and the everyday practices observable at the educational institutions. The focus of the analysis is on examining data from teacher educators at the Asmara Community College of Education. The international exposure and collaboration with Finnish education experts has been appreciated by the teacher educators as …

Collaborative professional practice for strengthening teacher educator identities in Eritrea

Strengthening the identities of teacher educators is critical to quality teacher education and implementing change in the education sector. This study examines the professional identities of Eritrean teacher educators and how these identities can be strengthened through collaborative professional practice in a challenging context currently under reform. The focus is on the professional capacity building activities at the College of Education in Eritrea, which were implemented in collaboration with Finnish education partners. The paper reports on findings from an action-research informed study of a semester-long series of professional development seminars and an interview study with individu…

Global connectedness in higher education : student voices on the value of cross-cultural learning dialogue

The study explores how sense of global connectedness can be enhanced by creating opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue in higher education. Thematic analysis of randomly selected 15 learning journals, students’ reflections on their learning during an international seminar was used to identify students’ significant learning experiences. The results emphasise the added value of diversity (geographical, disciplinary, cultural and social) among students, faculty and invited presenters for creating meaningful learning. Furthermore, they suggest that designing an integrated approach of contents, contexts and activities for critical engagement in global dialogue and knowledge generation in hig…

Modes of Study Handbook for Students and Educators

The aim of this handbook is to support the further development of multilingual and multimodal approaches to academic study at JYU. This handbook has been developed within the Faculty of Education and Psychology as part of the Creating Space pedagogical development project during the 2019-2020 academic year, drawing on and developing existing study guides by JYU . We hope, however, that this handbook is useful beyond our Faculty and that it adds language and cultural considerations to the existing study guides. We have provided brief explanations of different types of assignments and academic activities that are part of academic study and relevant to teaching in higher education. We have als…

Modes of Study Handbook for Students and Educators

The aim of this handbook is to support the further development of multilingual and multimodal approaches to academic study at JYU. This handbook has been developed within the Faculty of Education and Psychology as part of the Creating Space pedagogical development project during the 2019-2020 academic year, drawing on and developing existing study guides by JYU . We hope, however, that this handbook is useful beyond our Faculty and that it adds language and cultural considerations to the existing study guides. We have provided brief explanations of different types of assignments and academic activities that are part of academic study and relevant to teaching in higher education. We have als…

The meanings of differentiated instruction in the narratives of Eritrean teachers

The principles of inclusive education largely accepted by governments of different countries require differentiated classroom instruction to meet the diverse needs of individual students. Despite this, teachers have differing experiences and understandings about implementing differentiated instruction (DI) and heterogeneous classrooms. This narrative study aimed at exploring the meanings of DI in the Eritrean context, where teachers are not explicitly familiar with the concept, although their teaching practices reflect some level of differentiation. The research data consisted of 17 narrative interviews with Eritrean mathematics and science teachers. The results of the narrative analysis sh…

Exploring the conditions of English language education through the experience of Eritrean Sophomore English language learners and teachers

This study addresses the little studied context of English language education in Eritrea. Despite the teaching of English as a subject and the forward-looking mother tongue policy implemented in Eritrean elementary education, Eritrean students struggle to cope with English as the medium of instruction from the start of junior school to the end of tertiary education. This qualitative study analyses sixteen sophomore student interviews and six teacher interviews to critically explore the conditions of English language education in Eritrea. Using an ecological perspective, the findings from this study highlight how the affective, didactic, study and linguistic conditions interrelate with one a…

Research to engage voices on the ground in educational development

The article discusses how a variety of qualitative methods could be used for investigating the engagement of the voices on the ground, where the change is expected to happen. It also reviews how qualitative research approaches involve students and teachers, the so-called “target groups” of educational development, as subjects, rather than objects. The qualitative methods are presented here for their potential in engaging the voices on the ground. Actor-centred inquiry and participatory action research consist of data collected, analysed and reported, in collaboration between researchers and the research subjects. Enabling the subjects as autonomous actors to take part in the analysis of the…

The Use of Question Modification Strategies to Differentiate Instruction in Eritrean Mathematics and Science Classrooms

This qualitative study aimed at examining the question modification strategies Eritrean elementary and middle school teachers used to differentiate their instruction and meet the diversity in the classroom as well as the functions these strategies served in classroom interactions. The research data consisted of videotaped recordings (N = 11 videotaped lessons) of classroom interactions in eight mathematics and science classrooms, which were analysed through interaction analysis. The findings showed that Eritrean teachers utilised the following five question modification strategies either independently or in combination: repetition; rephrasing; clarification; decomposition; and code-switchin…

Exploring global responsibility in higher education students’ cross-cultural dialogues

This study engages with current debate around global education and internationalization of higher education(HE). There is an identified need to critically reflect on how global education commitments are introduced to HE students, and how the debates are brought to individual as well as institutional levels. The study explores how students in a Finnish university develop their understanding of global education, citizenship and potential dispositions towards global responsibility. The students participated in an international seminar on the global Education for All (EFA) process, with purposefully planned participatory activities and cross-cultural dialogues, and reflected on their learning a…

Opiskelijan ja opettajan opas monipuoliseen yliopisto-opiskeluun

Oppaan tarkoituksena on tukea monikielisen ja multimodaalisen (monikanavaisen/monimediaisen) opiskelun kehittämistä Jyväskylän yliopistossa. Se on laadittu JY:n kasvatustieteiden ja psykologian tiedekunnassa osana Kieli- ja kulttuuritietoisen oppimisen tilat -hanketta lukuvuoden 2019–2020 aikana, ja siinä on hyödynnetty ja kehitetty edelleen JY:n muita opinto-oppaita . Opas on yleishyödyllinen, koska se lisää kieli- ja kulttuurinäkökulmia aiemmin laadittuihin opinto-oppaisiin. Mukana on kuvauksia erityyppisistä tehtävistä ja aktiviteeteista, jotka kuuluvat korkeakouluopiskeluun ja -opetukseen. Lisäksi opas sisältää hyödyllisiä vinkkejä opiskelijoille ja opettajille, ehdotuksia eri kielten k…

Eritrean teachers' perceptions of learner-centred interactive pedagogy

In most sub-Saharan African countries, mainstreaming learner-centred interactive pedagogy (LCIP) is defined as a policy priority. Similarly, Eritrea has adopted the same policy to seek a solution to its educational challenges. Rather than rote mastery of course content, the LCIP approach prioritises learners in constructing knowledge through interaction, active participation and controlling the learning process. This paper explores secondary school teachers' perceptions of LCIP and their challenges in implementing this pedagogical approach. Constructivism and sociocultural learning theory are considered conceptual frameworks to highlight LCIP as an approach for teaching and learning. Qualit…

Opiskelijan ja opettajan opas monipuoliseen yliopisto-opiskeluun

Oppaan tarkoituksena on tukea monikielisen ja multimodaalisen (monikanavaisen/monimediaisen) opiskelun kehittämistä Jyväskylän yliopistossa. Se on laadittu JY:n kasvatustieteiden ja psykologian tiedekunnassa osana Kieli- ja kulttuuritietoisen oppimisen tilat -hanketta lukuvuoden 2019–2020 aikana, ja siinä on hyödynnetty ja kehitetty edelleen JY:n muita opinto-oppaita . Opas on yleishyödyllinen, koska se lisää kieli- ja kulttuurinäkökulmia aiemmin laadittuihin opinto-oppaisiin. Mukana on kuvauksia erityyppisistä tehtävistä ja aktiviteeteista, jotka kuuluvat korkeakouluopiskeluun ja -opetukseen. Lisäksi opas sisältää hyödyllisiä vinkkejä opiskelijoille ja opettajille, ehdotuksia eri kielten k…

Enabling and constraining family: young women building their educational paths in Tanzania

For an increasing number of African girls and women, upgrading the level of education has become a strategy for life improvement. This paper analyses the role that family plays in enabling women's education and contributes to understanding on the interconnectivity of education, work and family in women's lives in collective societies. The analysis focuses on how young Tanzanian women perceive the role of family and education in their ‘youth task’, of becoming adult. The analysis is based on interviews with seven young Tanzanian women enrolled in non-formal secondary education and nine professional women enrolled in higher education. The results show that the women were determined to pursue …

How Do Higher Education Students Negotiate Global Responsibility in Education?

The significance of student voice: female students’ interpretations of failure in Tanzanian secondary education

Abstract: In Tanzania, the national examinations are used as the primary tools for selection and transition from lower to upper secondary education. Female students are more likely to fail in the national exams and to drop out from education. This article examines the perspectives of female students concerning their advancement in secondary education. Two sets of qualitative data, responses to a research questionnaire from 100 female lower secondary school students and follow-up interviews with seven mature students enrolled in a non-formal school who had failed in the national examinations, were analysed to identify critical issues influencing the educational advancement of female students…