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Personal Introduction
University of Leeds in 2015. I have experience teaching science to students of all ages,
and have had practicum placements in Grades 2, 6 and Kindergarten. I have always
had an interest in international education and how teacher and student experiences
vary around the world. Next year, I will be teaching Grade 2 at the MiSK School in
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire with 1 Million Teachers. The organization has the goal of
spent a month visiting both public and private elementary schools and interacting with
students and teachers. I was also part of a team that planned two professional
The participants were a mix of elementary and high school teachers from low and
middle income, private, English speaking schools in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. The
participants all came from schools we had visited, so we had previously seen their
facilities and interacted with their students. Conversations with the teachers and school
administrators before the workshops informed the content that we planned for the day.
Problem of Practice and Inquiry Question
motivation. During our trip preparations and conversations before we left, I learned that
many teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa struggle to stay motivated amidst low pay, a lack
interested to see how much the participants would get out of our workshops and
whether they felt it had any impact on their motivation or capabilities as teachers.
Ultimately, motivated and capable teachers are more effective educators, which results
with the lack of high quality educational opportunities for his children in Nigeria. He
described to us the lack of respect that teachers face in many Sub Saharan countries
and the incredible challenges that they face in their careers. Many feel defeated by the
lack of funding and materials, and question how they can effectively educate their
students with little to no support. This leads to students not receiving a quality
education, at least at low and middle-income schools. During the planning stages of our
with support from fellow teachers, could have a measurable, positive effect on teacher
motivation. Through discussions with the other teacher candidates on the trip, and with
Dr. Jane Chin, we decided that the workshops should focus on ideas for engaging
students. We wanted to provide strategies that required little to no resources and that
My approach for this research was to collect feedback and information from the
first workshop to improve the second workshop. I had participants fill out a pre-
workshop survey as they registered at the beginning of the day (Appendix 1A) and then
fill out a post-workshop survey at the end of the day (Appendix 1B). The survey results
from both workshops can be found in Appendix 2. We also had the teachers complete a
KWL chart relating to student engagement strategies to assess what they learned
and give themselves a rating out of 10. We also asked them to comment on what they
think would make them a better teacher and what is one of the biggest challenges they
face as a teacher. On the post-workshop survey, we again asked them to rate their
capability so that we could assess any positive or negative impacts of our workshop.
We also asked for general feedback in terms of their favourite part of the day and any
suggestions they had for us moving forward. When analyzing the responses, I
separated comments based on the capability ratings the teachers had given themselves
to see if there was a correlation between lower/higher rating and the types of challenges
they faced.
Our first workshop was held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. In general, we found that
the participants came from lower income schools and many were skeptical of the
workshop and the value of it. We found it more challenging to engage the teachers and
have them participate in activities like games and icebreakers. Before the workshop,
teachers felt that their practice could be improved with more training programs and
ratings listed motivation as a factor that would improve their teaching. In terms of
After the workshop, the average capability rating had increased to 8.4. We
received overall positive feedback, with most suggestions being that the sessions were
too rushed. In general, the teachers found the day worthwhile and requested that more
Using feedback from our first workshop, we made changes to the layout of our
second workshop in Accra. We chose to cover less topics, and instead focus more time
on few topics and cover them at a deeper level. We found that the participants of our
Accra workshop generally came from higher income schools and were more
excited/less skeptical about the workshop than the participants from Abidjan. They were
very excited to participate in all games and activities and were very willing to try new
7.6. When commenting on what would make them a better teacher, participants in this
workshop mentioned more training, higher education and better access to technology, a
difference from the first workshop. The challenges were similar to the first workshop,
After the workshop, the average capability rating increased to a 9.1. The
feedback was generally more positive than the first workshop, with more requests to
continue the program in the future. Some specific comments mentioned that the
liked the session on using games in the classroom, positive reinforcement and
scaffolding. They commented that they were excited to begin using these strategies in
their own classrooms the following week. Several teachers also mentioned they met
new people and found new support networks with colleagues from different schools.
Africa and it Is a well documented issue. Teachers often face the challenges of low-pay,
difficult working conditions and inadequate qualifications, and these can all contribute to
Development Goals. At the base level, countries need to ensure that their teachers are
paid enough to meet their basic physical needs. Increases in salary and pay rewards
have been shown to be a key factor in improving motivation in many Sub-Saharan
Poor teacher motivation and low pay can have far-reaching negative impacts on
learning outcomes. A correlation has been shown between low levels of motivation and
poor professional behavior, such as lateness, absenteeism and laziness (Bennell &
Akyeampong, 2007). Once again, higher incentives and higher wages are
recommended as the primary fix for teacher motivation, but professional development
and teacher support networks are also recommended as ways to improve motivation
and high absenteeism rates attributed to stressful working conditions (Salifu &
Agbenyega, 2013). In an effort to address these issues, the country has implemented a
number of different schemes. These include national teaching awards, paid leave to
pursue higher education, teacher promotion schemes and community support for
African countries. A lack of motivation has been identified as a key factor in poor
Moving forward, I would love to continue running workshops in the area and
continue monitoring outcomes and feedback. We had many requests from teachers to
offer more professional development opportunities in the future. I would love to do some
larger scale research looking at the broader impacts of the work of 1 Million Teachers.
Ideally, I would like to follow participants over a longer period of time post-workshop to
see if any of the strategies we presented are actually implemented in the classroom and
what the outcomes are on student engagement and achievement. I think it would be
beneficial to survey both students and parents to see if they notice a measurable
improvement in the motivation or engagement of the teachers. I look forward to the work
that 1 Million Teachers will continue to do in the area, and I hope that I have another
This experience gave me a significant insight into some of the daily challenges
that teachers face. Though I don’t anticipate facing a lack of basic teaching materials, at
professional learning community. I could see how excited the teachers in Ghana and
Cote d’Ivoire were when we facilitated the creation of these communities and I could
see how beneficial the support was for them. I will strive to ensure that I seek out
teaching and learning. I think it is crucial for teachers to reach out to colleagues in other
parts of the world to share knowledge and advice. Even though the education systems
might be completely different in West Africa than in Canada, teachers still face the same
schools, as we might be teaching students from all over the world. Reaching out to
international colleagues can help us to understand the experiences and viewpoints that
our students are bringing into the classroom. It can help us to be culturally sensitive and
Works Cited
Bennell, P., & Akyeampong, K. (2007). Teacher Motivation in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Essex:
Department for International Development.
Salifu, I., & Agbenyega, J. S. (2013, October 31). Viewing Teacher Motivation in the Ghana Education
Service through a Postcolonial Lens. Current Issues in Education , 16 (3).
UNESCO. (2017). Teacher Support and Motivation Framework for Africa: Emerging Patterns. Addis
Ababa: UNESCO-IICBA.
Appendices
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Please see the attached Excel spreadsheet for notes from the workshops and