T-TEL To Deliver Paper At ICERDA 2016 On Transforming Colleges Of Education In Ghana: Educating Teachers For A Better Ghana

A panel of five Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL) team members will present a paper on significant innovations supported by T-TEL, at the second Annual International Conference on Education Research for Development in Africa (ICERDA 2016) billed to take place at the Alisa Hotel, Accra from the 3^rd-5^th October, 2016. The conference will be attended by international scholars and researchers with a strong interest and commitment to education for development in Africa that is led by Africa.

The theme of the 2^nd ICERDA conference is: “Towards a Vision of Education for Sustainable Development in Africa”. The goal of this year’s conference is to promote meaningful and equitable progress in education for sustainable development, informed by the experience of Education for All and responsive to the aspirations of the next generation of learners. The conference will reflect on stories of education development and progress in Africa since 2000 and provide an African arena to review the past and present practices and plan the future of educational investment.

This theme resonates powerfully with Ghana’s vision for education, which is fully captured by

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all”. At a National Stakeholder Forum in March 2016, the Minister of Education confirmed that ‘’if this vision is to become a reality we must dramatically improve the effectiveness of our teaching so that more young people can play their part in Ghana’s progress’’. Ghana’s policy framework, the Pre-Tertiary Teacher Professional Development and Management Policy- provides the conditions for teacher education institutions to work together to improve teaching in Ghana. T-TEL is the Government of Ghana programme, supported by UKAID, set up to support the implementation of this policy.

T-TEL’s Theory of Change is based on evidence from Ghana and West Africa that transforming learning outcomes for pupils in schools and for student teachers in Colleges of Education requires that change happens simultaneously at all levels of the system. Consequently, T-TEL supports innovations taking place at the policy level, within its national institutions, in Colleges, in partner schools, and district offices of education. Our team of presenters at ICERDA; led by T-TEL National Programme Manager, Akwasi Addae-Boahene will discuss innovations that T-TEL is supporting within the National Policy Reform agenda, in the area of institutional leadership, in Tutor Professional Development in Colleges, and through the introduction of funding mechanisms to support innovation.

The paper, will share on early evidence of impact on educational practices within Colleges of Education, and discuss their potential for sustaining an improved quality of education for children in Ghana.

About ICERDA
In 2015, an academic research partnership was established between the University of Sussex, UK and the University of Ghana, Accra. The goal was to create a unique space for new and established education researchers to meet regularly to disseminate research that addresses and develops critical discourses on education for development in Africa.

ICERDA responds to the need for an independent forum where African voices, and scholars who work with African colleagues, can share evidence based insights into educating the next generation of young Africans. We seek to promote a new balance between the stakeholders that shape public policy which privileges evidence and rational dialogue.

As the Sustainable Development Goals are adopted, it is more important than ever that the locus of control of development and the ideas that make theories of change a reality are driven by African public intellectuals who can speak truth to power.

About T-TEL
Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL) is a four year Government of Ghana programme to transform teaching and learning in Ghana, supported by UK aid. T-TEL aims to ensure that Ghana’s future teachers are equipped to deliver high quality teaching and learning in schools across the country. The Ministry of Education recognises that ‘’improving learning outcomes is the greatest challenge facing the education system’’; this cannot be addressed without effective teachers.