Teacher Training and Pedagogy in Africa

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the qualifications and the kinds of training provided to teachers in the elementary and secondary levels of education in Africa. It highlights available training, it equally presents models that can be incorporated in preparing teachers to include technologies in classrooms. The training modalities include both at the teacher preparatory colleges and short seminars and workshops provided by companies or organizations deploying educational technologies in Africa. Additionally, data on teacher training data obtained during the author's 2010 research in Nigeria and Ghana also enriched this chapter. The chapter also reviews, albeit not in full detail, the curriculum and pedagogy of African elementary and secondary schools as it relates to new educational technology. Several studies geared toward improving education technology implementation in Sub-Saharan Africa all emphasized the need for teacher training. I add that every educational technology design process including the implementation and evaluation ought to involve the teachers and education administrators who design and teach the curriculum. The central focus of such negotiation should be to question to what extent the intended technology improves pedagogy not only from the student's perspective, but equally considering how malleable teachers can incorporate it in classrooms. Often such negotiation calls for a compromise; © The Author(s) 2020 B. A. Ezumah, Critical Perspectives of Educational Technology in Africa, Digital Education and Learning, https://doi.