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Tessa Open Educational Resources for Teacher Education in Africa
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Research

TESSA represents a major research and development programme. The data collected from the development process provides a rich resource for research analysis. TESSA also provides a unique forum for comparative analysis of teacher education across countries and traditions. The co-operative structure of the TESSA consortium facilitates the setting-up of cross-national research into issues of general concern. The spread of electronic connectivity or the challenge of attracting teachers to remote rural postings would be two examples. Members of the TESSA consortium contribute to a wide range of national and international forums debating and researching teacher education. The TESSA website provides a meeting place for the exchange of such ideas.
The articles, documents and reports that have been generated through the TESSA consortium are made available under three headings:

  • Evaluation and trialling documentation
  • Research reports and conference publications
  • TESSA related publications

TESSA is also coordinating an in-depth, ethnographic study into the lives of teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa.

  • The TESSA Teachers’ Lives Project

 

TESSA / OLnet Fellowships

TESSA-OLnet fellowships have been launched!

Colleagues in TESSA or 'TESSA linked' institutions are now able to apply for one of the 4 fellowships looking at OERs to support Teacher Education. Please share details with colleagues in your institution and encourage them to apply.

The closing date is 20 September 2010 and we are happy to advise on any ideas for an application or draft proposal.

For more details of the fellowships follow the links below:

Guidance Note

Application Form

Referee Report

Health and Safety Form

 
Pride and Light:  Female teachers' experiences of living and working in rural Sub-Saharan Africa

The Teachers' Lives Cameo book is TESSA's attempt to air the voices of some of the many teachers working in rural and challenging environments in sub-Saharan Africa. The experiences of these teachers typify the conditions under which teachers in rural communities in Africa operate. We hope that policymakers and practitioners will listen clearly to their voices. To learn more click here

Evaluation and trialling documentation


Developmental Testing of TESSA Materials

Developmental Testing of the TESSA materials was carried out between October and December 2006 with teachers and teacher educators from Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. It was designed to ascertain views on the accessibility of the language used in the materials and the usefulness and relevance of the activities, case studies and resources (see highlights)

Trialling of TESSA Materials

The TESSA Trialling exercise was carried out with three TESSA institutions during 2007. It was designed to explore the relevance, appropriateness and usefulness of adapted and localised TESSA materials to teachers. It aimed to discover how teachers can most effectively use the TESSA materials to improve their teaching practice, and what support is necessary to maximise teacher learning (see highlights)

The Teacher Education at Mass Scale (TEAMS) Project

The Teacher Education at Mass Scale (TEAMS) Project was coordinated by the Open University, UK, the Open University of Sudan and the National Teachers’ Institute in Nigeria. A key aim was to develop greater understanding about how “maximum scale” programmes can operate to international standards of quality ( a full report will soon be available).

Developmental User-Testing of the TESSA Website

The website has undergone several phases of developmental user-testing. Teachers and teacher educators from institutions across the TESSA consortium were invited to try out and comment on different stages of the website's development to maximise appropriateness for the intended user-base (see highlights).
Research reports and conference publications

Members of the TESSA consortium have presented at a number of international conferences. A selection of papers are available below:

Rural Schools and Community Development: Considerations for the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

TESSA: An Open Educational Resource Site for Teacher Education in Africa: Abstract for E Learn Africa 2008

Building an effective ‘Open Education Resource’ (OER) Environment for Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: The TESSA Experience
TESSA related publications

Members of the TESSA consortium have contributed to several publications around teacher education, OERs and education and development. A selection of these publications are available below. This section also includes papers that are of particular interest to TESSA

Research analysis: Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers: A global overview of current policies and practices

Digital Education Enhancement Project (DEEP)

Every Child needs a Teacher: the primary teacher supply and training crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa

A Review of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Movement

Designing Open and Distance Learning for Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Toolkit for Educators and Planners
The TESSA Teachers’ Lives Project

The TESSA Programme is currently working on an ethnographic case-study project called "Teachers' Lives". This project intends to explore the lives of primary teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa. It aims to be participatory and personal and produce candid, in-depth case studies that document life both in and out of the classroom.

Teachers Lives is a multi-method study. The TESSA researcher has spent time shadowing each teacher as they go about their work and daily life. Each focus teacher has participated in three interviews throughout the study period, and kept a diary for one week. The views of other teachers and staff members are explored through both questionnaires and focus groups and, where possible local members of the community and education officials have also been interviewed. In each school, the thoughts pupils have about teachers' lives have been captured through poetry and essay writing assignments. The focus teachers were involved in planning of each stage of the field work.

Initially the project is focussing on female teachers in rural areas. So far, five teachers have been involved:

Miss Theresa Acquah from Bronyibima Primary School in Ghana's Central Region.

Mrs Bilkisu Nasir from Rigachikun II Primary School in Nigeria's Kaduna State.

Mrs Nkitsi Mene from C.M.Vellem School in Extension Five of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Mrs Esther Maina from Munyaka Primary School, near Nakuru, Kenya.

Mrs Sumyia Altag from Terriat Elbiga Girls' Primary School, Sudan.

To read more about these teachers, please click on their names above.

Ultimately this study is interested in teachers' views of themselves and their ideas about learning, and how these are affected by the contexts in which they teach and live.

Pride and Light:  Female teachers' experiences of living and working in rural Sub-Saharan Africa

The Teachers' Lives Cameo book is TESSA's attempt to air the voices of some of the many teachers working in rural and challenging environments in sub-Saharan Africa. The experiences of these teachers typify the conditions under which teachers in rural communities in Africa operate. We hope that policymakers and practitioners will listen clearly to their voices. To learn more click here

 
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