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Since gaining independence from South Africa in 1990, Namibia has placed considerable emphasis on education, including adult learning. As a means of improving the quality of adult learning, the Namibian Ministry of Education commissioned the development of national standards in 2010 to express competency requirements for adult educators. Particular attention was paid to the views of adult learners who participated through 30 focus groups. The participatory process revealed that the work of an adult educator is more complex and demanding than had previously been appreciated. The required competencies were categorised under four headings: (1) knowledge as an adult educator; (2) practice as an adult educator; (3) relationships as an adult educator; and (4) ethics and professionalism as an adult educator. The Namibia Qualifications Authority, acting under its legislative mandate of setting occupational standards for occupations, jobs, posts and positions, approved the national standards in 2011.

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This article reports on the relationship between seven factors that described dimensions of education service quality and overall service quality on one hand, and students' satisfaction with the professional teacher development programmes by distance mode in a South African university on the other. We sought to find out whether students enrolled in the Advanced Certificate in Education and National Professional Diploma in Education academic programmes offered by distance mode by the School of Continuing Education were satisfied with the quality of the service delivery. We were also interested in finding out the factors that contributed most to students' satisfaction with the academic programme delivery. The dependent variable in this study was held to be the overall student satisfaction and the independent variable was the education service quality that measured the level of students' satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the service performance. The sample consisted of 313 respondents randomly selected from a population of 916 students enrolled in the school. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire that was tested for validity and reliability. The major finding was that the correlation coefficients of all the clustered quality dimensions and student satisfaction were significantly correlated at 95 per cent confidence level (i.e. P=.05, meaning that the students were largely satisfied). The implication of this correlation is that all service quality dimensions were significantly correlated with student satisfaction as well as significantly correlated with themselves, and this was deemed as good enough for an academic programme that is delivered by distance mode.

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The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has highlighted a 'vicious cycle of decline' in rural, regional and remote (RRR) regions, with significant inequalities in educational outcomes between rural and urban areas. However, interventions have not resulted in transformative or lasting improvements to education in rural contexts. This paper presents a cross-comparative country analysis of current global policy on RRR education. We used a policy analysis framework to interrogate national policy texts concerning teacher education for RRR contexts in three countries - Australia, South Africa and Mexico.

A rigorous selection process of the literature yielded 17 key policy texts, which were examined for the influences, practices, language and outcomes relating to teacher education preparation for RRR locales. Findings highlighted a legacy of historical influences and a metrocentric bias in policy texts, with limited examples of assets-based education. We argue that these factors may be perpetuating the significant and persistent disadvantage in RRR education. We recommend an alternative policy discourse that recognises the productivities and potentialities of an assets-based approach within the local context, where school leaders and teachers are positioned as central change agents in RRR education.

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This article focused on the training needs of serving teachers for the enhancement of school performances. It sought to achieve this by involving a selected group of teachers and head teachers in the completion of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was reinforced by interviews conducted with a few teachers and head teachers. The study concluded that for teacher development programs to achieve their intended goal of improving the teaching and learning processes, they should of necessity be based on the actual problems teachers encounter in the classroom. Not only should in-service programs target teachers, but head teachers also need training on an ongoing basis to strengthen their managerial capacities.

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On entering the teaching profession, beginner teachers in South Africa are expected to comply with requirements underlying the National Policy Framework for teacher education in South Africa (NPF 2006). These requirements are stipulated as follows: A teacher needs to be a specialist in a particular learning area, subject or phase; a specialist in teaching and learning; a specialist in assessment; a curriculum developer; a leader, administrator and manager; a scholar and lifelong learner; and a professional who plays a community, citizenship, and pastoral role. Recent studies have however revealed that there are many concerns among newly appointed teachers about their readiness to fulfil these roles. This has lead us to do an explorative investigation in an effort to re-position the capabilities of beginner teachers. The qualitative data extrapolated from a literature investigation, teacher education policy and semi-structured interviews will guide us in formulating findings, pertinent to establishing a support strategy in what they deem as the most challenging aspects in and around the classroom. The investigation is underpinned by Sen's (1980) capabilities approach which offers a yet unexplored lens through which to understand the importance of supporting beginner teachers to think critically and creatively, solve problems, make informed decisions, cope with and manage new situations, and communicate effectively in order to deal with new situations as it may arise in the classroom on a daily basis (Maarman 2009, 321).

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The man who uses yesterday's formula in today's world will not be in business tomorrow. This statement buttresses the fact that we live in a rapid changing world such that whatever knowledge and skills teachers acquired in their pre-service training becomes stale very fast as new challenges and realities emerge in the socio-economic and political environment. In this respect, professional development serves to bridge the gap between the present and the future. This paper sets out to examine teachers' accessibility to professional development as a tool for sustainable development. The study found that for most teachers, training ends as soon as they graduate. No opportunities exist for updating and enhancing their knowledge and skills in order to improve their classroom practice. Findings also revealed that government-sponsored in-service training workshops and seminars for pre-primary school teachers are very few and irregularly organized.

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The content-based teacher education program in Zambia separates theory and practice and compartmentalises each curriculum area and develops it as a separate entity. This artificial division of the primary teacher-education program into a growing number of components has resulted in the overloading of the curriculum, increasing pressure on students, overlap and repetition, and the inability of teacher education to prepare student teachers for the reality of work in schools. Growing dissatisfaction from a range of stakeholders has resulted in calls for the establishment of competence curricula and a competence-based primary teacher education program in Zambia. This article details the competence-based teacher education approach suggested as a better alternative to the existing content-based program. Show less

The IIZ/DVV held a conference on 'The training of adult educators: experiences and expectations' in Cape Town from 11 to 13 April 2005. Some 50 experts from Africa, Asia and Europe took part, including two IIZ/DVV headquarters staff and the five project leaders from Africa, Central Asia and Poland. The conference focused on the findings of research into initial and continuing training of adult educators in six sub-regions of Africa and Asia-Pacific, and on presentation and discussion of the TEACH Project in Europe. The following paper is that given by the IIZ/DVV. The importance of training more adult educators to support the goals of Education for All (EFA) and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) is highlighted. IIZ/DVV is committed to supporting adult education in developing countries and acknowledges the importance of supporting the organisational structures and professional capacities of education and training providers in underpinning this work. The paper reflects on IIZ/DVV experiences of recent years and examines progress in light of MDG goals and EFA priorities.

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Although the use of digital technologies in teacher education has reached advanced stages in the developed world, it is still in its infancy in many developing countries, including Uganda. In their struggle to advance the use of digital technologies in teaching, educators face various challenges that prevent the successful adoption of such technologies in the classroom. This study explores the motivation and material accessibility challenges that art and design (A&D) educators in Uganda encounter when teaching with digital technologies and examines how they cope with these challenges.

To address the research question, the study adopts a descriptive case study design that seeks to document the participants' accounts. Semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations were employed to collect data from teacher educators (TEs) and administrators (ADs) in two teacher training institutions (TTIs) in Uganda. The findings indicate that A&D TEs face accessibility challenges relating to motivation and material access. The educators use various strategies to cope with the existing challenges including peer support, continual practice, improvisation, lobbying for technical and financial support, and advocating for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD).

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The Federal Government of Nigeria has realized that low educational quality has negative implications for sustainable national development, hence her commitment to develop national policies and national curriculum for teacher education to improve the quality of education (including music education). This article observes improvement in the preparation of musician-teachers as absolutely imperative to move modern music education as a field in the direction for continued growth. It traces out a historical past and explores present-day circumstances by analyzing and critiquing the National Commission for Colleges of Education's document - Approved Minimum Academic Standards for Music. As the document is based on exogenous paradigms, it is argued that it cannot produce the change agent in the Nigerian musician-teacher. A reconceptualization of music teacher curriculum that is socioculturally sensitive is suggested for colleges of education in Nigeria as a way of moving it toward developing sound, effective, and creative musician-teachers.

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