Open Education Resources and Teacher Professional Development in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges
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Abstract
Recently, Open Educational Resources (OER) have gained increased attention for their potential and promise to obviate demographic, economic, and geographic educational boundaries and to promote life-long learning and personalised learning. The rapid growth of OER provides new opportunities for teaching and learning, at the same time, they challenge established views about teaching and learning practices in higher education. The challenge is to ensure a well-prepared, engaged, and committed corps of teachers in sufficient numbers, whilst working within budgetary and infrastructure constraints. In developing countries this challenge is amplified by the significant numbers of un- and under-qualified teachers; these teachers urgently need access to professional development opportunities. Across sub-Saharan Africa the minimum level of qualification required for teachers varies, but these standards are generally lower in sub-Saharan Africa than in other regions. Even so only four countries report all teachers meeting their requirements (UNESCO, 2006).This paper provides the background to the current development of and future trends around OER aimed at adding to our understanding. The challenges to teacher educators in sub-Saharan Africa are acute. This paper describes how the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) consortium is working within institutional and national policy systems to support school-based teacher professional development. designed and produced a bank of open educational resources (OERs) to guide teachers’ classroom practices in school-based teacher education.. The paper concludes by outlining success factors for the integration of OERs: accessibility, adequate resources, support for teachers, accommodation of local cultural and institutional practices, and sustainable funding. // Paper ID: 460
Country
Nigeria
Region
Africa
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Date
2013-11