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Scaling Teacher Training in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evaluating the Impact of Open and Distance Learning on the 21ST-Century Skills of Nigerian Teachers
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Abstract
The shortage of skilled and qualified teachers in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Nigeria, poses a significant challenge to education quality and access. This pilot study, sponsored by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) in collaboration with the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities (AFTRA) under the Beyond Numbers Project, examines the potential of COL’s micro-credential and the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses, to enhance and scale teacher training through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and digital platforms. COL’s courses utilize open licensing particularly Creative Commons licenses to promote free and open access to educational resources. The Beyond Numbers Project is thus an initiative led by COL, with the intent to leverage ODL and digital technologies to boost the number of qualified teachers in sub-Saharan Africa. In its first phase, it brought together four institutional members of AFTRA and teacher training institutions from Botswana, South Africa, Seychelles and Nigeria. In Nigeria, using a one-group pretest-posttest design, an initial 265 randomly selected secondary school teachers participated in these interventions. Their growth in 21st-century skills, including digital literacy and assessment skills for open, distance, and flexible learning, was measured through pre- and post-surveys administered at the start and on completion of the courses and analyzed with frequency and percentage. Findings offer insights into the effectiveness of ODL and digitalization in professional teacher development, highlighting both opportunities and challenges for large-scale implementation. The results equally contribute to discussions on technology-driven teacher capacity building and sustainable education reforms in resource-constrained contexts which informs policy recommendations for scaling up the initiative.
PCF11 Plus: Beyond the Forum
Sub-Theme: Skills development through lifelong open education
Paper ID: 7645
Country
Nigeria
Region
Africa
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Date
2025-09
Author
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Publisher
Commonwealth of Learning (COL)