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- ItemOpen AccessMicro-Credentials as Catalysts for Supporting Strategic Development Goals in Education in the Commonwealth Caribbean, 2024(2024-08) McGreal, Rory; Commonwealth of Learning (COL); the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC)The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC®) spearheaded an initiative to explore the integration of micro-credentials (MCs) in the Caribbean region’s educational infrastructure. The initiative comprises five phases – research, analysis, policy support, regulation capacity building, and education system integration – to enable the education ecosystem in the region to introduce and standardise the adoption of MCs in the secondary and post-secondary levels. This report covers Phase 1 of the project, the scoping study, which explores the adoption and potential impact of MCs across several Commonwealth Caribbean countries, with a focus on their application in democratising education and enhancing regional development. MCs offer a promising avenue for supporting educational goals in the Commonwealth Caribbean by providing flexible, targeted learning opportunities aligned with specific skills and contemporary needs. Effective implementation will require collaborative efforts to overcome existing barriers and fully harness the potential of MCs to transform the Caribbean region’s educational landscape.
- ItemOpen AccessPolicies, Pedagogies and Technologies to Complement MOOCs for Teacher Professional Development(2024-07) Traxler, John; Ogange, Betty; Commonwealth of Learning (COL)This report explores innovative uses of digital technology to support and deliver teacher development in low-income countries and disadvantaged regions while utilising global MOOC provision. The report emphasizes flexibility, sustainability, and cultural sensitivity through social media, emerging pedagogies, and technological solutions. It addresses the challenges of delivering scalable, cost-effective solutions while working with diverse, hard-to-reach communities. Recommendations include the need to promote resilient, adaptable learning that avoids privileging already advantaged groups. Strategies include improving MOOC platforms, leveraging local technologies, and developing community-specific resources. The report, co-authored by Professor John Traxler and Dr Betty Ogange, underscores the need to decolonize the curriculum and emphasizes a gradual, inclusive approach to change. It aims to balance global digital resources with sustainable local practices, encouraging lifelong learning and professional development for teachers in underserved areas.
- ItemOpen AccessPolicies and Practices in Open, Distance and Technology-Enabled Learning in Teacher Training in Kenya(2024-07) Gacicio, Esther; Commonwealth of Learning (COL)This report explores ODL policies and practices in pre-service and in-service teacher training for pre-primary, primary, secondary, and tertiary levels in Kenya. The report examines the vital role of education and training in achieving Kenya Vision 2030 in order to transform Kenya into a middle-income country. Various institutions and stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), contributed to the report. It highlights challenges in the uptake of the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) programme and also discusses the establishment of the Open University of Kenya to promote Open, Distance, and E-Learning (ODeL) methods. Despite existing policies and frameworks, gaps remain in quality assurance, digital literacy, infrastructure, and support systems. This necessitates further policy interventions for the effective integration of ODL, TEL, OER, and MOOCs in teacher training.
- ItemOpen AccessPolicies and Practices in Open, Distance and Technology-Enabled Learning in Teacher Training in Ghana(2024-07) Danso, Humphrey; Commonwealth of Learning (COL)This report is a review of the policies, frameworks, and resources for open and distance learning (ODL) in teacher development in Ghana. It is intended to inform national capacity building and policy development in open, distance and technology-enabled learning (TEL) in pre-service teacher training and in-service professional development. The study examined decision-making processes in teacher training and summarised key findings. The report identifies several issues, including inadequate policies and resources for ODL and TEL, lack of a blended learning policy in Colleges of Education and absence of a teacher qualification framework to support regional mobility, among others. Recommendations include formulation of ODL and TEL policies, providing necessary resources, creating a qualification framework with regional collaboration, increasing access to pre-service programs to meet teacher demand, and establishing an interactive teacher database for resource and data sharing.
- ItemOpen AccessEmpowering Women and Girls Project: Annual Report 2023(2024-07) Ferreira, Frances; Sudesh, VeronicaIn collaboration with Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), is implementing the Empowering Women and Girls (EWG) project in rural, remote, and disadvantaged communities in Bangladesh, Malawi, Mozambique, Pakistan and Sri Lanka over a three-year period. Through this project, COL and its local partners will work towards empowering women and girls using strategies and interventions so that women and girls and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) can claim their equal rights to live a life of dignity, free from all forms of discrimination based on gender. This report provides an update on activities, achievements, and challenges for the period March 2023 – December 2023.