Technology-supported teacher professional development in LMICS

Technology-supported teacher professional development in low and middle-income countries: A study in Tanzania

MEWAKA (Mafunzo Endelevu kwa Walimu Kazini, or Teachers’ Continuous Professional Development) is an innovative, school-based, technology-supported, programme currently being implemented nationwide by the Government of Tanzania for teachers of preschool through secondary levels. Semi-structured Communities of Learning (CoLs) provide a weekly in-person forum for teachers to discuss and reflect on issues pertinent to their schools, to enhance their pedagogical skills and collectively address challenges – ultimately aiming to enhance student learning outcomes. EdTech Hub, Tanzania Institute of Education (government) and Aga Khan University partnered to research the initial implementation and ongoing refinement of MEWAKA.

Research Phase 1 (March 2022-Dec 2023) employed two cycles of Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR) conducted in eight rural schools, providing critical insights for the redesign and early stage reimplementation of the program. Phase 2 (January 2024-March 2025), co-funded by IDRC through the global Empowering Teachers Initiative (comprising 10 country projects), shifts the focus to equity, agency, and local adaptations as the MEWAKA initiative scales nationally. This mixed methods study, conducted in 12 schools across four regions, intends to understand how effectively the initiative meets the needs of diverse teachers, including teachers with disabilities, of different genders, with varying levels of experience, and located in schools with varying levels of technology access. This presentation shares key findings and recommendations that have emerged to date for sustaining an effective, equitable, adaptable programme at scale.

Speaker Bio

Sara Hennessy is Professor of Educational Dialogue and Pedagogical Inquiry in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. She leads the 3-year research project on teacher professional development in Tanzania for EdTech Hub, whose mission is to build evidence for using EdTech to raise outcomes for marginalised learners in LMICs. Impact activities include producing multimedia professional learning resources for sub-Saharan Africa (www.oer4schools.org). She has researched EdTech use for over three decades and is Editor of the British Journal of Educational Technology.

Host or Publisher Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, The Open University