Theory, policy, and practice: bridging the gap between teacher training and classroom practice in language of instruction in Zambia

Abstract

This participatory action research project conducted through the USAID-funded Transforming Teacher Education activity examined how two pre-service teacher education programs in Zambia prepared teachers for primary reading instruction. College and university lecturers and in-service primary grade teachers participated in focus groups and interviews. We identified gaps between training and practice within the framework of Zambia’s language of instruction policy. We find that pre-service teacher preparation was generally theoretical and not practical. Opportunities for practice were limited, leading to teachers lacking required competencies and using outdated approaches in schools. We suggest strategies to improve the alignment of pre-service teacher education and classroom instruction.

Keywords:

• Literacy
• primary grades
• language of instruction
• teacher education
• Zambia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Due to restrictions on school visits in place during the COVID-19 spike during the study period, the observations were limited to two, and the data is not included in this analysis.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, through Cooperative Agreement No. 72061120CA00006 to Florida State University.