Webinar on the results of two studies on the contextualization and adaptation of CBA and teacher training in Africa
On May 23 and 24, 2022, IIEP-UNESCO Dakar organized a webinar to share the results of two studies on (i) the contextualization and adaptation of the Competency-Based Approach (CBA) and (ii) the training and management of trainers and supervisory staff in Africa. The webinar brought together nearly 100 participants from 13 African countries, including officials and stakeholders from the 8 countries covered by the two studies, international organizations, TFPs and experts.
As part of its technical cooperation with partner countries and its support for knowledge production, IIEP-UNESCO Dakar has carried out two studies: the first, carried out with the Institut de la Francophonie pour l'Education et la Formation (IFEF) of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), concerned the contextualization and adaptation of the Competency-Based Approach (CBA), and the second concerned the training and management of trainers and supervisory staff in Africa. These two studies covered the following eight countries: Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa.
The choice was made to present the two studies in a joint webinar in order to expose the links and interactions between the two topics and to take note of the comments and recommendations of the speakers.
Elements of context
The study on CBA was carried out in partnership with the Institut de la Francophonie pour l'Education et la Formation (IFEF) of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), which mobilized its network of experts on CBA in technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Its objective was to identify good practices to be perpetuated and difficulties encountered in introducing or sustaining the implementation of CBA and to draw recommendations that can be used in other countries wishing to improve the performance of CBA in their TVET systems.
The second study on the training and management systems for TVET trainers and supervisory staff aimed to shed more light on the development issues of these systems and to provide guidelines, in the form of roadmaps, for the national orientations and choices to be made for their upgrading.
Relationship between the two studies: CBA and teacher training
The human factor remains the essential element of all reforms. Structurally, CBA is a paradigm shift approach in the field of TVET. For its understanding and implementation, in all its stages, it requires well qualified human resources in training engineering and pedagogical engineering.
The implementation of curricula produced according to this approach in institutions requires the presence of trainers and managers who are well prepared to use them. All trainers, whatever their role in the implementation of a training program developed according to APC, must be technically and pedagogically qualified; school managers - directors, heads of works, workshop managers - must also be qualified. Numerous studies on TVET in Africa emphasize the importance of qualified human resources for the feasibility of the reforms needed in vocational training systems.
Webinar Report
The sharing webinar was held over two mornings on May 23 and 24, 2022 and brought together approximately 100 participants from 13 countries: Benin, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia. Various representatives of technical partners were also present: AFD, GIZ, Global Affairs Canada, Canadian Cooperation, AUF, CIF-ILO, Groupement des Educateurs sans Frontières (GREF) Délégation Bretagne, Confédération africaine de l'enseignement technique, de la formation professionnelle et des innovations (CADETFOPI), HEFP Suisse, UNESCO (Dakar and Madagascar), etc.
The May 23 session focused more specifically on the first study, on the contextualization and adaptation of the CBA, while the second part of the webinar on May 24 focused on the training and management of trainers and supervisory staff. At the end of each presentation, a moment of exchange was observed between the participants so that they could share what they had learned in terms of implementing the APC and training trainers and supervisory staff, as well as the challenges encountered and the solutions chosen to mitigate the risks related to sustainability. One participant noted in particular the importance of "working on identifying performance indicators for the TVET system, in relation to the external effectiveness of the system, i.e. the rate of professional integration of the trained into the workforce".
Through a structured facilitation approach and targeted questions, the webinar facilitators were also able to support the sharing of good practices present in the countries in order to inspire participants in their respective country experience. At the end of the webinar, the organizers invited all participants to continue the discussions on the two themes on the TVET Online Forum on the Pefop web portal to encourage knowledge sharing and to collect comments, recommendations and experiences from the different stakeholders. These recommendations will complement the synthesis reports of the two studies which will be shared in the coming weeks.