Cadre Course in Environmental Education and English for future directors of primary teachers in Tanzania
Summary Report Tanzania 2000/2001

The first cadre course for future directors of primary teacher further education courses took place in Arusha, Tanzania, from 11.7. to 28.7.2000. The course was organised by the Swiss Group for Educational Cooperation (PEZA/ECOP) together with the Arusha regional section of the Tanzanian Teacher’s Union (TTU).

In the first week the course leaders were preparing the subsequent cadre course. Despite the short time available, it proved possible to coordinate the preparation work carried out by the Swiss and Tanzanian course leaders and to define a common programme for the course. Prof. Dr. F. Klötzli led two study trips to examine the ecology of a national park.

The next two weeks were dedicated to training the 8 men and 8 women of the cadre, who came from all districts in the Arusha region. The focal point in the first week of the course was Environmental Education (EE), with Prof. Klötzli introducing a theoretical overview. The other days of the course were divided more equally between EE and English.

The participants concentrated well, paid close attention and were willing to learn. They were particularly interested in EE, and the decision to concentrate principally on communicating information in this section during a first course proved correct. Both Tanzanian course leaders in EE demonstrated a good level of scientific knowledge, although there were marked differences between their teaching methods and those of the Swiss course leaders. Difficulties for the participants included the recognition of ecological cycles, and above all their limited grasp of English. Because of this, the flow of information had to be significantly slower and less intense than envisaged.

As anticipated, language skills also created a problem in the part of the course dedicated to English as a subject. In this section too, however, the course content – orientated mainly towards didactics and methodology – was very well received. The course participants were presented with new ways of teaching and learned how to apply them, although it must be said that in many cases they resorted to copying rather than developing individual, creative ideas. Here too the Tanzanian course leaders were invaluable, contributing to the success of the course in their own way and with their own style of teaching.

In the closing discussions with the representatives of the TTU it quickly became clear that another purely cadre course would be needed in 2001, although this time there should be a shift in emphasis. In English more attention will be given to specialist knowledge, whilst in EE the didactic and methodological aspects will receive priority. For this reason the Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur has been asked to support the organization and teaching of EE in the course to be held in July 2001. The principle of mixed course leadership will be maintained: as noted above, one of its advantages was its effect on the forms and methods of teaching applied during the course. The Tanzanian course leaders teach largely in the manner to which the participants are accustomed, whilst the Swiss course leaders leant more towards innovative methods.

Whilst the situation for English teaching is very clear, the same cannot be said of that for EE. Differing opinions were in evidence. The Regional Education Officer in Arusha and the TTU representative for the Arusha region regarded the production of teaching materials for Environmental Education as a matter of priority, whilst the TTU Deputy General Secretary from Dar-es Saalam cited existing publications from the WWF Tanzania and saw no urgent need for a new, equivalent publication. The same man also argued that teaching staff possessed the necessary specialist knowledge about ecology, a point of view that was disputed by the others. Particularly in the case of new subject-matters, it is important to collect comprehensive information about the state of affairs before, during and after the course.

As noted, the Tanzanian course leaders in English and EE proved well qualified both in terms of their familiarity with their subjects and their teaching ability. This means that there is no point in using Swiss course leaders in Tanzania unless they are highly qualified and highly motivated. Those involved in the cadre courses in Arusha 2000 and 2001 certainly fulfill these requirements. The Swiss English trainers prepared many methodological and didactic modules in advance, and the Swiss trainers in EE wrote wide-ranging factsheets about important problems in EE. The preparations in Switzerland were intensive and imaginative and required a great deal of hard work. The brief “tour of duty” in Arusha involve a high level of concentration and communication, not to mention energy. There can be no doubt about the positive long-term effects of such work, but it goes beyond what can be expected of volunteers. This poses a challenge for the future: the sought-after level of professionalism needs to be accompanied by appropriate compensation.

Addresses :

Dr. Daniel V. Moser
Coordinator of PEZA/ECOP
PB 194
CH-3000 Bern 32

Vicente Carabias-Hütter
Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur
Center for Ecology
PB 805
CH-8401 Winterthur