Teachers, Teacher Education, and Professional Development
Teacher Education Specific to Mathematics and Science
In the first cycle of basic education (Grades 1 to 3), there is a single classroom teacher for most subjects. These teachers are required to hold a bachelor’s degree in education. In the second and third cycles (Grades 4 to 9), mathematics and science are taught by subject specialists required to hold a bachelor’s degree in their respective subject, along with a postgraduate diploma in education.
Requirements for Ongoing Professional Development
In 2013, a new approach to professional development was introduced for mathematics and science teachers. Specialists from the training and development directorate and the curricula and advisory directorate collaborated to design workshops that would meet specific needs identified in their reports. Approximately 50 workshops in teaching mathematics and science were conducted in the last two years. In addition, to help implement the numeracy strategy developed in 2011, 30 qualified teachers were trained over two years to become numeracy strategy coaches in schools, and teachers were provided with lesson plans. Currently, mathematics specialists from the curricula directorate are preparing the required units to implement the numeracy strategy in Cycle 3, involving the newly trained coaches, and will ensure full training.