E.L. Africa Magazine | December 2021

DECEMBER VOL.2,

E.L.

EDUCATIONAL LEADER AFRICA

STUDENTS' DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY IN SUBSAHARAN AFRICA PAGE 9

THE PANDEMIC: ONE DISTRICT'S LESSON'S LEARNED & POLICY CHANGES PAGE 11

BUILDING THE PRINCIPALSHIP PIPELINE: STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN THE EDUCATION LEADERSHIP PAGE 13

STRENGTHENING THE TEACHING PROFESSION IN UGANDA: DIGITAL RETOOLING OF TEACHERS PAGE 17

2021 NO.7

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

"Professional Inquiry"

E.L.

EDUCATIONAL LEADER AFRICA

TABLE OF

CONTENTS 9 11 13 16 17 19 21 22 25 31 34 35

STUDENTS' DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY IN SUB SAHARAN AFRICA (SSA)

POLICY CHANGES AFTER THE PANDEMIC: A SCHOOL DISTRICTS’ JOURNEY

BUILDING THE PRINCIPALSHIP PIPELINE: STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN THE EDUCATION LEADERSHIP

CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION: ADMINISTRATOR TOOLS FOR SUCCESSFUL COACHING

STRENGTHENING THE TEACHING PROFESSION FOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOMS IN UGANDA

SPOTLIGHT: TEACHER TRAININGS AND DEVELOPMENT IN UGANDA

THE MANY DIFFERENT HATS A SCHOOL COUNSELOR WEARS

USING DIGITAL COMMUNICATION TOOLS FOR PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY

PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING: THREE PRINCIPALS OFFER THEIR ASSESSMENTS ON THE IMPACT OF LEARNING FROM THE COVID19 PANDEMIC

IN THE NEWS

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

HEALTH & WELLNESS: OSTEOARTHRITIS

E.L. Africa is a quarterly publication that focuses on school leaders' real needs, offering them practical and technical strategies for improving schools in a constantly evolving environment. Articles published in E.L. Africa are edited for style, content and space prior to publication. Views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent E.L. Africa positions. Endorsement by E.L. Africa of products and services advertised is not implied or expressed.

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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ABOUT E.L. AFRICA MAGAZINE Educational Leader (E.L.) Africa magazine provides in-depth information about the most critical issues facing education leaders today in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Published four times a year, each issue has a specific focus area and articles are written by education experts and practitioners.

The E.L. Africa Magazine gives school principals/headmasters the resources, strategies, and inspiration required to prepare students for success. The magazine stirs school administrators toward openly discussing skills and strategies to improve schools and advance learning. It empowers these administrators to build an improved education system that is exceptional, independent and capable of self-sustaining with the correct mindset, by collaboratively sharing their skills. commitments and serves as

It also highlights their

an African solution to African problems.

Therefore, the E.L. Africa presents a paradigm shift, viewing the change in the education systems from the lens of experts and the school principals that implement/execute the education policies in the schools.

We embarked on this game-changing project as an inspiration to other educators to improve the education system in SSA. When you share your knowledge, skills and celebrate others without being apologetic, you feel fulfilled. It’s so important.

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

EDITORIAL & DESIGN

E.L.

EDUCATIONAL LEADER AFRICA

WRITERS M r . T e m i t o p e M u s t a p h a - N ig e r ia M r . C h r i s O n w u k a - N ig e r ia M r . S a n v e e E l m u t P in t o - T o g o

EXECUTIVE PUBLISHERS Dr. Ada Omile

CONTRIBUTORS

Dr. Frances Ufondu

Dr. Anthony Mugagga Dr. Jonathan Mba Dr. Nneka Nweke Dr. Mary Okafor

E . L . A f r ic a m a g a z in e ’ s e x c l u s iv e l o o k a t t h e i m p o r t a n c e

Mr. Jim Smith

o f s a f e t y a n d s e c u r it y o f s t u d e n t s ' d a t a i n S S A ( p g . 9 )

Mrs. Caroline Ekey

a n d o n e s c h o o l d is t r ic t ' s j o u r n e y n a v i g a t i n g p o l i c y

Ms. Maria Elena Esquer

changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic (pg. 11). Learn

Dr. Yaqeen Habeeb

m o r e a b o u t b u il d in g t h e p r in c ip a l s h i p p i p e l i n e ( p g . 1 3 )

Mr. Laurence Agebe

a n d g a in s o m e p e r s p e c t iv e s a b o u t d i g i t a l r e - t o o l i n g o f

Mrs. Afiniki Akpan

t e a c h e r s in U g a n d a ( p g . 1 7 ) . E n j o y t h e s p o t l i g h t o n i m p a c t f u l t e a c h e r t r a in in g a n d d e v e l o p m e n t t a k i n g

CREATIVE DESIGNER

p l a c e in U g a n d a ( p g . 1 9 ) a n d e x a m i n e t h r e e p r i n c i p a l s

M s . C h in e n y e O m il e

a s s e s s m e n t s o n t h e im p a c t o f l e a r n i n g f r o m t h e C O V I D 1 9 p a n d e m ic ( p g . 2 5 ) .

Educational Leadership Africa Magazine (ISSN 2693-2806) is published quarterly in March, June, September, December by Educational Leadership Consultant Group(ELCG) in Virginia, USA. ELCG is an organization focused on training and development of education leaders. The EL Africa magazine, a component of ELCG, is the voice for principals, assistant principals, and other school leaders across Sub- Saharan Africa. The statements, opinions, and advertisements expressed herein are those of individual authors and

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A COLUMN IN E.L. AFRICA MAGAZINE? SEND US EMAIL ELAFRICAMAGAZINE@GMAIL.COM

companies and do not necessarily represent the views of EL Africa magazine or the ELCG.

Article Submission: Submission on topics relevant to school leadership are requested. Email ideas and articles to elafricamagazine@gmail.com.

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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EXECUTIVE PUBLISHERS DR. ADA OMILE

Dr. Omile earned her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership K12, from Argosy University, Washington DC, Post Master's Certificate in Educational Leadership & Administration from George Washington University, Master of Science in Computer & Information Systems , Master of Arts in Learning Disabilities, both from Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta Georgia. She has over 27 years of experience in Education and Leadership.

Her doctoral research in 2011 was focused on providing professional learning to school principals in Anambra State, Nigeria. The result of the research showed a glaring gap in practice. To address the gap, she started Education Leadership Consultant Group

(ELCG), a Non-

profit organization that provides professional learning on effective schools to school principals and directors of private proprietors of schools in Africa. Recently, she concluded that we need to create a forum to reach more school principals throughout the SSA, hence this EL Africa magazine.

DR. FRANCES UFONDU

Dr. Ufondu earned her Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership from University of LaVerne, California. She earned a California Professional Administrative Services Credential; a Clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential; a Master’s of Arts in Education Administration from University of Benin, Nigeria and a Bachelors of Science in Vocational Home Economics Education from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

In addition, she received a Professional Certificate in Accounting for Governmental and Nonprofit Organizations; a Chief Business Officer (CBO) certification through California Association of School Business Officials Partner Training Program; Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Certification in Curriculum and Instruction Leadership and Leadership Coaching.

Her dissertation in 2005 was focused on an in-depth research of skills required by principals to effectively implement the Public School Dr. Omile and Dr. Ufondu attended the same high school and college in Nigeria and have dedicated their career and life’s work to improving leadership capacity for educational leaders in the hopes of positively improving learning for our students. This E.L. Africa Magazine is designed to give educational leaders the tools to enhance and empower their teachers as they collaborate to improve teaching and learning for students.

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

Accountability Act in California. The findings indicated that principals perceived skills in visionary leadership as very important. The study also empowered staff members and students to reach high levels of performance; creating and communicating a school vision and aligning financial, human and material resources with the vision; student assessment, gathering, analyzing, and using data to inform decision making; demonstrating and understanding of curricular alignment to ensure improved performance and designing, evaluating, and refining curricular remediation programs.

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

I am a swimmer. I love being around water. I also like to watch any water-related activities or events on the TV. As I was watching my favorite boat show the other day, I saw speed boats create and generate ripples across the sea and before long, the ripple effects covered the entire sea as far as the eyes could see.

It reminded me of the ripple effect that the success of good school leadership has on student and teacher outcomes. That is why we focused on strengthening the principalship pipeline on this edition of the E.L. Africa magazine to reiterate the importance of school leadership, which according to research is among the most important factors in effective schools.

Seemingly now, most districts in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are hopping on the bandwagon of improving schools; they are gradually introducing digital technology into teaching and learning and selecting the best technology tools for instructions.

But digital technology is far from the only sparkling gem in most SSA schools. They are now re-tooling the teachers to use technology in the classrooms and providing on-going professional developments to school leaders, administrators, and teachers. We are hoping to see more regions and districts improve student outcomes and overall school performance with education sector support by providing schools with resources for digital learning including steady electricity and network services especially in the rural areas.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed a wave of innovation in education and accelerated change towards technology use for teaching, learning, and recordkeeping in schools, and prompted blue-sky thinking throughout the education system, we thought that it is time for education sectors in SSA to focus on safety of students and institutions data with strict laws and policies.

Ada Omile Ada Omile

Executive Director E.L. Africa Magazine

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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CONTRIBUTE TO E.L. AFRICA MAGAZINE! If you’re an expert in education, please share your knowledge and experience with your fellow school leaders in E.L. Africa magazine. Write about one of the following themes or submit an article on another topic of interest to principals, assistant principals, or aspiring principals.

Themes for Next issue The need for Sub Saharan African Regional/District education leaders working together with the University preparation programs to admit and then equip aspiring leaders with the real-life skills they need to lead schools and to meet their hiring needs.

The importance of principals’ effects: The need for renewed attention to strategies for cultivating, selecting, preparing, and supporting a high-quality principal workforce.

Effective professional learning communities (PLCs/CLTs) for school improvement: Learning

Successful manuscripts are written in a tone and style appropriate to a magazine; are wellorganized; clearly establish the purpose of the article; use specific examples—it is best to show, and adhere to the rules of grammar.

communities that work.

E.L. Africa is

YOUR

magazine—help make it an even more

valuable resource by writing an article or passing these themes on to a colleague who has a great program or unique perspective.

Content Manuscripts should explore one theme or other topics of professional interest to secondary school principals.

Manuscripts are evaluated by ELCG/E.L. Africa magazine staff members and are judged on their relevance, interest to principals, timeliness, originality, readability, and credibility. E.L. Africa magazine seeks articles that: Describe best practices and exemplary programs objectively and include evidence of success as well as a discussion of problems Explain how principals can act on the information

How to Submit Please send your manuscript to elafricamagazine@gmail.com and include: The manuscript prepared in MS Word.

A cover letter that indicates your intention to submit the manuscript to E.L. Africa magazine and stipulates whether the manuscript has been submitted elsewhere.

Contact information for each author: school and title, telephone number, and e-mail address.

A two-sentence author biography. The first sentence should include a current title, school and e-mail address; the condition sentence should highlight key accomplishments or reinforce your authority in discussing the topic.

Include advice, resources, and examples Offer opinions on some topic of professional interest to principals

Requirements Manuscripts should be no more than 2,000 words, including references, but may include additional supplemental material.

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

Photographs If you’d like to send photos to accompany your article, please attach the JPEG files to an email and send them to elcgtraining@yahoo.com. If no photos are available, E.L. Africa will select file or stock art to enhance the article.

GOOGLE DRAWING: CREATING PERFECT CIRCLES To create regular shapes when in Google Slides, Google Draw, or ANY application that allows you to insert shapes, hold down the shift key while drawing. Holding down the shift key while drawing or resizing constrains the proportions. Unless you want to stretch out your shape or image, get in the habit of holding down shift when using drawing tools.

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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STUDENTS' DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY IN SUB SAHARAN AFRICA (SSA) By: Dr. Ada Omile

The pandemic has greatly affected education systems in

from further disclosure and unauthorized use including the

the SSA. The shutdown forced schools to use technology

standardized testing tools for colleges that collect data.

tools for teaching and learning, which some of the schools were unfamiliar with. Since reopening, teaching and

In addition to the state policies, local/regional districts

learning with tech tools is now the new normal. Many

should have an education data privacy guide published

districts and schools are way ahead, while others are still

with tips for school employees. It is the responsibility of

grappling with technology tools for instruction.

school administrators to understand the laws and the policies in their states /region/districts that protects

The accelerated digitization of education resulting from the

identifiable students' information from being shared with

pandemic is raising students’ privacy and data protection

those who do not have an educational interest and comply

concerns and that begs the question: how do districts and

with the laws.

schools in SSA ensure the privacy and security of students’ data as they migrate to online learning from technical

TRAININGS FOR EDUCATION SECTOR EMPLOYEES

threats or risks and human risks?

School districts’ officials should enforce trainings on guidelines for school employees every school year so that

Now, more than ever, education sectors should commit to

teachers and all school employees will:

the privacy and security of personally identifiable student’s

Understand the importance of keeping students' data

data that are collected, stored, and shared, and must have

safe.

a strategy that ensures that their data are safe up to the

Be aware of ways in which students' data are put at risk

standards set by the government.

by teachers, and other school employees.

Embrace the responsibility in protecting students' data.

WHAT LAWS PROTECT STUDENT DATA IN THE SSA EDUCATIONAL SETTING

Know where to find additional students' data privacy resources and references.

Currently, few SSA countries have data protection laws, others have their laws passed and not yet enforced or

School leaders should see that the teachers understand

enforcement in progress, some have draft documents on

their responsibilities to protect students' data and teach

data protection legislation, while others have no legislative

students how to protect their own privacy with strong

plans yet.

passwords. This can be daunting, even difficult in a world full of social media, but it is very important, and it starts

It is imperative that SSA federal and state educational

with each classroom in SSA.

sectors and local/regional educational agencies enact measures that protect the privacy of students’ education

The training document should help teachers understand the

records.

laws and regulations to protect students' privacy and data, it should constantly keep the teachers informed, so that

Federal and state education sectors should adopt a

they can inform parents and the school community.

comprehensive plan that will help reduce any kinds of risks.

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A good plan will include policies and guidelines that specify

Also, school leaders should communicate to parents and

rules to protect students' data privacy, also policies, and

stakeholders information about the collection, use and

procedures for protecting the student’s personal

protection of students' data, including photo opt out

information

options for students who do not want their pictures taken

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

for any school events.

STUDENT DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY IN SUB SAHARAN AFRICA (SSA)

ESTABLISH A PROCESS FOR VETTING AND PROCURING TECHNOLOGY TOOLS As districts and schools choose software applications websites, online resources, and services for instructional use, school leaders should know that every time a student logs into a website or online application, he/she leaves a digital footprint. This puts students at a potential risk, and it is the responsibility of education leaders to make sure they protect students' data by only using approved digital resources and online services.

Before approving any application for teaching and learning, district leaders and school administrators should evaluate these applications, resources, and services, and ensure it is fit for use, and understand how the websites and applications protect students' privacy and what data can

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be shared about students. Everyone in the education sector should work together to protect students' data privacy.

There should be guidelines for teachers to submit requests for digital tools to their school districts for technology review before use in the classrooms. Through training, teachers should understand the school districts review process, and how long the review process takes, to ensure that the tool meets the requirements for data privacy and security.

Finally, it is imperative that educational institutions establish detailed processes and procedure to manage, use, and protect students and the institutions themselves. It helps to make a comprehensive standard easier to maintain and protect against cyberattacks and security breaches.

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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THE PANDEMIC: ONE DISTRICT'S LESSONS LEARNED & POLICY CHANGES By: Jim Smith, Director of Technology - Palmdale School District

Nothing prepares you

As the 2020 school year came to an end, it was clear the

for the unimaginable.

Pandemic was holding on tight and budgets were increasing

The unthinkable

with special funding. Legislators moved swiftly to secure the

happens. On March

education sector with much needed resources. The various

13, 2020, leaders and

silos of specialized monies provided security for schools to

department heads

move forward and acquire desperately needed technology

packed into a

resources, educational materials, and Covid-19 protective

makeshift incident

equipment. No one could escape the reality of global

command room to

competition for these scarce resources. With funding

decide the fate of

secured, all agencies got in line:

the supply chain line.

onsite education within Palmdale

The Pandemic shows us what can be done when we go off

School District.

script and provide the needful. The face of education will be

In the early days of the Pandemic, school systems struggled to provide services with the threat of shrinking budgets and ADA looming. Providing equity to families required all handson deck and flexibility from staff. Efforts to prepare existing technologies for distribution to students began. Noon duty staff and crossing guards were recruited to help clean, prepare bundles of technology and educational supplies, and paperwork for quick pickup in a drive-through fashion.

Technology staff opened call centers for families. Aunts, uncles, grandparents, neighbors, and any people that were caring for youth reached out for assistance. Stress from our families, students, teachers, and support staff was palpable with all the unknowns looming.

Public education is charged with caring for the minds and bodies of our students. Incredible efforts to provide adequate food to our families located in a very high Free and Reduced district were met with incredibly long drivethrough lines and grateful families. All staff were unified together to make this happen. This work was nothing short of heroic.

Public education is charged with caring for the minds and bodies of our students. Incredible efforts to provide adequate food to our families located in a very high Free and Reduced district were met with incredibly long drivethrough lines and grateful families. All staff were unified together to make this happen. This work was nothing short of heroic.

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

forever changed. We will be mindful of these changes as we face the real possibility of funding declining with ADA and one-time special funding running out. Palmdale School District has moved in concert with our guiding ethos, the Palmdale PROMISE. The “PROMISE” as it is known is a full stakeholder group with the ability and indeed authority to make overarching programmatic recommendations covering every aspect of school life from facilities to educational needs. The PROMISE team informs and collaborates with our Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) committee to provide the required funding commitments and support both short and long term.

POLICY CHANGES AFTER THE PANDEMIC: A SCHOOL DISTRICTS’ JOURNEY

Palmdale has evolved to offer the following services in a sustained effort to support our community: Provide breakfast and lunch to all students. Palmdale works hard to utilize the Community Eligibility Program to help fund this.

Provide safety in the form of clean schools and adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for students and staff.

Provide adequate technology devices for students in a 1:1 fashion for all classrooms. Provide 2:1 device for grades 6 - 8 allowing for a take of units.

Provide standard online learning environments that can be accessed from anywhere, anytime and on any computing device. This includes full distance learning and remote video conferencing for staff along with equipment, training, and support.

Provide cellular data hotspot for any student/family that is in need. Palmdale also partners with most internet service providers to provide no to low-cost options for families.

Independent Study (Innovations Academy) has been dramatically expanded to provide opportunities for families looking for options. These options continue to be popular alternatives to the traditional classroom setting.

Training and support are provided to families in an ongoing effort to keep students engaged. Specialized staff at each school known as Parent Community Liaisons (PCL) reach out to families and provide direct services.

The landscape has changed. The Pandemic continues to shape all decisions and processes. The importance of collaboration and relationships at all levels has never been more important to be sure equity is at the forefront. Flexibility and grace guide as we strive to keep education safe, fresh, and relevant for both students and staff.

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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PRINCIPALSHIP PIPLINE: STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN THE EDUCATION LEADERSHIP

WHAT AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES SHOULD DO TO PRODUCE A LARGE AND STEADY SUPPLY OF TOP-NOTCH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS. By: Dr. Jonathan C. Mba

Education leadership

Among the school influences on student performance and

is now an education

success, school leadership is critical. In fact, research has

policy priority around

shown that school leadership ranks second after teaching as

the world. It plays a

the key proximate determinants of student learning

key role in improving

experience and academic success.

school outcomes by influencing the

Effective headmasters or headmistresses (or headteachers)

motivations and

can create a climate that encourages learning and

capacities of

achievement throughout a high school environment.

teachers, as well as

Headteachers can foster better instruction school-wide,

the school climate

employ the kind of management savvy that nurtures talent,

and environment.

and they can attract and retain effective teachers as a result

Effective school leadership is essential to improve the efficiency and equity of schooling. Increased school autonomy and a greater focus on schooling and school results have made it essential to reconsider the role of school leaders or headteachers. There is much room for improvement

The key question then is how do we get a strong and powerful headteacher, or put in another way, what strategy should be put in place to strengthen education leadership in the African secondary school system? of strong and powerful leadership.

to professionalise education leadership, to support current school leaders and to make school leadership an attractive career for future candidates. The demographic situation in Africa and the widespread shortage of qualified candidates to replace them after retirement make it imperative to take action.

In my view, in order to produce a large and steady supply of effective school leaders or pipeline for African secondary schools, three main, interlocking parts should be considered:

STANDARDS Clear, rigorous job requirements de- tailing what head

As countries are seeking to adapt their education systems to the needs of contemporary society, expectations for schools and school leaders are changing. Many countries have moved towards decentralisation, making schools more autonomous in their decision making and holding them more accountable for results. At the same time, the requirement to improve overall student performance while serving more diverse student populations is putting schools under pressure to use more evidence-based teaching practices.

teachers and assistant headteachers must know and do. A sound principal pipeline starts with clear performance standards that reflect national or local needs. Unfortunately, broad national standards are more prevalent than local-level or community or district standards. It is important to create rigorous leadership standards that reflect local needs and, crucially, guide principal training, hiring and on-the-job support. These local standards should be dynamic; local governments should continue to refine them as they put them to use, see their strengths and weaknesses, and learn of new developments in the field of school leadership in Africa.

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

PRINCIPALSHIP PIPELINE: STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN THE EDUCATION LEADERSHIP

HIGH-QUALITY TRAINING Pre-service training programmes that admit only highpotential candidates and then provide them with training

Project; Research Management Project of the Science Granting Council Initiative (SGCI) funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). He has written extensively in peer-reviewed journals, and contributed to reports and book chapters.

suitable for their local environment. Many teachers are promoted on the continent to various positions including school headship after serving for a period of time. Those who go through training programmes often fall short in several areas: focusing on building management rather than teaching and learning in the classroom; dwelling on theory

STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN THE EDUCATION LEADERSHIP IN NIGERIA By: Dr. Nneka G. Nwaka

without demonstrating its applicability in the everyday work

Building the

of the headteacher; and employing school faculty members

principalship pipeline to

with little experience as headteachers themselves. High-

strengthen education

quality training programmes tailored to meet local needs

leadership is expensive,

should be done in partnership with accredited and respected

tasking, and demanding

national universities for maximum impact.

because so many things are involved, such as:

LEADER EVALUATION AND ON-THE-JOB SUPPORT

improved leadership

Regular evaluation of headteachers and assistant

curriculum, staff, time,

headteachers by school agencies along with the provision of

government support

professional development that helps school leaders overcome

especially, in funding

weaknesses pinpointed in the assessments. The secondary

and placement of

school local authority’s work does not end with the placement of a solid headteacher in the school. Once headteachers are on the job, the local authorities responsible for supervising and monitoring the schools must regularly assess them to identify their strengths and weaknesses as instructional leaders. This information will then shape the support they will receive to help improve their performance.

graduates of such programmes as well as supervisors that will gather on-going data on them for support and improvement of the preparation programmes. There are several principal pipeline initiatives that the Nigeria universities could adopt to produce a large and steady supply of top-notch school principals for school improvement. Ideally, these pipelines have four strong interlocking component parts:

Evaluation systems for headteachers should not focus on the old, administrative aspects of a headteacher’s job. Evaluation issues should include a headteacher’s engagement with the curriculum, quality of instruction, culture of learning and professional behaviour, and quality of curriculum. Test scores should not be used as a proxy for a headteacher’s performance. Moreover, evaluations should not be used to penalize headteachers and assistant headteachers who fall short. On the contrary, evaluations for the headteachers and assistant headteachers should help to identify the support they need to improve.

Leader standards:

Adopting clear and rigorous

standards (that is job requirement) that detail what principals must know and do. That is standards that guide principal preparation, hiring, and on-the-job support and evaluation.

Pre-service preparation/training:

Delivering high

quality pre-service preparation to promising candidates, through university training programs that provide them with suitable training developed in partnership with state ministries of education that recruit high potential candidates.

The foregoing three pipeline components (standards, training, hiring and evaluation can help raise the quality of secondary schools in Africa.

Selective hiring:

Using a set of selective hiring

procedures, informed by data on candidates and their demonstrated skills, to enable ministries hire well-trained candidates as school principals and match them to the

Jonathan Chuks Mba, PhD, is currently the Director of Research & Academic

right schools.

Planning/Coordinator of Projects at the Association of African Universities

Leader evaluation and on-the-job support:

(AAU), Accra, Ghana. In this capacity, he has managed all of the AAU's flagship multi-country multi-institution projects, worth over US$30 Million.

Regular

evaluation of principals by supervisors in the schools

These projects include; European Union funded Harmonization of African

along with the provision of professional development and

Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA) Initiative;

other support that helps them build on strengths and

World Bank funded Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence (ACE)

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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PRINCIPALSHIP PIPELINE: STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN THE EDUCATION LEADERSHIP

overcome weaknesses pin-pointed in the assessment for

Very importantly, leadership training does not end when

the benefit of the students championed by supervisors.

principals are licensed and hired. It continues with mentoring

Following the above pipeline components for building the principal, building a sound principal pipeline begins with clearly defining the expected performance standards that reflect the national needs. Then, followed by aggressive recruitment of potential candidates. That is, actively admitting that are ready for leadership; those talented to lead and have interest in leadership. They must then carefully train them systematically and rigorously, involving them in hands-on-experience mode of training that emphasizes practice –based training. Once trained, the ministry must place them in the schools most in need of their particular skills. Notably, pipeline initiative is not static. It is continuously

new principals and targeting on-going professional development that can be aligned to standards, preparation, licensure and evaluation to promote career-long growth that is responsive to the evolving needs of schools and society. In other words, they must track data of trained principal practices towards higher student outcomes. They can engage teachers, PTA, and or external evaluators to get objective reports (strengths and weaknesses) using VAL-ED, an evaluation tool developed with Wallace funding by Vanderbilt University and the University of Pennsylvania that assesses principals based on well researched indicators of good performance for improving programmes and outcomes.

refined as they are put to use; they observe their strengths and weaknesses and learn of new developments in the field of school leadership. It is worthy to note at this juncture that graduates of these exemplary programmes, who became principals are significantly more likely than the comparison principals to hold positive beliefs about the principalship and feel more strongly committed to it.

They also provide on-going support to graduates in professional development and on-going coaching to help them grow on the job. The good thing about this pipeline initiative is that it holds the students that their graduates lead as their clients. They hold themselves accountable for improving student achievement outcomes and track principals’ performance as they lead schools to ensure they

Nigeria, therefore, should emulate the above approach and

are producing results. It is therefore, recommended that:

develop training programmes with institutions such as in six universities from the six zones of the nation and determine, what the principal leadership high quality training before and on the job, should look like. They can start with identifying potential school leaders and work to build their skills,

"the government should invest significant resources of time, staff, and money in teacher education institutions in this quest to produce/sustain a large and steady supply of topnotch school principals for school improvements."

knowledge and dispositions that a principal must have. That is training them while they are still on the job. The training programmes could be a combination of individual learning plans, explicit goals and delivery models, coursework and experiential in-school practice with the power of peerswithin-the-programme to help fellows stay on a steep learning curve and create a culture of continuous improvement. Once principals are trained, ministries of education would gather information about placing them in the schools most in need of their particular skills and

In conclusion,

the effective leader competencies are the

foundation and link between all programme elements -from building a candidate pool, to selecting candidates, to developing aspiring leaders, to supporting new principals, and evaluating programme and principal effectiveness. The interrelatedness of these components is the key to the programme approach, as the principal pipeline initiative exists to prepare leaders who can dramatically improve student achievement.

experience. This act brings greater benefits. Finally, the hiring would be followed with evaluation, establishing ‘leader tracking systems’ to determine the pipeline initiative’s ultimate effects on students’ achievement.

Therefore, with all the efforts and focus on rigorous selection, training and development, and support by these programmes in the teacher education schools, a new generation of school leaders will be better prepared to meet the challenges of a

As a matter of fact, the work of the ministry would not stop

21st century school system.

with hiring and placing principals in the needy school. They also hold themselves responsible for the impact principals

Dr. Nneka G. Nwaka (nee Ikejiaku) obtained her B.A Ed, M.Ed & Ph.D,

have on the bottom line (i.e. on student achievement) in their

respectively from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She specializes in

place of deployment (i.e. schools) after training.

Educational Administration and Planning. She has eighty-six publications (national and international) Presently, she is a Chief Lecturer and the Dean, School of General Education, Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, Anambra State, Nigeria.

15

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION: ADMINISTRATOR TOOLS FOR SUCCESSFUL COACHING Curriculum and Instruction discussions can undoubtedly be

Lastly, leaders must have the courage to speak to ensure

both informative and thought-provoking when working with

access and equity for all students and stay silent and

teachers. Depending on your district policies on pacing

listen, allowing teachers to work through the messiness of

and coverage of standards, teachers often feel the

curriculum and instructional planning.

pressure to get through the curriculum instead of using the curriculum as a tool to increase learning. At the heart of

Here are some important curriculum and instruction

every educational decision has to be the students we

reminders in planning for powerful coaching conversations:

serve. Further considerations must also include

1. Choose priority standards to deconstruct with grade-

collaborating with and coaching fellow teachers to bring

level teams. Be a part of the conversation and learn

out the best for their instructional experiences. I purposely

alongside them. Allow teams to work through the

use the phrase fellow teachers because, as administrators,

process and empower them through strategic feedback

we all were once classroom teachers. In coaching them,

to foster discussion that achieves students' learning

we cannot overlook or forget that. Coaching requires the building of a positive and collaborative culture that is

goals.

2. Create a list of research-based high-leverage

based upon affirming relationships, high trust, and student-

instructional strategies with your teams and provide

centered needs.

opportunities for grade levels to collaborate on the planning and watch each other implementing the

First, as school administrators, we must be knowledgeable about the curriculum used in our schools. It is the "what" or

strategy.

3. Design opportunities for teachers to create tasks from

the big ideas that teachers use to plan their instruction,

the curriculum that are engaging, rigorous and develop

inclusive of the grade-level standards, the flow, and

critical thinking skills for all students incorporating high

pacing; the actual materials teachers will be using with

expectations and a strong belief in student strengths

their students. Secondly, administrators understand that instruction is the "how" or the delivery of the curriculum,

that leads to student learning.

4. Craft professional learning sessions that build teacher

including learning targets and desired student learning

capacity about curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

outcomes. Third is an assessment that helps drive future

Participate and learn with them to enable conversation

instruction and allows teachers to check for formative or

based upon mutual understanding and expectation.

summative understanding. These three areas would enable

5. Ensure every conversation with teachers is based

powerful coaching conversations with teachers to move a

primarily on student learning and meeting student

school closer to its goals and vision.

needs.

6. Visit classrooms regularly and give feedback to

Administrators must understand the various course and

promote reflection on refining instructional practices.

grade-level standards of what students are expected to learn. They must also understand literacy and instructional

Being a leader is hard work, and there is always much to

best practices they want to see in classrooms by modeling

do to enact organizational change. It takes time and

high expectations. Leaders must additionally know planning

patience.

and have an empathetic heart for the amount of time

Never forget, though, how important YOU are as a leader in this culture. As the leader, student-

teachers need to collaborate and plan effectively.

centered culture is modeled. Leadership matters, and student learning via curriculum and instruction is in your hands!

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

16

STRENGTHENING THE TEACHING PROFESSION FOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOMS IN UGANDA By: Dr. Anthony Mugagga

A number of

pedagogy, their communities, and school environments make

developments have

it easy to migrate to the digital pedagogy trend. On the

made it imperative to

other hand, the rural and peri-urban teachers, given the

reflect on how best

constrained nature of their social and economic community

the teaching

and school terrain, find it very hard to migrate into the digital

profession can be

pedagogy world.

strengthened to meet or migrate into the

Also, as much as the rural teacher may wish to join the digital

digital pedagogy

pedagogy revolution, their clients in the rural children are

world -- the

greatly constrained by the lack of regular electricity power

application of

sources. Only 60% of Uganda's urban population accesses

contemporary or

electricity compared with only 18% of the rural population.

emerging technologies in teaching and learning. For

The World Bank estimates national access rate to be

example: Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, 3D Printing,

approximately 41.3% by 2019.[4]

Robotic pedagogy, adaptive learning algorithms education, Asynchronous Learning, Live Streaming (school to school,

Given the lopsided social-economic terrain for the Ugandan

school to expert, and remote teaching and learning among

school child in accessing the digital enabling environment,

others).

the above findings imply that the Ugandan teacher has to play a transformative role of enabling all the school going

The 2013 Teachers Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa (TISSA)

children irrespective of their social status to migrate and

report highlights a number of challenges bedeviling teacher

become fully the digital natives espoused by their 21st

training in Uganda, salient among them is the inappropriate

generation. This implies that the teachers have to become

training and training using approaches irrelevant to their

the digital pedagogical leaders. The teacher has to blend

contexts.[1] The emergence of covid-19 lock down and the

very fast into the world of the digital natives as a resident

need to migrate from face-to-face pedagogy laid open the

digital migrant.” By digital natives we imply persons between

inadequacy of the Ugandan trained teacher.

the ages of 10 and 25 years of age.

A study by MAK-IER 2020[2] revealed that almost all the

These have grown up in the mobile phones and the telecom-

teacher training institutions in Uganda prior to Covid-19 lock

networked world of the emerging technologies. On the other

down did not take digital pedagogy seriously. The MAK-IER

hand, the digital migrants are those who grew up in the

2020 reports also reveals that 70% of the urban and peri-

manual or the analog world. These are in the range of ages

urban children between the ages of 8-15 years have been

40 years and above. In order to achieve digital pedagogical

exposed to information communication technology for either

parity between the two (the digital natives and the digital

social networking or educational pedagogy for example use

migrants), there is need for a paradigm shift in the way

of mobile phones for “WhatsApp”, Facebook, email among

teachers are taught, the way they think and the way they

others.

approach both the pedagogical and non-pedagogical education digital terrain; Notwithstanding the cultural-social

17

Kabugo 2021 revealed that close to 80% of the teachers in

stigma associated with the use of emerging technologies

Uganda are not comfortable teaching using digital

(ETs) in education Uganda. For most conservatives and

approaches because they are in most cases not taught how

proponents of face - to - face pedagogy, ETs are projected

to use the new approaches.[3] It is also noted that while

as a “European thing” or a potential source of a moral decay

teachers in urban areas are not trained in the digital

among the learners.

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

STRENGTHENING THE TEACHING PROFESSION FOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOMS IN UGANDA TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTS FOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOMS

All teacher training institutions from the preschool caregiver to university teachers all have to become Digital Education Leaders (DEL) By Digital Education Leaders/ship it is implied

In thinking critically about Teacher Preparation programs and

teachers who are encouraged or are re-tooled to effectively

classroom digital pedagogical professional for the Ugandan

utilize Emerging Technologies (ETs) to transform their

teacher it is imperative that we ask ourselves the following

educational practices this will among others include and not

questions:

limited to in and out of classroom child pedagogy, school

What innovations can we incept in teacher preparation to

administration, as well as research (Commonwealth of

offset the digital pedagogy gaps among trainee

Learning, 2021).

teachers?

How do we incept off-campus teaching and learning

Given the unpredictable education environment and the too

either through the ordinary “Remote teaching and

many Covid-19 lockdowns, turning the Ugandan teacher into

learning “approaches and use of online or E-pedagogy to

a DEL using the conventional face-to-face and teacher-

enhance the teachers quest to use the emerging

centered approaches might be expensive across the board

technologies?

from training the preschool caregivers to university teachers.

How do we manage the scarce resources in Uganda’s

[5] Kabugo 2021, recommends use of Massive Open Online

teacher training institutions to propel teachers’ readiness

Courses (MOOCs). These have a lot of potential but have not

to use digital technologies in the classrooms?

been exploited especially in Uganda Most MOOCs embody

How do we manage students, staff and other education

heutagogical affordances: This implied self-determined

stakeholders who are too ready to resist the digital

learning, student-centered instructional strategy that

pedagogical migration/change from face to face to

emphasizes the development of autonomy, capacity, and

digital or online pedagogies?

capability. The occurrence or development of MOOCs implies that all teacher training institutions should develop online

Following the TISSA (2013), report a number of policies and

short courses which trainee teachers can access and self-

reforms aimed at Teacher preparation in Uganda have been

instruct themselves in digital pedagogy theory and practice.

incepted: These among others include: The Uganda National

This will enable them to develop their own self-initiated

Teacher Policy 2019, Uganda National Institute for Teacher

digital pedagogical innovativeness and skewed to their work

Education (UNITE) a proposed autonomous institution

environments and context.

recognized by the Ministry of Education and Sports, with various supervisory and regulatory roles, including spearheading the delivery of quality training of teachers in Uganda, the separation of the Teacher/Tutor, Instructor Education and Training (TIET) department –MoES into two

Dr. Anthony Mugagga PhD is the Professor of Education Foundations and Management. College of Education and External Studies, School of Education, Department of Foundations and Curriculum Studies, Makerere University, Uganda

departments namely: the Instructor Education and Training Department (TIED) and The Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

References [1] TISSA (2013). Teacher Issues in Uganda: A Shared Vision for an Effective Teachers Policy. UNESCO [2] MAK-IER 2020, Investing in Data and Evidence to Inform Education Policy

There is a belief that if Uganda is to achieve the United

in Response to The New Normal Caused by Covid 19 Pandemic (IDEP –Project)

Nations Sustainable Development Goals most especially

Sponsored by Uganda Government through MAK-RIF

(SDG4) Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, the teacher

[3]Kabugo, D (2021) Utilizing MOOCs to break the Walls of Digital Education Leadership Skills Deficiencies among Educators in Teacher Training Institutions in Uganda: The Case of Commonwealth Digital Education

has to play a leading role in this. Given the ever-changing

Training in Action. C-DELTA. 3rd Uganda Teacher Education Symposium

education terrain and the new normal created by Covid-19,

MoES March 2021

there is an imperative to change the way teachers are trained in Uganda.

[4] Access to electricity (% of population) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS [5] Kabugo, 2021 Ibid

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

18

SPOTLIGHT:

TEACHER TRAININGS AND DEVELOPMENT IN UGANDA LYDIA TUMUHAIRWE

19

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

TEACHER TRAININGS AND DEVELOPMENT IN UGANDA

conditions for learning and working with a team of Education

HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO BALANCE BETWEEN BEING A MOTHER, A WIFE, AND AN EDUCATION SPECIALIST IN CHARGE OF COLLEAGUES AND OVERSEEING OVER 700 SCHOOLS?

specialists to support low-cost private schools across all

I cannot say I have everything put together and perfect! But

regions of Uganda. They conduct school leadership and

over time I have been learning to embrace the work life

teacher mentor professional developments and foster

balance strategies and I think I am somewhere now; I do my

collaboration among school leaders and teachers to drive

purpose to create time for all that matters in my life; work

improvements in the conditions for learning.

and colleagues, spirituality, immediate and extended family,

Lydia Tumuhairwe is the Head Education Specialist at the Uganda at Opportunity International. She leads the EduQuality Programme in Uganda driving improvements in the

friends, and personal life ‘me time’. The support systems at Prior to that, she was the national program manager at

work and home have also helped to make everything a lot

Educate! in Uganda where she forged government

easier, and of course, the grace of God!

partnerships to support the design and implementation of

start businesses, get jobs and drive development in their

WHO IS THAT ONE PERSON THAT YOU OWE YOUR SUCCESS TO?

communities. She has also worked with Akilah Institute for

I owe my success to my guardian who realized my potential

Women and Rwanda Girls Initiative as an English Language

at an early age, and decided to take me to school, and she

and Communication Skills Instructor, and Dean of Academics,

has mentored me throughout. As an adult, she still checks in

respectively.

and follows up on agreed upon development areas.

new educational models so that students will have skills to

Makerere University, Kampala and Master’s in Institutional

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT AS A LEADER AT YOUR PREVIOUS JOB?

Management and Leadership from Uganda Management

My colleagues overwhelmingly recommended me for a top

Institute, Kampala.

position that I could not recommend myself for! It was a

She holds a Bachelors’ degree of Arts with Education from

wakeup call for me to believe in myself even more.

She has over 10 years of experience in the field of education;

curriculum design, development, and implementation; school

WITH TEAM UGANDA BEING THE LARGEST TEAM, SHARE WITH US ANY CHALLENGES YOU HAVE FOUND, IF ANY,

development and management; and school leaders and

So far so good! I have not met any challenges worthy of

teacher continuous professional development. She is

reporting home about! The team is indeed made up of

passionate about improving the quality of education so that

SPECIALISTS.

classroom practice, school leadership and management;

learners find it meaningful to foster positive change in

WHAT ONE WORD DESCRIBES YOU BEST AND WHY?

WHAT WORD OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE ANY MEMBER OF YOUR TEAM THAT WISHES TO TAKE ON A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE FUTURE?

Humble - I would describe myself as someone who is humble.

First, you are already a leader in your own capacity. But if

Just as Opportunity International defines the value of humility;

you are looking at specializing in leadership as a role, start

I believe I openly listen to what others have to say and

on the journey now; behave, act, speak and think like a

accept what I think may not always be best or correct. I do

leader, but most importantly find a mentor who will support

not rush to make conclusions, I do try to see things from the

you on the journey and hold you accountable until you are

other’s point of view, because we perceive things differently,

where you want to.

themselves and their communities.

and I put service first. I try my best to respect diversity. This is a value that I have gained with time and experience, otherwise five years ago I was a different person altogether.

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

20

THE MANY DIFFERENT HATS A SCHOOL COUNSELOR WEARS

By Dr. Mary C. Okafor, LPC-C, Licensed Professional CounselorSupervisor in Dallas, TX, U.S.A. Retired School Counselor, Dallas.

Financial Secretary of the Nigerian Mental Health Practitioners, USA, Inc.

WHAT DOES A SCHOOL COUNSELOR DO? A School Counselor wears many hats...

Nurse:

Teaches students safety and survival skills, both physical

and mental.

Mentor:

Guides and nurtures students to thrive to their utmost

potential.

Educator/Teacher:

Teaches students academic, career and

personal/social skills.

Learning Agent:

Knows how students learn and helps them

overcome obstacles.

Referee:

Makes the call to refer students to services in and out

of the school.

Police:

Inspired by Source: Bored Teachers O

Protects students from impending harm and reports

abuse to authority.

Chef:

Assigns lunch periods to students to ensure that they

Social Agent:

Teaches social skills classroom

guidance to students.

don't go hungry.

College Expert:

Helps students with college admission process

School counselors wear many hats. They do whatever

and scholarships

is necessary to provide students with a conducive

Confidant:

environment for learning and success. School

Protects students' interest and trust, upholds

confidentiality.

counselors are the first arm of defense when it comes

Parent:

to identifying and providing students’ needs, whether

Is always there to listen to, care for, and support

students' effort.

it’s academic, personal/social/emotional, career

Advocate:

and/or college readiness.

Speaks up for the best interest and success of the

students.

Professional:

knowledgeable about and meets the demands of

students’ necessities; from examining students’

Entertainer:

abilities, strengths, interests, and talents to partnering

Creates a relaxing and fun environment for

students

with parents as they face the challenges of raising

Cheerleader:

Encourages students in their effort to achieve

success.

Mediator:

their children. School counselors are go-to persons to resolve students’ conflicts, make schedule changes,

Works with students to resolve any conflict or

test taking skills, study skills, student academic

concern they have.

transcript, extra-curricular activities, make

Salad Bowl:

accommodations for students, prepare for college

Embraces diversity in the school and encourages

inclusion.

admission, fill out college applications, college

Career Expert:

Helps students with career exploration and

referrals.

Scheduler:

scholarships, explore careers, internships, summer camps, and mental health issues.

Creates students' schedules to meet their academic

requirements.

Event Planner:

As you enter a School House you will locate the school Coordinates meetings to discuss students' needs

and concerns.

21

School counselors are a one-stop-shop for all

the profession.

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

counselor actively involved in providing a multitude of services to students.

USING DIGITAL COMMUNICATION TOOLS FOR PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY Timely and accurate communications with school staff and families have perhaps never been more important as educators across Sub–Saharan Africa (SSA) navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and make efforts to migrate to digitization of schools. Using digital communication tools would enhance and strengthen school communities and family engagement. These tools enable districts and schools to communicate on a dedicated

Schools and districts should identify the best time of

messaging and collaboration platform and maximizes

day to send regular announcements, they should

efficiency There are several tools for digital communication

consider typical parent, home, or work schedules in

that districts and schools could use to send out information to

their regions or zones, and ask families about their

their school communities.

communication preferences. Some of the platforms have options that allows parents to choose when to

BEST PRACTICES FOR USING THE DIGITAL COMMUNICATION TOOLS While most parents are vested in their child’s education

receive the massaging- morning or evening but cannot allow them to override emergency announcements.

and want to be regularly informed, schools must be strategic and purposeful in how they communicate.

Messages that are time sensitive should be identified

Bombarding parents with messages is not an effective

and care should be taken to reduce the risk of too

way to keep them informed and engaged and could have

many uncoordinated messages.

just the opposite effect. Schools should strike a balance with communications that are informative, but not

District and schools should Identify standard, recurring

overwhelming. The content of the messages should have

communications from (District/Zonal leader’s or

tempo, and is well thought out beforehand.

Headteacher/Principal’s update, classroom memos, community resources, as well as routine messages

Districts and schools should space individual messages out

from extracurricular activities teams, and more).

and consolidated communications. For instance, messages from the attendance office, district leaders, principals,

They should collaborate with the appropriate staff

teachers, counselors, extracurricular teams, the parent

members or the communications specialist to agree

teacher groups, etc. can add up fast. Therefore, schools

on daily, weekly, or monthly timing and a schedule.

and districts should consider grouping regular communications into a single, daily message for families

Districts and schools should evaluate the success of

to review at once.

their communication tool and improve the tempo by getting feedback, adapting, and adjusting until

They should consider a communication tool with a unified

everyone including parents are on the same page and

communications that supports grouping the messages

satisfied. These will ensure that families stay

automatically. Or, consider a manual process at the

authentically engaged, instead of flooding their

district or school level, like a centrally managed, daily

WhatsApp numbers with announcements or

bulletin. Both are effective ways to consolidate

interrupted and inconvenienced phone calls.

messaging.

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

22

DIGITAL PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR (DPOY) AWARD ONE PRINCIPAL WILL BE SELECTED AS THE WINNER OF A BRAND NEW LAPTOP! BACKGROUND:

ELIGIBILITY:

Throughout the pandemic, all

Nominees must be principals of an accredited

principals had to embrace virtual and

secondary school (Public and Private schools) in

digital solutions as quickly as possible

Sub-Saharan Africa.

for learning continuity and continued

Nominees must have a minimum of five years

to do so beyond the pandemic

experience as a principal at the time of

period. E.L. Africa magazine wants to

nomination and maintain their position as

honor one principal who has digitally

principal throughout the 2022-2023 school year.

transformed their school with innovative solutions in education. This principal continued to push for digital

As the

nominator, fill out the nomination form then

email us the following materials:

access for students, eliminated

Five statements of support, one of which must be

technology barriers, transformed

from a professional educator

school-community communication

A resume of the nominee: include work history, all

with all stakeholders that increased

degrees earned, and other honors received

attendance, performed record-

A description of contributions made by the

keeping, and infused technology into

nominee from the nomination criteria, in 12 point

all curriculum as a strategy for

font.

engaging students (evidence based).

Proof of school accreditation Picture of nominee

CLICK TO FILL OUT NOMINATION FORM

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 28, 2022 Because selection is based on the nomination information, care should be given to its clear preparation.

Additional questions and should be emailed to elafricamagazine@gmail.com.

23

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

E.L. AFRICA FUNDRAISING EVENT

E.L. Africa magazine held a fundraiser event on 13 November to support students in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with devices, classroom technology tools, and for school leadership development.

As E.L. Africa connects and engages with school leaders across SSA, we came to realize how much they need our help and support to improve their schools, so we organized the fundraiser to seek support to donate technology tools and resources to select classrooms in the region. Some of the tools that students need are class sets of TI calculators (about 30-36), Chromebook/laptops, SmartBoards, copy machines, and 3D printers.

Using technology in teaching and learning today in that region is a necessary change to enable students to compete in the world economic stage. Using technology also raises test scores, improves student learning, enhances literacy, boosts attentiveness, and increases comprehension, just to name a few.

We express our sincere thanks to our attendees and those who provided their support toward our initiative. We still need a lot of financial support and if you want to help our effort, click the button to donate!

DONATE E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING:

THREE PRINCIPALS OFFER THEIR ASSESSMENTS ON THE IMPACT OF LEARNING FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

26

PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING: THE PANDEMIC'S IMPACT ON LEARNING STRATEGIES USED TO ACHIEVE ACADEMIC IMPROVEMENT We trained teaching and non-teaching staff on how to use technology beyond what they were using pre-covid.

We engaged the method of smart classroom in which students of senior classes had laptops to themselves; learning was made easier and simplified.

We planned the classes to be more engaging and interacting because most of these students were already distracted by other activities during lockdown.

We trained our teachers on emotional stress management which has been rewarding.

DR. YAQEEN ABDULLAH HABEEB AL-AZHAR INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE, LOKOJA, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

We experienced changes in the engagement of the curriculum induced lockdown, with new strategies of teaching to enhance academic improvement. The experiences led to addition of extra knowledge in the management of emotional stress as regards to students and even teachers. We had negative impact of the extended lockdown experiences from students in the form of serious anti-social behaviors such as bullying, sex

KOGI STUDENTS OF AL-AZHAR

abuse, and other negative behaviors. Huge forms of indiscipline were observed when the students eventually

Additionally, we used the WhatsApp platform to continue

resumed academic work. It was a big challenge handling

teaching and learning. However, as the lockdown was

these and bringing the students back to a life of

prolonged, we observed the inadequacy of what we were

discipline, but they were surmounted.

using and therefore had to improve the state of the art for digitalization of teaching and learning. After resumption, we now built into our system in full swing the digitization of teaching and learning. This tremendously improved the capacities of students especially for independent study and learning.

HAVE NEWS YOU WANT HIGHLIGHED IN THE E.L. AFRICA MAGAZINE? SEND US EMAIL ELAFRICAMAGAZINE@GMAIL.COM

AL-AZHAR INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING: THE PANDEMIC'S IMPACT ON LEARNING

We made it mandatory for our students to go to computer centers to have a Computer Based Test for their academic assessment.

MR. LAURENCE AGEBE MUMED COMPREHENSIVE SECONDARY SCHOOL, OLUSEGUN OBASANJO DRIVE, KOFAR SAURI, KATSINA STATE MUMED COMPREHENSIVE SECONDARY SCHOOL

The MUMED school management in Katsina State, northwest Nigeria has always had security challenges in the region that has led to several abrupt shutdowns, sometimes without even taking exams even before the pandemic. The Covid-19 lockdown disrupted academic activities and made us alter the whole academic curriculum and instructional strategies.

Upon resuming after the shut down for the pandemic, we could not run the academic activities exactly as we did previously. For instance, the school introduced compulsory extra lessons where previous term works were being treated while the normal period continued with the new terminal work early 2021. Now, there is no third term session. We just stopped at the second term and all third term academic programs are now being covered during the compulsory extra lessons to cover the higher percentage of academics.

Most of these students could not afford to buy the electronic gadgets of their own. They used their parent’s phones to engage in academic activities and on resumption back to school, we made available some few desktops for students, there were challenges of shortage and not enough to support teaching and learning. Consequently, the school could not provide enough computers.

Also, it has not been easy for the school managers because these challenges are dynamic and not static. The state government comes up with different policies at intervals and these further interrupt teaching and learning that had already been affected. A major challenge we faced was difficult for parents to pay their children’s school fees. They complain that their businesses were affected by COVID-19 lockdown; some parents said that they lost their jobs. All of these makes it very difficult to keep running the school post COVID.

STRATEGIES DEPLOYED TO ACHIEVE ACADEMIC IMPROVEMENT We strengthened the use of technology devices in our school.

We engaged the use of desktop computer systems because we discovered that the students now learn better with digital technology.

We practically moved the classrooms into the school’s computer laboratories for each class.

We switched our teachers to electronic smart tablets to deliver the lessons.

STUDENTS AT MUMED COMPREHENSIVE E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING: THE PANDEMIC'S IMPACT ON LEARNING STRATEGIES DEPLOYED TO ACHIEVE ACADEMIC IMPROVEMENT We taught at their pace; first we discovered that the lockdown affected students sustaining attention in the classroom, so we taught per period.

After each lesson, we try to measure the impact by giving the students assessment, initial responses were poor but now the students are catching up.

We engaged the use of technology to teach because we saw that we were able to sustain their interest in learning via technology than the usual four walls classroom settings.

We applied discussion style teaching, and we made it interactive. When we started doing this, we experienced better responses to academic activities from the students.

MRS. AFINIKI AKPAN PTA/NADP INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE, LAFIA, NASARAWA STATE

Our curriculum did not really change, but the means of teaching these students altered the engagement of the curriculum. Teaching students via the website was the only option we had.

We had to upload lessons on the website for each class and you know this was tough because it was not a method we were using before. We imparted knowledge, but not as putting out the entire content of the curriculum because we were not seeing these students and it became difficult

STUDENTS AT PTA

to measure or even assess learning. Our academic calendar changed; we were supposed to have fifteen

Also, we increased the time we give our students to learn in

weeks, we only used ten weeks.

the computer rooms. We noticed a huge shift in interest, they became more familiar with learning on the computer, so we moved most of our teaching schedule to the computer rooms and it has been enhancing the potential of our students.

Most of our students lost interest in studying again because they have been loaded with a lot of activities during the lockdown. It has been difficult helping them to catch up with academics. Some are not even familiar with previous content of their subjects again. The performance in assessment has been poor; they even find it difficult to be stabilized in classes after the lockdown because they are no longer used to it again.

PTA SCHOOL

We discovered that they show more interest in learning via technology than sitting in the class to learn. And again, it has been difficult for some parents to pick up their children’s school bills. They claim their source of living will be affected by the pandemic in 2020. It makes it difficult for the school to provide more instructional materials as we desired.

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

TECH TOOLS:

FREE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES KHAN ACADEMY

CODE

www.khanacademy.org

www.code.org

LEARNING A-Z

BOOM CARDS

www.learninga-z.com

wow.boomlearning.com

BRAINPOP www.brainpop.com

VOOKS

CYBERPATRIOT INTERNATIONAL SPIN-OFFS

www.vooks.com CyberTitan, Nick Dixon, a former five-time

FUN BRAIN www.funbrain.com

CK-12 www.ck12.org

National Finalist Participant at Sisler High School, provides learning resources and tutorial videos online. Nick Dixon creates essential learning tutorials that build on the fundamental skills needed to get started in cybersecurity. His tutorial videos are featured on the cybertitan.ca website

PBS LEARNING MEDIA www.pbslearningmedia.org

as resources that facilitate success in the cyber competition, CyberTitan, the CyberPatriot international spinoff for Canada.

BOOM LEARNING www.boomlearning.com

CODE COMBAT www.codecombat.com

CODE MONKEY www.codemonkey.com

Take a look at the Nick Dixon training videos and build your schools fundamental skill sets. https://www.youtube.com/playlist? list=PLzdSBwX6CczPi_YVtbbRQiZXFqsdNXcC

https://www.youtube.com/playlist? list=PLzdSBwX6CczPi_YVtbbRQiZXFqsdNXcC

EDX www.edx.org

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS www.kids.nationalgeographic.com

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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IN THE NEWS SOUTH AFRICA On 9 December 2021, the National Association of School Governing Bodies (SGB) and South African Association of

CROSS SECTION OF SGB/SAP MEMBERS

Secondary school Principals (SAPA) Gauteng, South Africa held a regional conference in Gauteng to train SGB members on the roles and responsibilities of members to their school communities and fostering relationships between parents

MR. TIM HLONGWANES- SAPA GAUTENG PRESIDENT

and principals in running schools.

SGB MEMBERS

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

GHANA From 14-21 November 2021, the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) Ghana held their 59th annual conference. The event was attended by over 700 members nationally and was held at the Upper East Regional capital of Bolgatanga. The theme of the event was school discipline and child rights in schools and the fate of the school heads/school leaders.

The Ghana education service embarked on a school selection drive for secondary school graduating candidates on 23 November 2021, using infographics and video messages that are circulated in all regions, and in the nine Ghanaian Languages to inform the school community and all stakeholders. They provided opportunities for candidates to make choices before the actual placement. Opportunities for selection of schools starts from 29 November to 14 December 2021. Also On 1 December 2021, The Health Inspector General issued directives for all schools, including private schools to vaccinate students above 15 years

MEMBERS OF THE CONFERENCE OF HEADS OF ASSISTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN GHANA (CHASS)

against COVID.

NIGERIA

During COVID-19 pandemic the EdoBEST program was used for virtual teaching and learning.

On Tuesday, 9 November 2021, two students, Victor Onwuka and Onyinye Okafor from Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) High School in Awka, Anambra State, emerged as the best male chemistry and best female chemistry Students in the federation for the Chemistry Competition, organized by the Chemical Society of Nigeria (CSN) in Lagos.

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has expanded the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) programme to secondary schools and tertiary institutions in the state (EdoBEST 2.0 program). Obaseki launched the Edo BEST two years ago for a technology-based learning model for students, teachers, and education managers.

UNIZIK HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS EMERGED BEST MALE & FEMALE CHEMISTRY STUDENTS IN NIGERIA

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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UGANDA Nearly two years since schools were closed due to COVID-19 pandemic with gradual (phased) reopening for students to take standardized examinations, the federal education ministry has dropped the proposed phased reopening of schools. Now, all education institutions will reopen fully early January 2022. The ministry is expected to adopt automatic promotion for all students.

EXPANDING DIGITAL LEARNING BY EXPANDING TEACHER TRAINING Since the Pandemic, the use of digital learning tools has been steadily gaining momentum in Sub Saharan African schools in nearly all subjects and grade levels and in higher institutions. Education sectors, districts, municipalities, regions and or zonal directors, and school leaders seeking cost-effective ways to expand digital learning and making huge investments in laptops and other digital technologies, including learning management tools for schools.

HAVE NEWS YOU WANT HIGHLIGHED IN THE E.L. AFRICA MAGAZINE? SEND US EMAIL ELAFRICAMAGAZINE@GMAIL.COM

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

WESTERN UGANDA TRAINING FOR TEACHERS TO SHARPEN THEIR TECHNOLOGY TEACHING SKILLS

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

AWUTU SEMYA EAST MUNICIPAL, KASOA GHANA CELEBRATED THE YEAR'S INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD

In October 2021, the Girls Education unit of Municipal Education Directorate in the

Awutu Semya

East Municipal of Kasoa Ghana celebrated the year's International Day of the Girl Child ahead of the 3rd African Girls' Summit in November.

Niger hosted the 3rd

African Girls' Summit,

from 16 - 18 November, 2021 organized by the African

Union. The girls attending the summit appealed to African leaders and the international community to guarantee their rights by educating them and banning early marriages. They girls added:

"Give

us books, not husbands."

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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HEALTH and wellness OSTEOARTHRITIS – DEALING WITH THE PAIN

By Caroline N. Ekey, CRNP., FNP.

Osteoarthritis is characterized by joint degeneration and joint pain. Though there is no known single cause of osteoarthritis, there are

Regular walking exercises are very effective and can be easily done by most people. Healthful eating can help decrease inflammation and pain. Anti-inflammatory diets can help decrease inflammation and pain, thereby decreasing joint degeneration, but no particular antiinflammatory diet works for everyone.

several risk factors for this condition.They include;

advanced age, genetics, excess weight, over

Individuals with osteoarthritis can engage in aqua therapy. This is physical therapy in a pool of water which provides resistance training that strengthens the muscles of the joints without experiencing the strain of full

use and joint stress, sedentary lifestyle/muscle tone.

weight-bearing.

While some risk factors cannot be changed, others can be modified or improved (Curtis, 2020).

When the arthritic joints are stiff prior to physical activity, application of a warm compress can help

The primary treatment goal for osteoarthritis is pain

loosen them up before starting physical activity. After

control. Eliminating inflammation and pain or decreasing

activity, application of a cold compress can decrease

pain to tolerable levels are primary objectives in the

swelling and provide pain relief (Curtis, 2020).

treatment of osteoarthritis. For this reason, efforts to prevent or delay the development of osteoarthritis should

It is necessary that one consults with his or her physician

be our initial focus in combating this condition. Hip

before starting any exercise program. If pain is not

dysplasia, which is often congenital, should be followed by

controlled well enough by other means, your doctor will

orthopedics as soon as discovered. It may not be possible

help you with the best choice of drug therapy to control

to change the aging process or genetic factors, but a lot

your pain. It is not unusual that your doctor may refer

can be done with controlling body weight and changing

you to orthopedics for joint replacement if the cartilage

from sedentary lifestyle to active lifestyle, as well as

has worn down very significantly.

decreasing the amount of stress on the joints, and decreasing over use of the joints.

References: Curtis, S. (2020). Osteoarthritis. Retrieved from

There is evidence that at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week is effective in controlling body weight, maintaining physical strength and muscle tone (CDC, 2021). It is always advisable for one to start out with the type of activities or exercises that one finds tolerable.

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E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

https://www.arthritishealth.com/types/osteoarthritis/osteoarthritis-cause CDC/Physical Activity (2021). Benefits of Physical Activity.

Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pahealth/index.htm

Christmas message from the Executive Publishers Dear Educational Leaders,

We’ve made it to the end of another big and difficult year. Congratulations are in order, as well as a big dose of compassion. This year has been challenging for all of us—some more than others. We’ve learned a lot—about education, about the world, about ourselves. With struggle comes adaptation and growth, but also fatigue, grief, and a need to go inward, rest, and reconnect with ourselves and the things that matter most—our loved ones, our passions, and our well being more generally.

E.L. Africa magazine wants to take a moment to invite you to take a breath.

While many of us are excited to bid this year farewell and see what 2022 has in store, we recognize the importance of completing cycles. For this unique year, it means celebration and gratitude as well as rejuvenation. This can look like taking a few deep breaths to reset our nervous system, making time to relax, giving thanks for our on-going learning, and acknowledging our appreciation for those who have supported us, both personally, professionally, and impersonally throughout the year— hospital workers, state officials, our co-workers, families and friends.

If you’re heading into the New Year feeling fatigued or stressed, we want you to know that we’re with you and we support you. This magazine contains helpful articles full of meaningful suggestions to help you rejuvenate in preparation for starting 2022 fresh and ready for new opportunities. Next year, we will continue to provide leadership professional development webinars to support you through 2022. Don't forget to take the survey to determine areas of need and focus, but for now take great care of yourself.

If this year has taught us anything, it’s that if we take care of ourselves and we take care of one another, we can get through anything.

Warm & Happy Holidays to You & Yours,

Dr.Frances Ufondu & Dr. Ada Omile Executive Publishers

E.L. Africa Magazine

E.L. AFRICA | DECEMBER 2021

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