The People's Republic of China: Sichuan, Xinjiang and Ningxia provinces, Strengthening Capacity in Basic Education in Western China (CIDA): January 2001–September 2007
Sector: Education and Education Reform
Region: North and Central Asia
Funded by:
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Government of the People’s Republic of China
Total Value: Canadian contribution: C$10.5 million
Partners and Counterparts:
In Canada: Alberta Education, Athabasca University, University of Alberta, University of Calgary
In China: The Department of Foreign Trade and Commerce (DOFCOM), Ministry of Education, National Centre for Educational Technology, Provincial Centres for Educational Technology in three provinces, six District Education offices and 360 schools
Purpose
To strengthen basic education through enhanced teacher education systems using distance education (DE) in selected poor counties of western China.
Challenge
The project design was very complex, and was delivered in three ethnically, linguistic and geographically diverse areas. Project beneficiaries were expected to acquire a set of sophisticated knowledge and skills as they moved from a teacher-centred to a student-centred instructional approach—a departure from participants’ traditional practice that required significant behavioural change.
At the beginning of the project, there was a strong tendency on the part of the Chinese to equate modern education technology and distance education with procurement of computers and other technology equipment. Project partners needed to be convinced that the project focus on capacity building was as important as the acquisition of additional hardware.
Approach
Agriteam assembled and led a consortium to provide technical assistance using a collaborative and participatory approach with participants at the national, provincial, county and school levels. The project used a side-by-side learning-by-doing methodology in which Canadian and Chinese specialists worked together to achieve goals. These teams brought different but equally important areas of expertise to the learning process.
Project Description
The project supported the development of strategies and action plans related to the implementation of quality teacher in-service training programs using distance education and sensitivity to gender and minority issues. From the early stages, it was clear that training school teachers would only be successful if the policies and strategies surrounding teacher training and certification were in place.
The project focused on developing individual, organizational and system-wide capacities in three main areas:
Policy System: Working at the national, provincial and county levels, the project developed a system to develop a distance education policy, with a focus on provincial and county requirements for teacher training.
Distance Education Materials: The project worked with the Ministry of Education’s National and Provincial Centres for Educational Technology to design instructional materials for in-service teacher training and classroom instruction using appropriate distance education technologies. The focus here was on developing capacity to design modules that were gender sensitive, based on student-centred learning and appropriate for use in remote areas of western China.
Teacher Education: The project established school-based Learning Support Centres for use by both teachers and the community. It also strengthened the capacity of these centres to use distance learning modules and to apply pedagogical approaches for educational instruction in classrooms. Teacher education employed a blended model of distance education—combining distance education content delivery with face-to-face facilitation.
Results
- Distance education courses and resources were developed and delivered via satellite.
- More than 10,000 teachers and administrators in the six project counties participated in professional development activities using the DE materials developed by the project.
- The quality of teaching improved. Project teachers are effectively implementing student-centred strategies in the classroom.
- Students’ retention rates increased. In the six project counties, the school drop-out rate in both primary and secondary schools decreased significantly.
- Provincial- and county-level staff developed and agreed upon a Strategic Planning Framework for the Delivery of Professional Development of Basic Education.
- Each county developed criteria for the number of professional credit hours teachers would receive for their participation in project-developed DE courses and resources.
- 28 research activities were carried out to improve the teaching-learning process and to use research to make education decisions. There is now a cadre of researchers in place to sustain and further enrich educational research in the country.
- 26 case studies were prepared on lessons learned during project implementation. These included teacher education and student-centred instruction, distance education course and resource development, the roles of the Learning Support Centres, educational leadership and research issues.
- Learning Support Centres were established in 360 schools. These centres included leadership and pedagogical support to complement the technological support required to download and distribute distance education materials.
- A Professional Learning Community Online Support Platform (distance education platform) was built to support teachers taking DE courses. The platform includes both an interaction section (blogs, forums, synchronous chat, and ask the expert) and management section (document management, gallery of best practices, record keeping, platform help course certification).
By the end of the project, Chinese partners clearly understood that while having good technological infrastructure to support the delivery of distance education was a necessary component of their education reform process, equally important was the development of pedagogically sound distance education content. They understood that the latter increased the knowledge and skill of basic education teachers in using technology to enhance learning for their students.
Project Director
Lenore Rogers
lrogers@agriteam.ca
