Research Question Reflection
My teacher partner Tyler and I decided to focus our research question on teachers and pedagogy in Senegal. We discussed doing a student-centered research question, however we are both elementary teachers and were spending most of our time with high school kids. Since neither of us are real sure how to navigate American high schools, and we didn't know a bunch about the Senegalese school system, we decided to go with something we are more familiar with-- the teachers. Since in America (at least in our school systems-- NYC and DC), there is a heavy emphasis and requirement for Professional Development, we were interested in how the Senegalese system valued it. We originally designed our question to read: What are the aims of Professional Development in the Senegalese school systems? Upon further review, we realized that was too broad, so we broke that question up into manageable chunks. We were left with these 4 guiding questions: What are requirements of teachers for Professional Development? How has Professional Development impacted teachers? How would teachers like to see Professional Development change? What percentages are focused on student achievement, professional growth and school improvement?
We discovered that after teachers become teachers, there is very little requirement for what they need to do to stay teachers. There is no follow-up required hours or license renewal. Although there is no requirement, teachers who want to advance or enhance their resumes participate in Professional Developments. Similarly, teachers who are very interested in learning new strategies and methods are also enthusiastic about Professional Development. As is to be expected, teachers that believe in the power of education and are passionate about student improvement are enthusiastic about attending Professional Developments, and wish there would be more opportunities for them to improve their craft. From what we could gather from the passionate teachers, they wish for the students' sake, that more people would participate in Professional Developments, or that the Professional Developments would be required, so the students could advance further. Hence, impacted teachers are the passionate ones, while others remain stagnant. In review, to answer our first question, there is no requirement for Professional Development for teachers, but it is highly recommended for people who are committed and wish to advance on the career ladder. In reference to our second question, Professional Development has impacted teachers who choose to participate quite positively. Our third question answer lies in the opinion of the TEA/ILEP teachers (bright, motivated individuals) who only want the best for their students; thus, they want Professional Development to be more widespread, available and required so the Senegalese school system can keep improving.
Our fourth question had less to do with teachers, and more to do with content of the Professional Developments. We included this particular question because both our school systems use Professional Developments for different uses. Sometimes they are required for training, sometimes they are for required to renew your license, sometimes they are interesting, sometimes you get free swag, sometimes you fall asleep, sometimes they about your school, sometimes they are about the school system, sometimes they are about changing policies of the entire country, sometimes they are mandatory, sometimes they are optional. A lot of our lives has to do with upcoming, past, excellent, or required Professional Developments. We didn't find out much more about this question, much to our dismay. Based on what we learned from the Embassy (that 40% of the country's budget is spent on education), what we heard from speakers (that participation in Professional Developments is sporadic and not mandatory), and from general questioning and observing, we think that most of the provided Professional Developments deal mostly with professional growth and improvement. Obviously, because we didn't get much information, we were left with a few questions.
Considering the percent of the budget that goes to education, how can it be restructured to give more widespread support to teachers not in urban areas? Will required hours be helpful or hurtful to the system in relation to Senegalese geography demands? Related to these questions, other questions were spawned: Are there resources or committees related to Professional Development to enhance the national curriculum? Looking forward, how can some of the federal monetary resources be allocated to increase student attendance? In the light of these questions, however, we noticed a particular highlight. The teachers that we interacted with are an incredibly dedicated bunch. The teachers we were paired with are working tirelessly to advance education methodology, the importance of English teaching, and to help their students (even in the face of strikes of a lot of their colleagues). If any group of teachers could be transformative to a system, it would be this group. Senegal is on the cusp of a major educational change, and these teachers are leading the charge. These teachers fight for equality, work to improve, and advocate for positive change constantly, even with all their challenges. Working with these dedicated teachers was inspiring and life-changing. I will be forever grateful for the lessons I learned there, and interested in the fate of my Senegalese family.
We discovered that after teachers become teachers, there is very little requirement for what they need to do to stay teachers. There is no follow-up required hours or license renewal. Although there is no requirement, teachers who want to advance or enhance their resumes participate in Professional Developments. Similarly, teachers who are very interested in learning new strategies and methods are also enthusiastic about Professional Development. As is to be expected, teachers that believe in the power of education and are passionate about student improvement are enthusiastic about attending Professional Developments, and wish there would be more opportunities for them to improve their craft. From what we could gather from the passionate teachers, they wish for the students' sake, that more people would participate in Professional Developments, or that the Professional Developments would be required, so the students could advance further. Hence, impacted teachers are the passionate ones, while others remain stagnant. In review, to answer our first question, there is no requirement for Professional Development for teachers, but it is highly recommended for people who are committed and wish to advance on the career ladder. In reference to our second question, Professional Development has impacted teachers who choose to participate quite positively. Our third question answer lies in the opinion of the TEA/ILEP teachers (bright, motivated individuals) who only want the best for their students; thus, they want Professional Development to be more widespread, available and required so the Senegalese school system can keep improving.
Our fourth question had less to do with teachers, and more to do with content of the Professional Developments. We included this particular question because both our school systems use Professional Developments for different uses. Sometimes they are required for training, sometimes they are for required to renew your license, sometimes they are interesting, sometimes you get free swag, sometimes you fall asleep, sometimes they about your school, sometimes they are about the school system, sometimes they are about changing policies of the entire country, sometimes they are mandatory, sometimes they are optional. A lot of our lives has to do with upcoming, past, excellent, or required Professional Developments. We didn't find out much more about this question, much to our dismay. Based on what we learned from the Embassy (that 40% of the country's budget is spent on education), what we heard from speakers (that participation in Professional Developments is sporadic and not mandatory), and from general questioning and observing, we think that most of the provided Professional Developments deal mostly with professional growth and improvement. Obviously, because we didn't get much information, we were left with a few questions.
Considering the percent of the budget that goes to education, how can it be restructured to give more widespread support to teachers not in urban areas? Will required hours be helpful or hurtful to the system in relation to Senegalese geography demands? Related to these questions, other questions were spawned: Are there resources or committees related to Professional Development to enhance the national curriculum? Looking forward, how can some of the federal monetary resources be allocated to increase student attendance? In the light of these questions, however, we noticed a particular highlight. The teachers that we interacted with are an incredibly dedicated bunch. The teachers we were paired with are working tirelessly to advance education methodology, the importance of English teaching, and to help their students (even in the face of strikes of a lot of their colleagues). If any group of teachers could be transformative to a system, it would be this group. Senegal is on the cusp of a major educational change, and these teachers are leading the charge. These teachers fight for equality, work to improve, and advocate for positive change constantly, even with all their challenges. Working with these dedicated teachers was inspiring and life-changing. I will be forever grateful for the lessons I learned there, and interested in the fate of my Senegalese family.