The Ugandan Teacher Educator Exchange Programme took place from the 10th of April to the 25th April 2010.

Introduction
I applied for a place on this programme to help me learn about Ugandan culture and development education issues. In my teaching at UL I try to promote intercultural awareness and sensitivity through my English pedagogy classes. Literature and visual media like imagery and film are a very powerful resource in engaging students with pertinent themes for cultural critique. However, to teach this work effectively I have to be aware and sensitized to my own attitudes and feelings on these issues and therefore this programme offered me a wonderful opportunity for the ‘felt experience’ of another culture. It afforded me insights which could not have been achieved at a distance.

The Programme

The programme itself was rich and varied. Our first day consisted of a visit to the Irish Embassy in Kampala where we met the Irish Ambassador Kevin Kelly. Kevin informed us of the type of work he is engaged in and in terms of education his present priority is developing schools and villages in the North of the country which are extremely poor. He also stated that a problem in this area is sporadic violence from extremist factions. Kevin welcomed the fact that a shadowing programme between Universities in Kampala and Ireland could build professional capacity.

The central part of our work began on day two when we visited KU and met our shadowing partners. My partner was Ruth Kyambadde, a lecturer in English and a coordinator of a distance education programme outreaching to Sudan. Ruth worked with student teachers who were in University to achieve a teaching qualification to degree level. These students were already practicing teachers as they held a Diploma in Teaching from one of the local Teacher Training Colleges.

I talked with Ruth about her work and shadowed her for a week. She informed me of the English syllabus she taught and the approach she took in working with students. We agreed an approach for working together which involved

• both partners learning from each other as professionals by observing lectures/ tutorials
• both partners appreciating the context which embedded the teaching and learning process
• the observer in the classroom giving feedback to the lecturer with a focus on what the lecturer would like feedback on eg classroom interaction etc

The classes which I attended were year two and year three B.Ed. students with 27 in 2^nd year and 47 in 3^rd year. Ruth’s teaching themes included language maintenance and shift in sociolinguistics, the difference between myths and legends and creative writing focusing on editing and proof reading skills. In the class the format and layout was ‘traditional’ where students sat in rows and columns. The seats were welded together to prevent them being taken from classroom to classroom. The methodology involved the reading of relevant handouts, explanation and some questions. Ruth also tried some pair work with students in the final class visit. Students edited sample paragraphs and a whole class discussion followed. It was notable that Ruth was very respected by her students and that students themselves were most cooperative and eager to learn. From the photographs included in this report a picture of the classroom space speaks for itself.

Ruth and I had post-observation discussions during which we discussed classroom teaching and particularly the area of student involvement. Ruth and I shared the content and approaches to the syllabus and it was clear that Ruth’s purposes were related to the teaching of English as a discipline and my work entailed the pedagogy of English as a school subject.

As part of the shadowing programme both Ruth and I interviewed each other. This I found most enlightening. We followed the interview schedule devised by CGDE where questions like ‘Tell me about your youth?’ ‘Tell me how you became a teacher educator?’ and ‘Do you like your work?’ were most interesting and revealing. Ruth also informed me about cultural issues related to tribal structures, male and female roles in Ugandan society, the problems they contend with (aids, lack of resources etc.) and general day to day life.

On campus I also visited the library, special needs school, a primary school used for student training and a venue where central marking for the distance education programme scripts were being done. I interacted with the group marking English and learned how it was being done. In the special needs school I saw how textbooks are transferred to Braille script. I noted how inclusion of students with such special needs as hearing and visual impairments was a priority and was effectively catered for. I noted from my library visit the shortage of up-to-date material to help lecturers and students. I had many conversations with Ruth’s colleagues in the English Department. I spoke with the Dean of Education who informed me about the development of a thematic curriculum for primary schools and its implementation in outreach education centres. This initiative indeed is very impressive and we could learn from it here in Ireland.

Our exchange programme also involved visits to a primary school and to a school for deaf and visually impaired children. This visit to such a special school was interesting for many reasons but especially in relation to sensory methodologies for children with auditory and visual impairments.

Lessons Learned

• Building capacity between two different cultures is both complex and rewarding. Complex in the sense of making sure this is not a once off isolated happening but a sustained project with tangible goals. Rewarding in the sense that this opens such opportunities for sharing understandings of development and capacity building issues –eg teacher quality and professionalism.
• The social and economic infrastructure of a country has such an impact on educational provision that progress in education involves both a local and national coordination of resources.
• The key resource in all education endeavours is the person.
• Material resources and expertise can help to develop professional educator capacity.
• The context in which one works greatly impacts the teaching and learning process especially in the area of material resources available to the teacher and learned

The Future

Ruth and I will remain in touch through e-mail and continue our professional conversation. We will also share resources. I also know some of Ruth’s professional needs and interests when she visits Ireland as part of the shadowing programme. I can plan for these needs and interest by developing a suitable timetable for her.

Conclusion

I have found this a most worthwhile programme for my own professional development. Working with colleagues from Mary Immaculate College, St. Patrick’s, Drumcondra, St. Mary’s, Belfast and the University of Limerick has been a most collegial and enlightening experience. I especially want to thank Rosarii and Patricia for organising us and making all this possible. You do great work.

Well done and thank you.

Written by Carmel Hinchion, University of Limerick