Gra

2016
Global Leadership Training Programme in Africa 2014
Activity Report of Field Research

A Study on Continuous Professional Development System of Primary Teachers in Uganda
1

Hiroshi Eto

I.

Summary

The aim of my fieldwork was to clarify the significance and challenges of the Continuous Professional
Development System of Primary Teachers in Uganda. Its primary teacher education consists of three
trainings as follow: 1) pre-service trainings for trainee teachers; 2) in-service training which offer programsfor certified teachers to upgrade their certificates and 3) workshops which are not related to their
qualifications, but provide them with a number of opportunities to join. The latter two are called theContinuous Professional Development (CPD) because these trainings give certified teachers continuous
vocational guidance through their careers.
The pre-service training is offered by the Primary Teachers Colleges (PTCs). There are two types ofcourses. One is a 2-year full-time course; another is a 3-year program for part-time trainees. The latter isheld during school holidays, so that teachers who are not adequately qualified can study and acquireappropriate teaching certificates. The in-service courses are three-year programs offered by someuniversities and National Teachers Colleges. Those who enroll this training are mainly certified teachers.
A variety of workshops are also parts of CPD. Some workshops are sponsored by the District Education
Offices; others are events of NGOs. Trainers called Coordinating Center Tutors, or CCTs, play importantroles in these primary teacher trainings. They are responsible for supervising teachers at school. They arestaffs of Core PTCs, which are specially designed to deal with both pre-service training and CPD. CCTs
have their districts with a certain number of primary schools where they regularly visit and supervise. Apartfrom their daily visits, they sometimes conduct workshops for teachers. Through their outreach activities
involving workshops, CCTs play an important role in primary teachers’ CPD in Uganda.
To clarify the stakeholders’ perceptions towards CPD, I conducted interviews with teachers, CCTs,
trainers of PTCs and education officers through this fieldwork. Teachers’ voices indicated that they aresatisfied with the system of CPD and keen to receive more trainings. However, the interviews with teacher
trainers revealed that they find it difficult to conduct more CPD activities due to the lack of funds as wellas human resources. Some teachers and trainers suggested that voluntary CPD activities should be
encouraged. If primary school teachers initiate their unique CPD at school, the issues regarding thepromotion of CPD can be solved.

1
Hiroshima University, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Educational Development Course,
Masters’ course 1st year student, Kyambogo University, Term (6th Oct, 2016 ~ 19th Dec, 2016)

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I.

要旨

本研究の目的は、ウガンダにおける初等教員の継続的職能開発制度の意義と課題を明らかにすることである。同国での初等教員にかかわる教師教育は次の３つから成り立っている。１つは、教員としての最低限の資格を与えるものであり、教員養成（Pre-service）と呼ばれる。２つ目は、すでに学校に勤務している教員に対し、より上位の教員資格を与える（上進）もので、上進現職研修（In-service）と呼ばれる。３つ目は、教員資格に関係しない現職教員研修であり、単にワークショップ（Workshop）と呼ばれる。この研修は、多くの機関により行われ、教員もこうしたワークショップに参加する機会を持っている。これら研修のうち、上進現職研修とワークショップは現職教員に継続的に研修を受ける機会を与えるものであり、継続的職能開発（CPD: Continuous Professional Development）と呼ばれている。
教員養成は初等教員養成学校（PTC: Primary Teachers College）にて行われ、２種類のコースが存在する。１つ目が２年間の全日制のコースであり、もう１つが３年間のパートタイムのコースである。このパートタイムのコースは適正な資格がないまま学校で教壇に立っている、いわば無資格の教員が教員資格を取得できるように、学校の長期休業中に行われるものである。上進現職研修は主に大学と中等教員養成学校（National Teachers College）により行われる。これは３年間のコースが存在し、主に、上位の教員資格の取得を希望する現職教員が受講する。ワークショップは様々な種類のものが行われ、地方の教育委員会によって行われるものもあれば、NGO によって行われるものもある。しかし、現職教員への研修において特に重要な役割を担っているのは、調整センター指導員（CCT: Coordinating Centre
Tutor）である。CCT は初等学校を巡回型の教員指導員であり、その主な業務は、初等学校を巡回し、学校で校長を含む教員の指導を行うことである。CCT は、PTC の中でも、教員養成と CPD の両方を担当する
中核 PTC（Core PTC）に所属し、それぞれの CCT は複数の初等学校を含む担当地区を持っている。CCT は
上記の通り、日常的に初等学校を訪れて、教員の指導に当たっているが、学期ごとに担当地区の教員を集めてのワークショップも行っている。こうした巡回指導とワークショップを通じて、CCT はウガンダにおける初等教員の CPD に関して重要な役割を担っている。
インタビューより、ウガンダの初等教員は CPD に対し肯定的な意見を持っていることが明らかになった。また一方で、より多くの研修を必要だと考えていることも明らかになった。しかし、教員指導者のインタビューからは、資金の不足と人員不足によりこれ以上の CPD を行うことは困難であるという意見が挙がった。この課題に対し、何人かの教員や教員指導者からは、学校ベースでの CPD がもっと行われるべきであるという提案が聞かれた。また、初等教員の研修に対する認識からは、教員が研修に対して受け身の姿勢を持っていることが感じられ、学校の課題を自分たちの工夫で解決していこうという意識は見えなかった。もし、初等教員が自分自身で学校ベースでの研修により自ら学ぶ姿勢を強めることができれば、資金や人員の不足といった多くの CPD を取り巻く課題を解決することができると思われる。

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II.

Research Activity

1. Introduction
Since the implementation of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) in Uganda in 1997, the enrollmentof primary students has drastically improved. Despite this, Sawamura3 argues that pupils’ learning
performance has been worsening. This means that, while the implementation of UPE has significantly
addressed issues regarding access to education in quantity, its efforts have a limitation in improving thequality of education. There are many factors influencing it; among other things, roles played by teachers
are critical. From this point of view, the Ugandan government launched the Teacher Management andDevelopment System in 1994. Its objective is to improve the quality of education by reconstructing bothpre-service and in-service training schemes.
The current relevant studies focus on the in-service training as part of its Continuous Professional
Development, or CPD, which plays a key role in improving the quality of education. Some issues regarding
a lack of teachers’ motivation to learn as well as their low interest in training are often discussed. However,as Sakakibara4 points out, this type of problem is not only ascribed to teachers, but also to the implementing
bodies of CPD. For example, many studies on Japanese cases indicate that training courses for teachers
have nothing to do with their wills, and unwanted training as such tends to discourage them from it.
The aim of my field research was to clarify the significance and challenges of in-service training in
Uganda by exploring the perceptions of teachers and its implementing bodies: District Education Offices,
Kyambogo University, Primary Teachers Colleges (PTCs) and Coordinating Center Tutors (CCTs). The
acquisition of an adequate teaching certificate is necessary to be a primary school teacher in Uganda.2 The
minimum requirement to become a primary teacher is to obtain a license called Grade III certificate issued
by PTCs. By enrolling its 2-year full-time or 3-year part-time courses, trainee teachers can acquire thislicense. The 3-year part time program is designed mainly for uncertified teachers to get Grade III. In fact,
due to the serious shortage of teachers, those without teachers’ certificates work at school.
There are two ways in which certified teachers receive continuous vocational training. One is a scheme
which offers them training programs to upgrade their certificates. Another is to attend various workshops
held by external organizations, including the District Education Offices and NGOs. The CCT system of
Uganda is very unique and pivotal in CPD. Their main activities are to visit primary schools and mentor
teachers, including head teachers. PTCs are in charge of the entire primary teacher education involving
CPD, and 23 of them are designated as Core PTCs, which are CCTs’ bases. All activities of them aresupervised by Kyambogo University.
This field trip to Uganda involved semi-structured interviews. The interviewees are 27 primary teachers(including 2 head teachers and 2 deputy head teachers), 3 CCTs, 2 deputy principals of Core PTCs, 16teacher trainees, 1 university lecturer and 1 school inspector. To clarify the activities of CCTs, theobservation of them was also conducted for half a day.

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2. Study Area
The planned interviews were carried out at 4 primary schools (two in the capital city; the others in otherareas), 4 primary teachers’ colleges, 1 university, and 1 District Education Office.
I visited Primary School A and B in the center of the capital, Kampala city (29 in Figure 1). Primary
School C is in Kamuli district, a rural area far from Kampala (30 in Figure 1). Primary School D is also arural school in Mukono district near Kampala (61 in Figure 1).
I visited 4 Primary Teachers’ Colleges. 3 of them are located in central region, and the other is locatedin eastern region.
District Education Office H is in a district near Kampala.
Figure 1 Districts of Uganda

Source) Ministry of Local Government Uganda
http://www.gou.go.ug/content/local-governments (see on 15/Dec/2016)

3. Methodology
This field survey employed a qualitative approach. I interviewed with 27 stakeholders, including primaryteachers, head teachers, deputy head teachers, CCTs, deputy principals of Core PTCs, teacher trainees,
university lecturer and school inspector. The question items were semi-structured. A visit to Primary School
A involved interviews with 6 teachers, a head teacher and deputy head teacher. I talked with 5 teachers, 7teachers (including a head teacher), and 7 teachers (including a deputy head teacher) at School B, C and D.
The interviewed trainers were 1 deputy principal in PTC E, 1 deputy principal, 3 CCTs and 2 trainees in
PTC F, and 1 CCT in PTC G. I met 14 trainees to talk in PTC H, and 12 of them were teachers working atprimary schools without adequate qualification. An interview held at District Education Office H was with
1 school inspector, and I talked with 1 lecturer in a university.
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Table 1 shows the categories and number of interviewees of this study.
Table 1 The Number of Informants

Teachers

Teacher Trainers
A

B

C

D

Teacher Trainee

Pri m a ry Teachers ' Col l eg e
( PTC)

Primary School

E

Total

F

G

PTC

PTC

F

H

Total

2

No n - Qu alifie d
T e ac h e r

0

12

12

Total

He ad T e ac h e r

1

0

1

0

2

De pu t y Pr in c ipal
(Ou t r e ac h )De pu t y He ad
T e ac h e r

1

0

0

1

2

CCT

0

3

1

4

Ot h e r t r ain e e s

2

2

4

T e ac h e r

6

5

6

6

23

T o t al

8

5

7

7

27

T o t al

1

4

1

6

T o t al

2

14

16

Education Officer

1

1

0

University Lecturer

District
Education
Of fic e

University

Total

Total

Sc h o o l
In spe c t o r

1

1

Le c t u r e r

1

1

T o t al1

1

T o t al1

1

Source) Author

The interview included the four main questions below:
1 What are the challenges of primary school in Uganda?
2 What is the significance of primary teacher trainings in Uganda?
3 What do primary teachers learn from the teacher trainings?
4 What are the challenges of the system of the teacher trainings?
In addition, I attempted to understand the system of primary teacher education by reviewing therelevant policy papers. Through the fieldwork the documents listed below were collected at bookstores in
Kampala and provided by its CCT and lecturer of Kyambogo University:
1. Teachers Code of Conducts (1996) [Education Service Commission], (available at a book store in
Kampala)2. The National Primary Curriculum for Uganda (All grades, subjects) [National Curriculum
Development Centre], (available at book stores in Kampala)3. Government White Paper on The Education Policy Review Commission Report [Republic ofUganda], (available at a book store in Kampala)4. Tutor Training Series Module Five Management for the Outreach Tutor [Ministry of Educationand Sports], (offered by a lecturer of Kyambogo University)
5. Coordinating Center Action Plan for September 2016 , (offered by a CCT)
6. Teacher Monitoring Tool [Ministry of Education and Sports], (offered by a CCT)

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4. Research Findings(1) Challenges of Schools

Ugandan primary schools have faced several challenges. Through the observations of the schools andpupils, I realized that apparently, the facilities are not enough. Due to the shortage of classrooms, more than
100 pupils use one room and the only one teacher has to handle them. In Primary School A, its limited
capacity prevented 125 pupils of Grade 4 from being divided into several classes.
Figure 2 Empty classroom

Source) Author

Moreover, some schools were lacking classroom furniture, like chairs and desks. Figure 2 is a picture ofa classroom without furniture. This empty space was used by students of the seventh grade. When I visited
there, the students already left after the final examination. Chairs and desks seem to have been used in otherclassrooms.
Table 2 demonstrates how teachers, head teachers, deputy head teachers and trainers think of thechallenges of the primary schools.
Table 2 Challenges of Primary Schools

Teache rs
Lack of school facilitie s f orpu pils (classroom, fenc es…)
Pupils don't have school
materials (book, pen …)
Large size of class (then umber of pupils in a c lass)Head Te ac hers, De pu ty
Head Te ac hers
Lack of sc hool facilities for
pupils (classroom, fe nces…)
Lack of pare nts' c ooperation
Pu pils' dropout

Pupils' bad welafare (school
lunch …)
Pupils' bad behavior( viole nce, break rules…)

Pu pils don 't have sch ool
materials (book, pen…)
Pu pils' bad welafare (sch ool
lu nch…)
Pu pils' bad beh avior(violenc e, break ru les…)

Pupils' poverty

Lack of teachers

Lack of parents' coope ration

Train ers
Lac k of school facilities f or
pupils (classroom, fence s…)
Teache rs' bad welfare( salary, accomodation …)
Large size of class (then umber of pupils in a class)
Lac k of parents' cooperation
Lac k of teach ers
Location (very ru ral area)

Source) Author

Some teachers recognized poor school facilities for pupils, like classrooms, desks and chairs as one of
the challenges. In their view, difficulties that pupils are likely to experience at school are in terms of the6lack of books, pens and every other material for studying. One teacher of School D referred to the challenges
regarding the school lives of students as follow:“(Some pupils) come from poor families. Some of them lack scholastic materials. Late coming,
absenteeism, so which relate to poor performance.” (Parenthesis is added by the researcher)
Meanwhile, none of trainers mentioned any difficulties experienced by pupils. This implies that theybasically pay attention to teachers rather than pupils.
(2) Significance of Teacher Trainings

Table 3 shows the significance as well as benefits of the teacher trainings which teachers and trainers
perceive.
Table 3 Significance of Teacher Trainings

Teache rs

Head Te ache rs, De puty
Head Te ache rs

Trainers

To ge t skills, kn owledge

To get skills, knowledge

To get skills, knowle dge

To refresh teach ers

To refre sh teac hers

To interact with others

To h elp teach ers

To shape a nation

To stimulate teac hers
To in teract with othe rs
To gain teach ers good
relationship with pupils
To boost pupils'
performanc e
To h elp sc hool
Source) Author

Many teachers (18 out of 23 surveyed teachers, 2 out of 2 head teachers and 1 out of 2 deputy headteachers) recognized the trainings as opportunities to get more skills as well as knowledge in teaching. For
example, a teacher of School D said,“I think it is very important things, because it helps us to widen our, us, to get more techniques
skills and so many things have been upgrade.”
Her comments indicate that teachers think that attempts to broaden their views and obtain more skills arenecessary for teachers. In addition, this teacher told about the skills like this,“We have to keep on adding, adding.”

7

Some teachers referred to that one of the benefits from a set of training courses is it allows teachers to
update their knowledge in teaching. The fact that the workshops are often called “refresher courses” seems
to represent their attitudes towards the trainings.
(3) Contents of Trainings

Table 4 demonstrates what teachers learn from the teacher trainings including workshops.
Table 4 Contents of teacher trainings

Te ach ers

Head Teach ers, De pu ty
Head Teach ers

Traine rs

About lesson s and subje cts

Abou t n ew c urricu lum

Abou t le ssons an d su bjec ts

About spec ial n eeds
e duc ation

Abou t lessons and su bjec ts

We akn ess reported by CCT
reportAbout n ew curricu lu m

Te ac he rs' e th ic s

Sch ool administration

How to h andle pu pils

How to admin istrate school

How to make le sson plans
and sc he mes

How to preve nt pupils'
dropout

How to teach in local
lan guage

Teac hers' ethics

How to mobilize pare nts

Te ac he r pare nt relationsh ip

Readin g an d writing

How to assess pu pils

Review of national exam

How to teac h in loc allanguage
Source) Author

While interviewees’ answers reveal the variety of contents of the teacher trainings, there are some
remarkable responses from certain schools. For example, teachers of School A pointed out the trainings
regarding special needs education. It has something to do with the unique circumstances of this school,
which accepts some pupils in need of special attention. The teachers have made a number of the attempts
to look after them, leaning from local education offices and NGOs. Meanwhile, teachers of School C andD commonly referred to training programs for the reduction of dropouts. Most teachers of School C in arural area are concerned with delinquent students as well as parents’ indifference to education. In fact, themostly half of the teachers of this school have been participating in the trainings on how to prevent pupils
from the risk of dropout. One of the teacher said that he had joined the workshops “to bring back children
in schools”.
Actually teachers have opportunities to join the external workshops, but there are some factors
constraining their attendance. The workshops usually take place outside of school, and this makes themincur transportation cost. If they want to join the workshops held during the semester, they are forced tocancel their classes. Some teachers said that they shared the contents of external workshops within school,
but workshops voluntarily organized by teachers are not necessarily popular. For example, one School A
teacher mentioned:“Within the schools. Sometimes out, with by some organization [...], we are having thoseworkshops opening hard in some by UNICEF [...]”

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In a view held by this teacher, the workshops are things offered by external rather than internal facilitators.
Meanwhile, some primary schools have voluntarily organized their workshops. For example, in School B
teachers have organized their own workshops regarding mathematics and science. According to theircomments, this type of voluntary workshop is not regularly held.
My interview revealed that School A and B have workshops relevant to their challenges. These aremainly organized by NGOs, and positively accepted by the teachers. However, no workshop and internal
discussion to cope with their particular interests as well as challenges is organized by themselves. In otherwords, workshops as part of CPD allow them to passively learn, but do not include their active involvement
in developing their skills and competence.
(4) Challenges of Teacher Trainings

As their voices above indicate, teachers are positive about acquisition of knowledge as well as
improvement of their skills and keen to get involved in teacher trainings. Table 5 shows how theyrecognized challenges of these opportunities for continuous learning.
Table 5 Challenges of Teacher Trainings

Te ache rs

Head Te ache rs, Depu ty
Head Te ache rs

Not enough opportun ities

Not en ough opportu nitie s

Lack of allowanc e (forteac hers)
Time sch edule (in tervene
school sch edule)
Cannot join be cause offamily issue sLack of funding (forfacilitie s, transportation )Lack of intern al workshops

Suggestion is ign ore d
Not practic al

Trainers
Time sc he dule (inte rven e
sch ool sc hedu le )Lac k of fu ndin g (forfac ilities, transportation)
Lac k of allowan ce (forte ache rs)

Lac k of fun din g (forfacilities, tran sportation)

Lac k of skills of facilitators

Lac k of in tern al worksh ops

Not prac tic al

Location (far from sc hool)

Contents are limited (on ly
one subjct or area)
Lack of skills of fac ilitators
Te ache rs' low motivation
Source) Author

Most teachers said that upgrading their knowledge and skills necessitates training programs and are
significant, but they think that opportunities to do so are not necessarily enough.
According to teacher trainers, one of the problems of the teacher trainings is associated with aninsufficient fund to develop teaching materials and infrastructures, including buildings as such. Also, there
is a time constraint to learn. Since the teacher trainings are usually held on weekdays of schools terms,
teachers need to cancel their classes to join the trainings. This restrains them from having more
opportunities to receive trainings.
The surveyed teachers mostly agree with the importance of the teacher trainings, but the interview
revealed that they still have some complaints about the training programs. Apparently, their criticism of thelack of funding for the trainings does not necessarily matter; rather, their attitude does. In trainers’ view,
9some teachers do not have enough abilities to teach. Many teachers showed positive attitudes towards thecontents of the teacher trainings, but they seem to be satisfied with receiving these services passively. In
fact, Table 6 demonstrates their implicit assumption that skills as well as knowledge in teaching are givenby the trainings, rather than acquired through their own efforts.
Table 6 How teachers can get skills

Te ac he rs

Head Te ach ers, Deputy
Head Te ach ers

Traine rs

Th rough train in gs

Throu gh Train in gs

Th rou gh trainings

From oth er te ach ers

From othe r te ac h ers

From oth er re sou rc e pe ople
outsideFrom othe r re sou rc e pe ople
outsideFrom oth er sch ools
Th rough te ac hinge xpe rie nc e
Th rough re se arch
From doc ume nts (books,
n ewspape rs…)
From pupils
Source) Author

Many teachers think that teaching skills are offered by the trainings. Some teachers answered to myquestion as if a teaching ability were given by their colleagues and people outside of the school. Table 6
clearly shows that the teachers associate acquisition of teaching skills and knowledge with the attendanceof the teacher trainings. Only a few teachers said that they need to acquire a set of skills necessary forteaching through their own experiences as well as self-learning. An account of a teacher trainer below is
critical, suggesting that the teacher trainings should not be understood as programs to give teachers
vocational abilities and expertise, but mechanisms to promote their individual, subjective efforts to learn:“They can get the skills through training, that what I was, they need to be supported by training,trainings, having trainings and practical trainings.”
Actually, many teachers used the terms “new knowledge” and “new skills.” This implies that theyrecognize everything acquired through the trainings as “new.” In their view, skills are not things obtained
through an attempt of developing an ability, but like items and services they can receive without being
active.

5. Discussion
As mentioned above, it is conventionally believed that the challenges of teacher trainings are attributed
to low motivation as well as commitment of teachers. My field trip to Uganda indicated that they are rather
keen to be involved in CPD.

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One of the challenges uncovered by this study is relevant to a limited fund to set up an adequate
environment for training. Generally, classrooms are not sufficient in both number and quality. Sometimes,
pupils have to sit down on the floor. One of the schools I visited had a temporary building with the roof
only, I saw that the pupils were taught under a big tree (see figure 3).
Figure 3 Lesson under a tree

Source) Author

The poverty of pupils’ families tends to cause dropout, which is widely recognized as a difficulty inschooling. Some pupils do not have notebooks and pens. Many pupils do not eat lunch at school because
their parents cannot afford to pay for meals. Some teachers told me that many pupils drop out of schools,
and they are trying to bring them back to school.
These challenges make teachers feel the necessity of teacher trainings. In general, they seem to besatisfied with the teacher trainings. As previously mentioned, Primary School A and C have their own
training programs related to their unique challenges regarding special needs education.
Remarkably, most teachers think that more opportunity for training is necessary. Their responses to myquestions indicate that they attend the teacher trainings once or twice per term on average. Meanwhile, theinterviews with teacher trainers reveal that the number of training staffs is not necessarily enough to copewith all things to do. A number of roles played by CCTs are essential for operating the trainings, but the
shortage of these trainers as such is one of the biggest challenge of CPD.2
Time and financial constraints are likely to make the training programs undesirable for teachers. The
workshops are usually held far from their bases, but there is no support for transportation. Travel time forparticipating in the workshops is also a matter, and a lack of substitute teachers makes it difficult for themto join the workshops held during school hours and terms. The workshops are often held on holidays. This
prevents teachers with children from joining this type of CPD.
One of the interviewed deputy head teachers suggested as follows:“The challenges is that a sometimes they are held far from schools, for us it is OK, because maybe
we are near [...], but some schools which are very far they find it difficult to transport teachers there.

2

A CCT of a PTC is expected to visit and support averagely 100 primary schools. The schools show a geographicaldifference in number. They are centralized in urban regions; a CCT in a central region works for a district with over
500 schools. By contrast, a CCT in a rural, eastern region is responsible for approximately 70 schools to visit in his/her
area.

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[...] they should they brought to schools inside, it should be internal workshops more internal
workshops than external workshops.”
If teachers organize their own workshops, this enables them to solve these difficulties and discuss about
specific issues which they have experienced at school. Therefore, an internal workshop should behighlighted as a more practical means to exercise CPD, and there needs to be a system to encourage themto set up and implement it in a voluntary manner.
This research was not designed to explore how often school-based workshops are hoped to be held, andwhat contents they are expected to include. Teachers’ demands for CPD at school would be revealed byclarifying these questions.

6. Conclusion
The CCT system of Uganda faces a number of challenges, but primary school teachers have a positive
view of its teacher trainings. Most of the issues seem to be rooted in the fact that the trainings are
systematically given to teachers from outside, rather than created by them. In fact, those who plan andfacilitate workshops are CCTs, District Education Officers, and NGOs. Teachers just go to attend theplanned workshops, receiving some “new knowledge” and “new skills.” As discussed in Chapter 4, teachers
are less active in finding distinctive solutions to problems which their school uniquely experiences. The
lack of funding and shortage of facilitators are apparently the biggest challenges in implementing thetrainings, but these could be solved by organizing a workshop at school.
In short, the promotion of CPD internally held at school is likely to be key to improving the primaryteacher training system in Uganda. In an interview, a District Education Officer told me his attempt toencourage teachers to set up an internal workshop. One of the interviewed CCTs also mentioned that healways urges them to link topics of workshops with things necessary for them. For teachers, acquisition of“new knowledge” and “new skills” is necessary for handling school activities, but they are hoped to take amore voluntary, subjective approach to solving the challenges in CPD.
Finally, I want to cite one head teacher’s remarks about CPD:
“A teacher, first case teachers themselves should be a student. He should be willing to learn fromthe student, so that is the student also learn from the… Be interactive as they learn from you, should
also learn from there.”・ Acknowledgement
My deepest gratitude goes to Dr. Osamu Saito, Dr. Kana Miyamoto, and all staffs who organized thisexcellent Global Leadership Training Program. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to myacademic advisor at Kyambogo University, Dr. Justine Otaala, for his continuous support and invaluableadvice throughout the whole period of the program. In addition, my old colleagues helped me to connect tosome informants, I really appreciate their assistance. Finally, I really appreciate the cooperation of teachers,
teacher trainers and officers in Uganda with my research.

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・ References
1 Hardman, F., Ackers, J., Abrishamian, N., and O’Sullivan, M. (2011): Developing a systemic approachto teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa: emerging lessons from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
2 Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) (2013): TEACHER ISSUE IN UGANDA: A DIAGNOSISFOR A SHARED VISION ON ISSUES AND THE DESIGNING OF A FEASIBLE, INDIGENOUS
AND EFFECTIVE TEACHERS’ POLICY
3 Sawamura, N. (2008): Uganda No Syotokyoikumusyoka 10 nen No Gennjo To Kadai (in Japanese)[Current situation and issues after ten years of free primary education in Uganda], Kokusai
Kyoryokuronsyu 11-2 p151-162
4 Sakaibara,Y., Yamato, M., Kobayashi, S. (2005): Jikosyosatsu Wo Unagasu Tanosii Kyoinkensyu No
Houhou ―” Ataerareru” Kara “ Tomonitsukuridasu” Kensyu Ni Kansuru Tsuisi (in Japanese) [AnPleasant Off-the-Job Teacher Education, that leads Effective Self-Reflection - A Repetitive Research for"Collaboration" in Teacher Education instead of "To be given"], Kyoiku Jissengaku Kenkyu 10 p71-86
5 USAID EQUIP2, Strategies for Enhancing Basic Education System Performance (2003): The Role,
Performance, and Contribution of Coordinating Centre Tutors to Education quality 2003
6 Ward, M., Penny, A., and Read, T. (2006): Education Reform in Uganda – 1997 to 2004. Reflection on
Policy, Partnership, Strategy and Implementation, Researching Issues 60, Department for International
Development, knowledge and researchIII.

Reflection to the GLTP in Africa

The reason why I joined this program is that I used to work as a volunteer teacher in Uganda about 10
years ago. In that experience, I felt many challenges around schools, but in those days, I could not find thereason and ways of improving the conditions. After that period, I had worked as a teacher in Japan for about
7 and a half years, and I felt that I may be able to consider understanding the challenges of schools in
Uganda and to find out something.
The things I felt most from my experiences is that the most important factor is a person. Talking ofschools, it is teachers who affect schools most, so I have thought that the quality of education is heavily
based on the quality of teachers. In Uganda as well as Japan, teachers have opportunities to receive
continuous professional development. However, considering poor situation of primary education in Uganda,
can it be said that the system works well? I wanted to clarify this question, and explore some ways of
improvement. Therefore, I joined this program to investigate the real conditions of primary schools in
Uganda, and to collect the real perceptions of stakeholders.
Through these visits, I interviewed 51 people (in addition to these above, I interviewed other 16 students
of PTC and 1 lecturer of university). The challenge I felt most in my fieldwork is that it was difficult to findout informants. First, I had to find schools to visit, and next, I had to negotiate to interview. However, allof them were very kind to accept my interview in a busy time, so I really appreciate their cooperation.

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Through this research, I could find out many challenges of primary schools in Uganda, and I still feelthat the key is the people. In the future, I hope to work in an international development organization and to
be involved to improve education not only in Uganda but also in other countries in Africa.
This program offered me very precious experiences. Through this program, I could feel the real situationof Ugandan education. We can feel the real situation only when we spend the time in the field. In addition
to this, this program offers the opportunity to take a support from local researchers. This support must be
the best support in studying in the field. I can ensure that this program offers the participants the great
opportunity to experience the real field.

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