School Leadership and Teacher Mental Health, Quality Assurance in Education and Social Dialogues for Teachers: Highlights from KIX Africa 19 Hub Webinars
Teachers play a central role in students’ ability to achieve educational excellence. This was neatly summed up by Andreas Schleicher, the Director for Education and Skills at the OECD, who noted that “The quality of an education system can never exceed the quality of its teachers” (Schleicher, 2019). When teachers are well qualified, well trained and well supported by their schools, societies and governments, they are better able and more motivated to address their students’ learning needs — and their students tend to perform better (UNESCO IICBA, 2023). This strongly suggests that teachers are central to students’ academic success.
With this in mind, Africa 19 Hub, in partnership with the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities (AFTRA) and the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), organized three webinars - two in June 2024 and one in August 2024 - to i) facilitate knowledge exchange among education stakeholders on how school leadership and governance impact teachers’ mental health and well-being; ii) assess the implementation of quality assurance initiatives in African teacher education systems and generate recommendations for improvement; and iii) showcase effective practices that have influenced policy development, particularly regarding teachers’ salaries and working conditions, through collective bargaining and consultation.
The three webinars attracted a total of more than 180 registrants, primarily from governments, local education groups, universities and civil society organizations, from across Sub-Saharan Africa. This blog post contains a summary of each webinar.
Webinar 1: The influence of school leadership and governance on teachers’ mental health and wellbeing in Africa
School leadership and governance shape not only the environment in which teachers work but also the support systems that influence their mental health and professional development. The discussions from the first webinar highlighted the many ways in which teachers’ overall well-being and professional performance are influenced by their school leadership and governance. Dr. Christian Adai Poku, Secretary General of AFTRA and Registrar of the National Teaching Council of Ghana, delivered the opening keynote address, during which he emphasized the need for ongoing discussions about how school leadership affects teachers’ mental health. He defined a leader as someone who can navigate cultural nuances, foster healthy dialogue and build bridges.
A panel session followed the keynote address and covered three key topics: i) linkages between school leadership and teacher well-being in Africa, presented by Dr. Victoria Kisaakye of IICBA; ii) strengthening school leadership and governance to better support in-service teachers in Africa, presented by Richard Etonu of Education International; and iii) country experiences on school leadership and governance, presented by Dr. Ebby Mubanga, Registrar of the Teaching Council of Zambia, and Petros Melaku, KIX Africa 19 Hub Focal Point for Ethiopia. All the presenters emphasized that effective leadership creates an environment in which teachers feel valued and supported, and this in turn boosts teacher retention and education quality.
Dr. Kisaakye and Mr. Etonu outlined six key characteristics of effective leaders: clear vision, strategic decision-making, collaboration, pragmatism, respect for teachers’ autonomy and strong communication. They emphasized the importance of emotional intelligence, as leaders with these skills promote teachers’ mental health and work environments (Gómez-Leal et al., 2021). Additionally, targeted interventions such as counselling services and peer support networks were highlighted as vital for fostering teacher resilience (Kangas-Dick & O’Shaughnessy, 2020).
The second webinar looked at how to enhance the quality of teacher training programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. It explored the challenges and opportunities associated with developing competent teachers in the region. Several participants shared their concerns about the quality of both pre-service and in-service training. For example, one participant shared the following statement in the chat box during the workshop:
Sadly, we have lowered the quality of teacher education such that today we have teachers who themselves do not know what to teach. Our Teacher Education quality in Nigeria needs to be improved on. We must also make it attractive.
Quality pre- and in-service teacher education and certification were framed as methods to empower teachers and elevate the teaching profession. This assertion is backed by research that shows that teacher professional development (TPD) programs that are focused on relevant pedagogical strategies, subject knowledge and classroom management help improve not only teacher performance but also student learning (IDRC, 2024).
Dr. Hungi Njora of IICBA set the stage by sharing examples of issues impacting the quality of teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa, including teacher shortages, low levels of trained teachers, inadequate pre-service training, insufficient resources, low levels of continuing professional development (CPD), heavy workloads, burnout, poor living and working conditions, low salaries, and challenges related to status, job satisfaction and motivation.
Professor Josiah Ajiboye, the president of AFTRA and the Registrar/Chief Executive of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, gave the opening keynote address. He emphasized the need for systematic quality assurance in teacher education, stressing the importance of training programs that not only develop pedagogical skills but also meet the specific needs of local communities. The keynote address was followed by a presentation by Dr. Josephine Esaete of Makerere University (Uganda) in which she shared quality assurance and self-diagnostic tools, as well as indicators used in teacher education programs in Uganda to help teacher educators self-diagnose problems.
The third webinar, held in August 2024, addressed the significance of social dialogue in the teaching profession. Mr. Oliver Liang of the International Labour Organization defined social dialogue as including “all types of negotiation, consultation or simply exchange of information between, or among, representatives of governments, employers and workers, on issues of common interest relating to economic and social policy. . . can be bipartite, between workers and employers . . . or tripartite, including government.”
The webinar began with welcome remarks from Mr. Saliou Sall, Senior Program Coordinator at UNESCO IICBA. He highlighted the vital role of teachers in society and the importance of supporting their well-being. He also emphasized that teachers’ voices on issues such as empowerment, salaries, training and career development are often ignored, despite the challenges they face, including large classroom sizes and limited access to professional development and quality pre-service education.
Dr. Ebby Mubanga, Registrar of the Teaching Council of Zambia, delivered the opening keynote address. He presented the National Framework on Social Dialogue for Teachers in Zambia, focusing on the components of the framework, strategic objectives, stakeholder involvement, lessons learned and gains achieved from its implementation in Zambia. He also highlighted a variety of challenges that arose during the process, such as dealing with multiple teacher unions and variations in the implementation of school-level social dialogue because of different administrative/leadership styles, etc.
The keynote address was followed by a panel session featuring Mr. Oliver Liang, Head of Public and Private Services Unit and Senior Specialist for Education, and Mr. Pedi Anawi, Regional Coordinator, Education International – Africa.
Key discussion topics in Mr. Liang’s presentation included the role of international frameworks such as the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948, Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949, ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers (1966) and The UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel (1997) and institutionalization of social dialogue in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr. Anawi presented on the extent of the institutionalization of social dialogue in Sub-Saharan Africa. In his presentation, he reiterated the earlier sentiments of Mr. Sall, Mr. Liang and Dr. Mubanga, emphasizing that social dialogue helps to both achieve more equitable and sustainable societies by reducing inequalities and improving working conditions and also provide legitimacy to and ownership of public policies.
Mr. Filbert Baguma, Secretary General of the Uganda National Teachers Union, and Dr. Ebby Mubanga, from Zambia shared best practices for creating policies that improve teachers’ salaries, working conditions and overall professional status through collective bargaining. They also shared insights into successful practices for establishing dialogue platforms. For example, the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) has organized social dialogue meetings for education stakeholders as part of its World Teachers' Day celebrations since 2017, showcasing how these mechanisms can strengthen teacher advocacy and improve education systems.
Takeaways
All three webinars allowed participants from the KIX Africa 19 Hub to share current best practices and to learn from each other through productive discussions. In addition, the webinars underscored the need for effective leadership, quality teacher training and robust social dialogue to create sustainable, high-quality education systems in Africa.
Participants’ post-event survey feedback on the webinar series was positive, with an average of 81% of attendees saying it was useful to them and their work.
The KIX Africa 19 Hub Secretariat is also happy to announce that there is an ongoing monthly Africa Teachers Webinar Series that focuses on topics such as continuous professional development, the role of technology in teacher professional development and preparing teachers to provide education in emergencies. For more information, please visit IICBA’s website.
References
Gómez-Leal, R., Holzer, A. A., & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2021). The relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership in school leaders: a systematic review. Cambridge Journal of Education, 52(10), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2021.1927987
IDRC. (2024). Teacher professional development: A research synthesis. https://www.gpekix.org/knowledge-repository/teacher-professional-development-research-synthesis
Kangas-Dick, K., & O’Shaughnessy, E. (2020) Interventions that promote resilience among teachers: A systematic review of the literature. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 8(2), 131–146. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2020.1734125
Schleicher, A. (2019, June 25). What teachers tell us about their work. OECD Education and Skills Today. https://oecdedutoday.com/talis-teaching-learning-international-survey-oecd-teachers/
UNESCO IICBA. (2023). West Africa – Investing in teachers and school leaders: Professional standards, working conditions, and teacher education [Draft]. https://www.iicba.unesco.org/sites/default/files/medias/fichiers/2023/10/IICBA%20Study%202023-4%20West%20Africa%20Teachers%20Oct%202023.pdf
