Evidence of good practice and impact of technology-enabled teacher learning circles
key details
| Location | Global |
| Start date | 10/02/2021 |
| End date | 30/04/2021 |
| Client | Save the Children Norway (Redd Barna) |
BACKGROUND
In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education service delivery around the world, particularly in humanitarian contexts, Save the Children Norway commissioned a review of evidence of good practice and impact regarding technology-enabled teacher learning circles.
Teacher wellbeing is a notable concern for those seeking to deliver effective education, and teacher learning circles and peer-to-peer networks are a recognised means of promoting engagement and mental health/psychosocial support amongst teachers. However, the evidence is unclear as to how technology affects these benefits in humanitarian contexts, as well as other issues including inequity in access to hardware.
The review conducted by OpenDevEd helped the Save the Children team to better understand good practice and the evidence base behind effective technology-enabled teacher learning circles/peer-to-peer networks. This guidance will be used in Save the Children’s support to ministries of education, teacher training institutions, and Global Education Cluster working groups.
CONTRIBUTIONS
OpenDevEd staff, working in collaboration with Save the Children’s Education in Emergencies Adviser, performed the following key tasks:
- Produced a literature review and best practice list identifying, reviewing, and synthesising academic and grey literature on teacher learning circles
- Conducted key informant interviews and other qualitative data collection methods to summarise existing knowledge within and beyond Save the Children’s programmes
- Conducted a barrier analysis—based on literature review, qualitative data collection, and further desk research—to identify key barriers and enablers to promoting effective teacher engagement through learning circles / peer-to-peer networks
- Developed a concise guidance note for Save the Children programme and technical teams—incorporating a literature review, evidence synthesis, barrier / enabler analysis, and good practice list—on implementing and supporting teacher learning circles, with appropriate tools for teams to localise and contextualise their establishment and key performance indicators to monitor them
RESOURCES
The primary data collection from this programme informed the development of a chapter for the book Future-Proofing Teacher Education: Voices from South Africa and Beyond, available from Routledge in eBook and hardback format here.
— Programmes outputs in our Evidence Library
