This document discusses UNESCO's Teacher Training Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa (TTISSA), launched in 2006 to improve teacher quality and quantity in the region. The initiative supports countries in addressing teacher challenges over 10 years through activities like developing teacher policies, building capacity through workshops and guides, creating innovative training approaches, and advocacy around issues like teachers' working conditions. UNESCO Dakar implements TTISSA through technical support, tools, data collection, and an online learning platform to help teachers develop and share resources.

2. By: Melissa S. Barker

4. This project aims to improve the capabilities of pre-service
and in-service teachers and facilitators to utilize ICT as
pedagogical tools and educational resources.

5. Training Teachers to Integrate
ICT into Education
 The "Training and
Professional
Development of
Teachers and Other
Facilitators for Effective
Use of ICT in Improving
Teaching and Learning"
project involves training
teachers to create
lesson plans utilizing
ICT and to use
educational software.
 A regional online
teacher resource base
has been developed
and implemented and a
network of teacher-
training institutions has
been established so
that teachers can share
their education
courseware and
innovative practices.

6. Activities
 Training Programmes for Teacher Educators
 Meeting with Key Players in ICT in Teacher Training:
9-10 May 2005, Bangkok, Thailand
 Expert Meeting on Training Modules on the Effective
Use of ICT in Teaching and Learning: 20-21 January
2005, Bangkok, Thailand
 Training Workshop for Project Country Team
Leaders/Trainers - Professional Development for ICT
Integration: 24-27 June 2004

7. Activities
 Writing Workshop for a Regional Guideline and
Competency-Based Standards for Teachers
Technology-Pedagogy Integration: 28-31 March 2004
 Workshop on the Development of Guidelines on
Teacher Training in ICT Integration and Standards for
Competency: 27-29 September 2003
 Experts Meeting on Teacher Training in Technology-
Pedagogy Integration: 18 – 20 June 2003

9.  The Teacher Training Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa
(TTISSA) contributes to improve access, quality and
equity of education through improving the quality and
quantity of the teaching force in the region. The
initiative supports the region’s Member States in
addressing teacher-related challenges over a period of
ten years (2006-2015).

10.  TTISSA is one of UNESCO’s three core Initiatives in
education, along with the Global Initiative on
Education and HIV and AIDS (EDUCAIDS) and the
Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE).

11.  The initiative works in partnership with other
stakeholders to ensure a coherent, strategic approach
to teacher issues.

12. UNESCO's Teacher Training Initiative for sub-Saharan Africa
(TTISSA) launched in 2006 is an effort to rethink the issue of
teachers.

13. UNESCO Dakar works in four main
areas:
 Support to developing sound teacher
policies: UNESCO Dakar provides technical support
services, tools and approaches to perform a
diagnosis of the situation of teachers. This include
support to revising existing polities and/or engaging
in training.
 The aim is design and implement viable national
policies on teacher training, recruitment and
retention, as well as on issues relating to the status
and working conditions of teachers.

14.  Capacity-building: UNESCO Dakar has produced
a methodological guide to analyze various facets of
the teacher challenge at the national level. The guide
has so far been used to analyze the situation of
teachers in Benin, Burundi, Lesotho and Mali.
 Inter-country workshops are also organized to share
and exchange assessment results and experiences.

15.  Creation and adoption of innovative
approaches: UNESCO Dakar works to improve data
on working conditions and status of teachers to take
their professional needs and career aspirations into
account when devising policies.
 Another innovation is an online learning platform that
is being developed to enable teachers to learn from
each other and to develop, share and assess their
teaching aids.

16.  Advocacy: UNESCO Dakar facilitates the exchange
of knowledge and experiences on teacher policies
among sub-Saharan African countries.
 The annual World Teachers’ Day on 5 October
provides an opportunity for UNESCO to reach out
with key messages related to teachers.

17. REFERENCES
 http://en.unesco.org/
 http://www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/ict-in-
education-projects/training-of-teachers/training-of-
teachers-and-facilitators/
 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/ed
ucation-building-blocks/teacher-education/ttissa/
 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/dakar/education/teac
her-training-initiative-for-sub-saharan-africa/