FROM INITIAL PREPARATION TO PRACTICE: TEACHER EDUCATION AND QUALITY IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN THE SOUTHERN STATES OF SOMALIA

Authors: Mohamed Diyat Abdi, Purity Muthima & Wilson Mutuma

ABSTRACT

Teacher quality depends not only on the qualifications teachers hold at entry, but also on the professional learning and support they receive throughout their careers. In Somalia, the Somalia National Teacher Policy (SNTP) 2021 established provisions for teacher education, continuous professional development (CPD), mentorship and coaching, yet implementation takes place in a fragile education system where many teachers enter classrooms without professional education qualifications and access to structured professional learning remains uneven. This study examined the effect of teacher education, training and professional development provisions on teacher quality in public primary schools in the Southern States of Somalia. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used. Quantitative data were obtained from 341 teachers and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, Analysis of Variance and multiple regression. Qualitative interviews, classroom observations and document review were used to explain the statistical findings. Teacher education, CPD opportunities, and mentorship and coaching collectively had a significant effect on teacher quality, F(3,337) = 100.708, p < .001, explaining 47.3% of the variation in teacher quality (R² = .473). Teacher education was the strongest independent predictor (β = 0.351, p < .001), closely followed by mentorship and coaching (β = 0.348, p < .001). The availability of CPD was positively associated with teacher quality but did not show an independent significant effect (β = 0.093, p = 0.074). Qualitative findings revealed greater government engagement in investing in teachers’ education and school-based training, but also inequality in CPD accessibility, reliance on donor-financed training programs, and instructional planning. It can be concluded that initial preparation and school-based training have a greater effect than occasional training opportunities and that a planned approach for professional development is needed at a national level involving pre-service preparation, induction, CPD, mentoring and coaching.

Keywords: teacher education; continuous professional development; mentorship; coaching; teacher quality; Somalia National Teacher Policy; fragile education system

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