**4. Teacher development through open and distance learning**

Teachers across the globe have pursued the opportunities offered by open and distance learning. For example, in 1990s about 130,000 South African teachers which was one third of the total workforce were studying through the use of different open and distance learning courses (SAIDE, 1995). Also 200,000 Chinese teachers were supported by the Television Teachers College in upgrading their qualifications (McCormick, 1992). From 1970s to 1980s in the UK, tens of thousands of teachers upgraded their qualification to graduate level through the Open University (Moon, 1997).

In many countries where higher qualifications of teachers lead them to career opportunities and salary increases, teachers have been attracted to the access, flexibilities and low cost of open and distance learning opportunities. However, according to Perraton (2010:6):

Open and Distance Learning for Teachers' Professional Development:

**5. The Bangladeshi context** 

professional development in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh tends to focus on memorising facts.

untrained (UNICEF, 2009).

2007).

(BANBEIS, 2010).

training strategies which have been applied previously in Bangladesh.

The English in Action (EIA) Model for the Global South 97

and learning strategy (Robinson & Latchem, 2003) which has not been widely adopted yet in Bangladesh. The model which is the focus of this chapter is called the English in Action (EIA) Model and is currently being implemented in Bangladesh. The application of this supported open and distance learning model is distinctly different from the typical teacher

Since the passing of the Compulsory Primary Education Act in 1990, considerable changes have been made to the formal education system in Bangladesh. As a result of legislation and government efforts, the enrolment rate increased from 60% to almost 91% in 2008 (UNICEF, 2009). But universal primary education, the second MDG of the UN has still to be achieved. The increase in numbers of newly enrolled students has made necessary the construction of more primary schools and the employment of many additional teachers. According to the governement agency, between 1990 and 2008 the number of primary schools rose from 47,000 to over 82,000; primary teacher numbers increased from 189,500 to 366,000

Despite the fact that secondary education is neither compulsory nor free, there was also significant growth in the secondary education sector over the period 1990 to 2008. Again the number of schools rose from almost 10,500 to 18,750 with student enrolments more than doubling from 3 million to 6.8 million in 2008. Similarly secondary teacher mumbers increased significantly from 123,000 to more than 219,500 (BANBEIS, 2009). With such a concentration of newly appointed teachers in both primary and secondary education sectors, the provision of adequate and appropriate training became a key issue for teachers'

Poor qualifications and lack of teacher motivation are major challenges for Bangladesh to provide a well-equiped teaching workforce. However, there have been a series of government's and non-state providers' initiatives aimed at significantly improving the quality of teaching and learning through both curriculum and pedagogic reforms in all sectors. The traditional and dominant way of teaching and learning in most schools in

In the primary education sector, the Second Primary Education Development Programme (widely known as PEDP II) resulted in the availability of the training being revised and extended for newly appointed teachers to improve quality. Approximately 24% teachers of the government primary schools and registered non-government primary schools are

In the secondary education sector, there has been a recent shift in emphasis from increasing quantity to increasing quality. There have been a number of dvelopmental projects; and reforms have been made to improve educational quality with the help of international development partners of the country. Since 1999, the initiatives such as the Secondary Education Sector Improvement Plan (SESIP), the Secondary Education Sector Development Project (SESDP) and the Teaching Quality Improvement Secondary Education Project (TQI-SEP) have been implemented. Through these initiatives, changes have been made to both pre-service and in-service teacher training for the secondary education sector (UNESCO,

'open and distance learning has been widely used for initial teacher training, for students who enter the profession with a background in primary, secondary or tertiary education, but has often been organised on a one-off basis rather than as part of the established structure of teacher education'.

For example, an early ODL programme in Kenya was given the highest priority to raise teachers' own educational background to a certain level. A much more recent programme in Chile was designed to support the increasing use of information technologies in schools. It was entirely concerned with reorienting teachers for the changed curriculum. The current trend is to strengthen teachers' practical classroom skills; however, it is administratively difficult and likely to be costly to achieve (Perraton, 2010).

Open and distance learning has gone through a rapid evolution and embraced a changing trend of mobile technologies. These have been used for two purposes: to distribute teaching material to learners, and to allow interaction between learners and facilitators or among learners. Open and distance learning has also been used to support changes in the curriculum for each subject. It has played an important role in making teachers familiar with information and communication technologies. It has also been used to support teachers' professional development through structured programmes designed for specific groups of teachers, as well as provide opportunities for teachers to upgrade their skills. However, open and distance learning solutions have the advantages of interactive and non-interactive technological application, and it is recognised that in-school learning rather than out of school is the key to improvement for teaching and learning in the classroom.

In this era of technology, all forms of teacher education programmes are exploring the possibilities of using technology in context. By utilising new interactive forms of technology, open and distance learning has a great role to play in the process of teachers' professional development. New methodologies and technological tools are increasingly being integrated with new theoretical perceptions about the importance of combining the theoretical and practical elements in teachers' professional development at all levels.

Open and distance learning for teachers' professional development needs an integrated support system and according to Leach (1996) where:


The school is increasingly seen as a place for learning within new models of teachers' professional development programmes. Therefore, the development of new models of teachers' professional development programmes incorporate school contexts within the model. Supported open and distance learning is a successful and well-established teaching and learning strategy (Robinson & Latchem, 2003) which has not been widely adopted yet in Bangladesh. The model which is the focus of this chapter is called the English in Action (EIA) Model and is currently being implemented in Bangladesh. The application of this supported open and distance learning model is distinctly different from the typical teacher training strategies which have been applied previously in Bangladesh.
