Enhanced management capacities and work-life relevance of teacher education

HEP-TED’s first outcome aims for enhancing management capacities to strengthen work-life relevance of teacher education.

The first outcome, the need to ‘improve management capacities’ stems from a gap identified in the needs assessment of the Rwandan higher education (HE) system, which has been conducted by the collaborating higher education institutions (HEIs) prior to the project implementation phase. The assessment revealed that quality is often perceived or executed as an external exercise by the Rwandan Higher Education Council (HEC) and the HEI quality assurance directorates. 

To address this, the project supports the development of quality assurance mechanisms as an integral part of HEI management and pedagogical development through continuous development of pedagogy and programme delivery. It aims to foster a culture of accountability and active agency for quality assurance procedures. The positive  impact of these efforts will be reflected in students’ access to HE, teaching and learning, assessment  processes, graduates’ labour market transition, and community engagement.
Focus of our activities

Development of collegial and individual quality practices

  • The activities engage both students and teachers through the development of a self-assessment framework for teachers, and student feedback mechanisms. 
  • Training is conducted for the managerial staff to develop a framework for professional development discussions. 
  • A collective quality forum is created for teachers and institutional managers and quality assurance officers. 
  • Benchmarking of international quality assurance mechanisms and applying these in the local context will be carried out.

Improved HEI responsiveness to regional and economic development

  • Through benchmarking, training, and a stakeholder consultation forum, an external audit will be designed and piloted with the Rwandan Higher Education Council (HEC). 
  • For quality assurance and employability, a forum for communication will be developed, with the participation of the HEC, HEIs, and additional stakeholders (such as local industry and school leaders). 
  • In pedagogical training for a competence based curriculum and assessment, a focus will be on improving the curriculum for regional engagement, for example, with the East Africa TVET qualifications framework. 

Inclusive approaches in higher education management and programme design and implementation

  • The current institutional policies related to inclusion (including disability and gender) will be reviewed and baseline studies carried out with a view of incorporating theoretical aspects as well as practical implementation into pedagogical and management training, and quality assurance procedures. 
  • Mechanisms for supporting female students’ participation in technical programmes will be developed, including a baseline study on female students’ support needs, and  training on gender inclusive STEM/STEAM education, as well as consideration of the ethical perspectives.