TTE

Transforming Teacher Education in Zambia

The Transforming Teacher Education (TTE) Activity was a five-year, USAID-funded initiative in Zambia designed to better align pre-service teacher education with evidence-based practices used in primary schools. Implemented in partnership with Florida State University (FSU), the project worked with 12 universities and colleges of education to strengthen how future primary school teachers are prepared. By building the skills of more than 70 Zambian teacher educators, the project aimed to improve the quality of instruction for roughly 9,000 teacher trainees and, ultimately, strengthen literacy learning for children in Zambian classrooms.

STS played a leading technical role through its Zambia field office, working directly with colleges, universities, and the Ministry of Education to turn research into practice. In the first year, STS and FSU conducted a nationwide situational analysis to understand how teacher training institutions were operating and where improvements were most needed. These findings informed tailored recommendations for each institution and guided revisions to existing pre-service courses. This early work ensured that project activities were grounded in local realities and aligned with national priorities for teacher education.

Building on this foundation, STS supported the development and rollout of new literacy and language training modules for pre-service teacher educators. STS helped pilot, refine, and finalize these modules, supported lecturer trainings, and strengthened the school experience component of teacher preparation so that student-teachers could better connect theory with classroom practice. The project also invested in people and institutions by supporting Zambian lecturers to participate in residencies and graduate study at FSU, equipping them with advanced skills they could bring back to their institutions. STS further supported participatory action research, enabling lecturers to study their own practice and contribute to national and international conversations on teacher education.

In the final year of the activity, STS helped scale and sustain these reforms. The team supported Training of Trainers workshops, follow-up coaching for lecturers, and the national rollout of an improved school experience model across public colleges of education. STS also worked closely with the Ministry of Education to strengthen leadership and ownership of the reforms, including convening regular meetings that placed Ministry officials at the center of decision-making. Through this combination of technical support, capacity building, and partnership, STS helped strengthen Zambia’s teacher education system in ways designed to last beyond the life of the project.

Dates: 2020 – 2025