After years of isolation and strict state controls, Albania is moving towards a more democratic system offering its institutions greater autonomy. A study by the University of the West of England (UWE) examines the reforms taking place in teacher education. Why were changes necessary? How successfully have they been implemented?

During the 45 years of Marxist-Leninism, travel into and out of Albania was not allowed. The higher education community was therefore unable to benefit from advances in teaching methodology and scientific research taking place in the rest of the world. Before changes could be made to teacher training in Albania it was essential to improve understanding of teacher education in other countries.

In 1995, after visits by Albanian professors to several European Union countries, a feasibility study funded by TEMPUS was undertaken by UWE. This was followed by a structural Joint European Project during which the University worked with Albanian teacher training institutions, Ministry representatives and the Institute of Pedagogical Research to identify areas for improvement in teacher education. Although each institution identified areas specific to their own needs, four national priorities emerged:

• restructure school experience and develop school partnerships
• introduce more active learning and pupil-centred methods of learning
• update educational science and research
• develop accreditation.

The study examines the implementation of the first priority which became the project’s major focus. Prior to the project, students training on the secondary teacher training course had only two weeks of teaching practice during their four year programme. This was assessed solely by a written examination. Intending primary teachers spent a fifth of their course in schools with school-based experience given greater recognition. The majority of the experience was, however, observation and there was again no formal assessment.

The universities have all now restructured their primary programmes to increase still further the amount and nature of professional experience for students. Institutions have been free to determine the content and requirements which vary between institutions.

Further observations from the study include:

• Primary teacher training has been easier to reform than secondary partly because an increase in school-based experience was seen as a development of existing tradition and beliefs. For secondary training the reforms challenged established expertise making restructuring more difficult.
• Change was easier in institutions where institutional leaders and senior management understood the reforms because they themselves had had opportunities to see alternative practices outside Albania.
• Staff needed support to implement the reforms. Handbooks for school mentors, students and university staff were produced and school based mentors were given training in how to assess students’ performance in schools.
• School-based mentors, their schools and their trainers received additional payment from the SOROS Foundation to implement the reforms.

Despite internal political unrest and the effect of problems in Kosovo, there has been steady progress in implementing the reforms. However, there is still no national agreement on the minimum level of knowledge and skills that students must attain before entering training or qualifying as teachers. Equally, there is no system of external examining of students to assess the effectiveness of training partnerships.

The study suggests the following are vital next steps in the reform of Albanian teacher education:

• the development of accreditation and evaluation procedures to ensure confidence in the quality of teacher training
• the introduction of a system of accountability within the new institutional autonomy.

Source(s):
‘Teacher Education Reforms in Albania’, by J. Whitehead, European Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 23, No. 1, p.85-94, 2000 Full document.

Funded by: TEMPUS

id21 Research Highlight: 10 October 2002

Further Information:
Joan Whitehead
Faculty of Education
University of the West of England
Frenchay Campus
Coldharbour Lane
Bristol
BS16 1QY
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 117 344 4226
Contact the contributor: Joan.Whitehead@uwe.ac.uk

University of the West of England

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