Issues in recruitment & training for mother tongue- based multilingual education Seminar on Multilingual Education Kabul, March 2010 Susan Malone

Supportive political environment Preliminary research Advocacy & mobilization Teaching & learning materials Recruitment & training Acceptable orthography Stakeholder cooperation Components of successful MT-Based BE programs Graded literature Documentation & evaluation

Thinking about recruitment

Steps in planning for recruitment Identify the positions that need to be filled Identify responsibilities related to each position Identify qualifications required for each position Plan for on-going technical, financial, and personal support for people in each position.

Step 1. Identify personnel needed for successful / sustainable MLE programs in the language communities: Teachers (fluent in the students’ L1 and in L2) Writers, artists and editors (to produce L1 teaching and learning materials) Supervisors Coordinator Community Advisory Committee

Personnel needed at sub-national and national levels: Supervisors Trainers / Training Coordinator Linguists Curriculum writers Monitors / Evaluators Steering Committee / Coordinating Body

Step 2: Identify reasonable qualifications for MLE program staff Teachers Writers, artists, editors Curriculum developers Supervisors Trainers Evaluators Others

Step 3: Plan the process for recruiting the people that will be needed but are not already in the program.

Step 4. Plan the system for providing on-going technical and financial support; have the financial support confirmed before beginning recruitment and training.

NOTE: If there are few or no certified teachers who are fluent in the minority languages, here are some ideas from other countries:

1.Establish a new level of teacher (“L1 MLE teacher” or “Village teacher”, etc.). 2.Identify responsibilities, qualifications, and pay scale for this position. 3.Plan pre-service and in-service training programs for these teachers 4.Plan a process by which experienced “village teachers” can receive further training to become fully certified teachers.

Thinking about training…

Training methods appropriate for MT-Based multilingual education Teacher training courses established especially for MLE (special focus on language development in L1 & L2) Training workshops—pre-service / in- service Apprenticeships and mentoring from ‘Master Teachers

Special training focus in MLE programs: language development Build Oral L1 Introduce & build fluency in L1 literacy Introduce and build fluency in Oral L2 Bridge from L1 to L2 literacy Build fluency in L2 literacy Use L1 and later L1with L2 for instruction

Major emphasis of all training in multilingual education programs… …supporting MLE staff as they gain competence and confidence to initiate and sustain their programs

Questions for group discussion 1.What positions will you need to establish for your MLE program? 2.What qualifications will be required for each position? 3.How will you recruit staff? 4.How and where will staff be trained? What needs to be done to establish on-going, quality training for this program.