Endline Assessment Report of Pre-Service Teacher Education Programs and Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) in Bauchi and Sokoto States, Nigeria

The four TEIs supported for this intervention include three institutions in Bauchi state: Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic (ATAP), College of Education Kangere (CoEK), and Aminu Sale College of Education (ASCoE); as well as one institution in Sokoto state: Shehu Shagari College of Education (SSCoE). A baseline assessment took place in 2016 to guide the NEI Plus intervention and to identify TEIs' needs regarding EGR. The intervention was designed to address needs identified at baseline and provided the TEIs with: (1) EGR curriculum and methodologies, (2) A one-week training for teacher educators and mentor teachers on reading/literacy instruction related to EGR, (3) A 13-week course for student teachers covering the components of EGR skills instruction, and (4) EGR instructional materials for teacher educators and student teachers, including technology. The objective of the endline assessment was to identify any changes in teacher educator knowledge and pedagogical practices since the baseline assessment conducted at the start of The Initiative's intervention in each of the TEIs. The research questions (RQs) for the endline assessment are: (1) At each TEI, has the capacity of teacher educators to teach EGR and reading/literacy courses to preservice student teachers changed since the baseline assessment? (2) At each TEI, how has the intervention impacted instructional methodology and resources used in the college classroom? (3) Are the master teachers and teacher educators from each TEI trained during the pilot still providing EGR instruction? If not, why not? To determine whether the intervention impacted teacher educators' ability to teach early grade reading and literacy, a passive observational design was employed. Data from the endline assessment will shed light on how 'on track' the TEIs are to prepare preservice teachers to teach early grade reading skills and document any changes in teacher educator skill and instruction. Qualitative research methods were used to answer RQs 2 and 3, specifically case study research design was used. Research was conducted across the four TEIs and data were analyzed for each case and as a whole. The sample for the endline assessment was drawn from the administrators, teacher educators, and student teachers at the four TEIs in Northern Nigeria. All teacher educators from the four education programs (Early Childhood Care and Education, Primary Education Studies, Language Education, and General Education) were invited to participate in the data collection activity. The sampling methods used at endline were purposive for the administrators and based on convenience for the teachers and student teachers to closely match sampling methods at baseline. A total of 73 teacher educators across the four TEIs participated in the data collection activity. Although the aim was to sample an equal number of male and female respondents, due to fewer females being employed at the TEIs, approximately one-third of the sample was female. The sample represented the proportion of women teacher educators at the TEIs. These teacher educators participated in focus group discussions and completed surveys. For the classroom observations, the process used at baseline was also used at endline: TEI heads of department identified one teacher educator at the TEI and set up one observation ahead of the data collection.