Participants
Mrs. Madelienne Shewa
Topic:
THE LIBERTY OF THE TEACHER AS A REFLECTIVE FIELD PRACTITIONER
Merits:

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES 
*Joined the Public Service of Cameroon on December 04th 1996 and posted as Classroom Teacher in the Government Teacher Training College Bafoussam : subjects taught:

-Psychology applied to Education;

- Sociology of Education;

-Philosophy of Education;

-General Pedagogy.

*Dean of Studies and Internships at the Government Teacher Training College Foumban (2003) ;

-Service which deals with the management of pedagogy in the Government Teacher Training College and practicing primary and nursery schools;

- monitoring the quality of teaching (quality of syllabuses, internships of students-teachers etc…)

*2006 to 2017, member of the National Council of Books and Didactics Material /Ministries of Basic and Secondary Education: body that evaluates with well-defined criteria all textbooks and didactics materials used in Cameroon Educational system);

*2004 to 2010: National Pedagogic Inspector in charge of Nursery/Primary and Teacher Education/Ministry of Basic Education

*2010, Regional Pedagogic Inspector in charge of Nursery/Primary and Teacher Education /Adamaoua Region;

*2012, Expert in the Administrative and Pedagogic Management Committee of Government Teacher Training Colleges ,transferred from Basic Education to Secondary Education by Presidential Decree of 09 December 2011 . Following this Decree, a Secretary of State in Charge of Teacher Education was appointed.

* January 2nd 2013 to February 2019, National Pedagogic Inspector, Chief of Section in Charge of Teacher Training( I coordinate, supervise, and evaluate all the activities of Teacher Education: central and external services: National Inspectors, Regional Coordinating Inspectors, Regional Pedagogic Inspectors by groups of subjects, Principals of Teacher Training Colleges, Pedagogic Heads of Department, Dean of Study, Trainers of Trainees, Classroom Teachers.
*Ensure the quality of initial and in-service training in Teacher Training Colleges;

*Ensure the quality of the practical training of Student-Teachers of ENSET, ENS (higher technical and general Teacher Training Colleges) (kumba ,Douala, Ebolowa, Bamenda)

*Work daily as a UNICEF Focal Point for the Ministry of Secondary Education and other International Organizations (UNESCO, PAEQUE, PAREC, WORLD BANK, PLAN CAMEROON, SIGHT SAVERS, JICA)

 

TRAINING AND INTERNSHIPS RECEIVED

*The Challenge of the Catholic University for Central Africa (1995- Yaounde) ;

*Sensitization of the population on the dangers of STD/AIDS and HIV, responsible parental hood (CAMNAFAW, west region (2002-2003) ;

*The challenges of New Information and Communication Technologies in age of globalization (2003);

*The Administration of Education for Francophone Countries of Central Africa (HIROSHIMA and WASEDA Universities in JAPAN 2006);

*Early Childhood Education for Francophone Countries of Central Africa (OCHANOMIZU and TOKYO Universities, JAPAN 2007);

* Training on the Manager’s Tools (Higher Institute of Public Management of Cameroon (2008);

* Project Development /Evaluation (CITEC 2008);

*Evaluation of the Competence-Based Approach (Sèvres /Paris /CIEP 2009).

*Participation in many Education Forum;

*Participation in the drafting of Human Rights Education Curricula (PENUD and CNDHL 2010) ;

*Participation in the development of the contents of the Integrity Education, Sub-Committee of Nursery Schools, CONAC 2010; 

*Participation in the data collection and analysis in the framework of many projects in Education: namely the Education II project on School repetition (Support Project for the Educational System) PASE;

*The Hand on Project (on the Science and Environmental Education);

* The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Project on Strengthening of Follow up Early Childhood Education in Cameroon, 2009 (Supervision of in-service Training of primary and nursery schools Teachers (south and center regions, INSET Project) ;

* Participation in the curriculum design for Open and Distance Learning in Cameroon (COMMONWEALTH of LEARNING) 2010;

*Participation in the development of Assessment and Evaluation Tools (Commission des Grandes Seigneuries du QUEBEC-CANADA) 2008;

* Drafting the Development Program of Teacher Education Sector in Cameroon (as a Consultant-EXPERT, 2012);

*Participation in the project development for the Integration of Agricultural Training in the Cameroon Educational System (MINADER-MINESEC- MINEDUB) 2015

* Main Facilitator for the training of National Pedagogic Inspectors for the curriculum design following the Competence-Based Approach, February 2013;

* Designing of the General Teachers Training Colleges Syllabus on Education in Emergencies in Cameroon 2016;

*Main facilitator for the training of National and Regional Inspectors on the Inclusive Education 2015-2018;

*Participation in the Development of the Inclusive Education Policy in Cameroon, 2016;

* Participation in the International Seminar on the Teaching of Didactic of Sciences, HANDS ON (June 2015 in Paris-Sevres);

*Development of Integrity Teaching Guides for Teachers (as Consultant-Expert at CONAC, 2017/2018). * 
*Development of some Training Modules for the teaching staff of the protestant private Education Organization in Cameroon (O.EP.P) , Partnership with the AMERICANS AND GERMANS (as consultant and facilitator);

*2012/24th February 2019: National Inspector Chief of Section in Charge of Teacher Education /MINESEC

*25th February 2019 Appointed by Prime Minister Decree as a Director of Exams, and Certification at the Ministry of Secondary Education.

Contribution:

I-Background and Rationale
As part of the reforms of the teacher Education in Cameroon, a new vision of teacher training has been defined to meet the challenges of professionalization.
To transform Cameroon as an emergent country, the educational system must offer quality training to maximum of young Cameroonians, in other to prepare them with the help of pertinent teaching /learning approaches to integrate the society, face the complexities , diversities ,challenges of real life  and confront the job market that is becoming more and more demanding.
In the place of a school cut off from society comes one which in integrated and worried about a sustainable development that takes into account cultural and local experiences. To fulfill this vision, the pedagogic paradigm to draw up syllabuses in line with the competency-Based Approach using life skills has been adopted, the referential of the professional activities and skills of the teacher constitutes the key innovative point directly links with the orientations in the Growth and employment Strategy Paper (GESP) that outlines from now till 2020, to provide minimum knowledge for all Cameroonian at the level of the first cycle of Secondary Education.
In this perspective, the new syllabuses of Teacher Training in Cameroon define in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudinal know how that must be acquired by students of the course of the first cycle of the secondary school. Thus it clearly gives orientations to teachers on how to organize pedagogic activities, the profile of the new teacher expected to be trained under this syllabuses is a reflective field  practitioner: a teacher who prepares, animates and evaluates its learning sequences, with respect for student diversity, professional ethics and the socio-cultural environment, by developing adapted communication strategies.
The new teacher must now be a professional who performs the four priority functions that are: teaching, communication, education and the analysis and regularization of his practices. The skills needed by each function are cited below:
 Teaching related skills are: plan and facilitated teaching /learning activities, organize class work according to varied situations adapted to learners, produce and use appropriate monitoring,supervision ,evaluation and support mechanisms.
Communication related skills are: speak and write correctly the working language (in Cameroon we have English and  French ), work in a team, collaborate with the hierarchy and the educational community
Education related skills: Work in discipline, respect deontology and professional ethics, participate in the conception and the realisation of socio-educational activities, sensitise and accompany the educational community in the domain of environmental protection.
Analysis /Regulation related skills are:  Analyse students’ results and class performance to evaluate pedagogic practices, amend educational practices taking into account changes and innovations.  
The problem raised in my presentation is to describe the  difficulties of the teacher to be a real reflective field practitioner; is a teacher having a liberty to be reflective field practitioner? Can a teacher feel free to say no in front of a supervisor, does he or she has the complete skills to  analyse or regulate his or her practices?
 In Africa in general and in Cameroon in particular, it is not possible, a teacher is tied down by many constraints. We have to analyse the quality of the training in terms of the process, the content, the tool, the environment , the strategies and the results.
Reflective field practitioner implies that the teacher acquires a certain autonomy in the exercise of his functions; that he or she is able to decenter and coldly analyze the situations related to the profession of teacher, but very often the educational supervisors, even the teachers languish on the weight of the respect of the instructions and directives of the hierarchy. This excess of directivity is an obstacle to the function of analysis and regulation practices, which gives the teacher his professional status. The trainer must play the role of administrator, instructor, and facilitator. Hence the need to set up a system for training trainers in reflective practice.
II-objectives
The general objective of my presentation is how to develop the professional skills of trainers to make them more flexible to the evolution of the profession and cope with innovations.
        
 III-Specific objectives
Match professional practices with the evolution of society and the social and didactic sciences;
define strategies for effective and efficient application of professionalization;
 develop strategies to make teachers autonomous and allow them to have a pedagogical or even professional freedom


IV- THE CONSTRAINTS THAT HINDER THE TEACHER'S LIBERTY
1-Legal framework which guarantees and protects teacher’s rights and liberty:

 We can name Presidential decrees, Ministerial orders, circulars and decisions. Very often some disposals of those documents are not applied, for instance, the general status of teachers whose application texts are still not available;
Within the same educational system we notice some shortcomings: primary and nursery school teachers are jobless after their training or simply recruited as contract teachers whereas secondary school teachers or university lecturers are integrated as civil servants and following peacefully their career;
policies are not reliable (no respect of the teacher profile, status, syndicate of teachers not structured, most teachers are not satisfied of their status and their working conditions);
Absence of a clear vision of the teaching profession;
Influences of the social , cultural and political factors : the fact that the teacher is a social actor, obliges he or she to be involved in some events, political or cultural issues (as mayors councils, parliamentarians, senators, section presidents…),with these political or social roles, teachers only fight for their political achievement.

What actions can we carry out to transform the new generation of teachers to become reflective?
    We can:
1-include a module on the training of teachers (put in place in-service training   programme   on how to become a reflective teacher? It is a matter of identifying some skills that can really transform their daily practices;
2-restructure the teacher’s syndicates (teachers syndicates are not well structured, and those who claim the rights of teachers are limited); 

3-apply the new vision of supervision (pedagogic supervision and in-service training of teachers in public and private schools in Cameroon indicates some shortcomings and dysfunctions:  proximity supervision of teachers are rare and often limited to inspection with attribution of marks, during supervision sessions, the teachers tend to focus more on the preparation and presentation of their lessons than to verify the impact of these activities on the student’s performances, marks and assessments from the pedagogic inspections rarely influence the careers of teachers, teachers don’t request pedagogic supervision activities because they perceived it as a sanction than a support activity to improve on their daily practices, the new paradigm of pedagogic supervision is clinical, understood as providing assistance or support to teachers in personalized form  in order to identify their own problems and to solve them, the supervisor is an escort, coacher, an accompanist, a facilitator, an evaluator, a friendly critical  observer 
The model is based on the assistance provided to each supervisee to enable him/her to gain effective autonomy in his/her professional practice, the model attempts to provide help for the teachers to improve their services and develop professionally. It operates in five stages: pedagogic control, in-service training, pedagogic follow-up, pedagogic inspection, and pedagogic evaluation)
4-Improve on teacher conditions 
As a vocation, teachers need to develop deep identities as professionals: a part from obvious factors such as their recruitment, their remuneration and opportunities for advancement, teacher professionalism is also impacted by access to quality professional development. Develop, apply, measure and institutionalize standards for teacher professional development, without a shared and codified understanding of quality professional development, teachers are often subjected to mediocrity ,teachers need  assistance that  can help them successfully transfer learning from a professional development setting to a classroom setting. It can include administrative, instructional, resources, peer support , supervisory support or instructional support from knowledgeable persons. The research on ongoing teacher support notes that teachers who receive support, guidance and feedback from a supervisors or a trained support person apply new skills and strategies more frequently and appropriately and adopt a more diverse range of instructional practices than teachers who do not receive such supports (Showers & Joyce, 1996).
5- Build instructional leadership at all levels of the educational system
Teachers are respected when the society reflects on the determinant of student achievement ( Leithwood et al. 2004).  They are responsible for the quality of teaching and learning in their schools. Yet too often we see poor instructional school leadership holding back teaching and learning. The hierarchy always control teachers to ensure that they are in their classrooms every day, covering the syllabus at an appropriate pace, instructing students in developmentally appropriate and engaging ways, and attempting to apply to their classes the knowledge and skills gained through professional development activities. We hardly see strong leader who involves teachers in decision making, design a school schedules planned to encourage collaboration , veteran teachers, healthy school culture, teacher actively collaborate to address  student’s  needs. 
1-What means to be a reflective teacher?


To be a reflective teacher  means,  looking  at  what  we  do  in  the classroom , thinking about if it works ,is a process of self-observation and self -evaluation . By collecting information about what goes on in our classroom and by analyzing this information, we identify and explore our own practices and underlying belief.
This may then lead to changes and improvement on our teaching.  
Bartlett  ( 1990 : 68 ) points out that becoming a reflective teacher involves moving beyond a primary concern with instructional techniques to  questions that regard instructions and managerial techniques, autonomy and responsibility in the work of teacher . Teachers begin to exercise control and open up the possibility of transforming every day classroom life.
Reflective teaching practice helps an  individual's to develop their own personality, analysis of feeling , evaluation of experience, assumptions, knowledge, attitudes and values .
 For Perrenoud (2005) to be a reflective practitioner, is above all to adopt a posture that prevents the acceptance of pedagogical practices justified exclusively by the habit and / or the hierarchy. Flexibility aims at a transformation that is working in a collective and individual way in a clinical and methodical approach so that the results are perceptible in the educational system and among the actors, it is a question of reconciling the theory and the practice, the expertise and the professional experiences, action -research, sharing of experiences and practices, in short, it is a question of identifying the professional identity of the trainer or the teacher.

3 • Characteristics of a Reflective Teacher

A reflective teacher applies reflective teaching: reflective teaching implies an active  concern  with  aims  and  consequences  as  well  as  means  and technical skills that  lead to creative and innovative approaches to classroom and problems , offer  learning opportunities for students .
Reflective teachers would think critically, which involves the willingness to be questioned tasking rises in learning, taking control of learning for exploration and analysis, using higher other thinking skills to attend their objective analysis of situations.

Reflective teachers monitor, evaluate and revise their own practice continuously. Stenhouse  ( 1975 : 17 ) points out that teachers should act as researchers of their own practice and should develop the curriculum though practical enquiry , teachers are principally expected to plan , make provision and act . Reflective teachers also need to monitor, observe and collect data on their own learner’s interactions, action and feelings. These data need to be critically analyzed   and evaluated so that it can be shared judgments made and decisions.
It is a dynamic process which is intend to  lead  through  successive  cycles  towards  higher quality standard of teaching .Reflective teaching requires the following skills :reviewing relevant , existing research , gathering new evidence and analysis and evaluation , each of which contributes to the cyclical process of reflection to support the progressive development of higher standard of teaching.
Learn as much as possible from other like teachers, students or from researchers. Open mindedness  is  an  important  attribute  for  rigorous reflection, not to have partial evidence, but willing to reflect upon ourselves and to challenge assumptions, prejudices and ideologies ,reflecting teaching is based on teacher judgement, teacher’s knowledge has often been criticized.
(Pollard,2008:21), Bolster(1983:21 carried out analysis of teachers as classroom decision makers and pointed out that since teacher knowledge is specific and pragmatic , it is resistant to development. Boster argues that teacher knowledge is based on individual experience and is simply believed to be of value if it "works» in practical situation, knowledge - in action,  knowledge that is inherent in professional action. However, this gives little incentive to change even in the light of evidence supporting alternative ideas or practice. On this analysis there is little need for teacher judgment, since teacher will stich to routinized   practices.
For an alternative view, we can draw on Donald schon's work on the characteristics of reflective practitioners. Schon (1983:21) contracts scientific professional work such as education. He called the further "high hard ground» and saw it as supported by quantitative and objective evidence.

 In Reflective teaching , professional learning and personal fulfillment are enhanced through collaboration and dialogue with colleagues , the value engaging in reflective activity is almost always enhanced if it can be carried  out  in  association  with  other  colleagues despite the pressure of curricular requirement , reflection to gather in seminars and work shop ,in school , should bring valuable chances to share and compare , support and advise, open-minded, sincere, spirit of inquiry.

3 • Theories of Reflective Teaching
In the scientific domain some authors develop their theory on reflective Teaching: John Dewey and Vygotsky provide a strong theoretical framework for the study of reflective teaching, this process of reflective practice grounded in theories of reflection and thinking. Especially , the theories of  Dewey's ideas about reflection provide information about why it is important to reflect , he argued that  " we don’t learn from experience, we  learn  from  reflecting  on  experience  "  .Dewey believed that it is very important for  a teacher to  participate in reflective practice and that this activity is complex , rigorous , intellectual , emotional and took time for teacher to do well.  Dewey believed that this process of reflection requires teachers to confront the complexity of their students and their teaching, the subject matter they are teaching, and the context in which all of these facets operate.   Reflection   can   be practiced, assessed and perfected   by reflecting teachers grow in their learning of how to think, teach and learn, 
The function of reflection is to make meaning, to think deeply about an experience and attempting to understand.  Reflection also   needs  to  happen  while interacting with other . Dewey believed that having expressed oneself to other so that others understand one's idea produces strengths and holes in one's thinking. Teachers must go outside of their experiences and see them how other teachers see them; a teacher's life experience is broadened.Finally, reflection requires an attitude that values growth. He believed that the attitude that teacher brings to the reflective experience can either open the way to learning or black it (Rodger, 2002: 9).  
Vygotsky instead provides a framework for how teacher should   reflect: reflection is a systematic, rigorous and disciplined way of thinking. It is a particular way of thinking that requires a teacher to draw a post knowledge and   experience. For Vygotsky all new learning starts on the interpersonal level. Individuals develop within their social word pointes out to the important of peer interaction in fostering higher levels of cognitive and social development.
This social world is comprised of relationships and interaction where learners collaborate towards shared goals.  It offers an open area of communication that gives them chances to express and negotiate their ideas.  Teachers are continually learning (Rog off, 1993 :10).

The goal of vygotsky's work and aim of his sociocultural theory were  to  better  understand  the mental processes  of  people  and  to contribute to the  educational programs that maximize the potential of all learners . He argues that cognitive development not only takes place with social support from others in interaction, but also involves the development of skill. Skill developed using cultural tools, such as language, through participation and communication. The collaborative relationship is what needed for discussion groups and help teacher to discover not only how to do something, but that they can actually do it through discussion and collaboration with their colleagues.

4-Strategic axes to train a reflective field practitioner
 a) analysis of practices;
(b) identification of good practices;
(c) training in the appropriation of good practices;
d) elaboration of the reflective field practitioner profile;
e) design of monitoring / evaluation tools for the implementation of good practices. 
From a professional development perspective, the teacher is brought to rely on his own practices to build and intelligently knowledge of experience, to  achieve this ,the preferred tool is reflective analysis, it is a matter of thinking quickly, without recourse external advice, and make decisions in a hurry  

 

 

 

                                    CONCLUSION

Reflective practice is an innovative approach that should be practiced to sustain interest among trainers, because it is  beneficial for professional development, it develops critical thinking and gives freedom to teachers to select their own  methodology. Teachers need more autonomy in today's fast-changing world,  professional knowledge, such as knowledge about a discipline, knowledge about the curriculum of that discipline, and knowledge about how students learn in that discipline enable him or her to create the kind of learning environment that leads to good learning outcomes. This involves enquiry and research skills that help teachers to be efficient and grow in their profession. We need to combine the social status of the teachers with their job description and the extent to which the work is financially and intellectually rewarding. The opportunities teachers have for professional growth, and how their work is regarded in the profession and by society is important .Teachers should work with a high degree of professional autonomy and in a collaborative culture; teachers should have ownership of professional practice by the teaching profession, because productive learning takes place when teachers feel a sense of ownership over their classrooms, and students feel a sense of ownership over their learning. The challenges of most educational system today is to build on the expertise of the teachers and school leaders in order to design good policies and practices. The teaching profession needs to take charge of the instructional system, and the governments need to find ways to enable and support professionalism and remove teachers from isolation. There are many great teachers, schools and educational  programmes  in every education system, but it takes effective leadership to build a great education system.Teachers can confidently expect to raise their standards of professional skills through adopting process of reflective practices, educators must remain engaged and autonomous in order to do their jobs well and avoid burnout. It is necessary to reflect in a distanced and critical way on past or future professional situations or gestures, for the purpose improvement of professional skills. During the reflexive analysis, the teacher refers to theoretical texts which serve as a reading grid to understand professional situations. This presupposes a good professional culture, and conceived as a help to think for oneself, and not as a series of prescriptions to apply.

                         REFERENCES 

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                                    -The Reflective practitioner : How professionals Think in action . London : Temple smith press . Stenhouse , L . ( 1983 ) .
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 John Dewey: Building a Reflective Practice  New York 1991

Expectations:

1-What actions can we carry out to transform the new generation of teachers to become reflective?
 2- train us on some strategies to:
a) analyse practices;
(b) identify good practices;
(c) training in how to appropriate  good practices;
d) elaboration of the reflective field practitioner profile;
e) design of monitoring / evaluation tools for the implementation of good practices.