Partnering with Liberian Universities to Improve Pre-Service Teacher Training

The Transforming the Education System for Teachers and Students (TESTS) Activity in Liberia is working to improve how teachers are educated during pre-service training, ensuring they are equipped to deliver high-quality, inclusive education to Liberian students.

Transforming the Education System for Teachers and Students in Liberia (TESTS)

With funding from USAID and in direct partnership with the Liberian Ministry of Education and the National Commission for Higher Education, the TESTS Activity (2021–2026) is focused on improved pre-service education of teachers so that they can deliver high quality, inclusive education for students in early childhood and the early grades. 

TESTS is applying lessons learned from the USAID Read Liberia Activity, which saw improvements in reading scores in grades 1 and 2, as well as more engaged students and increased involvement of families in the learning process.

TESTS is focused on system alignment and collaborates with the Ministry of Education and the National Commission for Higher Education, and other partners, to support eight higher education teacher training institutes (HETTIs) to:

• Revise the higher education curricula to enhance teaching skills, with a consistent focus on inclusion.
• Incentivize women and individuals with disabilities to enter and remain in the teaching profession.
• Ensure aspiring teachers have the resources needed to practice and master new skills and are supported by academic faculty and mentors to perform well.

At the core of this approach is a focus on adaptive management: learning from incremental improvements, progress, and shortfalls, while feeding this learning back into TESTS’s collective work.

Supporting Future Teachers and Bolstering Inclusive Education

TESTS is working with each HETTI to ensure all curriculum and teacher training efforts are inclusive of marginalized populations, including rural women and persons with disabilities. Applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and inclusive education strategies throughout teacher preparation activities will ensure that the next generation of Liberian teachers can support all students to learn.

To promote inclusion within the teaching workforce, TESTS provides scholarships and conditional cash transfers to cover the costs of tuition, fees and living expenses of aspiring teachers, prioritizing women and people with disabilities as recipients.

Most teachers in Liberia only have a teaching certificate without a college/university level degree. Through TESTS, aspirant teachers will gain either an associate or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or primary education, significantly lifting their level of qualification. In addition, a large component of TESTS is professional development among the faculty and leadership at the HETTIs so that they can sustain the high standard of pre-service teacher education that TESTS is working to achieve.

Teacher aspirants are also reinforced by HETTI faculty advisors who coach them, ensuring performance and retention as well as addressing obstacles that students face. As part of their study, aspiring teachers are placed in demonstration schools where they receive hands-on practice. During their practicum they are mentored by practicing teachers that have been trained by TESTS to play this role. Skilled faculty advisors and mentor teachers are part of the systemic improvement to the education of teachers that TESTS is delivering. 

Learn more about RTI’s work in international education.