The workshop focused on the relevant topic 'Perspectives on Democracy and Didactics'.
Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, Tine Petersen Malonæs, took the initiative for the workshop together with her colleague, Associate Professor Martine Greek.
– It is important for us to ensure that knowledge exchange goes both ways in our collaboration with the Oshikoto region in Namibia. Each year, we send Norwegian teacher students there to gain valuable knowledge and experience in teaching within a different cultural context. During the pandemic, both exchange programmes and competence enhancement came to a halt. It feels good to once again contribute to INN’s academic cooperation with the education sector in the region, says Petersen Malonæs.
Highly relevant topic
Around 20 teachers from the region participated in the workshop on democracy and didactics, which was organised by Malonæs and Greek in collaboration with INN’s partner in Tsumeb, Eric Mubonda from the Teacher Resource Centre (TRC).
The aim was to share knowledge on teaching methods, specifically on how to teach democracy through dialogue.
– The teachers in Tsumeb were introduced to teaching about, for, and through democracy, including practical exercises on how they can apply dialogue-based methods in their own teaching. The approach is similar to what we use in our own teacher education programme in social studies, says Greek.
The topic could hardly have been more relevant, given the challenges democracy faces in many countries today. Feedback from the teachers suggests that the workshop was a success.
– The teachers expressed that they found great value in the introduction to this method – not only in relation to social studies and democracy education but also for teaching other subjects. They appreciated gaining insight into a more dialogue-based approach to teaching and indicated that they wanted to work more with this in the future, Greek continues.
Long-term collaboration with Namibia
INN’s collaboration with educational institutions in Namibia has been ongoing for several decades, and student exchanges have gone both ways.
Last autumn, ten of our early childhood education students participated in an exchange programme in Tsumeb, while a previous internationalisation project enabled several Namibian teacher training students to complete internships facilitated by INN.
Greek and Malonæs conducted the workshop while visiting Namibia to follow up on eight INN students currently completing their third-year teaching practice at four primary schools in Tsumeb.
The agreement with the Oshikoto region ensures that INN not only follows up on Norwegian students undertaking placements in Namibia but also shares its academic expertise with the local education sector.
– Knowledge exchange is a fundamental premise for international collaboration at all levels. Conducting such seminars is one example of how academia can play an active role in promoting democratic values and enhancing teaching quality across borders. We are pleased to contribute to INN’s efforts in this area and look forward to continuing our fruitful collaboration with our partners in Namibia, concludes Malonæs.