Vincent Chiyongo

Management of Distance Teacher Education in Zambia: Effective Management Strategies for Distance Teacher Education Practitioners Vincent Chiyongo

This book assesses the various aspects of distance teacher education in the five institutions of Zambia. The researcher employed qualitative methods in the collection and analysis of data. The findings concerning the strengths of management of distance teacher education in Zambia were: a recognition by providers and clients of the importance of distance teacher education, an awareness of the challenges of distance teacher education as displayed in their guidelines and a positive attitude towards teacher distance education. The weaknesses were: inadequate student support services, inadequate channels of communication, inadequate training and professional development, problems relating to integrating Information and Communication Technology in distance education delivery, problems concerning assignments and examinations, inadequate records management, inadequacy regarding interactive instructional materials, problems relating to staffing, and a lack of national policy on open and distance education in Zambia. The overall conclusion is that the management of distance teacher education in Zambia is reasonably effective.