At the time this research was conducted, OLSET’s “English in Action” (EIA) programme worked with large numbers of foundation phase learners and teachers in seven of the nine provinces of South Africa, using interactive radio instruction. In addition, the programme provided in-service training for the teachers, and classroom support based on open learning principles. This study focuses on the self-reports of teachers and principals in the programme, which have been examined in relation to educational development and empowerment theory. The researcher has attempted to establish whether the programme was meeting its objectives in terms of provision of radio lessons, classroom materials, in-service training and classroombased support, and whether empowerment was taking place among teachers involved in the programme. The first stage of the study involved the development of a database of schools involved in the programme, from which a convenience sample was drawn. The analyses then involved thematic content analysis of 541 teacher and principal questionnaires and 202 teacher and principal personal accounts obtained in 2001 and 2003. Prior to 2001, the programme had operated under severe financial constraints. A longitudinal design was used to establish whether there were differences in teacher perceptions under conditions of financial constraint in 2001 and adequate programme funding in 2003. In vivo coding was used throughout the analyses to enable the content categories developed to reflect the words used by teachers in reporting their perceptions of the programme’s work, the benefits they derived with respect to their teaching, and the difficulties experienced at school level with respect to both resourcing as well as consistent quality of programme delivery. Observation was then conducted in 36 classrooms in 2003, to assist in substantiation of the themes found in the 2001 and 2003 questionnaire and personal account data. Recurring themes in the questionnaire and narrative data indicated that the EIA programme was meeting its objectives. Teachers were using the OLSET materials, and reported benefits in terms of improved classroom management and teaching practices. In the observations conducted in classrooms in which the programme was implemented there was indication that the programme’s methodology was being applied, and that teachers and learners were using English more than mother-tongue. Teachers also reported that they were empowered through the materials, workshops and classroom support provided by the programme. Quality of service delivery, however, varied across schools, dependent on donor finances, the radio broadcast delivery, quality of radios, the capacity of the programme to deliver sufficient materials to the schools, as well as the capacity of programme staff to reach all teachers and schools, particularly in the rural areas.

This evaluation research study is concerned with the quality of support and in-service development for Malawian primary teachers through the medium of radio. The study aims to evaluate the influence that the current United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded interactive radio instruction (IRI) programme has on teachers’ behaviours, with the aim of proposing some guidelines for the development of a model of continuing professional development (CPD), appropriate to the Malawian context, using IRI. It identifies the teacher as a critical entity in raising levels of learners’ achievement within the primary school and posits that through improved teacher support and development, higher levels of learner achievement can be attained. The study identifies the potential that communication technology in the form of interactive radio instruction (IRI) offers in improving CPD of teachers at a cost that could be affordable to disadvantaged school communities in the country. The study takes place in a context where the Malawi government has been challenged to provide quality universal primary education after introducing free primary education (FPE) in 1994, which resulted in a massive expansion of primary schools, resulting in acute shortages of teachers. The study has drawn on aspects of practice theory and in particular the work of Giddens (1984), Bourdieu (1977, 1978), Shatzki et al (2001) and Reckwitz (2002a) in an attempt to emphasise the role of artefacts, such as interactive radio, as part of social practice. A practice theoretic perspective has been used to highlight the contentious role played by learning-objects in teacher practice and the need for flexibility and innovation in employing learning-objects like interactive radio as part of teaching practice. To carry out a critical exploration of the issues of teacher learning and practice, a longitudinal qualitative research approach was proposed for the evaluation of the existing IRI programme in Malawi. As the researcher was also actively involved in the planning of the Malawi IRI programme from onset, he therefore maintained a dual role of researcher and co-founder throughout the research process. The empirical evidence employed within this research was elicited through three main processes: interview survey, participant observation and focus groups in order to achieve validity through methodical triangulation. The analysis of this evidence shows the considerable difficulties faced by classroom teachers in attempting to adopt interactive radio and therefore be able to use interactive/active learner-centred instruction as part of their ongoing teaching practice. The analysis, however, also highlights the possibility of exploiting interactive radio for provision of an integrated, sustainable CPD of teachers in educationally deprived school communities. Overall, the research study puts emphasis on the need for paying attention to the social practices (contextually specific) within which the use of educational technologies (such as interactive radio), are enmeshed. There is need to explicate the details of such practices (instead of adopting a narrow, technical, focus on attributes of interactive radio itself) in order to improve the efficacy of using interactive radio.