Communication in Education: Tools for Teachers

This issue focuses on information from the Soul Beat Africa network related to teachers using communication to address youth development issues. In this issue we have chosen to focus on three themes - sexuality education, HIV/AIDS and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to address youth development issues. Additional resources for teachers are included at the end of the issue.

If you would like to contribute your own communication experiences, please contact Anja Venth aventh@comminit.com

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SEXUALITY EDUCATION

1. World Starts With Me (WSWM) - Uganda

A web-based/CD-ROM sex education and HIV/AIDS prevention project that simultaneously gives Ugandan youth the opportunity to acquire Internet and computer skills. The programme focuses on youth between the ages 12 and 19 and aims to improve their understanding of sexuality. There are fourteen lessons, with learning objectives, assignments, warm-ups, presentations, games, tools, guidelines and stories all available in student and teacher versions. There is a forum for both students and teachers to exchange tips and an online presentation section to upload work that has been made in the programme to the group website.

Contact wswm@wpf.org

2. Balancing Act: South African Gay and Lesbian Youth Speak Out

by Karen Martin and Joanne Bloch

In this publication, twenty-one young gay and lesbian South Africans from a wide range of social backgrounds speak about their experiences, hopes and dreams. The publication was developed to be used as a tool for youth human rights based sexuality education. It is targeted at learners in Grade 10 to 12 for use in Life Orientation, and other subject areas. Teaching notes are provided to assist teachers in using Balancing Act with their learners.

3. Sexuality Education in Schools: The International Experience and Implications for Nigeria

by James Rosen, Nancy Murray and Scott Moreland

This paper reviews the impact that school-based sexual-health programmes have had on reproductive health of young people internationally, and thus its implications for Nigeria. It seeks to contribute to policy debate about how sexual education programmes in schools can help to improve youth reproductive health. The paper begins with a briefing of the challenges in Nigeria, and examines how sexuality education fits into efforts to improve youth health by exploring programme aims, policy and reviewing existing programmes. The authors conclude that comprehensive sexuality education is effective in improving

key behaviours.

4. Programme Planning for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health - Aug 1-26 2005 - Johannesburg, South Africa

This training course focuses on building sound interventions for adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH). According to the organisers, participants will improve knowledge of adolescent development and its socio-cultural determinants; expand knowledge of human sexuality; learn about trends in adolescent health; analyse effective strategies; and develop proposals for
funding.

HIV/AIDS

5. InterACT! - Ghana

A Theatre for a Change programme that aims to promote the rights of individuals, groups and communities to make decisions and influence policies that affect their sexual and reproductive health. In the first phase of the programme the organisers formed the InterACT! network of 13 partner non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the Accra Teacher Training College. 45 NGO staff and teacher trainees were trained in the use of Interactive Theatre as a tool for changing behaviour around HIV/AIDS.

6. HIV/AIDS Teacher's Guide

This Guide is designed to give extra information about the Heinemann Junior Africa Writers (JAWS) reader series on topics related to HIV/AIDS. It acts as a resource for teachers, with activities and key messages to be discussed. The Guide follows the ten themes on which the series is built. The publication states that many of the stories in the series are based on real life.
By placing messages about AIDS into a real-life context they help learners think about how decisions are made within a
context of family, peers and community.

7. Teacher Training: Essential for School-Based Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Education Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa

This paper identifies that teachers are a link in providing valuable information about reproductive health and HIV/AIDS to youth. But to do so effectively, they need to understand the subject, acquire good teaching techniques, and understand what is developmentally and culturally appropriate. The paper explores the African context, identifying particular challenges and
summarising teacher training projects in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The paper also assesses the selection of teachers and the elements of a teacher training curriculum.

8. Impact Data - Soul Buddyz - South Africa

"The Soul Buddyz television and radio dramas targeted children aged 8 to 12, not adults. However, 68.6% of parents who knew about Soul Buddyz watched it on television - this amounts to more than 1 in 3 of the parent sample interviewed (36.2%). Two in 3 teachers interviewed (62%) had watched Soul Buddyz on television; 1 in 5 (18%) had used the Soul Buddyz booklet for children in Grade 7."

ICTS

9. Evaluation of Educational Software For The African Context: Guidelines For Educators

by Nicky Roberts and Neil Butche

"This evaluation report is the result of work jointly commissioned by SchoolNet Africa and Imfundo. The purpose of the evaluation was firstly to review currently available software in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on South Africa. Secondly, the intention was to model a process of reviewing educational software to develop the capacity of African educators to conduct such reviews on an ongoing basis. The data collected during this process was then adapted to develop an educator development module that will be used to guide educators in Sub-Saharan Africa on choosing and reviewing educational software."

10. Beyond the Classroom - South Africa

Each week the television and radio programmes focus on providing guidelines and lesson plan ideas for how teachers can use broadcast media in their classrooms. The programme provides educators with updates and news from a national and
provincial level as well as an in-depth look at key issues facing the teaching community. In supporting teachers to use media in the classroom, a number of support services include: a web-site; printed resources which can be faxed on demand; video sales service; telephone hotline; and outreach and training sessions.

Contact Lesley Fahey faheylk@sabc.co.za

11. Review of Good Practice in ICT and Special Educational Needs for Africa

By Leslie Casely-Hayford and Paul Lynch


"The aim of this study is to investigate how good practice and experiences from the global use of Assistive Technology (AT) can be shared with African governments and people working in the sector. The study focuses on the use of ICT to support Special Educational Needs in Africa with particular reference to special schools, teacher education and inclusive educational programmes. The main disability groups considered are the hearing impaired, vision impaired and children with general learning disabilities."

12. Creating a Learning Culture in Rural Schools via Educational satellite TV Broadcasts: A European and South(ern) African Encounter

by Joan Roodt and Pieter Conradie

This 19-page evaluation looks at the benefits, as perceived by teachers and by learners, of tele-education for schools participating in TeleTuks, a programme of the University of Pretoria, South Africa that broadcast educational programmes to schools. This study was implemented to determine to what extent schools are able to participate in the various Information Communication Technology -related options available; and what problems participating schools experience. It was found that satellite television is effective in supplementing classroom education by fostering an interactive learning culture, although it has not been utilised and implemented widely enough.