About us
About Us.
In 1960, Zorzor Rural Teacher Training Institute (ZRTTI) was opened to offer a three-year program for the production of Elementary and Junior High School teachers. The teachers were awarded a Grade “C” Teaching Certificate to work in rural schools after graduation. From 1975 to 1999, Zorzor Rural Teacher Training Institute offered a one-year professional training program with a “C” Certificate for Senior High School Graduates who had not been trained as teachers, but had been teaching in the system. In 1976, the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute (KRTTI) began a two-year program for a Grade “B” Teaching Certificate for Senior High School Graduates. (3.4.2.5 Education Sector Manual, 2001)
By 1980, the two Rural
Teacher Training Institutes (ZRTTI and KRTTI) adopted the two-year program
leading to the “C” Teaching Certificate for high school graduates only. Subsequently, the other Rural Teacher
Training Institutes followed a similar curriculum in Teacher Education. Eleven subjects are offered for most non-degree programs for
content courses and six methodology courses.
The basic content courses offered
are Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Language Arts, while the professional
courses include Instructional Materials Production, Lesson Planning and
Classroom Management, Test & Measurements, Foundations of Education,
Curriculum Innovation, Practice/Student Teaching, and Educational
Psychology. The curriculum for any
teacher training program must be approved by the Ministry of Education. (3.4.2.6 Education Sector Manual 2001)
In October 2007, the Ministry
of Education approved the Professional Standards for Teachers in Liberia which
described the knowledge, skills and attitudes required of Liberian
teachers. In December 2007, the Ministry
of Education convened a writing team to work on aligning the “C” Certificate curriculum
with the standards. In 2008, The
Ministry of Education approved an overall “C” Certificate framework to be used
for both the practicing teachers in the field as well as the year-long RTTI
pre-service certificate. Modes of delivery and balance of content may differ
across the two “C” Certificates. The
initial work on the Pre-service “C” Certificate Framework began March 14, 2008
with a team of Liberian educators comprised of representatives from the
Curriculum Department at the Ministry of Education; administrators, trainers
and instructors from the Rural Teacher Training Institutes (RTTIs); faculty and
administrators from the University of Liberia; and educators from local schools
and non-governmental organizations.
The curriculum for both the field-based (in-service) “C” Certificate and the residential (pre-service) “C” certificate is organized into five
main components: Foundations, Teaching Content, Pedagogy, Child
Development, and Teaching Practice.
Sessions within the units are designed so that the session topics
addressed in the In-service “C” Certificate curriculum correlate with sessions
in the Pre-service “C” Certificate. The
curriculum content of the Pre-service “C” Certificate is expanded to cover a
broader scope of knowledge, skills and attitudes. The Foundations component -- which includes
the Basic Literacy modules -- is inclusive of strategies that can be used by
the Pre-service “C” Certificate candidate for basic literacy development in the
classroom.
