TEACHER MENTORING PROJECT
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THE PROJECT
"There can be no significant or sustainable transformation in societies and no significant reduction in poverty until girls receive the quality basic education they need to take their rightful place as equal partners in development."

A unique opportunity for Canadian teachers to work with South African teachers in the classroom, experience the issues, understand the changes, share ideas, and introduce your students to their South African counterparts.

South Africa has continued to experience a great many changes in recent years and one of the most challenging of these has been the dual challenge of moving beyond the past and the challenge of the future and developing a curriculum that will fulfill the government's vision of being an internationally competitive country of literate citizens.

The SAWW Teacher Mentoring Project was established as a mentoring initiative that is
meaningful and that has the potential for ongoing development for both new and experienced educators.
The TMP serves as a means by which Ontario-based educators can share their expertise in curriculum

Implementation through partnerships with their counterparts in South Africa. Since 1999, eleven Ontario-based teachers have participated in the SAWW Teacher Mentoring Projects at South Peninsula High School, Cape Town, Moshoeshoe Primary School, Gauteng (two years), St. TheresaÕs Catholic
Primary School, Durban and W.D. Hendricks Primary School, Cape Town. In 2001, a South
African educator from the University of Natal participated in an SAWW Teacher Mentoring Exchange Project in
Toronto.

The projects have facilitated the sharing of expertise in literacy, numeracy, information
technology and conflict resolution and peace studies. The Teacher Mentoring participants have continued
their relationships and their students both in Ontario and South Africa have been the
beneficiaries.

The Scope of TMP Project:

The introduction of an outcomes-based curriculum, which is vastly different from the previous curriculum which was content -based, has generated a new focus on teaching and learning in South
Africa.

The TMP works on the premise that mentoring must have meaning. The Canadian TMP mentors have reflected on their South African experiences and have observed that the implementation of the curriculum has been hampered by many factors. These include limited resources for the
orientation and training of teachers, insufficient or inaccessible learning support materials in the classroom and a shortage of resources and personnel to support curriculum implementation at the school
level.

The overall objective of the South African Women for Women Teacher Mentoring Project is to enhance the quality of program delivery in South African schools through the support of Ontario based educators in the transformational process of implementing a new curriculum.

While many of the past projects have been in individual schools, a need for a wider sharing of expertise has been noted. In order to meet this need, it is the objective of the next phase of the South African Women for Women Teacher Mentoring Project to facilitate workshops in the orientation and training of
teachers in the methodologies and strategies of outcomes-based education at the local
level.

Teachers who are interested in applying for the mentorship program should send a resume and covering letter to:
South African Women for Women
Teacher Mentoring Project
24 Woodrow Avenue,
Toronto, Ontario. M4C 4S2

Fax: 416/ 691-5916

For further
details about the program please contact us at saww@interlog.com

The South African Women for Women Teacher Mentoring Project will have the following
components with their specific objectives and purposes:

* to support and facilitate the implementation process of the curriculum

* to facilitate in the improvement of educators' knowledge of and competence in using the methodologies associated with outcomes-based curriculum

* to make available materials which will enable teachers to develop their own teaching resources (e.g.. sample materials, equipment to "make and take" materials/ units of study applicable to the classroom)

* to provide an opportunity to interact with experienced educators and develop an active network of peer support and sense of collegiality at the local and international level


 The Project

While the challenges of implementing an effective curriculum change are daunting, it is hoped that the
new phase of the TMP will in some way alleviate some of the stress associated with change.

The new phase will be managed by TMP Committee members in the initial stage.
These members will liaise with South African partners to investigate the logistics of the project proposal and to conduct a needs and interest assessment and a series of workshop foci, based on the results of the needs and interest assessment, will be developed by members of the TMP Committee, TMP mentors/volunteers and South African partners.

The workshops will be facilitated by TMP short-term volunteers in collaboration with our South African
partners. The short-term volunteers will be selected for the specific project needs in each year of the project.

The specific project needs will be ascertained through the yearly project evaluation completed by the facilitators, participants, and the TMP Committee and it's partners in South Africa and Canada.