A Study of Zones of Pedagogical Influence (ZIPs) in Mozambique

Abstract

The research presented here is a study of the Zones of Pedagogical Influence (Portuguese: Zonas de Influencia Pedagogica

ZIPs) in Mozambique. Mozambique, a country suffering from chronic education problems resulting from the numerical lack as well as the under-qualification of teachers, has implemented the ZIPs as a pedagogical system for in-service teacher training since the 1990s. However, there has been much criticism in relation to the effectiveness of the system to this day. This study aims to identify the factors that have inhibited ZIPs practical effectiveness through the socio-historical and political contexts of Mozambique. By doing so, this study explores how the socio-historical and political contexts have influenced the current practice of ZIPs. Exploring the contexts helps to understand the current issues and challenges of ZIPs in multiple dimensions. In addition, this study adopts the School Cluster Model (SCM) as a comparative tool, because ZIPs have been classified as an offshoot of SCM, given their similarity in structure – one core school and several satellite schools. Since the 1990 Education for All (EFA) initiatives advocating for quality education, SCM has received the attention of the international community as an alternative teacher training model for that end. Therefore, this study also contributes to the global endeavor for quality education by examining in the practices of ZIPs. Findings of this research show that there are diverse historical prototypes of ZIPs with different characteristics, such as the teacher training system for Portuguese missionaries and African teachers, Catholic seminars for young Mozambicans, Pilot Centers, and Political and Administrative Organization of Schools (Portuguese: Organização Política e Administrativa das Escolas

OPAE). In the beginning, a prototype of ZIPs performed as the teacher training system for Portuguese missionaries and African teachers in mission schools in order to improve teaching ability. Later mission schools provided secondary education for young Mozambicans through Catholic seminars that provided a backdrop for the foundation of the Mozambican ruling party, the Mozambique Liberation Front (Portuguese: Frente de Libertação de Moçambique

FRELIMO). In the 1960s, prior to the independence, FRELIMO established Pilot Centers structured as groups of schools covering both the community and the provincial levels. In the Pilot Centers, teachers engaged in farming for community production, and gathered and discussed the political, social, and military issues for independence as well as the pedagogical issues. In the mid-1970s, after the independence, OPAE was established. All personnel in a school (students, teachers, and school staff) organized into groups by subject and dedicated themselves to various aspects of school life including school-community administration and work-study. Due to the influence of the political ideology of Marxism-Leninism, the schools showed political and administrative characteristics. These historical practices did not utilize the exact term ZIPs at the time of their implementation. Nevertheless, their various characteristics overlap with ZIPs in practice today. Although the government of Mozambique nominated ZIPs as a pedagogical system for in-service teacher training when introducing the system in the 1990s, ZIPs in practice have functioned as an administrative office at community level, performing various roles such as managing, monitoring and supervising schools and teachers, submitting administrative reports to the education district office, distributing budget, and so on. Although the government of Mozambique utilized the term revitalization when introducing ZIPs in its education policy, there was no clear consensus about which characteristics should be reflected in ZIPs in order to overcome the chronic problems. Besides, it seems that there was no clear definition of the term pedagogical. In other words, even as the historical process formed the foundation of todays ZIPs, it also brought a conceptual confusion to the system. Therefore, the influences of the historical prototypes are concluded as follows. First, the roles and functions of ZIPs are unclear because of the stakeholders different understandings. While the government officially designated ZIPs as a pedagogical system for in-service teacher training, it has played various other roles beyond the pedagogical. Second, the position of ZIPs is unclear, somewhere between the education district office and the schools. Under the decentralized system, ZIPs are required to function as an administrative unit, even though it is not authorized and there are no designated offices for them. Besides, they do not receive any support, finances or human resources from the national or local government, nor are they given any autonomous capacity. Nevertheless, ZIPs are pedagogically meaningful as an in-service teacher training system for improving the quality of education up to the international standards. Therefore, the national implementation of ZIPs has important implications for the international community trying to raise the quality of education by training qualified teachers in developing countries.