The THEMIS project will:

1. provide academic researchers, practitioners and teacher trainers with an authoritative systematic review of research on English language teacher training from the perspective of gender inequality and ICT policy;
2. contribute to research on English language teacher training in the target and related ODA countries to inform good practice;   
3. enable policymakers and stakeholders to gain insights into the problems associated with the implementation of the English language teacher training curriculum from the perspective of gender inequality;
4. support the teaching profession and faculty members in the case study institutions by raising awareness of teacher development, particularly with respect to ICT policies and pedagogies, and the creation of language teaching materials underpinned by gender equality and equity;
5. examine in particular the role of gender in shaping assumptions about English language teacher training and the role of female teachers and their career progression;
6. lead to knowledge transfer to other ODA countries in general and African in particular, which have the same or similar contexts to the target countries involved;
7. establish a network for female practitioners and early career researchers (ECRs) across the four ODA countries and Africa more widely aimed at supporting the career progression and influence of female English language teachers, trainee teachers and female students to achieve SDG 4.c and 5 by 2030;
8. via the early career researcher network for English language teachers, promote research-informed teaching practices that underpin the importance of evidence-based educational policy in Africa and encourage female English teachers into postgraduate research programmes and careers both nationally and internationally by establishing a framework for reciprocal mentoring.

Dissemination

THEMIS project partners will produce a range of collaborative outputs to engage a wide audience of English language education practitioners and researchers in Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the UK.

Outputs will include four ODA country case studies arising from the project aimed at the British Council’s online resources for teachers’ web site; and several smaller practitioner focused articles for IATEFL SIG groups which have significant membership and readership.

We will present papers detailing our findings at high profile national and international conferences in Africa and the UK.

We will produce a minimum of two high quality research outputs at 3* (REF standard) based on our multiple case study approach for such journals as the Journal of Research and Development in Education.

We will produce an edited book, provisionally entitled, Gender Equality in English Language Teaching in Africa, to be published by Palgrave Macmillan via open access to bring together national and international perspectives on this topic in the series Palgrave Studies on Global Policy and Critical Futures in Education. Publications will be led by researchers and practitioners from the ODA countries under the guidance and mentorship of the PI.

With project partners, will also produce an interim report at the mid-point of the project and final report on completion to be published in the British Council Research Papers series.     

We will create a dedicated project website that is nationally and internationally facing and use social media to engage key regional, national and international influencers in educational policy and gender equality.

The audience for the project will be teachers (in-service/pre-service), teacher trainers, curriculum designers, researchers, policy-makers, students – both internationally (to stimulate interest in the project outcomes and processes) and nationally within the four main partner countries to aid collaboration and communication.