The funding will also be used to conduct joint research and host a seminar and workshop at the University of Pretoria Faculty of Education in March 2018. Seven countries from Africa and Asia are involved in the project. The title of the research project is: ‘A comparative analysis of teacher professional development and identity across Asia and Africa’.

This study aims at developing a comparative understanding of the formation of the professional identity of novice teachers teaching in the first three years of schooling (Early Childhood Education) in the context of several Asian (including Japanese) and African universities. In order to gather relevant data, both qualitative and quantitative approaches entailing three phases are followed.

The first phase (2013-2015) focused on qualitative research on teacher identity within participating countries. The second phase (2015-2016) focused on a qualitative comparative analysis of the professional, political and social contexts of novice teachers in Early Childhood Education.  All participants used the same interview schedule in order to ensure a reliable comparative analysis. Workshops were held at Hiroshima University and University Saints Malaysia, Malaysia. The third phase (2016-2018) is a quantitative comparative analysis on Early Childhood Education teacher development and identity in Africa and Asia.

In June 2017 participating universities conducted a workshop at Hiroshima University to continue the discussion of both qualitative and quantitative data analysis and preparing scholarly papers for publication. Participants had to distribute 300 questionnaires to early childhood education teachers in their particular countries to allow for comparative analysis.