Research-Based Teaching for Inclusive Education in Namibia and Bremen is a DAAD-funded curriculum-development cooperation between the departments of Erziehungswissenschaften, Inklusive Pädagogik, at the University of Bremen and Educational Psychology and Inclusive Education at the University of Namibia in Windhoek. The project, initiated by Prof. Dr Natascha Korff and Prof. Dr Frank J. Müller (University of Bremen) and Prof. Louise Mostert, Dr Cynthy Haihambo and Job Hengari (UNAM) in 2019, aims to make research-based teacher training an integral part of Teacher Training and to incorporate it into the curriculum. In particular, it seeks to improve the quality of supervision in the final stages of the Master’s degrees in Teacher Training/Inclusive Education.

The four-year project is carried out as an exchange programme for staff and students from both universities and as such seeks to further the internationalisation of Teacher Training. Each spring, up to six students and three academics from UNAM will visit the University of Bremen for four and two weeks respectively. During this time, they will sit in on classes in schools of all educational stages, specialising in different areas, as well as visit other educational institutions – all chosen according to the students’ research interests. Throughout, workshops and seminars on conducting research as part of Teachers Training/Inclusive Education programmes will be held, providing a space for  exchange for both students and staff. Staff from the cooperating universities will get together to take inventory of the current curriculum and systematically work out necessary changes in expert meetings in Bremen as well as in Namibia.

Whilst in Bremen, staff from UNAM will help participating students from the University of Bremen develop a design for the research they will be conducting in Namibia during the summer. The students from Bremen will spend six weeks in Namibia (three of which they will be joined by teaching staff from their university) and placed in schools in various parts of the country. Here, they will conduct research which will, ideally, form the basis of their MA theses.

Unlike in Bremen, where the students from Windhoek visit a number of schools, in Namibia, the visiting students will stay at one school for a longer period of time to conduct research. For this, UNAM academics will provide support throughout. Both Namibian and German students will be attending seminars on data collection and evaluation at UNAM. Cooperation lies at the heart of this project. In addition to the large number of staff (and students) who will participate in the exchange over the years, a broad range of academics will take part as MA thesis supervisors, guest speakers, and workshop facilitators.