ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the range of constraints on English language teacher education and professional development in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, and showcases a number of bottom-up collaborative efforts currently going on in the continent. In particular, we examine the challenging circumstances through which language teachers join and engage in the profession and show how these impact on their professional development. Then we examine current in-service teacher education initiatives to highlight the rising role of communities of practice such as teacher associations and pedagogic cells in providing platforms for individual and collective continuous professional development for English language teachers. Drawing from examples of collaborative initiatives in SSA, we argue for more institutional recognition and support of bottom-up teacher efforts so that the teacher development possibilities currently being nurtured could be better refined and coordinated. This will help to cater for English language teachers’ professional needs and guarantee sustainable quality education in these contexts.
