Several actors on the African higher education landscape lament the quality, relevance and sustainability of the education system. The Association of African Universities notes that the greatest conundrum confronting African universities is how to become relevant to local needs and social realities while simultaneously responding adequately to the opportunities and risks of globalization. As globalization continues to challenge the content and delivery of education programmes, blur boundaries and complicate education spaces, most institutions in the West are adapting while African universities are left struggling behind. This situation is compounded by: a) Resource deficiencies and infrastructural challenges that constrain the teaching and learning environment; b) Massification of higher education which has led to phenomenal increase in student enrolment at undergraduate and poor preparation of students for post graduate studies; c) Heavy teaching loads which translate into an emphasis on content and surface learning rather than deep learning; d) The old adage of ‘publish or perish’ which has shifted attention from classroom content and teaching and learning dynamics to research. Systemic weaknesses have therefore conspired to entrench a transmission model of teaching and learning that legitimizes some form of content tyranny across programmes. PedaL is premised on the need to catalyse systemic change in teaching and learning in African universities. African university lecturers are highly qualified in their disciplines, yet may lack appropriate pedagogical skills. This affects their ability to deliver effectively in the teaching and learning process, and to sustain holistic development of student competencies; the mismatch between skills and labour market needs cannot be underrated. While this situation can be attributed to the many known underlying factors, it is also true that pedagogical competency is not a requirement for teaching at African universities. There has been hue and cry over eroding standards of higher education and failure to effectively equip graduates with the skills needed in a rapidly changing and complex knowledge-driven society. By developing and sharing PedaL pedagogies, the PedaL partnership aims to enhance the teaching capacity of university teaching staff to improve student learning outcomes, thereby to produce high quality social science graduates who are employable; and creatively able to use their education to sustain opportunities that stimulate economic growth and social transformation. It has been argued that even gains from the best designed curriculum are often lost without competent teachers to interpret the objectives, organize the content and determine the stimulus that meets the prescribed objectives. Academics must constantly resolve the tension between ‘what should be learned’ and ‘how it should be organized’ to achieve exceptional learning moments for optimization of learning outcomes. The problem is that teachers’ dispositions, needs and motivation that could help them stimulate active learning among students have not received the right attention. This brings into sharp focus an urgent need not only to reform the curriculum but also to address conditions that facilitate desirable shifts in pedagogical practices. Taking cognisance of the neglect and under investment in social sciences as African countries and development partners put STEM at the heart of their development strategies; PedaL deliberately privileged the social sciences. The goal is to gradually replicate PedaL across other university programmes so as to catalyse systemic change.

The Partnership for Pedagogical Leadership in Africa (PedaL) is a formal partnership of eight institutions that aims to embed and catalyse systemic change in teaching and learning practices and to maximize learning outcomes through strategic interventions in graduate social science programmes. PedaL is one of nine partnerships supported by the Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education Innovation and Reform (SPHEIR) grant scheme to catalyse systemic change in teaching and learning in African universities. SPHEIR partnerships seek to transform the quality, relevance, access and affordability of higher education to achieve sustainable, systemic change. SPHEIR has been established by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to deliver systemic and sustainable change within higher education systems, enabling them to meet labour market needs and generate the job-ready, entrepreneurial graduates needed to accelerate development, build inclusive societies and promote strong economic growth. The Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR) is leading 7 partners to develop and roll out PedaL in graduate social science programmes: Alliance for Research Universities in Africa (ARUA), Institute of Development Studies (IDS) of the University of Sussex - UK as well as five implementing partner universities: Ibadan in Nigeria; Egerton in Kenya; Ghana in Ghana; Dar es Salaam in Tanzania; and, Uganda Martyrs in Uganda. PedaL’s roots can be traced to the collaborative Master of Research and Public Policy (MRPP) programme with its signature pedagogical innovations. Through PedaL, these innovations were contextualized, deepened, up scaled and formalised into a distinctive training programme. PedaL has therefore been seamlessly embraced by all MRPP universities . It is envisaged that PedaL will be replicated across other universities on the continent that express interest in pedagogical transformation. By introducing innovative teaching and learning processes, PedaL will improve student learning through an environment of interaction and interactivity. Through continuous professional development activities, academics will be equipped with competencies that foster deep learning in their students. At the core of PEDAL, communities of practice will be established to support the on-going delivery of social science graduate programmes. These communities will thrive on virtual learning platforms and a series of other joint activities, such as staff exchanges, joint research, and staff seminars. Through these communities, cohorts and clusters of PedaL practitioners and leaders will emerge in social science disciplines across partner universities. PedaL will enhance teaching and learning, improve the quality of social science graduates, and increase the efficiency of education programmes. The ultimate benefit will be significant changes in how graduate education is imparted, improved teaching and learning and enhancement of the quality of graduates so that they are better able to obtain employment, lead research, and thus contribute to the socio-economic development of their countries.

The PedaL initiative is organized around a series of interlinked activities with the following specific objectives: • Design and implement features and processes that drive PedaL pedagogy in selected social science graduate programmes; • Develop the capacity of lead course instructors to catalyse systemic change in teaching and learning methods/pedagogy; • Create and sustain an active community of practice around PedaL pedagogy; • Support delivery of graduate social science programmes using PedaL pedagogy and share lessons across the partnership; • Facilitate the institutionalisation of PedaL in partner universities.