THE IMPACT OF ACADEMIC STAFF QUALIFICATION ON THE QUALITY OF GRADUATE TEACHER PREPARATION IN TANZANIA HIGHER EDUCATION

This paper assesses the influence of academic staff qualification on the graduate teacher preparation in Tanzania. A total of 44 informants from four universities were involved in the study. The study was underpinned by qualitative research, using multiple case study design. Interviews and document analyses were used to obtain data. The findings indicated that there is inadequate number of senior academic staff in all the studied universities. It was also revealed that some departments had neither a professor nor senior lecturer specialized in teacher education. The findings further indicate that there is a mismatch between number of student-teachers enrolled in education programme and that of the academic staff available in all studied universities. Thus, based on the findings, it is logically to argue that inadequate academic staff in universities in Tanzania where graduate teachers are prepared has an implication on their learning outcome.