Ahead of the phase out of Teacher Internship Collaboration South Africa (TICZA) in its current form, the TICZA Practice and Research Digest collates a series of articles on this ambitious education initiative.
The digest, which was published by JET Education Services in 2024, calls for greater policy alignment, improved coherence, and consistency among nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and the need for evidence to demonstrate the success of extended teacher internship training initiatives, known as ESTIs, in South Africa.
The collection includes insights from the government bodies, universities, NGOs, teacher unions, and funders who make up the ESTI ecosystem. Their essays capture the collective impact collaborative’s themes, covering ESTI policy impact, implementation partnerships, sustainability, and innovation.
It also provides an overview of the collaboration itself, which was launched in 2023 with the goal of institutionalising the intensive teacher placements that support student teachers during their practical training. With support from the Zenex Foundation, Tutuwa Community Foundation, and Maitri Trust, the TICZA collective impact collaborative brought together the Department of Basic Education, the Department of Higher Education and Training, the South African Council for Educators, three teacher unions, 14 NGO implementers, eight higher education institutions and a convening group that included the National Association of Social Change Entities in Education.
The initiative emerged from the gap that had arisen in South Africa’s teacher training system. When teacher training colleges closed in 2004, teacher education shifted to universities, becoming more theoretical and less practical. Since distance education programmes were also struggling to deliver quality teaching experience, NGOs had stepped in with internship programmes to address the challenge. However, these partnerships operated without coordination, varying in their quality and cost.
Borrowing from Stanford University’s framework for tackling complex social problems, TICZA’s collective impact model eschewed silos in favour of partners committed to a common agenda, shared measurement tools, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and coordinated backbone support.
The collaboration has evolved significantly since its inception. TICZA shifted from its initial focus on improving efficiency and scale toward institutionalisation, where ESTIs are embedded in official teacher education policy and practice. This evolution reflects the partners’ growing understanding that sustainable change requires systemic integration, not just programme improvement.
For more information on the evolution of TICZA and Trialogue’s contribution to the collaborative effort, read A model of collective impact: The Teacher Internship Collaboration South Africa (TICZA) and TICZA: A collective impact strategy for transforming education on the Trialogue Knowledge Hub.
The digest serves as a progress report as well as a guide for future collaborative efforts in education. The insights shared by its contributors contribute valuable lessons for anyone interested in how complex education challenges can be addressed through sustained, multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Read the TICZA Practice and Research Digest.
