Rehema Japhet Mwakabenga

Name
Rehema Japhet Mwakabenga

Academic Rank
Senior Lecturer

Department
Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies (EPCS)

Biography

Biography

Dr. Rehema Japhet Mwakabenga is a senior lecturer in teacher education, curriculum, and instruction at Dar es Salaam University's College of Education (DUCE). She holds a PhD in Education from Massey University in New Zealand. She also attended the Postdoctoral visiting scholar at the Michigan State University in the United States (US). Dr. Mwakabenga obtained her Master of Education and Bachelor of Education degrees from the University of Dar es Salaam. Her research interests are in teacher education, with a particular focus on teacher professional development programs, curriculum, and teaching pedagogy. Mwakabenga has expertise guiding teaching pedagogy in schools and higher education institutions. She is currently leading the Future Teacher Education for Sustainable Development (FUTE) project in Tanzania, which is a collaboration between the University of Eastern Finland, the University of Namibia, and the University of Turku in Finland. The project intends to assist lecturers in using innovative pedagogy to improve education for sustainable development. She is also in charge of scaling up the recent initiative in Strengthening in-service Teacher Professional Development and Mentoring in Tanzania, Kenya, and South Sudan.

Contacts

Email:

Email Address
rehema.mwakabenga@duce.ac.tz

Mob:

Research Interest

Research Interest
Teacher education; Professional development; Curriculum; Classroom practices across educational levels; action research

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Projects

Projects

1. Future teacher education for sustainable development (FUTE)- 2024-2026- Funded by the Ministry of Foreign affairs in Finland- Higher Education Partnership
2. The Study on Alliance for African Partnership (AAP) Members Institutions on Tripartite Mission– A Case Study of University Of Dar es Salaam, November 2024- July 2025- A consulatncy by the Michigan State University    
3. Strengthening In‑Service Teacher Professional Development and Mentorship” across Tanzania, Kenya, and South Sudan 2024-2026- Funded by the  IDRC- Canada
4. Strengthening In‑Service Teacher Mentorship and Support” project in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia —  2021-2023, Funded by IDRC- Canada
5. Tanzania Partnership Project- Michigan State University 
6. Enhancing Pre-service Teachers’ Competence-based Curriculum through School Attachment project- 2021 Funded by the University of Dar es Salaam.
7. Investigating the existing educational initiatives for out-of-school girls and teenage mothers in Tanzania mainland- 2020, By Tanzania Education Network (TENMET)
 

Publications

Publications

  1. Mwakabenga, R. J. (2025). Prospects for secondary school teacher leadership in teaching and professional development in Tanzania. Teacher Development, 1-17.

  2. Urio, P.J. and Mwakabenga, R.J. (2025), "Teacher mentorship and support: a methodological approach to enhance community of learners in secondary schools in Tanzania", International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-08-2024-0089

  3. Mwakabenga, R. J., & Paine, L. (2024). The potential of professional learning communities for competence-based Teaching in Tanzanian Secondary Schools. Papers in Education and Development, 41(2).

  4. Kyaruzi, F., Fulgence, K., Kavenuke, P. S, and Mwakabenga, R. J., & Oziambo, B. (2023). Relevance of School-based Mentorship and Support on Mathematics Teachers' Competences in Tanzania: Stakeholders' Perspectives. The paper presented in World Conference on Teacher Education (WCTE-2023) 21st - 22nd August 2023,Virtual, Gulu

  5. Mwakabenga, R. J. (2022). Actively Engaging Large Classes in Tanzanian Universities. Utafiti, 17(2), 271-287.  https://brill.com/view/journals/utaf/17/2/article-p271_5.xml

  6. Timothy, V., Kyaruzi, F., Mwakabenga, R. J, & Rukondo, N. (2021). Enhancing pre-service science and mathematics teachers’ competence-based teaching through school attachment. Papers in Education and Development, 39 (2), 19-39. https://journals.udsm.ac.tz/index.php/ped/article/view/4635

  7. Mwakabenga, R. J. (2021). Secondary school teachers’ experiences of using action research in classroom practices. Papers in Education and Development, 39 (2), 119-139. https://journals.udsm.ac.tz/index.php/ped/article/view/4640

  8. Mwakabenga, R. J., & Komba, S. C. (2021). Gender Inequalities in Pedagogical Classroom Practice: What Influence Do Teachers Make? Journal of Education, Humanities & Science (JEHS), 10(3). http://www.ojs3.bongotech.info/index.php/jehs/article/view/90

  9. Mwakabenga, R. J., Hansen, S., & Sewell, A. (2020). Exploring Teachers’ Understandings of School-based Professional Learning in a Tanzanian Secondary School. Journal of Education, Humanities and Sciences (JEHS), 9(1), 1-17. https://jehs.bongotech.info/index.php/jehs/article/view/141

  10. Kinyota, M. Kavenuke, P. S., & Mwakabenga, R. J. (2019). Promoting teacher professional learning in Tanzanian schools: Lessons from Chinese school-based professional learning communities, Journal of Education, Humanities and Sciences, 8 (1), 47–63. https://jehs.bongotech.info/index.php/jehs/article/view/127

  11. Mwakabenga, R. J., Hansen, S., & Sewell, A. (2022). Teachers’ efforts to overcome barriers in their professional learning activities: A case of teacher professional programs in Tanzania. Journal of African Education, 3(1), 11-33.

  12. Japhet, R. (2013). Stakeholders’ views on the effects of students’ participation in co-curricular activities in secondary schools in Tanzania- Journal of Humanities and Education

  13. Komba, S. C., & Mwakabenga, R. J. (2019). Teacher professional development in Tanzania: Challenges and opportunities. In H. Şenol (Ed.), Educational Leadership (2020). Educational Leadership. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.78871IntechOpen