This article describes a South Africa-based training programme in multilingual education for African educators and assesses its potentially transformative effects on participants. Based on a range of data collected during four course runs, as well as an e-mail survey of past participants, the authors explore how the programme has supported educators in promoting mother tongue-based schooling in multilingual African contexts. There is also a discussion of principal challenges involved in delivering a course that balances theory, ideology and practical knowledge. The authors conclude with implications for similar courses to positively impact educational practice in multilingual settings. (Contains 3 tables, 1 figure, and 6 notes.)