The UN’s 2015 Millennium Development Goals demand primary and secondary education for all. I have recently embarked on an intensive two-year teacher-training and leadership development programme with Teach First hoping to work towards this goal by tackling educational disadvantage in the UK. However, the UK is only one small part of the global picture: in developing countries, although more children are in school than ever before, capacity has not grown at the same rate as demand. As a result, teachers are faced with ever growing class sizes (having 50-80 students in a class is common, compared to 20-30 in the UK and US), though instruction often hasn't evolved accordingly.
NEPAL
In 2013, 72% of Nepalese children from the public school system failed their School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exmainations. This means that 335,912 children now do not have the same life opportunities as other children. The majority of public schools in Nepal are under-resourced and struggle to both recruit and retain teachers. In schools where the government has not allocated enough teachers, or in remote areas where teachers do not want to live, primary school teachers have to teach secondary level students. As a result, teachers are overburdened and the education of students appearing for the SLC is being compromised by teachers who are not qualified to adequately prepare them to excel in the board examination.
OUR PROJECT: LRTT Nepal
Thus, this summer I am travelling to Kathmandu, Nepal for four
weeks on a fellowship with LRTT (Limited Resource Teacher
Training), an organisation which facilitates inspirational teacher
training in limited-resource contexts all over the world. As a team of
20 teachers (all are either current or former Teach First
participants), we will be drawing on our own classroom experience and
knowledge of current pedagogy to address the challenge of limited
resources and large class sizes by training local teachers and Teach
for Nepal participants to utilise peer-to-peer, pupil-led learning
strategies, turning large class sizes from a barrier into an engine
for learning (see here for more information http://lrtt.org/our-training/).
By the end of each workshop local teachers will be well equipped to
implement a range of proven strategies--ranging from differentiation
to assessment for learning--in their own teaching.
IMPACT
Research shows that the quality of
teaching has
a bigger impact upon outcomes than any other factor within a
school, making training great teachers
the smartest, most high-leverage investment an
education community can make. We will deliver the LRTT course to
almost 200 local teachers in Kathmandu, which will impact on the
education of
over 15,000 children in Primary and Secondary
Education in Nepal; training teachers rather than simply teaching
local students ensures this project is sustainable and has a lasting impact.
I am hoping to raise £750 towards my costs (this will cover just
under half the total cost of the trip). While I will be covering the
costs of the flight, I am hoping to raise money to partly cover my
food and accommodation costs (we will be staying in 'Teach for Nepal'
dormitories), training and support, as well as a contribution to the
total cost of the LRTT course.
Any donations—no matter how small--would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your support!
Max