Teacher Development

"The training which GAN has given me is the first training I have ever received."
Dhruba Lamasanga, English Teacher, Lalitpur

Rationale
Objectives
Outputs
Programme Details
Testimonies
Working Area
Current Status

Rationale

As the above statement from one of our participants teachers demonstrates, the quality of teacher training in Nepal is very poor. Over 50% of teachers have no or inadequate training; at the primary level, an SLC pass (an exam taken at age 16) will often suffice to become a teacher. In such circumstances, creating a situation where high quality education can flourish is nigh on impossible.

Objectives

Working with many other NGOs, international agencies and, most importantly, the Nepalese government, GAN is striving to create a situation whereby a teacher will be:

• Academically sound and qualified
• Committed to the profession
• Devoted to creating a stimulating and challenging environment for children's learning
• Willing and able to facilitate and encourage children to develop critical thinking
• Capable of organising and managing classrooms for both single-grade and multi-grade settings
• Able to receive adequate professional support internally from peers and senior teachers

Outputs

• The training of over 200 teachers as direct beneficiaries, and 20,000 students as indirect beneficiaries
• The employment of three dedicated field staff who are educational experts whose primary beneficiaries are the teachers within their working area
• The conducting of several hundred workshops and training days not only for teachers, but for headmasters, community leaders and para-educationalists as well

Programme Details

GAN's programme of teacher development is embodied in several different ways:

• Unit Resource Centres

In each of our working districts, we have two Unit Resource Centres (URCs) which are made available for use to all their beneficiary teachers from local schools. The aims and objectives of the URCs are severalfold, and include:

Library
The URCs are stocked with many books covering a wide range of interests. The books are aimed both at adults and children, and there are also reference books for teachers' use.

Material Bank
A bank of learning and teaching materials, created by local teachers, GAN staff and our Overseas and Nepali volunteers, are located within the URC and are for the use of teachers throughout the district.

Meeting place
Many of GAN's training and development workshops, and our language learning classes, take place within the URC.

• Formal training sessions

Training sessions focus on the following areas in particular:

Teaching theory:
focusing mainly on the concepts of 'learning', 'education' and 'teaching' and general pedagogy

Classroom Skills:
concentrating predominantly on the ways and methods teachers can improve their general classroom skills such as: groupwork, student mentoring, lesson planning, homework setting, the communicate approach, and so on.

Feedback:
teachers will give sample lessons, and their peers are invited to give constructive feedback. This concept was a novel one to most Nepali schools, but it has received a very warm reaction.

• Follow-up training and workshops

One of the biggest problems in the lack of support after training offered. GAN ensures that its beneficiaries receive this support through our field staff and regular workshops which take place after the formal training.

Testimonies

	"I can follow lots of the teaching techniques in my school - like different types of games, grouping students and mixed abilities." SK Shrestha Gram Shiskshya Secondary School, Kapan
	"After this training programme, I feel more confident. We were very active during the programme." Sobita Ghimere Ganesh Secondary School, Kathmandu
	"Thanks to GAN, instead of teacher centered teaching, our students are actively participating in the learning process." Krishna Timilsina Jana Kalyan Primary School Lahachowk
	"I haven't got a lot of teaching experience, so I found all the training useful. All the sessions were very constructive." Basanta Bhujel Kalika Secondary School, Kaskikot, Kaski

Working Area

GAN's teacher-training programme is our most widespread, and has taken place in six districts of Nepal - Lamjung, Parbat, Kaski, Lalitpur, Kathmandu and Solukhumbu.

Current Status

Our teacher development work is ongoing in all six URCs, and our 'whole school' approach continues to gain momentum, making, as one of our field staff BB Bhujel says, "small but very effective inroads in improving the quality of classroom teaching in Nepal."

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