Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication (Name of Journal)

Impact: Making a difference

Department

Professional Development Centre, Karachi

Abstract

Literature reveals that “teacher empowerment” (to become an active decision-maker) is considered a key element in successful school reforms. Despite the many educational reforms that have been executed in Pakistan, limited work has been done for teacher empowerment; as a result, the expected outcomes were not achieved. To facilitate the teacher empowerment process, the Aga Khan University-Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) under USAID Project-III, planned and implemented a series of professional development programmes for rural and suburban teachers from Non-Governmental Organizations and Community-Based Organizations (NGOs and CBOs) working in the education sector of Sindh. The focus of these programmes was on teacher empowerment strategies, which have been addressed in the areas of curricular content, teaching methods, teacher education, inter and intra personal skills, and having a say in the setting of school policy. These professional programmes helped teachers to develop themselves as decision makers in curriculum setting, work with colleagues, involve parents in school activities, bring into practice newly acquired applicable knowledge and skill in their classes in order to trigger a positive change in the teaching and learning process, taking into account their contextual realities. During follow-up visits and workshops, the team found that a majority of NGOs has assigned significant roles to graduates from AKU-IED as they proved to be successful teachers with notable decision-making capabilities. This presentation discusses the initial achievements of strategies included in the offered programmes alongside paying specific attention to the progress made by the participants and its implications in the areas mentioned earlier on.

Download

Share

COinS