Transcript 48x36 Poster Template

Teacher and Leadership Preparation in Non-Formal Educational Settings: The experience
of the Bangladesh Rural Association Committee (BRAC) in Bangladesh
Jill Sperandio, Educational Leadership Program, Lehigh University, USA
Abstract
School Leadership Preparation – the BRAC way
The poster will present the results of a survey of 150 female teacher/leaders of one room village schools operated by the Bangladesh Rural
Advancement Committee (BRAC). These schools form part of the nonformal education system that now serves millions of children in Bangladesh.
Teacher training and leadership preparation in this sector is very different
from that in the formal education system in Bangladesh.
The goal of the survey was to gain insights into the perceptions of the
nature of leadership and preparation for it of women given on the job
training to lead village primary schools. The women’s experiences suggest
that leadership training can be empowering, and that effective educational
leadership preparation can take many forms, not just those commonly
accepted in formal education systems.
School Leader Selection
In the BRAC schools more than 90% of head teachers are women who
are married and live within the local community, and are assisted by a
Program Officer and Curriculum Resource Officer, supervised by a
regional coordinator - a Distributed Leadership Model
Requirements to lead a one room rural school:
•a minimum academic qualification of a Secondary School Certificate
(SSC). The academic qualification may be relaxed for exceptional
candidates but ten years of schooling is a minimum requirement.
•must be prepared to complete the teacher training course of at least
15 days at any of the BRAC training centers within the first year of
employment.
•must be a permanent resident of the village in which the school is
located, be accepted by the community, be married, and have another
source of income for her family (as this is regarded as a part- time job).
•She cannot bring her children to school during school time, and
cannot have family restrictions or social barriers for conducting cocurricular activities.
Bangladesh
A Program Officer
• must have a minimum qualification of a Higher Secondary School Certificate
• supervises 12 to16 schools, and their work
• cover three areas of leadership and management.
1.. The opening of new schools that involves meetings with local communities,
teacher and student recruitment, communication with local government,
school budget development, supplying the school, and parent contacts.
Women in Formal School Leadership in Bangladesh
Percentage of females in positions of head/assistant head teacher in
government primary and secondary schools in Bangladesh
Position
Total Positions
Secondary Head
313
Assistant Secondary Head
343
Primary Head
37,672
Assistant Primary Head
37,672
Females
71
92
7,765
3,956
%
22.7
26.8
BRAC and Non-Formal Education Provision
Notable among the providers of non-formal education has been the
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) operating the
Non-Formal Primary Education program (NFPE) that controls over
34,000 schools in predominantly rural areas catering to more than a
million students (BRAC, 2004). The schools have been tailored to
meet the needs of the poor who cannot afford even the low costs
associated with government schooling, either due to monetary or
opportunity costs. Over 70% of the students enrolled in the schools
are girls. BRAC has actively promoted female leadership, tailoring
recruitment to isolated rural areas
Results of the Teachers Survey
Key Themes
Effective Leadership Training: The combination of on the job training,
monthly workshops, and visits by Program Officers and Curriculum
Officers provides women with the skills and support they need to
operate the school and gain the respect of the community
Understandings of Leadership: the participants related this to the
recognition they gained from community members who now sought their
advice, and the service they were providing for children and families in
the community - Servant Leadership
Personal Empowerment : As expressed in this quotation from one
participant:
I love working with children and I want to share my knowledge with them.
I also want to continue to practice my education besides my housework.
I benefit from the money I receive and the village children benefit from
the education. Everyone in my family supported my application – both my
husband and I thought since there will be extra income in the household
and no one in the family had ever been in this profession before. I can
now provide whatever things I want for my children and I do not have to
ask for money from my husband. And everyone treats me differently now.
My husband values my thoughts and views and I also get tremendous
respect from the children’s parents as well as my relatives. People greet
me when I’m out walking; some of them even come to me with their
problems, and the people with authority and respect in the village also
love me a lot
Questions for future research
•Firstly, what can be done to draw women into school leadership in
countries where training for teachers, and the promotion process from
teacher to school leader, favor men?
2. The operation of new and reopened schools, involving bi-weekly school visits to supervise schools,
monthly refresher training for teachers, attending and coordinating monthly parents meetings , organizing
school committee meetings, maintaining contact with local government and others influential in the
community, transferring students to formal education, school repair, and parent contact.
•What training and leadership preparation is needed to equip women to
teach in and lead schools in the rural areas where they live and where
there is a need for good schools?
3 Office management that includes the writing of school supervision
reports, weekly meetings with area officials, maintaining documents and stock registers, and teacher
attendance and leave.
•How can teacher training and leadership preparation be provided for
women do not have the resources or freedom from domestic
responsibility or social constraints to attend training or work away from
home?
Research Questions and Methods
Initial visits and interviews at two regional training centers where I was able to meet with the regional coordinator, program officers and teachers
attending the center for a once a month day long training workshop. This allowed me to see the replication of the one room school where the training
takes place for teachers, observe the training methods used, and have informal discussions with teachers, trainers and supervisors. My research
question “In what ways is the leadership training received by Bangladeshi women in a rural non-formal education initiative perceived by them as
impacting their professional and personal lives”” emerged from these initial conversations and observations, and led to the development of a survey that
was filed tested with the participants of monthly training at two regional centers.
The initial conversations had suggested that the opportunities for playing a leadership role in education in their rural villages had impacted the lives of
the distributed leadership teams in significant ways, as well as the obvious benefits provided to communities and children by the rural schools the teams
operated. The questions on the survey sought the women’s perceptions of the changes their new roles had brought to their own lives, and the
understanding of leadership that they had gained in the process. The survey collected both demographic information (age, number and age of children,
years of work with BRAC) and open-ended. The questions were in Bangla.
In cooperation with BRAC personnel, the surveys were distributed tin August 2007 o 10 regional centers around Bangladesh which were holding
training within the next two months. Approximately 10-15 teachers, program officers and the regional supervisor at each site completed the survey.
Survey answers were translated by a Bangladeshi graduate of a U.S. university, and cross-checked for accuracy and interpretation by several other bilingual professionals. I then used qualitative research methods to code the answers to the open -ended questions and draw out themes from them.
•In those areas where non-formal teacher training can be provided, what
should it involve and how can women use it as a first step to entering the
formal educational system and gain promotion to leadership and
decision making positions?
•How can our knowledge of effective leadership preparation in a variety
of different contexts be shared and adapted for use in non-formal
teacher training and leadership preparation in both developed and
developing countries?
Contact information
Dr. Jill Sperandio
College of Education,
Lehigh University,
Pennsylvania, USA
Email [email protected]