Supporting young mothers’ return to learning: Enabling Tanzanian teachers to build inclusive school environment.
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) @COL4D, in collaboration with the Youth Alliance for Progress Organisation (YAPO), is supporting inclusive education initiatives in Tanzania that enable young mothers to return to school and complete their secondary education. Through the Gairo Alternative Education Pathway (ASEP) Centre and targeted teacher training, partners are advancing gender equity and educational access for adolescent girls affected by early pregnancy.
With the support of COL, 40 girls have been enrolled into the ASEP Centre at Gairo Secondary School in Morogoro, opening the doors for them to complete their secondary schooling.
COL recently held a workshop with YAPO and 20 teachers from three ASEP centres. The workshop allowed the teachers and their respective centre managers to discuss the challenges they face in teaching and retaining young mothers in ASEP. Common issues that emerged included motivating the learners to stay in school, the need for supplementary learning materials, and dealing with stigma and discrimination.
In the pre-workshop survey, many participants ranked their self-efficacy in supporting students as low. The workshop enabled them to better understand what they could do to support student retention and completion, even without formal training as guidance counsellors.
The teachers were led through interactive sessions to reframe the problem of adolescent pregnancy using a rights-based approach to education. They devised strategies to create safe school spaces through conducive physical environments and psychosocial and pedagogical support.
The session on developing and using OER was a revelation for many participants. Students in ASEP struggle to find reading and practice materials. Many teachers did not know of the existence of a wide range of Tanzania-specific OERs or how to find and use these. The teachers learned how to search for a variety of materials and how to use these materials to achieve specific lesson outcomes.
Feedback from the teachers in the post-workshop survey showed that they found discussions on the use of blended learning modes and OER the most useful. One participant commented, “I liked how we were shown how to use low technology because most schools do not have good ICT technology.”
Dr Karen Nyangara, Adviser: Gender COL, commented, “Over the course of the workshop, one of the most significant mind shifts was that teachers no longer referred to student mothers as beneficiaries but reframed their thinking and started speaking of the rights of these students while advocating with centre managers to implement increased measures that ensure no girl drops out again.”
#COL4D #YAPO #EducationForAll #InclusiveEducation #TanzaniaEducation #WomenEmpowerment #BackToSchool #TeacherTraining #GenderEquality #LearningSupport #CommunityEducation
... See MoreSee Less
Photos from Dominica State College's post
... See MoreSee Less
;
