A theme that runs across all of the areas of education is teacher training, whether in the context of assisting communities to establish their own schools, supporting the ongoing development of teachers in larger Bahá’í-inspired schools, or offering supplementary training to teachers in the public education system.
The Kimanya-Ngeyo Foundation for Science and Education in Uganda has been functioning since 2007 in a number of districts in the Eastern Region of the country, with a focus on programs that build capacity in youth and adults to advance various aspects of community life. As an extension of its ongoing efforts, in 2014, the organization initiated a pilot study with the aim of gaining insight into the professional development of primary school teachers in the districts in which it had been working. An initial three-year phase involved the study of selected texts of the Preparation for Social Action program by teachers from various government schools. Over the course of this period, some of the participating teachers began to consider topics such as pedagogy and how a scientific methodology could inform their work. They also examined the national curriculum in light of the ideas they were studying and devised concrete teaching plans to help students fulfill the educational objectives.
Over time, a perceptible shift in the dynamic between teachers and students was observed as classroom environments became more participatory and as relationships strengthened. Teachers also demonstrated greater capacity to assist students to acquire conceptual understanding of the curriculum and move beyond rote learning and memorization methods. An external academic study found that national test scores of students in participating schools rose by 25 percentage points.
“...the hope is that through showerings from the clouds of grace, ye will become teachers; that ye will flourish even as flowers and fragrant herbs in the garden of that knowledge which is both of the mind and of the heart...”
—‘Abdu’l-Bahá
The second phase of the program, which began in 2018, extended its reach and addressed questions about its impact more broadly. For instance, the Foundation began to pay attention to how the coherence and quality of the education offered in a school could be enhanced if a growing number of teachers from within a given school joined the training. It also strove to learn about how increased participation could contribute to transformation in both the school and the community.
An important element of this process over the years has been the active support of education officials. Many of them have visited the training centers, mobilized administrators for the seminars, participated in the Foundation’s graduation ceremonies, and invited the Foundation into other spaces. Some of the teachers have also gone on to cultivate relationships with members of the government by engaging in conversations about a common vision for education in the country.
Building on the positive contribution of these efforts, the Foundation is investigating possibilities to extend the training to other localities and has started developing short courses for families of students. It is also finding various means to contribute to the discourse on education in the country as well as the advancement of the educational system in the country at large.
