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Empowering Teachers for Transformative Education

Home / Blogs / Empowering Teachers for Transformative Education

In the dynamic landscape of education, teachers play a pivotal role, as emphasized by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in India. NEP 2020 advocates for continuous professional development, autonomy in the classroom, learner-centered approaches, and inclusive education. Overall, NEP 2020 recognizes teachers as central to achieving holistic development and calls for comprehensive reforms in teacher education and classroom practices to support this goal.

Embedded within Makkala Jagriti’s Holistic Development and Learning for Children (HDLC) program, “The Teacher Empowerment Program” zeroes in on teachers, recognizing them as catalysts for transformative change, fostering both their professional and personal growth.

Makkala Jagriti adopts a distinctive “ecosystem approach,” wherein all stakeholders around the child, including parents, teachers, community leaders, and others are empowered to aid the holistic development of the child. Within that, teachers have a pivotal position, and the ecosystem approach recognizes and positions teachers as central figures in a child’s developmental journey. Operating in government schools across Karnataka, the HDLC program targets children aged 6 to 14 from government schools, offering Holistic Development Sessions (through its SPICE model), comprehensive development through Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) sessions, and other practices that aid the holistic development of children. SPICE is Makkala Jagriti’s flagship model, which caters to the Socio-emotional, Physical, Intellectual, Creative, and Ethical Development of children.

Why is Teacher Empowerment Important?

Empowered teachers stay motivated, positively impacting student outcomes and school performance. In collaboration with government schools, Makkala Jagriti identified challenges faced by teachers, ranging from a lack of an encouraging environment where they can use innovative teaching methodologies to resource limitations. The Teacher Empowerment Program was conceived to comprehensively address these needs, providing tools, motivation, and ongoing support. Additionally, teachers are the primary point of contact for children in schools, and by directly working with teachers, the impact is profound and less diluted compared to other methods.

What is the Teacher Empowerment Program?
Makkala Jagriti’s Teacher Empowerment program focuses on fortifying school practices with a holistic development approach. Key sub-objectives include incorporating teaching materials, utilizing technology, promoting library utilization, leading school assemblies, initiating and supporting children’s parliament activities.

  • Teacher Learning Circle: The Teacher Learning Circle is a recurring forum within the school for teachers that fosters collaborative learning and mutual support within schools. Focusing on themes such as technology, teaching-learning materials, library utilization, and other aspects that enhance the learning quality of children, the Teacher Learning Circle makes continuous learning a way of life and also results in enhanced student development.
  • Intensive Teacher Empowerment Workshops: Complementing the Teacher Learning Circle, the Intensive Teacher Empowerment Workshops extend its reach to teachers from different schools. It serves as a platform for the exchange of best practices, enriching the professional toolkit of participating teachers and promoting collaboration within the broader educational community. This also serves as a platform where they learn from experts in the field. This also becomes an enriching journey for the teachers on self-awareness, tapping their own strengths and touching upon practices that aid development.

A teacher from a government school in Koppal enthusiastically expressed, “Attending Makkala Jagriti’s trainings is always a highlight for us. These sessions are packed with valuable learning experiences that not only help us recognize our strengths but also make us feel appreciated and acknowledged. Moreover, they provide numerous development opportunities that undoubtedly contribute to the holistic growth of our students. These trainings have truly sparked positive changes within us, propelling us towards greater success.”

Initiatives like the Teacher Learning Circle and Teacher Workshop exemplify empowerment through collaborative learning and best practice exchange. Makkala Jagriti’s Facilitators and Coordinators are involved in continuous engagement with teachers, encouraging and leading practices within the school. These activities not only give a sense of accomplishment but also broaden the teacher’s perspective. Student-led activities, community engagement, and parent involvement contribute to overall empowerment.

The outcomes witnessed included teachers employing:

  • Creative methodologies
  • Actively participating in strengthening school practices
  • Fostering positive relationships
  • Engaging in continuous learning

Conclusion:
Makkala Jagriti’s Teacher Empowerment Program epitomizes a commitment to empowering teachers as drivers of positive change in education. By investing in teachers, Makkala Jagriti establishes the groundwork for a transformative educational experience that goes beyond traditional learning, enriching the lives of children and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

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anganwadi school near me

How the education of one girl can impact generations ahead

Both of Mercy’s parents worked in the unorganised sector, who could not afford her school fees. She joined Makkala Jagriti Learning Centre at the age of 11, and always found the facilitators to be warm, welcoming and encouraging. Makkala Jagriti also supported her to pursue her education.

“We had a lot of freedom to explore our interests and talents. They taught us life skills and values. It was a new world for me.”

– Mercy

Through the Yuva Jagriti career guidance programme, Mercy received the right kind of insight and encouragement that led her to pursue a degree in Commerce, that too through a merit seat. Being the first girl in her family to study that far, she set an example in her community and made choices that allowed her to move beyond the circumstances that she was born into. Mercy now works in a reputed bank and is among our celebrated many who not only made a difference in their own lives but continue to do so in that of others.

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Turning a Misguided Youth into a Community Leader

Prabhu was a teenager when the old, dilapidated building in which his family lived collapsed, leaving them without a home. While they were still grappling with the situation, Prabhu lost his father, the sole earning member of the family. Unable to process his difficult circumstances, he found strength in hanging around with his friends, who often indulged in gang wars and all forms of abusive behaviour.

Prabhu was a shy yet playful boy when he joined the Yuva Jagriti centre at the age of 15. He expressed, “I feel I am at crossroads, not sure which road to take”. Following our support and guidance, he decided to pursue an internship at Makkala Jagriti. He was entrusted to work with children from Shelter Homes. Today, Prabhu is a sought-after Creative Facilitator and Coordinator at Makkala Jagriti, managing three Community Centres. A silent yet sound performer, he brings in diverse and highly creative ways to engage children and help them learn and grow.

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From a 10th Std. dropout to a World Taekwondo Champion

Murali lived in Bengaluru with his brother, while his parents lived in a village in Tamil Nadu. After his 10th grade, he lost the interest and inclination to study further. When he joined Yuva Jagriti, he started learning Taekwondo at our centre, which helped him become calmer and more focused. He also showed immense capacity to work with children, especially in the areas of sports and creativity, and this landed him an opportunity to work with Makkala Jagriti. Alongside his work, he pursued Taekwondo and competed at the District, State and National levels. He won a number of Gold Medals.

Today, Murali is an accomplished Taekwondo instructor, teaching at many schools in Bengaluru. He brought great accolades to the Nation when he won two bronze medals at the World Taekwondo Championship in Korea in September 2017.

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Breaking the language barrier for migrant children

Barnalli, a seventh grade student at Government Primary School, Somasundrapalya, is a child of migrant parents from Assam. Unable to speak the local language, Kannada, she found it difficult to adjust to school and struggled to mingle with other children.

“When you are new to a place and don’t know anyone, it is hard to fit in. She didn’t have any friends in school.”

– Barnalli’s mother

Makkala Jagriti’s language development program came to her rescue.

“Although I was in a higher grade, the HDLC facilitator taught me Kannada right from the basics. The different activities and sessions helped me grasp the language easily and quickly. Over time, Kannada moved from being just a new language to my favorite subject. Learning Kannada helped me enjoy school a lot more. I became a class leader and also started representing the school in inter-school competitions!”

– Barnalli

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Equipping parents to become positive influencers

Manoj, a 12-year-old boy, hails from a family of garment workers who had migrated from Andhra Pradesh. On moving to Bengaluru in 2018, he joined the Government Primary School in Ulsoor. The drastic change in his environment and culture left him feeling withdrawn and fearful. He refused to speak or participate in any school activity. Over time, he confided in our HDLC facilitator about feeling neglected by his parents in such difficult circumstances.

Manoj’s mother was invited to participate in Makkala Jagriti’s parents’ workshop. The two-day residential workshop allowed her to reflect on her own mindset, biases and relationship with her son. At the end of it, she made a conscious decision to work on rebuilding and restoring her relationship with Manoj. At school, our facilitator noticed that this had a direct impact on his performance. He became more participative and improved in his academics. Manoj later shared with the facilitator that his relationship had become more harmonious and positive with his mother.

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Nammoora Anganwadi

We have seen great transformation take place when parents and community members are involved in shaping learning spaces for children and understand the importance of preschool education. The Anganwadi at Katamnallur, Bengaluru, transformed from a dull space to a vibrant and colourful learning centre, where children love to visit every day and parents and community members gather to participate in various activities.

“When we started our intervention, we saw that the environment at the Anganwadi was not safe or conducive for children. Although the community could contribute to the Anganwadi’s development, there was a major gap between the community, local leaders and Anganwadi teachers.”

– Gouri, Coordinator

Through community celebrations and fun events, we involved community members in the Anganwadi activities. As their participation grew, their understanding about the significance of early learning and development also increased and they readily contributed to the centre’s development.

“Community involvement in Anganwadi is so important. Inspired by Makkala Jagriti’s work, we saw the community, parents and Bala Vikas Samithi members come together and show greater ownership towards the Anganwadi.”

– Subramanya Swamy, Doddabanahalli Gram Panchayat Member

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A Library with Toys!

In an effort to ensure that every household in the Anganwadi community had access to child-friendly learning materials, we started a novel initiative called ‘Toy Library’, which allowed parents to borrow toys and learning resources for their children.

“The Toy Library has been very useful for children. Whatever we teach at Anganwadi, they can continue learning at home independently. Parents also feel more equipped to engage their children at home. No wonder, within just two months of its launch, over 100 toys were borrowed from our Anganwadi.”

– Bhavya, Anganwadi teacher

The Toy Library concept was welcomed by the community and the time spent on learning at home increased!

“My child always preplans what he’d like to take home from the Toy Library. He has also become very responsible in maintaining the toys because he knows he must return them! In the past 3 months, we have borrowed 20 times already.”

– Shwetha, Parent, Vijayanagara Anganwadi, Doddaballapur

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Empowered Teachers Create Better Learners

To ensure children get quality pre-school learning opportunities in the Anganwadi, we empower the teachers and helpers through enhancing their knowledge, skills and attitude towards early learning and development.

“Through Anganwadi trainings, I have changed in a positive way and gained confidence about myself – especially in terms of catering to all domains of early learning. I have even started making learning materials by myself to teach children”.

– Nirmala, Anganwadi teacher, Rojipura

We train teachers and helpers on experiential learning methods that can be practiced at their centres. We also organise Mothers’ Meetings and regular mentoring visits to provide on-the-job support and guidance to teachers. Anganwadi helpers are empowered to become co-teachers and have an important role in the children’s learning process, thereby not confining them to just cooking and cleaning.

“I was used to just cooking and cleaning in the Anganwadi and did not do much else. However, after I attended the ECCE trainings, I realized I had a lot of potential and could engage and teach the children just like a teacher. Now, when the teacher is absent, I engage children in preschool learning activities.”

– Rukmini, Helper, Jyothinagar Anganwadi

From giving little time to learning, to prioritizing pre-school learning and spending more quality time with children, Anganwadi teachers and helpers have come a long way.