At SeeBeyondBorders, we believe change begins with education. We work in primary schools in two impoverished rural areas of Cambodia. Our programmes enable children from these disadvantaged communities to access quality teaching and learning at school, increasing their chances of escaping the cycle of poverty.
Working in partnership with local communities, SeeBeyondBorders sustainably improves education standards by training teachers, getting children to school (by, for example, helping to reduce health problems) and improving school facilities.
What is Teach the Teacher?
“A high-quality teaching workforce – the bedrock of all high-performing education systems – is the single most important factor in improving student learning,” World Bank, 2015.
Teach the Teacher develops confident and competent communities of teachers committed to quality teaching and ongoing professional development. We target Grade 1-3 teachers in rural primary schools where there is the greatest need and where the most inexperienced teachers are generally placed. It is delivered by local Cambodian staff and by teachers themselves who collaborate to ensure the sustainability of our work.
The Teach the Teacher Focus Area has been divided into four key programmes:
1. Our Teach the Teacher Core Programme delivers bi-annual workshops to teachers over three years. These workshops strengthen teaching practices, using maths as a subject focus.
2. Our Mentoring Programme embeds the skills learnt at workshops by allocating specially trained mentor teachers to work with mentee teachers on a monthly basis over three years. Through two-way feedback the mentors help teachers apply the practices they have learnt and develop their confidence without fear of ‘doing something wrong’.
3. Our Transition Programme identifies a small group of mentors to become Senior Mentors, who facilitate workshops, and support their fellow mentors, to ensure the sustainability of our model.
4. Our Teacher Awards Programme motivates teachers to continue their development, by recognizing their achievements through a professional incentive quality awards system. Awards are presented by provincial government representatives, helping to promote the importance of quality teaching at government level.
SeeBeyondBorders has operated in Cambodia since 2009 and has had a significant impact on education standards in the areas it works. Student results have consistently improved year-on-year, student absence has gradually decreased, teachers’ skills and confidence have improved (measured against a skills scale), and government officials have recognised the importance of in-service teaching training.
