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

School Leader Selection Results of the Teachers Survey

Bangladesh

School Leadership Preparation – the BRAC way

Research Questions and Methods

Contact information

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 non-formal 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.

•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?

•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?

•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?

•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?

Women in Formal School Leadership in Bangladesh

Questions for future research

AbstractKey ThemesEffective 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 communityUnderstandings 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 LeadershipPersonal Empowerment : As expressed in this quotation from one participant:

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 bi-lingual professionals. I then used qualitative research methods to code the answers to the open -ended questions and draw out themes from them.

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 co-curricular activities.

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.

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.

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.

Percentage of females in positions of head/assistant head teacher in government primary and secondary schools in Bangladesh

Position Total Positions Females %Secondary Head 313 71 22.7Assistant Secondary Head 343 92 26.8Primary Head 37,672 7,765Assistant Primary Head 37,672 3,956

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

Dr. Jill SperandioCollege of Education,Lehigh University,Pennsylvania, USA

Email jis204@lehigh.edu

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