How We Work
At Teach2Teach International we train Community Volunteer Teachers (CVTs) in the best modern, child-centred teaching practices.
We believe that underprivileged children need and deserve high quality education to give them a chance of escaping poverty and having a better life.
Core principles of the CVTP
Quality
The CVTP produces quality teachers, trained in child-centred teaching practices based on participation, phonics and problem solving. They will have pedagogical skills to transform the way that children in the region are taught.
Sustainability
Because T2T trains both Community Volunteer Teachers and key stakeholders in their communities, CVTs are fully supported and their skills belong to their communities.
Gender equality
Gender balance is a key imperative in our intakes for the CVTP.
We actively encourage girls to remain in education. This changes their life prospects and has a positive impact on their reproductive health.
Livelihood development
The CVTP boosts the status and value of education in communities. CVTs are key voices in encouraging parents to allow their children to stay in education, which in turn improves their chances of finding work when they leave school.
CVTs will gain a broad range of transferable skills, putting them in a strong position to become wealth generators.
Gender, Disability and Inclusion
Underlying Teach2Teach’s work is a complete commitment to equality in education. Our community-based teaching approaches are designed to create an inclusive and enjoyable learning environment. At Teach2Teach we believe education can be a pathway to improving equality regardless of age, gender, disability or socio-economic background and support targeted education that addresses the specific needs of each child.
Disability and Inclusion
The Teach2Teach International CVT programme addresses some of the key issues that prevent students with disabilities enrolling and staying within the education system. Teach2Teach recognises that, in Ghana, children with disabilities often do not complete their education, and a large proportion of children are over-age. We believe in student-centred learning approaches and are committed to creating a learning environment that is adaptable to the needs of all students.
Teach2Teach’s approach to disability includes:
A commitment to consolidating disability-friendly teaching approaches.
Enabling schools and teachers to be as inclusive as possible with the resources they have.
Delivering comprehensive training on disability awareness using credible resources such as The Washington Child Group functioning questions to identity disability.
Facilitate methodological approaches, for teachers on how to source inclusive teaching resources.
Employ mechanisms to support students with disabilities outside of the classroom and ways of removing educational barriers through appropriate community awareness campaigns.
We help our CVTs create accessible education for persons with disabilities both inside and outside the classroom. In school, we train CVTs in how to access resources and set up an inclusive learning environment for children with mild to moderate disabilities, who with adaptions and support can access mainstream school. Out of school, we train CVTs in how to advocate within communities to change attitudes towards all disabilities and break down barriers around access to education.
Gender and Inclusion
Our programs are tailored to the different requirements of our students to have maximum impact. Although we are dedicated to providing equal access to training and learning for all, for female CVT’s and their female students, we realise that provision of equality of opportunity only works if everyone starts from the same position and needs the same help. Female CVTs and girls in classrooms in the areas we work often do not start from the same position as their male counterparts. T2T aims to address the inequity by using education as a tool to empower women and young girls to achieve, as well as advocate for themselves and others within their communities.
Teach2Teach’s approach to gender and inclusion for women and girls:
Raise the profile of the value of girls education in communities
Recruitment of a high percentage of female community volunteer teachers to become role models within their communities
Training CVTs in gender-sensitive learning approaches
Promote education for young women and girls, which is proven to directly reduce the chances of women engaging with early and forced marriage
We help to lower dropout rates for young women and girls through training in inclusive practices
We help young women and girls become independent, and promote sustainable livelihoods
Feed directly into promoting positive leadership and advocacy for other female students
Our programmes have a dual impact, in that they enable our CVTs to learn crucial skills, gain valuable experience and support themselves financially whilst also positively impacting the enrolment and retention of young girls.
“One striking impact is the feeling of contributing to the educational development of my community. Most girls in the community now see me as a role model and look up to me for guidance. My presence in the classroom now gives hope to a lot of hopeless girls who felt education was for boys alone. It has also motivated most parents to enrol their young girls in school’.
Mumuni Balkisu – CVT at Tali R/C Primary
Community Volunteer Teaching Programme Timeline
Key features of The Community Volunteer Teacher Programme (CVTP)
We begin with a one week accelerated learning programme to select our CVTs.
This is followed by a one year, in service modular training programme.
We aim to train 180 CVTs over three years, who will work in 80 schools in 8 districts, impacting up to 40,000 children
We will train 45 teachers in the first year
Community Volunteer Teachers (CVTs) learn how to teach core syllabus content using the best modern, child-centred teaching practices.
Our bespoke training manual equips teachers with the necessary resources and techniques they need to become excellent teachers. Designed with our local partners, the training manual develops teaching skills such as lesson planning, safeguarding awareness, leadership and mentoring skills and critical thinking and engagement in the classroom.
CVTs are guided to get the qualifications they need and move on to further training and employment opportnities.
Volunteers who successfully complete the one year programme will be awarded the Community Volunteer Teacher Certificate.
We work in partnership with local education authorities and NGOs to ensure that any programme we create is culturally specific. We want the communities that we work with to be able to take ownership of the programme, so that it is sustainable and has long-term impact.
We aim our recruitment drive at young women to ensure gender parity, and focus on promoting education to girls' parents, ensuring that the CVTP's benefits are felt by all.
We train all key stakeholders in the CVTP: key officials in the local education authority, head teachers, and both qualified and unqualified teachers alongside whom the CVTs will work. This builds a support structure for the CVTs in their communities and multiplies the impact of the programme.
We set up and train a parent-led school board and Parent Teacher Association, to ensure that parents become involved in their children’s education. In particular, this will raise the status of education among parents of girls, who are less likely to be allowed to attend school.
‘The training manual has been produced to the highest teacher preparation standards and is unique in terms of quality and design to provide teachers with skills to teach disadvantaged children.’ – Professor Akyeampong, Deputy Director, Centre for International Education, University of Sussex.
Key outcomes of the CVTP
Community Volunteer Teacher outcomes:
180 young people have skills and experience allowing them to go on to work in schools, or find other meaningful employment.
Women who would have struggled to find employment have better life chances.
Volunteers who successfully complete the one year programme will be awarded the Community Volunteer Teacher Certificate.
Student outcomes:
Students achieve better educational outcomes, indicated by higher rates of numeracy and literacy.
Girls are more likely to stay in school.
Students have better chances of finding employment when they leave school.
Community and stakeholder outcomes
Communities place a higher value on education.
Community resilience is built through education.
In Community Volunteer Teachers, communities gain potential wealth generators.
All key stakeholders in the CVTP share responsibility for the programme’s success.
