Creating an enabling environment for community engagement in school-based governance: A glimmer of hope

In 1960, the global enrolment of primary school aged children was less than half. By the 1990s, in spite of rapid population growth in much of the world, the proportion of primary enrolled school children was more than 75 percent. The credit to this spread in educational access does not only go the western of often called the formal form of school operations but to indigenous educational provision and management models as well. It has been observed in many developing countries around the world that indigenous development of a targeted geographical area

Transforming pedagogies: Emerging contexts and texts of teaching learning

This brief offers recommendations for policy and practice around ensuring continuity of education in emergency situations. It also aims at engaging important stakeholders to assert the need for education in emergencies in countries like Pakistan, which frequently confront natural and human-led disasters. This brief also discusses the need for ‘education in emergencies’ in a ‘low HDI’ developing nation such as Pakistan, where being exposed to natural and human-led disasters seems to be a way of life. It provides an initial platform for those who are interested in understanding the scope of this theme, as well as designing and delivering educational programmes in areas situations of conflict, disaster and tragedy. Education provision in emergency situations can comprise a wide range of programmatic interventions ranging from non-formal education activities (that can be arranged using minimum resources, whilst demanding parental support and participation), to formal (school-based) activities (requiring investment in intensive training, community involvement and co-operation of local authorities) (Betancourt, 2005)

Youth development and education in Pakistan : Exploring the relationship

This paper provides a critical examination of the inter-linkages between youth education, development, empowerment, and engagement in Pakistan. Currently, the majority of the population falls within the youth age bracket of 15-24 years. The country stands at a critical juncture, where it can capitalize on this demographic dividend for transformational and sustainable socioeconomic growth. However, this paper argues that there is inadequate intersection and convergence between Pakistan’s national and provincial Education and Youth policy frameworks. An indepth overview of current trends in terms of quality of education and access to and participation in various forms of education programmes indicates that the current provision of educational services is deplorably inadequate in terms of quality and quantity. In order to address the challenges of educational and economic development, this paper asserts that education should be the lynchpin for broader and more inclusive socioeconomic development, and function as the interface between Youth and Education Policies. The failures of effective policy implementation and of fully integrating the interrelated issues relevant to the youth population produce unfavourable educational outcomes in terms of economic, political, and social engagement. Therefore, this paper proposes the use of the Capability Approach to inform education and youth policies, so that the country can harness the energy and potential of a bourgeoning youth population that currently constitutes about two-thirds of the Pakistani population

“Exploring the current practices and perceptions of ECD teachers for the implementation of high scope curricular teaching approach.”

Early Childhood of human life is crucial in terms of holistic development of children. In this regard, the teachers of early years need to play a significant role in the teaching and learning process. Currently educators and teachers are using a number of curricular teaching approaches. High Scope is one of the mostly used curricular teaching approaches in the context of Gilgit Baltistan, of Pakistan. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions and practices of early childhood teachers to implement High Scope curricular teaching approach. The findings suggest that prior training on curricular teaching approaches provided the participants an understanding to relate the theoretical knowledge into practice. The study also reveals that these teachers are using learning from High Scope, which involves active learning, integrated teaching with integration of different subjects and using teaching learning material. The findings also highlighted that these teachers face difficulty in full implementation of High Scope teaching approach due to lack of relevant teaching and learning material, multi-age children in the classroom, and open admission throughout the year. These challenges minimized the teachers’ motivation to follow High Scope with its true essence in their local context

Multidimensionality of critical thinking: A holistic perspective from multidisciplinary educators in Karachi, Pakistan

Critical thinking (CT) is a phenomenon of worldwide importance and is a desired outcome in higher and professional education. Development of CT is considered a primary responsibility of educators; however, educators find it challenging to foster learners’ CT if their own understanding of CT skills and concepts is not well developed. Limited research is available on how multidisciplinary educators perceive and practice CT. The study aimed to identify perceptions and practices of CT among educators from the disciplines of nursing, medicine, and education in higher education in Karachi, Pakistan. A descriptive exploratory qualitative design was used where 12 purposefully selected educators from three disciplines participated. Semi structured interviews were conducted and content analysis was done. Although the findings revealed four major themes, the focus of this paper is limited to the theme of faculty perceptions. Faculty’s perceptions of nature, acquisition, and application of critical thinking are multidimensional and although the educators were from various disciplines their perceptions of critical thinking were analogous. Thus combined efforts by all multidisciplinary educators in a higher education are needed to assist them to actualize their perceptions to promote CT practices in a classroom setting

Reconceptualization of teacher education experiences from the context of a multicultural developing country

Teacher education in developing countries faces great challenges attributable to economic constraints, including shrinking resources, the low status of teachers—exacerbated by declining incentives—and an entirely theoretical approach in teacher training programs. These challenges are further intensified by variations in the trainees’ cultural, regional, and religious backgrounds and by the lack of collaboration between different education sectors. In this context, the Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) in Karachi, Pakistan, is attempting to provide contextually appropriate, effective teacher education programs for Pakistan and other developing countries. This article draws on the authors’ personal experiences in the teacher education programs at AKU-IED and on studies that examine the impact of these programs on participants. Several studies show that teacher education transforms teachers’ beliefs and practices if accomplished through more effective approaches. The article discusses how teacher education programs are conceptualized and implemented in the multicultural context of AKU-IED, where the course participants come from various developing countries and diverse backgrounds