Building teacher confidence and parent involvement in Myanmar learning centres

Above: U Har Mu teaching in the temporary learning centre. Photo: Save the Children

For students living in Myanmar’s internally displaced persons camps, temporary learning centres (TLCs) are a lifeline, as they are often excluded from government schooling.

But the centres, which are supported through Save the Children’s Education in Emergency program, implemented with the support of the Australian Government through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP), often depend on volunteer teachers from the community, who are facing their own challenges adapting to new work and roles after being displaced.

U Har Mu, 37, is currently living with his family in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar. He is working as a volunteer teacher instructing primary school age students in Burmese, Mathematics and Science at a TLC. He resettled in the camp over nine years ago after being forced out of his home city by conflict.

When U Har Mu first started teaching two years ago he found it challenging to lead in the classroom. As he is Muslim and only fluent in the Rohingya language, it was especially tough for him to deliver subjects that required instruction in Burmese. He also had trouble knowing how to respond when students were not paying attention or were showing signs of indifference.

He was starting to feel discouraged and frustrated in his new career path.

“I felt lost when students were in chaos, and I couldn’t find a single way to draw their attention back on the subjects while I was teaching. It was really disappointing. Also, I truly wanted to be deeply familiar with Myanmar language to explain the extended meaning of a particular word or topic to the students,” he said.

Recognising the need to support the wellbeing and continued development of volunteer teachers, as well as to engage caregivers, over the summer school closure volunteer teachers from all camps attended training on learning wellbeing in emergencies led by Save the Children. The course covered strategies to establish reading clubs and books banks, methods to involve caregivers in education, and other approaches to engage and encourage community action.

Through Save the Children, TLCs are provided with a variety of storybooks, picture books, poems and materials for students. These are called book banks, and teachers are also encouraged to take advantage of them to read as well.

U Har Mu said that he has found these resources useful in improving his Burmese language skills.

“You can see that I am a bit more fluent in speaking and reading Myanmar language after getting access to the book bank,” he said.

The Learning Wellbeing in Emergencies training is also helping him feel more confident in managing behaviour in the classroom.

“Because I am doing Learning Wellbeing in Emergencies sessions with students and parents two times a week, which involves learning through play, group discussions, drawing and performance, getting students’ attention and keeping their full interest will become far easier for me,” U Har Mu said.

“I am now more aware of how to handle students’ concentration during class, and I am feeling satisfied.”

Another added benefit of the training has been better involvement in children’s education from parents and caregivers, supporting learning to move beyond the classroom alone.

“Parents in IDP camps do not usually have a habit of assisting with their children with homework or further explanation. However, after attending weekly LWiE caregiver awareness sessions in which they learned how to engage with the children’s learning, it is a pleasure to see them developing a habit of assisting their children at home,” he said.

The AHP Education in Emergencies response in Myanmar is implemented by Save the Children Australia, Plan International Australia, Lutheran World Federation and Humanity and Inclusion.