28.08.2014 – Students in the north of Guatemala are better at reading, writing and arithmetic than those in other areas of the country thanks to the teacher training delivered by Enfants du Monde and its local partners. Teachers learn how to provide high quality education, by teaching in two languages – in Spanish and in Q'eqchi, the local language – and by putting the student at the centre of the learning process.  

They are trained to encourage the child to participate actively and to think about what he is learning, no longer asking him to recite lessons by heart without understanding them. In addition, teachers learn to deliver an education adapted to the needs of the children, for example by focussing not only on Western but also on Mayan culture. As a result of the improvement in the quality of the teaching, 22’100 pupils are now better equipped to face everyday life and also their future lives as adults.

Enfants du Monde and its local partners began to train teachers in five schools in the north of Guatemala. When the performance of primary schools was assessed, these schools stood out from the rest, and the Ministry of Education asked our association to train teachers from 50 schools as a pilot project to run between 2009 and 2012. This was a great success, and since 2013, Enfants du Monde has been managing the training of 880 teachers in more than 300 schools. The training is based on the pedagogical approach known as “Pedagogy of Text”, which is advocated by Enfants du Monde.

For more information on Enfants du Monde’s teacher training programme.