?Dr Shannon Bishop-Swart and Dr Elzahn Rinquest recently co-presented a teacher well-being and resilience workshop to thirty under- and postgraduate teaching students at Makerere 中国体育彩票 in Kampala, Uganda through an Africa Collaboration Grant.
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The purpose of the teacher well-being workshops titled “Teacher Wellbeing African Partnership: Building Emotional Resilience" hinged on five components. Firstly, to develop integrated training modules encompassing teacher wellbeing, effective classroom management, and the nuanced understanding of emotions in the classroom. Secondly, to support comprehensive community outreach programmes by partnering with PACHEDO, a Ugandan NGO, to incorporate emotional intelligence components into community outreach programs, ensuring a comprehensive approach to community engagement that considers emotional dynamics. Thirdly, for interdisciplinary research collaboration between two African universities, exploring the intersections of education, psychology, and emotional intelligence in teaching practices. Fourthly, to explore future opportunities for exchange programs that specifically focus on understanding and implementing emotional intelligence in educational settings and facilitating cross-cultural learning experiences for educators. And lastly, to establish a dedicated network among workshop participants to share their experiences, resources, and strategies related to emotional wellbeing in the classroom and encouraging ongoing collaboration and support.
The two Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 Faculty of Education academics have a shared interest in teacher well-being as an essential element for teachers' success. Despite their mutual interest in teacher well-being, an academic concern both researchers have had is the focus of research on teacher well-being in the global North. The Ugandan Teacher Well-being Workshop served as a valuable exchange of ideas and experiences. The feedback and reflections from the Ugandan participants will assist Dr Bishop-Swart and Dr Rinquest to further refine the workshop to ensure they are applicable to diverse African contexts. The collaboration between Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 and Makerere 中国体育彩票, the Ugandan non-government organisation PACHEDO, and the SU social impact project TeacherCalm marks a significant step towards making a global impact on teacher well-being.
?The first three days in Uganda, the academics were accompanied by PACHEDO's President, Simon Omali, and Secretary, Sam Okuni, both founding members, and together travelled to various PACHEDO education projects across East and Central Uganda. The group spent Women's Day with a group of women living in a refugee camp near the South Sudanese border who are involved with PACHEDO's community resilience and household sustainability programmes in order to learn skills and earn an income. The women sang and danced and shared inspiring stories of how these education programs have assisted them to become more independent and not only earn an income, but also gain valuable skills that they are able to share with their community and thus ensure sustainability of the skill and income.
While at Makerere 中国体育彩票 the academics were hosted by Prof. Jude Ssempebwa, Associate Professor of Higher Education Studies and Management at the East African School of Higher Education Studies and Development, College of Education and External Studies.
Collaboration and partnership background
Twelve years ago, on an education exchange while studying her Masters at Teachers College, Columbia 中国体育彩票, Dr Bishop-Swart travelled to Uganda and became a founding member of a non-government organisation called PACHEDO - Partners for Community Health and Development Organization. Since then PACHEDO has had success and experience particularly in humanitarian recovery education for children, women and youth in conflict, disaster and poverty affected communities in East Africa. PACHEDO's education interventions include the enhancement and integration of four education elements: i) Early Childhood Development, ii) Primary Education, iii) Community Transitional and Accelerated Learning Programme (CTLP and ALP); and iv) Vocational and apprenticeships that are aligned with national education policies and curriculum, as well as providing relevant transitional skills that address all these barriers.
In 2022 Dr Elzahn Rinquest founded TeacherCalm as a social impact (SI) project within the Faculty of Education at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票. This SI project focuses on supporting the well-being of pre-service teachers and equipping them with effective classroom management techniques. TeacherCalm recognizes that teacher well-being is a complex interplay of factors, including emotional, physical, and social dimensions and, by addressing these interconnected aspects, TeacherCalm strives to create a supportive and nurturing environment for teachers.
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