Crises exacerbate existing inequalities and vulnerabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. In order for teachers and school leaders to continue education provision in safe environments for all children, we need to support them in implementing positive discipline with sufficient focus on mental health and psychosocial support.
In Cambodia, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) has been providing trainings on positive discipline for in-service teachers and school leaders since 2015, with financial and technical support from UNICEF. These trainings have an important role in the government’s COVID-19 response and school reopening plans. Taking into account lessons learnt during social distancing measures, a need to make these trainings more accessible and cost-effective in trying conditions arose.
An end-to-end blended training is developed for teachers and school leaders in primary education on positive discipline, to mitigate inequalities and vulnerabilities exacerbated by COVID-19 school closures.
- Ministry of Education Youth and Sport (Primary Education Department, Teacher Training Department & Department of Information Technology)
- UNICEF
- Open Institute
In close collaboration with MoEYS’ technical departments and Open Institute, VVOB applied the ADDIE model for instructional systems design to create a blended training course on positive discipline for teachers and school leaders based on the existing materials. The training course was complemented by a facilitator guide on how to facilitate the blended course. Both materials have been made available on MoEYS’ recently finalised Moodle learning management system. Through MoEYS’ Moodle, the blended training course is easily accessible for professional development providers for in-service teachers and – in the longer term – for teacher training institutions.
Achievements of the project:
- Two blended courses are available at MoEYS’ Elearning platform.
- 8 videos and 13 podcasts have been incorporated into the courses.
- A facilitator guide has been developed on both the online and the face-to-face component of the course.
- Additional videos for the trainers have been developed to accompany the facilitator’s guide.
- 106 positive discipline trainers have been trained on how to facilitate the blended course.
- An application form for accreditation of the course has been prepared for submission and shared with the Primary Education Department (PED).
Potential for scaling
This blended course will be implemented by PED nationwide.
Picture above: ©GPE/Livia Barton
