Student and Teacher Leadership Training in Uganda

Meet Rebecca.

Three years ago, Rebecca was a defiant 16-year old, training to become a teacher. Tell me, how many 16-year olds would you trust to have the skills to engage classes of up to 200 5-6 year olds, in cramped rooms, with scarcely any resources? Rebecca was one of a few hundred young trainees amused at our horror that punishment for children ranging from caning and “stalking” to digging and then standing on ant hills was the norm. She told us that there was nothing wrong with these inventive ways to discipline a child because after all, she had been beaten as a child and she had survived, hadn’t she? Fast-forward three years, here is Rebecca again:  “The knowledge that I have acquired from you (ConnecTeach) will enable me to transform my community and Uganda as a whole. I am going to fight domestic violence, gender imbalance, and child abuse. I am going to fight for children’s rights.”

There is plenty to distress us about the state of our Union and the state of our world. There are days when you just want to bury yourself under your blankets and stay there until the future is not so terrifying. And then Rebecca comes along and tells you that no matter how overwhelming it all is, she will do what it takes to step up. She tells you, lean forward. She shows you the infinite power of one to make a difference. If you think all a teacher does is drill content and ensure that children are “successful” (whatever that means!), THINK. AGAIN. It’s all about shifting attitudes, biases, prejudices, and habits, and this doesn’t come out of textbooks! Thanks to you, our partners and investors in education, we are able to work with young teachers like Rebecca and help her tap into her own potential to become a powerful changemaker in her community. Thank you for working with us to help Rebecca fight gender imbalance, domestic violence, and child abuse.Thank you for working with us in fighting for children’s rights. 

We asked the students we are working with in Iganga, Uganda  to assess the gender disparities in their community. These students are training to become teachers and within two years, will be working with classes of 100-200 elementary students. Girls, in this traditional patriarchal and polygamous society, already face serious discriminatory practices in the home. Teachers who teach in these schools come from the same community, and faced similar challenges when they were growing up, resulting in a seemingly endless cycle of gender discrimination. Working with these teacher trainees to be more effective in the classroom requires breaking down some age-old practices. So, when we asked these student teachers how they would respond to gender discrimination,  from attitudes and biases towards girls’ ability to be academically successful to overt discrimination (“girls and women are inferior to boys and men”), their responses were telling: harsh disciplinary action- ranging from “stalking and caning” to publicly humiliating children. While every student did acknowledge that gender bias exists, very few had a clear idea of how to fix it. “Guidance and counseling” were commonly parroted phrases, indicating that these are part of teacher training, but again, there was little indication of what guidance and counseling entailed. Often the very teacher trainees who mentioned guidance and counseling were also the ones who advocated for severe caning and other forms of corporal punishment. A deep-rooted conservative mindset was made evident by numerous biblical references attempting to reconcile the creation story with gender equality, and frequent mentions of a need for females to dress modestly. We were told that girls who dressed provocatively “asked” for trouble. Many trainees, male and female alike, seem to have difficulty finding a place for equality within their faith’s mythos. While recognizing the existence of deep-rooted gender discrimination is a crucial step toward solving the problem, there are many harmful cultural norms that must be addressed before long-term healing can occur. This is why leadership training for teachers is so crucial- for these changes must be led from within, and teachers must be given the skills to do so.