Professional Teacher Associations Network

 

PTAN Conference

Learning Through Networking (Celebrating Teaching Profession)

Saturday 14th February 2004 

 

The First PTAN conference on “Learning through networking – Celebrating the Teaching Profession” was held on Saturday February 14, 2004. The conference aimed to provide a platform for all PTAN associations where they could interact with each other by sharing their teaching and voluntary experiences and learn from this interaction. 

 

One of the aims of the conference was to communicate to the teaching society the services that PTAN’s associations have provided to the teaching profession during the past years. But, by the end of the conference PTAN was able to achieve more than it had planned for. The conference not only proved to be a successful networking experience but it also created a benchmark in the networking activities of these associations.

 

The success of the conference could be measured by the over - whelming response of more than 350 teachers and institutions. Moreover the enthusiastic participation of teachers from AKU-IED Faculty, East Africa, Karachi, Quetta, Hyderabad, Shahdadpur, Khairpur, Nasirabad, and facilitators from the associations, was a very encouraging sign for the network.

 

The conference started with an official welcome given by Dr. Sadrudin Pardhan, Director Outreach at AKU-IED and Chairperson PTAN. Dr. Pardhan not only welcomed the participants but also shared with them the establishment, the journey and the growth of PTAN.

 

Two keynotes were made. Dr. Gordon MacLeod (Director AKU-IED) spoke on “Professionalism” and Ms. Fatima Shahabuddin (President SPELT and Support Faculty in ELRA) talked about “Growing Facilitating Growth Through Networking”. Dr. Bernadette Dean gave a presentation that gave the audience a complete insight of the network’s activities, its current membership status, the website and the future plans of PTAN.

 

The associations shared there part by conducting concurrent sessions.

*       SAP and MAP conducted two combined sessions on Mathematical Calculations in Light and Handling Data in Biology (facilitated by MAP and SAP executive committee members)

*       HEALTH and PAIE conducted 2 sessions on (Children who learn together, learn to live together), “Increasing child participation to build happy healthy schools”, (facilitated by Health and PAIE members)

*       SHADE presented two papers on Moving towards Empowerment (presented by Sakina Abbas/ Aliya Abbasi) and School Improvement Initiatives: Perspective of three schools (presented by Bilquees Nasir)

*       APT conducted one session on “To Teach, to Learn, to help others to Learn and Teach” (facilitated by Atiya Hussain, Anisa Wali Muhammad, and

*       ASSET spoke on “ Environmental issues” in its session (facilitated by ASSET executive committee)

 

With a 100% turnover, and an enthusiastic participation of the teachers spoke load of PTAN’s reorganization as a network and its contribution towards teacher’s professional development.

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Program Detail

 

 

 

 

Time

Particulars

Speaker/ Facilitator

Venue

 

 

 

 

08:30 – 09:00

Registration (Tea)

 

SMS Auditorium
 Compound

09:00 – 09:10

Welcome speech

Dr. Sadrudin Pardhan
Director Outreach, AKU-IED,
Chairperson, PTAN

SMS Auditorium

09:10 – 09:40

Key note address 1
(Professionalism)

Dr. Gordon MacLeod
Director AKU-IED

SMS Auditorium

09:40 - 10:10

Key note address 2
(Growing Facilitating Growth Through Networking)

Ms. Fatima Shahabuddin
President, SPELT

SMS Auditorium

10:10 – 10:40

PTAN presentation /
PTAN website launching.

Dr. Bernadette Dean
Assistant Professor AKU-IED

SMS Auditorium

10:40 – 11:00

Tea

 

Outside session rooms

11:00 – 12:30

Concurrent Sessions

 

 

 

SAP & MAP
(Mathematics calculation in light)

Ms. Farah Huma
Mr. Shahid Pervaiz
Mr. Sardar Ahmed
Mr. Nadeem Asghar Kirmani
Mr. Waheed-ur-Rehman

Multipurpose Hall
Extension building

 

APT
(To teach, to learn, to help others teach and learn)

Ms. Atiya Hussain
Ms. Anisa Wali Mohd
Ms. Rana Hussain

LRC room
Extension building

 

PAIE & HEALTH
(Children who learn together, learn to live together)

Ms. Debbie Kramer Roy
Ms. Maheen Mohammed
Dr. Shabnam Ahmed

Conference room 2
Second Floor

 

 SHADE
 (Moving Towards Empowerment)

Ms. Sakina Abbas
Ms. Aliya Abbassi

Seminar Room
(Second Floor)

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch

 

 

13:30 – 15:00

Concurrent Sessions

 

 

 

SAP & MAP
(Handling data in biology)

Ms. Suraiya Yousuf
Ms. Qamar Fatima,
Ms. Tahira Firdous,
Mr. Abid Sohail

Multipurpose Hall
Extension building

 

ASSET
(Environmental issues)

Mr. Hussain Tawawalla
Mr. Sadiq Merchant


Balochistan Room

 

PAIE & HEALTH
(Children who learn together, learn to live together)

Ms. Debbie Kramer Roy
Ms. Maheen Mohammed,
Dr. Shabnam Ahmed

Conference room 2
Second Floor

 

 SHADE
 (School Improvement initiative: perspective of three schools)

Ms. Meher Bano
Ms. Bilqees Nasir
Ms. Rukhsana Haji

Seminar Room
(Second Floor)

15:00 – 15:15

Tea

 

 

15:15 – 16:00

Dialogue session
(Concluding session)

Sikunder Ali Babar
Chairperson, MAP

SMS Auditorium

 

 

 

 

 

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Welcome address

By

Dr. Sadrudin Pardhan

Director outreach, AKUIED

 

Bismillah-hir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

 

Key note speakers Dr. Gordon MacLeod Director AKU-IED, Ms. Fatima Shabuddin Associate Professor APWA College and President SPELT, Chairpersons and Executive Committee Members of PTAN and teachers Association, Distinguished Guests And colleague teachers.

 

Asalaam wa’Alaikum

 

Today is a historic occasion for professional associations. For the first time in its short existence we are gathered here to share and to meet and to learn from each other and hopefully to create a long lasting association that is to network.

 

On behalf of Profession Teacher Associations Network, I would like to welcome you all to this conference, the theme of which is Learning through Networking.

 

In 1997 a group of about 35 interested mathematics teachers formed the first of the seven associations and called it the Mathematics Association Pakistan. This year we welcome our seventh partner Health Education Association for Learners, Teachers and Health Workers HEALTH to the Network.

 

What is unique about the associations is that it is the interested and committed teachers who have given voluntary time to share their experiences and skills with other teachers. And the interest amongst the teachers has been quite overwhelming. Later this morning you will hear more about each of the associations.

 

I want to take this opportunity to thank AKU-IED through its Director Dr. Gordon MacLeod for the support given to the associations. IED provided space, materials and other facilities particularly in early years of the associations. Without this I feel the associations would have had a difficult time to survive.

 

I would also like to thank SPELT through Fatima Shabuddin for sharing with us their experiences while we were establishing our associations.

 

About 18 months ago the associations received funding from the Aga Khan Foundation and CIDA to develop an umbrella organization and to assist with various innovations. In fact today’s conference has been sponsored by both AKU-IED and AKF.

 

I would like to thank Dr. Gordon MacLeod & Fatima Shabuddin for accepting to be our keynote speaker and I would also like to thank the chairperson and executive committee of each association for working tirelessly to assist with today’s conference.

 

Many Volunteers have worked hard to assist in the preparation of today’s conference and I would like to thank them.

 

I want to single out two individuals who have played a significant role in co-coordinating the activities of the associations and getting PTAN off the ground. Firstly Faisal Notta who worked with much enthusiasm and tirelessly to ensure that PTAN got off the ground.

 

The other person is the current programme officer Parveen Alamin. She just stepped into from where Faisal left off and has worked tirelessly. In fact to-days conference would not have been possible without her leadership, enthusiasm and hard work. Lastly I would like to thank you all for your help and hope you have a very good conference participation welcome again all of you.

 

Thank You  

 

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Keynote Address

By

Dr. Dr. Gordon MacLeod (Director AKU-IED)

On

 “Professionalism”

 

Dr Sadrudin Pardhan, Director Outreach at IED;

Associate Professor Fatima Shahabuddin, President Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers;

Dr Bernadette Dean, Head of Academic and Student Affairs at IED;

Colleagues all;

Assalam-o-Alekum and Good Morning

 

I must tell you that it gave me particular pleasure to introduce my friend and colleague Dr Pardhan as the Director, Outreach at IED. And now you will hear why. It was only two days ago that Sadru received an invitation to attend a school’s formal O level graduation ceremony. This invitation came to him at IED and it was addressed to him as “Dr Sadrudin Pardhan, Director of Outrage, AKU-IED. Director of Outrage indeed!

But I need to tell you all – and some of my colleagues will know this – that the role of being the outrageous one, and sometimes, indeed the grumpy one at IED is normally the one reserved for me. And so today, Director Outreach, I acknowledge you here with your correct title. Along the way, I also thank you for the role that you have played in creating and sustaining this network of professional teacher associations.

 

I am very pleased this morning to add my welcome to that which Dr Pardhan has given to you all. This is a unique event; it is the first major conference of the Professional Teachers Associations Network (PTAN). I congratulate PTAN and its member associations on this event and I thank all those involved for the efforts made in organising such a major conference. I also thank all of those who will be making presentations today and all those working behind the scenes to enable them to do so.

 

The theme of this conference is Learning Through Networking- Celebrating the Teaching Profession. First, I want to thank the network. PTAN, for inviting me to present an address at this gathering. My pleasure comes from not only the honour you accord me that invitation but it also comes from the fact that you have given me an opportunity to address a topic that is very dear to my heart. And that topic arises directly from the second part of this Conference theme: the phrase” Celebrating the teaching profession”.

 

I want to start by asking a question. That question is: ‘Why on earth should we in Pakistan celebrate the teaching profession?’ Don’t we all know about the educational problems of this country? Don’t we all know about the poor quality of education in Pakistan? Don’t we all know about the low levels of literacy in this country? Don’t we all know that Pakistan is worst of all in South Asia in its education of girls? Haven’t we all heard about ghost schools and ghost teachers? Haven’t we all heard of grade five teachers who don’t seem able to carry out grade five works in Mathematics or English?

 

So what is it that we have to celebrate?

 

And I want to begin answering my own questions. I note that teacher-bashing, of the kind that I have just alluded to, is popular and prevalent in Pakistan. We note society’s ills, and we blame teachers for many of them. We note society’s problems and we suggest that more and more topics should be included in an already over-crowded school curriculum. We blame the teachers. But, it is too easy to teacher-bash, to assign blame without analyzing what the real causes and difficulties are. But what I want to suggest to you today is that many of these very real problems are not the fault of teachers. Sure, some teachers abuse the system but they, I suspect are, in a very small minority. Rather, the problems we face are because of a lack of systems, policies, procedures and good practices. And these in turn reflect simply an absence of professionalism in all aspects of the educational system. Thus, what I am suggesting to you today is that teachers are not the problem. Instead, what I am suggesting is that in teachers and the teaching workforce we will actually find a large part of the solution to some of the problems that confront us in education. It is my judgement that if we can professionalize the teaching profession in Pakistan then we will truly have something to celebrate.

 

So, let me share with you, you, today being members of professional associations, some of my thinking about what it means to be a professional.

 

If you look up dictionaries you find that the word professional does not have a simple, single definition. Instead many meanings are offered. But what I want to suggest to you today is that common to most of the definitions of professional are five themes. And given the shortage of time today, I will be very brief in describing these themes.

 

First, being a professional is to participate in a vocation, a calling, a commitment to service. There is a suggestion that a professional—whether doctor, lawyer, or teacher—has not entered into that profession only because it is a job like any other and because you get paid for it. Instead, professionals enter their vocations with mixed motives but surely one of these motivations is a desire to provide service to others.

 

Second, being a professional involves the use of advanced and systematic knowledge and expertise to guide competent practice.  Typically, that initial expertise is acquired through a lengthy period of higher education training, and in most countries of the world that training or education is acquired through colleges or universities.

 

Third a professional is characterised by acceptance of high ethical standards in which the interests of the client are put ahead of those of the person who provides the service. Typically, professions have some kind of code of conduct to govern the behaviour and ethical standards of the profession

 

Fourth professionals typically engage in continuous and life long learning so as to keep their knowledge and expertise up to date.

 

Fifth and finally professionals typically group themselves into significant professional associations and these associations often play a role not only in ongoing professional development but also in setting clear rigorous and explicit criteria and standards for entry to the profession.

 

Now, let us think about the people at this gathering—you, all of you.. My best guess is that those of you, who are here today, are here by your own choice. You have not been compelled to attend this gathering. Rather you have exercised your own judgement in coming here. In doing this you are demonstrating, through a very simple example, that this career you are in, this profession that you are in has some of the characteristics of a vocation or a calling for you. It is not compulsion that brings you here today but your own commitment to your calling of being a teacher and your own autonomy as part of being a professional.

 

Second, I noted that teachers need advanced knowledge and expertise as one of the attributes of professionalism. I suspect that you all know that this is a major problem area for us in Pakistan.

Too many people become teachers without any pre-service teacher education or without any teacher education of quality. Not only are they lacking in the skills of pedagogy but they are also lacking in the content knowledge that is a prerequisite to that pedagogy. Please don’t blame the teachers for this. I think we all know that many people lack opportunity for the development of adequate content knowledge whilst we also all know that the quality of pre-service teacher’s education in Pakistan is poor.

 

Here, surely, is an area where PTAN itself, as a network of professional associations can play a part. Not only do we need to lobby governments about the need for high quality teacher education in Pakistan, about the need for a modern and up-to-date teacher education curriculum in Pakistan.  But we as professionals; as experienced classroom teachers; as school heads and principals; we too need to assist the teacher educators in enabling new entrants to the profession to succeed. We need to provide good practice-teaching opportunities; we need to provide induction programmes for beginning teachers; we need to provide mentoring to those who have just joined our profession. All of these are essential components of the model of best practice that I envision in the area of teacher education and development. PTAN and its constituent associations can play a key role in this endeavour for it is professional associations and their members which can be the key link persons between the academicians in the universities and the practitioners who daily confront the realities of classroom life.

 

Third, as you all know teaching in Pakistan lacks any sort of statement of ethical standards and professional conduct. Here too is an area where the network could play a major role. We need your help, your assistance in debating, discussing, dialoguing, drafting and deciding on just what ethical standards should guide our practice of teaching in this country.

 

Fourth, both the network and its constituent associations have a major role to play – and I acknowledge that much of this is already happening– in the professional development of the members of associations and other teachers. It is this role that the associations already play in professional development which enables IED not only to support these associations but also to applaud and appreciate their contributions.

 

You see, IED itself is an organization which requires substantial external funding. Without such external inputs IED would not survive and continue. Your associations are different. They are, or have the potential to be, self sustaining organizations; organizations that don’t need external support. They are organizations that gather their strength and vitality from within their memberships and it is with such associations that much of the future professional development of teachers lies.

 

Now, one of the difficulties of teaching in Pakistan has been that of corruption. Let’s not hide it. Let’s say it loudly and openly. Corrupt practice has been a problem. Ministers, have appointed their distant family members as teachers because the salary is paid regularly. There are ghost schools and ghost teachers. There have been few or no adequate tests for entry to the profession. The certification that has come from pre-service teacher education has too been susceptible to corruption or gross incompetence.

 

We together, therefore, need to ask questions such as what do I need to know to be a teacher?  What do I need to be able to do to be a teacher? We need to set standards, initially at least, we need to set standards for beginning teachers and then we need to set up some kind of body or organization that will control these standards, that will assess these standards, that will use them openly, honestly and transparently. For only then will we get the teachers that our children deserve? In many countries of the world such organizations already exist. Typically they are established by governments but they are controlled by the teaching profession. The teaching profession becomes a self-regulating profession and in doing so it raises standards, it raises the status of the teaching profession and it controls entry to the profession not though corrupt means but through open and transparent quality standards.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, if teaching is to prosper in Pakistan; if teachers are to be prosperous in Pakistan; if teaching is to be accorded the status it deserves; and if teachers are going to become the competent practitioners that their nation and our children demand, then professionalism must develop and be assisted to develop. My challenge to this network and to its constituent associations is to play a leadership role in professionalizing teachers in Pakistan. Only then, I believe, can we fully and comprehensively celebrate the teaching profession.

 

Thank you,

 

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ABSTRACTS

 

 

Session:                1

Association:         MAP

Topic:                    Mathematical Calculations in Light

Time:                     (11:00-12:30)

 

The concepts in mathematics are often taught individually.  Teachers do not try to make connections with concepts in other chapters of mathematics textbooks (e.g. fraction & ratio etc.).  Similarly, teachers often miss to make connections of mathematics with other subjects, like science, art, social studies etc.

 

Realizing the importance of interconnections between subjects necessitated need of training in mathematics and sciences.  As recently published report of the Department of Education of USA has indicated:

 

“From mathematics and the sciences will come the products, services, standard of living, and economic and military security that will sustain us at home and around the world?”

(Glenn Commission Report, September 2000)

 

The above recommendation seems also valid in the context of Pakistan.  In this vein, the mathematics educators in particular and educators in general have been putting their efforts to demonstrate the importance of integration between mathematics and science. 

 

The session on “Mathematical Calculations in Light” would help the participants to enhance their understanding about integrating mathematics with science.  They will see and experience how mathematical calculations help them to understand scientific principals and laws.  This session will deal with phenomena like reflection/refraction in optics through engaging participants in different activities.  The participants will also understand the importance of mathematical calculations in determining these scientific concepts.

 

 

Sardar Ahmed Khan

Coordinator MAP/PDT

 

 

Session:                1

Association:         Association of Primary Teachers

Topic:                     To Teach, to Learn, to help others to Learn and Teach.

Time:                     (11:00-12:30)

 

The importance of ongoing teacher learning for improving the quality of teaching and learning has become a necessity keeping in view the vision of current Education Reform. This can only be realized if teachers are provided opportunities, time, resources and mental space. Both experience and research has shown that such opportunities are generally not created as a regular ongoing activity at the work place.

 

One of the ways to make this possible is to seek support from teacher development/education institutions that can provide sustained and coordinated activities for furthering the development and knowledge of teachers. AKU-IED is one such institution, which has initiated professional teacher associations, and APT is one of them.

 

APT aims to complement AKU-IED’s pursuit in developing effective primary school teachers, and to take ahead one of its mission; to improve the quality of education at the grass root level. APT takes many approaches to further the learning and development of teachers. Some of the approaches that APT has taken to date are:

 

·    Valuing, teachers’, personal practical knowledge, and building on new knowledge.

·    Modeling, coaching and mentoring, teachers through workshops, seminars and meetings.

*       Creating opportunities, place, and time with colleague teachers both from their schools and beyond to learn from one other’s successes and failures and to share ideas and knowledge. 

 

Today’s session in this conference reflects some of the approaches that we take in furthering teachers’ knowledge about teaching, learning and curriculum.

 

The Session attempts to:

 

*       Share very briefly the emergence and future directions of APT.

*       Expose participant to active learning approaches used in APT sessions.

*       Share some of the processes/and experience of learning and helping others to learn.

 

 

By:

Atiya Hussain, Chairperson APT

Anisa Wali Muhammad, Vice-Chairperson, APT

 

 

Session:                1 & 2

Association:         PAIE & HAS

Topic:                     (Children who learn together, learn to live together)

“Increasing child participation to build happy healthy schools”

Time:                     (11:00-12:30)

 

The purpose of this combined workshop is to create awareness of Inclusive and Health Education and the areas of overlap between the two.

 

The workshop will focus on prevention and various strategies to deal with whole school issues related to children’s physical, mental, emotional and social health.

 

Sequence of activities

 

1.        Division of participants in small groups.

2.        Brainstorm with the participants following question:

 

a)                               What are Physical, Mental, Socio-emotional issues that can have an effect on children in schools?

b)                               Does the present curriculum address any of these issues?

c)                               How can these issues be integrated in any of the subject areas?

 

3. Feedback from the groups

 

Four different examples to be given by facilitators to four groups of participants on how to get schools to focus on different areas other than exams and marks.(e.g. Child-to-Child  approach to health education, ways to enhance self esteem of the students etc.)

 

3.        Participants to get back into groups and discuss

 

What is our attitude towards children? (Each group to focus on one of the four identified areas).

 

The participants would come up with different strategies to address the various issues in the overlapping areas of health education and inclusive education expected to be identified during discussions.

 

 

By:  Dr. Shabnam Ahmed

 

Session: 1

Association:         SHADE

Topic:                    Moving towards Empowerment

Time:                     (11:00-12:30)

 

 

The work ‘empowerment’ has been often debated and discussed in educational discourses and has a wide connotation as well as implications. Generally, leaders are apprehensive of this process as it means “letting go’ of power or authority. Empowerment can be at different levels: empowering leaders, teachers and students. With the empowerment of the leaders, we find this process having off shoots at different levels. This paper is based on two aspects of ‘empowerment’; that of the leaders and then paving for eventually student empowerment.

 

Can a principal be a strong instructional leader and empower others to make important decisions? Principal have been portrayed as middle managers and as leaders of their schools. They have been lauded as the critical element in a school improvement initiative and sometimes criticized for making their schools overly dependent upon them. In the area of leadership styles, the message to principals is somewhat confusing. On the one hand, we hear of the need for a strong instructional leader, while on the other hand, there is an increasing call for Principals to delegate, collaborate and empowering others does not mean disempowering oneself. Both empowered staff and strong leaders are not mutually exclusive. Should a learning community have both?

 

The first step towards student empowerment would begin with developing a close relationship of mutual trust, which in its turn would mean entering into counseling and a mentoring process in some cases. ‘Mentoring across the sea’ is a unique process that has grown between the Headteachers and the overseas students Mohamed Shah Aga Khan School. Experiences of the Headteachers will be focusing on the success and challenges.

                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

By: Sakina Abbas/ Aliya Abbasi

 

 

Session:                2

Association:         MAP & SAP

Topic:                     Handling Data in Biology

Time:                     (1330-1500)

 

Data handling and graphical representation are key features of science and mathematics as well as information communication technology. By handling data in Biology participants will learn to collect scientific data, use an appropriate statistical analysis, interpret the results of this analysis, and communicate their findings to all the participants of this workshop. In this way participants will develop the logical, statistical, and critical thinking skills needed to undertake Biological research, and to understand and evaluate others’ research as published in the Biological literature.

 

The purpose of this combined workshop is to give participants a practical experience of collecting Biological data, handling it, conducting analysis and generating tabular and graphical output from these analyses.

 

Analysis of participant’s explanations for their data handling in Biology will help in determining their understanding about data handling in Biology. If there will be any alternative framework then these will be discussed by the facilitators. The schedule of the workshop will be as follows:

 

Sequence of the workshop activities

 

1.        Introduction of the team

2.        Sharing of objectives of the workshop

3.        Brainstorming: What do you understand by data handling in Biology?

4.        Grouping by flowers (10-12 groups comprising six participants will be made)

5.        Instructions for activities and distribution of material

6.        Group work

7.        Presentation by any three groups (selected by draw) and discussion along with the input by the facilitator

8.        Summing up by the facilitator

 

By: Suriya Yousufi

 

 

Session:                2

Association:         ASSET

Topic:                     ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Time:                     (1330-1500)

 

"The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the "Earth Summit," was held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 3-14 June 1992. This global conference, held on the 20th anniversary of the first international Conference on the Human Environment, (Stockholm, 1972), brought together policy makers, diplomats, scientists, media personnel and non-governmental organization (NGO) representatives from 179 countries in a massive effort to reconcile the impact of human socio-economic activities on the environment and vice versa. A simultaneous "Global NGO Forum" was also held in Rio de Janeiro, which was attended by an unprecedented number of representatives from NGOs outlining their own vision of the future environmental and socio-economic/developmental state of the world.

 

The Earth Summit building on the 1972 UN Stockholm Conference highlighted the fact that pollution does not recognize political or geographical boundaries, but affects countries, regions and people beyond its point of origin. This concept has over three decades been broadened to encompass environmental issues that are truly transactional in scope, requiring concerted action by all countries. Such important global environmental problems include, all kinds of pollution, climate change, the depletion of the ozone layer, the use and management of oceans and fresh water resources, excessive deforestation, desertification and land degradation, hazardous waste and depleting biological diversity.

 

The Earth Summit thus made history by bringing global attention to the understanding, new at the time, that the planet's environmental problems were intimately linked to economic conditions and problems of social justice

 

It showed that social, environmental and economic needs must be met in balance with each other for sustainable outcomes in the long term. It showed that if people are poor, and national economies are weak, the environment suffers; if the environment is abused and resources are over consumed, people suffer and economies decline. The conference also pointed out that the smallest local actions or decisions, good or bad, have potential worldwide repercussions.

 

UNCED proclaimed the concept of sustainable development as a workable objective for everyone around the world, whether at the local, national, regional or international level. It recognized that integrating and balancing economic, social and environmental concerns in meeting our needs is vital to continue human life on the planet, and that such an integrated approach is achievable if we put our heads and hands together.

 

It further recognized that achieving this kind of integration and balance between economic, social and environmental dimensions would require new ways of looking at how we produce and consume, how we live, how we work, how we get along with each other, and how we make decisions. The concept was revolutionary and like all original ideas it started a lively debate among governments, and between governments and their citizens on how to achieve sustainability."

 

ASSET subscribes to the UNCED declaration, as should everyone in Pakistan. The above text is a summary of the Basic Information Document of the Johannesburg Summit 2002 dated August 26, 2002 and can be found at the site http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/basic_info/unced.html or in the UNCED Publication available at UNDP Islamabad.

 

ASSET intends to share and discuss the intersections (overlaps) of environment (as defined above) on the Social Studies canvas in Pakistan. The objective of this workshop is to create a discussion forum to engage our teachers and educators in the characterization of the perceived intersections and in this process empower them to develop guidelines for introducing environmental awareness in the teaching of Social Studies in Pakistan.

 

By: Hussain Tawawalla

 

 

Session:                2

Association:         SHADE

Topic:                     School Improvement Initiatives: Perspective of three schools

Time:                     (11:00-12:30)

 

This paper focuses on school improvement initiatives of three principals and reveals how good leadership in successive schools is closely connected to training, commitment and capacity of principals to engage in school improvement. These principals have also undergone a one year’s training in the Advanced Diploma in Education: Educational Leadership and Management from The Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development. As a result these principals from the government, community and private sector share their experiences in initiating change in order to raise the standards of their school. The areas that they focus on our staff development, appraisal, curriculum enrichment and motivating teachers and staff and improving resources especially in a government school.

 

1.        Introduction

2.        Need Analysis

3.        Achievements

4.        Improvement in Attendance of students

5.        Enrichment of Curriculum

6.        Staff Development

7.        Change in Examination System

8.        Community Involvement

9.        Mentoring

10.     Challenges

11.     Lesson Learnt.                             

 

 

By: Bilquees Nasir