We seek to inspire and complement public education, so that teachers, students, parents, education institutions, education officials and Ministries of Education can draw from direct and indirect collaboration with the Humana People to People education institutions and projects.
Introduction
Education is the foundation for peace, solidarity, inclusiveness and sustainable development.
Education plays a crucial role in fostering social cohesion and peacebuilding, and preventing conflict. Peace is not a static condition. It is a dynamic process that requires the active engagement of people and communities, and the establishment of norms and institutions that allow human wellbeing to flourish.
Education is a fundamental human right. It holds the power to light every stage of building stable, functional and peaceful communities.
The pedagogy in use has a bearing on both students and teachers as the approach can either hinder or promote positive change. We want to see education that nurtures cooperation, solidarity and peacebuilding.
In Humana People to People’s programmes of primary education,
teacher education and technical and vocational training, as well as informal education, we see that students, regardless of their background, are willing and able to build their knowledge and understanding and use it for taking action – when the kind of programme they need is established.
Education for sustainable development starts with the relationship between teachers and students and the wider world. Engaging students to address real-life issues together, with an abundance of interactive methods of study, action-research, group work and practical activities has proven to be a solid foundation for life-long learning. Then education transcends the traditional curriculum, and knowledge, understanding, skills, attitudes, values and agency to act are formed.
Planet protection and adaptation to the climate crisis call for collective action and are high on the agenda of our education programmes by including science, experimentation, research, and practical engagement with the surrounding communities.
Our education programmes encompass children’s education for those living in difficult circumstances; empowerment of girls and women; vocational training programmes including formal and short skills training that promote socio-economic development; and last but not least, training of teachers for rural and peri-urban communities across Africa and Asia, who are committed to overcoming barriers to meaningful education.
“Globally, 44 million additional teachers need to be recruited to meet universal primary and secondary education in 2030 of which 15 million are needed in sub-Saharan Africa alone.”
UNESCO, 2023
Nadi Marcelino Soló, Vocational School Bissorã, ADPP Guinea Bissau
“The initial weeks at Vocational School Bissorã were intense, but I gained valuable knowledge in agriculture and other subjects. I learned grafting, crop production, growing fruits, and animal husbandry. I now have the skills to sustain myself.”
Emmanuel Kangwa Children’s Town Malambanyama, DAPP Zambia
“At 14, I had to support my family, leaving school and resorting to petty crimes. I joined Children’s Town and now, at 18, I focus on improving my tailoring and designing skills. I am determined to use these skills to lead an honest life.”
Chenai Gona Ponesai Vanhu Technical College, DAPP Zimbabwe
“To support my child, my mother, and other siblings, I pursued training in motor mechanics. The training has opened doors for me, as I work on repairing vehicles with malfunctions. Now I am supporting my life needs. I wish to inspire other young women to embrace vocational training.”
Illustrating the Humana People to People Pedagogy
The Humana People to People pedagogy has been developed over 40+ years and is being practised across schools and training programmes in 82 educational institutions and 178 other teaching and learning projects. It is also being practised in training activities within other thematic areas.
How it works:
Student | Teacher | Core Group
Knowledge | Understanding | Actions of Change
Open Future | Living Life Living | Human Development | Happiness | Production | Planet Protection
When we illustrate the Humana People to People pedagogy, we start with the student as singularity and give them the core group.
In all our education programmes, students are organised in a collective, in a group, and their teacher is an equal member of the group. Here individual and group goals are discussed, targets set, new knowledge conquered, tears shed and laughter rolls. It is social, educational, productive and emotional. It is safe haven for the individual student in times of demands and chaos, which is an unavoidable and necessary part of growing with one’s education. It is here students and teachers hone their skills in co-operation and co-living.
Next comes the trinity of collective production of knowledge, understanding reality and actions of change. It is a trinity, because they don’t come one after the other; it is all three of them together. When we produce knowledge, it leads to better understanding of reality. When we understand reality, it leads to production of more knowledge. Action of change must always have knowledge and understanding as its foundation – but at the same time, the very action of change deepens our understanding and thirst for more knowledge. It becomes clear that the core group – including the teacher – is indeed core, as production of knowledge is a collective affair, and so is understanding and taking action.
In the outer circle there are examples of areas of life that thrive as a result of the two first circles. The circle format fits well with the content – when writing about it, inevitably one element will be mentioned before the other. But that is not how it works. Human development, production, living life living, planet protection, happiness and open future are all intertwined. This is also how our lives are – they are not in straight lines, not in orderly sequence, but in lively, dynamic and dialectic processes. And like this, education should serve us in our lives.
Members of Humana People to People co-operate with national governments to train teachers who foster inclusive and quality learning. They influence learning by engaging learners in knowledge production and application, deepening their understanding and motivating them to seek more. Teachers are also trained to be agents of community development where they practice teaching.
The core group is a fundamental organisational structure within the Humana People to People teacher training programme. It is a structure that decentralises learning and creates space for the core group of students and teacher to interact, debate and challenge existing knowledge, and take up practical actions. The collective effort fosters quality discussions, social cohesion, and knowledge production, making them key figures in transforming both education and society.
Students are trained to be competent in all subjects that form the national primary school curriculum. Students acquire thorough knowledge of the methods of teaching each subject, be it mathematics, physical education, geography, natural sciences or indigenous languages. Additionally, the students take part in the operation of the college, with real-life responsibilities. This helps them to get hands-on experience with school management and administration; skills that serve them well in their future profession.
Humana People to People has 30 years of experience training over 64,000 primary school teachers in sub-Saharan Africa and India. A total of 34 teacher training colleges are being run by ADPP Angola, ADPP Mozambique, ADPP Guinea Bissau, DAPP Malawi, DAPP Zambia, Humana People to People Congo, and similar programmes are being run by Humana People to People India at 22 public teacher training colleges in that country.
Humana People to People’s teacher training colleges incorporate the ‘Graduated Teachers’ Network’ – a structure offering continuous learning and cooperation among graduates.
The network offers graduated teachers, now working in primary schools, the opportunity to work together in an organised manner to support continuous improvement of their teaching. The network engages primary school teachers in school development, facilitates experience exchange, and equips them with tools for creating inspiring teaching and learning situations in school. Through the network, teachers have initiated numerous projects like girls’ clubs, reading clubs, and school gardens, demonstrating the transformative power of education.
Education throughout Humana People to People
Teachers graduated since 1993
People reached
Project units
Schools and training institutions
Other teaching and learning projects
Kadam Step-Up, a Solution to the Out-of-School Children Dilemma
Humana People to People India developed the Kadam Step-Up programme for out-of-school children to help them catch up and re- enter school in Grades 1-5.
Active participation of Kadam Step-Up students creates opportunities to explore, experiment and engage in civic matters as agents of change in their communities.
Children in the Kadam Step-Up programme take their own time to complete their tasks, without having to deal with the burden of a deadline or other time restrictions, thus freeing them to explore various concepts and areas of learning. Teamwork and peer learning is key in the personal development of students and is integrated in the programme.
Kadam Step-Up is also used in public primary schools as a remedial learning programme for children to bridge their learning gaps and reach the age-appropriate learning level.
Technical and Vocational Education Training
In 16 Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) colleges spread across eight African countries, Humana People to People members have trained 30,000 young people to be part of local communities’ production and development. Both the formal and informal TVET programmes are designed to be practical and provide real-life experience. In this way the programmes focus on building the right set of skills and promote entrepreneurship, thereby enabling the young people to become agents of development.
By taking a forward-thinking approach, Humana People to People prepare youth for challenges ahead, thus addressing the 21st-century skills gap. It is not sufficient to train the young person to get a job; where there are no jobs, they must be created, and the youth can contribute substantially to that when trained to meet what is demanded of them.
Courses on offer are in the areas of agriculture, civil construction, engineering, business administration, hospitality and tourism, and community development. All courses are structured to respond to people’s daily life needs and improving people’s lives.
The Humana People to People members engage with their respective governments at all stages of running the TVET schools, from curriculum design and policy consistency, to the development of public-private partnerships. Courses are nationally accredited, developed with national government approval.