Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child

Tomorrow, October 5th, is #WorldTeachersDay! This day celebrates teachers' vital role in transforming education and emphasizes the need for systemic support to enhance their well-being globally. Teachers’ well-being is context-specific and refers to how teachers feel and function in their jobs, including their affections, attitudes, and evaluations of their work. Teacher well-being is particularly important to consider in a context such as Uganda, where teachers’ job satisfaction is low, teacher shortages are high, and the educational demands of both Ugandan and refugee communities have left the education system overstretched, reducing teachers’ ability to address their own well-being or to support students’ well-being and learning. In 2020, a GC-DWC led research-practice consortium embarked on a two-year study working with 148 Ugandan teachers to understand how they conceptualize well-being, and the factors that support and hinder it. They described well-being as economic, social, emotional, and physical health. Female teachers were more focused on displaying (over receiving) respect while teachers working with refugee children more frequently described the need for intrinsic motivation and training. The journal article titled “‘Well-being, that word is very wide’: Understanding how teachers in Uganda define and navigate their occupational well-being” discusses this study, and not only the broader implications for understanding TWB in other low-resource and fragile contexts, but also how interventions in Uganda need to focus on the interpersonal dynamics that are more proximal to teachers’ lived experiences. To read the article and learn more about the study, visit: https://lnkd.in/gBrS-iiw Research-practice consortium: GC-DWC, Save the Children US, Luigi Giussani Institute of Higher Education Article authors: Nikhit D'Sa (GC-DWC), Monica Fontana, Martin Ariapa, Hannah Chandler (GC-DWC), Edison Nsubuga, Emily Richardson

The GC-DWC’s approach to activating the systems surrounding children in Haiti serves the purpose of meeting children’s holistic needs at all three levels of their social ecology: the home (lakay), school (lekòl), and church (legliz), or L3. Sister Marie-France, of the Daughters of Mary Congregation in Haiti, has been involved with implementing GC-DWC Haiti’s interventions, such as the Parent Empowerment Program—aiming to provide parents with evidence-based tools and techniques to support their children’s growth both in and out of school. Recently, the GC-DWC’s Project Coordinator for Haiti, Makenzy Voltaire, sat down with Sr. Marie-France and asked about her experience working with the University of Notre Dame (UND) and the GC-DWC to implement these programs. This is a small highlight of what she shared: "...I think that (UND's) interventions are so rich that they should be expanded to other areas, social classes, and schools in Cap-Haitien who could also benefit from them. UND should not only stay in Cap-Haitien but should expand their training throughout the whole country because it is so deep, so rich, and so well adapted to the reality and needs of Haiti. If this type of training was given everywhere in the country, then we would have the Haiti that we are all dreaming of." The GC-DWC is grateful to Sr. Marie-France and all of the GC-DWC Haiti field-based staff, community partners, and volunteers—like Sister—for their unwavering compassion and dedication to creating pathways out of adversity for Haitian children. To listen to the conversation with Sr. Marie-France in its entirety, please visit: https://lnkd.in/g7bXXPHU To learn more about GC-DWC Haiti, visit: https://lnkd.in/etbJt6J

Are you interested in exploring the primary-level book supply chains and discussing access to quality reading materials? Join Jeongmin Lee—research technical advisor for Supporting Holistic and Actionable Research in Education (SHARE) at the GC-DWC—and the USAID Global Reading Network for a presentation on Learning to Improve Book Resource Operational Systems (LIBROS) on Tuesday, September 24th, 9-10am EDT. LIBROS examined the impact of the primary-level book supply chain on literacy in Cambodia, Honduras, and Rwanda. Each case study notes that, despite years of schooling, access to quality learning materials throughout a student’s educational journey is critical in the development of foundational skills. Learn more about SHARE: https://lnkd.in/g5YW76D3 LIBROS study overview: https://lnkd.in/gd3pq-NN Register for the event: https://lnkd.in/gFTCyYfD

Empowering Teachers! We are excited to have hosted Dakota Lyn Peterson from Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child at the University of Notre Dame. Peterson had come to support our group model-building workshop aimed at conceptualising Teacher Agency as part of the Schools 2030 project. Teacher agency is key to unlocking transformative education. By fostering an environment where teachers feel empowered, classrooms will be transformed into spaces for innovation, critical thinking, and growth. Dear Peterson, we hope you enjoyed the Pear of Africa. We look forward to welcoming you back anytime! #TeacherAgency #Schools2030  Nikhit D. Gillian Atuheire

There are numerous challenges facing young children in Haiti, including political upheaval, gang violence, civil unrest, community violence, closures, shortages of necessities, and natural disasters. This fragility has had a detrimental impact on the learning and development of young children. To address these multifaceted risk factors facing children in Haiti, the GC-DW’s Strong Beginnings initiative focused on leveraging the assets of the primary settings—lakay, lekol, legliz (home, school, and parish)—where young children learn and develop daily. Over four years and spread across six of the 10 departments in Haiti, Strong Beginnings has worked to activate this lakay-lekol-legliz (L3) system through interventions and approaches that were need-based, developed in partnership with communities, iteratively tested and improved, and gradually scaled. This Learnings Brief highlights the interventions, lessons learned, and recommendations from this L3 systems activation work over the last four years. Learnings Brief: https://lnkd.in/gWvcpjvV Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/g_WEfY5b Authors: Shwetha Parvathy, Nikhit D'Sa

Next Tuesday, September 17th, Jeongmin Lee—research technical advisor for Supporting Holistic & Actionable Research in Education (SHARE) at the GC-DWC—will be leading a workshop on Track and Trace systems in the book supply chain for the Global Book Alliance’s upcoming International Literacy Day event, “Books for Every Child”, hosted by The World Bank. Jeongmin Lee is an educational researcher with over a decade of experience working in international education and development in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, with expertise in early childhood and primary education, teacher pedagogy and well-being, and education policy and program analysis. She has been the principal/co-principal investigator on studies of early literacy development, social and emotional well-being, teacher program development, and child and teacher assessment in low-resource and fragile contexts. Jeongmin is well-versed in quantitative research methods, including causal inference, structural equation modeling, and psychometric measurement as well as qualitative research methods, including discourse and content analysis and case studies. This International Literacy Day event aims to build awareness and understanding of the global book gap through discussion on the book supply chain, seeking to define challenges and opportunities, share initiatives from actors in this space, and provide practical ways to build more sustainable book supply chains through innovation workshops. To register for the event (in-person or online), visit: https://lnkd.in/dgWDa3Gb Find out more about the event here: https://lnkd.in/epn2WXF7

Today is #InternationalLiteracyDay! In Haiti, where a significant portion of the population faces challenges related to poverty, access to education, and resources, literacy plays a crucial role in early childhood development. 49% of Haitian students cannot read a single word when they enter the third grade. Frequently, students are left to flounder in a classroom where the official language of instruction, French, is not their mother tongue, Haitian Creole. Early literacy skills are essential for laying the foundation for a child's future academic success, cognitive development, and overall well-being. Understanding this, the GC-DWC is investing in early literacy development for children in Haiti. The GC-DWC Haiti team has implemented a scripted, mother tongue literacy curriculum, created by Haitian and international educators with support from USAID in collaboration with the Haitian Ministry of Education, for first and second grade students: “M ap li nèt ale” (Haitian Creole) and “Je parle bien français” (French). To further augment the literacy curriculum, the GC-DWC Haiti team developed and added enrichment materials to the school-based program: classroom libraries with culturally relevant, mother-tongue books; summer reading camps led by the school community; and additional tutoring for the lowest-performing students. On International Literacy Day and beyond, it is crucial to prioritize early childhood literacy development in Haiti to ensure that all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential and contribute positively to their communities and society. By investing in literacy education for young children, we can create a brighter future for Haiti's next generation. To learn more about the GC-DWC’s literacy work in Haiti and to view the resources, please visit: https://lnkd.in/gYscrvb7

We are #hiring! Do you want to use your research skills to address pressing education and development issues facing children and adolescents? Are you motivated by working with practitioners to ensure that they can use data and evidence to improve their programs for children and adolescents? The University of Notre Dame's Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child (GC-DWC) is seeking a Research Technical Advisor to join our team and support the research activities that are a part of the Supporting Holistic and Actionable Research in Education (SHARE) activity. SHARE conducts primary research in low-resource and fragile contexts in the majority world in partnership with research institutions based in the country where the research is being conducted. SHARE leverages the demonstrated strengths of local partners while offering partners the opportunity to strengthen research capacities through mentorship and accompaniment. It fortifies linkages between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to ensure research is designed to meet the knowledge needs of decision-makers and promote the movement of evidence to action, creating transformational change in educational and research landscapes. To learn more and to apply, please visit: https://lnkd.in/gEyKg9XY #Research #Education #NowHiring #NotreDame #ImplementationResearch Pulte Institute for Global Development

Exciting times are ahead as faculty across 70+ universities and colleges in India prepare to roll out a new curriculum on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Whole Child Development (WCD) designed by GC-DWC faculty and staff at request of the Telangana state government in India. The semester-long course, "A Whole School Approach to Social and Emotional Learning," gives students a hands-on, evidence-based understanding of how to integrate SEL practices in schools to enhance children's learning and development. SEL focuses on children’s ability to understand and manage emotions, feel and show empathy, and develop positive relationships. The course will be a requirement for university students majoring in education—as the ultimate means of sustaining and expanding SEL statewide. To kick off this initiative, members of the GC-DWC team hosted a Faculty Development Program at Osmania University earlier this month, where faculty were trained in the curriculum and equipped with best practices to start implementing the course this September. The course will start by understanding the developmental foundations of SEL, how it is related to resilience, and the main criteria for using a whole-school SEL approach. Students will be engaged in analyzing and understanding examples of SEL programs from India and around the world, and will get hands-on experience with SEL activities and program components. To do this, faculty will use a flipped classroom—students will watch videos or do short readings before coming to class, and class time will be spent on discussion, debate, and exploration activities. The course will end with a two-day workshop where students will engage in practical training on how whole-school SEL approaches are being integrated into the Tribal and Social Welfare Societies’ residential schools for marginalized children in Telangana, through the GC-DWC’s Project Sampoorna. With bi-weekly meetings ahead, ongoing support will ensure faculty have the tools they need for success. Let's make SEL a cornerstone of education! To learn more about “A Whole School Approach to Social and Emotional Learning”, please visit: https://shorturl.at/cLbAC University of Notre Dame

The Telangana state government asked the GC-DWC to develop curriculum focused on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Whole Child Development (WCD) for a new course being implemented in over 70 universities and colleges in India. Designed by GC-DWC faculty and staff, the semester-long course, titled “A Whole School Approach to Social and Emotional Learning”, provides students with a practical and evidence-based introduction to how SEL practices can be incorporated across schools to better support the learning and development of children. SEL focuses on children’s ability to understand and manage emotions, feel and show empathy, and develop positive relationships. The course will be a requirement for university students majoring in education—as the ultimate means of sustaining and expanding SEL statewide—and will end with a two-day workshop where students will engage in practical training on how whole-school SEL approaches are being integrated into the Tribal and Social Welfare Societies’ residential schools for marginalized children in Telangana, through the GC-DWC’s Project Sampoorna. Education in Telangana needs to evolve to keep pace with India’s modern economy. SEL skills are more important than ever, and embedding these courses into required training of all future teachers in these university education degree programs will advance this objective, and sustain them into the future. University of Notre Dame Osmania University