Strong Community Engagement Benefits Young Children’s Learning and Development

- Maliphet Soukhaseum, Education Specialist, UNICEF Lao PDR

Phao, March 2018 - As in many other places in Lao PDR, the Chief of Phao Village in Laongam District (Saravan Province), Mr. Kuang Chleaunsouk, plays a very important role acting a mediator in disputes, fixing problems, providing basic social amenities to the community and creating awareness on key issues, among many other tasks. What makes the job more special here is that he is an active member of the Village Education Development Committee (VEDC) who oversees the activities of the pre-primary school.

In June last year the chief of this village had the opportunity to attend a learning exchange workshop on pre-primary education in Saravan Province organized by the Ministry of Education and Sports with the support of UNICEF. The purpose of this meeting was to provide pre-primary teachers, school principals and members of the VEDC from UNICEF-supported pre-primary schools with opportunities to share their experiences and learn from each other.

Mr. Kuang (first from left) with other two VEDC members
who work together to support pre-primary education activities.

“What made the experience interesting is that I had the opportunity to listen to what others are doing and now I am putting into practice what I learnt, especially when it comes to mobilizing community members to support outdoor activities organized by the pre-primary school,” he explains.

He recognizes that now he feels more comfortable in his role. “Before I didn’t understand why and how the Village Chief could support pre-primary education. Thanks to the learning exchange, I have a better understanding of what is expected from me and have new ideas to work with other members of VEDC and encourage community members to play a role in the classroom management”.

Mr. Kuang has been working hard ever since he came back from the workshop to convince other villagers to participate in the school development meetings and actively support the classroom activities “If we want our children to learn and develop, we need to support them actively,” he states without a doubt.

Locally-made playground equipment helps children to develop their balance, coordination, flexibility and strength

In addition, the village chief and the pre-primary teachers have recently started to organize consultation meetings with the VEDC to boost engagement and motivation and better work together for their children.

Locally-made playground equipment helps
children to develop their balance,
coordination, flexibility and strength

The Early Childhood Education technical staff from the Provincial Education and Sports Service (PESS) and the District Education and Sports Bureau (DESB) have closely worked with the VEDC and the pre-primary teachers in Phao Village providing guidance to ensure appropriate learning for 0 to 5-year old children.  The outcomes of these meetings were reflected in the 2017-2018 School Development Plan which included concrete actions to be carried out within the community. “Once the Plan was approved we called for a meeting with community members to discuss the way forward. It was important for everyone to understand their role. We also provided guidance regarding the type of playground to build and timelines,” Mr. Khuang explains.

Locally-made playground equipment helps
children to develop their balance,
coordination, flexibility and strength     

Coordination, closely monitoring and community hard work led to the finalization of the playground within the proposed timelines. This has allowed children to play and continue their learning and development process. “We are very proud to see our children playing in the playground built by all of us,” says with a smile in his face.

VEDCs and communities take a crucial role in supporting quality teaching and learning. Participation and contribution from parents and care-givers, with strong support by VEDCs in children’s learning is bringing significant benefits for children and is helping them to be well for primary school.

              

UNICEF will continue to support pre-primary schools and VEDCs in key priority provinces, with a focus on improving the quality of pre-primary education in rural and disadvantaged communities with the support of donors and key partners, like the Japan Committee for UNICEF.