Edify has taken a holistic approach to equipping teaching in Peru, and the transformation has been nothing short of significant. One of our three main pillars is training. In each of our operating countries, we provide various types of training that the in-country staff carry out alongside our training partners.
In Peru, four different types of training are offered: business skills, education technology, Christian transformation, and professional development. These trainings have been online in recent years, but are gradually returning to in-person.
In our 2022 fiscal year alone, there have been over 1,253 trainings with 8,691 total participants!
Politics and Education
In 2020, more than 60% of Peruvians named corruption as the main concern in the country. Since the departure of President Alberto Fujimori in 2000, there has been significant turnover in office. There were three presidents in one week during November of 2020.
Similar to the rest of the world, the pandemic in Peru greatly hurt the already substantial gap between the education of the poor. It specifically affected the gap between indigenous communities and the wealthy. Many children who did not have access to the internet or technology were forced to drop out of school.
Professional Development
These constant political changes have a profound effect on the state of education. Educational leaders have recognized the issues, gaps, and inequalities among students. They have found creative ideas of how to reach otherwise neglected students. However, amidst the constant changes, school proprietors must be aware of the updated rules and regulations of the Ministry of Education. When they are aware of these changes, they will be able to apply them in their schools to remain open.
Based on these school leader needs, Edify adjusted and provided more professional development training. This was to ensure that proprietors were equipped with the most recent information. The trainings include updates on regulatory changes, guidance with management documents, and pedagogical skills updates.
Christian Transformation
In addition to professional development, there were many Christian transformation trainings this year as they provided a much more holistic approach to equipping teaching in Peru. Edify staff in Peru offer four different types of Christian transformation resources. Of the four, there include Socio-emotional support, The Proclaimer, Answers in Genesis, and School for Parents.
Socio-emotional support provides workshops for teachers. It creates an educational and healthy support network within the workplace to bolster their mental health and development. Additionally, students have similar needs, so these trainings include reference materials. The materials aid further application of socio-emotional support in the classroom. These workshops are all focused on and from the perspective of the Word of God.
The Proclaimer is a digital platform that provides an opportunity to listen to the Bible in different languages. This has been incredibly impactful in schools outside the city of Lima, the capital of Peru.
Answers in Genesis is a monthly training on biblical worldview and apologetics. Teachers and proprietors are then taught how to integrate this knowledge into the school materials and curriculum.
School for Parents empowers parents to monitor and reinforce what their children learn in school. During the pandemic, parents had more quality time with their children, creating the need to learn about positive discipline, respectful parenting, instilling the Word of God, holistic development, etc.
Technology and Business Skills
Education technology training has been increasingly important, both because of the pandemic and because of the importance placed on including technology in education for employability.
EdTech Basic Training focuses on sharing education technology trends, teaching digital skills, and modeling how to integrate technology into schools. Cross-curricular trainings focus on topics between different subjects (International Academic Standards or National Government Regulations) that may change the methodology, objectives, or structure of the education ecosystem. E-reader training focuses on the promotion of teaching and learning strategies related to the improvement of reading comprehension. EdTech PMA Training focuses on planning educational technology investments by providing guidance in technology needs assessments, buying processes, planning maintenance, and receiving loans.
Business skills training provide proprietors with a greater understanding of their organization and how to best serve their community. These trainings have significantly contributed to the increase in financial health of the schools Edify partners with in Peru.
We are thankful for the ways that Edify’s holistic approach to equipping teaching in Peru have grown this year and look forward to how the Lord continues to work in the 2023 fiscal year!