Teach for Lebanon : a case study of the fellowship curriculum in alignment with national and international educational needs

Abstract

The United Nations has identified Quality Education as one of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goal is to create opportunities for equitable, inclusive education for all. In Lebanon, the Non-Governmental Organization, Teach for Lebanon, is one of the key players working towards providing quality education to children residing in the country. This case study focuses on the work of four first-year teaching fellows working in underdeveloped rural areas of North Lebanon. A mixed-methods approach was used in this study, relying on several sources of information to complete an analysis of the role of the Teach for Lebanon Fellowship Program’s impact in building a safe learning environment while supporting the needs of underdeveloped public schools while abiding by national curricula requirements. This brings the environment closer to the dialogic classroom as described by Freire, all the while aligning with UN SDGs. The study relied on TFL Fellowship training curriculum, class observations, review of reflective analyses, and student surveys as key sources of information. The case study shows that students are more encouraged to express their thoughts once they are trained to relate their learning to real-life problem-solving situations. This study can actually inform national educational development agendas for underdeveloped regions of Lebanon and provide a model to illustrate the role of NGOs in educational advancement in this context.