The Project of PAMBE Ghana
 

Beginning with the Mamprusi district, one of the poorest areas in Ghana, we will develop a quality basic education model accessible and responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people. This model will integrate three key components: mother-tongue and English language proficiency, relevance, and a learner-centered approach.  Under the auspices of PAMBE Ghana, we will develop an education model that links culture, language, literacy, and academic performance.

Children learn more effectively when learning and teaching begin with and build on what they already know. Children start school with a wealth of knowledge about their environment and their mother tongue. They automatically express their thoughts in that language. Perhaps, more importantly, a person's identity and sense of self is intimately tied to their language and culture.

Studies show that children who start school in their L1 learn more quickly, demonstrate more self-confidence and continue to perform better than those who start in an unfamiliar language (L2). In fact, students who build on their L1 learn a second language faster than those who start school in an unfamiliar language, as they are able to apply their language learning skills from their first language to learning a new language.

While embracing the strong educational and developmental arguments for mother tongue instruction, it is also important to enable students to become proficient in a global language of communication, English in the case of Ghana.

Furthermore, children learn more effectively when they are actively involved in the learning process: in a nurturing environment that encourages exploration and learning through and from experience. Above all, making quality education widely accessible to children of poor families has the best chance of triggering broader social change.

It is against this background that PAMBE Ghana will launch its first bilingual model school in a rural community of 3-4 villages in the Mamprusi district of Northern Ghana, an area in dire need of such an initiative. The 1st pre-K class will begin in September 2008 with at least 20 children, adding a class each year until grade 6.

Being in its infancy, PAMBE Ghana is like a new house. The frame is in place but the walls, roof, and interior wait to be done in order to provide a nurturing educational home for the children of this poor and underserved rural area of Ghana.

PAMBE Ghana’s approach will give students opportunities to become literate in their mother tongue (L1) as well as in English (the official language in Ghana) and to enjoy their school experience. Using L1 will help to build trust, initiative, creativity, active student involvement and participatory teaching methods. It will create synergy among families, community, and school, broaden the curricula to include local knowledge, and deepen students’ appreciation for their linguistic and cultural heritage.

Innovative activities will include identifying and supporting expertise to develop and produce  education materials; developing a print-rich classroom with story and text books in the mother tongue and English; offering children opportunities to create their own materials, songs and stories in L1 and L2 they can share with their families; providing a secure and nurturing environment; providing child-centered teacher training and support; and actively engaging parents and community to make education more relevant to students' life experiences and stimulate their passion for reading, writing and creativity.

PAMBE Ghana will focus on these specific activities:

·    Training and supporting two teachers, fluent in both mother tongue and English, each year in appropriate pedagogy and emergent literacy approaches that enable students to develop passion for reading and writing

·    Developing a classroom rich in bilingual storybooks and other quality reading materials, and offering students the opportunity of making their own materials in mother-tongue and English to share with family at home

·    Creating a child-centered environment where the teacher’s role is facilitator and role model

·    Providing mentoring and support to teachers in this innovative child-centered setting

Qualifications of Founder

Alice Azumi Iddi-Gubbels will be the leader of this initiative. She brings a unique combination of personal and professional experiences, commitment and passion to PAMBE Ghana. She has lived, and continues to experience through her extended family, the impact of the current education system on poor families and communities.

Alice has 20 years grass-roots level development experience in Ghana and the West Africa region. She is a powerful role model for students, particularly girls, and parents. Proficient in both the mother tongue and English, she has two master's degrees: in social development planning and management, and in education, with specialization in early childhood education. She is also certified in Montessori education, recently teaching in a Montessori primary school. By living in and learning about other cultures, she is inspired to contribute back to her native Ghana.  PAMBE-Ghana is a vehicle through which she plans to accomplish her long standing dream.