Press House carried out five raising-awareness sessions in cooperation with a number of civil society institutions and NGOs working in the education and development sectors in Gaza Strip. This is part of the activities of "A Step towards Better Education" project in partnership with Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. It aims to highlight the problems and challenges facing primary education in Gaza Strip, raise community awareness and promote liberal education.
The sessions, entitled "Traditional Education VS. emancipatory Education, Which to Choose and Why?" targeting 100 teachers and parents. Under this heading, young graduated boys and girls who were involved in " Step" project, carried out these educational sessions to raise awareness of the target group on the concept and principles of emancipatory education and ways to apply these principles, whether as teachers or as parents in school, home and society.
All the sessions included a discussion between participants and intellectuals. In which, participants presented a description of the reality of current education, the used teaching methods and the impact of the obstacles related to the curriculum. In addition, to pointing out the inappropriate conditions of the educational environment, lack of motivation and the required capabilities of teachers as a result of economic and political conditions which affect their work, their stability and their job satisfaction.
These obstacles, which they considered as one of the most important challenges that hinder the role of teachers as well as parents in applying the educational methods of learning both inside and outside school, focus on discussion and discover the students' skills and talents that builds the mind as well as involve students in different areas of life while learning. Participants showed great interest in the subject and that we in our society actually need to apply teaching methods that promote the principles of liberal education.
Most of them called for more education and raising awareness about the concept, principles and methods of emancipatory education in order to reach the various components of society that share and influence the educational process. "My father has been teaching first grade for 20 years, and still takes with him education tools such as ropes, cards and pocket plates, to facilitate the access of experience and information to students," one participant said that trying to assert that the teacher has the most important role in applying interactive learning, sharing the information and promoting innovation.
The participants in all sessions expressed the importance of the achievement file, but they referred that it is not implemented properly and needs to be supervised by the teaching staff to apply it and achieve the desired impact on students.
It is worth mentioning that these meetings targeted the governorates of the Gaza Strip, in Jabalia, Gaza, Nuseirat, Khan Yunus and Rafah.
