First Step Towards Village Schools

You can click here to watch the program videos.

Why?

Although prospective teachers receive a strong academic education in faculties of education, they do not always have the opportunity to experience the unique conditions of teaching in villages and rural neighborhoods.

A teacher assigned to a village may encounter many situations for the first time in their career, ranging from combined classes and limited material resources to school-family-village relations and the social and cultural dynamics of the region.

With the "First Step to the Village" Program, we enable prospective teachers to get to know the village and village schools while they are still in university, to experience their professional skills in the field, and to start teaching in villages better prepared.

We also support prospective teachers in developing their socio-emotional skills and well-being, including creative thinking, communication, self-awareness, problem-solving, and teamwork.

For whom?

The program is offered in the education faculties of universities. Teacher candidates studying in the primary school teaching department We are carrying it out for this purpose.

Academics we collaborate with at universities oversee the teacher candidates' participation in the program and its implementation within the university setting. The program's impact also reaches teachers and children in the village schools where we conduct field applications.

How?

We are implementing a hands-on learning model that connects academia with the field.

Throughout the program, prospective teachers gain knowledge about rural education through educational content and online courses, while also having the opportunity to apply what they have learned through field visits to village schools.

They design and implement workshops with children in village schools; they meet with village teachers and experience teaching in rural areas firsthand.

What are we aiming for?

Teacher candidates who complete the program:

to recognize the educational conditions of villages and rural neighborhoods,
to allow them to experience teaching before starting their profession,
to be able to apply different teaching methods,
They should develop an educational approach that takes into account the needs and opportunities of rural areas.
to establish solidarity relationships with their colleagues and the KODA network

we provide.

In 2024-2025

23 universities, 27 different applications, Under the coordination of 33 academics We carried it out and With 676 prospective teachers We worked directly.