Enriching education: an exploration of the benefits and outcomes of a VSO placement for teachers and schools in the UK

Schulz, John B. and Kelly, Anthony (2008) Enriching education: an exploration of the benefits and outcomes of a VSO placement for teachers and schools in the UK London, UK. Voluntary Service Overseas 44pp.

Abstract

VSO is an international development charity that uses the skills of experienced professionals to work along side local colleagues. VSO sends trained and qualified education practitioners to share their experience in a diverse range of professionally challenging roles - working as in-service teacher trainers or as District Education Advisors - in some of the world’s poorest countries.
This research examined how time spent on VSO aids the professional development and practice of teachers upon their return to the UK, and explored how the experience was perceived to impact on career prospects. The research design comprised two stages: firstly, 21 returned teachers participated in face-to-face in-depth interviews; and, secondly, an on-line survey of 87 returned teachers was conducted. The majority of participants in the study were female and trained for primary teaching, a quarter was ‘secondary-trained’, and the remainder were from specialist teaching roles or had Further / Higher education backgrounds. The quantity and quality of the information provided in the interviews and questionnaires paid testament to the high regard that the volunteers had for their placements and VSO.

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Contributors

Author: Anthony Kelly

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