Teacher-Librarian Trainings Benefit Both Teachers and Students

Recently, Koketso Mokwatlo (Koki), a Library Science masters candidate at the University of Fort Hare (UFH), successfully completed a second round of teacher-librarian trainings as part of our Libraries for South African Schools Program (LSAS).
Koki has served as the lead trainer since the project’s inception.

The teacher-librarian training provides the skills needed for teachers in underdeveloped rural schools to dedicate a section of their school to a modest library and teach students and fellow teachers how to effectively use the books. Participants learn about the overall management of a school library, collection development & maintenance, and preparation of library materials.

Trainee Nomandla Grissel Golela hails from a village near Alice named Krwakrwa. She teaches grades 4 – 7, but sometimes also teaches the lower levels due to the shortage of teachers at her school. Nomandla’s library skills have grown immensely from participating in the trainings. “I’ve learned that books are very important and there are many ways to look at [them]. … Also, books need to be kept properly and be arranged as such,” she said.

Utilizing her newly acquired librarian skills, Nomandla teaches her students the correct process for receiving books; for example, stamping them and identifying their proper category (fiction or non-fiction). Her students also have learned how to effectively use dictionaries and enjoy reading stories from the collection.

In addition to introducing students to libraries, Nomandla shares her knowledge with other teachers in the school. Undoubtedly, both Nomandla and her classroom have benefited from learning how to create and access a functioning library.

Nomandla’s participation  in the training, while simultaneously serving as a full-time teacher, is both commendable and inspiring.

Despite the challenges, project stakeholders are excited about the progress of the trainings, as teachers strengthen their skill set and the next generation more easily accesses books and information, ensuring a more successful future.

Koki encourages teachers to consider the training as not only an opportunity to better equip students with the necessary skills to succeed, but also as an opportunity to enhance their own skills. “I encourage the teachers not to see that it ends with the training,” Koki explained. “Beyond the training, teachers experience growth and new skills which create a competitive advantage in their own school,” she continued. When the most recent round of trainings concluded, teachers received a certificate to recognize their participation.

Teachers also have expressed interest in more formal professional development opportunities associated with the training. Koki remarked, “Participating teachers are very keen to continue with the training and some have indicated interest in undertaking an accredited training programme. In order to meet this need, the Dept. of Library & Information Science (Fort Hare) is in the process of developing a curriculum for an Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) in School Librarianship.”

SA Partners will continue to evaluate the trainings based on feedback from participants, and the next round of training for Melani teacher/librarians is being planned. In the future, SA Partners plans to expand the trainings to other rural schools in the Eastern Cape in order to increase its impact and build support for the important role of libraries in both students’ and teachers’ lives.