Creatnet Education

What do you wish school was like as a child? We imagine a place where learning is fun & exciting, assessments aren’t stressful and teachers are friendly guides helping children explore themselves. The Wallace Foundation’s research findings (2011) indicate that teachers have the most direct and obvious impact on student learning.

In India, what’s holding teachers back?

Understanding the context: Who are the teachers and children we serve?

India's private school system includes 9 crore children (36.3%) and 37.2 lakh teachers (38.03%) (UDISE+ 2023-24). The majority of the sector is “low-fee” or “affordable”(MoSPI 2019). In 2021-22, less than 25% of all teachers received training on the job, a significant gap in their professional development.

If not formal education, what can help teachers grow to lead today’s children into the future?

According to DuFour and Eaker (2005) the most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is developing the ability of school staff to function as professional learning communities (PLCs). The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) too emphasizes the importance of self-aware teachers who are part of a professional learning community in transforming the education system, prescribing 50 hours annually for teachers’ professional development.

What is a professional learning community (PLC) for teachers?

Unlike a one-size-fits-all approach, PLCs enable educators to analyse local context, student needs, and learning practices for decision-making. They are free, non-hierarchical spaces that teachers fully own and lead. 

How do we organise learning communities for teachers?

Through the Teacher Leaders Program (TLP), we’ve partnered with educators and NGOs since 2019 to proliferate volunteer-led learning communities for teachers across India! The year-long program enables teachers to:

• Grow as leaders, facilitators of learning and community builders
• Build awareness of the self, community and class, and create a safe space for learning together 
• Strengthen class pedagogy to design child-centric learning spaces that are student-led

What is the impact on teachers and students?

Impact on teachers*

• Increased self-awareness and social-emotional intelligence, allowing thinking from the student’s perspective.
• Teachers become facilitators and leaders who foster collaborative and reflective spaces where students are equal.
• Shift from lecture-based to interactive, student-centred approaches using play, activities, and reflection.
• A supportive community of teachers co-create, share feedback, and grow together.

Impact on children*

• Students become fearless and have a voice in class—sharing feedback, asking questions, and applying lessons to life.
• Lessons are shaped by student perspectives, fostering trust, mutual respect and stronger teacher-student bonds.
• Classrooms transformed with activities, personalised goals, and space for reflection and silence practices.
• Students learn from their peers, sharing and receiving feedback, leading to peer and self-driven learning.

*Based on reflections of our Teacher Leaders Program alumni, cohorts 2022-23, 2024-25.

You can support teachers in transforming classrooms for 20,000 students in 2025—Rs. 5000 enables 1 teacher’s learning for a year!

Your contribution will:

• Enable 50 teachers to grow as facilitators and nurture 500 teachers in their communities, directly impacting 20,000 children in low-fee private schools across India.
• Strengthen engagement and leadership opportunities for Teacher Leaders Program’s (TLP) alumni facilitators.
• Raise awareness about teachers’ personal and professional development and its impact on children.