200+ Teachers Equipped to Shape the Future of Learning in Belize

Participating teachers from across Belize strengthened their competences in inclusive, student-centred teaching practices to improve learning outcomes for all learners during the two weeks of training. The training was conducted by Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK) and Jamk University of Applied Sciences (JAMK) in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (MoECST) of Belize.

Building Skills for Better Learning

Over two highly interactive weeks, teachers explored innovative approaches to teaching and learning that place students at the centre of educational experience. Through practical workshops, collaborative planning, discussions, and hands-on activities, participants developed new tools and strategies to support every learner’s success.

During the first week, teachers focused on strengthening collaboration between schools and families, promoting inclusive education, enhancing multiliteracy skills, and bringing mathematics and STEAM education to life through engaging, real-world learning experiences. Participants created School-Home Partnership Action Plans and explored practical strategies for supporting diverse learners in their classrooms.

From Inclusion to Student Engagement

The second week shifted attention to creating supportive and inclusive learning environments through Individual Learning Plans (ILPs), belonging and inclusion, extracurricular activity development, and innovative teaching approaches. Teachers worked together to refine ILP tools and design extracurricular initiatives that promote academic achievement particularly in foundational skills, creativity, leadership, social-emotional growth, and student engagement.

One of the programme’s greatest strengths was the opportunity for educators from across Belize to learn from one another. Schools exchanged ideas, shared challenges, and collaborated on practical solutions, creating a vibrant professional learning community committed to improving outcomes for all students.

Lasting Impact Beyond the Classroom

By the end of the training, participants had gained practical tools, innovative teaching strategies, and concrete action plans ready for implementation in their schools. The programme not only strengthened teachers’ competencies in inclusive education, literacy, mathematics, STEAM, differentiation, and collaborative planning, but also reinforced a shared commitment to ensuring that every learner has the opportunity to succeed.

These two weeks of being a participant in the Accelerated Learning Workshop Part Two has been an excellent experience. I met new people and collaborated with other teachers. The training has helped me to develop my own practices through various activities, both familiar and new to me.

A teacher from the Belize district

The teacher from the Belize district added, “One takeaway from this training is that I am now knowledgeable that as a teacher, I am an educational developer of my institution. I can help to make changes to our school system so that our students can excel.

This training contributes to the development of education in Belize as it encourages and supports inclusive and differentiative learning within the school and the classroom. I believe that all principals and teachers should be encouraged to take this training.”

As an educator, the contribution towards myself and the school, it’s really great because I am not only able to use my own ideas, but I can grab ideas from, of course, the Belizean coaches, from the Finnish instructors, and of course, from my colleagues from other schools, and that is the beautiful about the clustering that happened throughout this two weeks of accelerated learning strategies. Like the saying says, two heads are better than one.

A principal from the Cayo district

The principal from the Cayo district continued: “One of the things that I would say that I am taking away from here will be the individualized education plan. It is essential for us teachers to understand the needs of our students, and I guess that brings us closer to our students to better serve them. Although maybe we cannot make a very huge change, maybe you cannot climb up many ladders at the same time, but one ladder that you climb in the needs of the students makes you feel good.

And again, it is for the betterment of the needs in the educational system for our students. So I applaud again all those in the Ministry of Education. I applaud the government of Belize as well. I applaud all of those engaged, our coaches, partners from Finland as well for assisting and together we can join hands on making the educational system a better one for all in Belize.”

The Journey Continues

Learning does not stop here. From September through December, participating teachers will continue their professional development through a series of online learning modules while implementing newly developed ILPs and extracurricular activities in their schools. A second training cycle involving a new cohort of teachers is scheduled to begin in March 2027, extending the programme’s impact across Belize.

The Accelerated Learning Professional Development Programme was aimed at the Belizean teachers of the upper division of the primary education in Belize. The training was a part of the project “Design and Implementation of Teacher Professional Development and Students’ Extracurricular Programs for Accelerated Learning in Foundational Skills,” funded by the Inter-American Development Bank.