This reflective write-up explores my collaborative engagement and development of professional learning through my involvement in the British Council initiatives in supporting the Government of Nepal’s efforts to enhance the quality of education. I reflect on my role in the project, focusing on both its broader impact and my professional growth as a teacher educator.
It was around 2005 when I first became aware of the British Council Office in Kathmandu. At the time, visiting the British Council and using its library resources would help me improve my English. I soon had the opportunity to attend English teaching training and workshop sessions, and gradually began to develop deeper insights into the broader benefits of engaging with the resources and professional development opportunities offered by the British Council.
In early 2022, I received a doctoral degree from abroad and returned to Nepal. I decided to engage in research and development endeavours to make an impact on education policies and practices in Nepal. Motivated by a sense of homecoming and a commitment to homebuilding—contrary to the standard narrative of brain drain—I began exploring opportunities to work with development partners and government agencies. I hoped to put my knowledge and research skills, developed through my experience as a teacher educator and researcher, to meaningful use in Nepal's education sector.
In 2022, I had the opportunity to work on a joint research project related to language education. The research project was a partnership project between UNICEF, British Council, UNESCO, Language Commission and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Nepal. This helped me gain exposure to the culture of development research and develop the capability to work in collaboration with international experts. This experience deepened my understanding of development research, enhanced my ability to collaborate internationally, and meet strict deadlines. It was a valuable learning experience and an excellent professional growth opportunity. Through this, I realised that research engagement fosters both personal development and broader community impact.
Personal professional development
Working as a consultant on collaborative projects is both challenging and rewarding. Alongside my regular work at Tribhuvan University, I was engaged in several national-level research projects initiated by the British Council in Nepal, which I completed. One such research work was a study on the practices and perspectives of teacher educators in Nepal, in which I worked as a national expert engaging in field work across several provinces, and I also had the opportunity to closely interact with the Ministry task force members, educators and different stakeholders of in-service teacher education in Nepal. This helped me understand the internal processes, ideologies of educators and education administrators, and gave me the confidence to probe critical issues and frame them academically into a research agenda.
I learnt not only about what to do when, but also to do things with purpose. I knew the purpose of the work and its impact on the broader community. This research became an impactful one as, through a wider dissemination of the research findings (e.g., in education symposium attended by the government officials, teachers, teacher educators, and researchers), policy initiatives were taken at the government level by modifying the conventional two phased pattern of in-service teacher training to a new single-phase month-long intensive teacher training. This work, in one instance, supported the government’s policy on continuous professional development for teachers, as outlined in the School Education Sector Plan.. Similarly, based on the findings of the study, the new Teacher Trainer Competency Framework–2081 was developed, with my involvement as a national expert. The framework is now in the process of being implemented to enhance the quality and effectiveness of teacher trainers in Nepal..
The other work I was involved in was as an expert, along with other experts, in the development of a multilingual education training package that includes the development of a teacher training curriculum, a training manual and teacher resource materials. Based on these materials, teachers have been trained to train other teachers to adopt multilingual pedagogies in schools. My decade-long work and study experience in language education and language policy in Nepal was further strengthened while accomplishing this assignment as an expert.
Contribution to advancing quality education discourse in Nepal
As a teacher educator and researcher, my engagement with the British Council and my work in evidence building, particularly in multilingual education and teacher education, have contributed to Nepal's national mission to enhance the quality of education. This work has helped generate policy inputs that contribute to long-term reforms in educational practices. The research findings from the multilingual education project provide substantial evidence to support the government in promoting policies for more inclusive and equitable learning conditions in the schools. Additionally, research on in-service teacher education produced highly contextualised findings that informed policy revisions at federal, provincial, and local government levels
Lessons for future projects
My involvement in the government and British Council collaborative initiatives and insights obtained from them helped me develop an in-depth understanding of the intersectionality between social, economic, cultural and educational issues. I was able to identify socially embedded factors contributing to academic problems and opportunities, which also developed my critical insights. Such insights helped me find additional associated issues that deserve research attention. For example, my involvement in in-service teacher education research led me to think about what happens in pre-service teacher education, because both these areas collectively contribute to the quality of education in schools. I am now eager to explore how teacher professional development programs can be made more practical, relevant, and effective in improving the pedagogical practices of public-school teachers.
Additionally, I am interested in understanding how government initiatives and education policies can be better supported and complemented through university programs by establishing a coordinated mechanism that drives us closer to achieving quality education goals. Although I am aware that professional learning is a continuous process, the engagement and interaction with the British Council provided me with more avenues to develop my critical insights in educational policy and practice research in Nepal. Collaborating with international partners and consultants inspired me to study global best practices and thoughtfully adapt them to the unique context of Nepal.
