Brain Education in Developing countries

Among the many issues to be tackled in the developing world, children and young people’s education and health is crucial. The best hope for sustainable growth and stability in developing countries is to educate strong future leaders, individuals who are able to overcome socio-economic barriers and historic trauma to pioneer change.

The challenge in education is not only about infrastructure and building schools or about improving the technical capacities of teachers. It is not so much about the number of children that attend schools or about the skills they acquire. It is about the values and culture of teaching and learning and ensuring a better quality of the education systems.

Large sums of funds have been dedicated to education in all countries around the world. There have been great successes and the process of establishing sound education systems has been in track in many countries for decades. However, the results remain limited in terms of impact on growth and stability.

We believe that part of the problem lies in the type of education that is offered. Often we focus both the content and the teaching method on linear patterns of learning that develop technical skills rather than the children’s own capacity to manage themselves and the world that surrounds them. Children need to develop their physical, emotional and cognitive abilities and awaken their creative potential. Rather than about what they learn to do, education should be about the way they learn to do things.

IBREA does not aim to bring about a whole new system of education in these countries. What we offer is a type of education that can be integrated with and enhance the systems that are already in place. Through awakening a person’s senses and strengthening their focus, concentration, motivation, stress management and self-esteem, Brain Education provides the foundation for learning and teaching to have a stronger impact in their integral growth as a human being.

In cooperation with the UN Permanent Representations, we are bringing Brain Education to Latin America and Africa. Children who have suffered extreme violence and conflict in countries such as El Salvador and Liberia are the program’s principal beneficiary groups.