Reason for Interest in Call to Care
The Ministry of Education has developed a training program for teachers to “Educate for Gross National Happiness,” and a first phase of implementation has been completed in 2014. The Call to Care Program serves as a primary tool for deepening this educational effort to bring more mindfulness and compassion in the educational system of the country.
Project Participants
- (Lead) Gross National Happiness Center
- Royal University of Bhutan, (which is responsible for Bhutan’s 2 main teacher training colleges-Paro and Sherabse)
- Early Learning Centre (ELC)-a private K-6 elementary school based in Thimphu, which has been leading innovation in integrating social-emotional learning, mindfulness and compassion training, through a range of creative educational approaches
- Punakha Higher Secondary School
- Royal Thimphu College
Project Duration
- January 2014 through December 2015
Where Located
- Thimphu, Bhutan
Pilot Testing Scale
# Schools: 2 (ELC and Punakha)
# Teachers: 30 (ELC); 80 (Punakha)
# Students: 300 (ELC); 800 (Punakha)
Objectives Following Successful Pilot Testing
- Liaise with the Ministry of Education to cultivate an environment for scaling successful programs nationwide
- Develop a teachers training program based on the Call to Care curriculum and together with the ministry of education implement it as a follow up of the first GNH in education training module.
- By 2019, all teachers of Bhutan will have undergone the program.