NORHED II

About NORHED

The Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development (NORHED II) is programme on higher education and research.
NORHED II aims to strengthen the capacity of higher education institutions in Least Developed Countries (LDC) and Lower Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) to produce higher-quality graduates, higher-quality research, and more inclusive higher education.

Under NORHED II, ECEC serves as a local collaborating partner alongside NLA University College (Norway), Nepal Open University, the University of Agder (Norway), and Driestar University (the Netherlands). Together, these institutions are implementing project activities in Nepal aimed at establishing research-based basic teacher education programmes during the period 2021–2026.

The project aims to strengthen teacher education by developing an extended partnership between NOU, ECEC, and a selection of basic schools from all provinces. The Model/Miteri schools will be part of a training program to prepare the basic schools for providing practical training for students and be involved in classroom research. This evidence-based research will focus on local involvement to ensure applicability in Nepalese classrooms in both universities and basic schools.

The activities carried out by ECEC under NORHED II ;

A. PhD Fellowship
The doctoral research topics include:
• Improvement of Accountability of Basic School Teachers in Nepal: A Case Study of Appreciative Critical Participatory Action Research.
• Teachers’ perception, practice and implementation of IC in basic level education (grades 1-3) in the context of Nepal

B. Research Group
The ongoing research activities are organised under two main research groups:
1. Teacher Professional Development
2. Basic School Pedagogy

The research fellows are currently conducting studies with the following topics:
• Literacy development in basic school pedagogy- an intervention–based research study.
• Integrating Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) in Science Teaching: A Pathway to Teacher and Leadership Development in Rural Public Schools

 C. Model /Miteri School Development
To strengthen the education and research system, the project is developing model schools. Six schools in Chandragiri Municipality and six schools in Rural Konjyosum Rural Municipality are ongoing. These activities are in collaboration with the municipality of each area. The capacity building of the schools is ongoing in the following areas:
- Teacher Training program and continuous guidance/Support
- Literacy Development Program
- Leadership training
- Parenting program
- Resource development
- Exposure visit to the teachers and leaders
- Collaborative monitoring and evaluation visit to the model schools with the local government
- Collaboration training program with Nepal Open University

 D. Digital Lab Studio

Digital Lab/Studio has served in various ways: recording sessions, research interviews, and educational related talk. The Studio also served for running online teaching sessions. 

E. Conference/Seminar/Workshops

The Second International Conference under the NORHED II program, themed “Reimagining Teacher Education: A Critical Appropriation of Local Traditions and Global Trends,” was organized in November, 2025. The conference was a collaborative initiative jointly hosted by NoU and ECEC. As part of the program, a three-day workshop was conducted, focusing on the integration of Artificial Intelligence in research and the effective use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in classroom practices.

F. One Year Bachelor in Pedagogical Sciences

One-Year B.Ed. in Pedagogical Sciences is a ground-braking teacher education programme of the Nepal Open University (NOU in Nepal. This professional programme is expected to equip undergraduate students (prospective teachers) with essential 21st century professional skills. The students will be able to change their pedagogical practices and contribute on the transformation of school system in Nepal. NOU (Faculty of Social Sciences and education), ECEC Innovation in Education, teacher training institute in Lalitpur), NLA University Collage (Norway) and Driestar Christian University (The Netherlands) have jointly developed this programme and these institutions have been working together to implement One-Year and Four-Year B.Ed. Programme with the support of NORHED project.

One-Year B.Ed. programme includes online classes, school-centred training activities, and action. Both NOU's faculties and ECEC's mentors jointly provide theoretical as well as hands-on practical knowledge to prospective teachers. ECEC's tutors and mentors train them to prepare teaching plans, develop teaching-learning materials and implement them in the classroom. These prospective teachers are required to visit model schools casually, practice their theoretical knowledge in lab/ model schools once a week under the supervision of mentors and develop reports based on their teaching practices. The tri-patrial relationship of the university, teacher training organization and school expected to develop qualified, skillful and confident school teachers. The strength of this programme lies in the integration of theory and practice: Lesson learnt in online classes, seminars and workshops are practiced in the school classrooms regularly. This develops prospective teachers' confidence in implementing their innovative ideas in their professional activities.

G. Professional Learning Environment ( PLE )