The Education Philosophy Of Paro College Of Education

Educational philosophy is a very ambiguous concept which remains in constant flux, differing from places to places, influenced by a number of social politics and individual characteristics. It is a philosophical analysis into understanding the nature of the education in an environment while analyzing the different sets of issues, challenges and opportunities of the philosophy. Bhutan, a nation situated between two global nations of India and China, has a strong emphasis and respect towards philosophy. Our philosophy is rooted in our belief which is heavily influenced by our religion: Buddhism. Buddhist philosophy remains as the pinnacle of every system in Bhutan, be it in religion, politics, education and even our very economic development. However, I would like to focus on the influence of Buddhist philosophy in the educational practices of Paro College of Education.

Paro College of Education, a premier teaching college in Bhutan, has a strong derivative towards Buddhist philosophy in teaching and learning. As a student, I have witnessed in a number of occasions how the Buddhist principles of compassion, empathy, sympathy, connection and respect has prevailed in not only the classroom setting but also in the general environment of the college. The college also advocates the prevalence of these characteristics by practicing a number of activities designed to allow the students to emit or exhibit these characters through activities such as mind fullness, emotion reflection, sharing of emotions in classroom and developing an environment where the students are free to express their sentiments and issues. More recently, under the initiative undertaken by our lecturers, a new program under the study of cultivating the four immeasurable in the student teachers, many lecturers have initiated the practice of inculcating the four immeasurable (tshey mey zhi)  within the student teachers through the practice of emotional reflection, guided meditations, emotional empathy and self-affirmations. The practice and the study which is heavily inspired by the traditional Buddhist philosophy and undertaken with an aim to develop and build competent teachers who are not only competent in terms of content and pedagogical approaches but also emotionally sound and intelligent. These varied practices clearly illustrates how Buddhist philosophy plays a crucial role in the affirming the teaching and learning process within the college.

Apart from Buddhist philosophy, the educational philosophy of Paro College of Education provides a strong emphasis on the preparation of competent, passionate and committed teachers whose values are rooted in Bhutanese values and the principles of Gross National Happiness. The college provides a strong emphasis on building competent teachers through the module, the content knowledge and the pedagogical input that they provide the students with. The college also regularly reviews and revises the curriculum by the end of every semester where the key concepts and pedagogical approaches are analyzed and updated with every review and then aligned in the curriculum in order to ensure that the student teachers are well equipped with competent knowledge and practices of the 21^st century curriculum. ICT modules with introduction to AI tools, the use and ethics, understanding digital citizenship, new pedagogical approaches in the 21^st century, researching and designing teaching strategies are some of the examples of how competencies are instituted in the Paro College of Education.

Paro College of Education has a huge duty to undertake in the development of our nation. As our majesty has emphasized, the future of the nation, whether it soars in the sky or sinks in the depths, depends upon the youth of our country and it is the central role of the teachers to ensure that the youths are educated and well equipped in terms of knowledge and values. As an institute and a college, Paro College of Education has indeed taken the necessary steps in envisioning our majesty’s dream and hopes.  The blend of Buddhist philosophy and international competency will without a doubt develop a number of competent teachers for the future of our country and with these practices, Paro College stands as a model for holistic and values-based education in Bhutan.