Hira Man Tamang

This article helps to construct a 4P Accountability Model by exploring the literature to clarify the concept of accountability and teacher accountability in Nepal and similar contexts. The 4P is an acronym for philosophical, personal, professional, and public accountability, which starts from the inside out. The people’s philosophy of life or purpose comes first and foremost, helping the people to be personally and professionally accountable. Thus, people are more likely to be accountable to the public or to others. Traditionally, accountability was regarded as the equivalent of punishment and consequences. Over time, the concept of accountability has changed. Different types of accountability have been reviewed in this paper, including administrative, intelligent, compassionate, holistic, supportive, crucial, uncommon, democratic, 360-degree, personal and transcendent accountability. Accountability is all about making commitments, making choices, and taking ownership of results, actions, and thinking ( rat ). Accountability is taken as a liability in a legal context, answerability in an organizational context, responsibility in a professional setting, and responsiveness in a political environment. Accountability can be synthesized as a “virtue” and a “mechanism”, and “accountable to” and “accountable for,” which denote different dimensions. The 4P Model can be utilized as a conceptual framework for any empirical research and may help improve people’s personal and professional lives in Nepal and in similar contexts. Besides teacher education, the framework could be utilized in different organizations and disciplines, including management, health, policy, army, politics, business and economics, religion and spirituality, relationships, and media.

Background: This study examines how school leaders in Indigenous-majority contexts mobilise community cultural knowledge to shape school policy and practice. It draws on culturally responsive leadership and transformative leadership theories and focuses on public schools in southern Lalitpur, Nepal, a region predominantly inhabited by the Tamang community. Although Nepal's education policies promote inclusion and the integration of local knowledge, little is known about how these commitments are enacted at the school level. Methods: A qualitative exploratory design was employed across four public schools. Data were generated from 14 participants through 6 in-depth interviews with headteachers, one assistant headteacher, and School Management Committee (SMC) chairpersons; 2 sharing circles involving eight teachers; school observations; and document analysis, including school activity records, academic calendars, codes of conduct, and local curriculum materials. Findings: The findings reveal that school leaders conceptualise local knowledge as a living system encompassing language, rituals, ecological knowledge, moral values, and community institutions. Leaders with cultural and linguistic proximity to the community build stronger trust, mediate conflicts more effectively, and involve elders and local knowledge holders in the decision-making processes. Local knowledge was integrated into the curriculum, school activities, and calendars through language instruction, cultural performances, ecological learning, and community participation. School leaders also play a critical advocacy role by translating cultural values into formal policies and negotiating with local governments. However, these efforts were constrained by examination-oriented schooling, limited resources, insufficient teacher training, language politics, inability to map local knowledge, and weak institutional support. Conclusion: The study highlights culturally responsive leadership as relational, context-sensitive, and advocacy-driven, demonstrating how school leaders function as cultural agents and policy translators. Novelty: This study provides one of the first empirical accounts of how the Indigenous Tamang community's cultural knowledge is mobilised through school leadership practices in Nepal, helping to bridge the gap between national policy rhetoric and local enactment.

Background: Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED) is the foundation of human learning and development. ECED is compulsory for all children in Nepal; however, it is less prioritised in terms of physical infrastructure and teacher management. Thus, this study aimed to explore the pedagogical practices of ECED community schools intervened by the ECEC Innovation in Education. Methods: A qualitative case study design was employed for this study. Classroom observations and in-depth interviews were conducted with teachers, headteachers, and education officers. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with parents and the chairpersons of the school management committees (SMCs). The interviews and FGDs with the participants were recorded, transcribed and translated to create codes and prepare themes for data analysis. Results: The study revealed that the welcoming behaviour of teachers in the classroom and school with children enhanced children's learning. Children enjoyed the school environment, particularly the teachers' activities and the effective use of learning resources. Teachers used locally available learning resources. The intervention schools have been transformed; however, most of the ECED classes in the community school lacked trained teachers, adequate infrastructure, and necessary learning resources. Conclusion: The school fosters a welcoming, loving, caring, respectful, homely environment that enhance positive behaviour among children. The initiatives and collaborative efforts of teachers, school leaders, and teacher educators contribute to transforming the pedagogical practices of ECED of community-based schools in Nepal. Novelty: This study explored teachers’ welcoming behavior, play-based and activity-based learning, small-group teaching, and the use of local materials as chief ECED practices supporting children’s holistic development.