Open Society Education Update

MULTI-CULTURAL EDUCATION FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

The Soros Foundation Hungary, in partnership with the Maskepp Foundation has established multi-cultural and tolerance education programs for secondary school students in Hungary. The program aims to 1) give concrete knowledge about the Hungarian national and ethnic minorities, stressing the situation of the Rroma community, anti-Semitism, racism, disabled people, the drug problem, AIDS, poverty and the homeless and 2) expand the way of thinking through the development of the empathetic, social and communication abilities of young people. The program developed a handbook for teachers and a workbook for students which has been accepted as an official text by the Ministry of Culture and Education. The workbook covers the above topics and contains activities for students in diversity and human rights. In addition, video resources and a textbook on drama pedagogy (situational games and role plays) have been developed to encourage sensitivity to these problems. For more information on this program, contact the Soros Hungary Foundation at (361) 315 0303 or the Maskepp Foundation Multicultural Education Program at (361) 122 8925.

TAPPING INTO THE 'GRASS ROOTS' TO HELP HAITI'S SCHOOLS

The Soros Foundation in Haiti, established in May, 1995 is beginning to develop its education strategy to address Haiti's unique situation. While the country faces 80% illiteracy and severe lack of resources for public education, the level of self-organization in communities is very high. Therefore, the Foundation is developing community-based school programs to improve the learning environment for children and to tap the potential of Haiti's many local, community-based or 'grass-roots' organizations. Where malnutrition is a problem in poor rural communities (sometimes children go days without eating), the Foundation encourages local women's groups to prepare meals, or local fishermen's associations to provide fish so schools can serve at least one full meal per day. The Foundation provides funding to the schools to purchase the products and services of the local community, thus promoting the school and stimulating the local economy. To add an educational dimension to these programs, the Foundation encourages the local fishermen, craftspeople, and others to come to the school to share information about their trade with the children and teachers. For example, local farmers would be asked to talk about the scientific knowledge that surrounds farming (biology, horticulture), as well as the practical elements of their trade. For more information about Haiti's programs, contact Executive Director Michele Pierre-Louis or Program Coordinator Lorraine Mangones at (509) 22 0131 in Haiti or Kim Brice at OSI NY.

ECONOMICS AND CIVIL SOCIETY: LEARNING THROUGH JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT

"It is important for students to learn economics for their participation in civil society. They will know how to behave in a bank, or even how to vote because they will have the economic knowledge to compare the programs of political candidates. If students do not learn about economics, they may be against the reforms. This is why the Junior Achievement program is so important"

Zbigniew Modrzewski, Stefan Batory Foundation, Poland.

Junior Achievement, providing economic and small enterprise education to students, has been implemented by several Soros Foundations in the region. JA is an international program, based on an American model, that teaches economic principles through experiential learning. Foundations have adapted and improved aspects of the JA model to suit their country circumstances.

BELARUS: The Belarusian Soros Foundation has established Junior Achievement programs at all levels. The program has trained 75 teachers affecting over 3800 students. The main aim of the program in 1996 will be to improve the methods of economic education by raising the skill level of the teachers.

The Belarus Junior Achievement Program has four focus areas for 1996:

1) The Elementary School Program: Methodological materials have been translated for the K-6 program, which consists of 7 levels: "We ourselves," "Our families," "Our neighbors," "Our city," "Our region," "Our country," and "Our planet." Work has just begun in the base group of the N 517 kindergarten in Minsk with the purpose of adapting the materials to local conditions. A 3-day training seminar for teachers will be conducted to introduce this program, with participation from specialists from Junior Achievement Inc.

2) "Macroland" Course on Macroeconomics: "Macroland" is a Macroeconomics curriculum for secondary school students to learn the basis of the market economy and to understand the mechanism of governmental regulation and decision making. The establishment of the course will create the basis to change the system of economic education in Belarus from one year to two years. The Belarus foundation purchased the "Macroland" computer game disc and translated the course materials into Russian.

3) The Development of the Course for Applied Economics: The textbook, Applied Economics (edition 1993, JA Inc.) was translated into Russian. Other teaching materials related to the course still need to be translated. Teaching of the course in English has begun in one class of 19 pupils.

4) The Children's School of Business: This school was created in Minsk in the Belarus State Economic University for the pupils of the rural areas and villages of the Minsk region. The courses offered at the CSB are Business Activity, Market Economy, Accounting and Audit, Economic and Labor Law, Banking and Circulation of Stocks, Starting a Business, and Business Communication. The education department of the Minsk region donated the space for the school which is over 2,000 square meters, and will handle the maintenance of the building and the salaries of the teachers.

POLAND: In Poland, the Stefan Batory Foundation began the Junior Achievement program in 1992. The program, Applied Economics, focuses on high school students in their third year. The course is taught during the regular school day for two hours per week. Teachers interested in becoming involved in the program attend a five-day training course over the summer, with periodic follow-up sessions during the school year. The Ministry of Education cooperates by providing the teachers' time for instruction. In cases where the Applied Economics class happens after school, the school director must find funds to remunerate teachers. 140 secondary schools, both general education and technical/vocational schools participate in the program.

The Foundation has adapted the American Junior Achievement textbooks to the Polish educational system and economy. A task force of Polish economists in cooperation with business people, teachers and students revised the text, photos, graphs and drawings. 7,000 books were published in 1992, and now the Foundation is preparing to launch a second edition of the text to be prepared in 1996 and printed in early 1997. The curriculum of Applied Economics covers macro and micro economics through the following topics: business finance, production, marketing, the role of the government, the role of labor, how to run a business, and global economy. The success of the Junior Achievement program has positively influenced the development of the national economics curriculum by exhibiting modern models, materials, and successful experiences in schools.

In May 1995, the Foundation sponsored the First Fair of Students' Companies Products. This has encouraged support of the business community, the press, local governments, scientists, and others. The Foundation also participates in "Global Learning Business Enterprise" where Polish students cooperate with students from the USA in import/export activities. Profits from all JA student companies must go to the schools, and taxes are paid to the Parents Committees. To cover the costs of the program, the Batory Foundation has done significant fundraising with other donors. Westinghouse, General Electric, and the Polish National Alliance have all contributed funds to the project, as well as many local businesses.

BOSNIA, KYRGYZSTAN, HAITI AND SLOVENIA VISIT ALBANIA

Executive directors and education program managers from Soros Foundations in Bosnia, Kyrgyzstan, Haiti and Slovenia visited the Albania Education Development Project (AEDP) from January 29 - February 4. The visit provided an opportunity for these foundations to learn about the AEDP and for all five countries to share experiences and learn from each other. The delegation visited programs of the AEDP's three 'C's -- Curriculum, Community, and Construction. The Project aims to be a 'facilitator' of change in Albanian schools through its education, community development, and facilities repair and reconstruction programs. "The Project is in its beginning stages, and it's not perfect, but in many ways we are a living laboratory," said AEDP's Community Development Director, Katie Moynihan.

In a day long visit to a rural 'Cluster' of experimental schools receiving intensive support from AEDP, the delegation had an opportunity to see a village school adaptation of a Step by Step early childhood classroom, parents in action at a school maintenance meeting, and teachers demonstrating their work in new teaching methodologies. Participants had a chance to visit a southern coastal community involved in a school-based revolving credit program, which returns the interest on loans to the schools. The delegation was treated to two opening ceremonies for schools newly reconstructed by AEDP: one with a formal ribbon-cutting and the other with musical performances by pupils. It was evident that the refurbishment of these schools were important events for the entire community.

Akhmat Madeuyev and David Rogers from SF Kyrgyzstan gave a workshop in Albania on their education programs for the study visitors and the AEDP. In Kyrgyzstan, the Foundation considers education to be its top priority. It follows a strategy of "boiling the kettle in one place," meaning that all SF Kyrgyzstan programs are focused around their network of 43 pilot schools. Foundation media programs, textbook programs, English Language programs, are implemented with the pilot schools. The program was established through a competition of school directors to attend school leadership training with Interactive, Inc. Following the training, the schools formed their own Association of Innovative Sites that is supported by the Foundation through books, equipment, methodological materials, and training. Regional Resource Centers have been established to disseminate experience and knowledge to schools not included in the pilot school network. Media Centers at each of the pilot schools support young journalism programs. Students have issued the first editions of newspapers using computers for layout. In many cases, pilot schools have taken the initiative to spread their experiences to other schools in their areas.

Hazim Kazic and Nedzad Hrelja from OSF Bosnia & Herzegovina gave a short presentation on the situation in their countries and on the strategy taken so far in education. During the war, the Foundation had to focus its efforts to "keep education alive" through many initiatives supporting schools, teachers, universities, and students. Now the OSF BH is developing its strategy in education for the post-war situation. "Education has to be a long-term program," said Mirsad Purivatra, OSF BH Executive Director. It was evident that the situations in each of the countries represented in the Study Visit were varied and it was interesting for participants to get an understanding of the different approaches to education recovery and reform. AEDP staff and others learned a great deal about how far they had come and the differences in starting points. "Although our situation is very different, we learned a lot and came away with ideas that will help us in our programs," said Michele Pierre-Louis, Executive Director of SF Haiti.

NEW APPROACHES TO PRE-SERVICE AND IN-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION

OSF Lithuania and the Albania Education Development Project (AEDP) are working with universities to improve pre-service teacher education at pedagogical faculties, and to involve higher education institutions in the process of in-service teacher training.

In Lithuania, the Foundation has established a new center, the Inter-University Center of Educational Studies to stimulate openness and cooperation of academic and school pedagogical communities. It also aims to support changes in initial and in-service teacher training, the accumulation and dissemination of the contemporary national and international educational information. The program will also work toward integration of OSF Lithuania Education Program textbooks and teaching materials into pedagogical curricula, initiating and implementing courses and lectures on modern educology, support research and case studies on urgent problems of education by academics, doctoral and graduate students, and to integrate pedagogical universities into the educational reform process. The OSF Lithuania is cooperating closely with McGill University, Canada, Cambridge University, and Oslo University in the projects Improving University Teaching, Educational Leadership, Educational Philosophy, Integrated Science Teaching, Comparative Educational Research Practice and Theory, and Education in a Changing Society.

The Center seeks contacts with other OSF programs dealing with teacher training in other countries. For contacts call: OSF Center of Educational Studies, J. Basanaviciaus str. 5, 2683 Vilnius, Lithuania / fax: (370 2) 220 027, phone: (370 2) 622 410, e-mail: egle@sla.osf.lt

In Albania, video centers have been established at five universities, one at the Pedagogic Institute, and one at the AEDP office in Tirana. These video centers will provide audio-visual aids in modern teaching methodologies. In the past, there was little communication or cooperation between universities that engage in pre-service teacher training and the Pedagogic Institute that conducts in-service training. The video centers aim to become Teacher Education Resource Centers to develop the links between in-service and pre-service teacher education and to build cooperation with other such centers in Europe.

LEARNING WITH COMPUTERS

"In ancient Greece, slaves were not allowed to attend city forum and take part in discussions there. The deepest concern of Lithuanian teachers who joined I*EARN is that if our youth do not attend the Internet - the global forum of today - they will never be free." Yuri Romanenkov, OSI Lithuania

ACTIVE LEARNING INTO ACTION: Open Estonia Foundation has co-financed the program Active Learning into Action (ALiA) which supports teachers and professors in active teaching and learning techniques as they relate to use of computers, email and Internet in schools and universities. Partners in the project are the University of Tartu in southern Estonia, OEF, TEMPUS, International Simulation and Gaming Association (ISAGA), European School Project - an international organization connecting teachers and teacher trainers in about 20 European countries, USA, Japan, Canada and Chile [http://www.educ.uva.nl/ESP/], and I*EARN [http://www.igc.apc.org/icarn/]. The Open Estonia Foundation has assisted this collaborative effort by providing partial funding and bringing forth the cooperation of the I*EARN program. The project aims to 1) support the further development of Distance Education through the Continuous Education Centre of Tartu University and 2) connect Estonian schools to email and Internet while supporting the changing of teaching methodologies. In June 1993, five schools in Estonia were connected to e-mail; in June, 1994, 40 schools were connected; and 122 were connected by June 1995.

Innovative Solutions: The program is finding that computers and modems are not the main problems with e-mail connectivity, but rather it is the long-distance telephone bills that schools cannot afford to pay. One solution the program is exploring is the establishment of regional Internet Access Points. In the first stage these points act as mailbox forwarders (they collect local mail and send it to Tallinn or Tartu with high speed modems) and help reduce the common expenditures for dial up sessions. Later they will have a slow-speed (up to 28,800 bps) temporary on-line access to the Internet. This would open the way to use full Internet access periodically, on a scheduled basis.

INTEGRATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES INTO LITHUANIAN SCHOOLS: The INTLS Program in Lithuania uses technology as a catalyst for transforming Lithuanian education, introducing multimedia technology, e-mail, and Internet communications as educational tools. 130 schools in Lithuania are now connected to the Internet via e-mail, up from just eight a year ago. More than a 1,000 teachers have attended the INTLS Computer Literacy Courses from September 1994 - November 1995. INTLS has organized, in cooperation with I*EARN, student conferences via email. Students are able to communicate with I*EARN participants all over the world, improving their English, and participating in international on-line 'events.' As a result of the effective implementation of the pilot school computerization program, the Lithuanian Ministry of Education used it as a model for global computerization of Lithuanian schools. In the coming two years, all Lithuanian schools are to receive a multimedia computer equipped with a modem and some selected schools are to obtain computer laboratories. Thus the number of active participants of projects such as I*EARN is expected to multiply since every Lithuanian school will be able to use email (about 1,200 schools).

The program attempts to demonstrate to decision makers that using computers for communication is at least as important as computer programming. However, to provide schools with computers and to train teachers in using telecommunication software is not enough. There are not only technical problems but human ones, as well: teachers are not accustomed to the kind of project-oriented work demanded by the I*EARN and other computer communications programs. There is a feeling that they only have time to "cover the [official] curriculum," and e-mailing key-pals in other parts of the world is not part of the curriculum. Nonetheless, there are many enthusiasts, including one secondary headmaster who used funds from the school budget to pay teachers extra money for teaching computer classes.

Another difficulty relates to the fact that the English Language is currently dominant among Internet and e-mail communications. Solutions for this problem are being explored. One idea is to ask those proficient in English to summarize important information and provide it to teachers and students in the program. Another way to bypass the problem is to encourage communication with other non-native English speakers to de-emphasize issues of grammar and encourage cooperation in the region.

NEW REGIONAL PROGRAM IN CAREER COUNSELING

During this past year's activities interacting with young people and educational professionals through Soros sponsored activities, an interest was generated to develop a program which will provide current information to young adults about careers and occupations within their home countries. Since the occupations, job descriptions and training institutions differ in each country, the obvious solution is to develop this information within each country. However, by sharing information and resources wherever possible, there is a legitimate need to incorporate this as a regional program. The role of the New York office will be to provide financial and technical support, opportunities to share information among the national foundations, and to coordinate the ongoing activities. The intent is that the program content, as well as the way in which the program is organized and executed will be developed by the local foundations.

The career advising program will take place in three phases:

1. Development of a comprehensive guide to careers and professional opportunities, unique to individual countries.
2. The guide is to be published, or the information distributed in some manner to secondary and vocational schools (hard copy/CD-ROM), as well as in libraries. Internet would also be a potential mechanism for distributing or accessing the information.
3. Teacher (or other professionals') training on career counseling. Personality assessment tests will be used for this component.

For more information, contact Liz Lorant or Ami Golden at OSI-NY (212) 887-0660.

BULLETIN BOARD

RESOURCES/INNOVATIONS/AREAS FOR COLLABORATION

E-mail Manual: OSI - Lithuania has collaborated with World Youth Network whose manual "E-mail Resources" was compiled by Jim and Ginny Carlson for Romanian teachers. Lithuania has borrowed the manual and used it in their e-mail programs for schools. This year in collaboration with the World Youth Network they are also planning to organize a contest among Lithuanian schools for the best e-mail project.

Pre-TOEFL exams: In Donetsk, Ukraine, the Foundation has found there is a high demand of students who want to take the TOEFL exam but can't afford it. Rather than paying for all those interested, the Foundation offers pre-TOEFL exams three times per year, and those students with the highest marks are awarded the chance to take an official TOEFL free of charge.

Un-announced site visits: SF Kyrgyzstan has developed a strategy of visiting its pilot schools on a regular basis, without prior notice. Foundation staff check school programs against a list of standards to see that pilot schools are using equipment and materials as agreed, that students have access to new materials, and other parts of the agreements are being kept. This strategy of un-announced visits has helped the Foundation identify sites that need a little 'push' toward fully realizing their programs, and has helped establish a basis for program evaluation. The visits serve as a psychological reminder to schools to maintain the high standards that they have set for themselves.

Education Consultants Available: The International Reading Association (IRA) is a non-government, membership-based organization that exists to support literacy worldwide. The Association represents over 350,000 individuals and institutions through its 1,250 councils and 40 national affiliates around the world. It has small, but growing affiliates in Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Romania and Slovakia. Membership worldwide includes reading specialists, university faculty, researchers, librarians, publishers, psychologists, media specialists, parents and classroom teachers. The IRA maintains a database of professional educators that are willing to provide consulting to developing countries on a volunteer basis. (Expenses for the volunteers are to be covered, but not professional fees.) For more information, contact Scott Walter, Director of International Development, IRA. 800 Barksdale Road, PO Box 8139, Newark, DE, 19714-8139. Phone: (302)731-1600 ext. 296; Fax: (302)731-1057; E-mail: <76712.127@compuserve.com>

CIDREE (Consortium of Institutions for Development and Research on Education in Europe) is now on the World Wide Web: http://claudius.sccc.ac.uk. CIDREE is a networking organization involving most Western European countries, and it is interested in building links with Central/Eastern Europe and the NIS. Cameron Harrison, CIDREE Secretary General, attended the Education for an Open Society Conference in September. The Web pages provide general information on CIDREE, details of the Secretariat, a description of CIDREE activities and a full list of publications available.

UPCOMING EVENTS...

April 1-5, 1996: Seminar in Grant Writing in Kiev, Ukraine. Participants: Soros Foundations and NGOs from Ukraine, Bulgaria, Belarus. The goals of the seminar are as follows:

-To create and encourage in-country trainers of trainers in grant and proposal writing

-To provide proper application and proposal writing skills to representatives for participating countries

-To provide hands-on experience with financial reporting and evaluation techniques.

For more information, contact Victoria Sapounova, Soros Foundation Ukraine, tel (7 044) 225 2251, email: <victoria@eccel.kiev.ua>

May 12 - 15, 1996: Seminar on School Effectiveness and School Improvement in Budapest, Hungary, sponsored by EPSU. Invitations will be sent out to all foundations the week of February 19, 1996. For more information, please contact Susan Rona, Education Program Support Unit, OSI, Budapest. e-mail: ronas@osi.hu

July 7 - 13, 1996: International Reading Association (see above) will sponsor the 16th World Congress on Reading in Prague, Czech Republic. The Congress will bring together approximately 300 people from over 30 countries to participate in a program on "Literacy in a Changing World." For further details, contact Scott Walter, Director of International Development of the International Reading Association (see Bulletin Board, above)

This newsletter, which focuses on national Soros Foundation initiatives in education for school aged populations, is issued periodically by the Education Program Support Unit (EPSU) at OSI Budapest. Contributions to the newsletter are welcome. Please send any contributions, comments or questions to Heather Iliff, email: iliffh@osi.hu; tel: (361) 327 3100, fax: (361) 327 3101.