Open Society Education Update

"Democracy education is one of the most important means of establishing the political culture of an Open Society."

Judit Lafferthon, Program Officer

Soros Foundation, Hungary

HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIC EDUCATION WORKSHOP IN BUDAPEST

Foundation staff and educators from all over the region came to Budapest in September to exchange experiences in the field of Human Rights and Civic Education. Twenty international practitioners and specialists were available as presenters from more than ten different human rights and civic education organizations worldwide. Participants had the opportunity to learn about different models and approaches in East/Central Europe and in the West to the difficult questions of citizenship and democracy education. Models include democratic teaching methodologies that can be used in any subject area, specialized courses and materials in civics and human rights, or part of other subject areas such as history. There was a general agreement that human rights education and civic education are distinct from each other but must be intertwined to be effective. Whereas civic education covers citizenship and democracy education, it is sometimes linked to the agenda of the government. Human rights education must be part of the civic program, especially in countries where government respect of human rights is questionable. It was recognized as central to the agenda of Open Society to promote programs where teachers and pupils work together in an environment that respects the rights of all. Here we outline several Foundation programs that were highlighted at the Workshop. For more information, contact the foundations directly or Nancy Green of the EPSU at greenn@osi.hu.

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN PILOT PROJECT, "STREET LAW"

During the "Human Rights and Civic Education" workshop in September, several Foundations expressed an interest in introducing civic education programs in their home countries. One model which generated a great deal of interest was the "Street Law" program developed by the National Institute for Citizen Education and the Law (NICEL) in the United States, represented at the workshop by Mr. Ed O'Brien. The Street Law approach empowers citizens to participate in their societies by teaching about rights and responsibilities through innovative teaching methodologies. The program blends substance and methodology: students learn information about their government, laws, and legal systems through participatory teaching methods that promote cooperative learning, critical thinking and problem solving. If your Foundation is interested in being part of a pilot group of countries which will adapt and introduce the Street Law program, please contact Nancy Green at EPSU greenn@osi.hu. For more information on the Street Law program in general, contact Ed O'Brien directly at eobrien@umd5.umd.edu.

'FACING HISTORY' IN HUNGARY

The "Facing History and Ourselves" program in Hungary aims to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of ethnocentrism, racism and prejudice in order to promote the development of a more informed and humane citizenry. The program was developed in the USA, and has also been used in Europe. The Soros Foundation- Hungary has adapted the materials and teacher training efforts of this program to disseminate it in Hungary. "Education of democracy is one of the most important means of establishing the political culture of an Open Society," said Judit Lafferthon, Program Officer. "The educational system in post-communist Hungary is not prepared to answer this challenge." Therefore, the program offers teachers new methods and new materials that they can use in their lessons every day. The Facing History and Ourselves program is an interdisciplinary approach. It has a special focus on the period of Nazi totalitarianism as a powerful case study that stimulates moral reasoning and the development of critical thinking. It addresses enduring ethical questions in a way that students are actively engaged in the learning process. For more information on the program, contact Judit Lafferthon at SF Hungary, email: lafferthon@soros.hu.

'ACTION DAY' IN LITHUANIA

The Lithuanian Center for Human Rights sponsored a program for school children to learn about participation in local government through direct experience. The program called "Action Day" allowed students to spend an entire day inside the Town Hall working on projects to help their school or community. Students had one day to develop a project proposal and present it to their peers by the end of the day. The students vote on the winning project, which then the Mayor's office or the City Government agrees to sponsor. For example, the winning student project proposal was to do an environmental clean-up of the city park which was near the school. In addition to their work on the projects, students have the opportunity to meet with the government representatives and ask them questions. "At first, the politicians were surprised at the students' intelligent questions," said Girvydas Doublys, Training Officer for the Center, "They didn't have answers to all the questions, and they were embarrassed!" The representatives asked for a second chance to meet the students in the afternoon where they tried to provide more substantial answers to the students' questions. Thus, importance of citizen involvement in local government was emphasized not only to the students but to the government officials as well! For more information about Action Day, contact Girvydas Doublys, Training Officer of the Lithuanian Center for Human Rights, Tel: 3702-62-88-58, Fax: 3702-62-89-60.

TV FOR TEACHERS IN ALBANIA

"Civic Education is about the education of young citizens. We must help them develop the

values, skills, and knowledge they will need to participate in a democratic society," said Zana Lita, Programs Officer. The Albania Education Development Project (AEDP) has developed a distance education course for teachers of Civics in Albania. The Ministry of Education mandated the teaching of Civics, a new course, in 1992. However, teachers had no experience in this area, and generally it was being taught by whichever teacher in the school had the lowest workload. The AEDP developed teachers guides and a video, to be broadcast on national television, introducing the new content and methodology of Civic education in Albania. "The subject is much different from what Albanian teachers are used to," said Zhulieta Harasani, AEDP Programs Manager, "the old subjects were very prescriptive. In Civics, there is no one right answer -- all varieties of answers are o.k." The TV broadcast (which is being sponsored by Albanian national television) includes examples of role play where students act out the parts in a courtroom. The teachers' guides emphasize how the teacher of Civics can take advantage of a real life event in the school or community and bring it into classroom discussion. For more information, contact Zhulieta Harasani at harasani@aedp.tirana.al.

KAZAKHSTAN INVITES LITHUANIAN TRAINERS FOR SEMINAR

The Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan sponsored a six-day training session for schools involved in their education program, and school leaders from Lithuania were invited as presenters. Schools that were awarded grants as a result of the competition were required to send the headmaster and one teacher to the training session which outlined responsibilities of grantees and provided training and program options for schools. Through the assistance of the OSF Lithuania, two school leaders and members of the Association of Schools with Initiative in Lithuania participated in the Kazakhstan event. The Foundation presented three programs to grantees: Debate, Junior Achievement, and Odessey of the Mind. Schools were able to choose among the three programs as part of their grant program. Trainer Certificates were awarded to workshop participants to spread the programs at their schools. As part of the program, 25% of the grant awarded to schools ($1,000 - $1,500) is to be used for student self-governments and parent-teacher associations. Students are encouraged to make their own decisions regarding the funds, whether to start a newspaper, repair the school, or make a disco club. The other 75% of the grant may be used for purchase of equipment (computers, photocopiers, overhead projectors, etc.), school repair, professional development and travel of school staff. For more information regarding the program, contact Program Coordinator, Sholpan Eskalieva at seskal@soroskz.glas.apc.org.

GEORGIA FOUNDATION BUILDS PARTNERSHIPS IN NEW EDUCATION INITIATIVE

The Open Society Georgia Foundation is gearing up for a new large-scale education program, the Schools Initiative, which was recently approved following George Soros's visit in October, 1996. The program will have three major components, including Step by Step, textbook development and establishment of parent-teacher organizations, or PTAs. The Foundation has already begun cultivating a partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), who have experience in this area, on the PTA project. CRS is also a partner organization of the Albania Education Development Project (AEDP) and of the OSF Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of community development. "It is hoped that co-funding can be found and that gradually, support for the program will be taken over by the Georgian government through a World Bank loan," writes Ulana Trylowsky, OSGF Executive Director. The Foundation will develop partnerships with the Ministry of Education, the World Bank, and others in order to increase the impact and sustainability of the Initiative. For more information on the program, contact Ulana Trylowsky or Jesse Doiron of the Georgia Foundation, email: kartuli@osgf.ge.

ODYSSEY OF THE MIND PROGRAM

Students from all over the world are developing their skills in team-building, creative problem solving, understanding of others, self esteem, and fun in the Odyssey of the Mind program which began 19 years ago in the USA. The Soros Foundation Kazakhstan has supported the program first through providing travel grants to children attending international tournaments and festivals, and now the Foundation is sponsoring the translation of materials and training of coaches. The program has also been supported by Soros in Chelyabinsk, Russia. The program, which can be either part of the curriculum or extra-curricular, presents activities for students, ages 9-24 to develop creative solutions to one of five problems that students all over the world work on. One example of an activity last year was to "Create a device that will enable someone with a disability to do something more efficiently." Students work in groups with a coach, and may ultimately compete on an international scale at tournaments or festivals. During the year, students may communicate on the Internet to share ideas on their solutions. The next European tournament will be in Gdansk, Poland as part of the Gdansk Millennium Festival. If your foundation is interested in getting involved in the program, contact Dr. Carolyn Skilling at tel: (44 1509) 416 160, or email: 100556.105@compuserve.com, or visit the home page at: http\\www.odyssey.org.

EFFECTIVE USE OF A SINGLE COMPUTER AT SCHOOL

"We are sure that you have started to work intensively at your schools. We hope that most of you use computers every day. How do you use them effectively?" Ruta Smertiniene of OSF Lithuania asks this question of the many schools that are already active in use of technology. This year the Ministry of Education of Lithuania has started to implement a secondary school computerization program, through which about 700 secondary schools will receive a computer with a modem. But many schools are not very happy because they do not know how to arrange effective use of the computers by teachers and pupils. To collect and share best experience, catalyze creative and innovative use of a small number of computers (up to 6 computers), the "New Technologies for Lithuanian Schools" (NTLS) program of the OSF Lithuania has organized a competition: "Effective Use of a Single Computer at School." Unfortunately, it was found that in Lithuania there is not a lot of experience in this area. "That is why we decided to ask schools from all over the world to share their experience with Lithuanian schools on how one or several computers can be effectively used," said Program Coordinator Ruta Smertiniene. "We would be thankful to get descriptions of best examples of how computers are used in your schools," continued Ruta. If you have experience which you think would be helpful, OSF Lithuania is looking for answers to the following questions:

1. Where is the school? (in a city or a village, how far from the capital, etc.)

2. How many pupils?

3. How many and what kind of computers does it have?

4. Where are the computers located?

5. Who uses the computers, for what purpose, and how are they used?

6. How is the work with computers organized?

7. What additional equipment is used?

8. If teachers of different subjects are using the computers, how have they been convinced, and how are they supported in using the equipment?

The Lithuanian Foundation would be grateful to get as many details as possible. The results of this survey will be distributed on Internet (email and WWW) to all those interested. Also, the most interesting descriptions will be published and copies will be sent to the authors.

Contact: Ruta Smertiniene, email: rutasm@osf.lt.

REGIONAL COOPERATION AMONG SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS IN RUSSIA

The Open Society Institute Moscow sponsored a regional seminar, the "Role of the Administrator in Development and Implementation of Regional Education Policy," September 9-13 in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Participants included senior officers in the sphere of education of the Bakhalin Region, regional and municipal level officials, and school administrators. Representatives from the Amur Region and the Jewish Autonomous Region also attended. The agenda focused on the issues related to the new law on local self-governing in education. "One of the significant outcomes of the seminar", said Anna Muravieva, Program Director, "was understanding of the need for practical cooperation between the three regions." For more information, contact Anna Muravieva at the OSI Moscow, mur@opsocin.msk.ru.

ALGEBRA PROJECT IN THE USA

The Office of US Programs at OSI NY has sponsored a program to help inner-city and rural disadvantaged children succeed in math. The Algebra Project, developed by civil rights activist Robert Moses, provides interactive project-based methodologies to help students grasp higher-level math concepts. "In an Algebra Project exercise, a child experiences an event, draws or models it, writes and talks about it, translates it into mathematical language and then develops symbols to represent it. Or in the children's words: try it, think about it, improve it, practice it," Moses told the New York Times. The project is showing results, not only in math scores but in the overall performance of the students involved. For more information about the project, contact Beth Breger at OSI NY, at bbreger@sorosny.org.

TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR IN MONTREAL

The Center for Educational Leadership of the McGill University, Montreal sponsored a week-long workshop on Technology in Learning in August, 1996. Heather Iliff of the EPSU attended the workshop to get ideas for the Network in computer education. The workshop participants were teachers, teacher trainers, curriculum developers and undergraduate students from the United States and Canada. "One of the main lessons I learned is that in many ways North America is facing the same issues and problems as Eastern Europe," said Heather Iliff. In North America, the emphasis up until now has been to push as much equipment into the schools as possible and to teach program applications to students and teachers. According to Alan November, a presenter at the conference, schools concentrate too much on "automation rather than info-mation." Technology programs should emphasize the changing role of the teacher into a facilitator of learning where students construct their knowledge using the information tools available on the Internet and through open-ended creative software. Schools should use the technology to reach into the community and into their own environment to make the learning experience more relevant to children's lives. For more information on the seminar, contact Heather Iliff at iliffh@osi.hu.

EUROPEAN SECONDARY HEADS ASSOCIATION - CONTACTS

Recently the European Secondary Heads Association (ESHA) held a conference in Barnsley, Northern England which brought together the Central European partners in the Association and a Dutch training team which has been working with the Association over the past year. ESHA itself is a professional organization for European school leaders which seeks to influence European educational policy, improve the quality of Euoprean School leadership, and be a vehicle for relevant European programs.

The ESHA conference brought together teams of two and three school leaders from 11 countries throughout Central Euorope to discuss the results of their work with the Dutch training team over the past year. In most cases, the Central European teams had heard of their national Soros Foundations, and in some cases had approached them for local support. There may be areas for cooperation between national foundations and these Secondary Heads Associations, since school leadership improvement is a priority for many Soros offices as well. Attached to this newsletter, you will find a contact list of participants from the ESHA conference. EPSU has also circulated a Soros contact list to the ESHA membership, in case there are areas for mutual cooperation. For more information, contact Nancy Green at EPSU, greenn@osi.hu.

BULLETIN BOARD

PROGRAM SUMMARIES PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!! EPSU is once again compiling all Foundation education program summaries into a booklet to be distributed back to Foundations. PLEASE SEND US THE MOST DETAILED VERSION OF YOUR EDUCATION PROGRAM INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE (FAX OR EMAIL). Send all submissions to Eva Badar at email: badare@osi.hu, FAX: (361) 327 3101.

SCHOOL SUCCESS FOR ROMA CHILDREN: Meeting to be Held in Cluj, Romania, December 11-13: As a result of the October OSI Board Meeting, EPSU was asked to coordinate a new support program, School Success for Roma Children. The purpose of the meeting is to share information and experiences and to establish a Strategic Working Group to work toward a regional education strategy. For more information about the meeting, contact Susan Rona, Acting Director, EPSU at: ronas@osi.hu.

EDUCATION SEMINAR: "MANAGING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE" The European School of Educational Management ESEM is holding a two-week seminar in school management development through interaction. The workshop will be held in Copenhagen from April 1-11, 1997. The program will include teambuilding, management of innovation and change, quality care, and management of learning and teaching. Academic credit is available for the seminar. The cost per participant is 1,500 ecu or about USD 1,800. If you are interested in more information, contact Peter Karstanje at peterk@educ.uva.nl or EPSU.

"EVALUATION IN HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION: GETTING STARTED" Felisa Tibbits, of Human Rights Education Associates, provided a workshop on program evaluation at the Human Rights and Civic Education Conference in September in Budapest. She distributed background materials entitled "Evaluation in Human Rights Education: Getting Started" that many participants found useful. Many of the concepts in the paper could apply to evaluation of any education program, and may be helpful to Foundations. If you are interested in receiving a copy, contact Eva Badar at the EPSU in Budapest (361) 3100, email badare@osi.hu.

"HANDBOOK FOR SCHOOL NEWSPAPER EDITORS" The Handbook for School Newspaper Editors, as profiled in the September issue of the Open Society Education Update has been completed and published by the Belarusian Soros Foundation in Russian language. If you are interested in receiving copies, contact Yulia Reznikova at reznikova@bsf.minsk.by.

READER'S SURVEY

In order to make our newsletter more interesting and useful to you, we would appreciate your input on this survey. Please return it by email, fax or courier pigeon by December 16. Thank you very much! (Questions are geared for national Soros Foundation readers, but if you are an individual reader, please adjust accordingly).

1. The length of the Update is generally: ___ too long; ___ about right; ___ too short

2. The information in the Update is useful to me in my job:

___ agree; ___ neutral; ___ disagree

3. The Update is issued often enough.

___ agree; ___ neutral; ___ disagree

4. How often have you contacted other foundations or organizations as a result of reading the Open Society Education Update?

___ more than three times; ___ twice; ___ once; ___ never

5. I usually read

___ the entire Update; ___ most of the Update; ___ only the articles that are interesting to me

___ I don't usually read the Update

6. The Update should:

___ continue to be theme-based; ___ focus more on country-by-country activities

___ other -- feel free to suggest below.

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9. Our Foundation should receive ______ hard copies of the Update each issue.

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12. The strengths of the Update are:

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Thank you again for taking the time to complete this survey!

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.