Open Society Education Update

SCHOOL-BASED CHANGE

FOUNDATIONS EXCEL IN SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

It is wonderful to see that so many foundations are doing a lot in the school improvement area. Every foundation has its own objectives but there are common characteristics: educators participating in these programs find joy and satisfaction in their difficult and not very romantic everyday work. Their self-esteem is being raised, they feel more self-confident because they have something to teach and something to learn from the others, they are breaking the isolation-- they can talk and talk and talk about their problems, and there is always somebody who will listen and offer help. The happiest moment for us - program managers - is to observe how newly formed school networks and NGO's (the tremendous force in the educational change) continue their work without us. So let's work all together for school improvement in the region! It's worth doing.

Egle Pranckuniene, Visiting Fellow, EPSU

In order to maximize impact on the education system, programs must work at the school level as well as 'from the top'. Some common goals of school improvement programs are to a) develop models for the entire system to learn from, b) create pressure from the grass roots for the system to change and improve, c) get school leaders and teachers involved in the educational process, and d) develop a network for mutual support and exchange of experience among schools. The model of school improvement programs empower people to work for themselves on their priorities for change. It is not a top-down model for schools to implement, but a program that puts the needs of the school and the community at the center and works toward self-developed improvement.

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT: TRAINING FOR INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS IN HUNGARY

The Soros Foundation Hungary launched the Network for Innovative Schools Project in April 1996 to support schools to carry out their own school-based curriculum and pedagogical action plan. Due to recent changes in Hungarian education law, schools are obliged to present their plans to the local municipalities. The Foundation provided schools with computers with Internet access in order to facilitate communication within these schools and among the schools in the network. The project will continue to involve another 50 schools starting from April 1997.

March 14, 1997, the Foundation offered a Total Quality Management (TQM) course for the schools which have participated in the Network for Innovative Schools Project. TQM is an on-going process which promotes improvement at schools by creating a more democratic organizational structure, commitment to a permanent process of self-evaluation and commitment to continuous learning of the school community (both children and adults). TQM offers a new approach to learning: it considers it as a process rather than a result. It also encourages schools to fulfill the needs of their consumers (students). The workshop was optional to the schools, and the schools were asked to cover half the cost of participation. At the session, participants were placed in groups of three, the principal of the school and two teachers, to exchange their experiences and support each other's work. The TQM training was presented by the Hungarian firm Expanzio, which provides follow-up work with individual schools. For more information, contact Judit Lafferthon at lafferthon@soros.hu.

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR "SCHOOL LEADERS" PROGRAM IN LITHUANIA

OSF-Lithuania is one of the veterans in School Improvement/School Effectiveness programs. The Foundation's "School Leaders" program, now in its fourth year, has several new directions. Thinking about institutional change and sustainability, OSF-Lithuania started a new initiative "Managing Educational Change" which aims to train 30 trainers for Regional Teacher Training Centers. Participants are taking part in a comprehensive program which is designed and delivered by experienced specialists: Sylvia Sklar and Diane Fyfe (McGill University), Tamas Kozma (Hungarian Institute of Educational Research), David Hopkins (University of Nothinghem), Louise Stoll and Dean Fink (University of London). The main themes of the course are : a) managing professional development; b) strategies of cooperative learning in program management; c) policies of educational reforms and politics; d) managing educational change: school development planning and assessment; e) school effectiveness and school improvement: school culture and change, strategic planning for classroom and school improvement. The other direction is called "School Leaders III." Regional Teachers Training Centers are organizing a series of workshops for the school teams from their districts, using trainers who were trained by the foundation. OSF-Lithuania supports this program with expertise and very little funding. For more information on the program, contact Marina Vildziuniene, email: marina@sla.osf.lt.

WHY CHANGE? PRIORITIES FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

To begin their school improvement program, the Open Society Fund - Prague distributed flyers to all primary schools in Czech Republic inviting them to show interest in participating in a school improvement program. Forty schools responded with their ideas. "Most of them wanted a new TV room or new computers. We try to show that its not about money but about education," said Karel Vasta, Program Coordinator. The OSF Prague developed a document describing ten non-material characteristics of effective schools, including the development of a positive school climate, partnerships with the community, transparent budgeting, supportive staff evaluation, and teaching to promote student self-confidence. This document was proposed at a conference in November, 1996 with the Ministry of Education, local education offices, school leaders, and scholars. Participants provided feedback on the program and agreed, in principle to its content. It was then sent out to the 40 interested schools; after the letter about one-third of the schools dropped-out. Now there are 24 schools that want to participate in the program according to these priorities for school effectiveness. "There is a contrast between leadership and management. We aim for cooperation and teamwork," said Karel. The primary content areas to be included in the training are change and planning, leadership and management, human resources and supervision, curriculum and pedagogy, as well as community involvement and several other topics. "We hope that after a few years, the foundation can step back and people will disseminate the knowledge through networks and regional centers." For more information, contact Karel Vasta at karel.vasta@ecn.cz.

INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS ESTABLISH HUMANITIES RESOURCE CENTERS IN MOLDOVA

In April, 1996 the Soros Foundation-Moldova's Modernization of Humanities program established a Network of Innovative Schools. In 17 schools which were selected by competition, Resource Centers for Humanities were established. Schools were supplied with equipment (copier, overhead projector, TV) and teaching materials for completion of a Humanities library. This year the Foundation will develop of a system for supporting 'bottom-up' in-service training of teachers, through a cascade system. It will start with the training of school administrators and teams of Humanities teachers from the network schools, then at a later stage, the training activities will be organized by the teachers themselves to spread to other schools in the regions. In 1997 the program will spread to involve many more schools in the Network activities. For more information, contact Liliana Ivanovici, Modernization of Humanities program director, livanovici@soros.md.

NETWORK OF INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS IN KYRGYZSTAN

Implementation of New Regional Program, "Visual Thinking Strategies"

The Soros Foundation Kyrgyzstan began supporting the Network of Innovative Schools in 1994 following the Transformation of School Leaders seminar. The Foundation supports these 45 schools through providing training, venues for sharing information, grants for developing resource centers, links with the community, English language teaching, school newspapers, computer classrooms, and supporting locally developed school improvement plans. The Foundation also supports the implementation of regional programs in the pilot schools; the most recent being the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) program. This program introduces a methodology whereby students view slides of artwork (and visit museums) and express their own interpretations of the art. Teachers listen and paraphrase the thoughts of the children without judging 'right' or 'wrong' answers. Almash Naizavekova, Program Coordinator asked the children what they thought of the lesson, "they said 'we learn to think, speak, communicate and listen to others,' and another child said 'I would like to have this lesson the whole day!'" During the pilot of this program, teachers have a chance to watch their own lessons on video tape to track their own paraphrasing as well as the progress of the students. One teacher was surprised to see herself bending down to get to eye level with the children. The methodology changes the role of the teacher into the facilitator and supporter or learning. "I agree with the children - they can feel free and see themselves as the main heroes," said Almash. For more information on the Kyrgyzstan program, contact Almash Naizavekova, almash@office.bishkek.su. For more information on the Visual Thinking Strategies Regional Program, contact Elaine Chu at echu@sorosny.org.

EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS PROGRAM IN BELARUS: STUDENT/TEACHER COUNSELING PROGRAM DEVELOPED

Thirty schools from all over Belarus are involved in the 'Effective Schools' program of the Transformation of Humanities (TOH). Schools are connected to the computer network of the TOH Information Center, and are supplied with educational materials produced by the Foundation and subscriptions of periodicals in the humanities. Teachers and headmasters of these schools are involved in workshops for improvement of instruction, experiments with new textbooks, new pedagogical ideas, and school leadership. Volunteer doctoral students from the universities are working with every school as counselors. The schools have not established a formal network yet but they have access to the TOH Centers in the regions. Recently, a new program has been initiated in the Foundation, the "Psychological Service for Educators" (PSE), which aims to support students and teachers in solving personal and professional problems. Volunteer students and lecturers from the university are working directly with educators. Educational psychology is a new discipline in Belarus, and the volunteers are learning by doing. For more information on this program, contact Lyudmila Dementyeva, Director of TOH, common@trob.minsk.by.

CONSUMER EDUCATION PROJECT IN RUSSIA

On March 27-29, 1997, the OSI Moscow will hold a "Consumer Education System Creation Project" Seminar in Penza for teachers of over 40 schools from all over Russia. The Project aims at the creation of the base for the system of consumer education. Educators, economists, and lawyers from Russia and Great Britain, authors of the consumer education video series and computer game, representatives of the local administration and Consumer Society will take part in the Seminar. Among the participants and guests of the seminar, there will be Ministers of Education from Daghestan, Tatarstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and top officials of the State Anti-monopoly Committee. The Ambassador of Indonesia, representing the country that presently presides over the International Consumer Society, is also scheduled to attend. This article has been reprinted from the Monthly Newsletter of the OSI Moscow, February-March, 1997. For more information on the program, contact Anna Muravieva at mur@opsocin.msk.ru.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING PILOT IN HUNGARY

"We swim or sink together -- a teaching and learning strategy for success"

EPSU organized a pilot training program in Cooperative Learning at a country school in Nyirtelek, Hungary, March 12-14, 1997. The training involved the entire staff of one of the pilot schools of the Soros Foundation Hungary's "Network of Innovative Schools." Thirty-three teachers of the school and several teachers from neighboring schools participated at a three-day training on the basic elements of Cooperative Learning, presented by Diane Fyfe, Director General of Western Quebec School Board in Canada. Cooperative learning is a methodology whereby students work together to solve problems and take responsibility for each other's learning. The aim of this pilot was to receive feed-back from Hungarian teachers on this methodology and to find out the way how it could be adapted for Hungarian schools and other countries in the region. The participants were extremely enthusiastic about the new pedagogy and many of them expressed their willingness to try it in their classrooms (which they actually did the following week!). One teacher reported that after a few days of using the cooperative learning technique, he was able to cover more material than he did using the old methods. And students asked "can we learn this way tomorrow, too?" Since the training proved to be very successful (rated 4.8 on a 5 point scale), EPSU is planning to continue developing the module for the benefit of other Foundations. If you are interested in cooperative learning methodology, please contact Andrea Feld, felda@osi.hu.

CONFERENCE ON MINORITY EDUCATION ISSUES IN CRIMEA, UKRAINE

From 18-22 March, the International Renaissance Foundation - Ukraine, Crimea Branch Office in cooperation the Foundation on Inter-Ethnic Relations (based in The Hague, Netherlands) held a seminar on minority education issues in the Crimea. The seminar brought together an array of policy makers from the Ministries of Education in both Kiev and Simferopol, as well politicians and representatives of the Crimean Tatar and German minority communities. The forum provided an opportunity to discuss questions related to the problems of minority education in general; the educational problems of repatriated communities; national minority language and education laws in Ukraine; and the Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities. The difficulty of the issues facing policy makers and educators in this field was perhaps best expressed by the Rector of the Crimean State Pedagogic University when he said, "We must hurry, but slowly!"

The IRF program proposes to provide support to repatriated peoples in four areas -- education, NGO capacity building, media, culture -- with half of the funding allocated towards education programming, and the other supported areas feeding into the education component. This approach recognizes that schools alone cannot preserve the Crimean Tatar language, and that parental and community involvement are needed.

Minority education issues face many Foundations in the Soros network. EPSU is looking to strengthen its support in this area, and would welcome your experiences in developing education programs that target minority populations. If you have any information to share, please contact Nancy Green at greenn@osi.hu.

FOUNDATIONS SHARE EXPERIENCES IN TEXTBOOKS

The Network Publishing Meeting, March 9-12, 1997 in Budapest was organized by the Regional Publishing Center (RPC) to bring together publishing coordinators from the Network. In an effort to build links between the publishing programs and textbook programs, an additional 'Textbook Day' was added to the schedule in cooperation with the Education Program Support Unit (EPSU).

Book Prize in Hungary: The publishing market in Hungary is quite vibrant, with over 80 publishers capable of handling textbooks. The Foundation has tried to support quality work of publishers through a loan scheme for textbook publication at very favorable rates. And, publishers pay back the interest of the loan in the form of books which the foundation then distributes to needy schools. One innovative project of the SF Hungary has been promoting the "modern visual culture" whereby authors and designers are encouraged to depict life closer to reality, including diversity of students, family situations, and environment. "The old style used to only show perfect families where the oldest child was a boy and the mother was in the kitchen. I never saw a child with glasses, for example, or a Roma child," explained Judit Szira, Program Director. The foundation has offered a Book Prize for publishers that exhibit high quality standards in design and content. For more information, contact Judit Szira at szira@soros.hu.

Team-Based Approach in Lithuania: The Lithuania Foundation began its work in textbook publishing in 1993 by announcing a competition for authors to develop manuscripts in the humanities for primary and secondary schools. After evaluating the program, the Foundation moved toward working more closely with publishers as well as with authors. Now, the Foundation only pays for the preparation of the book and the Ministry of Education covers the cost of printing. With this investment on the front-end of the process, the Foundation supports publishers and authors through training. "We try to encourage publishers and authors to work together as a team," said Rasa Balcikonyte, Textbook Coordinator. For more information on the Lithuania program, contact Rasa Balcikonyte at rasa@sla.osf.lt.

Loan Scheme in Russia: The lack of textbooks in Russia was quite acute at the beginning of the Transformation of Education Program in 1993. The Foundation began an emergency program to supply textbooks. However, the market for textbooks is so large in Russia (print runs of 500,000 - 1,000,000) that few independent publishers could afford to enter into the textbook business. "Four years ago, there were 2 publishing houses, now there are 2,000. But still, few of those have the capability of handling mass production," said Elena Samoilo, Publishing Coordinator. "At first all schools received texts free of charge and the Foundation paid all aspects. Now, we offer loans only." The Foundation offers cheap credits to publishers hoping that the injection of capital will increase the number of publishers able to enter the sphere. For more information on the Russia Program, contact Elena Samoilo, tar@opsocin.msk.ru.

Textbook Content: A morning session was also held at the conference to look into the questions of ensuring high quality textbooks through Foundation involvement. Textbook specialist, Annabel Jones, provided several models of high quality texts at relatively low production cost (in gray scale rather than color, for example). The group identified several key indicators of high quality texts, including encouragement of the child's imagination, inclusion of historical evidence, support of self-teaching among older students, cost effectiveness in terms of use of black & white, and appropriateness for the age level of students. If your foundation is interested in developing a workshop focusing on the content of textbooks and the development process (for publishers and/or authors), contact Heather Iliff at iliffh@osi.hu or Frances Pinter at pinterf@osi.hu.

ROMA STUDY VISIT TO HUNGARY

EPSU hosted a study visit in Hungary on Roma education initiatives for all interested National Foundations, February 24-26, 1997. The visit was organized to build on the work done last December "School Success for Roma Children" meeting Cluj, Romania, to show concrete examples of quality education programs for Roma children, to meet Roma educators, policy makers and specialists in minority education, and to exchange information. After several school visits, GerdaTefiku from Albania noticed that, "all the children said their success was due to a teacher who helped them and believed in them."

Discussions during the study visit, the group began to tackle some difficult, fundamental questions surrounding minority education. Do Roma students need special pedagogy or 'good' pedagogy in order to succeed in schools? Should academic standards and expectations be raised or lowered to encourage Roma students to succeed in schools? Are segregated schools/classrooms helpful or harmful to a Roma child's learning process? What are the limits of a multicultural approach in the classroom? Are school success and self esteem at odds with each other in programs targeting Roma children? What is the role of the Soros Foundations in countries where state policy is not supportive of minority education, and particularly Roma, issues? While the debate on these questions continues, Soros Foundations are willing to experiment to find out what works.

Follow up to the study visit will include the following support from EPSU:

• additional study visits to other countries, and perhaps another study visit to Hungary where national Foundations could bring Board members and others to visit the sites that program staff found appropriate to their country
• help in the development of mentoring programs on a national level
• the development of a resource center of materials and information from other international organizations (Council of Europe, Minority Rights Group, etc.) that are working with school success programs for Roma children
• a conference/exhibition on Roma programs
• e-mail bulletin boards/a home page updating the network on what's happening in Roma program development

If you would like further information about EPSU's support for programs targeting school success for Roma children, please contact Nancy Green at, greenn@osi.hu.

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.

BULLETIN BOARD

INSTITUTE ON CHANGE: EPSU is organizing a workshop for Educational leadership program managers and trainers which we call "INSTITUTE OF CHANGE". The workshop will be held on the week of May 12th in Hungary. The Institute will be conducted by Carol Rolheiser and Joanne Quinn who both are working in Michael Fullan's team at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (University of Toronto). One day before or after the Institute will be devoted to management issues of educational leadership and school improvement programs. Every foundation will have the opportunity to send one program manager and 2-4 trainers who are being trained in the foundation's program or are being used by the foundation in school improvement programs. Those who do not have such programs can invite one lecturer from the pedagogical university or in-service training center. For more information, contact Egle Pranckuniene at pranckuniene@osi.hu or Eva Badar at badare@osi.hu.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION (ICTE) IN OSLO, NORWAY, AUGUST 10-13, 1997: The ICTE "Changing Practices and Technologies" conference is open to participants from all over the world to focus on issues related to technology in education. The main topics of the conference include Information Technology and Educational Policy, Implementation in the Classroom, Educational Tools, and Teacher Education. For more information, contact ICTE at icte@icte.org, or visit the web site at: http://www.icte.org.

SUMMER INSTITUTES FOR EDUCATORS: The Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, has released its initial schedule for Summer Institutes this year. The CEL offers in-depth seminars on educational topics. This summer, the following courses will be offered:

* Managing School-Based Change, August 13, 14, & 15, 1997

* Improving Classroom Practice, August 19, 20, 21, & 22, 1997

The registration fee for the Institutes is USD 350 per participant. If there are several interested people from the Network, we will be able to negotiate a group rate. For more information on the Summer Institutes, contact the CEL at leadership@cel.lan.mcgill.ca, or visit the Web site at http://www.cel.mcgill.ca/welcome. If you are interested in attending, contact Andrea Feld at EPSU felda@osi.hu, and we will keep a list of names for possibilities on the group rates.

DIRECT LINKS WITH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS WANTED: Due to the difficult political situation in Belarus, teachers and students are feeling isolated and hopeless. Communication with teachers and students in other countries is needed. The Foundation is looking for any possible links with teacher and student organizations. If know of any potential counterparts, please contact Lyudmila Dementyeva, Director of TOH, common@trob.minsk.by.

RUSSIAN LANGUAGE BOOKS NEEDED: OSI-Uzbekistan is initiating a book donation project for institutes and universities. They are seeking books, publications, or textbooks in Russian language in the areas of Philosophy, Economics and Political Science. If you have lists, publisher's catalogues, or any other useful ordering information, please contact Alisher Kasymov at akasymov@osi.silk.org.

EDUCATION CONSULTANT DATABASE SENT TO ALL FOUNDATIONS: The long-awaited Education Consultant Database has been compiled and sent to all Foundations by regular mail. Foundations were asked to send information on consultants that they have used in particular fields that may be useful contacts for other Foundations. Although very few foundations responded, we managed to compile a list of over 40 specialists with experience in the region. If you would like to add to the database, or if you did not receive a copy, send information to Heather Iliff, iliffh@osi.hu.