In the view of the ongoing reforms and the need for strategic developments in the area of higher education, the National Center of Strategic Research in Higher Education has launched a study to analyze the state of higher and post-graduate education in Armenia and develop an updated strategy of reforms and necessary legislative amendments in the framework of the Bologna Process. The Armenia Higher Education Support Program at the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation (OSI AF) supports the project.

The resulting comprehensive analytic report, "Current State and Possible Developments of the Bologna Process in the European Higher Education Area and in Armenia," was presented during a round-table discussion on June 28, 2007 in Yerevan. The event was organized by the OSI AF Armenia in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science and the National Center of Strategic Research in Higher Education. The aim of this initiative was to focus the attention of education policy makers, representatives of higher education institutions and international organizations at stake on key issues of the higher education area covered in the report and facilitate the exchange of experiences regarding the main challenges that currently hinder the reform process.

Study findings also led to a package of legislative amendments which should help to remove the current obstacles and foster the reform implementation process. Furthermore, the study initiated three policy papers dedicated to the topics of doctoral study programs within the three-tier degree system, implementation of ECTS as a national credit transfer and accumulation system and creation of a national quality assurance system.

For additional information on the event please visit www.osi.am website.

2. Promotion of inclusive education in Serbia and Montenegro

One of the most important steps towards developing inclusive education and a social model for better understanding of disabilities is to empower youth with disabilities for self-advocacy, prepare them for continuing their education, and help them in pursuit of their rights.

The Association of Students with Disabilities (ADS) carried out a 15-month project titled "Promotion of inclusive education in Serbia and Montenegro", which aimed to promote human rights for youths with disabilities in the field of education. The target groups of the project were high school students with disabilities, who could become future university students, as well as leaders of the movements of people with disabilities.

ADS conducted a survey to examine educational opportunities and obstacles for youth with disabilities in secondary schools. A questionnaire was developed to assess the accessibility of schools, accessibility to curriculum, and possible discrimination. Five survey teams contacted 502 secondary schools (including 8 special schools) and interviewed 484 students with different types of disabilities.

Geographically, the survey covered seven regions: Belgrade region, Vojvodina, central Serbia, western Serbia, eastern Serbia, southern Serbia and Montenegro. The results have shown that there is a need for raising awareness in the society and at schools regarding the situation of children with disabilities, their special needs in the accessibility of schools, appropriate curriculum, and possible discrimination. The survey results were presented and disseminated at an international conference on inclusive education in Belgrade in November 2006 attended by representatives of NGOs, teachers from primary and secondary schools, and special educators from five countries: Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Serbia. The survey results were also presented in a press conference, and various media.

To download the short version of the survey, visit:

http://www.adsyu.org/publications/...

To learn more about the project, visit: http://www.adsyu.org/projects/ongoing_projects/249.html

Several ministries in both countries helped in communicating with the schools. The survey provided a good opportunity to raise awareness of the existence of children with disabilities and promote a new social model of disability issues and inclusive education. The project is supported by the Open Society Institute within the framework of the RE: FINE grant fund of the Education Support Program at the Open Society Institute (OSI-ESP).

The Education Reform Initiative (ERI) was awarded a grant by the European Commission to contribute to the fulfillment of human rights in education through research, advocacy and networking. This new project began in June 2007 and lasts for 18 months. The grant enables ERI to pursue the following objectives:

• To expand the knowledge base and build policy understanding on human rights in education. This objective will enable production of critical, up-to-date assessments of human rights in education, upon which a policy dialogue can be built with target groups. There will be two policy research directions: the first aims at identifying the compliance gap between national and international legislation, the second aims at exploring legal venues citizens could pursue in case of infringement of rights to and in education.
• To mobilize and increase capacity of civil society groups on human rights in education. Primarily civil society groups working on rights-based issues and education will be targeted to form and support a network that would contribute to the formation and implementation of an advocacy strategy towards the assembly, government and bureaucracy.
• To increase awareness of policymakers and stakeholders on human rights in education through an effective advocacy and communication campaign.

All three specific objectives are formulated to complement each other so that grassroots and research-based advocacy can be built and used to increase the awareness of policymakers on human rights, draw attention to compliance gaps and shed light on policy options, in due course contribution to the fulfillment of human rights in education in Turkey.
For more information please contact: Burcu Meltem ARIK, arikb@sabanciuniv.edu

The International Step by Step Association (ISSA), the host of this year's EECERA Conference, and the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) is organizing a conference on "Exploring Vygotsky`s Ideas: Crossing Borders" in Prague, Czech Republic on August 29 - Sep 1, 2007. This will be an opportunity for researchers and practitioners from East and West to explore the convergences and divergences in the understanding and application of Lev Vygotsky's work to policy, research, and practice today.

On August 28, 2007 a one-day pre-conference seminar, Exploring Qualitative Paradigms, will be held to provide an overview of the variety of qualitative research methodologies that are used today to support the deeper understanding of the development of young children. Using both lecture and active workshop formats, the seminar will provide participants with the opportunity to learn about and experiment with a variety of approaches.

The events are open to all interested researchers. For more information about the events, please visit the conference website: www.easyprague.cz/eecera2007 or: info@easyprague.cz or eecera2007@issa.nl

Private tutoring is becoming increasingly visible across a wide range of countries and cultures. During the last decade the private tutoring sector has grown substantially in both industrialized and less developed countries. It now plays a major role in the acquisition of school-related knowledge by many young people, and has impacts on the budgets of family households, and social stratification.

The aim of the Policy Forum held in Paris on 5-6 July 2007 was to identify best practices and propose proactive policy options in order to effectively respond to this phenomenon.

The event gathered renowned academics, a wide range of education practitioners, policy-makers and other stakeholders. At the forum they analyzed the stakes and the challenges, and discussed key policy issues such as the impact of private tutoring on equity and quality, and also, technical matters such as planning, management and monitoring.

The discussions between policy-makers, practitioners, researchers and other stakeholders will be published in a book in the first quarter of 2008. Regular updates on this event will be available from IIEP's website: http://www.unesco.org/iiep/SEM279/polforum.htm

The Education Support Program financially supported the event.