Updates and reports

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) carried out a research project in 2004-2005 in Central and Eastern Europe in order to conduct secondary analysis of the 2003 TIMSS (Trends in Mathematics and Science Study) and 2003 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). Teams of researchers from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, and Serbia drafted papers regarding policy issues in their relevant countries about quality and equity by applying advanced statistical techniques. The papers were published in the December 2006 issue of the journal Prospects.

UIS and the Education Support Program (ESP) jointly sponsored a symposium during the tri-annual meeting of the World Congress of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES), where the research papers were presented. The congress was held in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, on September 3-7, 2007. The event promoted the strengthening of a regional network of educational researchers in the area of policy analysis.

For more information, please contact Mr. Yanhong Zhang, Programme Specialist, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, at y.zhang@uis.unesco.org

Achievements of Options program for deaf and hard of hearing in Mongolia

Options is a 3-year research and service program for deaf and hard of hearing children, young adults, and adults in Mongolia. The aims is to improve early childhood education; develop a clear picture of the needs of children and adults with hearing disabilities; operate an audiological/communication center; increase public awareness of the important issues of deaf and hard of hearing people; and develop special learning materials for them. The program has carried out the following activities since March 2007:

• Organized a National Deaf Conference with the participation of 350 deaf and hard of hearing children, young people, and adults where the Options program was introduced to the public along with discussion of related educational issues;
• Produced a TV program with Mongolian National Television to inform the public about deaf children's lives, educational issues, School 29 (the only deaf and hard of hearing school in Mongolia) and Bambaruush Kindergarten , the first kindergarten for the deaf;
• Supported the formation of the Mongolian Deaf Youth Section and organized monthly meetings of Mongolian deaf young people to exchange information, and to learn more about deaf and hard of hearing people and their interests;
• Organized training according to deaf young people's educational needs;
• Developed curriculums for teacher training and students;
• Worked on a follow-up film to A Destiny Not Chosen, a film produced in a previous Mongolian Education Alliance (MEA) project, Sign and Learn. The creation of the movie was funded by the International Deaf Children's Society, and it was presented in Mongolia and internationally by Inner Mongolian Television.
• Made arrangements for the opening of the audiology/communication center;
• Tested student and teacher curriculums at Bambaruush Kindergarten;
• Continued to offer educational programs such as English, American Sign Language, computer literacy, health issues, hearing culture, and laws;
• Continued to support the development of the Deaf Youth Association and a Professional Interpreting Service.

In 2008-2009, the Options program aims to:

• start courses in the Pre-school Teachers' College of the Mongolian National University of Education;
• work with the Ministry of Education to create a new license for Teacher of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children;
• conduct research in central and western Mongolia through the audiology/communication center;
• establish an Internet/education center in Ulaanbaatar that provides computer based training and Internet access;
• host a major international conference (in 2009);
• produce a language improvement program and materials for children with hearing impairments.

During the project work, they have found a three-generation deaf family living in a remote area, who took two of the grandchildren to Ulaanbaatar. Nine year old Dashjamts is now going to the School for the Deaf and lives in the school dormitory. His sister, 21- year old Galya, is now working in a bakery.

The project is sponsored by the Education Support Program (ESP) at the Open Society Institute (OSI). A US-based NGO, F.I.R.E, and the Israeli-Mongolian Foundation are going to grant 50 used computers for Internet/education centers at the Mongolian Youth Federation, for School 29, and the for the Mongolian Deaf Citizens` Federation, all of which provide space at no cost.

For more information, please contact: Saraa Otgon: saraa.otgon@gmail.com; or visit: http://www.mea.org.mn/chance.htm

The Kosovo government has been developing a national strategy on the integration of the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian (RAE) communities in Kosovo, which is sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Kosovar Foundation for Open Society (KFOS). The Kosova Education Center (KEC) is implementing the education component of the strategy.

A final workshop was held in Struga on July 13-15, 2007 to finalize the national strategy. This document forms part of the national development process strategy which started early in 2007 and involved the representatives of several institutions, members of the three communities, international organizations, civil society, experts and organizations that represent the rights of these communities in the region and in Europe. The comprehensive strategy document shows the commitment of the government towards the education of the members of the three communities, in accordance with other existing strategic documents in the field of education.

For more information, please visit: http://www.kec-ks.org/Kosova%20Education%20Center/newsletter_.htm or contact: ptahiri@kec-ks.org

The Kosova Education Center (KEC) began implementing a project on multicultural and multiethnic education in January 2007. The goal of this project is to promote interethnic reconciliation by creating powerful communication channels between different ethnic and cultural communities in Kosovo. The cultural differences, problems in interethnic relations, conflicts and divergence are all the consequences of the war in 1998-1999.

As a part of the project, KEC conducted a seven-day training of trainers where 20 participants became certified trainers. They will be conducting training sessions throughout Kosovo. The training of the teachers in this program will begin in September 2007.

For more information, please contact ptahiri@kec-ks.org or visit: http://www.kec-ks.org/

Education Reform Initiative's (ERI) commitment to critical thinking, which is indispensable for an open and democratic society, together with the current Turkish education system's deficiency in developing students' critical thinking capacity, gave rise to a new project.

The project "I think, I discuss and I am a part of the world" was launched in July 2007. It aims to develop and produce classroom material for teachers to develop students' critical thinking capacity and promote their active participation.

The material will be prepared under the supervision of Prof. Füsun Üstel (Galatasaray University, Istanbul). It will not be a static and stagnant "textbook" where subjects are taught in a linear sequence. The content-based material will include an analytically interlinked set of texts, allowing for and indeed encouraging flexibility, multidisciplinary learning processes and future revision.

The material will initially consist of sixty cards grouped under six main titles. The main titles will belong to three fields: politics-economy, culture-art and science. The content of all cards will be interrelated and provides opportunity for teachers to be flexible and add more cards.

The material will also help create awareness and sensitivity regarding global problems by reversing the perception of a Turkey-centered-world. In addition, it will highlight different argumentation patterns, promote use of different resources through a comprehensive bibliography, and promote critical thinking skills, and develop critical thinking approaches and attitudes by such means as its suggestions for classroom activities.

For more information please contact: Burcu Meltem Arik, arikb@sabanciuniv.edu

Building on a recent surge in policy attention to early childhood education and development in OECD countries, more than 750 researchers, early childhood practitioners, policy makers, and NGO activists from Europe and around the world convened in Prague from August 29 to September 1, 2007 at the 17th Annual Conference of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA), "Exploring Vygotsky's Ideas: Crossing Borders."

Prof. Elena Kravtsova, Ph.D., granddaughter of the renowned developmental psychologist Lev Semionovich Vygotsky (1896-1934), presented the keynote speech. The event was a unique opportunity for dialogue between East and West. Although this was EECERA's 17th Annual Conference, it was the first time the event was organized in a country of the former communist bloc, and the first time a large number of representatives from this region participated in the event. This is due to the successful cooperation between EECERA and the International Step by Step Association (ISSA), a leading network of early childhood development professionals and organizations primarily from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (www.issa.nl).

Public awareness of gaps in provision and insufficient quality in services has moved the issue of child care on to electoral agendas in many countries. There is a growing recognition that early access to quality education and appropriate care provides young children, particularly from disadvantaged groups, with a good and fair start in life. Policy-makers have recognized that support of children's development benefits not only the children and their families, but entire societies, as these children grow to be successful, productive, active citizens. Scientific research constantly brings new insights into brain development and the enormous importance of the first years of a child's life. This conference sought to deepen this understanding and ensure that practices and policies are based on quality research.

In addition to Prof. Kravtsova of the Russian State University for the Humanities, L. S. Vygotsky Institute of Psychology (Russia), other distinguished speakers included: Prof. Elena Bodrova, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), Denver, Colorado (United States); Dr. Bert van Oers, Department Education and Curriculum, Free University Amsterdam (The Netherlands); and Prof. James V. Wertsch, Marshall S. Snow Professor in Arts and Sciences, Director, McDonnell International Scholars Academy Campus (United States). A full program of the event and more information about the organizers can be found on the conference website: www.easyprague.cz/eecera2007/.

For further information contact: issa@issa.hu

Upcoming conferences

InterNETA (International Network of Teachers Associations) in Russia is organizing an international conference, "Teaching/Learning Environment for English Language Teaching," in Omsk, Russia on November 6-7, 2007.

InterNETA is a voluntary organization launched within the framework of the project "Empowering English Language teachers for educational policy development through Teachers' Cross-Regional Association." The goal of this initiative is to contribute to the development of civil society through establishing a proactive network of associations which advocate for the needs and rights of field teachers and promote high-quality services to students.

One of the most important achievements of the project is the development and piloting of a quality assurance scheme for educational programs. Representatives of associations from eight regions of Russia and the former Soviet Union have been creating a tool which will help teachers design courses and supply experts to evaluate them.

Teachers in different regions have gathered many innovative ideas which proved to be highly successful and are ready to share them with colleagues. As part of the project, three best practices training seminars took place in Omsk, Russia (April 2007), Noviy Urengoi, Russia (March, 2007) and Noyabrsk, Russia (May 2007) The coming conference will host the next best practice sharing event.

Specialists in foreign language teaching are invited to take part in the conference. The call for proposals is available at www.internetaonline.ru

The project is sponsored by the RE:FINE program of the Education Support Program (ESP).

For more information, please contact omelta@bk.ru

The Institute for Economic Research, Ljubljana (http://www.ier.si/index.php) and UP Faculty of Management Koper (http://www.fm-kp.si/eng) are organizing an international conference, Funding, Equity and Efficiency of Higher Education, in Portoro˛, Slovenia on November 21-24, 2007.

Deadline for registration is October 15, 2007.

The conference focuses on three great challenges facing higher education financing today throughout Europe and across the world. The first of these is how to find additional resources needed to improve quality of higher education, develop new programs, increase capacity, and guarantee stability. The second is how to improve equality of access to higher education for different socio-economic groups; and the third is how to improve the efficiency of use of available resources. Special attention will be paid to the issue of funding and its impact on equity and efficiency of higher education.

The conference will bring together policy-makers, rectors, deans and directors of higher education institutions, scholars, students, and representatives of enterprises to discuss the above-mentioned challenges to higher education. The conference will focus on Europe, with special attention to former socialist countries.

Keynote speakers are some of the major world experts in the field (Dr. Petr Mateju, Dr. George Psacharopoulos, Dr. Jamil Salmi, Dr. Hans Vossensteyn, Dr. Maureen Woodhall and Dr. Adrian Ziderman). Papers by authors from 20 countries (mainly European ones) will be presented.

Full details about the conference are available online at www.fhe.fm-kp.si. Preliminary program is available on: www.fhe.fm-kp.si/?id=38

Inquiries regarding the conference can be sent to the following address: fhe@fm-kp.si

The World Debate Institute at the University of Vermont (USA), the National Education Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, and ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/ Pro et contra Institute for culture of dialogue (Slovenia) invite all scholars and practitioners of argumentation, rhetoric, debate, and educators using deliberative education methodologies to the international conference Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment: Thinking and Speaking a Better World. The conference will be held on April 11-13, 2008 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The conference will welcome scholars and educators from diverse fields for vigorous dialogue and exchange.

A global information society that seeks reasoned solutions to problems through broad citizen involvement needs to develop and refine techniques for criticizing and validating ideas through discourse and then impart these to new generations of citizens if we are to create a better future and avoid looming crises. This conference represents a unique opportunity to share ideas, network and cross-fertilize with global critical thinkers. The program for the conference will have three themes: argumentation and rhetoric, debate, critical thinking/pedagogy. Potential participants are encouraged to center their work on one of the three themes and to submit proposals to the appropriate conference division. Interdisciplinary work that might fit into more than one category is welcome.

The conference will generate a proceedings volume in the form of a book with completed papers. Submissions will be selected from the papers available at the conference.

The deadline for submitting papers is February 15, 2008.

Those wishing to attend the conference without submitting a paper are welcome but must register.

For further information please visit: http://debate.uvm.edu/betterworld.htm or contact bojana.skrt@siol.net

The International Step by Step Association (ISSA) will hold its 9th Annual conference, Active Citizenship: Democratic Practices in Education, on October 8-11, 2008. The event, organized in partnership with the World Forum Foundation (WFF), will explore how the promotion of democratic values, both in practice and through advocacy, can affect the quality of children's lives. Professionals involved in early childhood development and education and in related fields - from the classroom to the policy level - are invited to attend this conference, which will be hosted in Budapest, Hungary.

Highlights of the conference include:

• Sharing best practices in democratic teaching and teaching about democracy in preschool and primary classrooms
• Panels highlighting global and regional advocacy priorities
• Inspiring, cutting edge presentations from practitioners and advocacy experts in the field of early childhood education
• Presentations on successful advocacy projects
• Opportunities to learn about research results and trends in ECE and education for democracy around the globe

Further information about the conference is available on the 2008 ISSA Conference website: http://www.diamond-congress.hu/issa2008