Teachers. Classrooms. Worldwide.

[UNITED STATES] The number of alternative programs nationwide...

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:27:44 -0400

[UNITED STATES] The number of alternative programs nationwide has skyrocketed, rising from 70 programs in the 2000-2001 school year to 658 in 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Education, and these programs now make up 31 percent of all teacher preparation programs in the nation. Yet experts on teacher preparation acknowledge that little is known about which strategies actually work best for developing high-quality teachers. (via Alternative routes to teaching become more popular despite lack of evidence | Hechinger Report)

Saudi Arabian girls will be allowed to play sport in private...

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:00:31 -0400

Saudi Arabian girls will be allowed to play sport in private schools for the first time in the latest in a series of incremental changes aimed at slowly increasing women’s rights in the ultraconservative kingdom.

Saudi Arabia’s official press agency, SPA, reported on Saturday that private girls’ schools are now allowed to hold sport activities in accordance with the rules of sharia law. Students must adhere to “decent dress” codes and Saudi women teachers will be given priority in supervising the activities, according to the education ministry’s requirements.

The decision makes sport once again a stage for the push to improve women’s rights, nearly a year after two Saudi female athletes made an unprecedented appearance at the Olympics. (via Saudi Arabia to allow girls to play sport at private schools | World news | guardian.co.uk)

unicef: Back to school after Typhoon BophaSix months after...

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:00:30 -0400

unicef:

Back to school after Typhoon Bopha
Six months after Typhoon Bopha took more than 1,000 lives and displaced more than a million people, teaching and learning are starting up again in elementary schools across affected parts of the Philippines.

Read more: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/philippines_69114.html

"KANO, NIGERIA, 14 May 2013 (IRIN) - Around 15,000 children in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria,..."

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:00:09 -0400

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KANO, NIGERIA, 14 May 2013 (IRIN) - Around 15,000 children in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, have stopped attending classes since February 2013, according to a Borno State Ministry of Education official who preferred anonymity, as Boko Haram extremists continue a wave of attacks on state schools.

Most of the children are primary school students, according to the official. Thus far Boko Haram (BH) has burned or destroyed 50 of the state’s 175 schools, he said. Teachers in the state confirmed the estimate.

Gaza City: Palestinian schoolboys are learning how to fire...

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:00:34 -0400

Gaza City: Palestinian schoolboys are learning how to fire Kalashnikovs, throw grenades and plant improvised explosive devices as part of a program run by Hamas’s education ministry.

The scheme has been criticised by Palestinian human rights groups, who point out that Hamas has previously banned sport from the school curriculum on the grounds that there is not enough time for it.

Hamas authorities introduced the “Futuwwa”, or youth program into the state curriculum last September for 37,000 Palestinian boys aged between 15 and 17, conceiving it as a scheme intended to initiate a new generation of Palestinian men in the struggle against Israel. (via Kalashnikov Classes for Palestinian Students)

Young Champions’ initiative is a programme of the United Nations...

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:00:14 -0400

Young Champions’ initiative is a programme of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI). In Pakistan, it is conducted in partnership with the UNICEF Punjab office, Jahandad Society for Community Development (JSCD), and government social welfare and education departments.

Through the programme, educated youth are selected and trained to encourage families in their communities to enrol children in school.

“‘Young Champions’ … envisions involving adolescents as ‘young champions’ to become advocates and change-makers in their communities, to address gender concerns, increase girl child enrolment and decrease drop outs,” said UNICEF Education Officer Sehr Raza Qizilbash. “Over the last two years, this initiative has produced encouraging results and made a substantial contribution to UNICEF’s objective of enrolling every school-going-aged child in target districts.” (via UNGEI - Pakistan - Youth advocates help enrol of out-of-school children in Pakistan)

UK invests £12 million in girls’ education in Zimbabwe via Camfed

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:00:26 -0400

Zimbabwe’s Education Minister formally launched a £12 million investment in girls’ education … that will enable 24,000 girls from the poorest rural families to enrol in and complete secondary school.

The investment from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) represents a major achievement for Camfed, which began in Zimbabwe in 1993 by supporting just 32 girls in two districts. The latest investment allows Camfed to provide four times as many secondary school bursaries as it currently offers and will increase its reach to 28 districts.

South Sudan: WFP Girls’ Ration Increases School Attendance

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:49:45 -0400

School officials in South Sudan say a monthly take-home food ration from the World Food Programme (WFP) has helped to reduce the number of female students dropping out of school.

[…] WFP supports girls through what is known as the “Girls’ Incentive,” which is designed to encourage girls’ enrolment in school and keep them attending class regularly.

[…] The girls from grades 3-8 who are allowed by their parents to attend classes for at least 20 out of 22 days in a school calendar month receive a 9.9 kilograms of cereal and 3.6 kilograms of vegetable oil. The food serves as an incentive to the parents, who generally prefer to send boys to school, while girls stay home to work, help their families with cooking or are married off early in exchange for bride-price.

More than 65% of girls over 15 in Ghana’s Northern Region have...

Sat, 11 May 2013 20:00:30 -0400

More than 65% of girls over 15 in Ghana’s Northern Region have received no formal education (compared with the national average of 21%). This is why our support continues to be pivotal to these communities. DFID Ghana will be working with communities in the north, Camfed and the Government of Ghana to ensure that these 70,000 girls remain in and complete secondary school through targeted incentives by 2016. The support includes school fees, uniforms (made by local tailors which helps provide the community with work), and school supplies. (via UNGEI - Ghana - What does education mean to girls in Ghana?)

EU Provides Nobel Peace Prize funds for Education in Northwestern Pakistan

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:00:27 -0400

Islamabad/Brussels, 8 May 2013 – The European Union has provided € 300,000 from its Nobel Peace Prize money to UNICEF to support its educational activities for children affected by a lack of security in parts of northwestern Pakistan. The agreement was formalised today in Islamabad, between Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union to Pakistan and Dan Rohrmann, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan.

These funds, made available through the European Commission’s Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), will enable UNICEF to provide access to education for 3,000 children, including 1,500 girls in 30 schools currently operating in the Jalozai Camp, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

[UNITED STATES] What Does It Really Mean to Be College and Work Ready?

Fri, 10 May 2013 08:00:10 -0400

What Does It Really Mean to Be College and Work Ready? Community colleges expect little of first-year students — and get even less, concludes the National Center on Education and The Economy.

The report paints a grim picture.

High school graduates have trouble reading textbooks written at the 11th- to 12th-grade level, so instructors provide study aids to help poor readers get by. Students do little writing. When they do write, ”instructors tend to have very low expectations for grammatical accuracy, appropriate diction, clarity of expression, reasoning and the ability to present a logical argument or offer evidence in support of claims.”

[…]

It’s not enough for community colleges to raise expectations, the report concludes.

We need to bear in mind that a very large fraction of high school graduates does not meet the very low expectations that community colleges currently have of them. The nation may have to learn to walk before it runs, which means that it is important, first, to enable our high school students to meet the current very low standards before we ratchet those standards up.

Improving Education in Uganda

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:06:58 -0400

Determined to improve an educational system beset by challenges, advocates recently launched Uganda’s first Quality Public Education Week. Talk shows, panel debates, exhibitions and rallies were held throughout the country April 22-26, 2013—a call for action from Ugandan decision-makers.

While public schools are available at no charge to Ugandan boys and girls ages 6 through 12, experts question the facilities’ quality and effectiveness. As youngsters age, drop out rates soar - as many as 66 percent leave, according to SC. An alarming 18 percent of those eligible do not attend school at all.

Tens of thousands of students in Chile have resumed their...

Wed, 08 May 2013 20:39:26 -0400

Tens of thousands of students in Chile have resumed their protests for free education with marches in major cities.

The march in the capital, Santiago, was largely peaceful, but there were isolated clashes, authorities say.

Riot police said that they had been attacked with petrol bombs. Police used water cannons and tear gas to break up one group of protesters.

Chilean students have been staging protests for free, high-quality education since 2011.

Wednesday’s action was the second nationwide protest this year.

The police estimated the number of protesters in Santiago at more than 37,000 but organisers say 80,000 people took to the streets. (via BBC News - Chile students resume protests for free education)

Pakistan still failing in education of girls Despite regular...

Tue, 07 May 2013 22:53:00 -0400

Pakistan still failing in education of girls

Despite regular election campaign promises to deliver, economic and cultural concerns holding back action.

(via Pakistan still failing in education of girls - Asia - Al Jazeera English)

"[US] In decades of debate on school reform in Mississippi, though, one issue is ever-present but..."

Mon, 06 May 2013 21:31:11 -0400

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[US] In decades of debate on school reform in Mississippi, though, one issue is ever-present but draws little public discussion: race.

The state’s public schools remain nearly as segregated, in some cases, as they did in the 1960s. In many communities across the state, especially in towns where black children are in the majority, white children almost exclusively attend small private schools founded around the time of court-mandated desegregation in the late 1960s.

Black children, by contrast, usually attend the public schools in these communities. This is also true in Jackson, the state capital. The consequences have been devastating for the state in terms of educational attainment and economic disparities.

”

- Racial segregation continues to impact quality of education in Mississippi—and nationwide | Hechinger Report

Education takes a hit in Myanmar’s Kachin State

Fri, 03 May 2013 13:00:16 -0400

“The biggest problem is we need more teachers. However, many who are qualified are afraid to work in the area because of the ongoing conflict and the recent attacks,” Haundang said.

Some 47,000 people are in IDP camps in KIA-controlled areas, with thousands more staying with host families, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on 18 April.

Thousands of school-age children have been affected by the conflict, with varying access to education facilities.

In KIA-controlled areas, volunteer teachers have been used to maintain education services for the displaced. However, financial support for this effort is lacking. A comprehensive assessment of the education sector is urgently needed to better determine the number of children in need of education support, gaps in school supplies, and the absorption capacity of existing schools, OCHA said.

UNICEF’s Toby Fricker brings you the story of 11-year-old...

Thu, 02 May 2013 21:34:57 -0400

UNICEF’s Toby Fricker brings you the story of 11-year-old Hanin, who was displaced from her home in the Syrian Arab Republic and is now living in Jordan. Being able to continue her education provides her with hope in this unsettling time.

School is a “sign of hope” (by unicef)

Also see here.

Worldwide, 250 million primary school age children are not...

Wed, 01 May 2013 07:11:49 -0400

Worldwide, 250 million primary school age children are not learning the basics – even though almost half of them are in school. Studies in several countries have shown that many children spend two or three years in school without learning to read a single word. That is why the 2013-14 EFA Global Monitoring Report will focus on recruiting and training effective teachers, who are vital to overcoming the learning gap and providing equitable education for all.

(via Every child needs a good teacher, especially in the early grades | World Education Blog)

Also see here.

23 April 2013 – Calling for quick action by authorities in the...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:56:06 -0400

23 April 2013 – Calling for quick action by authorities in the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that education was becoming another casualty of the months-long conflict, with half the country’s schools shuttered and hundreds of thousands of students at risk of missing out the entire year.

At least 250,000 children who started the 2012-2013 primary school year, and 30,000 who were in secondary school at the start of the crisis, could lose the entire school year if schools do not re-open in the coming weeks, the agency said in a news release. (via United Nations News Centre - Children’s education in Central Africa Republic devastated by conflict, UN says)

Rwanda: New Curricula to Streamline Teaching of Genocide

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:00:00 -0400

Rwanda: New Curricula to Streamline Teaching of Genocide:

The Ministry of Education is currently revising the curricula for schools at nursery, primary, and secondary levels, a process that will streamline how best to teach students about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, among other changes.

Under the new curriculum, the teaching of Genocide will be reinforced, in line with Genocide prevention. Teaching the younger generations about the Genocide and Rwanda’s history is widely considered as a key element in cementing the on-going reconciliation efforts and ensuring sustainable unity of the Rwandan people.

(via AllAfrica.com)